Welcome to your daily briefing on legal developments in Pennsylvania. Today we're covering 6 key stories including updates on pennsylvania legal headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
3 stories
The Philadelphia Bar Association has issued its judicial candidate recommendations for retention candidates with the November 4 general election approaching.
PA legal professionals can weigh these bar-association evaluations when advising clients on judicial elections or making informed voting decisions in their own jurisdictions.
CorpNet has published Pennsylvania Secretary of State contact and document filing information for creating or maintaining a business.
Corporate and transactional attorneys in Pennsylvania can streamline client entity formation and maintenance by accessing consolidated filing guidance.
The Philadelphia Bar Association Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention has issued its recommendations for judicial candidates seeking election in 2023.
These ratings provide PA legal professionals with peer-evaluated assessments to inform ballot decisions and client guidance on judicial elections.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
The clock can pause for: (1) the defendant being out of state in some jurisdictions, (2) the plaintiff being a minor or under disability, (3) the defendant fraudulently concealing the cause of action. The clock does NOT pause for: settlement negotiations, insurance correspondence, or the plaintiff being unaware of the legal theory.
Misreading tolling is the most common malpractice claim against general civil litigators. The defenses are routinely lost on motion to dismiss before discovery even opens.
A consistently followed retention policy provides a defense against spoliation claims when documents are destroyed in the ordinary course before litigation was anticipated. Without a policy, every routine deletion looks like targeted destruction in hindsight.
Adverse-inference instructions arising from spoliation routinely turn winnable cases into losses. A documented policy, consistently applied, is the cleanest defense available.
A preservation (litigation hold) letter is appropriate as soon as litigation is reasonably anticipated, not just after a complaint is filed. The letter should identify the matter, the document categories at issue, and the recipient's preservation duty. Failure to send one is the leading evidence of spoliation in subsequent motion practice.
Sanctions for spoliation can include adverse-inference instructions, monetary fines, and in severe cases default judgment. The cost of issuing a hold letter is one paralegal hour.
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