Client expectations can fluctuate wildly, even within a given case. A big part of our job is to make sure these expectations are both informed and realistic.

Five tips for representing indigent criminal defendants: (1) never push a plea, (2) don’t defend the system, (3) never contradict your client, (4) a light touch often works best, and (5) a thick skin will prevent burnout.

The Zulu greeting “Sawubona” translated literally means “I see you.” Because it is important to be seen.

Different people require different motivations.  Schuman’s approach may have worked with some people.  But it didn’t work with me:  I was already trying as hard as I could.  I didn’t need to be shamed into working harder.  

This whole “transitioning my practice to Baltimore” thing may be more difficult than I had been thinking. I met with my Maryland mentor last week.  It is great that the Maryland Professionalism Center offers this opportunity for people who have just passed the Bar, and I was fortunate to be assigned to this particular person.  My mentor practices criminal defense …

I have always given out my cell phone number to clients. In almost seven years of practice, I have never once regretted doing this. I even did this as a public defender when I had far more clients than I do today. As a public defender, I looked at it this way: Despite multiple prompts, most of the people I …

When my wife and I first started going to what turned out to be our favorite local restaurant in Arlington, there was a waiter there I mistakenly assumed was also the owner. He was friendly and efficient, he always made sure we were seated and served quickly, and you just needed to look in his direction in order to get …

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 second day for both the …

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 anymore. The games go quickly …

“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 look at each other and …

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 song today. Later in life …

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 every lawyer, no matter whom …

The last time I sat for a bar exam – in Virginia in 2010, after taking the Pennsylvania exam in 2006 – I swore to myself that I would never, ever do it again. Filling out the application for the character evaluation was bad enough. Learning umpteen new subjects in which I had no interest and then sitting for two …

Over at Tempe Criminal Defense, Matt Brown has been talking about expectations – client expectations and his own.  “The angry client rant is tough,” Brown says. And the problem, he says, starts with expectations. Clients expect the system to treat them fairly.  They blame their lawyers when it doesn’t: I would like to think that my threshold for having people …

To my godson Ross, who has just been accepted to Villanova Law for next fall, I offer the following advice on starting law school. There are lots of books out there with handy tips on doing well at law school:  how to brief cases, how to interact with your classmates, how to prepare for exams, and so on. Go out …

Nobody talks about Total Quality Management (TQM) anymore. An outdated fad from the 1980’s, and even then applied mostly within the automobile manufacturing industry, it may have questionable applicability to the practice of criminal law. But still I believe: You think ahead. You show up to meetings early. You return phone calls. You meet deadlines. You don’t make excuses. You …

I used to buy my suits at Joseph Banks. When I started to put on weight, I switched to Brooks Brothers. Now I have my suits tailor made through J Peditto Apparel. But, until just a couple of years ago, I never gave a moment of thought to the shoes I wore. Linda Mullen, the woman who used to dress …

Indigent criminal defendants often have two simultaneous and potentially irreconcilable opinions of the lawyers who are appointed to represent them. On the one hand, they have absolutely no respect for the public defender or court-appointed lawyer. You aren’t a real lawyer, they say. You are working with the government.  It is easier for you if I just plead guilty.  And …

Forty-three years old when I started my legal career, I loved law school and I love practicing law. The thing about the law is that there is also something new to learn.

  I went to my first meeting yesterday in over 10 years. Believe me, I know my way around a meeting.  During my first career in the government, I did nothing but meetings:  budget meetings, planning meetings, team meetings, agency meetings, inter-agency meetings. Half of my day was spent planning for meetings. The other half was spent sitting in them. …

  Years ago, back when the children were little and we lived in Arlington for the first time, we decided to go to the circus.  I drove over to the baseball field in Ballston earlier in the day, and bought the tickets from a young Hungarian woman working out of a trailer.  It was a small, family-owned circus with one …

  A supervisor at the Philadelphia public defender’s office used to tell us all the time that we were representing people, not files.  This really got on our nerves.  As one colleague put it:  Maybe he needs to be reminded of that fact.  After all, he sits in his office all day doing nothing more than reviewing the files we …

  We are in the cafeteria of the Prince William County courthouse in Virgina, at lunch during what is expected to be a one-day jury trial. At a table behind me is a judge holding forth to a group of young people.  He speaks.  The young people lean forward and laugh, and I think of something a former administration official …

Eleven months of wrangling comes to this:  a two-day trial in D.C. Superior Court. The argument on pre-trial motions starts out well, and I find myself in the enviable position of sitting on the sidelines as the judge goes back and forth with the prosecutor.  It is usually a good idea to stop talking when the judge is agreeing with …

Over the last year or so, there has been a lot of talk on listservs and in the blawgosphere about the glut of new lawyers coming onto the market, about the expectations of these lawyers in terms of pay and career satisfaction, and about the honesty of law schools in trying to attract new students. Much of the recent discussion …

During an earlier life, I was a member of the U.S. delegations that negotiated the international ozone and climate treaties. The negotiations often lasted a couple of weeks, with the opening statements alone — from the 100 nations participating in the negotiations – taking up most of the first day. The U.N. provided interpretation in seven languages throughout the negotiations, …

One of the advantages to being a criminal defense attorney, at least one who defends people accused of street crimes as opposed to white collar offenses, is that you get your money upfront. There is the initial negotiation. There is the payment, which usually goes into the attorney’s trust fund account.  With that out of the way, the attorney can …

You are wearing one of the good suits you save for trial.  Your trial notebook is at your side. You got up early to exercise, and now you are feeling rested, relaxed, and confident.  You don’t go to trial as a private practitioner nearly as much as you did as a public defender or prosecutor, and you savor these moments …

Last year, while taking the first steps to launch my own law firm, I spent a lot of time on the ABA listserv for solo practitioners, Solosez. I followed the excited postings of other people who had just opened the doors of their new offices. I also took heart in the anniversary announcements of lawyers who had been on Solosez …

  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 not to take on …

I am watching a DVD recording of my client’s statement to the detective.  The camera must have a wide-angle lens because my client and the detective take up only a small portion of the screen.  There is also something surreal about two people huddled together in one corner of the room, the cinderblock walls a gray blur around them while …

There is no good way to charge for legal services, I am persuaded. Clients come in need. They are afraid and angry. They want a hero, a savior, a warrior. You offer them what you can. Most often it is enough. But sometimes it is not. A client grows disenchanted, angry, they want what you cannot give. It is a …

I am walking with my kids at the Reading Terminal, an eatery just a couple of blocks from the courthouse in Philadelphia, when we come across a group of narcotics officers sitting in the eating area.  We have been watching “The Wire” on HBO, and I point out the officers out to my kids.  Look, I say.  Real-life narcotics officers.  …

  A couple of months ago, Carol D. of Public Defender Revolution told the story about a judge who tried to force her to trial on a case when she wasn’t ready.  This put Ms. D. into a very difficult position.  She couldn’t put her client’s interests at risk by proceeding unprepared to trial.  She therefore had no choice but …

There is always a lot of discussion over at the ABA listserv Solosez about client relations.  People talk about the need to sometimes fire a client, which, from what people say, almost seems like a rite of passage for most lawyers.  Consider me now initiated. Today I had to fire my first client.  I was reluctant to do it.  It …

One of my favorite episodes from the old T.V. show Taxi included the scene in which the Reverend Jim Ignatowski, the character played by Christopher Lloyd, accidentally burns down the apartment of Louie DePalma, the character played by Danny DeVito.  The Reverend’s father is a millionaire.  When the father finds out that his son has burned down the apartment, he …

Norfolk, Va. — Before starting law school, I read a number of books on how to survive your first year.  One book dealt with law school etiquette.  Top among its rules was not to discuss an examination with friends afterwards.  There is no point to doing this, the book said.  Both sides – the side that did well and the …

Last summer, my 19-year-old daughter decided that she wanted to come see me in court.  I had just given notice of my intention to resign from the Defender Association of Philadelphia effective at the end of the month, and she thought this might be the last opportunity to see me working as a public defender. I was running the list …

A good friend of mine, a former prosecutor in Massachusetts and Virginia, has criticized my blog for its defense-centric viewpoint.   The actual words he used, if I recall correctly, were “criminal apologisms.” Since I will be need to take some time off over the next couple of weeks to prepare for the Virginia Bar Examination, I have offered him the …

My wife does not read this blog.  I understand.  She’s busy.  Friends or family will tell her they enjoyed something they read on the blog and she will smile and thank them, but she really has no clue what they are talking about. I showed her my website when it first went up last fall.  Yes, dear, it looks very …

In 24 days I will be sitting down to take another bar, this time in Virginia.  The idea, which seemed like a pretty good idea when I came up with it last fall, is that I will be able to extend my criminal law practice from D.C. into Virginia, which is also where I live. Strangely enough, I have only …