Dramatic attorneys July 2, 2009
Posted by bbrockett , 2commentsToday’s post was written by Managing Editor Elizabeth Brockett.
In her opening remarks, the deputy prosecutor told the jury that real trials are nothing like what people see on TV or in the movie theaters.
“Oh yes it was! It was exactly like it!” laughed my friend as he told me about his experience serving on a jury.
He said that prosecutor especially was oh-so dramatic in her presentation and arguments. I can’t even remember what he said the case was about because I was so struck by his impression that has stayed with me for several years. As a former police and court reporter, I’ve covered murder and other criminal trials and a few civil trials. Rarely are they as dramatic as they seem on the screen, although I can think of two trials I covered that were … perhaps that’s another blog.
Yes, we’ve talked with some of our readers who say lay people get a bad impression about lawyers and judges from TV shows and movies. But not all of those characters are buffoons or greedy, unethical cads. On the good end of the scale of legal characters, most people would mention Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” or Denzel Washington’s Joe Miller in “Philadelphia.” Or Albert Finney’s Ed Masry in “Erin Brockovich.” I admit I don’t watch a lot of TV so I can’t recall at the moment any “good” lawyers on TV shows or in recent movies. But back to my friend’s experience … let’s recall some of the worst legal characters – lawyers and judges – in TV and movies.
In recent years, consider the attorneys of “Boston Legal” – bad attorneys or just overly zealous and quirky? How about Jim Carrey’s character in “Liar, Liar.” Richard Gere’s Billy Flynn in “Chicago.” Although I haven’t watched it, Glenn Close’s Patty Hewes in “Damages” is a supposedly revered litigator … one that also is being investigated by the FBI.
What about Paul Newman’s alcoholic Frank Galvin in “The Verdict.” Sean Penn’s Dave Kleinfeld, a drug-addicted lawyer in “Carlito’s Way.” Of course there’s always Joe Pesci’s Vincent Gambini in “My Cousin Vinny.” The partners at Tom Hank’s law firm in “Philadelphia” beginning with Jason Robard’s character. There of course are the likeable ones who do bad things, like Robert Duvall’s Tom Hagen in “The Godfather” movies. There are more than I could even name here … there are research papers, and maybe even books, on this topic!
So, while you’re standing around the grill with your favorite beverage in hand or while you’re waiting for the fireworks to start, start the conversation, “Hey, who’s the worst lawyer ever on TV or in the movies?”
Judicial face-off in court June 29, 2009
Posted by bbrockett , 1 comment so farToday’s post is written by reporter Mike Hoskins.
Litigation can get heated enough between lawyers and litigants on opposing sides, but rarely does a case get to the level of having two judges at odds in how a case has been handled.
That’s what is happening in St. Joseph County, a place where the judiciary in the past two years has faced a barrage of attacks by those wanting to do away with merit selection of most Superior judges. Voters there elect only two jurists; now those two – Circuit Judge Michael Gotsch and Probate and Juvenile Judge Peter Nemeth – are squaring off. Judge Gotsch has ordered Judge Nemeth to appear in court Thursday to explain why a 17-year-old boy hasn’t been released from a foster home and returned to his father, who wants custody of his son.
Court records show Judge Nemeth denied the father-son reunion request after social workers had said the father wouldn’t sign a “safety plan,” requiring in-home visits by the DCS and an agreement for them to attend family counseling. Judge Gotsch issued his order after the custody-seeking man filed a writ of habeas corpus petition. A local DCS official and a foster parent have also been summoned.
Attorneys are debating whether Judge Gotsch has authority to order Judge Nemeth into court, but the writ does include language that would make it possible for an arrest warrant to be issued for the Probate judge – essentially forcing him to attend the hearing.
But the teenager isn’t shying away from attending, according to reports on the case. He filed his own motion late last week, asking that he be allowed to attend the hearing to speak.
“I wish to waive my right and privilege of confidentiality and privacy in this matter, and I do so that the courtroom may be open for the world to see what a scam the State of Indiana is running,” the teen wrote. “In sum, I don’t mind being the poster boy for what is so wrong about my experiences with these state actors.”
Sweat suits June 24, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , 1 comment so farIf you haven’t noticed, it’s hot outside. The dog days of summer are upon us right now, which creates a seasonal challenge for attorneys whose jobs require them to dress in suits. I find it nearly intolerable in a short-sleeve dress shirt and skirt, I can’t imagine how those in suits feel.
Walking to court with a long sleeve shirt, tie, and suit jacket on when it’s 90 degrees and humid must make you a dripping mess by the time you reach court. It’s not as if you can bring your suit in a bag, wear shorts and a T-shirt to court, and then change when you get there.
As an attorney you’ve got to be dressed professionally at all times, unless you know you aren’t meeting with clients or won’t be in the office or court. You don’t want to become lax on it lest you become the subject of a 7th Circuit Bar meeting discussion. Since you don’t always have the option to wear a polo shirt and khakis or a sleeveless dress to work, how do you deal with the heat while maintaining a professional look? Any tricks or do you just grin and bear it?
What did you say? June 22, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , add a commentToday’s blog has been inspired by my “Laywers: Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes” desk calendar. The entry for June 20/21 was from actual court records in which an attorney thought he heard the district attorney refer to him as a cannibal. This led to the attorney objecting to the reference. The DA actually said that the defense counsel is accountable to the jury, not a cannibal.
Mishearing information happens all the time, in every aspect of life. We could have bad hearing, be distracted, or just simply think someone said something that is actually incorrect. Has it ever happened to you while in court and how did you react?
Attorney trashed, literally June 19, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , 1 comment so farOne attorney took the term “getting trashed” literally this week and ended up in a trash can near his home after having one too many drinks.
It almost sounds like the punch line to a new lawyer joke: “An attorney wakes up one morning in a trash can and says…” For Larry Wilder, city council attorney in Jeffersonville, it’s reality as he woke up Wednesday morning in a neighbor’s trash can after a night of drinking and celebrating a friend passing the real-estate licensing exam. According to news reports, Wilder said he was driven home in a private limo and doesn’t really remember what happened after leaving Louisville.
Unfortunately for Wilder, there are pictures to prove what happened.
But is this really worth the amount of news coverage it’s generated? Yes, it’s funny. A guy ended up in a trash can and there is an embarrassing picture to prove it. I guess on a slow news day, it would make the paper or the nightly news. Is it deemed newsworthy because he’s an attorney, a profession the general public views with less tolerance for breaking the law, or the fact he’s a public figure since he’s the city council attorney?
Yes, Wilder is a public figure, but he didn’t engage in any illegal behavior (that we’re aware of). He went out drinking with friends, had a designated driver, and doesn’t remember much of what happened that night. Don’t tell me that hasn’t happened to you at least once in your life, perhaps in college or at a bachelor/bachelorette party, where you don’t remember all the details of the night before.
It would have been news had he been arrested for public intoxication, drunk driving, or any other illegal activity. It’s news when attorneys and judges are arrested, but is it news when they only end up in an embarrassing situation?
I’m convinced if Wilder wasn’t an attorney for the city, this wouldn’t have made the news. He wasn’t arrested and police who were called to the neighborhood just escorted him to his home nearby.
Why do you think the state’s news outlets picked up on this story? A great picture with a funny story, or is it because Wilder is a city attorney?
A bug in the system June 17, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , 2commentsUpdate 6/19/09:
According to appellate courts’ clerk Kevin S. Smith, there was no bug in the system that caused several disciplinary actions to not be posted between May 9 and June 12. A misunderstanding and human error caused the delay in the postings, Smith wrote in an e-mail to Indiana Lawyer.
The misunderstanding has been corrected.
Smith also noted that the court will not post special judge, senior judge, or hearing officer appointment orders. The court doesn’t want to overload its Web site with relatively minor administrative orders that tend to only be of interest to the parties involved, he wrote.
Every day we check the Indiana Court’s Web site for disciplinary actions and other orders, and every day since May 7, we haven’t seen a new one. That seemed odd, so today we made a few phone calls to find out whether all Indiana attorneys were model citizens or if there was a technical problem keeping the actions from being posted.
Turns out, the Judicial Technology and Automation Committee wasn’t getting any word from the clerk’s office about new disciplinary actions, so it hadn’t posted any new ones. The reason: JTAC had a bug in its system following an update in early May. Between the clerk’s office quest to be as paperless as possible and requirements from West Law, somehow a quirk developed in the system. Because of the bug, e-mails weren’t getting to the right people to post the disciplinary actions.
Thanks to our curiosity and nagging suspicion there had to be attorneys in trouble, JTAC discovered the issue this morning and quickly resolved it. The Supreme Court orders site now has actions posted that were dated after May 7. I’m surprised that this wasn’t brought to someone’s attention prior to our calls.
While I’d like to think our attorneys weren’t out there breaking the rules of conduct, or laws, history shows otherwise. In fact, I knew of two attorneys recently who were sentenced by the courts: one for child solicitation, and another on a drunken driving conviction, which would lead to a disciplinary action.
We’re glad that JTAC fixed the problem and that now we (hopefully) are up to date on our disciplinary actions.
Vacation fears June 15, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , add a commentAttorneys are notorious for putting off vacation time or even bringing work with them while on vacation, but will the current state of the economy lead to an increase in work on vacation or even no vacation at all? According to a recent CNN.com article, some people are worried that if they take a vacation during this recession, they may not have a job to come back to. A survey released in May by CareerBuilder found nearly 20 percent of respondents said they were afraid of losing their jobs if they go on vacation or feel guilty in being away from the office.
The fear is once your company realizes the office can function without you, you are seen as expendable. Another possibility is people want to be seen as dedicated workers and now is not the time to take a vacation when they economy is in trouble.
Granted, law offices don’t run exactly the same way as other businesses, but who’s to say this hasn’t crossed a managing partner or law firm executive’s mind? A legal secretary takes a week off and returns to work only to learn that the firm’s decided to downsize after finding ways to be more efficient. Perhaps firm leaders realized the firm could do the work with fewer people after someone’s been on vacation.
Attorneys aren’t as vulnerable given the structure of the law firm, but if an attorney isn’t pulling his or her weight, it may become more noticeable when he or she is out of the office and someone else is helping out.
The irony of it all is that a vacation is probably needed by most workers now more than ever because many are overworked due to staff layoffs. Vacations help recharge and re-energize workers, and help with physical and mental health. According to the CNN.com article, the workers interviewed plan on taking long weekends for vacations instead of a week or more at a time.
What do you think about this article? Is it just the view of a few paranoid people or is this a valid fear?
Lawyers get firm in trouble June 10, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , 7commentsDo you remember back in school when a couple students in class would act up and the teacher would punish the entire class to make a point that type of behavior isn’t allowed? That’s pretty much what happened Friday to Bose McKinney & Evans when U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney sanctioned the firm for the actions of a few of its attorneys and staff.
The sanctions stemmed from discovery issues in a drawn-out lawsuit in which Bose represented a company in Evansville that denied using certain chemicals on site. Turns out, the attorneys on the case did learn through evidence and deposition testimony the chemicals were used, but instead of encouraging their client to come clean, they just pressed ahead like they didn’t know the chemicals were used. Read more about the sanctions here.
Judge McKinney described the attorneys as “chameleons” who helped their client to evade the truth.
Sanctioning an entire firm for conduct violating the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is unusual, he noted in the order, but necessary because the firm should be held accountable because three partners had knowledge of its client’s “apparent disregard” for discovery rules, and the firm failed to properly supervise an associate and paralegal who had knowledge of adverse facts. The two principal litigators in the case are no longer with the firm, according to a statement from Bose.
The 66-page order is a humdinger filled with discovery violations and examples of attorneys not following the rules and basically turning a blind eye or passing the buck on responsibility.
What do you think about the sanctions? Is it surprising or appropriate given the conduct of the client and attorneys?
Conference a success June 8, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , add a commentFrom IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger:
The eighth Indiana State Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Conference at Belterra Resort went off without a hitch June 4-6.
About 300 attorneys who are solo and small-firm practitioners, frequently work with them, or are just starting their solo endeavors attended their choice of more than 30 hours of CLE. But other than learning about legal issues, organizers said, participating attorneys had a networking opportunity that few other events can claim to offer, especially for solo and small firm attorneys.
“More important than the CLE, this is our reunion,” said Stephen M. Terrell, of Terrell Law Office in Indianapolis, who started the event almost a decade ago with James Springer, a solo in Fort Wayne, and others who saw a need.
It was obvious that attorneys who drove to the scenic southeastern Indiana casino, hotel, and golf course were interested in exchanging cards if they were meeting for the first time, and war stories if they were meeting as old friends, as many attendees were.
With too many CLEs for one person to attend, highlights included a breakfast that featured an ethics lesson from former Marion Superior Judge Gary Miller, who recently started the law firm MillerMeyer in Indianapolis. Miller used examples of attorneys from TV (“The Flintstones,” “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice,” and “I Love Lucy”) and movies (“Adam’s Rib,” “Inherit the Wind,” “A Civil Action,” and “A Few Good Men”) while explaining what the attorneys did right or, more often, wrong, according to the rules of professional conduct.
ISBA President Bill Jonas, a solo practitioner based in South Bend, also highlighted what Indiana lawyers should be proud of, including involvement with civic education programs like the Indiana Bar Foundation’s support of “We the People” and “Project Citizen,” and mock trials at the high school level. He also emphasized that lawyers should continue to work with their communities to improve the overall public image of the legal profession.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller also made an appearance at the opening reception June 4 and again at the June 5 breakfast session, where he talked about how his office has been working more with the ISBA, and how ISBA members helped his March for Hunger campaign by donating non-perishable food.
At a diversity reception and dinner, featured guest speaker Vanita Banks, an Indiana native now working in Northbrook, Ill., highlighted the 2008 election of President Barack Obama as an example of the importance of a change in attitudes toward diversity.
Overall, attendees seemed to enjoy themselves in a much more relaxed atmosphere than a court appearance or mediation where they would usually meet.
Did you attend? If so, let us know your thoughts on this or other conferences for Indiana attorneys.
Hamilton vs. full senate June 4, 2009
Posted by jmehalik , add a commentU.S. District Judge David Hamilton finally made it past the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee this morning and now will face the entire Senate in his attempt to sit on the bench at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Of course, the committee members voted along party lines, and some even wanted again to postpone the vote for more discussions. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., laid down the law and said they vote now. Good for him! Why keep pushing this back? Oh I remember why: politics. The same reason Indiana University Maurer School of Law Professor Dawn Johnsen hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Now the fate of Judge Hamilton’s appellate career lies with the full Senate. If he faced this much opposition in the committee hearing, what will his hearing with the entire Senate be like? Is the hard part over or will he face just as much opposition by the full Senate? What do you like for his chances to be confirmed?