New York day 2 - Auntie Helen and The Lion King
Alysha vows to be up by 6:30. We don’t get up til 9:30 which technically is 6:30 if we’re in Seattle. It is raining as we rush out the door headed for Chinatown. We get on the right subway make the right connection, then start the six block trek from Canal street to 27 Sunshine dim sum restaurant. For two blocks little Chinese women come running up to us saying “honbo” in their sing song voices. The first woman gets my puzzled look until I realize, they want us to buy the knock off handbags from the little shops that line the street. The rain picks up so we raise our umbrellas. Suddenly, it begins to pour and big gusts of wind kick up around us. People are trying to fight it and I watch as umbrella after umbrella wooshes inside out.
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New York day 1 - AAJ
I’ve agreed to speak for AAJ in New York. But it is our firm party the night before.
Both our Hoquiam and Seattle offices are together. We are on the Top of the WAC. P.A.R.T.Y! The Pauls are in their Santa Hats. Everyone is dressed beautifully with sparkles galore. We finish dinner and are about to begin the gift exchange. I lean over to Ed and ask him what time it is. 7:40. Great. I have twenty minutes before I need to leave. The volume is growing. Numbers are called, people get their gifts but can’t unwrap them. Then they steal other people’s gifts. But only two steals for any one gift. These are Hoquiam’s rules.
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On being in the moment
My favorite time to go to the gym is 8:00 at night. It gets dark now at 4:30. Plus it’s cold, rainy and windy. Even if I felt like running outside, I would have talked myself out of it. There’s hardly anyone in the gym this late. I have a favorite treadmill. Right in front of the television. A little too close. It is mounted from the ceiling and so I have to tilt my head back a little bit to look up at it. But it is near the window which I crack open. Ah, precious breeze. I always look at tvguide.com before I head out to the gym. I want to know what channel to turn to. This is another reason I like to go when the gym is empty. I want to hog the tv.
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Voir dire mistakes
The jurors are the ones who are supposed to “speak the truth” in voir dire. This is not a time for attorneys to dazzle the jury with brilliant manipulative dialogue.
Of what use is eloquence? He who engages in fluency of words to control men often finds himself hated by them - Confucius
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Work - Life - Balance this!
Get up. Make bed. Brush teeth. Throw on yoga pants and Northface puffy long coat. Fill Nala’s bowl with water and slightly less than a cup of dog food. Wait 22 seconds until she scarfs it down. Walk to front door. Attach her leash. Go outside. Wait 1.5 minutes until she does her business. Retrieve residue with ecologically sound cornstarch refuse bag. Toss it into can. Walk back into house. Unleash Nala. Say goodbye to Noelle who heads off to school.
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Bad things jurors aren't told in car crash cases
If we could give jurors the full story, they wouldn’t be so suspicious and skeptical. Generally trial starts off with the jurors more suspicious of the plaintiff than the defendant. They think the plaintiff is probably very greedy and that’s why a case hasn’t settled out of court. They feel sorry for the poor defendant. Some of the laws and the judges who interpret the laws, make it even more difficult for a plaintiff to get a fair shake. They prevent the jury from hearing what is really going on. Here are the top three things that jurors have not been told in car crash cases that I’ve tried.20
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Getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving
We were warned this would happen. El Nino would be a whopper this year. But those weather forecasters are never right. Except this time. The snow covers our world as we head into the holiday. What does this mean. Will people be able to travel. Will we have power. When can we get to the grocery store. Will the plows actually be out this year.
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Conducting an initial client intake
Here are some thoughts on the first client interview in a personal injury case. This approach applies to PI attorneys who do not have "mill" type practices.
- The interview is a two way street
- Consider having a staff member attend to get a second "read" on the situation
- Go to the client if they can’t go to you
- Be aware of all the details of what you are seeing, hearing, feeling
- Ask yourself if you “like” the plaintiff then write down your very first impression even if it is not favorable
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Voir Dire
Here are some thoughts on how to immediately and effectively connect with a jury:
- Stand and face the panel
- Own the courtroom floor, don’t stand still, don’t pace frantically either
- Maintain proper interpersonal distance, don’t stand too far away, don’t get too close
- Don’t think of it as rocket science, think of it as chit chat…organized, focused chit chat
- Pay attention to body language – yours and theirs
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Lessons in Humility
This article was published in WSTLA Trial News in 2000.
Trial Lawyers are often perceived by the public as arrogant and phony. This is because the art of braggadocio is so prevalent and even sometimes necessary in our profession. Behind the show lie those memories that need to be periodically replayed so we don’t buy into the myth of our professional persona.
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Dissent!
We are at a convention banquet and it is my last official appearance as President of my state trial lawyer association. Gerhard – the Executive Director – is going to say a few words. I’m sitting up on the podium along with other officers looking at the audience of smiling faces. This is a tradition. Time to pass the gavel. And Gerhard starts off: “I have to admit, I was kind of dreading having Karen as President.” The audience gasps. Not sure. Is that a joke?
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Example of a Good Mediator
I've walked out of mediations on him countless times, asked for then ignored his advice (countless times but with a smile), gotten mad at him, had him get mad at me. John Cooper is one of the best.
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1-800-HIRE-THE-GREEDIEST-ATTORNEY-IN-THE-WORLD
I'm driving home from work, trying to bypass the Mercer Street mess (if you live in Seattle, you know what that is). I go south over the viaduct go through the stadium district up Edgar Martinez Way (if you are a Mariners fan you know who he is) come to a stop light. I'm waiting to get onto I-90. Settling into a zen-like state as part of traffic aggravation-avoidance strategies, when I almost swallow my gum. Ok, understand gum chewing is probably not a good thing do to when in search of Ooooohm. But I like popping bubbles.
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Mediation Meanderings
I don’t like mediations. Mediators ask me to take back this sentiment. But I’m not repentant. It’s not that I don’t like the mediators. Some of them I absolutely adore. But I dislike the process. In an ideal world I would say – hey we will accept X amount. The insurance company would say – naw, we won’t pay that but we will pay Y amount. And then we would give a thumbs up or down without further dickering. But that is not how it works. It’s all about the dickering.
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Show and Tell with Powerpoint®
If you speak it and don’t show it; the auditory learners will get it, the kinetic learners might get it, but the visual learners probably won’t. If you speak it and show it – the positive impact on understanding and retention is dramatic.
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Waiting to Exhale
This is from my president's column in 2007.
I am buzzing around the office and pop in to say hi to our new associate, Mimy Bailey. We ask about each other’s weekends (I worked through mine) and she just looks at me. What? I say. And it tumbles out, the familiar words – how do you have time for everything?
My goal when speaking to young attorneys is to inspire. But perhaps what I’m really doing is causing great fear.
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Big Bad Wolf Proofing your Closing Argument
Once upon a time, there were three little lawyers They were sent out into the world to fight for justice for people unfairly injured. Shoulders back, heads held high, arms swinging, feet marching. They were filled with a sense of righteousness and faith in the Seventh Amendment. Optimism permeated their beings as they set up their houses. They couldn’t wait to get to trial. The ultimate tribunal of truth. Oh the joy!
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From my kids: Proud to be a trial lawyer's daughter
This article was published in the fall of 2005. Last month, a stallwart of the state bar association told me how he still remembers this article - and as he talked about it, I saw him tear up. I take no credit for this. My girls were 16, 14 and 11 when they wrote this in honor of me receiving the trial lawyer of the year award from WSTLA now WSAJ: Proud to be...a trial lawyer's child.
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The wilds of Scottsdale
I’m at the Scottsdale Plaza hotel to give a speech for the Arizona trial lawyers No time for breakfast. But thank goodness, find a chocolate peppermint Luna bar in my computer bag. Chomp. Chomp. Hat. Check. Watch. Check. Room key. Check. Out the door into the heat.
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