Tolerance
Folks, it is time to have an honest discussion about this topic. I know we've had this fireside chat before but it seems we've forgotten what this word means and how it works. Let's start with the basics. Merriam-Webster defines the word 'tolerate' this way: to allow...
Persuasion
There are times in our lives where we have to convince someone of something. I think this is an art we begin to cultivate as a child. Back then our wants are so many, but we don't get to pick so we learn how to compromise, promise, sweet talk. As we get older and...
I am moving, again.
I've moved office just about every year now. I live in a different jurisdiction from that in which I practice, and the jurisdiction in which I live isn't very friendly to 'foreign' lawyers. So, since this state borders the one I've been practicing in, I just drive...
Killing in the Name Of
There has been a lot of talk about a lot of death these days. My last post thanked people for joining us in the fight against the injustice that takes place regularly in this country. Our system is broken and it's just the lot of us out there on the front lines trying...
So glad you decided to join us.
It has come to my attention that our criminal justice system is broken. Did you know it might also be racist? And justice isn't blind? I know, I know, I was just as shocked to hear about it as you were. It absolutely devastated me, considering all the equality there...
Facts are not facts until the jury says they are facts. Got it?
When I was a young person, someone who did science experiments in school and wandered through life blind and naive, I thought 'facts' were real things - things that could be proven time and time again. Sure, sometimes things we called 'facts' would be disproved...
Please stop complaining about what you didn’t learn in law school.
There are so many posts and tweets and articles written on what law school didn't prepare us for. Marketers scream "law school didn't prepare you to run a business and get clients!" People who want to ghost write for you scream "You didn't learn to write persuasively...
A day at the jail.
I went to the jail today. I'd been putting it off for a long time, not because I didn't want to go, but because I hadn't gotten the discovery from the other side and needed to look at that before I met with the clients. It is, after all, helpful to know what he is...
The 4th Circuit Says C’mon Now, You Know That Isn’t Consent.
The cases from the 4th circuit that we win are few and far between. By 'we' I mean to take credit for those defense lawyers that take up and throw down the appellate gauntlet in our hallowed federal circuit courts. This circuit in which I sit isn't known for it's...
Impostor syndrome – woman lawyer version
Mark Bennett wrote a post in November that has stayed in my mind ever since. You should go and read it even if you aren't a lawyer because I think it captures the essence of the human condition: We humans are most insecure in those things which others around us think...
If I am you then who are you?
I come into the office full of good intentions. After all, there is always so much work to do. Today, I planned on writing some motions to modify conditions of release (clients want to attend social functions with family members and since they are on house arrest,...
My blog.
The truth is this blog probably wasn't ever meant to be a legal blog. The truth is it always was just a place for me to write down how I felt, thought, sometimes what I was doing. I dipped my foot into the legal world, wanting to be accepted as a 'real lawyer' and a...
