When I'm talking to jurors, they always bring up the "McDonalds" case or other examples of frivolous lawsuits. I wish they could see my clients' faces when they hear that an insurance company has decided to twist the truth or attack them in order to hang onto money that should be paid for injuries.
Read MoreI'm out to dinner with new friends who are visiting Seattle. You don't fit the profile, says the husband. He's smiling but he's also scanning me. No doubt looking for my wicked sharp edges that are nowhere evident. Not only is my dress floaty soft layers of chiffon, it is raining and my hair is a halo of corkscrews. The same type of comment is made during the meal. And I reassure them not to worry, I most certainly am.
Read MoreI'm deposing an angry reluctant witness who is trying to be on good behavior. I could rip him to shreds but that won't help the case so I refrain. I need him to help me rip someone else later. He is probably a little older than me. A self made man who's worth millions. He reminds me of Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men" with all of his pent up fury and rigid bearing. Beyond the touch of a mere mortal - enter me.
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I can barely stand looking at the images. There is live streaming video of the gusher on the news. Birds covered in brown crud. I thought the Exxon Valdez was a once in a lifetime tragedy. This is so much worse. Every minute, every day, every week, every month that goes by we are watching the attempted murder of our planet.
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"Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun. So Janie had another day."
Written in 1937 by Zora Neale Hurston this story transported me. It also made me very glad that I was not born before my time
Read MoreEach time a lawyer files a frivolous lawsuit, it impacts every true victim who deserves their day in court. I just read about the woman who fell asleep on a plane, was unintentionally left there to finish her nap, woke up and was not "rescued" for 15 minutes. What kind of a lawyer would file a lawsuit over that.
Read MoreDuring the past month something quite remarkable happened. It started off when I (along with my associate Mimy) secured a $2.5M verdict for a client injured by a truck driver. A few weeks later, a long time and good friend, Vicky Vreeland, secured a $19M verdict in an insurance fraud and conspiracy case. A week later, an even longer time and good friend, Lori Haskell, secured a $1.3M verdict in a slip and fall case against Metro. One thing I rarely talk about is money. But I am making an exception here because, three multi million dollar verdicts, obtained in the span of a month by female lawyer friends, is phenomenal. I'm hoping it represents a paradigm shift.
Read MoreThe last deposition ends around 4 and I run out the door. Down the road across the bridge. On one side of the river (where we've been) is Lewiston Idaho. The other side is Clarkston Washington. I'm thinking that I will be running along the river, and I am. But I'm on an elevated path, perched on top of a berm created for years when the river runs high. It's a low year so I'm tottering about 20 feet above the river bed.
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Ok, I resist reading this book because it just seems a bit too "touchy feely" even for me. But there it is, beckoning to me on an airport store shelf. Plus I love Julia Roberts and have every intention of seeing the movie...so... The author, Elizabeth Gilbert takes us thru the traumas of her self absorption. From her neurotic yet intelligent viewpoint, she takes us on a journey of self enlightenment that sometimes jars my nerves so greatly that I skip a page . She has such a restless tortured spirit for so much of the book that I feel myself becoming aggravated. Still, she is so vulnerable in laying bare her angst, that I give her points for the sheer audacity of coming forward with it all.
Read MoreI'm speaking today at a seminar for AAJ in Chicago. I've been watching the speakers and have a co-presenter, Tony. They are all whip smart and articulate. But there is one behavior pattern they share. They are so stern faced. So serious. They believe in what they are saying. They want to communicate their position, their passion. Their words are spoken emphatically and with precision. The audience mirrors back the gravity of the occasion.
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I can't believe I don't fall today. My head is spinning this way and that when I should be looking for potholes. I'm in the Theater District with the old fashioned flashing marquees on every block. The lake - as in The Lake - is about half a mile from the hotel. I go thru the Millenium Park with its fields, tennis courts, and groomed perfection. The Lake looks like the ocean. It is a bit windy so there are waves and you cannot see to the other side. I run past the aquarium and museums, turn back and the city view --- well.
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This book got better and better so that by page 300 I couldn't wait to turn the page. It played out in my mind like a movie - more focused on plot twists than in depth character development. There are two heroes - Blomkvist the polyanna reporter and Salander the social outcast rogue investigator. I wasn't prepared for the sadism since I didn't read any reviews. So be warned - it is gross in places.
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China in the 1970s was not a particularly joyous place. At least not for the parents of Gu Shan who begin the day (and the novel) girding themselves for her execution. I decide to read this book because it and the author (Yiyun Li) have been given good reviews. There are substories within the main story - a cast of odd characters including an unfortunate 12 year old girl who when in utero, was the recipient of a brutal beating by Gu Shan (a political dissenter).
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Sometimes in opening statement, I will "be" anything from an inanimate object to a character in the case. The main question I hear is - how can you do that without seeming "too over the top?"
Read MoreAt the last minute the sun makes an appearance so I run out the doors of the Davenport Hotel and head towards the river. Spokane has the wonderful “Centennial Trail” that winds its way from the city through Gonzaga to the out and beyond. As I jog into the country (well, it is country-like in places) I feel like little red riding hood venturing into the forest with all its little creatures.
Read MoreI spend more time in my office (awake) than any other room in the world. I have two computers, one of which is currently playing '70s funk music. There is cool artwork on the walls and I will find myself fixating on different colors or shapes throughout the day. I have no paper files hogging space so my few books can breath alongside pictures of my girls and Ed.
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