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Home > In The News > Articles > Choice of Forum Provisions in Federal Court: Choosing the Battlefield As an Uphill Fight for Pharmaceutical Industry Employees

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Scher
Scher

Parties who understand the cross-jurisdictional legal landscape, chose the most beneficial choice of law, and choice of forum provisions have taken the first steps in a successful litigation strategy.

This article by TELG managing principal R. Scott Oswald and former principal David L. Scher was published by Bloomberg BNA Pharmaceutical Law & Industry Report on December 12, 2014. The full article is .

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Choice of Forum Provisions in Federal Court: Choosing the Battlefield As an Uphill Fight for Pharmaceutical Industry Employees

Sun Tzu, the Chinese military tactician who lived around 500 B.C., is the author of the military treatise, The Art of War. In his text, Sun Tzu writes:

Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.

Though Sun Tzu was referring to strategy on the battlefield, the same is true for strategy in the courtroom or, more specifically, choosing the right courtroom. Good attorneys know the jurisdictions that are most friendly to their clients’ position and will seek to ‘‘impose their will’’ on the opposing party by litigating in the most advantageous of forums.