A Foundations of Practice Seminar
Your First Civil Case in Minnesota State Court

Schedule and Faculty

Schedule times listed below are for the live seminar. Times for replays may differ due to varied start times and abbreviated lunch and break periods. Please refer to the DATES/LOCATION tab for individual replay start times.

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.

CHECK-IN & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST


9:00 – 9:30 a.m.

The Big Picture: A 50,000 Foot View of a Civil Case in Minnesota State Court

An overview of what rules apply to Minnesota state court cases; how a typical case proceeds from start to finish; how to stay focused on the big picture throughout the case; and how to level the playing field when the opposing counsel is more experienced than you are.

– Gregory R. Merz, Course Chair


9:30 – 10:45 a.m.

Pleadings

What the rules require regarding content, form, signing, service and filing, and timing. Tips for using a complaint or an answer as an effective tool to tell the court your client’s story.


 The "Wake Me Up at Night" Questions:

  1. I don’t currently have evidence to back up all my client’s claims, but I think discovery will later provide that evidence. Is that good enough to meet Rule 11’s requirement?

  2. I want to record witnesses as I investigate the causes of action that I plan to plead in the complaint. May I do that?

  3. How much detail do I need to include in the complaint to survive a motion to dismiss?

  4. How do I avoid waiving affirmative defenses when I draft the answer?

  5. How do I figure out what statute of limitations applies to my client’s claim?

– Judge Susan N. Burke, James K. Langdon & Eric R. Sherman


10:45 – 11:00 a.m.

BREAK


11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Written Discovery

How to draft effective requests that are targeted to your written discovery plan and that comply with timing, form and scope requirements. How to respond to discovery requests, including permissible objections. When to seek a protective order. What happens when there’s a discovery dispute.
 

The "Wake Me Up at Night" Questions:

  1. It doesn’t seem like my client is being very thorough in getting me what I need to respond to these discovery requests. Am I on the hook if the client doesn’t give me something responsive to the requests?

  2. How do I deal with an arguably privileged document that is responsive to a request?

  3. The discovery cutoff is next week. I can still serve some document requests, right?

  4. Discovery is closed and my client has just brought me a document that is responsive and has not yet been produced. What do I do?

  5. When should discovery responses be supplemented?

– Deborah A. Ellingboe, Daniel J. Herber & Judge Mary Carroll Leahy


12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

LUNCH (on your own)


1:00 – 2:15 p.m.

Depositions

Strategies for making the most out of this essential discovery tool. Tips for prepping deponents. Proper and improper objections.
 

The "Wake Me Up at Night" Questions:

  1. What am I allowed to talk about with a person I’m preparing for deposition?

  2. How do I prepare an expert to have her deposition taken?

  3. An important third-party witness lives out of state. The witness assures me that she is willing to come testify at trial. Should I take her deposition anyway?

  4. Can I stop a deposition that I’m defending?

  5. I believe that my client has lied/made a mistake in his deposition. What should I do?

– Irene W. Kao & Daniel J. Singel


2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

Motions

Procedural requirements, strategic and practical considerations, and oral argument technique.
 

The "Wake Me Up at Night" Questions:

  1. Are there certain types of motions that I must make to preserve appeal rights?

  2. How do I get evidence in the record that needs to be considered for this motion?

  3. Is it safe to assume that the judge has read the motion papers?

  4. Can I/should I use visual aids at a motion argument?

  5. My dispositive motion was denied and I believe that the judge made a mistake. Can I ask the judge to reconsider? Can I appeal?

– Joy Reopelle Anderson, Daniel R. Shulman & Judge Jay M. Quam


3:15 – 3:30 p.m.

BREAK


3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Mediation

What to expect, what to tell your client to expect, how mediators are selected, who is responsible for paying the mediator, what information you should share with the mediator, and what happens if the dispute is resolved at mediation.
 

The "Wake Me Up at Night" Questions:

  1. How do I find a mediator?

  2. What should I talk about in my mediation statement?

  3. What if the mediator asks me a fact question that I don’t know the answer to or don’t want to reveal?

  4. The mediator has asked for our "bottom line." Can I tell her? Should I?

  5. Do we have to leave with a signed agreement?

– K. Jon Breyer, Paul M. Floyd & Judge Mary E. Pawlenty (Ret.)