pip thursdays happy hour come meet the movers and shakers of the personal injury world sponsored by scott katzman and there was a fucking picture of a ferrari on the invitation. and of course it was at blue martini in ft. lauderdale or something like that.
Uhhh the one I settled this morning they had a video of her dancing 2 weeks after the accident and on the video there was a caption “ is my neck hurt?” With the crying laughing emoji that doesn’t show up on here It was not great
Knowing Coca Cola id be pretty surprised if they willingly part with $150k for a s/f in a gigantic coke spill that your client should have seen, regardless of how big of an idiot the merchandiser was
Since we’ve started trying cases the offers from State Farm and Allstate haven’t changed much but they definitely have from the bigger “bill and mediate” law firms
I think this is how I want the twilight of my career to go, being a mediator. If I never enter the judiciary that is.
750-1000 x 2 x 2 x 5 x 45 3/4 of a Million revenue if you’re busy The best guys in Houston are all booked 2 months out
The best mediators we use are all old as fuck. I often consider starting the process of certification for it with an eye towards being in the next generation of mediators. However, I barely have time to do my actual work as it is.
Was supposed to have a mediation in a big commercial vehicle case on Tuesday. Last week the mediator got his paralegal to send an email saying that he had a conflict and had to reschedule. It had been booked for over a month. Had an adjuster flying in from Ohio with booked flight and a lawyer flying in from Texas.
Slacks and a button down Monday through Thursday. Jeans and polo or button down on Fridays and randomly sprinkled throughout (like today). I'll wear a suit to mediations in big cases. I'd never wear shorts.
Agreed. However, in my field in my states, cases simply don’t get tried any more, at least from the defense perspective. They are either knocked at at summary judgment or they settle. So, that is clearly an issue for me.
Khakis and a polo or button down in the office. I’ll adjust what I’m wearing at depositions, mediations, and client meetings depending on the client and who is attending on behalf of the client. Suit obviously for court. I have never looked as unprofessional and sloppy as I do currently. Unkempt at best. But I don’t hear anything from the brass so whatever. Will probably shave for an ACC presentation next week.
slacks and button down if at the office. never wear jeans. never wear shorts. for mediations and depositions I may or may not wear a tie/coat/suit.
I went to the hotel where that grandma fell. They took the carpet out and replaced with hardwood floors in all the rooms. Therefore they had to take the little metal cover off the cable wiring that runs the length of the threshold on the door between the two rooms. In all rooms other than the subject room, when they got done laying down the hardwood they put the metal covering back over the wiring. But in this room they forgot and it was just exposed cable wires and other wires running the length of the threshold. She got her foot caught in them and fell and broke her hip. I sent them a preservation letter and was surprised they let me come over with my expert and take pictures of the room and even let me go in other rooms where they had the cover over the wires and take pictures of that too.
Polo with the company logo, khakis, and casual sneakers when I'm in the office. It's almost like having a uniform at this point.
Suit on M/W bc I always have court on those days. Jeans/button up Tuesday and Thursday. Jeans and t-shirt Friday’s. Shoe game always on point. Working for the state has its perks.
Same. First day of work I was told “we are a white shirt firm, but an occasional blue shirt is ok.” That was some time ago and things have relaxed a bit as some older partners have slowed down. Still never more casual than slacks, button down, and jacket.
I gave up any creativity and now just repeatedly buy the same white shirt online and some gray socks, Men in Black style. Obviously leaves room for different ties.
Yeah, I average around $100 per month on dry cleaning. It sucks. Suit and tie every day except for Friday, when it's slacks and a button down. Don't really mind the suit, but I cannot stand wearing a tie, particularly since I'm one of only a few associates who have to wear one.
I tried to get everyone to join me for formal Fridays but the men didn't own tuxes and the women didn't have formal gloves so it was really pointless.
The firm sort of works in "teams," and when I started I was essentially told to wear whatever the lead partner of my team wears. The partner who leads my team wears a suit and tie everyday, unfortunately. He's not a jackass at all, just fairly formal. Plus, the majority of my team's clients are rich old dudes, so wearing jeans to a meeting with them may or may not go over well. I don't really mind wearing a suit everyday. They're comfortable and eliminate wardrobe decisions in the morning. On the other hand, I will shed the tie as soon as I feel comfortable doing so. I absolutely hate ties.
Client just called bitching because her demand went out 3 weeks after she finished treating and threatened to fire me because it’s taking so long Lovely Sending a cover my ass letter to her now
Never really understood this reasoning. My wardrobe decisions in the morning take approx 5-10 seconds, and would be offset by the amount of time tying a tie and putting on the suit every day. And if you have to drive to work, wouldn't want to wear your jacket while driving. I would think matching tie, socks, belt, etc. for a suit would take more time than deciding what shit I'm wearing today. Team no suit at work. Only in Court. This conversation is so depressing.
A nice tailored suit can feel pretty damn good. Not sure comfortable is the adjective I'd use, but there's a noticeable difference between one that fits perfectly and your first Jos A Bank suit from college.
I defended a depo in New Orleans this morning and didn’t wear a tie. I felt like a rebel, but the court reporter was wearing jeans.
I didn't say it took less time to put on a suit. I said it eliminated wardrobe decisions. As in, I don't have to think about and decide on what to wear (aside from that damn tie). I simply go to my closet and grab one of the ~6 suits I commonly wear and that's that. The color of the suit I grab dictates the color of socks and shoes and belt. The only variables are shirt color and tie. I ordered 4 new white shirts yesterday to cut down on shirt choices, too. Soon enough, the only decision I'll have to make will be with respect to tie, and hopefully I can avoid that altogether in the not too distant future. I'm not defending the practice, but I don't think wearing a suit is as bad as you all are making it out to be. I've worked in environments where I did not have to wear a suit, and I think I prefer the suit. Maybe I'm in the minority.
My thoughts as well. My good ones now I barely even notice unless I'm having to lift a box or something. My older ones (law school/just out) are a different story entirely.
I've decided that it's best just not to object very much during trial. It tends just to piss of the judge and I'm guessing in jury trials it pisses of the jury.
Depends on your perspective. Like tegg said, speaking objections can obviously help you. Judges get pretty pissed at excessive objections during a bench trial too fwiw. My theory is don't be an idiot about it, but when in doubt or conflicted, object. You can fix an annoyed jury/judge. You can't fix an unpreserved error.
I always go back and forth on that. I don't want to piss off the judge but I don't want to commit malpractice or screw the case up by not objecting. Had several custody/divorce trials/hearings last week where judges got mad at me for objecting. One was when we were taking the testimony of a 12 year old girl in a custody case in chambers and opposing counsel was asking her really bad questions. I felt bad but had to object and the judge said "lets not do objections during this." And it was all on the record. But then in other bench hearings/trials this week I had judge get on to me for objecting. I think there is a skill to knowing when to pick your battles and when to object. Some stuff is technically objectionable but doesn't really hurt you and is probably better to just let it go. But when something is really going to hurt you and you are clearly on the right side of the law on the objection you have to object. Making these calls on the fly is a skill in and of itself.
Verdict out of Biloxi yesterday which is super tough venue: Defendant was JC Penny. Involving a young kid who suffered a severe eye injury when he ran into a clothing rack protrusion that was negligently placed at “eye level” in the kid’s section of the store. They came back around lunchtime for the plaintiff, awarding 467K in general damages, less 30% comparative fault on the mother (I am guessing for failure to supervise but I wasn’t there). Then they were allowed to considered punies and the jury just lit them up for 1M more based on numerous prior incidents without any remedial measures taken, combined with their failure to take responsibility and continued denial of the dangerous hazard.