Dear Members:

One of my duties as Chair of our Committee is to report biannually to the Officers and Council of the ABA Section of Business Law. Although these reports can be searched and retrieved on our website, it occurred to me that many of you have never seen them. During the Holidays, I was required to submit our 2006 Midwinter Report; and I decided to have it reproduced here, so that all of you had easy access to it. Click here to access the 2006 Midwinter Report.  I think it presents a good picture of the status of our Committee, its successes and its future direction. As always, I welcome your reactions and input; and I wish all of you the very best for a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Mitchell L. Bach
Chair, Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
mbach@eckertseamans.com

Our world is shrinking. Increasingly, American lawyers are faced with the task of attempting to obtain evidence from Canadian residents for use in American proceedings. However, unless the Canadian is willing to voluntarily provide the desired evidence, the American lawyer must obtain an order from a Canadian court to compel production.

Generally, orders to compel the production of evidence by a Canadian resident for a proceeding in a foreign jurisdiction are issued as a result of a request from the foreign court, called letters rogatory or a letter of request. Such international judicial assistance is based upon international comity, whereby the courts of one jurisdiction will give effect to the laws and judicial decisions of another jurisdiction out of mutual deference and respect.

The Canada Evidence Act authorizes a superior court of a province, pursuant to letters rogatory or similar orders from foreign jurisdictions, to order the examination of witnesses or the production of documents, or both, "for use in civil, commercial or criminal proceedings" out of the jurisdiction. An application to the Court for such an order is thus made under the rules of court of the Canadian province in which the witness resides.

The essential components of an application in Canada are valid and subsisting letters rogatory, a notice of application, and a supporting affidavit with accompanying exhibits.

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The Bankruptcy Litigation Subcommittee again joined the ABA's Creditor's Rights Committee to present a joint program at the National Bankruptcy Judges' Conference, in San Antonio, on November 3. Our own Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Stong joined in a discussion led by Bill Zewadski on the new business provisions under BAPCPA, the expansive new bankruptcy law, and regarding topics relating to management of court dockets and case administration. Miami Bankruptcy Judge Robert Mark led a discussion of the recent and sharply conflicting rulings from Arizona, Florida  and Nevada on the scope of the homestead limitations under the new bankruptcy law, which became effective on its passage for cases filed on and after April 20, 2005.

 

A reprise of the presentation of new business bankruptcy developments was included in "Bankruptcy for Breakfast" at the Ritz Carlton in Washington D.C., on November 18 at the Fall Section Meeting, again led by Bill Zewadski and Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Stong.

 

The next program of the Bankruptcy Litigation subcommittee will be at the Tampa Spring meeting, April 6, 2006 at 1:00-2:30 PM. See you there. Let us know if you would like to be active in the committee if you are not a member, simply by dropping an email to Bill Zewadski, Tampa, at z@trenam.com.

The Business Courts Subcommittee will be presenting a program entitled "Business Courts: Are They Working and Why" during the Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation Committee Forum  which will be held on Friday, April 7, 2006 from 8:15 AM to 10:00 AM during the Section of Business Law Spring Meeting in Tampa, Fla. The program will consist of a panel discussion involving three state court judges who preside over business court cases in jurisdictions around the country, and two attorneys who have been active in the creation of business courts around the country. The panel will be posed various questions regarding how these business courts are working, the benefits of litigating matters in the business courts and issues/problems that still have to be fixed.

The Membership Subcommittee has been active in the Section's efforts to identify and expand ways for new members to become active and engaged in the work of the Section and its Committees.  New members joined the Committee for its festive dinner at the Washington, D.C., Section CLE Meeting in November, and Section members who are active in other committees, including the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee and the Corporate Counsel Committee, attended programs offered by the Committee.  

Outreach to new and prospective members at the Section's Spring Meeting in Tampa will include participation by the Committee's leadership at the Committee Round-Up and WBLN Business Card Breakfast, hosting a first-ever reception for women judges from all around Florida, and as always, a Committee dinner that will be open to seasoned leaders and new members alike.

The Membership Subcommittee is seeking suggestions for ways to expand the Committee's outreach to law students.  Any ideas?  Interested in becoming actively involved in the Committee's programming, publications, and projects?  Contact any of the Committee leaders listed on the leadership roster elsewhere in Network, or contact the Membership Subcommittee co-chairs Lisa Wager and Elizabeth Stong or Committee Chair and Vice Chair Mitchell Bach and Peter Walsh.  

The Pro Bono Committee, the Business and Corporate Litigation Committee’s Subcommittee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the Young Lawyer Forum again will co-sponsor a public service project during the Section’s 2006 Spring Meeting in Tampa, Florida.  The goal of this year’s project is to focus attention on the damaging effects of domestic violence by providing volunteers the opportunity to entertain and interact with displaced parents and children at The Spring of Tampa Bay, a local domestic violence shelter. 

The Spring of Tampa Bay is a nonprofit organization that has been working for over 25 years to improve the lives of families affected by domestic violence, both through community education and outreach as well as through shelter services offering family members the chance for a better future.  At any given time, children occupy approximately two-thirds of the available beds at the shelter.  Section members attending the 2006 Spring Meeting in Tampa will have the opportunity to volunteer at a field-day-style event organized for children temporarily living at the shelter, including serving lunch, coordinating games and outdoor activities, and handing out prizes.  The event is sure to be as exciting and uplifting for Section volunteers as it is for The Spring’s clients.  Transportation will be provided from the hotels where the Section’s meetings will be held.  The event is currently scheduled for Saturday, April 8, 2006 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM  Please plan to attend this fun and worthwhile event.  For more details or to volunteer in advance, please email Mac McCoy at mmccoy@carltonfields.com.

The tremendous efforts of the Publications Subcommittee will be showcased at the Section's Spring Meeting through the voluminous materials assembled for the 2006 Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation. This year, the materials will expanded from 22 to 23 chapters (adding a Tribal Courts Litigation chapter). The complete materials will be available to all meeting attendees on CD Rom. 

 

The materials will be published in book form this summer by ABA Publishing. This will be the sixth straight year that the materials have been available for sale in book form.

 

The chapters to be included in the 2006 version include: Alternative Dispute Resolution Law, Antitrust Litigation, Appellate Law, Bankruptcy Litigation, Business Courts, Business Torts Litigation, Class Action Law, Corporate Law, Criminal and Enforcement Litigation, Derivative Litigation, Director Liability and Indemnification, Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance, Employment Law, Environmental law, ERISA, Financial Institution Litigation, General Partnership, Joint Ventures, Limited Partnership and Limited Liability Companies, Intellectual Property Law, Labor Law, Pro Bono/Non Profits, Securities Arbitration Law, Securities Litigation, and Tribal Courts Litigation.  

 

Over 60 authors will be participating in this massive effort.

In its seven months of existence, the Tribal Court Litigation Subcommittee continues to make a big splash within the ABA.  Through the leadership of Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier, the Subcommittee will be contributing a new, 23rd Chapter to the 2006 Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, appropriately titled Tribal Court Litigation.  The chapter will reduce over 200 years of convoluted federal Indian law into some 20 pages of law review quality scholarship.  You won't want to miss it.

In addition, the Subcommittee will be co-sponsoring a program at the Tampa Bay meeting, along with the Gaming Law Committee and the Consumer Financial Services Committee, titled Morality Enforcement Through Payment Systems Regulation.  Of significance to the Subcommittee, the program – scheduled for Saturday, April 8 at 8:00 a.m. – will address federal criminal enforcement against providers of payment systems such as 800 numbers and credit cards, which are used to engage in Internet Indian gaming, among other types of gambling.  The Subcommittee is most interested in the aspects of this program related reservation-based Internet gaming activities and the tension between federal enforcement and tribal sovereignty and self-regulation.  Yours truly is chairing and moderating the program.

Finally, at the Subcommittee’s urging, the Section will co-sponsor a program at the 2006 Annual Meeting in Honolulu entitled Native Hawaiian Sovereignty, along with the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities’ Native American Concerns Committee.  The program will highlight the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2005 (S. 344), which is now before Congress.  Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka are invited presenters.

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Spring Meeting
April 6 - 9, 2006
Tampa, Florida

• Program Schedule of Events
• Chronological Schedule of Events
• Alphabetical Schedule of Events
• Meeting Website
  

ABA Section of Business Law Annual Meeting
Honolulu, Hawaii
August 3 - 8, 2006

• Meeting Details

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CHAIR:

Mitchell L. Bach

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC

1515 Market St., 9th Foor

Philadelphia, PA 19102

e-mail:  mbach@eckertseamans.com

(215) 851-8466

FAX:  (215) 851-8383

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