This monograph introduces federal judges to admiralty and maritime law, including both general maritime and statutory law. The author examines the rules relating to jurisdiction and procedure that are peculiar to this field. Topics include areas relating to commercial law, such as charter parties, carriage of goods, and marine insurance.

This work describes approaches that trial judges have found to be useful in managing complex cases. This edition updates the treatment of electronic discovery and other aspects of pretrial management and describes major changes affecting case management in the substantive and procedural law in mass torts, class actions, intellectual property, employment discrimination, and other types of litigation. A new chapter deals with managing scientific evidence.

This booklet explains the provisions of the 1789 Judiciary Act and the compromises it embodies, reviews the evolution of the federal judicial system during the nineteenth century, and analyzes the conditions and debates that led to the passage of the Evarts Act in 1891, which established the three-tiered system that characterizes federal court structure today, and briefly reviews 20th century developments that help account for today's federal judicial system.

This guide is designed to help federal judges manage the increased number of class actions expected as a result of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. As called for in that legislation, the guide is part of a continuing effort of the federal judiciary to identify "best practices" for managing class actions and ensuring that class action settlements primarily benefit class members.