Notes from practice · D.C. Superior Court
Three Years In: Dealing With Potential Clients on the Internet
I get a lot of strange emails and phone calls from people who find me on the Internet. A woman wrote me the other day...
On “Constructive Venting” And Wayne My Investigator
Seth Godin writes about a friend of his, a middle school teacher, who avoided the teacher’s lounge because “he couldn’t bear the badmouthing of students,...
Met and Unmet Client Expectations
Over at Tempe Criminal Defense, Matt Brown has been talking about expectations – client expectations and his own. “The angry client rant is tough,” Brown...
Why I Like D.C.’s Public Defender Service
When I worked as a public defender in Philadelphia, we had what I can only describe as an uneasy relationship with the private criminal defense...
Bringing the Judge Into A Plea Bargain
“That’s as low as my office is willing to go for this type of offense.” This is what the prosecutor tells me. We are talking...
Trial Notebook as Security Blanket
I recently served as co-counsel in two juvenile cases with Eddie Ferrer of D.C. Lawyers for Youth. Although neither case ended up going to trial,...
Checking The Rules. Checking Them Twice.
Jamison Koehler
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04/26/2012
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One of the things I miss most about working at the public defender’s office was the ability to get immediate feedback from colleagues on an...
Advice To An Incoming 1L: Humble Yourself Before The Law. Surrender.
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...
Total Quality Management and the Practice of Criminal Law
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 An outdated fad from the 1980’s, and even then applied mostly within the automobile manufacturing industry, it...
“Check Out The Shoes My Lawyer Is Wearing”
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...
Managing Client Expectations
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...
Get Out of My Office: A Hypothetical Interview With a Potential Client
Jamison Koehler
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03/22/2012
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A woman and her son come into the office for a consultation. At the end of the hour, the woman turns to me and tells...
I Am Not A Traffic Lawyer. Except When I Am.
When I first went out into private practice in 2009, I was tempted to take on traffic cases. After all, my wife and I may...
Second Careers: Law School After 40
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...
No Meetings for Criminal Defense Lawyers
I went to my first meeting yesterday in over 10 years. Believe me, I know my way around a meeting. During my first career...