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Strange guidance from the US embassy in Tokyo on affidavits of civil status
The US embassy in Tokyo has ceased notarizing “affidavits of competency to marry” that US citizens need (or maybe used to need) to marry in Japan. The embassy published an interesting and, to me, baffling note, which I learned of in a post by Levi Pells on LinkedIn, explaining its reasoning: Marriages fall within the……
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Case of the day: Whoop v. Serinity Group
The case of the day is Whoop, Inc. v. Serinity Group (D. Mass. 2026). The case is, in a sense, routine, but I wanted to write about it because it’s a Massachusetts decision, because I like the “Whoop” company name, and because it illustrates a couple of familiar but still useful points about service by……
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War is not a TV show
In my post on the beginning of the war with Iran, I wrote: ” I have grave concerns about whether this President has the moral authority to take the country to war.” That concern has grown and grown over the last month. And it’s not just a concern about moral authority. It’s a concern about strategic……
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Chapter of the Day: Recognition of Foreign Judgments and Arbitral Awards
Readers, MCLE has just published the fourth edition of Federal Civil Litigation in the First Circuit. The book, edited by Francis D. Dibble Jr., includes many useful chapters. I particularly like Judge Ponsor’s chapter on oral argument, which has helpful advice, including “Never allow your adversary to be more reasonable than you are,” “Just say……
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Case of the day: Fox Corp. v. Media Deportes Mexico
The case of the day is Fox Corp. v. Media Deportes Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. (S.D.N.Y. 2026). The case raises a perennial Letters Blogatory question: when the Hague Service Convention applies, can you serve a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction on a defendant in a way that you couldn’t serve the……
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Case of the day: Petersen Energía v. Argentina
The case of the day is Petersen Energía Inversora v. Argentine Republic (2d Cir. 2026). This was the appeal from the $16 billion dollar judgment in favor of minority shareholders of YPF, who sought damages after Argentina nationalized the company in 2012. Although there were two consolidated cases, I’m going to focus just on one,……
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Gavin Newsom’s missed opportunity
Gavin Newsom, governor of California and potential Democratic presidential candidate, was asked the other day if he is a Zionist. He was like a deer in the headlights. He had just walked back his remarks on Israel and apartheid. Then came the question. He paused, repeated the question, and said something deeply weird and creepy:……
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Thought-provoking post of the day: Ingrid Brunk on waiver of FSIA service
Friend of Letters Blogatory Ingrid Brunk has an interesting post at the Transnational Litigation Blog about whether foreign sovereigns can waive the requirement of service as prescribed under 28 U.S.C. § 1608. This is, from the get-go, an interesting question, because § 1608(a)(1) tells us that the first method of service that a plaintiff must……
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Case of the Day: Wepard Corp. v. Diaz, Reus & Targ
The case of the day is Wepard Corp. v. Diaz, Reus & Targ, LLP (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2026). Diaz, Reus & Targ, a law firm, sued Wepard for allegedly unpaid legal fees. Wepard was located in Malta. DRT moved for leave to serve process by email, but Malta has objected to service by alternate……
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The HCCH website now features e-country profiles
At the end of last year, the HCCH announced that its website now features “e-country profiles” for several conventions, including the Service and Evidence Conventions. That doesn’t mean that lots of country profiles are now available; it means that there is now a place on the HCCH website where states can, if they want, publish……