It’s hard to believe that this blog marks the five year anniversary of our inception of the Litigators’ Blog. We have tried over the last five years to provide you, our readers, with the most current developments-of-interest to Massachusetts litigators. We have sought to inform, and, when appropriate, offer insight and advice, on the significance of recent developments in the law.

Our latest blog, for example, discusses a recent Appeals Court case involving a general release which a party sought to avoid, advising caution when one seeks more than a straightforward general release of liability in a document.

We have given advice on a wide range of topics — how to access your client’s insurance policy even when the insurer agrees to defend the insured without a reservation of rights, how a non-party to an arbitration agreement can compel an adversary to arbitrate, how to avoid forfeiting an affirmative defense, how to avoid sanctions for deposition communications, and how to draft a settlement agreement to provide a mechanism to best enforce its terms. We have discussed the possibility that a stipulation of the parties will not be enforced, the scope of the new federal discovery Rule 26, and the value of a motion in limine.

From time to time we have talked about our travels, including a six-city, seven-day trip to see major league baseball games, and a hike to the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine. Occasionally we have commented on current events, as when we gave our perspective as litigators on the Tsarnaev trial.

We hope you have found our blogs to be informative and perhaps even moderately entertaining. We certainly have enjoyed posting them.

This is as good a time as any to acknowledge the invaluable support of Jackie White, who makes sure our blogs are prepared and posted on time, our secretary, Rachel Hendley, and our indomitable editor and partner, Liz Ross.

And now, on to the next five years of the Litigators’ Blog.