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
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
In the summer of 2006, I trekked again north to attorney John Weston’s cabin out in the wild. This time, I brought my then 12 year old, Johnny. It was time for Johnny to get away from the TV, the video games and other devices that require electricity, which comes at a premium when one … More Its Not That Easy, Being Green Part I
We woke the first morning in Weston’s cabin to see a moose across the creek feeding. In fact, we saw so many moose we decided they were an insurgency, and declared them to be the Moosahadeen. Beaver, muskrat and other four legged creatures thrived under a sky filled with raptors of one kind or another. … More Its Not That Easy Being Green Part II
There was another young man who used to work for us, sometime trading the job with Sam who went to war. His name was Ben, and he instead went to biology. Ben got tired of the intermittent funding of biology and decided to go to law school. Things of course are not what they were. One must recognize the … More Work Life Balance
Sometimes I wonder about this job. Law exists to resolve conflict. Working the law means inviting conflict to be the subject matter of my trade, as opposed to say a mechanic who invites fixing broken automobiles to be his trade, or a sailor invites the sea to be his profession. The concept of sailing away keeps spirits up. Practicing … More We Can Sail Away
For years I have been publishing Lawyers Road Review for the Snohomish County Bar News in Washington State. There is a creative bent that I just can’t get out of my system, and like a long road trip, has benefits and scenes you do not expect on the way. So fasten your safety belt, engage the cupholders, and be … More The Road is Long
Lawyers Road Review 