Introduction

• Author: Barton Legum - Ethan A Berghoff - Theodore Edelman
• Pages: 22-24

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Introduction

“International litigation” is a term widely used in contemporary legal practice but

one that means di fferent things to di fferent people. Does it refer, as a literal read-

ing would suggest, to litigation between nations, such as the cases heard by t he

World Court? Does it address litigation before international tribunals involving

private citizens or companies? Does it include litigation bet ween private parties,

in national cour ts, that has cross-border aspects, such as a part y from a foreign

country or evid ence or acts abroad?

For purposes of this book, the answer is a resounding yes: International liti-

gation is all of these thing s. The somewhat sweeping natu re of the term accords

well with the purpose of this book: to be an essential resource, a start ing point,

for practitioners con fronting disputes t hat strike them as inter national—those for

which they sens e that their tool kit for domestic case s is incomplete.

The focus of thi s book is the strategy and practice of international l itigation.

It does not attempt to canvass t he content of the substantive law relevant to inter-

national litigation. In our view, recently updated works by authors such as Gary

B. Born and Peter B. Rutledge (International Civil Litigation in United States Courts,

5th ed. 2011), David Epstein and Charles S. Baldwin IV (International Litigation,

4th ed. 2010), Ved P. Nanda and David K. Pansius (Litigation of International Dis-

putes in U.S. Courts, 2d ed. 2013), and the many authors of the ABA Tort Trial and

Insurance Practice Sect ion’s publication (David J. Levy ed., International Litiga-

tion, 2003), as well as oft-cited classics by Lawrence W. Newman and David

Zaslowsky (Litigating International Commercial Disputes, 1996) and Louise El len

Teitz (Transnational Litigation, 1996), have covered the substantive law with such

skil l and depth that a simila r text would serve little pur pose. To be sure, the chap -

ters that follow do reference principles of substantive law, but they generally do

so with respect to landmark s of the legal land scape that will color or inform liti-

gation strateg y and practice for years to come.

However, even eight years after this book’s original publication, we are

aware of no other text that covers in detail the practical sk ills and strategies

required for a pract itioner to succeed in the distinctive practice area of interna-

tional litigation. The Litigation Manual, edited by John S. Kiernan Jr. and John G.

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