The Practice

Images can be powerful storytelling tools

I often wonder why, assuming court rules permit it, lawyers don't incorporate more visual images—photographs and diagrams, including depictions of exhibits introduced at trial—directly into their briefs and court filings, especially after this type of evidence is introduced at trial.

Feb 1, 2016 2:10 AM CST

Duty to report cases of child abuse involving clients is not absolute, says state ethics opinion

Indiana law requires anyone “who has reason to believe” that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect to “immediately” make a report to the state department of child services or a local law enforcement agency. Failure to make such a report constitutes a Class B misdemeanor. Unlike similar…

Jan 1, 2016 2:40 AM CST

Life experience and cognitive science deepen the case for mindfulness in the law

It seems a lifetime ago, when I lived in the South. A little girl in Kinston, North Carolina, I was at the local grocery store when one of the white men who ran it saw me place something in my pocket, rushed over and snatched my hand, expecting to find an item I'd sought to steal. Instead he found a tissue. Being raised in a Christian home and spending much time with a grandmother, Granma Nan, who'd been called to the ministry, I knew I wasn't a criminal. But from that day forward, I knew I would have to figure out how to navigate a world in which many people would think me likely to be one—and, as this store clerk did before I was 5 years old, treat me first as a criminal and ask questions later.

Jan 1, 2016 2:30 AM CST

Behavioral economist’s work offers lessons for legal storytellers about judgment and decision-making

In these pages last May, Bryan Garner referenced the "halo effect" from behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman's 2011 book, Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Jan 1, 2016 2:20 AM CST

Lawyers engaging in debt collection may be regulated by a New York City ordinance, say courts

The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that a New York City ordinance regulating lawyers who serve as general debt collectors does not intrude upon the state's authority to regulate attorney conduct and the practice of law.

The Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, issued its decision June 30 in Berman v. City of New York (PDF). In a 4-2 decision, the court determined that the law was not pre-empted by state laws regulating attorneys. "There is no express conflict between the broad authority accorded to the courts to regulate attorneys under the judiciary law and the licensing of individuals as attorneys who are engaged in debt-collection activity falling outside of the practice of law and, thus, the local law does not impose an additional requirement for attorneys to practice law. Rather, the regulatory schemes can be seen as complementary to, and compatible with, one another."

Dec 1, 2015 3:00 AM CST

30 more words to test your pronunciation skills

If you took the pronunciation quiz in last month's issue, you may well have had any of several reactions, some negative. (1) Denial: That can't be right! I've never heard it that way. (2) Dismissiveness: This is trivial. This stuff doesn't really matter! (3) Defiance: Who the heck is Charles Harrington Elster to declare what's correct pronunciation?! (4) Humility: By golly, I have lots to learn. (5) Triumph: I got almost all of them right! My active interest in language over the years has paid off.

Dec 1, 2015 2:50 AM CST

How to appear confident and self-assured, even when you’re not

Into your mind pops the image of a lawyer. Is it Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird? Is it the Atticus Finch of Go Set a Watchman? Vinny Gambini in My Cousin Vinny?

In other words: Who is your role model? And how do you measure up?

Dec 1, 2015 2:40 AM CST

Disciplinary actions against lawyers who commit acts of domestic violence appear to be on the rise

One in three women and one in four men in the United States above the age of 18 have been subjected to acts of physical violence by an intimate partner, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and some experts describe the problem as a national epidemic. To mark National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, President Barack Obama issued a presidential proclamation calling such acts "an affront to our basic dignity and humanity."

Nov 1, 2015 2:30 AM CST

Is your pronunciation on point? Take this quiz to find out

Every so often a news item appears about how a particular legal term is most properly pronounced. Certiorari, for example, surfaces from time to time. Last year an article on this very point by James J. Duane, appearing in The Green Bag, went viral. Duane documented six different pronunciations of certiorari by U.S. Supreme Court justices. The historically proper ways, of course, are /surh-shee-uh-RAIR-eye/ and /suhr-shee-uh-RAHR-ee/. I leave it to you to discover which justices use one of those versions.

Nov 1, 2015 2:20 AM CST

Litigation is no laughing matter to your clients

Humor is the lubricant that enables us to slide through the obstacles life places in our way. That's why we say: "If I didn't laugh, I'd cry."

But for lawyers, in the serious business of helping our clients, humor is a no-no. I don't mean in your personal life. I don't mean when you're talking to a colleague. I mean in court, at depositions, in briefs—don't be funny. You'll be tempted, but don't do it.

Nov 1, 2015 2:10 AM CST

Drastic change needed in ‘outdated and unworkable’ lawyer advertising rules, says report

The Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers is calling for a drastic streamlining of ethics rules governing lawyer advertising. APRL says the change would make it easier for attorneys to reach out to consumers without having to navigate a maze of regulatory barriers adopted by the states, despite rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court that lawyers have a constitutional right to communicate with the public.

Oct 1, 2015 8:29 AM CDT

Tips on organizing your table of contents for statutory and contractual interpretations

Last month, I divulged as many trade secrets of the U.S. Office of the Solicitor General as I reasonably could in one column. Now for more. Remember that SG briefs are the gold standard for point headings: full-sentence headings set in downstyle (no initial capitals) so that the table of…

Oct 1, 2015 7:55 AM CDT

How social emotions can influence jury deliberations

I am driving to the law school where I work, listening to Sirius radio. The Bridge plays music from the 1960s and '70s. Carly Simon sings "You're so vain. I bet you think this song is about you, don't you, don't you?" with Mick Jagger adding a sneering background vocal in unison.

Oct 1, 2015 7:50 AM CDT

Good headings show you’ve thought out your arguments well in advance

The most important part of a brief? That depends on whom you ask. Some say the issue statements. Others say page 1 (which ought to amount to the same thing). Still others say the statement of facts. A few say the conclusion. But one of my favorite answers is the table of contents: Done right, it shows all the substantive point headings arrayed on one or two pages. Certainly those headings are the most important part of the argument section in a brief.

Sep 1, 2015 6:00 AM CDT

Which materials do lawyers have to turn over to ex-clients? ABA committee cites 1977 opinion

In developing its most recent opinion, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility had a choice between two approaches in answering the question of which papers, property and other materials a lawyer must turn over to a client when a representation is terminated. As the committee points out…

Sep 1, 2015 2:30 AM CDT