PC or MAC Debate: Another Update

Many folks have expressed an interest in jumping into the topic.
They await the wise voices of experience who have an opinion.
And others have offered a tidbit of their own.

For example, Eraldo suggested simply that lawyers do what he does: use BOTH!

William was curious to read other opinions because he was planning to purchase a new computer soon.

Dave explained that he published an article on his blog that discussed this topic.

The answer to the question depends on the needs of the user. Some functions work better on a Mac; some functions work better on a PC. It's not a new question: Before you buy, ask yourself what you need.
Are you are the type of person who wants ease of use right out of the box? Get a Mac.
But if you are a savvy techie who is willling (and able) to install software and fiddle with setting, then get a PC.

Today's Washington Post Technology section offered an article that offered some assistance.
It's titled:

Mac vs. PC: How to Decide.

What else do we need in addition to "Key Man" insurance?

Our practice has grown so quickly.
That's a good thing.
But it leads to new things to think about.

In addition to "Key-Man" insurance, it might be time get a "Back-Up Attorney."

We have talked about the possibility of one of us "disappearing. " Could Gary carry on without me? Probably. But could he do it with the level of efficiciency that we enjoy today? Not really.

And I know that I could not do what he does best.
I could never negotiate as well as he does.
He is the "RainMaker" in this law firm.

So we must consider how our practice would survive the death or disability of either one of us, or both.

How should we protect our clients’ interests if such an event occurred?

• We are thinking of selecting an attorney to serve as our “back-up attorney.” We will have to give him appropriate authority (in writing) to act in the event we cannot continue our practice.
• 
  We must clean up our sloppy files. If a "Martian" landed in a spaceship and walked into our office, the "Martian" should be able to find anything in the files and know when things need to be done. It's time to update our folders. Good file organization and an up-to-date calendar system is key to protecting the interests of our clients.
  
• 
  We'll take a look to be sure that our trust account procedures are adequate and that we have provided appropriate authorization to allow the back-up attorney to access trust funds, if necessary. This will ensure that clients’ funds can be made available to them in a timely fashion

Thanks to the Maryland State Bar Association Law http://www.msba.org/departments/loma/weeklytips/weeklytips.htm

Uh-oh ... It's Thanksgiving ... We'll take that first train out of town ...

A flock of Wild Turkeys wait at the station for a train out of town on the day before Thanksgiving.

DId they even buy a ticket?

This picture made me smile.

Click below for the story.

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/ap/article.html?mi=D8LICRSO0&apc=9001

Thanksgiving tips from the Maryland State Bar Association

There is so much to be thankful for, this day.

We often forget, but should try to remember that we are all part of a large circle of folks who support our success.

A wise colleague offered some things to think about.

• During this week of Thanksgiving, take the time to thank your co-workers and employees for their effort and work on your behalf this year.
• Pay a visit to your clients between now and the end of the year to thank them for their business and trust.
  
• Thank your partners for their support of your practice.
  
• Thank your family for their love and support throughout the year.
  
• Call your parents, sisters, brothers and other extended family members to thank them for what they have meant and continue to mean in your life.
  
• Tell your friends what their friendship means to you.
  
• If it is your policy to only take Thanksgiving day as a holiday, take Friday, too.
  
• Spend Thanksgiving with those who mean the most to you - make the effort - you’ll be glad you did. Make the office “off-limits” this holiday.
  
• Though life can be trying and sometimes tragic, be thankful for its joys and triumphs even in the face of adversity.
  
• Have a happy Thanksgiving holiday and keep the memory of those who are not here to celebrate it with us close.

The Maryland State Bar Association, Law Practice Management Division, offered these wonderful words of advice.

http://www.msba.org/departments/loma/weeklytips/weeklytips.htm

So you think that missing a deadline is no big deal?

What if you miss a calendar deadline?

What if missing that deadline translates into your client’s claim being “time barred”?

And the claim is “time barred” due to your calendaring error?

And then you find out that your client had a multi-million dollar claim.

It’s probably time to check if your malpractice insurance premiums are all paid up.

That’s what happened to Barry Scheck, Esq.

Innocence Project Co-Founder

Settles Malpractice Claim

Tom Perrotta
New York Law Journal
11-21-2006

Barry C. Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, and his firm, Cochran, Neufeld & Scheck, have agreed to pay $900,000 to settle a malpractice claim by a man wrongfully convicted of rape.

The settlement ended acrimonious litigation that began in June 2005.

Scheck's former client, Lee Long, 46, alleged that Scheck missed a deadline in a lawsuit against the state seeking damages for wrongful conviction.

Long's malpractice claim sought $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus treble damages and attorney fees.

Click HERE to continue reading the article.


I think I will double-check my court rules every time.

By trick or by scheme?

We pondered this question today:


If a client is coerced into coming to a certain place for a legitimate reason, but instead is handed a summons and subpoena, does that constitude fraud?


Or is that a legitimate method used to serve process?


It makes me wonder what the world coming to.

Should this be your hill?

Once upon a time, I received some very valuable advice from a person who exercised an enormous amount of control over my destiny.

She simply said to me, "Pick your hill."

After a tiny bit of research, I finally understood what this wise woman was presenting to me. She was offering a bit of advice to me that military folks insinctively understand: Is this the hill that you choose to die on?

Aha! Now I understand: Pick your hill.

So how does that translate into real life?

I witnessed something in court that really hit the point home. Before you go ahead and argue with the Judge, (who, by the way, holds your client's fate in her hands) think twice: is this the hill that you want to die on? Or should you wait and save your argument with THIS PARTICULAR JUDGE for a better time.

Just me, thinkin' out loud again ...

Can you find it in six minutes?

The average US executive wastes about SIX WEEKS every year searching for important -- but mislaid -- information due to the chaos on a messy desk or a sloppy file system.

If you can't find a piece of paper or a file in six minutes, due to rummaging through the debris on your messy desk, then you are wasting valuable time. The wasted time adds up to about SIX WEEKS per year.

So says Maria Gracia, in her article that appeared in the recent edition of "Empowering Women Magazine."*

As a result of a recent writing in the Wall Street Journal, she created this article for "Empowering Women Magazine," Volume 1, Issue 4.

She calls it: The Four D's of Effective Paper Management.

The four "D's" are:

Do it;

Delay it;

Delegate it;

Dump it.

I especially like the fourth "D." Dump it.

Often, I find myself saving WAY TOO much stuff, and I need to be more efficient at pitching worthless junk.

Will I ever get around to reading that stuff on "Egyptian Treasures: A Private Tour on a Private Jet?" Who knows ... maybe one day ...

*Empowering Women Magazine; Volume One. Issue Four. 2006.

PC or Mac? Which is the best choice for a lawyer?

The debate rages, and it's time for you to chime in.

Which do you prefer? Personal Computer or Mac?

What advantages should a lawyer look for?

What disadvantages?

Post a coment and let me know.
Thanks.

Do Women have a different “speech style” than Men? If so, is there such a thing as “female speech” and how exactly is it defined?

One researcher has coined the phrase “female speech” and indicated that women tend to add “tag questions” to the end of their affirmative sentences.

Mark Liberman writes:

Tag questions are grammatical structures in which a declarative is followed by an attached interrogative clause or “tag”, such as

1. You were missing last week, weren't you?

2. Thorpe's away, is he?

Generally, leading questions are limited to cross-examination. (And, yes, I know, also to certain witnesses lacking capacity.)

But would I call that “female speech?” Adding that interrogative clause makes a trial lawyers otherwise improper testimony into an acceptable form of question.

Interesting …

Click here to read the entire article.

I’m not sure that I agree … maybe I just don’t really understand the whole thing …

The death of common sense and responsibility = language at its worst

Once again, it is time for me to re-visit an old friend: Stupid Warning Labels. I always get a chuckle out of warning labels for the "great unwashed" who might actually need to be warned.

Is there anyone today who still does NOT know that a dry cleaning bag is not a toy?

If you need some cominc relief, or even if you just want to gape, check out this article. It's an oldie, but a goodie, and it's worth another look.

Click here to link to the article.

Stupid warning labels

The death of common sense and responsibility

By Dan Abrams

Updated: 12:28 p.m. ET Jan 14, 2004

Warning: this editorial may offend, insult or anger you. If you are easily offended -– stop reading now.

Imagine even living in some remote area of the world for the past 25 or 30 years and the first thing you see upon your return to the U.S are warning labels on just about everything: Warnings not to eat plastic, not to eat rat poison, not to use a compact disk holder as a ladder.

You would think we‘ve become a society of complete morons. Of course, what has really happened is that companies and businesses are going to sometimes absurd lengths to protect themselves against lawsuits, which pose questions like, “How was I to know not to put my finger in a working blender?”

A group called Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch has just finished its annual contest of wacky warning labels.

The grand prize went to a bottle of drain cleaner, which says “If you do not understand or cannot read all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product.” Some sound advice, particularly to those who can‘t read it.

Then there‘s the five-inch fishing lure with three steel hooks that warns, harmful if swallowed. If only the fish knew.

And a smoke detector, which reminds it “It will not extinguish a fire.”

Look, sometimes warnings can be lifesavers, particularly those that advise of an unforeseeable side effect, but so many simply reflect the major problem in our society-- the death of common sense and personal responsibility. A vast majority are paying a heavy price for the foolishness of a few.

I have an idea: How about switching it up and making those “few” wear a label, which reads, “Warning, I am of feeble mind. Don‘t assume I know anything. Please advise me of the use or misuse of anything that you sell me.”

'The Abrams Report' airs on MSNBC TV, weeknights, 6 p.m. ET

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3956937

Veteran's Day makes me proud

Toady is the day we honor our Veterans.

Give thanks to a Veteran.

Because of them we speak English in this fine country.

Take a moment to express your appreciation to the women and men in uniform whom you may see in your life. You won't believe how they light up when you acknowledge their service.

Is "Text Messaging" causing sloppy spelling?

As I anguish over my students' papers, I find myself making the same grammatical corrections over and over again. It makes me wonder how some graduate students can make it to their third year of graduate school with such a limited knowledge of proper English grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. (In all fairness to my class, not all of my students are guilty; but a few are.)

Then I realized that perhaps these students might be products of "Text Messaging" and "Instant Messaging" versions of improper spelling.

Recently, The Plain English Campaign posted an interesting article on this topic. You can read the entire article here yourself.

Allowing 'text speak' in exams does our students no good

If exam boards accept text speak in exam papers they cannot be sure that young people have the communication skills they will need in later years. So, however tolerant and well meaning examiners are being by allowing text speak, they are failing students.

I am against anything that suggests to students that is OK to use text speak in their exam papers. Teachers, examiners and parents should all be giving youngsters the opposite message - communicate clearly, spell correctly, and punctuate properly. The ones who can do all that are more likely to get on in life.

Earlier this year, we had a bit of fun highlighting the use of text speak in valentine cards. We translated some of the better known love messages into text. Can you tell what the following means?

Shal. i compR thee 2 a sumRz da?

I'll give you a clue. Its one of the finest lines Shakespeare wrote. 'Shall I compare thee to a summers day', from one of his sonnets.

Now that is a ridiculous example, but I bet some that have been given in exam papers are even more ridiculous. The English language is too important for examiners or teachers to suggest that correct spellings are not necessary. Please, please encourage clear communication in all situations. Leave text speak to text messages. Our youngsters deserve better.

Although the Plain English article expresses a reason for sloppy spelling, it does nothing to calm my anxiety: proper writing may be slowly vanishing. I just keep plugging away, expecting my students to create a well-written final product.

Am I a dinosaur? Or just relentlessly picky, picky, picky ...

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/blog.htm

The Ten Commandments of Good Client Relationships

Several years ago, as part of a comprehensive client service initiative, the Queensland Law Society of Australia produced the Ten Commandments of Good Client Relationships. They are reproduced here for you.

Copy and paste them, print them out, laminate them, post them in your offices — take whatever steps you like so that these Commandments find their way to everyone in your law practice. If your lawyers and staff read and implement these guidelines, everyone — especially your clients — will reap the benefits.

Ten Commandments of Good Client Relationships

1. Clients are the most important people in the practice — in person, by mail or by phone.

2. Clients are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.

3. Clients are not an interruption of our work. They are the purpose of it.

4. Clients do us a favor when they call. We are not doing them a favor by serving them.

5. Clients are a part of our business. Do not treat them as outsiders.

6. Clients are not "statistics." They are flesh-and-blood human beings with feelings and emotions like our own.

7. Clients are not people to argue with or match wits. Nobody ever won an argument with a client.

8. Clients are people who bring us their wants. It is our job to meet those wants.

9. Clients are the lifeblood of this practice.

10. Clients are deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can give them.

http://www.cba.org/cba/PracticeLink/tips/commandments.aspx

Why must legal writing follow the correct format?

What’s the fuss? Why must my legal writing follow a rigid set of rules about the format? What’s the big deal? Why can’t I be creative, and write a brief in a format of my choosing? Why indeed.

A very real example should set that straight.

Immigration court is a very unforgiving animal; the Department of Homeland Security developed a set of rules that are so rigid and so inflexible and so different from the Article Three courts that we are more familiar with.

As the old saying goes, “Do it my way or the Highway.” So I listen and learn. A colleague of ours tells this story.

It’s not called a “brief” in Immigration Court. The Judge wants to see a “Memorandum of Law.” And your Memorandum of Law had better follow the sample format as it is laid out in the sample offered. Why?

Imagine what would happen if your Memorandum of Law DID NOT follow the correct format. Opposing Counsel would be in his right to propose a Motion to Strike the non-conforming paper. Imagine what could happen if the motion were GRANTED!!

There goes your client in chains, on his way back to the detention center, in chains, ready to be shipped off to the nearest facility before his deportation. (Did I mention that he is in chains?) And you are left to explain to the client’s wife what just happened.

The client’s wife has been sitting next to you in the courtroom, and she heard what just happened. Now you have to explain to her WHY your Memorandum of Law was struck – it’s because you didn’t follow the proper format. And she is trying to figure out why she just paid you five thousand dollars. All you can do is mutter something about filing an appeal. Meanwhile, your client will be long gone from this country …

Black's Law Dictionary defines "Motion to Strike" this way:

Motion to Strike:

1. Civil procedure. A party’s request that the court delete insufficient defenses or immaterial, redundant, impertinent, or scandalous statements from an opponent’s pleading. Fed. R. Civ. P 12(f).

2. Evidence. A request that inadmissible evidence be deleted from the records and that the jury be instructed to disregard it.

Black’s Law Dictionary, Deluxe, Seventh Edition, 1999

I think I’ll make CERTAIN that all my court papers are conforming . . .

Preserve the Record Below (if you plan to appeal -- and even if you are NOT planning to appeal!)

Well, here’s a very difficult – but vitally important lesson – for trial lawyers and the appellate lawyers who follow them: Be certain to properly preserve your record for appeal.

Currently, our firm is working on an extremely complicated appeal. Unfortunately, the client appeared pro se. Not surprisingly, the record is pitifully lacking of objections, proffers of proof, and other procedural errors. This makes it extremely difficult to write our brief on appeal.

We are considering adding an argument of “inadequate representation” to our list of issues on appeal. After all, our client is not an attorney, and thus our client was woefully unprepared to argue effectively.

This anonymous Lessons Learned story in the current edition of “Litigation Update” articulates our difficulty.

Making the Record

The American Bar Association Litigation Section

In one of my first trials, the judge seemed to have it in for me. I couldn’t catch a break. He overruled my every objection and seemed bent on making my life miserable. When he excluded a key piece of evidence, he made it clear that he did not even want to hear my objection or my offer of proof on the matter. He threatened me with sanctions if I opened my mouth one more time. Glowering down at me from the bench, he asked if I understood and all I could do was nod mutely. On appeal, I wanted to challenge the judge’s conduct and the improper exclusion of the evidence. Unfortunately, the transcript did not reflect just how poorly I had been treated or my desire to make an offer of proof. Looking over the transcript, it became clear that the judge had been careful to avoid being “on the record” for the worst of the transgressions. The discussions on the record made it look like his ruling excluding the evidence had gone largely unchallenged. Fearing the judge, I had committed the cardinal sin of failing to make a proper record for appeal. Lesson learned: You cannot let the threat of sanctions keep you from making a proper record. Had I been sanctioned for making the record, it would have created an additional issue for appeal and underscored to the Court of Appeals just how unreasonable the judge had been at trial.

http://www.abanet.org/litigation/litigationupdate/2006/november.html

Lesson learned here ...

We have a brave family member serving in Iraq right now

And I am a bit hurt by the thought (joke?) that Servicemen are uneducated.

My family includes so many Veterans and Servicemen and Servicewomen.

Our military family includes:

*** Uncles and Cousins:
- both active and retired;

*** military in all branches of the service:
- United States Air Force,
- United States Army, and
- United States Marine Corps;

*** Veterans of so many wars:
- World War Two,
- the Vietnam War,
- the Korean War,
- the Gulf War,
- Desert Storm, and
- the Iraq War.

November is the month to honor our Veterans.
Thanks to all of them, we speak English.

And yet, today, I am saddened, ashamed, and a little bit angry ...

I wonder how this will all turn out. I hope that it fixes itself. For the sake and honor of my family.