Free Newsletter
Recent Articles from Mark Levison
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Because the law, life and life in the law are so interesting, there’s always something to write about. I started writing columns in law school when Jimmy Carter was president, and shortly after I became an attorney, a media-savvy candidate was swept to the helm. The Reagan Revolution provided a lot of material. Once in […]
Tired of Turmoil
The last time I left this country, I stopped in Istanbul on the way home. Istanbul has had its share of terrorist activity in the past several years, so when visiting it is advisable to keep an eye out. If a rowdy-looking young fellow with a backpack approaches, you might want to walk the other […]
The paths we choose to follow to the bar
Lawyers sometimes need a little inspiration. Sometimes we forget what “called us” to the bar. For me, it was initially Perry Mason, and then it was the ‘60s: protests, riots and conflict over turning our backs on some of the things our parents had taught us. Those were challenging times, when the U.S. Justice Department’s […]
Trials and judgments – here and abroad
2017 found me scheduled for about a half dozen trials during the last half of the year, and one overseas trip in the middle of all of them. Some of the trials are short and judge-tried, while others are more time consuming. The jury trial just before the trip lasted three weeks. It had more […]
All different sorts of trials
At 9 on Friday evening the jury came in after four hours of deliberating on the three-week trial. The results for my client were less than stellar. There was a lot of money involved. There were large legal fees and press coverage. When I got home I was tired and my wife Cheryl was sympathetic […]
The Art of Trial Prep (while Writing) on Deadline
Trials can be fun for trial lawyers when they get there, however as Dan Fogelberg would say, “But the traveling was hell!” The last piece, the prep time before packing up for the courtroom isn’t so much fun. There’s a lawyer on the other side that’s doing the same thing, but his or her goal […]
Making America litigious again
With 2016 plainly visible in the rear-view mirror, the year’s two most dominant issues were clearly politics and technology. Both topics come with their own conundrums. The technology that made life so much easier in 2016, and seemed so “futuristic,” causes lawyers to be on guard. For example, this Christmas my wife Cheryl gave me […]
He Was Always Just Rick
I was only a first-year law student, when two very good looking third-year female law students asked if I wanted to go with them to a Lawyers Guild meeting. I could not refuse, since as 3Ls they must have known a lot more than me, and, as noted, they were quite attractive. The National Lawyers […]
Play chess, not poker with your opponents
If lawyers ever intentionally tried to mentor me, I didn’t notice. That doesn’t mean I didn’t learn along the way from some of the older boys — there weren’t really any girls in those days. I recall the head of the first firm I joined casually mentioning, in his somewhat arrogant way, that it was […]
Litigators, Alligators and The Nightly News
It’s just fun to be a lawyer. That’s not only today, it’s almost any day and any time. Of course, like any other profession, law has its peaks and valleys, its periods of rising income followed by less jubilant times, and then the cycle starts again. History provides us with unlimited role models with paths […]
Different perspectives: Same old thing
In bed each night, I think about all of the things I am thankful for that happened during that day. It’s probably a habit I picked up from some 1970’s guru I meditated with in India during my post-college quest for enlightenment and its various accoutrements. Additionally, sometimes, while fluffing my pillow, I try to […]
Commentary: Super memories of legal camaraderie
We have all, in our own way, learned to practice law. All of us in varying degrees have become indebted to those who we picked up along the way as mentors and friends.
Latest Opinion Digests
- Criminal Law: Child Abuse-Sufficiency Of Evidence-Closing Argument
- Civil Rights: Religious Freedom-RLUIPA-Res Judicata
- Civil Practice: Res Judicata-Stop Work Order
- Immigration: Drug Conviction-Removability-Overbreadth of State Offense
- Civil Practice: Asset Forfeiture-Sanctions
- Civil Rights: Due Process-Failure to State Claim
- Probate : Revocable Trust – Amendment – Reformation
- Employer – Employee : Unpaid Commissions – At-Will Status
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Effectiveness Of Counsel – Conflict Of Interest
- Appellate Practice : Jurisdiction – Final Judgment
- Domestic Relations : Parenting Plan – Child Support
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Guilty Plea – Sentence Advice
Top stories
- Missouri Lawyers Media’s legal coverage commended
- Cole County prosecutor loses third Sunshine Law appeal
- Supreme Court weighs lagging symptoms in work comp case
- New accommodation rights for pregnant workers offer broad protections
- Clark named as next Eastern District chief judge
- Russell reflects on change as women take charge of Missouri’s legal system
- NCAA scores positive gender equity review from St. Louis firm
- Big improvements for Missouri bar takers | List of bar passers
