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Passive Aggression: Juror research limited to “passive” means, while clients...
Social media provide possible sources for lawyers of the public or semi-private thoughts of clients, opponents, witnesses, and even jurors. This can be a goldmine for witness impeachment or an...
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Debt to Society: Prosecutors lending official letterhead to debt collectors
People call or email me all the time with situations they think involve unethical or incompetent behavior by lawyers. Malpractice and unethical conduct are two different things and they are handled...
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Do As They Say: Bar officials flunk basic spreadsheet skills
One of the functions performed by the state bar organizations in the US is to administer the process of licensing new lawyers. This has anti-competitive implications because many bars also act as the...
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Flattening Justice: State commission set to level civil justice system
Flat Earth Society Image Local, state, and federal courts are supported by taxpayers and, in some part, by various charges made by the court to file lawsuits, for example. In return, the courts are...
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Stupid Poor People: Bar study finds people think lawyers don’t make a difference
The American Bar Foundation, an arm of the ABA and thus devoted to helping to advance the cause of lawyers and the business of law, has studied how poor people deal with their “legal” problems and is...
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Pyramid Scheme: Contract lawyers treated like slaves for lawyer profit
There’s a new layer at the bottom of the billable hours pyramid. The top is still occupied by partners, followed by non-partner lawyers, and then by the fairly recent paralegal and other...
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Prix Fixe: Setting standard legal fees is illegal price fixing
While there are other stories about the acceptance of the billable hour as a de facto standard for legal billing, this is one of the more entertaining I have seen. This is the story of how the US...
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Human Experimentation: Lawyers may “moonlight” outside expertise
Most lawyers must have a bachelor’s degree (in any subject), plus an advanced degree from an accredited law school (usually a Juris Doctor, with some exceptions), then they must satisfy various state...
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Lien On The Client: ABA hopes to protect lawyers from providing key files to...
A collateral complication of a “divorce” between lawyers and their clients is working out custody of the fruits of their relationship: The lawyer’s “files” containing work and data relevant to the...
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Zero Impact Lawyering: Semi-retired lawyer does 100% pro bono
Our legal system is supposed to dispense fair justice for all, but it does not. There are many flaws in the system, some of which are built in — human beings are not perfect — and others are man-made...
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