There are just so may sound bytes from family law that stick with a guy after a few decades of practice. “Mr. Patterson, Control Your Client!” the guy says to me. Couldn’t see who it was but I think it was my clients ex-husband. The hearing had not gone well for us and his former … More Sound Bytes from Family Law
“We was in Agree-ence” the man standing pro se before the Court Commissioner says, as he tries to explain why he has not returned the child of which he seeks “custodie” to the child’s mother. That is how “custody” is spelled in his pleadings. Being a lawyer means one is a wordsmith, and at times the use … More The Street Language of the Courthouse
When I was a kid the neighborhood left wing family included a couple of brothers who claimed that pot could not be made legal in the United States because the entire population would instantly become high. This has apparently become the case in Seattle. In Seattle the smell of that noxious weed is so regular … More Seattle: You Look Like Hell
My stepdaughter has recently received her Ph.d from the University of Nottingham and has been hired there as a lecturer. Her boyfriend, a Mr. Higgins, yes that is his real name, has posed to me the seemingly trite question many educated Britons ask, “Why can’t the English speak English?” as if we are in the … More Why Can’t the English Speak English?
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
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
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