JUDGMENTS
Considered as the final part of a court room proceeding, a valid judgment aims to resolve all the contested issues. It specifically states who wins the case and the remedies awarded to them.Remedies may include monetary damages, injunctions, or even both. Hence, judgments must be very precise—i.e., monetary damages are expressed in words instead of figures; and the injunctive reliefs must be describedpreciselyso the defendant can stop a specified act or behavior.
Judgment comes in different types. For instance, a judgment based on procedural error is called Without Prejudice; hence, the party whose case has been dismissed based on this ground may choose to bring the suit again provided that all the procedural errors are fixed. However, Judgment on the Merits cannot be re-litigated.
Meanwhile, an Agreed Judgment, also referred to as Consent Judgment, is a final decision in which the litigants have agreed. This is common in domestic relations cases in which property settlements and support settlements (e.g., child support and alimony) are the main concerns.
A court may also enter a Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict in which it overrules the jury verdict. This is entered when the court believes there is insufficient evidence to justify the jury’s verdict.
Other types of judgments include Summary Judgment (i.e., entered early in the process of litigation), Deficiency Judgment (it involves a creditor and a debtor), and Default Judgment (i.e., the defendant fails to appear in court or one party fails to take appropriate procedural steps).
MINUTES OF MEETING:
Minutes of meeting is the record of court room proceedings. It is different from a transcript of everything that is said because it generally highlights only key information such as the names of the lawyers and witnesses (and other key players), schedule of hearings and trials, and court rulings.
The judge or clerk of the court keeps minutes of meeting for future reference.Minutes of meeting may also refer to a record kept by corporations describing what transpired during a company meeting, particularly of shareholders and board of directors. The secretary of the organization keeps this record.
In the corporate industry, minutes can be as short and simple as a list of decisions and actions, with the responsible person being identified. The Internal Revenue Service, auditors, and courts consider such records legal documents since they represent actions of the company leadership. In fact, legal experts do not recognize that an action has occurred when it is not included in the minutes.
SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES:
Lawyers need continuing professional education programs as they operate in an industry where the issues and rules are not static. Almost every year there are changes in the policies, thanks to the ever-changing political, social, and economic landscape.
Because the practice of law is categorized into several groups, professionals who have a very narrow niche and want to further master the current and most relevant issues must continue their education through seminars and conferences.
Because legal practitioners are often pressed for time and may not be always available for live seminars, some organizers allow live webcasts that allow participants from any part of the world to ask questions in real time.
Video replay is another good option for busy participants. In general, this method of content delivery has streaming, search capabilities, and navigation tools to allow users find parts of the seminars and conferences they deemed to be the most important.