As Jurist Paper Chase reported this morning, Lord Falconer, the British Lord Chancellor, announced yesterday his plan to revamp the regulatory model, complaint and discipline system, and business structures of the UK’s legal profession. (The Times,
As Jurist Paper Chase reported this morning, Lord Falconer, the British Lord Chancellor, announced yesterday his plan to revamp the regulatory model, complaint and discipline system, and business structures of the UK’s legal profession. (The Times,
help me, chaplain: Tallahassee pesonal injury lawyer David A. Barrett decided to
hire an ordained minister as a “paralegal,” whose duties were to help solicit clients,
especially at hospitals. I’m pleased to say that the Florida Supreme Court has decided
that a one-year suspension was not sufficient punishment for Barrett’s ethical violations,
and instead disbarred him, adding a stern warning to other lawyers attempting to
solicit especially vulnerable clients:
“This type of violation brings dishonor and disgrace not only upon
the attorney who has broken the rules but upon the entire legal profession,
a burden that all attorneys must bear since it affects all of our reputations.
Moreover, such violations harm people who are already in a vulnerable condition,
which is one of the very reasons these types of solicitations are barred. Therefore,
this Court will strictly enforce the rules that prohibit these improper solicitations
and impose severe sanctions on those who commit violations of them.”
The Florida Bar v. Barrett, ___ So.2d ___ (Fla., No. SC03-375, 3/17/2005) (via sunEthics)
Click here for a transcript of arguments before the Court, part of the Gavel2Gavel coverage
offered by WSFU, the local PBS and NPR affiliate.
sin after sin. . .
the old priest
stifles a yawn
ED MARKOWSKI, from pop up
tribe press, 2004
help me help myself: A report by the Judicial Council of California has very good news:
Self-help centers in state trial courts are helping thousands of Californians who need legal
assistance and cannot afford an attorney:
“The report is good news for the courts and all Californians,” said William C.
Vickrey, Administrative Director of the Courts. “For the past decade, the number
of people coming to courts without lawyers has grown dramatically, especially in
family law cases. Self-help centers are meeting the critical need for legal information
by removing economic barriers that prevent access to our courts. In addition, these
programs are making our courts more efficient and are improving public trust and
confidence in our justice system.” (via selfhelpsupport.org)
Of course, as we pointed out in 2003 when discussing programs in Nevada, and as has been
acknowledged by the New Hampshire courts, it’s not just the poor who benefit from such coordinated
self-help effforts — every American has the right to represent himself or herself and our justice
system, to the extent possible. With programs like those in California and Nevada leading the
way, there is no excuse for other states to put off joining the self-help revolution. The “lawyer tax”
can be greatly reduced for those who want to enter to the civil justice system.
blackout
bright lit
Amish windows
ED MARKOWSKI, from pop up
tribe press, 2004
help me, librarian: An evaluation of computer-based self-help programs in Alaska includes good
advice to those wanting to embark upon a similar project: “[E]xplore the creation of a three-way
partnership between the local legal services organization, the court (that being the pro se
service department and the law library), and the local public library system“
We feel that libraries could and should be involved because facilitating
access to information for the public is what they do, and the Internet’s
spawning of public use terminals has meant that the libraries are developing
extraordinary expertise in the technological side of providing these services
to the public”
March 9, 2005) (via selfhelpsupport.com).
help me avoid the AmLaw 100: I say “bravo!” to the large corporations that are developing
technology that will greatly reduce their legal bills. See AdamSmithEsq, March 21, 2005. Once
developed and refined, it will surely spread, and trickled down to smaller companies and consumers.
If (as I have often argued) much of what lawyers do can be done using sophisticated (or even non-
sophisticated) technology, it is not the role of the bar, or of individual firms and lawyers, to discourage
clients from seeking the efficiencies brought about the digital revolution. From the client’s point of
new, it is progress, even if there will be occasions when paying more for legal advice would have yielded
a better result. Making that trade-off is the client’s right. Yes, this will be “disruptive” for many lawyers,
but that reality does not change our duty to put the clients’ interests first — to act like a learned profession
rather than a guild.
help me keep my assignments: I’m not surprised that a representative of assigned counsel in
Massachusetts opposes moving to a public defender system for indigent criminal defendants.
(The Springfield Republican,”Legal compensation raise argued,” March 22, 2005) However, I
continue to believe that an adequately-funded and supervised public defender system will mean
higher quality representation in general for the indigent client.
help me cover-up my sins: Walter Olson has an amazing follow-up to the Texas girlfriend-
from dagosan,
big thaw overnight –
reflections
on the river
[March 22, 2005]
winter carnivalr ao ns ger bo itthe juggler’sbreath
palm sundaythe gospel choirhypnotically swayingEd Markwoski, fromHaiku Sun (Issue X, Jan. 2004)
House Majority Leader John Rogers, the head of a commission studying indigent legal services in Massachusetts said today that the Commission — which is expected to issue its report next week — will recommend another payhike for private lawyers who represent the poor. (details here, from Boston Herald, March 21, 2005) (prior posts, links here)
It’s springtime, and anyone with a dog knows that sunshine can uncover
things we’d rather not see (or step on). Nonetheless, the legal reform
group HALT is contuinng to fight for better disclosure of judicial
financial holdings, while shining its own spotlight on the problem of
judges and junkets. (see Topeka Capital-Journal, “Corporate lobbyists
influence federal judges too,” March 4, 2005). Also, check out HALT’s
potluck
Speaking of HALT, the Consumer Federation of America adopted a number
of key legal reforms advocated by HALT, at its annual meeting earlier this
month. The following legal reform provisions are now part of CFA’s 2005
Policy Resolutions Manual (from the HALT eJournal, March 16, 2005)
CFA Endorses HALT Recommendation of Gift Receipt Restrictions for Judges.
CFA supports strict limitations on the gifts that federal and state judges may
accept. Judicial standards should parallel the standards imposed upon the
executive and legislative branches, not to exceed de minimus amounts.
CFA Endorses HALT Proposal to Require Written Professional Fee Agreements.
Any professional licensed by the state must provide clients with plain language
written fee agreements and send itemized monthly statements when fees are incurred.
CFA Endorses HALT Recommendation for the Creation of Free Legal Hotlines for
Low-Income Seniors. CFA supports the establishment and generous public and private
funding of free legal hotlines for low-income seniors, staffed by licensed attorneys and
covered by legal malpractice insurance. Senior hotlines should exist nationwide.
CFA Endorses HALT Recommendation for the Implementation of Small Claims
Court Advisors. CFA supports expanding the availability of legal self-help through
small claims court systems. Such expanded access should include small claims advisors.
Small claims advisors are individuals other than clerks with an understanding of small
claims procedures whose primary duties are to explain those procedures to small claims
litigants and guide them through their cases.
The impact on the public is potentially so great, that the American Antitrust Institute
has taken the unusual step of declaring that it Prefers Qwest to Horizon in their Battle to purchase
MCI. (Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, March 14, 2005). The MCI board is expected to
make its choice between suitors on March 28th. The AAI statement concludes:
“On balance, and after a necessarily abbreviated analysis, the AAI holds the opinion
that an acquisition of MCI by Qwest rather than Verizon would better serve the public’s
interest in a competitive telecommunications market. Our conclusion is based primarily
on the expected competitive landscape post-acquisition in the business wireline and the
internet “IP backbone” markets.”
The NYT article on Saturday about unbundling broadband from local phone
service also suggest that Qwest might have a better attitude about providing
consumers what they want. (“Dangling Broadband From the Phone Stick, “March 19, 2005)
last day of winter —
ice aborts
the early buds
[dagosan, March 21, 2005]
Lexington, KY, attorney Ben Cowgill launched his Legal Ethics Blog last week,
and I regret — as does he — that he dawdled. Ben correctly refers to the website
as both a weblog and a portal for legal ethics resources — there is much content
compiled from his legal career ,representing lawyers in disciplinary hearings and
otherwise focusing on the law of lawyering.
The weblog itself shows a love of writing and reflection, along with legal
ethics, that will bring me back frequently. For example, see his interview with Lincoln
and Brandeis for new attorneys, and his reminder why the Three Don’ts don’t say
I hope Ben won’t pull his punches on issues that relate to the rights
of clients (especially relating to fiduciary duties of lawyers to fully
inform clients of their options and to charge reasonable fees), due
to his role as defense counsel.
Welcome, Ben! I know your first entries won’t be your last words.
first butterfly–
without formal greeting
entering the alcove
spring at my gate–
the first New Year’s greeting
from sparrows
a full round
of New Year’s greetings
at the inn
ISSA, translated by David G. Lanoue
Saturday night
a priest crosses the road
with an armful of palms
John Stevenson from
Some of the Silence
first spring day
the chatter
of the Starbucks staff
Pamela Miller Ness from
The Can Collector’s Red Socks
“snowflakeSN”
spring arrives —
new snow brightens
old snowbanks
dagosan
in the warm March sun an old hatred melting
George Swede
from Almost Unseen
the widower
coaxed to the dance floor
spring equinox
spring equinox
moonshadow deepens
the creek
Carolyn Hall, The Heron’s Nest (Spring 2000)
“snowflakeSN”
an encore from our newest Honored Guest:
one last look
through the old apartment
a dry sponge
the mirror
wiped clean
for a guest
Palm Sunday
following the plow
to church
………………………… by John Stevenson from Quiet Enough (Red Moon Press, 2004)
by dagosan:
frozen river–
snow hides
the elm’s reflection
– from Manichi Daily News March 5, 2005 (No. 669)
potluck
Is anyone surprised that many teens who promise to abstain from
sex before marriage are using definitional loopholes (think Clintonian) and
contracting just as many sexually transmitted diseases as non-promisers?
(Study: Abstinence pledges may trigger risky sexual behavior, AP/
USA Today, , March 19, 2005) What’s the world coming to? (via
- How about abstinence after marriage? Isn’t today the Feast of St. Joseph?
I think of him as the Patron Saint of Involuntary Celibates. I can relate, dude.
Norm Pattis at Crime & Federalism is right: Judge Dorsey was far
too lenient in sentencing Connecticut Governor Rowland to merely one year for
his acceptance of illegal gifts . (courant.com, “Rowland Sentenced: One Year,”
March 19, 2005). To my mind, so-called “public service” and the related “public
trust” should usually be a reason to increase a sentence, not to decrease it.
Please don’t miss our tribute to Sol Linowitz immediately below.
Sol M. Linowitz died on Friday, March 18, 2005. Others will remember him as a superb diplomat, public servant, and businessman. I want to to make sure he is remembered as a lawyer who was greatly troubled over the state of his profession, despite having reached its pinnacle as general counsel of Xerox Corp. and then senior partner of Coudert Brothers. (See msn.com, “Diplomat, businessman Sol Linowitz dies at 91,” March 18, 2005)
Sol Linowitz spent much of his last two decades calling for a reformation that would give the legal profession back its soul, integrity and respect. At the age of 80, Linowitz wrote The Betrayed Profession (with Martin Mayer,1994). A Publisher’s Weekly description of the book states:
“Profoundly perturbed by what he considers the degeneration of the legal profession that has accompanied its growth and specialization in the last 50 years, Linowitz, a Washington,D.C., attorney who has served three administrations, forcefully pleads for reform. He denounces huge law firms where “rainmakers”–partners whose clients are responsible for the highest revenues–are given special status; he decries lawyers whose principal goals are to protect and increase corporate gains. . . Linowitz charges that the legal profession is abandoning its duty to defend the Constitution and Bill of
Rights in order to practice law as a business, which threatens the liberties of all.In a positive summation, Linowitz advocates specific means by which judges, lawyers and society can help to restore integrity and public trust to the profession.
. Asked in a DC Bar Interview, “Betrayed by whom?” Linowitz responded:
“Betrayed by us, by the lawyers. We inherited a noble profession, and to the extent that we have transformed it into a huckstering business operation we have betrayed our calling. We are supposed to be members of a learned society of professionals bound by ethical standards, morals, and manners.’ (D.C.Bar Report, “Legends in the Law,” Aug-Sept 1995)
Alhough I never met Sol Linowitz, I have long felt a special bond with him. In 1988, in the same month that I left my antitrust practice to work as a children’s lawyer and divorce mediator, Linowitz had an article in the Washington Post that touched me deeply — it said many things that I had felt about the profession but had not yet found words to describe. I cut out that op-ed piece from the Post, saved it in a file cabinet, and have read it often over the past 17 years. Because it isn’t otherwise available on the internet, I have posted “Why America Hates Lawyers: We Attorneys Need to Show We Value People, Not Profits” (May 15, 1988) here, complete with my initial marks circling two key paragraphs.
In Why America Hates Lawyers, Sol Linowitz decries “a dehumanization of the law accompanied by a widespread distrust of lawyers.” He noted that an ABA Commission had called upon the bar to pursue principle over profit and professionalism over commercialism, but it “did not make clear how this is to be kindled.” Always striving to offer solutions for problems, Linowitz’s proposal for a good place to start is for the profession to provide “the vision of a society where we all stand equal before the law.” Linowitz was “not talking about legislating equality.” Instead, he urged that lawyers help to improve access to the law:
“The task is to create a better, equally inexpensive analogue to small-claims procedures that would resolve quickly and fairly the disputes ordinary people need resolved — winnowing out for further process those issues of the broadest scope or significance.
“In short, we as lawyers must be able to say that our concern is with the human and humane — that we accept our obligation to serve all people in our society —
that we are truly committed to the principle of equality of access to the law. In achieving this, we will as lawyers find we have earned and won the respect and
gratitude of those we seek to serve.”
It’s sad, but a Library Review comment on The Betrayed Profession concludes: “It is not clear whether those addressed by Linowitz feel motivated to make the changes he suggests; in a sense, his voice is a cry in the wilderness. For legal ethics collections only.” Let’s prove that cynic wrong — not just for Sol Linowitz, but for our profession and our nation.
Thank you, Sol Linowitz, for loving the legal profession enough to speak frankly of its deep flaws and of the major changes needed to correct them..
potluck
So-called credentials: We can’t all have as many degrees as Elder Sibling
(RiskProf) Martin F. Grace. Or, can we? I just got a piece of spam that offers BAs,
MBAs, PhDs and more “Within two weeks! No study required! 100% Verifiable!”
It also warns that this legal loop-hole may be closed soon, due to all the public attention
it has lately received. Just call “Issac Copeland” at 1-206-984-0021.
Alas, since I had read the Federal Trade Commission’s
Consumer Alert, Diploma Mills: Degrees of Deception,
in early February, I was not fooled. But, I do want to
remind you that you can find the FTC consumer complaint
form here, and that you should put the Government’s spam
email collection address in your Address Book, so that
you can simply forward spam directly to the folks who
are trying to police against it: SPAM@UCE.GOV
So-called justice: Euguene Volokh ignited a firestorm two days ago,
when he wrote that vengeance using cold-blooded brutality was
appropriate punishment for some crimes. I’m with Walter Olson (see
his post and links) on this one: Being human surely includes having the
emotional urge for vengeance against vile crimes, but it also means
having the wisdom and aspiration to overcome that urge in the name
of a better humanity and a better world.
So-Called Haiku: If you want to see excellent proof that merely writing words
in three lines of 5 – 7 – 5 sylllables is not haiku, click on Em & Lo‘s winning “haikus”
in their Sex Ed for Grownups space at ProChoice American.org. The contest
judges might want to check some of our resources to learn more about haiku, before
further sullying the name of the poetic genre. For example, jim kacian’s haiku primer
offers an in-depth analysis on how to write haiku. dagosan’s haiku primer is a lot
shorter, and offers some quick tips in outline form from George Swede and Michael
D. Welch, at the bottom of the page.
Almost by definition, haiku does not lend itself to declaring a political
philosophy. Perhaps a form of senryu might embrace the writer’s
prochoice sentiments, but 17-syllable bumper stickers and sound bites
are not haiku or senryu. I’m sure Prof. Bainbridge would be glad to
note that the last thing pro-choicers actually want to do is speak in
graphic “sense images” about their subject. (restrained thanks to
George M. Wallace for the e-mail pointer.)
Most English-language haiku poets believe that the old
17-syllable rule resulted from a misunderstanding of the
Japanese language, and creates haiku that are very often
padded, unnatural and stilted. The only possible reason to
insist on the 5 – 7 – 5-syllable rule in haiku contests like
that held by Em & Lo is that, without such a structural
artifice, there would be absolutely no way to distinguish
the so-call haiku from aphorisms, doggerel, bumper-stickers
and t-shirt philosophy.
So-called Publicity Stunt: Speaking of Prof. B, I’m not quite as sure
as he about just which congressional action this week is purely a
rightly mocked the coming ban on wild mushrooms at California farmers’
markets and grocers. (2) Lawyer Thomas Daly, former partner in
the “Law Centers for Consumer Protection,” testified yesterday
in the federal fraud trial against his old boss, Andrew Capoccia,
(Bennington Banner article, March 18, 2005). Daly testified that
“The law firm could not win a single lawsuit anywhere at any time.”
They moved to Vermont, when the law and ethics complaints made
New York too hot. .On Tuesday, another former employee testified
that she constantly used client escrow accounts to run the law firm.
by dagosan:
I hesitate —
the plumber’s
offered hand
new leaves
soon!
savoring the winter view
St. Patrick’s Day —
drawing the
designated-driver straw
[March 18, 2005]
Trust me (and verify below*), nobody has better haiku credentials than John Stevenson. But, his real vita is the body of haiku I will begin sharing with you today. Cor van den Heuvel sees sadness, cynicism, darkness in John’s work; like myself, Peggy Lyles sees fragile hope “in the sharing and the linking, in the listening and in words that are just enough” (Forward to Quiet Enough, Red Moon Press, 2004) His haiku will surely resonate in a personal way with you, touching the universal and the personal.
John’s haiku are filled with reality and insight that belie their brevity. My hope is that you’ll enjoy and appreciate them as much as I do — and that dagosan learns quickly by osmosis how to see the material of haiku moments everywhere, and how to describe them in just a few telling words. You can find a representative collection of John’s work at Terebess Asia Online.
Here are three haiku from John Stevenson‘s first full-length collection, Some of the Silence (Red Moon Press,1999):
morning sun enters
the sleepers
earstairway
descending into
her perfume
proud host
his orchard bursting
with fireflies
And, here are the “title haiku” from his three published volumes, Something Unerasable (1996); Some of the Silence (1999) and Quiet Enough (2004), respectively:
under the
blackest doodle
something unerasable
a deep gorge . . .
some of the silence
is me
snowy night
sometimes you can’t be
quiet enough
We’ll be sharing many more of John’s haiku in the weeks and years to come.
__________________________________
* John Stevenson is a former president of the Haiku Society of America and currently serves as editor of HSA’s journal Frogpond, one of the oldest and most widely circulated journals of English-language haiku. His poems have won awards in innumerable haiku competitions. He is co-founder of the Rt. 9 Haiku Group, which has created the Upstate Dim Sum journal and website. Born and raised in Ithaca, NY, he now lives in Nassau, NY.
John has been a frequent subject of research projects at the Millikin University haiku program, for example, here and here.
St. Patrick’s Day
a traffic cop directs
gridlock
spring green
on the scaffold a workman
swinging his feet
dawn–
shades of grey break
into birdsong
by Pamela Miller Ness, “dawn” – The Heron’s Nest (Dec. 2000) (Dec. 2000)
“St. Patrick’s Day” – The Can Collector’s Red Socks (2003), a haiku sequence
“spring green” – A New Resonance 2 & frogpond XXII: 3
the little sake shop
open for business…
spring mountain
into the grass
at the shrine, pouring…
new sake
Saints Patrick
and Christopher —
sharing a drink and a ride
In an NYT op-ed piece today “Don’t Parade, Just Go Vote,” Thomas Fleming speaks
of the history of the Irish in America as different from those back in their homeland. Fleming
says “But threaded through it is the triumph of a defeated people who used America’s
freedom to win their share of pride and prosperity.” His main point is “I hope we never
forget the importance of Election Day.”
Of course, I hope we never forget how very American it has always
been for the victors in American politics to want all the spoils and
to help the new In’s at the expense of all the Out’s. That’s one example
no downtrodden minority needs to emulate — here or in the Middle East.
Thanks to John Steele for pointing to an interesting piece in the Harvard Law School
Record about whether Generation Y lawyers have a “flabby work ethic”. The author, 3L Raffi
Melkonian, makes valid points about every generation complaining about the one coming next,
while boasting how hard they had it. (“Us? Flabby?“, March 10, 2005) However, I hope his
peers are listening to those in the profession worried about lawyer depression and unhappiness,
and that they will demand to have both a life and a career. Some traditions need to be broken.
misspelled as “frivilous.” Of course, I can’t come up with a firm number, but there were 32,900
results just now in a Google Search for
to remember which vowel goes in the middle. This is another good reason to fight against the
American tendency to pronounce most short vowel sounds identically. Enunciate those vowels!
Yabut’s Advice to the Law Lorn
March 16, 2005
Dear Prof. Yabut:
I know you’re retired and would rather be napping, but I really need advice.
Evan Schaeffer has been very busy lately (and he seems to specialize
in advising young associates who have very little common sense), so I
hope you’ll help a gender-neutral person in distress.
I’m a law student at UCLA and my problem involves a professor who is really
a big shot on campus and in the blogosphere, Eugene Volokh. I’m a very big
fan of his, and plan to take all of his courses, so I need help being diplomatic.
You see, Prof. V. made a big mistake at his weblog, the Volokh Conspiracy,
two days ago, and I want to help him correct it, without antagonizing him. On
the other hand, I don’t want to be anonymous, since I’d like to get credit for my
knowledge, research and initiative.
The mistake showed up in the following posting (March 14, 2005):
– click here to discover the problem & Prof. Yabut’s solution —
the woodpecker
pecks it to death…
the post
ISSA, translated by David G. Lanoue “NoYabutsSN”
icicles drip on the sill
a pile of bills waiting
to be paid
leaning back
in their chairs
old friends reunited
into
the
rain-
filled
bucket
so
softly
hailstones
one firefly
my childhood
before my eyes
Carolyn Hall from .
“into” – Acorn 5 (2000) ; Haiku: A Poet’s Guide, by Lee Guruga
“icicles drip” – Acorn 3; A New Resonance 2
“leaning back” – Frogpond XXII:3; A New Resonance 2
“one firefly” – The Heron’s Nest,
We don’t normally go for sensational stories or headlines around
here. However, there’s a local murder story that would pique the interest of
even a zen master. I’ll just give you the headline, and a little info, and
you can decide whether you want to check out this weird and sad tale:
“Murder victim’s daughter did time for manslaughter: Elderly woman’s
daughter used to be her son” (WNYT.co, March 15, 2005); also see this
fuller account from the Albany Times Union (March 16, 2005). An
autopsy shows the vicitm, who was posed to look like a suicide, was
strangled; the daughter who found her was convicted of manslaughter
in a strangulation death, when she was still the victim’s son. The
unemployed daughter now has heavy-hitter defense counsel — our
less-than-beloved E. Stewart Jones. (see WTEN story, March 16)
At Legal Underground, guest writer Abnu has a post about lawyers and
branding that doesn’t give answers but raises some good questions. (Find
Congratulations to Carolyn at My Shingle and Matt at The [non]billable hour
for winning Buzzy awards for website excellence.
cloudy valley
the dog barks
at himself
judges and juries
pelicans
on posts
phone numbers exchanged
fluids
later
see his world haiku assn bio for the above haiku in English & Japanese
by dagosan:
first warm day
her pale
gloveless hands
mid-March blues —
et tu,
buddha?
[March 15, 2005]
“tinyredcheck” Things I probably used to know but learned again today:
History tells us that Julius Caesar was killed 2049 years ago, on
the ides of March, 44 B.C. Despite Ceasar’s fate, Wikipedia says
that the ides (which fell on either the 13 or 15th of the month) were
considered auspicious, and traditionally corresponded with the
full moon (a favorite of haiku lovers and other romantics).
Thanks largely to Shakespeare’s line, in Julius Caesar,
“et tu, Brute?,” the Ides of March is now associated with
treachery by a friend. So, this might be a good day to practice
and express your loyalty to those who merit it.
I learned a couple interesting things about the Roman calendar and
activities could only take place on certain days (dies fasti), while
“dies nefasti” were days, designated N on the calendar, on which
the courts could not sit, for various religious reasons, and dies
endotercissus, designated EN, were days when legal actions were
permitted on half of the day only. Does this give Walter Olson any
possible reform strategies?
As only he can, Evan Schaeffer takes a look today at the epic war
between law firms and legal recruiters over firm associates. (prior post)
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