Tips for Finding a Pro Bono Lawyer
In 2012, I spent hundreds of hours doing pro bono work. I will likely do as much if not more in 2013. Many of my greatest successes, and also a few of my biggest frustrations, came from cases I agreed to handle free of charge. I’ve learned some important lessons along the way. If you’re hoping to find pro bono representation, let me give you a few pointers. First, I can’t help you with your New Jersey case. I don’t know what the hell is happening in New Jersey, but I couldn’t improve my pro bono Google juice in New Jersey if I tried. Your New Jersey case may be fascinating, and it may be just the sort of thing I’d be willing to do … Read entire article »
Filed under: Clients
The Simpsons Already Did It
I’m about ready to boycott Facebook. I suppose I could marvel at the diversity of my friends’ political views, but it’s mostly just draining. Half of them are stockpiling weapons. The other half are champing at the bit for some sort of action, any action, from legislators. Why they feel the need to share their views in impersonal snippets bound to piss off half of their “friends” is beyond me. Personally, I’ve avoided posting anything about last week’s tragedy because it has seemed far too soon for me to know what lessons I should be taking away from it, if there are any at all. It’s also far easier to make sense of other people’s reactions than it is to make sense of what happened. After I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Honest Self-Improvement
It’s pretty rare for me to link to something without providing commentary, even when I find out about it from David Friedman. It’s downright unprecedented for me to link to or even read much of anything at Cracked, the densest jungle of ad-filled top-five lists on the internet. That said, you should really check out this article discussing harsh truths that will make you a better person. Like David Friedman said, it’s both well-written and sensible. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
The Source
Lawyers as a group tend to be dissatisfied. They’re dissatisfied with the work they’re doing. They’re dissatisfied with the money they’re making. Clients are frustrating, courts are frustrating, and the practice of law isn’t what they thought it would be. Why? The truth is that the work is great. It’s intellectually challenging. Maybe not if you’re shuffling one client after another through an assembly line, but if you’re litigating cases and going to trial when appropriate, it’s everything any bright-eyed law student could ever hope for. It’s an intellectual feast. The money is also great. Even with law school debt, bar exam debt, business-starting debt, and whatever personal baggage you bring in, your time is still worth an enormous amount of money. Good … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
A Waste
From this article at the Arizona Republic: I do wish I could die doing something meaningful. You know, this seems such a waste. Those were a man’s last words. He died soon after without uttering any “official” last words. He liked porterhouse steak, french fries, okra, cauliflower, salad, fruit and ice cream. He liked those things so much they were the last things he ate before we murdered him. The good folks at the prison complex where we killed him, our crackerjack “execution team,” didn’t have an easy job. The doomed man was nice enough, joking with them as they prepared to end his life, but they had a real tough time setting the two intravenous lines intended to deliver fatal toxins. They had to cut into the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases, Death Penalty
Who’s The Fairest of Them All?
What makes a blog worth reading? What makes a blog worthy of an award? The ABA apparently knows, and last year I was fortunate to find myself in great company after being selected for the ABA Journal Blawg 100. From what I recall, I got the least votes in my category. Darn. This year, I was not surprised when I failed to make the cut. Oh well. Regardless, I was pleased to see some great criminal justice blogs in the line-up. Mark Bennett’s Defending People has had a serious impact on my approach to the practice of law. His writing, his approach to issues, and his posts about jury selection in particular have made me a better lawyer for having stumbled upon his … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing
Real Change
For the first time in a little while, I left court this morning feeling like everything turned out okay. The whole experience was quite surprising, honestly. A lot of things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. In most cases, even a positive result has some major downside. Not today. My client had absconded from probation long ago. He left the state and started a new life. There was nothing for him in Arizona but bad memories and worse influences. The new life he created for himself, on the other hand, was filled with stability, good people, and direction. He had been sober for a long time. He had a job and a support network. He finally knew what he wanted … Read entire article »
Filed under: Courts, Prosecutors
When Justice Is Corruption And Injustice Is The Law
Via one of my favorite blogs, the ever-fantastic Philly Law Blog written by Jordan Rushie and Leo M. Mulvihill, Jr., whose beard-mentoring qualifications give me beard envy and whose fashion sensibilities continue to intimidate me into wearing plaid for every occasion, respectively, came this amazing little report. In case you don’t want to click through, the report details all kinds of favorable treatment given to important people by Philadelphia’s traffic courts. Unlike most thirty-plus page reports about a court in a different state, I felt compelled to read it. I’m glad I did. The report tells a story of judges giving “special consideration” to people with power. It explains that judges routinely helped the politically connected individuals get all kinds of benefits, even when no express request … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
Reinventing The Wheel Into Something Else
After reading a post at My Shingle, I clicked through to a post by Jordan Furlong discussing his thoughts on the future of the practice of law. He divides what he calls “the evolution of the legal services market” into stages, the first being what he calls a “closed market,” the second being a “breached market,” the third being a “fully open market,” the fourth being an “expanding market,” and the fifth being a “multi-dimensional market.” He sees competition growing and lawyers having to drastically change what we do. We’re all going to have to think outside the box, reinvent ourselves. My initial reaction was that he was just making up stuff, providing intricate details about a fictional future where his services will be in far greater demand … Read entire article »
Filed under: Marketing, Practice in General
Trusting Judges
For most felony offenses in Arizona, a person sentenced to a term of probation can be ordered to serve up to a year in the county jail. When prosecutors intend to seek jail time as a condition of probation, they usually say so up front. If it’s a guarantee, the plea will say “defendant shall serve…” before describing the amount of time, whether it’s a deferred term, and whether the defendant gets credit for time served. In other instances where jail is possible, the plea will say “the state anticipates requesting an initial jail term” or something along those lines. Occasionally, the prosecutor changes his or her mind between plea and sentencing. They will also say so if that’s the case. Other times, the probation department’s presentence report … Read entire article »
Filed under: Judges
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