Civility Versus Zealous Advocacy: An Attorney’s Duty
Until there is a clear legal definition of what civility is and isn’t, attorneys must prioritize their ethical duties under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Litigation Journal | Summer 2024 | Civil War
Volume 50, Issue 4
Features
A Law at War with Itself: Character Evidence and the Doctrine of Chances
If a prosecutor offers proof of distinct but similar acts by the defendant to show the defendant likely also committed the crime charged, that’s character evidence, too.
Business Divorces in the Context of a Marital Divorce
Litigators navigating a business-and-marital divorce need significant foresight; missteps can lead to years of expensive litigation and expose clients to potential liability.
Good Fences, Bad Neighbors: Tales from Florida’s Condominium Litigation Wars
Disagreements between unit owners and the board of directors over building repairs are often raised via a motion for temporary injunction.
You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
Women are part of a glorious profession, and we are increasingly well-represented in the areas that matter.
Why We Can’t (Just) Wait
The gains that we have made they have been the result of women, and the men who supported them, speaking up and advocating for equitable treatment.
Navigating the Legal and Ethical Labyrinth: Mental Illness, Compulsory Treatment, Guardianship, and Conservatorship
Many believe that a person’s verbal assurance of non-harm, despite contradictory behavioral and collateral evidence, negates their potential danger. That belief must be unequivocally dismantled and l…
The Juror’s Badge of Courage
Jurors are living in a hyper-polarized world, tuning into partisan media, and engaging in an extremist online environment.
How to Write in Stone
The successive refinements of two masters provide a rare opportunity to witness the power of collaboration.
Bridging the Generational Gap in Attitudes Toward Legal Careers
There can be no doubt that a multigenerational workplace is better, wiser, more innovative, more agile, and more productive because of its differences.
Styles of Advocacy, the “Public Mind,” and the National Character
Emory Washburn’s vexing career and speech are sober reminders that even the most righteous and zealous advocacy must be leavened with caution, skepticism, and curiosity.
Whither the Attorney-Client Privilege? A Modest Proposal
We should make all documents subject to discovery pursuant to the universal use of “clawback” agreements, incorporated into discovery orders.
Columns
What Lawyers Can Do
Lawyers can take the skills they’ve honed in their professional lives and deploy them in ways that are outside the legal system itself.
Some Friendly, Random Advice on Professionalism
I have boiled down my personal concept of professionalism into what I call “the five Cs”: competence, civility, compensation, contribution, and contentment.
How I Became a Lawyer
Many successful litigators come from large families and certainly blue-collar families. Family experiences, good and bad, can mold great litigators.
No Place for Junk Science or Junk History
We should be at least as passionate in weeding out junk history as we are about weeding out junk science.
Is Silence Golden?
No matter how good a public release sounds to your client’s ear, it may still cause all kinds of headaches in the litigation to come.
Handling Mass Disasters
You must master not only the liability and damages law of each jurisdiction but also the conflict-of-law rules.