Includes index.

Personal jurisdiction : the enigma of minimum contacts -- Statutory limits on personal jurisdiction : the reach and grasp of the long-arm -- Seeking the home field advantage : challenges to personal jurisdiction -- Federal questions and federal cases : jurisdiction over cases "arising under" federal law -- Diversity jurisdiction : when does multiplicity constitute diversity? -- Personal and subject matter jurisdiction compared : the first two rings -- Second guessing the plaintiffs choice of forum : removal -- Proper venue in federal courts : a rough measure of convenience -- Choosing a proper court : the three rings reconsidered -- Easy erie : the law of rome and athens -- Eerie brie : the substance/substance distinction -- Erie and state choice of law : vertical uniformity and horizontal chaos -- Sculpting the lawsuit : the basic rules of joinder -- Into the labyrinth : joinder of parties under Rule 14 -- Jurisdictional fellow travelers : supplemental jurisdiction -- Jurisdiction vs. joinder : the difference between power and permission -- The bearer of bad tidings : service of process in the federal courts -- Getting off easy : the motion to dismiss -- When justice so requires : amendments to pleadings under the federal rules -- The scope of discovery : the rules giveth, and the rules taketh away -- Tools of the trade : the basic methods of discovery -- Defective allegation or insufficient proof? : dismissal for failure to state a claim compared to summary judgment -- The judge and the jury, part one : judgment as a matter of law (directed -- Verdict) -- The judge and the jury, part two : whose case is this, anyway? -- Res judicata : the limits of procedural liberality -- Res judicata and the rules of joinder : when does may mean must? -- Collateral estoppel : fine-tuning the preclusion doctrine -- The obscure kingdom : nonmutual collateral estoppel -- An introduction to the pretrial litigation process : setting the stage for the Schulansky case -- First moves : Schulansky goes to court -- A change of forum : Ronan removes to Federal Court -- The defendants' perspective : Ronan's answer and counterclaim -- Chain reaction : Ronan brings in Jones -- Preliminary objections : Jones seeks a way out -- A tactical dilemma : Roman's motion for summary judgment.