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Zero Impact Lawyering: Semi-retired lawyer does 100% pro bono
Our legal system is supposed to dispense fair justice for all, but it does not. There are many flaws in the system, some of which are built in — human beings are not perfect — and others are man-made...
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State Legal Lotteries: States hire private firms for gigantic contingent fees
Here’s a report about a new law in West Virginia, similar to less than half the states, to shine a light on the mysterious, fabulously expensive practice of government agencies contracting to hire...
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User Beware: Online lawyer directories rarely reliable
We’re still living in the first “internet” age, when a couple of dropouts with some cash from their parents can “launch” a miniature business based on some basic technology, usually with some...
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Sending Blind: NY Bar addresses risks of copying clients with emails
When I started out, the high tech way for lawyers to communication was by fax — a step up from mail or phone. Anything within 30 or 40 miles might be reached by couriers — a business model that’s long...
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Two Wrongs Dept.: Keep calm & carry on
From time to time even the best lawyers and law firms are accused of legal malpractice. Sometimes that idea comes from the client trying to explain a disappointing result. Sometimes things happen —...
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Human Experimentation: Lawyers may “moonlight” outside expertise
Most lawyers must have a bachelor’s degree (in any subject), plus an advanced degree from an accredited law school (usually a Juris Doctor, with some exceptions), then they must satisfy various state...
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Big Demand, Short Supply: There’s always a shortage of good, cheap lawyers
In November 2015, The Washington Post ran an op-ed piece by a couple of Georgetown Law deans titled “Too many lawyers? Not in D.C.” Their point was that, for people living on the economic edge, there...
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Puffing Professionals: Law firm immune for false statements to client
Here’s an example of how the legal system, through gatekeeping judges, seems to protect its own — lawyers. There are many hurdles, some unique to lawyers, protecting lawyers from the consequences of...
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Prix Fixe: Setting standard legal fees is illegal price fixing
While there are other stories about the acceptance of the billable hour as a de facto standard for legal billing, this is one of the more entertaining I have seen. This is the story of how the US...
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Trying Times: Fake your trial experience to attract clients
The general public and nearly all clients — even major clients with in-house counsel and lots of client-side litigation experience — assume that lawyers who claim to be litigators or trial lawyers must...
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Disabled Lawyering: Lawyer impersonates colleague to double dip veterans’ fees
Just when you think you’ve heard all the ways a rogue lawyer might find to overcharge a client, along comes a story like this one. It seems a lawyer used a friend’s identity to illegally double bill...
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Pyramid Scheme: Contract lawyers treated like slaves for lawyer profit
There’s a new layer at the bottom of the billable hours pyramid. The top is still occupied by partners, followed by non-partner lawyers, and then by the fairly recent paralegal and other...
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Suspended Disbelief: Bar suspends lawyer who took $450K with OCD excuse
People have gone to jail for decades for stealing a few dollars in cash or merchandise. So why is the Illinois Bar, after several years, just suspending the law license of a lawyer (who admits he took...
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Exit Stage Right: Immigration lawyer migrates from courthouse when government...
The legal system is schizophrenic: Lawyers are supposed to owe a high professional duty to do whatever they can, but within some vague bounds, for their clients. To be the client’s legal champion,...
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Legal Roulette: Malpractice insurer seeks to drop claims after the fact
Insurance is a form of gambling: You put your bet down (call it a premium), then the wheel of life starts spinning, and you see what happens while the wheel spins for the term of your policy. If the...
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The Retention Dance: Law firm claims duty to forward potential client’s...
Nearly all law firms now have websites, which are primarily marketing tools to impress potential clients. I suppose some firms would say their websites are not looking for business, they are just...
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Talking to Yourself: Lawyer discourages overcommunication with needy clients
Legal problems make many clients nervous — even if it’s something minor than can easily afford. The whole legal process, including lawyers and courts and so on, just makes you worry. And the superior,...
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Bailing Out: Malpractice defense lawyers recommend bailing on difficult clients
Many legal malpractice cases are based on snap judgments gone wrong, perhaps during a trial or other court appearance. A failure to object at a key time or making a mistake in an argument might...
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Sticks and Stones: State court sanctions lawyer for comments about agency judge
In the name of avoiding criticism by lawyers that might undermine respect for the legal system, lawyers sometimes lose normal First Amendment rights to comment about legal issues, including judges,...
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Flattening Justice: State commission set to level civil justice system
Flat Earth Society Image Local, state, and federal courts are supported by taxpayers and, in some part, by various charges made by the court to file lawsuits, for example. In return, the courts are...
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