In his latest "Exceptionally Appealing" column for Daily Journal, Manatt Appellate Partner Benjamin Shatz analogized the work of appellate litigators to science fiction's many subgenres, including parallel universes, time travel and space operas.
Commenting on how litigators can experience parallel worlds "in time-trap scenarios," Shatz made the comparison that "like characters stuck in a time loop, lawyers (and judges) often experience multiple attempts to accomplish an elusive goal." He also noted that "Much of what litigators do resembles time travel too: Discovery is a means of searching for coherent stories of past events; every 'statement of facts' in a brief or opening statement at trial is a voyage backwards."
Daily Journal subscribers can read the full column here.