Another benefit from last week’s meeting between the Hennepin County trial court judges and Hennepin County lawyers was learning about Judge McShane’s linked list.
These are excellent rules for all trial lawyers to review before heading into trial before anyone. Certainly some of the rules are inapplicable before other judges. (Some judges do not apply Judge McShane’s Rule #1, for instance.) Most of Judge McShane’s rules, though, fall under the heading of “don’t be a stupid idiot,” which is sometimes more difficult than it sounds.