Out the revolving door of the Sheraton onto Canal Street. Run across two lanes of traffic, the street car in the middle, two more lanes of traffic and reach the other side. It's late in the afternoon. A nice assortment of unfortunate ragged souls line up against neon lit buildings.
Read MorePrologue:
Adversarial litigation can leave us feeling angry and indignant on behalf of our clients. Someties we can turn our cheek. Walk away. Other times, we need to engage. When we decide to strike back, we always need to remember to keep the court in mind.
Written interchanges by mail or email have the potential to end up in a motion before the court. Retaliating to a bad email by throwing out a heated written slap is not a good idea. It can end up as Exhibit A.
Read MoreThe past four days have involved a bit of whining. I admit to this.
My clients stoically go through medical horrors. Their family and friends often say: they never complained. They truly are heroes.
I on the other hand have made it one of my missions in life to tell it like it is.
Read MoreWhen a personal injury case settles, we are still our client's lawyer. This means we need to continue to look out for their best interests until our job is done. Even if we are not financial planners or accountants, we cannot walk away without first trying to help our client make well informed decisions. Maybe this is not our legal duty. But it certainly is our moral one.
Read MoreFlashback.
We are up at the mountain. John, my then husband, his best friend Dale, and me. Our mission - teach John to ski. He is a basketball player. This means skiing has not been encouraged over the years by his coaches.
Read MoreMary Fung Koehler is 80 today. So far, these are the lives that she has led:
Prologue: The best and worst outfit I ever wore to the Hollyball was when I was President of WSTLA. It was an election year. We were fighting for the insurance fair conduct act. And if you added to all that -raising my girls and handling my job...well....There was no time for shopping.
The theme was the Red Hot Hollyball. And I was determined to do it right. So a few days before the big event, I went online. Promdresses.com or some such website. Found a red hot hollyball dress.
Read MoreFrom: Tom Chambers
To: Karen Koehler
Re: Last Email
Hi Karen.
My tumors are crushing my throat and my airway. This is my last mail to you. You have been special to me for a long time. But at the time I made impressions upon you, I had no idea, how important a few encouraging words could mean. Seems same with Haskell.
Read MorePerhaps we are a dying breed.
The American Trial Lawyer.
Those of us who can't wait to get into the courtroom. That great public arena where truth, justice and the occasional lie (by the other side of course) all duke it out.
Read MorePrologue: We are sitting around the table having dinner. I am married. Only Cristina has been born. Have been friends with most of the group for several years. Everyone is talking and having a good time. Someone says something about me. David H looks stunned. Turns to me and says in his Hawaiian accented rather loud voice - you're a lawyer! I nod yes. But he can't believe it - No Way! And on and on he goes to the amusement of those who know my apparent secret.
To this day, I don't wear my lawyer badge outside of the office.
I have a natural inclination to compartmentalize. Part of this is genetic or family of origin or something that Freud would be able to figure out.
Read MoreAm in Portland. In yet another hotel. Listening to myself breathe. And the fan on the bad heater blow. No kids. No Nala. No running down to the refrigerator for a midnight snack. Just stuck in this room. Preparing for another day of deposition.
After making ballpark guesses, give in. Pull up the transcripts and count the number of depositions that have been taken in this case. It's over 40. And we're still not done.
Read MoreDuring the past 28 years (gulp), I've had the pleasure (and only rare horror) of working with many secretaries, legal secretaries, now known as administrative assistants, and paralegals. I couldn't do what I do without their care and support. They are my lifelines in the midst of the legal whirlwind we practice in.
Every once and awhile, I've had to deal with one of their mistakes. This is never a good thing. Sometimes it rises to the category of awful. But no one is perfect. Including of course us lawyers.
Read MoreWake up at 4:15 am. Didn't mean to. Go back to sleep. Wake up 4:45. No. No. No. Close eyes. Alarm rings 5:00. Slide out of bed. It is still dark out. Grope way to closet. Throw on Gray pants with little white polka dots. Flats. Soft sweater. Gray coat. Do ministrations. Zip up already packed suitcase. Hidden in closet because Nala has grown to hate it. She knows what it means. Lap top in carry on. Ipad in purse. Liquids and gels in year old ziplock. Fold up beats headphones Debbie got me. Blanket. Extension cord. Luna bars. Orange, Check off list in head.
Read More"Hi, I heard from so and so that you would be a good person to talk to about (fill in the blank with something about the pracitce of law). Do you have time to talk to me."
Regardless if I do or don't, I never say no. And always do it in person.
Whether it is a 7:30 am breakfast at CJ's, lunch, or a visit to the office, when young people seek me out personally to ask for advice or input, I believe eyeball to eyeball is the best way to meet.
Read MoreHotel living is one of the perks of being able to fly to exotic locations (like Portland) for depositions. Here is our email exchange:
From: Karen Koehler
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2013 2:26 PM
To: John Meyers; Anne Roberson
Greetings from a crappy hotel in Vancouver! ...
Read MoreThis excerpt is from a 2012 trial.
Trial day 2
Arrive early to get everything set up for opening. The Prolumina (tech) guy is there to run everything for Nick the defense lawyer. He is playing with our big tv. We are chit chatting and my computer won’t boot up. Are you kidding me. Hard start it. Nothing. Not panicked at all. Which sounds ridiculous. Should be hyperventillating.
Read MoreThere's a well known "rule" that has floated around for years amongst litigators. It goes like this. If your opponent asks you for something, it's okay to say yes. But only if they give you something that you need back in return.
I know some people who never deviate from that rule. Saying yes without getting something out of it, is seen as a sign of weakness. Or ineffectiveness.
Read MoreNot all paralegals are created equally.
Perhaps it's because of the type of practice we have. Our clients tend to be terribly injured (or deceased). Then of course, there is some navigation involved in dealing with my little quirks. Here's a glimpse into the secret world of John & Anne. A truly fabulous dynamic duo.
Read MoreListening to my own voice used to pain me. I avoided it. Couldn't stand it. It seemed too high. Too sweet. And if I didn't remember to tuck my tongue in, there was a lisp. Oh, how much I yearned for a deep booming voice. So I could preach when I spoke. Like M.L.K.
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