Wake up from semi-conscious state just in time to glimpse the wreckage of the Korean jetliner still at the airport. Shuffle off the plane. It is 9:30 a.m.
Find limo driver. Follow him to car. He wants to talk. I want to zone out. Good manners kick in. We talk the whole way. He is quite delightful. If we had more time, I could probably recite his family tree for you.
Read MoreBloggers are told one of the best ways to capture audience attention is to use a cool photo.
Yeah. That'll do it. After all a picture is worth a thousand words.
Here's how it plays out. You are surfing the internet. Voila. You see a shiny brand new professionally done photo of a big truck driving down the road. That definitely captures your interest so you click on the photo which is part of a blog that is talking about dangerous trucks. And then by clicking on that blog you end up attached to a lawyer's website. And now you can hire them. Or at least think about hiring them if in the future you get hit by a truck.
Read MoreThe doctor is the defendant. The lesson he has apparently been taught by his lawyers - do not answer questions that they object to. Or at a minimum do your best not to answer those questions.
He has also been taught to look only at the camera and to avoid eye contact with the pesky plaintiff lawyer, i.e. me.
Read MoreMeet The Super Duper Convention Attendee. In this case, Mel Orchard at the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Convention in Laramie.
Read MoreThese are thoughts and feelings of fellow trial lawyers who sent emails following the day after a crappy jury verdict post.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreTrial 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.
Read MoreWake 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.
Read MoreOn 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.
Read MoreAm 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.
Read MoreGood 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.
Read MoreWhat 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.
Read MoreYesterday 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.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreBack 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.
Read MoreHere 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAm 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..
Read MorePrologue: 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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