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A fool’s comment made in haste
If you asked many people who know a lawyer how they would describe the personality type of that lawyer, it would not take them very long until the got to the "A" word. Lawyers are known far and wide as "A" type personalities. That's generally not a bad thing, of course. No one gets much of any place worth going without some focus and intensity.
Practical Litigator: Holding Bates Motel and its sort liable for on-site crimes
Showering in a strange motel room hasn't been the same since Norman Bates called on Janet Leigh one evening in 1960. Nothing makes a weary traveler think nice hot shower like the thought of a knife-wielding mollycoddle prowling the premises. Wearing a wig no less! Sweet dreams? Down the drain, like so much spiraling gore. While no comprehensive studies have quantified the recent data, anecdotal ev[...]
Coach’s Corner: ‘They can’t replace ME with a computer’
We have frequently written about how computer technology is a two-edged sword that can offer cost-efficient advantages to the law firm that leverages it, or can be the death knell to the law firm that does not keep pace. Nowhere was this duality been better illustrated than in a recent story in The New York Times. Its headline alone should give any member of the profession pause: "Armies of Expens[...]
Border in the court! The battle for immigrant protection in criminal cases
Immigration cases are often won in criminal court, or conversely, lost forever. Attorneys engaged in the defense of aliens cannot underestimate this fact. Sports fans might liken the criminal proceeding to a late touchdown to tie the game. The immigration court proceeding is the extra point for the win. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Padilla v. Kentucky makes clear that defense attorneys can no [...]
Guest Commentary: Savoring the good times can breed more success
I just hung up the phone with a client who couldn't thank me enough for possibly saving him his job. Instead of taking the time to appreciate his compliment, within minutes I was already stressing about my next call to an attorney with whom I knew I would have a difficult conversation. Maybe it was the sun outside my window, the beautiful weekend ahead or the third Diet Coke of the day, but someth[...]
Coach’s Corner: If you’re pitching, who’s catching?
Couplings, like metaphors, create mental pictures that help us to better understand concepts. How about "Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage?" Well, that was in an earlier era. Oops, showing my age again. Perhaps that's appropriate for having turned another year older and wiser.
Pharmaceutical trademarks: Challenges and pitfalls
By JAMES A. THOMAS, Special to Lawyers Weekly j[email protected] Trademark selection and clearance for pharmaceutical trademarks provides the trademark attorney with a plethora of challenges and potential pitfalls unique to these marks. When advising the pharmaceutical company regarding its selection and adoption of a new pharmaceutical trademark, the trademark attorney must ta[...]
Guest Commentary: Morality plays and Moby Dick: Finding a theme
Thirty-five years ago, I was sitting in an English class in Sewanee, Tenn., wondering what "The Second Shepherd's Play" had to do with anything I really needed to know. Until recently, I had not thought much about "The Second Shepherd's Play." But in this month's ABA Journal, there is a review of a book by Paul Sullivan, entitled Clutch, about the qualities of people who succeed under extreme pre[...]
Commentary: Start planning for retirement well in advance
By GARY S. WILLIAMS, Dolan Media Newswires [email protected] One of the biggest lessons of the recent economy is that many people who thought they were financially ready for retirement … weren’t. The amount of money, investments and government support you’ll need to retire comfortably is as individual as you are. Some people plan to […]
A lawyer’s creation story – John W. Davis of West Virginia
He was just another young lawyer in a small firm in a small, tough, mountain town. At least, that's the way it started. In time, however, he became a lawyer of great distinction nationally. Over the broad reach of his distinguished career, he was revered by even his most ardent opponents as a lawyer's lawyer.
Conservation easements and CERCLA liability: Making sure good deeds stay unpunished
By WILLIAM W. TOOLE and EMILY S. SHERLOCK, Special to Lawyers Weekly [email protected] and [email protected] North Carolina’s dramatic population growth in the past 30 years – driven by people attracted to the state’s mild climate, strong economy and natural beauty – has put stress on the very rolling hills and open space that attracted our […]
Guest Commentary: The Ten Commandments of cross-examination, revisited
What is the Fourth Commandment? Don't reach for your Bible. It is "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy." What day is the Sabbath? It isn't Sunday. It is the seventh day - Saturday - the day the Lord rested in the creation story. Sunday replaced Saturday as the official Christian day of rest and worship in the first century A.D., at the behest of Saint Ignatius. So even the Ten Commandments [...]
Top Legal News
- Teen charged as juvenile in fatal stabbing at school
- Star’s handwritten will used to distribute real estate
- Families offer to settle Jones’ $1.5B legal debt
- Stephanie Salinas: Finding her niche as a paralegal
- UNC shooting suspect found unfit for trial
- Property case could have widespread legal implications
- Celebs, politicians face Adult Survivors Act lawsuits
- Despite problems, eCourts moves ahead
- SCOTUS to resolve opioid settlement issue
- Killer among four found dead at homeless camp
- Court: Georgia can elect utility panel statewide
- DC homicides rise, ‘closure rate’ falls
Commentary
- Name game can end up being blame game
- Stericycle decision forces evaluation of policies, practices
- Are workplace DEI policies still legal after SCOTUS decisions?
- N.C. justices to decide many interesting cases
- Amotion sees resurgence after almost a decade
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Court’s term was rough on big business
- Ex-president, bar association have made their choice
- Ruling sharpens boundaries in attorney-client privilege
- Lawyers Weekly debuts new and improved web experience
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
