Do You Have a Case for That?

The following posting is made with permission from the State Bar of Wisconsin who originally printed it as an article with the same name included in the Wisconsin Lawyer, Vol. 88 No. 11 December 1, 2015:  

The willingness to question authorities makes lawyers a dynamic and powerful profession and force.

Have you ever been in a debate with a colleague about a legal issue and, after a lengthy discussion in which you feel as though you have articulated several good reasons for your position, your colleague ends the exchange with, “Do you have a case for that?” I hate that. I think it is a cop-out.

Walgreens at the Corner of Irate and Amused

“I’m here to pickup some photos and photobooks for my wife; last name Gardipee,” I told the clerk at the photo shop at my local Walgreens.  My wife’s last name is not Gardipee, it’s Evans, like mine.  Gardipee is her maiden name but for some reason Walgreens continually gets it wrong even after she tries to update it.  I’m in a hurry tonight.  It’s almost Christmas, year-end at work, no time for pointless back and forth so I just went with Gardipee.  However, after the clerk rummaged around for a while I said, “Try looking under Evans. That’s actually her name now.”  Eventually, the clerk found the books under Gardipee and the photos under Evans.  That’s better, I guess.  The clerk did not ask if I wanted to update her account, but I did not mind.  I just wanted to pick up dinner and get home.  In addition to the 50% off discount my wife used online when she ordered the books she had given me a ten-dollar coupon to use and I used five dollars of Walgreens rewards, which left my total at just over $50.   

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG!

The following posting is made with permission from the State Bar of Wisconsin who originally printed it as an article with the same name included in Fresh Perspectives, State Bar of Wisconsin, July 2015, Vol. No. 18, Issue No. 3:

“You know what your problem is, you were raised in a retail setting and that doesn’t work here.  Here, the customer is always wrong!”  This is advice I recently gave my colleague.  Now, for context, we both understood that I am generally full of it.  But there is truth in what I was saying.

It’s Good To Be Bad

Everyday when I was in fifth grade my class would line up in the hallway outside of the cafeteria and wait our turn to go through the lunch line.  There was an old school fire alarm in the hallway.  A metal ball about the size of a bouncy-ball was connected to the fire alarm.  The alarm worked by lifting up and dropping the ball onto a sheet of glass, which would break and cause the alarm to go off.

Republicans should nominate a woman for President in 2016

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Ralph Waldo Emerson

The first political issue that I remember being interested in was affirmative action.  I had watched a TV6 editorial that argued that affirmative action was itself wrongful discrimination, I agreed, and affirmative action became the subject of a paper I had to write for my sixth grade English class.  Thereafter, politics and debate became something I enjoyed immensely. 

C.Y.A. C.Y.A. C.Y.A. Often Times The Best Advice Is Never Given. Or Is It?

I was taught from early on, “cover your ass”.  If a client is going against your advice, give him your advice in writing.  When the bad thing that you said could happen happens, he won’t be able to say, “You should have told me.”  We lawyers are always here to sue on a client’s behalf, so it is no wonder that we are naturally inclined to try to avoid getting sued ourselves.  But sometimes, our C.Y.A. tactics can be confusing.

I Wouldn’t Tell Someone Not To Major In Music

I love being a lawyer.  I truly enjoy my job.  The hours, days, weeks and years seem to past by in the blink of an eye because I am having fun.  I often happily think, “Maybe I’ll never retire.”  There are even times when I find myself telling people, “You should go to law school.”  However, whenever someone is seriously considering law school, I find that I am compelled to warn people that law school is a horrible investment.

Do As I Say Not As I Do?

“Evans a partner in law firm” was the title of an article in The Mining Journal earlier this year.  That’s not true.  I am not a partner, and none of my “partners” are partners either.  Mistakes by newspapers are one thing, but this common error has legal ramifications when committed by so-called “partners”.

Kill Half the Lawyers

My favorite professor, Professor Michael I. Krauss, from my days in law school is now a contributing author for Forbes.   He recently wrote an article, “Law School Begins: Here’s A Message to the New Crop of 1L’s”, which I am pretty sure is the current version of a speech he’s been giving for long time including when I first met him twelve years ago. 

Near the end of the article he encourages some 1L’s (first year law students) to “Get thee out now whilest a partial refund of tuition is still available”, which gives you a good flavor for his overall message.  Professor Krauss ought to be commended for acknowledging the very real struggles that young lawyers today face given the exorbitant cost of law school and the overall grim employment prospects for new graduates.  He does not quite say that law school is a bad investment, but he comes close. 

Dwayne Wade Should Willingly Take a Significant Pay Cut

I am a huge fan of the NBA.  While I usually root for the Pistons or the Bucks, I am secretly a fan of the Miami Heat.  Okay, I am a LeBron James fan more than a Heat fan similar to when I was going up I was more of a Michael Jordan fan than a Bulls fan.  Anyway, with the free agency craziness that is about to start, here is my argument why Dwayne Wade should willing take a significant pay cut:

Causing Inflation By Increasing the Minimum Wage Would Benefit Me

There has been a lot of talk lately about increasing the minimum wage.  Conservatives often argue that increasing the minimum wage leads to greater unemployment in the short-term and inflation in the long run.  I believe that, but I don’t think that ends the analysis, as some people seem to suggest.  I am not necessarily arguing that we should increase the minimum wage.  I am simply expressing why it would not upset me personally for reasons that I don’t often hear articulated.  Reasons that you could argue, if you were so inclined, support raising the minimum wage.  

6 Jobs, 17 Bosses & Over 700 Emails: Thoughts on Career Searching

The following posting is made with permission from the State Bar of Wisconsin who originally printed it as an article with the same name included in Young Lawyer Division News, State Bar of Wisconsin, January 2014, Vol. No. 17, Issue No. 1:

One of the primary reasons I ran for a position on the board of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Wisconsin was that I knew it would provide me with opportunities to help young attorneys struggling in this economy.  Since I graduated from law school in 2005, I have had six legal jobs, seventeen different bosses, and I have sent over 700 emails regarding possible employment.  Before you immediately assume that I am an opportunist jumping to continually greener pastures: two jobs were temporary, two firms split up, and the sole owner of my last firm died from brain cancer six months after I left his firm.  Nevertheless, I consider myself lucky because I know that many others have had and are having a much tougher time.  With the recent release of the Challenges Facing New Lawyers Task Force Report and Recommendation, it seems like an opportune time to offer some thoughts on career searching. 

Contingency by the Hour?

When I was studying to be a lawyer I remember attorneys in my hometown of Marquette telling me how the adoption of the no-fault system in Michigan took a lot of work away from lawyers.  Almost two years ago I move back to Michigan from Wisconsin, and after working in both states, I can see exactly what they mean. I see the Wisconsin legal market today as similar in many respects to what I think the Michigan legal market was like in the past before the no-fault system was adopted.  Car accidents are big business for lawyers in Wisconsin and almost everybody tries to get in on the action, whereas in Michigan, personal injury matters stemming from car accidents is a much more specialized practice area. Why? Money.

My Blogging Philosophy: That’s My Argument

The following posting is made with permission from the State Bar of Wisconsin who originally printed it as an article entitled, “Blogging Series: That’s My Argument” included in Young Lawyer Division News, State Bar of Wisconsin, October 2013, Vol. No. 16, Issue No. 5:

Legal blogging is a relatively new phenomenon that is getting more and more popular. In the last few years, I have read numerous articles about legal blogging, attended a CLE regarding legal blogging, and heard numerous marketing professionals stress the importance of blogging to lawyers.