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Judge, Consider This a Warning
No, I am not going to write about Roger Stone. Most of us saw the picture of the judge he posted on the internet with crosshairs above her head. Of course, we all know that anyone who is still a Richard Nixon apologist in 2019 is per se mentally imbalanced. Perhaps Mr. Stone forgot that […]
Up in the air with a man down under
The American lawyer knows that our legal system evolved from the English system of yore. We also know that our forefathers continue a similar system, though one with some marked differences from the one across the pond. We also realize when we pause to think about it, that there are a surprising number of nations […]
Baboons and 4-year-olds give good pep talks
In 1998, I was both a new father and a new lawyer. Fortunately, I was blissfully unaware of how unprepared I was for either gig, and that is what kept me from running — screaming — into the woods. The trial lawyer thing is by far the easier of the two, by the way. In […]
A Lawyer’s Return to Goa
It was 1974. Neither my wife nor I were lawyers, yet. The trip to Bombay (now Mumbai) from Mombasa, Kenya, was on an Indian boat having no resemblance to a Royal Caribbean ocean liner (other than perhaps norovirus). We were travelling cheap. My room had six beds in it, bunk-bed style. I was in a […]
Reflections at the Starting Gate of One More Year
When I first started writing columns, I had little doubt I had valuable information to convey from the perspective of the insightful young lawyer. I still kind of feel that way, despite the rolling of the years, and the fact that today’s young lawyers are unfortunately wearing brown shoes with blue and gray suits — […]
Not gonna Grinch it up this Year
Gentle Reader: It has been pointed out (many times, in fact) that I don’t look forward to the holidays. I don’t hate the holidays, and it isn’t even that I don’t enjoy them, necessarily. Holidays, like vacations, mean not going to my office. Not going to my office means that the mail and the projects […]
All the leaves are brown, and so are the mashed potatoes.
It is officially autumn in these parts. In the Midwest, it is more properly called Fake Fall, the season f/k/a Indian Summer. It is a dangerous time of year for lawyers. If we set out a suit to wear at night, changes in weather may have made it a horrible choice by morning. Some of […]
Is now the time?
The system. It is a phrase used by many, in the law and in daily life. One particular and important system is a basic, primordial concept underlying our lawyerly endeavors and government. It is has long been a key to the American experiment. The system to which I refer is our system, apart from any […]
Going, Going … Almost Gone
Some lawyers think they get their best ideas when they’re drinking. I recall a night some months ago when law school friends Dick Slickster, plaintiffs’ lawyer extraordinaire, Cal Polo, the elite silk-stocking lawyer, and I were drinking Irish whiskey. I had a No. 1 trial setting at the end of the month and had been […]
Why does it feel like I am cheating?
I am a unique creature in today’s legal landscape. I am a senior partner in a pretty good-sized law firm in a pretty good-sized city where I practice business law. I do not, however, limit my practice to either transactional or trial work. I thus represent clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, licensing agreements, […]
Latest Opinion Digests
- Immigration: Asylum-Withholding of Removal-Appellate Jurisdiction
- Criminal Law: Child Pornography-Bottom-of-Guidelines Sentence-Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence
- 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
Top stories
- Nurse entitled to disability benefits despite working months after accident, Supreme Court rules
- Eastern District rules 10 cases against TitleMax may proceed without arbitration
- Supreme Court declines to hear Republican appeals on abortion ballot initiatives
- Cole County jury awards $1.56 billion in Roundup case headed for appeal
- Jury gives massive award after fleeing suspect causes fatal crash
- 8th Circuit tosses suit claiming false sale prices
- Attorney general releases report on Kim Gardner investigation
- Legal Limelight: Jason C. Smith, Office Managing Partner, Spencer Fane
