Friday, June 09, 2006

Judge's Order: Rock, Paper, Scissors - No Joke

Category: Miscellaneous Musings

Sometimes it can be hard to love a lawyer - we have all heard the jokes (my favorite one dealing with a shark and "professional courtesy") - but the below real order issued from a judge takes the cake. Apparently, two lawyers were being as adversarial as possible, and the case was getting no-where. So the judge (obviously a very practical soul) ordered a game of rock, paper, scissors between opposing counsel to settle the matter. From

Robert Ambrogi's LawSites: Judge's Order: Rock, Paper, Scissors:

Following is the text of the order:

AVISTA MANAGEMENT, INC., d/b/a Avista Plex, Inc.,

Plaintiff,

-vs-

WAUSAU UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE COMPANY,

Defendant.

______________________________________

ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion to designate location of a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition (Doc. 105). Upon consideration of the Motion – the latest in a series of Gordian knots that the parties have been unable to untangle without enlisting the assistance of the federal courts – it is

ORDERED that said Motion is DENIED. Instead, the Court will fashion a new form of alternative dispute resolution, to wit: at 4:00 P.M. on Friday, June 30, 2006, counsel shall convene at a neutral site agreeable to both parties. If counsel cannot agree on a neutral site, they shall meet on the front steps of the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse, 801 North Florida Ave., Tampa, Florida 33602. Each lawyer shall be entitled to be accompanied by one paralegal who shall act as an attendant and witness. At that time and location, counsel shall engage in one (1) game of "rock, paper, scissors." The winner of this engagement shall be entitled to select the location for the 30(b)(6) deposition to be held somewhere in Hillsborough County during the period July 11-12, 2006. If either party disputes the outcome of this engagement, an appeal may be filed and a hearing will be held at 8:30 A.M. on Friday, July 7, 2006 before the undersigned in Courtroom 3, George C. Young United States Courthouse and Federal Building, 80 North Hughey Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801.

DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, Orlando, Florida on June 6, 2006.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

A Shout Out to Fellow Attorney Bloggers

Category: Miscellaneous Musings

I was recently reading this post on More Ghostwriting and Websites at Death and Taxes - The Blog and it got me to thinking about why I blog and all my fellow bloggers. I agree with Joel Schoenmeyer's comment that "if you are using a website to market your practice, then you are at least in some way trying to convince potential clients of your legal abilities. Posting articles you have written is one way to do this. Posting articles someone else has written doesn't accomplish much".

The value to me in blogging is not only being able to educate the public and potential clients about subjects near and dear to my heart (what lawyer doesn't like getting up on a soapbox), but in being part of a community of attorneys who focus in my practice areas and who give their time to think about the law and their clients problems in their blog postings.

In light of this I would like to give a shout out to some of my fellow attorney bloggers (many of whom are the sources are articles you have read here, and all of whom are linked from this blog). Please let me know of any great blogs that I should add to my list.

  • A Taxonomy of Legal Blogs - Ian Best, an amazingly enterprising 3L (third year law student) has organized hundreds (maybe more) of legal oriented blogs into one, very accessible, hierarchy.
  • Death & Taxes - The Blog (Illinois) - Commentary on estate planning, estate administration, and real estate issues from Chicago-area attorney Joel A. Schoenmeyer (who also very kindly pointed me in the right direction when I started blogging).
  • Tax and Business Law Commentary - A commentary on tax and business law developments by Maryland attorney Stuart Levine, with an emphasis on federal tax law.
  • Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog From the Law Professors Blog Network, Gerry W. Beyer, Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech Univ. School of Law (and a former Property Law professor of mine when he was teaching in Boston).
  • Rubin on Tax (Florida) - Keep current on tax and legal issues relating to federal and Florida tax, estate planning, probate, and miscellaneous business matters from Charles Rubin in Boca Raton, Florida.
  • The Florida Probate Litigation Blog - By Juan C. Antunez in Miami, Florida, it promises to keep you abreast of every new Florida probate decision, as well as speaking to areas of estate planning, business planning and tax.
  • Utah and Nevada Estate Planning Blog - The name well describes the topics posted by Brian L. Olson.
  • California Estate Planning Practice Blog - A Compendium of Matters Involving Estate Planning and Probate in California by Michelle Renee Drake and Jennifer Nicole Sawday.
  • Massachusetts Estate Planning and Elder Law - A discussion of estate planning, elder law and health insurance matters in Massachusetts by Leanna Hamill.
  • California Estate and Business Law Blog - By Clark Allison and focusing on tax, business and estate planning.
  • Rule of Law (Canada) - Proving a perspective on legal issues from the county to our north, British Columbia attorney Stanley Rule discusses wills, trusts and estates law, elder law and estate litigation.

For those who read You and Yours Blawg, the above offerings should be on your watch list as well.