Transnational Law | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Parochial Procedure, Maggie Gardner Aug 2017

Parochial Procedure, Maggie Gardner

Maggie Gardner

The federal courts are often accused of being too parochial, favoring U.S. parties over foreigners and U.S. law over relevant foreign or international law. According to what this Article terms the “parochial critique,” the courts’ U.S.-centrism generates unnecessary friction with allies, regulatory conflict, and access-to-justice gaps. This parochialism is assumed to reflect the preferences of individual judges: persuade judges to like international law and transnational cases better, the standard story goes, and the courts will reach more cosmopolitan results. This Article challenges that assumption. I argue instead that parochial doctrines can develop even in the absence of parochial judges. Our …

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When Bad Guys Are Wearing White Hats, Catherine A. Rogers Apr 2016

When Bad Guys Are Wearing White Hats, Catherine A. Rogers

Catherine Rogers

Allegations of ethical misconduct by lawyers have all but completely overshadowed the substantive claims in the Chevron case. While both sides have been accused of flagrant wrongdoing, the charges against plaintiffs’ counsel appear to have captured more headlines and garnered more attention. The primary reason why the focus seems lopsided is that plaintiffs’ counsel were presumed to be the ones wearing white hats in this epic drama. This essay postulates that this seeming irony is not simply an example of personal ethical lapse, but in part tied to larger reasons why ethical violations are an occupational hazard for plaintiffs’ counsel …

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Transnational Class Actions In The Shadow Of Preclusion, Zachary D. Clopton Dec 2014

Transnational Class Actions In The Shadow Of Preclusion, Zachary D. Clopton

Zachary Clopton

The American class action is a procedural tool that advances substantive law values such as deterrence, compensation, and fairness. Opt-out class actions in particular achieve these goals by aggregating claims not only of active participants but also passive plaintiffs. Full faith and credit then extends the preclusive effect of class judgments to other U.S. courts. But there is no international full faith and credit obligation, and many foreign courts will not treat U.S. class judgments as binding on passive plaintiffs. Therefore, some plaintiffs may be able to wait until the U.S. class action is resolved before either joining the U.S. …

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State Courts And Transitory Torts In Transnational Human Rights Cases, Chimene I. Keitner Dec 2012