Every time I see an article related to billable hours at large law firms, I thank the younger version of myself who had the sense to start his own firm. I remember my big firm days when, even though I worked until 8:00 pm and had an hour commute, I’d always take a file with…
WordPerfect Apps for iPhone and iPad
If you are a stalwart like me (stubborn and Luddite might be appropriate descriptive words as well) who hates Microsoft Word and still uses WordPerfect, you may have the occasional need to view a WordPerfect document on your iPad. I first wrote an article on the available apps for that purpose back in 2014, and…
Best Call of the Week — Another Posturing Attorney
A posturing attorney introduced me to a technique I had not yet experienced. Yesterday, I served an anti-SLAPP motion on the two attorneys listed on the complaint. This morning I received an email from one of those attorneys, acknowledging receipt of the motion, and asking that I change our proof of service going forward. He…
You’ve Gotta Love this Gig Economy
There are a number of attorneys who make their living by making court appearances for other attorneys, typically at case management conferences and minor motions. They search the docket for upcoming hearings, and send emails to the attorneys, making them aware of their availability. This was a great service back in the day, but with…
Attorney App of the Week – CamCard
The problem with offering app reviews is that the publishers might later pull the plug on the app. Such was the case with a great app called Cardmunch. Back in 2012, when I would still occasionally attend networking functions, I would use this app to scan all the business cards I collected. What made it…
Best Client Call of the Week
Happy birthday to you, You live in a zoo, You look like a monkey, And you smell like one too. -Anon I get lots of phone calls relating to defamation, where the caller wants to sue for some inconsequential slight. For example, a caller once told the story of how he tried to use…
Stick the Other Side with the Jury Fees
How to make the other side pay all the jury fees. This morning I (telephonically) attended a court hearing, and had to sit through 24 other cases before mine was finally called. Thankfully there were no motions; only case management conferences where the judge would set the trial date. Without exception, I witnessed the following…
Invent Your Own Motions
I remember when I started at my first firm out of law school, I thought that every motion had to follow some special format. Certainly different types of motions have their own requirements, and just today I saw an attorney lose a motion simply because he failed to observe a rule, but as a newbie…
What I Do Have are a Very Particular Set of Skills . . .
A client brought me a very strong defamation case, but like so many defamation clients, she wasn’t really interested in money, she just wanted the defendant to remove her defamatory posts. I sent the defendant a cease and desist letter, explaining that her posts could not be defended, and telling her that she could avoid…
Best Testimony of the Week
A cautionary (and entertaining) tale of an attorney who set himself up for ridicule during testimony by way of a false hypothetical. My client was being deposed, and he had testified that his wife had spent a great deal of time managing an apartment complex that she owned with a partner. Let’s call it the…