El Floppo
Footballguy
Put a scarf on it and welcome to my world.
Sucks no matter the business. Especially if there's no response at all.
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The Lawyer Thread Where We Stop Ruining Other Threads (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter Henry Ford
- Start date
Sucks no matter the business. Especially if there's no response at all.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Being a lawyer is so glamorous.
Currently sitting at a truck stop casino in a horrible town waiting for a guy I've never met to show up and sign an affidavit that will be worth about a half million dollars to my client.
Currently sitting at a truck stop casino in a horrible town waiting for a guy I've never met to show up and sign an affidavit that will be worth about a half million dollars to my client.
Zow
Footballguy
Had a client make one of the biggest, most gut-wrenching bad choices I've experienced. Facing 10-20 years flat time if convicted at trial. It's a very defensible case and through my work I've poked some serious holes. Filed a potentially case-gutting motion to suppress as well. In short, I've rocked this thing. So much so that I got the state to stipulate to releasing my client and offering a no jail no fine misdemeanor plea offer. While the state should arguably just dismiss the case, they want their fraction of an ounce of flesh and, frankly, this result is better for my client than a dismissal without prejudice because dj attaches and, if he's charged with a similar crime in the next 6ish years, they can't bring this one back.
Guy turned it down today. So, so painful.
Guy turned it down today. So, so painful.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Here's the thing on these cases. Generally, the client is viewing this stuff at like 2 AM in some corner of his man cave or whatever. Generally, the client, at least as I can reasonably deduce, isn't or has ever actually acted on this disgusting urges. Generally, the client has never actually produced any of this stuff (they seem to all come from eastern Europe) and, at worst, is trading them on some file sharing software. In every case my state's law and mandatory sentencing guidelines subjects the client to equal or often more time than they'd get if they actually engaged in the acts depicted on the images they're viewing.
Every time I have to view this evidence I'm filled with rage for a short period of time and want whoever produced the stuff to rot in a cell for the rest of his life. I also temporarily regret my job choice and wish I just worked out a bit harder and became like a bullpen catcher or something. But, I have been able to get over that and not pass such disgust onto the client.
Zow
Footballguy
If it weren't unethical for me to do so, I'd send you my client's number and you can ask him yourself. I'm sure some others present in the court hallway were thinking the same thing though as I was, not quietly, pleading with the guy to reconsider.
The best answer I can give though is that, for some of these guys -- most of whom have chosen to live a criminal life -- pleading guilty is a thing of principle and they'll never plead guilty to something they didn't do. In some extreme cases, like certain biker gangs or other close-knit criminal organizations, my experience has been that they sort of embraced the Prisoner's Dilemma idea and have decided as a group to never plead guilty.
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Henry Ford
Footballguy
If they aren't acting on these urges, producing this stuff, or spreading it around, how are they even getting picked up by the police? That doesn't make sense to me.
Edit: Oh, "file sharing" programs - you mean they're torrent-sharing collections of this stuff, I assume. Yeah, I'd still be murder-y.
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Zow
Footballguy
In my experience Homeland Security has advanced enough software that they can basically track a particular image and look at its metadata to see when and by what IP it's been accessed. They'll also go "undercover" and get on file sharing services (e.g. Bit Torrent, emule, etc.) and track the IPs of the users they catch downloading or sharing the stuff. They then issue a subpoena to the internet service provider to get the name and address of the subscriber. Next they get a search warrant from the local court for the address associated. Finally, they show up at the crack of dawn with like 12 agents carrying M-16s dressed in black and scare the ever living hell out of some unsuspecting family and turn their lives upside-down forever when the patriarch of the family is exposed for this stuff and facing decades in prison.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Oh, sometimes people just aren't very smart, either. I've had a couple of cases where the guy stupidly took his computer in to like Staples or the Geek Squad because, not shockingly, the computer had a virus. I even had one where the guy loaned his computer to his sister-in-law and she found it.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
krista4
Footballguy
I wanted to "like" this post as thanks for the info, but...:clears throat:
Zow
Footballguy
OrtonToOlsen
Footballguy
playin4beer
Footballguy
Ok lawyerguys... Looking for some "advice"..
This weekend we were staying at a resort with the family.. On Friday I was in the lobby talking with some other people and my wife walked out to the car to grab something.
On her way to the car, a big dead tree limb/branch broke off from about 30' in the air and hit her in the head knocking her to the ground.. She never lost consciousness but was dazed and "out of it". She was in quite a bit of pain and couldn't sit up.. I called the ambulance.. They arrived and checked her out.. They said they could bring her in for more tests if she wanted to, but didn't feel it was necessary and that she had a concussion. Shortly after the ambulance arrived, the resort manager and head of security came. They took all my information, room#, contact number and talked to a witness that saw it happen. A lady from the front desk called her the next day to see how she was doing. That was the only contact we had with them after the incident. When we checked out, I just left the keys in the room, it had already been paid for up front.
My wife never left the room the rest of the weekend, staying in bed with headaches and nausea.. This morning she's still in quite a bit of pain with nausea... I know this is all probably the result of a pretty good concussion, but she's calling her doctor today to see if she should get an MRI or CT scan..
I'm not looking to "lawyer up" and file a lawsuit... I'm just asking what my recourse is for any medical costs we could incur..
This weekend we were staying at a resort with the family.. On Friday I was in the lobby talking with some other people and my wife walked out to the car to grab something.
On her way to the car, a big dead tree limb/branch broke off from about 30' in the air and hit her in the head knocking her to the ground.. She never lost consciousness but was dazed and "out of it". She was in quite a bit of pain and couldn't sit up.. I called the ambulance.. They arrived and checked her out.. They said they could bring her in for more tests if she wanted to, but didn't feel it was necessary and that she had a concussion. Shortly after the ambulance arrived, the resort manager and head of security came. They took all my information, room#, contact number and talked to a witness that saw it happen. A lady from the front desk called her the next day to see how she was doing. That was the only contact we had with them after the incident. When we checked out, I just left the keys in the room, it had already been paid for up front.
My wife never left the room the rest of the weekend, staying in bed with headaches and nausea.. This morning she's still in quite a bit of pain with nausea... I know this is all probably the result of a pretty good concussion, but she's calling her doctor today to see if she should get an MRI or CT scan..
I'm not looking to "lawyer up" and file a lawsuit... I'm just asking what my recourse is for any medical costs we could incur..
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
They will likely pay for your (reasonable) medical expenses. You're a business invitee, which gives them a higher duty of care for non-obvious dangers, such as dead tree branches. So if you get an MRI or something, be sure your doctor orders it in writing. You can write a letter, or have a lawyer write a letter, but I'd imagine a phone call would do the trick.
Ditkaless Wonders
Footballguy
the rover
Footballguy
Anyone else have a mediation go so well that you second-guess yourself? Had a case that had some real problems if we took it to trial coupled with a recent decision in another case on similar issues in the defense's favor with the same counsel. We expected a grind, but ended up settling by 2 pm for twice the value we estimated and three times our bottom line recommendation. So good we walked out wondering if we left money on the table. Still can't figure out why they rolled.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Happened to me a couple years ago pretty much exactly like you're describing.
As long as the client's happy.
the rover
Footballguy
Kinda disagree. Tree laws are pretty state specific, but generally unless there was constructive knowledge of a defective condition there's no liability, and without negligence no insurance coverage. Maybe they'll pay meds but I wouldn't be surprised if they respond to a demand with "sorry, but #### happens."
the rover
Footballguy
Client is thrilled. My partner and I value cases separately and then compare notes. We were within 10% of each other on the bottom line and the target.
Between us we have about 45 years of experience on this stuff. Left happy, but scratching our heads.
El Floppo
Footballguy
an entire tree just fell on a local mom and her three very young kids walking in central park here in NYC. broke her neck and one of her kid's skulls.the rover said:
IIRC when this has happened before, the city has NOT been liable- pretty much as rover describes.
but damn, some poor luck here- best wishes to playin4beer's wife for a speedy recovery... I also hope ad recommend that he get's his wife checked out with a full battery of tests- don't mess around with brains and don't minimize a bad concussion.
swirvenirvin
Footballguy
question for lawyers. Our sub is getting sue dor something because some of the houses are close to some power lines that are by a trail that backs up into peoples houses. The power line company says they need pretty much people's entire backyard to dig and replace and yadda yadda to make things safe.
Anyways doesnt affect my property at all but we are still getting mail about it and being listed in the lawsuit. We got a package in the mail that listed everyone address and names on it. Not really concerned about the lawsuit but Isnt there PII on this and our full names and addresses should not be mailed out to everyone?
Anyways doesnt affect my property at all but we are still getting mail about it and being listed in the lawsuit. We got a package in the mail that listed everyone address and names on it. Not really concerned about the lawsuit but Isnt there PII on this and our full names and addresses should not be mailed out to everyone?
-fish-
Footballguy
your name and mailing address are public information. anyone can look up your deed.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
Got a decision yesterday on a case where we did oral argument in March, 2014. The opinion was 78 pages (unnecessarily so), but even so, three and a quarter years feels a bit long to have to wait for an opinion. But we won! Yippee!
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
I imagine that the judge (a US District Court judge in senior status) probably had a succession of clerks try to write the opinion and they all failed miserably). It was a case that seemed very complicated (interpretation of the treaty an Indian tribe made with the US after the Civil War), but cut through all the B.S. and it was super simple.
I miss the days where judges cared about having matters on the six month report.
chet
Footballguy
Warning: Rant to follow
I am losing faith in the judicial system. I think it's rigged against the small guy.
I am not a lawyer (so please forgive any mistakes I make in describing the situation) but am a shareholder in a small company that has sued some big companies. It's fairly high profile and I don't want to release any info which could identify the players. I just had a 3-hour meeting with the CEO who himself was a former high level partner at one of the world's largest law firms. He said that the defendant filed a motion that claimed his attorneys had violated the prosecution bar. In several pre trial filings, both the plaintiff and the defendant had agreed that the judgement date of a previous trial was in July 2012. As I understand it, the prosecution bar prohibits attorneys from advising clients for a certain period of time after a judgement date. At any rate, the attorney informed the CEO that the bar had expired and they resumed their professional relationship. A few weeks ago, the defendant filed a motion claiming that because they had the ability to appeal the decision for three months after the July date, the actual final judgment date was October 2012. The CEO thought the claim was so ridiculous that they thought about asking the judge to sanction the defendant's attorneys. In a three page sealed ruling, the judge agreed that both the defendant and the plantiff were incorrect about the judgement date and said that the plaintiff's attorneys had violated the prosecution bar.
This judge knows which way he wants the case to fall and is making ridiculous rulings to kill the case. He is also jeopardizing the legal careers of the lawyers in question, This is the 3rd or 4th ridiculous ruling that everyone involved says they've never seen before. These are well established lawyers and the legal bills etc are well into 8-figures. I am telling you that the fix is in and they are trying to kill this company.
I am losing faith in the judicial system. I think it's rigged against the small guy.
I am not a lawyer (so please forgive any mistakes I make in describing the situation) but am a shareholder in a small company that has sued some big companies. It's fairly high profile and I don't want to release any info which could identify the players. I just had a 3-hour meeting with the CEO who himself was a former high level partner at one of the world's largest law firms. He said that the defendant filed a motion that claimed his attorneys had violated the prosecution bar. In several pre trial filings, both the plaintiff and the defendant had agreed that the judgement date of a previous trial was in July 2012. As I understand it, the prosecution bar prohibits attorneys from advising clients for a certain period of time after a judgement date. At any rate, the attorney informed the CEO that the bar had expired and they resumed their professional relationship. A few weeks ago, the defendant filed a motion claiming that because they had the ability to appeal the decision for three months after the July date, the actual final judgment date was October 2012. The CEO thought the claim was so ridiculous that they thought about asking the judge to sanction the defendant's attorneys. In a three page sealed ruling, the judge agreed that both the defendant and the plantiff were incorrect about the judgement date and said that the plaintiff's attorneys had violated the prosecution bar.
This judge knows which way he wants the case to fall and is making ridiculous rulings to kill the case. He is also jeopardizing the legal careers of the lawyers in question, This is the 3rd or 4th ridiculous ruling that everyone involved says they've never seen before. These are well established lawyers and the legal bills etc are well into 8-figures. I am telling you that the fix is in and they are trying to kill this company.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
That's actually an interesting question. You can only appeal a "final judgment" but a judgment isn't final in the sense it sounds like he's talking about until all appeal periods have run.
But yes, the judicial system is rigged against the small guy.
Otis
Footballguy
If this is a patent case -- and I suspect it is -- the "prosecution bar" is probably something different from what you're describing. It probably is a prohibition in the protective order that prevents confidential information in the lawsuit from being shared with patent prosecution attorneys (the guys who draft and apply for patents) defending the patent in a patent office proceeding.
Sucks GB. I've seen plaintiffs bring some pretty crappy patent cases but get emotionally (and/or financially) invested and convince themselves they have s great case.
Disclaimer: I have no idea what case this is, but probably I could figure it out.
BigJim®
Footballguy
Not my area of practice but if I remember right cities can avoid liability for injury in public areas under a concept called sovereign immunity. That is only applicable to municipalities. As was mentioned by a prior poster, a business customer should be considered an invitee, and that is the highest duty of care - going beyond known dangers to requiring ongoing inspection for potential dangers. Not a slam dunk as I've seen large branches come down without any signs of risk, but likely the business would pay for medical procedures rather than risk paying lawyers to defend a bigger demand.
The Indestructible
Footballguy
Anybody ever create their own course geared towards lawyers? I've gotten some good feedback on an idea I had for a course. I'm not sure I want to go through the hassle of getting CLE approval.
dschuler
Footballguy
Say you knew North Korea was about to do something drastic or that the US was going to attack, and you knew this before anyone in the media or on wall street (like the night before or a few hours before).
You then use that information to load up and bet big on the volatility index to make a lot of money by betting right before the event occurs. And by a lot of money, just a few thousand
Is that illegal?
You then use that information to load up and bet big on the volatility index to make a lot of money by betting right before the event occurs. And by a lot of money, just a few thousand
Is that illegal?
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CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
FOIA request to AMtrak produces the greatest redaction of all time. https://muckrock.s3.amazonaws.com/news_photos/nosnackcar.jpg
the rover
Footballguy
No lawyer has time to take a course that doesn’t give CLE credit, unless it’s something like Inns at Court that a firm sends young lawyers to.
The Indestructible
Footballguy
I thought about this. I also read this, which has the following, and yes, those are functioning links in the quote below:
the rover
Footballguy
The Indestructible
Footballguy
"The FDCPA Boot Camp is not intended to fulfill CLE requirements. It is designed to teach you the ins and outs of suing debt collectors and robot callers. The FDCPA Boot Camp has not applied for or been approved for CLE Credit in any state. Many past boot campers have successfully applied for CLE credit in their home states. You are free to do so."
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
Why not get CLE approval? This could make a huge difference in a lawyer's decision to attend or not. For lawyers, time = money in a very real sense. I've obtained CLE approval for courses on several occasions over the years, and don't recall it ever being very difficult. Of course, I wasn't doing the actual legwork, but don't recall my assistant ever having much difficulty.
The Indestructible
Footballguy
I want to do an online course, and I think I'd have to check CLE requirements in every state. I'll look into it since it is such a key factor for attendance. Thanks for the feedback.
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