Michael Hoenig

May 08, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, revisits the pro-disclosure trend in federal courts, and reviews a recent decision that reminds attorneys that both written and oral communications with an expert � even those about the attorney's innermost thoughts, strategies and their "dos and don'ts" � which they may think are confidential and protected from disclosure, may wind up in the expert's deposition transcript or on the adverse attorney's desk.

By Michael Hoenig

13 minute read

August 16, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

Typically, in products liability litigation, the product involved in the accident can yield much evidence from a simple visual inspection. But sometimes it is necessary to examine the product, part or component by actually changing its condition in some manner. When the examination goes beyond mere observation and risks or entails changing the condition or appearance of the product -- a scenario referred to as "destructive testing" -- special considerations arise, according to attorney Michael Hoenig.

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read

October 11, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, reports on two recent decisions. The first, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, is a major pronouncement on whether experts must disclose attorney work product. The second, the Fourth Department's decision dealing with an undisclosed "high-low" settlement, leaves open a number of important, practical questions, which, given the frequency of high-low agreements and multiple defendant cases, other courts will likely weigh in on.

By Michael Hoenig

13 minute read

July 12, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, writes that, once in a while, a phrase, term or word captures the attention of bench and bar and becomes a ubiquitous term of art. Take "gatekeeping" for example ...

By Michael Hoenig

14 minute read

June 16, 2003 | New York Law Journal

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read

August 09, 2004 | New York Law Journal

Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, discusses "gatekeeping" developments and says important lessons can be learned on legal and tactical considerations.

By Michael Hoenig

13 minute read

July 09, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, reviews a recent case where a prolonged dispute about documents withheld from discovery under a claim of attorney-client privilege came to a head. The controversy spewed over into considerations of the adequacy of privilege logs, waivers of privilege and how to deal with so-called e-mail "chains," and the resulting decision may give readers some flavor of how dangerous routine e-mail practices may be in compromising privileged communications.

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read

January 14, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Michael Hoenig, a member of Herzfeld & Rubin, writes that if sound litigation advice were reduced to a "Ten Commandments" format, surely excellent deposition preparation and practice would be one of them. Still, time after time, busy counsel will be ill-prepared, resulting in less-than-optimal pretrial testimony. By becoming familiar with the feigned issue doctrine, the deposition-taker can resist the deponent's later attempt to "correct" the testimony.

By Michael Hoenig

15 minute read

August 21, 2006 | New Jersey Law Journal

In a product liability case, one side (or both) may find it necessary to examine the product, part or component by actually changing its condition in some manner. When the examination goes beyond mere observation and risks or entails changing the condition or appearance of the product, special considerations arise. A recent federal district court case used a kind of balancing test to ascertain whether to allow destructive testing.

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read

January 14, 2002 | New York Law Journal

M any of our columns discussed spoliation of evidence principles and identified a decisive "spoliator beware" trend showing how hazardous the consequences may be when litigants, attorneys or experts allow non-preservation, destruction, loss or alteration of the "crown jewels" (i.e., the actual product, parts or components involved in an accident). 1 The case law revealed that courts increasingly have imposed a slew of sanctions including, where appropriate, the dismissal of a claim or defense.

By Michael Hoenig

12 minute read