Born on the hottest day in 1958 in a hospital about a mile from my practice, son of a lawyer who was a lot like Atticus Finch, I have been appearing in court since I was a teenager. The people of my hometown are just plain folks who really dont understand how the outside world has made their lives complex. Thats where I have found work for I am schooled in the secret knowledge of lawyers. Enough about me, I now am told I should use this space to disclaim that anything I have said here or on any blog should be taken by the individual reader to constitute legal advice. Instead, if you think you have more than a passing interest in any topic I touch on, you should consult an attorney.
Tonight I am reading about the second blown call in major league baseball in as many days. I cannot help but draw the parallel to the justice system. In the film Bull Durham the young players are told “sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about it”. This is pretty much how … More Law is like Baseball
I have had the pleasure of representing Veterans, most often in the estate planning context. Sometimes I think my courtroom tales curl the toes, but the truth is the conflict we address day in and day out is without bloodshed. The tales these men tell evidence more at stake and a privilege to hear. An older fellow … More Representing Veterans: They Have Seen More Than Anyone Should
I am just off the phone with a woman representing herself to be married to one of the heirs of a will I I have in probate. This is her second call this month, demanding to know where the money is. She made representations about what we had promised which were impossible because we hadn’t … More Where’s The Check!?
Last night I stopped by my grandparents home. I own it now, they passed decades ago now. I lived there for a great while, then married so stay there only sometimes. The home is a monument to their values; sturdy, simple, not a wall out of plumb, and the gutters are stainless steel. Outside in the … More Geese Mate For Life
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like movies. Movies take you away to some other place than your life for two hours, then allows you to return to the relative safety of the theater lobby. Most of the time the movies are about conflict. Often about war. There is something about conflict that is a compelling story. We … More In Harm’s Way
It being the holidays and my daughter having flown home I loaned her my Subaru and borrowed the older of two buicks my parents drive. Driving the 2000 Park Avenue is a little like piloting the aircraft carrier in Everett’s harbor, and as such we began calling it the USS Nimitz. There comes a time … More My Dad’s Buick
My father has been a lawyer since 1963. He is 80 years old, and officially retired. But he keeps working. Every night, his caseload returns to him in his dreams. They are all bad cases. He cannot find the file. He is late for court and has not read the file. I have long advised … More The Lawyer’s Mind Never Retires
I was astonished to wake today. The Mayans said we should be dead by now. Instead it is like any other day; a commute in the rain and clients waiting in person, via e mail or telephone. Then it occurred to me the world as we knew it has already passed. We are in the … More It’s The End of the World As We Know It
You all remember the odd patronage of the Star Wars cantina don’t you? Luke Skywalker walks in with Obi Wan Kenobi looking to make a deal for transport out of Mos Eisley and off the planet Tatooine. He finds more than Han Solo. He encounters the members of the Star Wars Bar. We didnt start out this way. We were … More The Star Wars Bar Association
My sister is a prosecutor. When she is in trial against a criminal defense lawyer who believes so much in his clients cause that he or she cannot see the flaws in the case, she labels them a “true believer”. I was a true believer of Armstrong. We already had one genuine hero, Neil Armstrong. … More In Search Of Heros in a Post – Armstrong Era
Lawyers Road Review 