New Mexico Civil Litigation Lawyer
Having clerked for two federal district court judges before starting a law practice as a New Mexico civil litigation attorney, David has handled literally hundreds of civil cases, touching on virtually every area of substantive law. Drawing upon this experience, David is able to assist clients in resolving their civil disputes quickly and favorably. As most civil litigators know, procedure is as important as substance when it comes to litigation. Very few cases ever make it to trial. Cases usually settle, either because one party runs out of funds to litigate the case or because the parties come to realize that a settlement is the best way to mitigate their risk of an unfavorable outcome at trial. Even if a plaintiff has a strong case on the merits, a procedural misstep-like filing in the wrong court, failing to plead sufficient facts in the complaint, failing to abide by applicable alternative dispute resolution requirements, failing to take sufficient discovery, or waiting too long to file-can be the death knell of its case. Smart civil litigators like David know this and avoid procedural pitfalls, while pouncing on the opposing party’s mistakes.
David has litigated all manner of cases, ranging from contract disputes to trade secrets matters, from intellectual property to partnership disputes. Regardless of the substantive area of law at issue, a mastery of the applicable rules of procedure (the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in federal court, or the New Mexico Rules of Civil Procedure in state court) is essential to achieve a favorable outcome. David has successfully litigated all manner of threshold procedural issues, including issues related to personal jurisdiction, standing and capacity to sue, venue and forum non conveniens, arbitration clauses, the statute of limitations, res judicata, and shareholder demand requirements. He has successfully litigated at the motion to dismiss or “12(b)(6)” stage as well as the summary judgment stage.
Civil litigation lawyers in New Mexico know that developing and introducing admissible evidence is also critically important. Even a party that has the facts on their side may lose if they are unable to fully develop their case and present all of the favorable facts to the court or jury. David knows how to develop an effective discovery strategy for his clients. He also has experience litigating discovery disputes and understands how these lawsuits-within-lawsuits issues can affect the trajectory of the overall case. David has successfully litigated evidentiary issues at the motion in limine stage. A motion in limine seeks to exclude unfavorable evidence or confirm that favorable evidence is admissible. These motions call for application of the Federal Rules of Evidence (in federal court) or the New Mexico Rules of Evidence (in state court), and may implicate issues such as the attorney-client privilege or the hearsay rules. Once discovery is complete, dispositive motions have been decided, and threshold evidentiary issues have been resolved, the parties generally make one more attempt to settle. David routinely settles cases for his clients on favorable terms, saving years of expensive litigation. If you require the services of a New Mexico civil litigation attorney, contact us today.