On Attempting to Measure “Success” on Twitter

July 11, 2010 Law Marketing/Networking

A couple of weeks ago, somebody appropriated my name, photograph and biographical information for over a month to tweet some of the most inane things you have ever seen on Twitter.  (And that is saying a lot.)  Although my impersonator avoided tweeting anything blatantly offensive or crude, it was still distressing to see my name [...]

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On Lindsay Lohan’s Legal Representation

July 10, 2010 DUI and Driving Offenses

Most people read about Lindsay Lohan’s recent troubles with the law and think about a young woman out of control.  I read the same reports and can’t help concluding that her recent sentence of 90 days incarceration for repeated probation violations was at least partially the fault of her high-priced lawyer.
Admittedly, I have no idea [...]

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On Plea Bargaining and The Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Role as Counselor

July 10, 2010 Law Practice

“I want a lawyer who will fight for me.”  This is something a criminal defense lawyer hears a lot from both clients and potential clients, and is probably what most people have in mind when they hire a lawyer.  The client is feeling as if the entire system is geared against him.  He wants a [...]

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On DWI, Diversion, and Prosecutorial Discretion

July 7, 2010 DUI and Driving Offenses

[While on vacation, I am reposting some of my favorite entries from the past year.]
Bad luck.  My client is middle-aged.  He has children and runs his own business.  He is a respected member of our community.   And he has never been arrested before.

He is pulled over for speeding at two am on New Year’s morning [...]

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On Simple Assault in Washington, D.C.

July 5, 2010 Assault

[While on vacation, I am reposting some of my favorite entries from the past year.]

Your client works downtown.  He and his wife commute together every morning into town on the metro.  The two of them are boarding the train one morning when he feels someone pushing him from behind.  Your client initially ignores it, but [...]

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On Norm Pattis and “The Happysphere”

June 26, 2010 Law Marketing/Networking

Norm Pattis was in town this weekend, and Mirriam Seddiq and I joined him last night for dinner at Oyamel restaurant.  Seddiq’s brother works as the head bartender there, and he made sure we were treated like royalty. Pattis and Seddiq were in the bar area waiting for our table when I arrived.  Pattis commented [...]

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The Potential Client From Hell

June 25, 2010 Miscellaneous

There is a male voice on the other end when I answer the phone.  “I’m looking for a lawyer,” he says. He sounds pleasant.
“Fine,” I say.  “How can I help you?”
“First of all,” he says.  “I’d like to know about your experience as a lawyer.  I see from your website that you used to be [...]

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Images From Abu Ghraib

June 25, 2010 Miscellaneous

A couple of years ago, my wife Susan Burke delivered the keynote address at the annual meeting of the Society for Photographic Education in Denver. Susan talked about the power of photographic imagery to shape and change our world views.  Beginning with photographs from the Vietnam War (the little girl running naked from the napalm, [...]

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On the Tyranny of Court Personnel

June 24, 2010 Criminal Procedure

Although Philadelphia is famous for the corruption within its government and police force, my wife and I were still taken aback to encounter it in person upon moving to the city in 2002.  I, for example, was surprised by the pervasive cronyism and nepotism I encountered within the city’s court system, something the people there [...]

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What This Criminal Defense Lawyer Looks For In A Client

June 22, 2010 Law Practice

JW, one of my favorite readers/commenters, has proposed a blog topic.  He says he has read a lot about what a client should look for when hiring a criminal defense lawyer. Now that JW himself is in the market for a lawyer, he would like to know what a lawyer considers when deciding whether or [...]

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