On November 15, 2010, Thomson West and the New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA) will host a reception to honor the 145 principal authors of the Third Edition of their critically acclaimed treatise Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts. The reception, which will be combined with a press conference to announce the publication of the Third Edition, will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at NYCLA, 14 Vesey Street, in downtown Manhattan.

For reservations, please RSVP to amendez@nycla.org.

The distinguished team of authors includes judges from the New York Court of Appeals, the Appellate Division, and the Supreme Court, and many of the finest litigators in New York. Robert L. Haig of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Third Edition. Other authors include Kelley Drye partners Robert E. Crotty and William A. Escobar,.

“Although it is difficult to quantify the authors’ efforts on this treatise,” said Mr. Haig, “we conservatively estimate that our authors and their law firms have invested more than 25 million dollars of their own billable time, calculated at their regular hourly billing rates, in working on this treatise and its annual Pocket Parts. We are not aware of any other book in New York in which a comparable investment has been made.”

Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts is a multi-volume, strategy-oriented treatise that resulted from a highly successful joint venture between Thomson West and NYCLA. This was the first time that a commercial publisher and a major bar association in New York have undertaken a joint project of this nature. The First Edition of this treatise was published in 1995. Since that time, the treatise has become a great source of pride as well as revenue for NYCLA. All royalties from sales of this treatise and its annual Pocket Parts go to NYCLA.

This treatise has been widely recognized as a unique and invaluable resource and has become the definitive reference work in this area of law. The First and Second Editions of the treatise received an enthusiastic reception from the legal press, reflected in more than 50 favorable book reviews in bar journals and legal newspapers throughout the State of New York.

The Third Edition is a step-by-step practice guide that covers every aspect of a commercial case in New York State courts, from the investigation and assessment that take place at the inception through pleadings, discovery, motions, trial, appeal, and enforcement of judgment. Great emphasis is placed on strategic considerations specific to commercial cases. The treatise also contains 38 substantive law chapters that cover the subjects most commonly encountered in commercial cases, including contracts, insurance, sale of goods, banking, securities, antitrust, intellectual property, franchising and many other commercial law topics. The authors discuss the interplay between rules of procedure and substantive law, outline strategies for representation of plaintiff and defendant, and consider ramifications and pitfalls of various actions. The publication includes in-depth text on law and procedure, strategies and client counseling sections, checklists, and numerous cross-references. In addition, there are hundreds of pages of essential litigation forms and jury charges in print and on a CD-ROM that comes with the set.

For more information on the treatise or to obtain review copies, contact the Editor-in-Chief, Kelley Drye partner, Robert L. Haig at (212) 808-7715 or rhaig@kelleydrye.com.

Reception To Honor Major Commercial Treatise Authors