Boston lawyer and arbitrator. Private international law, international judicial assistance, and civil and commercial litigation. Author of the Letters Blogatory […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://federate.social/@tedfolkman, follow @ap.brid.gy to interacthttps://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gyhttps://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwqwac3j45s2"The motive for the attack was unclear." Technically true! #antisemitism https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09/30/world/dubai-flight-tel-aviv-israel-pilots30 Sep 2026 17:58 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwqwac3j45s2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwo2ivmtdyt2Francesca Albanese claimed that Nazi camp guards had called Jews Muslims She later apologized, explaining that she hand misunderstood the term “Muselmann”. But uppose she’d been 100% right about the facts. What motivated her statement? It was intensely pleasurable! Holocaust inversion is fun! It […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11735483106362897229 Sep 2026 14:36 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwo2ivmtdyt2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mwntqupdd5o2Here is the thing about Francesca Albanese’s latest misstatement. She claimed that Nazi camp guards had called Jews Muslims (she later apologized). Suppose she’d been 100% right about the facts. What was her motive? Holocaust inversion is fun! It is a way to express thoughts you know you aren’t […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11735435380414327129 Sep 2026 12:35 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwntqupdd5o2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mvnd66kfxpf2The Eleventh Circuit has issued what to me is a somewhat baffling FSIA decision, holding that the FSIA does not allow "trial by absentia" but instead requires default judgments when a foreign state answers but then stops participating in a case. #lawfedi #fsia #venezuela […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11728113079094887816 Sep 2026 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvnd66kfxpf2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mvaofbs4gwh2I can't believe I have been publishing these remembrances for 25 years. https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/09/11/letters-blogatory-remembers-9-11/ https://lettersblogatory.com/?p=3953211 Sep 2026 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvaofbs4gwh2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3muwod7gjarc2In one of my 1782 cases, the D. Del. recently denied a motion to vacate when the documents were sought for use in prospective Italian patent infringement litigation. The courts will not allow "fishing," but when you have a basis to bring a foreign claim and you seek evidence needed to plead the […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11723012575677070407 Sep 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwod7gjarc2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mtoev2ced3k2I went to fancy schools, so I am familiar with “elite revolutionary cosplay,” which was a thing even in the 90s, but the modern #dsa has elevated it to an art form. Ten out of ten. Bravo. The best part is that, according to another article in the New York Post, Gordillo used non-union labor to […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11713938923458382722 Aug 2026 13:27 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtoev2ced3k2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mtc3fp5x6wv2The Bonomi case, the case about the man who borrowed millions of dollars to buy a house on an eroding cliff in Wellfleet, has been in the news recently. Here is a comment on a conflict of laws problem in the case. #lawfedi […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11711170058514327417 Aug 2026 16:05 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtc3fp5x6wv2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3msssttr3uj52The Rajiv Menon case raises important issues about protections for zealous advocacy, but also about the availability of justice to Jews and Israelis. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/08/11/jury-nullification-and-the-case-of-rajiv-menon/11 Aug 2026 14:22 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3msssttr3uj52https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mptfdjhht6n2In this 4th of July post, I do three things Americans love to do: give an ode to the common law, speak ill of our political leaders, and express optimism for the future. https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/07/04/independence-day-2/04 Jul 2026 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mptfdjhht6n2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mpgm4mccfv72The Mass. SJC explains that an arbitrator's mistake of law is not the same as an arbitrator exceeding his or her authority. #arbitration #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/06/29/case-of-the-day-jc-cannistraro-llc-v-columbia-construction-co/ https://lettersblogatory.com/?p=3936629 Jun 2026 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpgm4mccfv72https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mmzgt2bw2sv2Here is a brief post on the Seventh Circuit's decision in Kangol today. The trend in the federal courts of appeal is now clearly towards the correct construction of the Service Convention, under which service by email is permissible, if at all, only if the state of destination has not objected […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11665989220849918829 May 2026 21:04 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmzgt2bw2sv2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mm7w5woutvp2This is embarrassing for Michelle Goldberg. The man had a Totenkopf tattoo on his chest that he called "my Totenkopf." 🤦‍♂️ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/opinion/graham-platner-nazi-tattoo-maine.html19 May 2026 17:30 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm7w5woutvp2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mkkznndla3s2I love this. I remember driving on the highway and seeing a Fung Wah bus speed by, literally on fire. #boston #fungwah https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2026/04/27/ayo-edebiri-fung-wah-bus-today-show/28 Apr 2026 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkkznndla3s2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mjwpvbjluay2Case of the Day: Whoop v. Serinity Group. A look at service by email on a French defendant. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/04/20/case-of-the-day-whoop-v-serinity-group/20 Apr 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjwpvbjluay2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mixa3nzi3ii2War is not a TV show. https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/04/07/war-is-not-a-tv-show/08 Apr 2026 02:18 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mixa3nzi3ii2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3miltapxfopw2Fox Corp. v. Media Deportes Mexico (SDNY 2026): When the Hague Service Convention applies, can you give a defendant notice of a TRO by email in a country that has objected to service by alternate means? #lawfedi […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11634101068633543603 Apr 2026 13:29 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3miltapxfopw2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mi2oajsw5zm2Gavin Newson's missed opportunity on #zionism https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/03/27/gavin-newsoms-missed-opportunity/27 Mar 2026 17:44 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi2oajsw5zm2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3meyalsfkm4n2In BMW v. Onesta, a federal judge in Texas issued an anti-suit injunction (now stayed by the Federal Circuit) concerning a lawsuit in Germany, after the CJEU's decision in BSH v. Electrolux, alleging infringement of US patents. I don't think the judge's decision makes a lot of sense. #lawfedi […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11608074138060212716 Feb 2026 14:19 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3meyalsfkm4n2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3met4qvibqp42Surely in four years, eight at most, technology will put the Olympics out of business. Robots are only getting better and better. Sure, maybe athletes in sports with purely quantitative measurements of success will be the first to go, but there’s no doubt that soon a robot’s artistry will mimic […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11606921230551795014 Feb 2026 13:27 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3met4qvibqp42https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mee2uidp6y32[Wordle spoilers] I reject the Wordlebot’s conclusions today.08 Feb 2026 13:43 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mee2uidp6y32https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mddklht5pov2Switzerland has liberalized its practice under Chapter 2 of the Evidence Convention. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/01/25/switzerland-liberalizes-its-practice-under-chapter-2-the-evidence-convention/ https://lettersblogatory.com/?p=3893426 Jan 2026 15:26 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mddklht5pov2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mdaxyxqqzma2I don’t know who Richard Lawson is, but his article on so-called “sanctuary cities” is intensely dumb. It does not acknowledge the main legal issue, which is the anti-commandeering doctrine—a doctrine developed and elaborated by the court’s conservative majority. #lawfedi […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11595628821919748825 Jan 2026 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdaxyxqqzma2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mcya6vxo2i72The Supreme Court upends the law on setting aside void judgments. I update some traditional Letters Blogatory advice. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/01/21/case-of-the-day-coney-island-auto-parts-v-burton/22 Jan 2026 03:21 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcya6vxo2i72https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mcssvdwm3u22Turnabout is fair play? There's now a Chinese lawsuit against Missouri and its officials over COVID. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/01/19/the-chinese-lawsuit-against-missouri-some-thoughts/19 Jan 2026 23:40 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcssvdwm3u22https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mca7j52vxbb2The Hague Conference on Private International Law is holding a public consultation on the draft text of the proposed convention on parallel proceedings. (Also, congrats to the Pats on the win last night!) #lawfedi #internationallaw […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11588249279623111812 Jan 2026 14:01 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mca7j52vxbb2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3mbh6rhiluq32Mayor Mamdani has his autopen moment on Day 1. #antisemitism https://lettersblogatory.com/2026/01/02/mayor-mamdani-has-his-autopen-moment-on-day-1/ https://lettersblogatory.com/?p=3880402 Jan 2026 15:15 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbh6rhiluq32https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3matfe3yf2tr2A Letters Blogatory Christmas post about the decidedly un-Christmasy Trump libel case against the BBC. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2025/12/25/comments-on-the-trump-v-bbc-libel-case/25 Dec 2025 18:20 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3matfe3yf2tr2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3magtxkarznr2The Second Circuit closes to the door to service of process by email in China (when the Hague Service Convention applies). This is an important decision. #lawfedi https://lettersblogatory.com/2025/12/20/the-second-circuit-closes-the-door-on-service-by-email-in-china/ https://lettersblogatory.com/?p=3874620 Dec 2025 18:36 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3magtxkarznr2https://bsky.app/profile/tedfolkman.federate.social.ap.brid.gy/post/3m7zwpoxdxs72I haven't posted much recently here, but I wanted to post this new article on AI arbitration. I argue that an award generated by an AI system, without human oversight or involvement, cannot be confirmed under the Federal Arbitration Act, on ordinary statutory interpretation grounds. #arbitration […] https://federate.social/@tedfolkman/11572426084827498415 Dec 2025 15:21 +0000at://did:plc:uzzivcjctcyabs7srxuvjqw2/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7zwpoxdxs72