Dec

16

3,000 Billable Hour Requirement – Believable?

Posted by: | December 16, 2011 | 2 Comments

Did everyone happen to see this article in the ABA Journal? If you missed it, an attorney who had been fired is now suing his former law firm because the firm’s alleged requirement that attorneys bill 3,000 hours per year encouraged fraud. There are so many great conversations/debates that could be started by this lawsuit: [...]

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Nov

17

Tackling the Unauthorized Practice of Law in Wisconsin Today

Posted by: | November 17, 2011 | 2 Comments

Professor Michael McChrystal once pointed out that in the State of Wisconsin, the penalty for working as a beautician without a license is not much different from the penalty for practicing law without a license.

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Jul

31

“We Can Be Better Than That”

Posted by: | July 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

Law school is hard.  Being a lawyer is harder.  But that difficulties and responsibilities come with entering the legal profession is not something to bemoan or a cause to run away.  Nor should the difficulty of legal education and practice be sought purely as a means to financial rewards, especially since these rewards are becoming [...]

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May

7

Making the Right Choices

Posted by: | May 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

It’s been a very long time since I’ve attended a CLE presentation and found myself absolutely riveted by the speaker and the content of his or her presentation.  That happened on May 5 at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Litigation, Dispute Resolution, and Appellate Practice Institute.  The speaker was Egil “Bud” Krogh who served as White [...]

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Apr

16

Lawyers: Play Nice

Posted by: | April 16, 2011 | 3 Comments

As you may have already seen, the blawgs have been discussing this recent order by United States District Court Judge Eric Melgren. Judge Melgren issued the order granting a motion for a continuance of a trial scheduled for June 14, 2011, in Kansas, after the defendant, a Dallas attorney,  sought the continuance on the grounds [...]

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Oct

31

Why Twitter Shouldn’t Scare Lawyers

Posted by: | October 31, 2010 | 3 Comments

It’s fair to say Twitter has taken the social media world by storm. In less than five years, Twitter has become one of the go-to media outlets for bloggers, newspapers, companies, and the everyday Internet user. I won’t go into a long discourse on what Twitter is, what it can do, or how it works. [...]

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Oct

13

More on An Ethic of Professional Satisfaction

Posted by: | October 13, 2010 | 1 Comment

I rather liked Rebecca Blemberg’s post on lawyer happiness and virtue ethics and would like to extend the discussion. I agree that one of the mistakes a lawyer can make is to follow the lure of a consequentialism that is divorced from her knowledge of herself and what that tells her about the way in [...]

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Oct

6

Lawyers and Happiness (And a Little Bit of Virtue Ethics)

Posted by: | October 6, 2010 | 2 Comments

Most of the lawyers I know are happy to be lawyers.  They take pride in their work, and they feel good about their role in the justice system.  Life as a lawyer isn’t easy, but it’s rewarding and fulfilling. But it seems like there’s a perception that has intensified in the past decade or so [...]

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Jul

18

Early African-American Lawyer Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

Posted by: | July 18, 2010 | 1 Comment

Amid the coverage that focused on the induction of former Notre Dame star Tim Brown to the College Football Hall of Fame, the fact that the list of 24 former players and coaches inducted included former Harvard center William H. Lewis has been almost completely overlooked. Admittedly, Lewis is not exactly a household name in [...]

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May

17

When a Justice’s Spouse Engages in Political Activity

Posted by: | May 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment

When Mrs. Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, launched a new non-profit organization called Liberty Central earlier this spring, the announcement prompted a firestorm of media coverage. The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and numerous other news outlets ran stories discussing the possible ethical issues that may arise. The stories focused on [...]

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Apr

7

A Class of Ethical Considerations

Posted by: | April 7, 2010 | 1 Comment

As a guest speaker in class today, Professor Grenig arranged for an appearance by Mr. Howard Myers, who has appeared before Professor Grenig in labor disputes and now himself serves as a mediator.  Myers spent the class period talking about the role of a lawyer and ethical considerations that lawyers confront on a daily basis.  While I [...]

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Jan

26

Does the ABA Do Good? (Part I)

Posted by: | January 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment

No. (This, however, is a polemic, and as such I am unfairly neglecting some of the fine work done by some ABA sections.) As a law student, I had an inchoate thought that the ABA could be a kind of strong mediating institution between the state and the individual that would make it beneficial to the public, not [...]

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