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Mary Watson Smith

Jun 30, 20224 min

LASC: "Course and scope" admission has no bearing on employer fault for direct negligence. Now what?

A year and half ago I wrote a blog post about a tactic defense attorneys have been using to convince courts to dismiss a plaintiff’s...

Mary Watson Smith

Nov 15, 20217 min

Bad Faith Damages: When the Insurance Co. Unreasonably Delays, How Much More Will It Have to Pay?

Short answer: potentially, A LOT. But, it's critical to understand how these complicated, frequently misunderstood bad faith statutes...

Mary Watson Smith

Oct 7, 20214 min

New LASC Case Provides Some Wiggle Room in Opposing Motions for Partial Summary Judgment

Zapata v. Seal is a new Louisiana Supreme Court case that all civil practitioners need to keep tucked away in their back pocket to review...

Mary Watson Smith

May 11, 20216 min

Evidence: Three Code Articles Every Lawyer Should Know Backwards and Forwards

Today, I want to talk about my three favorite code articles, La. C.E. Articles 401, 402, and 403. These three code articles—properly...

Mary Watson Smith

Apr 26, 20214 min

Constitutional Challenges: What Every Louisiana Litigator Needs to Know

Lawyers throw around the word “unconstitutional” a lot. It’s often the argument litigators keep in their back pockets if things start to...

Mary Watson Smith

Mar 31, 20211 min

In the First Circuit, That Cover Page Is Counting Against You

I learned something new yesterday. There's a 31 page limit if you're filing an Appellant or Appellee brief in a Louisiana Court of...

Mary Watson Smith

Jan 26, 20215 min

SOLIDARITY: The Effect of a "Course and Scope" Admission on Employer Liability for Direct Negligence

SOLIDARITY! Why an admission to "course and scope" does NOT entitle an employer to summary judgment on separate direct negligence claims.

Mary Watson Smith

Dec 7, 20202 min

Confessions of a Former Law Clerk: How to Offer Depo Testimony at Trial without Ruining the Record

Avoid this major pitfall when introducing a video deposition into the record!

Mary Watson Smith

Mar 9, 20203 min

Judges Don’t Want a Short Memo; They Want an Easy to Read Memo

Ultimately, judges just want to read your memo/brief from beginning to end without having to flip back and forth between the pages.

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