These are thoughts and feelings of fellow trial lawyers who sent emails following the day after a crappy jury verdict post.
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The day after.
Oprah talks about the power that our bad secrets hold over us. The amount of time and energy we spend keeping them hidden. The worrying that others will find out. The feelings of unworthiness that fester from trying to suppress our embarrassments.
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Trial day 1
Instead of doing her usual acrobatic routine, Nala is curled up around my feet. On the little rug in front of the sink. I glance up at the little crystal clock on the shelf. It says 6:10 which means it is 7:10 since the clocks sprang forward Sunday. Haven’t changed it yet. The mental math keeps me sharp. Or so I tell myself.
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Wake up at 6. Hear Alysha turn off the alarm and leave to teach her yoga class.
Lean down and grab ipad off floor. Check email. Check weather. Turn on Pandora Anthony Hamilton station. Lie there like a slug for another hour. Leisurely get up and out the door. Nala gets around to doing her business after first lunging for an imaginary squirrel.
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On the next page they demand all emails for the past six months.
Isn't it ironic that they say "please."
This ladies and gentlemen, is what your friendly neighborhood defense lawyer will slap you with when you file a lawsuit against (in this case) a governmental entity.
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Am at Burlington for Vermont's annual convention. Todd Schlossberg comes up to the podium to give my introduction. What he does next is the single best introduction I've ever witnessed at a trial lawyer seminar in my whole entire life. Am not exaggerating.
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Good trial lawyers tell pretty good stories.
Mistrial by Mark Geragos and Pat Harris is a nonfiction book of pretty good short stories tied together with a more lofty agenda: addressing the institutional erosion of the defense of reasonable doubt.
Here are the good things about the book: It is written in a punchy attention grabbing style and the stories are of the sensational variety. Both lawyers know what they're talking about.
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What the heck is a spreecast.
Why so glad you asked. But can't quite explain it to you. Because still not exactly sure.
Mitch Jackson, asks me to do one with him. On voir dire.
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Yesterday night Noelle didn't come home. I worried about her. Even though I figured she was staying at her friend Leda's house. Noelle is 19. Old enough to think that she doesn't have to check in every single minute of the day with me. I have a hard time with that. Cristina and Alysha, her older sisters, know that 19 is not my magic cut off number. Because I still call them and ask where they are every single day as well.
Today am working on two different cases where two kids Noelle's age, didn't come home ever again. Here's the story of one of them.
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In this deposition, the defense attorney accuses me of being unprofessional. So what do you think. Was it okay for me to stand up to my client. Or should I have let him continue down his path without interfering. You be the judge.
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Back when I was an defense lawyer, this is how the firm got business. The partners golfed with, rubbed shoulders at clubs with, went golfing and to four star dinners with insurance and corporate key persons. The firm maintained these relationships and periodically was able to build a new relationship with yet another company. These relationships could last for decades.
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Here are real life examples of dumb things people do after they hit someone with their vehicle.
10. Stay put in your vehicle and call your boss before you do anything else. Give them the bad news without getting out to see if the person you hit is injured or even still alive.
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The alarm is ringing. Try to ignore it, but know cannot. Look at the phone/clock and it is 4:30. As in a.m. Put on ugly red glasses. Only wear them when no one can see me. Like now. Lie there til 4:45. Finally jump up because have to make a plane. Open the drapes. There is a gigantic full moon that seems to be shining a path across puget sound right into my bedroom.
Rush around. Put on black clothing. Tell Nala to get up. Out the door. Drop her at doggie daycare. Make it to the airport by 6. Stand in sluggish security line. Even the special Spokane shuttle line is clogged. No worries. Have time to get a scone and bottle of water from D'Lish.
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Am speaking for Avvo at their Lawyernomics seminar this weekend.
Colin O'Keefe of Lexblog is doing video interviews. My job is to explain why it is important for lawyers to show personality. This video is hilarious because...well..
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Prologue: Plaintiff had back surgery. She had returned to work only just the past week, when she was hit hard by a bad driver. Ultimately she needed a second surgery due to the crash. The bad driver admitted fault and her company paid. But she didn't have enough insurance. So our client, Ms. P made a claim under her Underinsured Motorist Policy. Which is what you are supposed to do. Allstate, her insurance company, required her to sue them as that is what the UIM policy says has to happen. Ms. P sued Allstate. Then went thru Mandatory Arbitration. But Allstate didn't like the verdict so they appealed it and forced a jury trial. Their main witness was Dr. Blue, a retired neurosurgeon. During the direct exam, he tells the jury that Ms. P's additional problems after the crash, are related to her pre-existing conditions that had been mildly strained. He says her second surgery wasn't related to the crash.
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Drive up to the gate. Pay $15 for a parking pass. Drive 100 feet forward and turn left. Find a space and park. Am barefoot. Slip on shoes. Exit car. Walk around the side of the building. Open the doors. Am now inside the UW school of law. Head down the hallway to room 138. Open the door. It's a big theater styled space. Walk down the stairs to the front. Give Bill Bailey a hug. He’s a full time professor there for now. This is the big lecture class for the trial advocacy program.
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Today a ghost writer offered to secretly write my blog.
Before deleting her spam, I took a peek at the links to the firms she writes for. Bet they'll be happy to know they've been outed.
It is slimy to hire someone to do legal blogging without disclosing that the writer is: a) not a member of the firm and b) not a lawyer. Plus maintaining a blog simply for the sake of having a blog, is kinda lame.
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Tom Chambers has summoned me. I walk down the hall past Sheila - Tom’s right hand office manager whom we have nicknamed Sheera Princess of Power. Enter his fake office. The one where he meets with clients or other lawyers and important people. It is as big as a large living room. Sitting proudly next to the marble fireplace is an imposing desk. There is one small pile of papers neatly stacked on it just so. As if ready for a magazine photo shoot.
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Flashback to 1990.
We are at Chambers Court. In the upstairs conference room. In a former life, the building was a funeral home. So when we call it "The Morgue" we aren't joking.
Like all good attorneys with new associates, Tom does not trust me quite yet. When I am told to depose an electrical engineer defense expert, Tom comes along and sits by my side. With a foot and a half pile of documents on the table in front of him. So he can listen with one ear but also get the rest of his work done.
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