We wrestle while smiling. Or not. Through phone calls. Email. Across the deposition table. Am on high alert. Trial is supposed to start in one week. He wants to stall it.
Finish the deposition. While waiting for the plane send this email.
Read More
If the driver admits they did something wrong then there's no need to take the deposition. But there's a reason that there are so many lawyers. Exhibit A - big bad insurance companies. Here are some of the pitiful excuses they make in straight forward rear end cases:
Read More
If you are walking in a marked crosswalk with a pedestrian light on. With friends. And a guy in a Honda is talking on his cell and decides to turn left. And mows you down. The car strikes you. You land on top of the hood and then fall down and strike the pavement. And you are taken by ambulance to the hospital. And end up bruised and hurting all over. Then you my dear friend need to see Dr. Sean Ghidella. Because according to him - you will be healed and back to normal within three months. Boom. Just like that.
Read More
The defendant doctors want this LAP band surgery case thrown out of court before a jury ever gets to hear about it. So they file four (4) separate summary judgment motions all with response due dates on the day following return from New Year's break.
Read More
Outlines serve a purpose. They just shouldn't be relied upon to the exclusion of the rest of what is going on in a courtroom.
This general outline has been in my repertoire for 20 years. My former boss, Tom Chambers, developed it. I have barely changed it. I use it as a reminder. As a guide. Not as a script.
Read More
The plane lands in the Tri Cities. Am on way to rental car. Defendants pull up in a work truck. They are picking up Doug - the defense lawyer. They motion for me to come on over. They want to give me a lift. How sweet is that.
Pull self into smelly dirty diesel. Am wearing jeans so doesn't matter. All good.
Read More
Don't write out "to do" lists. Don't want or need to see how much there is to do. What would be the point. Besides, the lists go around and around inside my head like a pinwheel anyway.
Lately though, have been a bit filled to the gills. Can obsess about work when the kids are away. But when they return - it is kids plus work. Add to that the house remodel and have no breathing space left at all.
Read MoreThe defense attorney isn't getting anywhere with this expert witness. So he tries a new tactic - cutting off the answers. It may seem obvious when you are there in the room. But if you don't do anything, the actual deposition transcript won't be so clear. Then at trial, the defense will use the misleading transcript to impeach the witness.
To stop this, the plaintiff attorney nees to speak up and speak often to make sure the record stays honest.
Read More
Kiss Susan goodbye. Get into her car. Take off high heels. Amaze self as type address into navigation. Am brilliant techno person. Never mind about what happened yesterday.
Back up Prius. Put it into drive and have flashback. Am 21 driving to meet Liz at the disco. All spiffed up. Flash forward.
Read More
Alarm goes off at 6:45. Slap it off. Get up at 8. Must get to bed earlier than 2:30. Must rush. Suitcase is already packed on the floor resting on top of a towel. Nothing can touch the floors. We are in the new house … just barely. Won’t bore you with the details of how a trial lawyer orchestrates a house move. Let’s just say it is intense. And it isn’t over.
Read MoreTwas the night before the holidays
And what does the defense do
Why - file summary judgment motions of course
In this particular case - two
Read More
The wife lost not only her beloved husband of 34 years. She lost her life helper. Legally blind and with other health impairments, she depended on him to see for her. To take care of her.
We used a highly qualified life care planner named Tony Choppa to draft a plan of what it would take to provide the widow with help. Specifically, the kind of help she needed from her dead husband. Going to the grocery store. Walking her to the bus stop. Navigating the world.
Read More
The air starts crackling.
My mom, Mary Fung, has come to watch opening. Her smile stretches the width of her face. She is wearing a polyester blue and white teeny striped suit that I distinctly remember from the 1970s. Over a blue pair of Nike shock sneakers that I used to run in. Hair pinned up in its forever bun. She looks fairly adorable. Everyone in the courtroom smiles back at her.
Read More
Car v. Pedestrian Jury Instructions W Cites FINAL.pdf
There was one pattern instruction in this set that we didn't like. The problem is - judges love pattern instructions. So it was given. A few months after this trial, that pattern was amended.
Even so, the jury did pretty much the right thing and this young woman received a nice verdict.
Read More
There are some aggravating people in this profession. That suits me just fine. Being nice has its place. But it is fun to wrestle with opponents.
Today am spammed with a brochure. Touts a two day seminar on civility in the profession. Sorry to say this pretty much brings up gag reflex. Here's what it says:
In this intensive 2-day program we will strive to create a retreat-like seminar* to engage in a dialogue about civility. After we explore characteristics of civility, we will discuss the costs of incivility, the benefits of civility, the foundations of civility, and strategies to foster civility within our personal and professional lives. In addition to traditional lectures and presentations, this immersion seminar will include interactive and creative exercises. *To facilitate a relaxed atmosphere please wear casual clothing and unplug from laptops, emails and phones.
Read MoreAm sitting next to our expert and the court reporter. On the other side of the table there are three defense lawyers. Two more are on the phone. We start at 2:00. At 2:35 throw my first fit. Here is why.
To comply with the subpoena, the expert has brought in every document he's been given and has relied upon. This equals a foot and a half stack of files. Dale the defense lawyer starts off asking if it is okay to copy everything and to return the files later. Permission granted.
Read More
It is a beautiful Sunday morning. We enter the freezing West Seattle High School gym. Am wearing poofy big jacket so no problem. Cristina is looking stylish in a vest and begins to turn blue.
Have volunteered to handle the scoreboard and clock. Am going to make Cristina do the hard part. The coordinator gives us directions. The teams are warming up. We are watching them. Not paying attention to the guy. I tell Cristina to listen to what he's saying. We end up splitting the duties in half. I do the score and fouls. She does the clock.
Read More
Am lost. Have made it to North Seattle University but need to find the media room in the education building.
Ask student - Do you know where it is. Nope.
Ask another and another. No No No. Give up. Go to library. The person at the desk says go down back up over and behind there. Do so. Find the building. But where's the room. Student with earphones packs up computer, iphone, coffer, binder and escorts me to the room. What a sweetheart.
Read More
Several years ago my friend and colleague Morris Rosenberg asked me to work with him to represent Nancy Callan a world class glass artist. She was and is a fun and amazing person. After the case concluded I visited her house/studio and bought a glass sculpture. I also bought an modern architectural painting from her long time partner Julia Ricketts.
Read More