“Kiss and Tell” Just Might Cost You a Fortune

Is it a good idea to spill ALL the beans in your blog? Will the words you publish on your personal Internet Blog come back and haunt you? More to the point, will you be sued for libel for what you publish in your Internet Blog?

Perhaps. Read on.

Sex, Bloggers & Privacy: Let The Lawsuits Begin

By Melissa Lafsky

Posted Thursday December 28, 2006 at 10:15 AM

It all started back in 2004 when Robert Steinbuch, former legal counsel for now-displaced Republican senator Mike DeWine, started an affair with a young woman in his office. The woman, of course, was intern-cum-celebrity blogger Jessica Cutler, who had been detailing their sexual encounters, including tidbits like Steinbuch's spanking habits and dislike of condoms, in her now-infamous (and defunct) blog, Washingtonienne. Wonkette made Cutler famous, she lost her job, and Steinbuch, who was never revealed by name in Cutler's writings, left D.C. in disgrace and eventually sued to the tune of $20 million. Now, as the Guardian (via the AP) reports, both sides are gearing up for a precedent-setting trial that could affect every blogger who's ever mentioned that clingy ex-boyfriend or flirtatious co-worker on a MySpace or Blogspot page.

Happy New Year.

Beware: Do you really want this person as your client?

For a busy lawyer, there is nothing worse than a bad client.

Bad clients can appear in many forms, but they share a number of common traits.

For instance, bad clients:

• will not listen to your advice;
• are unappreciative of your efforts;
• are time consuming; and
• do not pay their bill on time, or at all.

By handling the affairs of a bad client, you now are less available to a good client. Your time is spent in an enterprise both unsatisfying and financially unrewarding. Have the courage to just say “no.”

Greg Lawless offers this quick list of five questions to ask yourself when considering whether to take on that client -- you know the one -- the client that raises the hair on the back of your neck. Ask yourslef these five questions. If the answer to any one of them is not a resounding "YES!" then seriously reconsider.

1. Is the case a good one?
2. Do you communicate well with the client?
3. Does this case make financial sense?
4. Can I do the matter efficiently and effectively?
5. Do I really want to do this?
   

http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/newlawyer/2004/feb/badclient.html

Should you make the switch?

If you are thinking about upgrading to Microsoft's new Vista operating system software, you should seriously read this article in the New York Times:

"Microsoft is facing an early crisis of confidence in the quality of its
Windows Vista operating system as computer security researchers and hackers
have begun to find potentially serious flaws in the system that was released
to corporate customers late last month."

For the rest of the article go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/25/technology/25vista.html?hp&ex=1167109200&en=ae594036702695c4&ei=5094&partner=homepage

A nifty gift for the Lawyer's baby

While I was rummaging around, looking for a cute gift for my new baby grandson, I ran across this.

It's a baby bib with the words, "Attorney Work Product" in bold, bright letters. How darling.

http://www.forcounsel.com/productDetails_c.asp?productid=0933

How do Law Professors really grade those final exams?

At last. The true law school grading method finally revealed.
A friend sent me this hilarious story.

http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2006/12/a_guide_to_grad.html

Of course, the truth uncovered only one relaible method. There are many others.

Ten Tips for Preparing Witnesses for Deposition

The American Bar Association
Young Lawyers Section
Offers to its members these

Ten Tips for Preparing Witnesses for Deposition

1. Encourage the witness to tell the truth.

2. Develop a trusting relationship with your witness.

3. Understand the case themes.

4. Explain How to Answer Questions About Documents.

5. Recognize your witness’ strengths and weaknesses.

6. Instruct the witness not to volunteer information.

7. Tell the witness to expect questions about preparation.

8. Listen and Practice.

9. Explain objections.

10. Last but not least, be prepared.

http://www.abanet.org/litigation/committees/products/articles.html

Rendezvous with Destiny

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done" ... Ronald Reagan

Get a Grip: Reduce Your Huge Monster Case Down to One Single Page

When faced with that complex, humongous case, what is the best way to contain all those million little details in one puny little brain? You might panic, overwhelmed as the date of litigation approaches. If you can't state the theme of your case in one sentence, that you don't have a grip on your issues.

Being overwhelmed by a large case might be demoralizing; but reducing the entire case to a single page can add perspective and a sense of control.

This brilliant idea was posted by Gary Hill, on the Trial Lawyer Resource Center blog:

The Case on a Single Page

Place a single sheet of paper in the landscape position and fold it in half and then in half again. There are now eight sections.

Name each section: Pre-Trial motions, Voir Dire, Opening Statement, Witnesses, Evidence, Charges, Closing Argument. List only what you need in each category to put up your case.

This exercise will often point to gaps in the case, suggest themes, or trigger changes in the presentation of the witnesses, evidence or argument. You can also keep this summary of the case in the inside pocket of your suit coat as a security blanket at trial.

Click here to read the entire article.

http://www.tlrcblog.com/2006/09/articles/-guest-posts/the-case-on-a-single-page/

Heed This Warning: Guard Your License to Practice Law, or Your Clients Will Suffer.

When the attorney doesn’t have the authority, should the client be punished? Even if the Attorney is unaware that his license was under a thirty day suspension, how is the client to know?

This disturbing article parallels the Attorney-Client relationship to Agency theory. If the Attorney does not have the authority to file an appeal, then the client lacks the authority, under Agency theory.

Bright-Line Blunder

Client loses after suspended lawyer files notice of appeal

By Geri L. Dreiling

If an attorney with a suspended license files a notice of appeal, the client will pay a price, even if neither the lawyer nor the client knew of the suspension, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled.

"When an attorney’s license to practice law in the commonwealth has been suspended, any pleading filed during that time is a nullity," wrote Judge Robert J. Humphreys in Jones v. Jones, No. 2426-05-4 (Oct. 24). As a result, the appeal must be dismissed.

"This opinion gives new meaning to the word formalistic," says Rory Little, a legal ethics professor at the University of California-Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

That makes sense. The Court must draw a bright line or else any lawyer could use the lame excuse, "I didn't know." Now I ask the question: how was he to know?

http://www.abanet.org/journal/ereport/d8suspend.html

Statute of Limitations for Specific Civil Actions in Maryland

The following periods represent a small sample of the statutory limitations periods in Maryland.

Please note that it may be possible to bring multiple causes of action from a single incident of wrongful conduct, and thus even if it appears that the relevant statute of limitations has run it may remain possible to bring a different claim.

Also, there may be an exception to the standard limitations period that applies to any given situation.

The following list is provided by way of example. If you wish to know how the statute of limitations applies to a specific situation, you should verify the statutory time period and its relevance to your situation with a qualified Maryland lawyer.

Personal Injury:

Most intentional torts, 1 year;

Most torts based upon negligent conduct, 3 years.

Fraud:

3 years.

Libel , Slander, and Defamation:

1 year.

Injury to Personal Property:

3 years.

Product Liability:

3 years.

Contracts:

Written, 3 years;

Written and under seal, 12 years.

Professional Malpractice:

Medical malpractice actions must be commenced within five years from the date of the act or omission giving rise to injury, or within three years of its discovery, whichever period is shorter.

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/limitations_by_state/Maryland.html#8