Typical Tuesday

My Tie Yesterday

One of the things about my job is that my schedule is not always my own.  It can change at the drop of the hat and is subject to the whims of clients, colleagues, judges, partners, and family demands.  I often wonder how I can anything done given the myriad of different things I find myself doing on any given day.  Yesterday was an example.

I got to work and began working on an emergency motion that had to be filed before noon in federal court. As I crafted my strategy for the document and began drafting it, it dawned on me that everyone had overlooked a key weakness in the opposing party's position.  The defect meant that we did not even have to file any document with the Court.  I called my co-counsel to explain my strategy and then we called the judge's clerk.  The clerk agreed with us and confirmed that we did not have to file anything.  I just saved my client and the Court a bunch of time.  Case closed and chalk one up for the good guys!

Then I turned my attention to my two other federal court filings that I had to complete before noon.

At noon, it was time to start preparing for my 2 p.m. hearing on a motion I had drafted.  I sent the Court's tentative ruling on my motion to my client and conferred briefly with my co-counsel up in Los Angeles County.

A little after 1 p.m., I headed over to the courthouse for my hearing.  I had about 10 minutes extra, so I decided to swing by the County Recorder's Office to get a copy of my son's birth certificate.  When I walked into the Recorder's Office, they told me it would take 15 minutes to get the birth certificate.  I told them I had to be in court in 10.  Luckily, it only took 5.

Not necessarily a model of efficiency...

I think I can type a lot faster than the average person who uses the self-service computers in there.  It also helped that I paid cash for the birth certificate ($23).  I can only imagine how much time it would have taken to get a check processed (write the check out...show ID...etc. etc.) or for them to run my credit card (do they even take AMEX--you know, for the miles!).  You know how painfully slow government bureaucrats can be!

Then it was off to court.  I got a couple of funny looks from the homeless people lining the Civic Center Plaza as I stretched my legs by sprinting back to courthouse--files (and birth certificate) in hand.  I did notice that those homeless people might not have had much other than their shopping carts and their bags of aluminum cans (that they turn in for recycling), but they all seemed to have matching blue tarps to protect those shopping carts from the rain we'd had the night before.  Funny how new and uniform the blue tarps looked, but I'm sure they worked great.  I wonder if my tax dollars paid for those tarps?

As I walked through the metal detectors into the courthouse, one of the sherriff's deputies complimented me on my tie (see above).  He asked me where I got it.  I'm not really noted for my fashion sense, so I have to enjoy these moments when they happen.  (The tie was made by "Chaps" in case you're wondering and I have no idea where I got it or who I got it from.  I'm assuming I didn't pick it out for myself if I was getting a compliment on it!).  I took that as a good omen.

Not my judge, but you get the idea...

It took over an hour before the judge called our case from his busy docket.  I always enjoy hearing the other cases and it gives me a chance to gauge the judge's mood and thought process before I have to argue.  In this case, there was a fascinating back-and-forth involving a woman who tripped and fell over a hidden stump in a planter box at a local Costco.  Whatever you may think about frivolous lawsuits and whether or not someone should be able to file a lawsuit if they hurt themselves because they leave the sidewalk and hurt themselves while taking a detour through a landscaped planter box, the exchange was fascinating.  The judge was 100% right on the law.  The attorney not so much...

 The judge didn't comment on my tie, but did grant my motion.  I wish I could say that it was because of my brilliant oratorical skills--but it wasn't.  Since the judge had agreed with my written logic, I knew enough not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  I think the only words I might have uttered were: "Thank you, Your Honor" when he granted my motion.  He was obviously a very wise and astute judge!  ;-)  I'm glad I won because my clients had surprised me by showing up to court.  I walked my clients out and headed back to the office.  It was now after 3 p.m.

Pho Bac...It's way better than it looks!  :-)

I actually stopped to get some lunch and then got back in the office--almost in time to leave for my son's Little League baseball game.  The game was at 5 p.m., but he only has two games left in the season so I felt like I needed to be there.  Don't worry, I made good use of the 30 minute drive time to the game by calling co-counsel on one of my matters to do some strategic planning.

At about 5:45, I left S.'s baseball game to go to R.'s baseball game.  The only problem was that R.'s baseball game was 20 minutes in the opposite direction.  I managed to pass the time by making some phone calls about the Scout activity that we had planned for that night.

Remember my prior posts about Little League baseball?  Well, I'm not sad to say that the season is almost over for both of my Little Leaguers.  But R. got on base and scored a run in the 6th inning of his game last night when his team came from behind to go up by two runs 6-4.  They ended up winning!  Yay!  R. was on cloud nine!

This type of play happens all too often in Little League...

The game didn't finish until 8:30ish (making 3+ hours of Little League in one night), which meant that we missed R.'s Scout meeting.  He was supposed to get interviewed for a rank advancement to Tenderfoot.  Looks like that will have to happen another time.  By the time we got home, it was after 9 p.m. and I had been through another 12+ hour day.

I put the kids down and then was faced with a quandry...do I crack open the laptop to do some more "homework" or do I go for a run.  The question became academic when I crashed and collapsed into bed.  I think it's the first time I've gone to sleep before midnight in a long time.  I have no idea why I was so exhausted...it was all just pretty much a typical Tuesday.  Can't wait to do it again?  :-/

Lotto Fever

Last Week's $656 Million Lottery Had Many
Hoping That Lady Luck Was On Their Side...

Lotto fever gripped the country last week.  My office was not immune.  My secretary organized a pool for the office and, even though I didn't play, she nearly had me convinced that I was going to be the only one showing up for work on Monday morning!

Friday was also a busy work day as well.  One of my cases that recently settled had me scrambling to get the settlement agreement finalized and signed by my clients.  Because I did not want any issues with the settlement, I decided to go the extra mile and email a scan of the settlement check to the attorney for the other side so that he would know that we were serious about finalizing the settlement.  And that we were acting in good faith as well.

I had my secretary make me a copy of the settlement check and email it to me to forward to the other side.  Luckily, I decided to take a quick look at the final document before I clicked "SEND" to send it off to the other side.

When I opened the document (which was titled: "Settlement Funds.pdf"), here is what I saw:

Obviously, these did not turn out to be the winning numbers...

I'm not sure which was more horrifying:  The possibility that the other side might have thought that I was playing an early April Fool's Day joke on them or the possibility that these numbers might actually have won!  (and we had apparently given them away!!)

My secretary and I shared a good laugh about it.  It's always nice to find something humorous during the work day!  And since I've got some great colleagues in the office, I'm glad that they all showed up for work yesterday!  

All's well that ends well, I suppose...  =o)

Back in the Saddle

'Tis The Season...You've been summoned!

My life has been on hold for the past week because of the letter that I got above.  Starting last Friday, I had to call in every day to see if I would need to report for jury duty.  This entire week, I've had to call every day at noon to see if I had to report at 1 p.m.  Fortunately, the court house was about a block away.

Today, I actually forgot to call in right at noon, but when I did call, I was told that my jury service had been completed.  And I didn't even have to set foot inside the courthouse.

Talk about a letdown, but now I'm back in the saddle for the Christmas season and don't have to worry about making a last minute rush down to do my civic duty!

I'm actually disappointed that I didn't get called.  First, I think that serving on a jury duty is an important part of our civic duty.  I think that having good, educated jurors is an important part of our society and our country.  And I'd like to think that I would be a good juror.  I know that I could be fair and impartial.  And even though it is the Christmas season, I do not believe, as some may, that 'Tis the Season to Convict!  (Mostly, I'm sure so that those short-sighted jurors can get home as quickly as possible.)

I probably would convict this guy though...I'm just sayin'

Selfishly, I think being on a jury would be great because I think it would be invaluable to experience the dynamics of the jury room first-hand.  I think that it would only make me a better attorney.  As attorneys, we spent hours agonizing over the jury will react to a witness or a piece of evidence or our client or our own arguments.  It would be great to see that from the (not-so-comfortable) chairs in the jury box.

I've been summonsed for jury duty now three times.  Twice I had to actually go to the courthouse.  I've never even made it up to a courtroom.

Sadly, the reality is that even if I ever did make it into a courtroom, I would probably never make it onto a jury.  I think that most attorneys don't like having other attorneys sit on their juries.  Oh well...

"Johnny Cochrane" Trial Moment

Who can forget Johnny's memorable line from this case?

So I was in court the other day and heard this exchange first hand.  It was so good that I wrote it down:

Attorney: "So she lives at home?"
Witness: "Yes sir."
And then without missing a beat or cracking a smile, the witness added: "We all do!"

It was a pretty funny moment...Yes, attorneys can be dumb sometimes (as my wife will be more than happy to tell you!).  

It was almost as good as this classic exchange:

A defending attorney was cross examining a coroner. The attorney asked, "Before you signed the death certificate had you taken the man's pulse?""No," the coroner replied.The attorney then asked, "Did you listen for a heart beat?"
The coroner said, "No."
"Did you check for breathing?", asked the attorney.
Again the coroner replied, "No."
The attorney asked, "So when you signed the death certificate you had not taken any steps to make sure the man was dead, had you?"
The coroner, now tired of the brow beating said, "Well, let me put it this way. The man's brain was sitting in a jar on my desk, but for all I know he could be out there practicing law somewhere."

Back Handed Compliment

Perry Mason

I was in court the other day and I was handling the direct examination of my client.

Direct examinations are mostly about having the friendly witness tell his or her story to the judge and the jury.  In a good direct examination, the attorney is pretty much invisible and everyone is watching the witness.

I had a good rapport with my client and my client really did an outstanding job of explaining the story of the case to the jury.  When it was over, both my client and I were happy that he had had a chance to tell his story and we felt like the jurors had listened attentively and were impressed.

My client and I left the courtroom, but my colleague stayed behind to get ready for the next witness.  The opposing counsel came over to my colleague and said, "How long has that attorney (i.e. me) been with your firm?"

My colleague said that I had been with the firm for three years.

Opposing counsel was apparently impressed and said, "Well, you tell him that he really did a heckuva job with that witness for a third-year lawyer!"

My colleague chuckled when he told me the story because I have actually been practicing law for 10 years now!  (I came to my current firm three years ago.)

I took it as a compliment because maybe the opposing counsel thinks I still look young?  Too young to get a little respect from this other attorney, I suppose.  (Let's just say that I'm a lot younger than he is...)

"I don't get no respect!"

Bytheway, my colleague was kind enough to say that I did a great job on my direct examination.  And he's my boss, so if the boss is happy and the client is happy, I'll take it!  :)

The jury is still out on the case, but let's just hope they agree as well!

What A Difference A Decade Makes...

Ten years ago today (September 10, 2001), I started my legal career. I remember a little about my first day on the job, much more about my second. (Who doesn't remember where they were on that day?)

My new firm put Julie and me up in the Four Seasons in Philadephia for my first few days on the job. I left the hotel and went across the street that first morning to our orientation at the top of the Bell Atlantic Tower. I wasn't sure what was expected of me, except that I figured I would be asked to work hard. And I was ready for it (or at least I thought I was...).

Little did I know that forces were already in motion that would impact the way we live our lives.

Much has changed in the past 10 years. At the airport today, both my wife and I were singled out for enhanced security. I opted to stand with my hands above my head for some sort of body scan device so that I wasn't subjected to a full body patdown that I was warned would include "sensitive areas."

I also forgot to take the liquids out of my bag, so I had to watch while a "friendly" TSA agent took out my cough syrup, tooth paste, deodorant, and soiled laundry bag. (There's nothing like having your dirty laundry aired in public...)

On September 10, 2001, I could not have imagined that this would have seemed normal 10 years later. I don't know if it is good or bad that this is now routine. I'm not even sure if it makes me feel safer. But I do not know that things have changed.

On the legal front, in the past ten years, I have billed many thousands and thousands of hours (worked many, many more than that), represented hundreds of clients, and worked for four different law firms. I have helped a client who lost her husband win a jury award of millions of dollars, I have tried a case with my dad, I took my first deposition (and countless others after that), I have helped settle many disputes. I feel like my clients know that I care about them and their problems. I am grateful for the confidence my clients have placed in me and I always want to be worthy of that confidence.

I have worked hard and I am a better attorney than I was 10 years ago. Being an attorney is not an easy job. But being an attorney can be really fun (at times) and I have felt a sense of personal satisfaction at helping my clients resolve complicated issues.

I have a few gray hairs now--though I'm not actually sure if those hairs are from my cases or from my kids. (Probably both!) And I look at the picture of myself at the top of this post (my first professional picture as an attorney) and I think that I didn't really look old enough to be an attorney.

I don't really like change. But I know that it is essential both personally and professionally. 10 years from now, I expect to be a much better attorney than I am today. And I expect to be a better person, better husband, and better father as well. It will take continued hard work, but I am just as confident today as I was 10 years ago that that I can do it.

I guess that part remains the same.