Matt Sawchak Is Interviewed as Procedural Expert in NC Lawyers Weekly Article
Ellis & Winters
Ellis & Winters partner Matt Sawchak was recently interviewed by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly as an expert on civil procedure. The article, “Court of Appeals Takes Up Issue of Collateral Estoppel,” addresses a new decision in which the North Carolina Court of Appeals chose a test to govern one element of issue preclusion (which is also called collateral estoppel).
In the interview, Mr. Sawchak explained the reasons why the North Carolina Supreme Court might well decide to grant discretionary review in the case. He was quoted as saying: “[T]here is an obvious division of opinion among state and federal courts on this aspect of issue preclusion. It’s especially notable here that the Court of Appeals expressly decided to follow an older rule in preference over a newer rule . . . . When a prevailing party is asked to draft a judgment for a trial judge–as happens 95 percent of the time or more in North Carolina–[one] might be more inclined to doubt that the trial judge thought through every one of the alternative grounds that ends up in the judgment. That concern about trial judges’ thought processes might be a reason for North Carolina to favor the Second Restatement rule on this issue.”
To read the article, please click here.
Matt Sawchak focuses his practice on business litigation, antitrust, and appeals. Business North Carolina magazine has profiled Matt twice as the top antitrust lawyer in North Carolina. In addition, North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine has listed him as one of the top 10 overall lawyers in North Carolina.
Mr. Sawchak graduated from Harvard University and Duke Law School. He was the editor-in-chief of the Duke Law Journal. He clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas when Justice Thomas served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.