Some time ago, I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Shakespeare as Life Coach”, which opined, among other things, that “Romeo and Juliet” was not so much about the two young lovers but about their families, who were so caught up in their own agendas that they were neglectful of the pressing, […]
Eight years ago, a member of my extended family shot and killed himself with a handgun. Was his death preventable? Probably. He had experienced post-divorce depression which morphed into chronic depression. He withdrew from friends and family, and for some time he had been missing from family functions. He was the topic of discussion, but […]
I learned about elder care the worst possible way, i.e., through personal experience. Legal education tells you how to plan an estate on the front-end and how to probate one at the back-end, but it doesn’t train you for the middle part, the minefield one faces in the general execution of one’s duties as the […]
Lawyers are negotiators. Every day, we negotiate for our clients’ liberty, property, lives and livelihood. We all have stories to tell, and in “Part Two” of this article I would like to tell some of yours, particularly your “Paasikivi moments”, which I will define as a particularly audacious negotiation which results in an unexpectedly favorable […]
“Casablanca” is a favorite movie of mine, and I am not alone. It consistently rates in the top ten of the best movies of all time. But did anyone ever notice the ridiculous underlying premise that runs throughout the film? The movie centers around two blank letters of transit, “signed by General de Gaulle himself,” […]
When it comes to billing, over the years there have been times when I wished I sold tires. Abraham Lincoln said, “A lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” An invoice for a new set of steel-belted radials, though, is easier to explain. The attorney-client relationship is based on trust, and good communication […]
The January 29, 2015 edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an op-ed by one Tom Gordon, the director of a consumer advocate group called Responsive Law, entitled “Hell Hath No Fury Like a Lawyer Scorned.” The point of the article was to praise non-licensed paralegal services and to criticize bar associations and state attorneys […]