Law Practice

A Personal Goodbye to Bar Exams

May 2, 2013 Law Practice

I passed the Maryland Out-of-State Lawyers’ Bar Exam.  It was not a slam dunk. I probably over-prepared the last time I sat for a bar – that was the full, two-day Virginia bar exam I took in 2010.  So confident was I of passing that exam that I walked out an hour early on the [...]

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Criminal Defense Like A Game of Internet Hearts

April 27, 2013 Law Practice

Although I may not be a gamer like Ken White of Popehat, I have been playing some Hearts on the Internet recently. I love the game of Hearts. I have gotten pretty good at it over the years.  And I can never get my children or anyone else to play it with me in person [...]

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Client “Don’t” List

April 5, 2013 Law Marketing/Networking

Here, courtesy of Gerry Beyer via Rob Robertson/Solosez, is a list of things not to do with clients. Don’t discount fees. Don’t let clients leave without an engagement letter. Don’t waste money on ineffective marketing. Don’t over-complicate things. Don’t make clients wait. Don’t ignore clients. Don’t try to impress your values onto your clients. Don’t [...]

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No Excuses. Accountability.

March 6, 2013 Law Practice

“I messed up again, and I have no excuses. I am ready to face the consequences of my actions.” This is what the defendant says to the court at her probation revocation hearing. Other defense attorneys and I hear this from the gallery where we are waiting for our own cases to be called. We [...]

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Trust Begins at Home: A Client’s Tale

March 4, 2013 Law Practice

Guest Post by Kelly Spencer A few days ago, as my attorney and I approached the courthouse, 10 minutes before my divorce trial was scheduled to begin, he reached out to open the door for me. I paused, and said, very quietly, “At this moment I trust four people in the world. My mom, my [...]

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One Degree of Separation Between Greatness and Me

February 24, 2013 Law Practice

Back in the days my children were involved in organized sports, coaches liked to tell the story of how former NBA Superstar Michael Jordan was cut from his 10th grade basketball team. The story tended to come out right before cuts were made, presumably to ease the sting for those kids who weren’t going to [...]

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On the Law and Other Miracles

February 15, 2013 Law Practice

When I was a boy, we used to sing a German song called “Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen.”  Taught to us by a German friend, we sang it so often, usually in rounds, that I knew all the words without understanding what they actually meant. I can still hear my three sisters harmonizing on the [...]

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Semester (Lost) At Sea

February 1, 2013 Law Practice

Guest Post by Ross O’Neill Looking back, the first semester of law school was a whirlwind of fun, stress, hard work and more reading than I’d ever imagined.  The reward? Patiently waiting the month of January for grades to be published followed by sighs of displeasure or shrieks of happiness. Regardless, I hope that the [...]

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Court-Appointed Cases Forever

January 27, 2013 Law Practice

You learn a lot about your colleagues when you work with them on a case. I am now working on two court-appointed appeals, and in both cases, I contacted the trial attorney to discuss the case with them and to get the trial file. Both attorneys were pleased to hear from me; both were pleasant [...]

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Sonia Sotomayor On Being A Lawyer

January 13, 2013 Law Practice

Q:  Would you describe yourself as being tough on the bench? A:  Demanding. Q:  You’re demanding. A:  Tough, yes, in the sense that I want lawyers to be prepared.  I think that being a lawyer is one of the best jobs in the whole wide world. Q:  Really? A:  You want to know why?  Because [...]

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