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October 25, 2016
Is There "Bullying" at Law Firms?
Yes, bullied young lawyers. I know. Get the Net. See this post today at ATL Surrogate led by Partner Emeritus: Should Law Firms Create "Safe Spaces" for Associates/Jr. Partners who are Terrified of Bullying a/k/a "Microaggressions?"
Posted by JD Hull at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2016
American Mainstream Media: Time for a Check-Up, Guys.
After the 2016 Election cycle comes to a close, major news outlets--the establishment press and cable news networks--need to engage in some some private and public soul-searching about why the news media exists and its best role. And I expect it will.
It's no secret that journalists are often old-stye liberals and vote that way. But the moral panicking against Trump has been a shameful moment for our free press. Yes, objective journalism is hard and ultimately impossible. And H.L. Mencken was right: the press should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. But in reporting facts the media should try to "get it right." Report an event? Feature pieces? Write them. Endeavor to let readers decide. Save opinion as much as possible for your opinion pages.
I'm still voting for HRC. She is the best POTUS candidate in my lifetime. And she is, frankly, very much like Trump in all the best ways. But no candidate deserves the piling on against an adversary she's benefitted from we've seen in this election. HRC didn't need overtly-biased journalism to win.
Take a long walk, American free press. Think about what the press should be and should not be. You can do better than this.
Posted by JD Hull at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2016
Connor & Connor, Las Vegas, Nevada
Each month, for TRT-CLE, I teach three live CLE (Continuing Legal Education) courses to lawyers all over the country. On
Depositions, Lobbying and Blogging. They are participatory courses, each lasting for two hours. Two lawyers I met recently are a husband and wife team, Derek and Amanda Connor. Their firm, Connor & Connor, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, does a compelling mix of regulatory, transactional work and litigation. I don't shill for lawyers much, but the Connors may have built something unique: a well-thought out law firm based on great lawyering for valued clients in several niche areas. They also write three practical, straightforward blogs that actually make sense. Keep the firm in mind--for work in and out of Nevada.
Posted by JD Hull at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2016
Answering Interrogatories.
Several years ago, my friend and Renaissance man Ray Ward at his superb the (new) legal writer flagged a nicely done nuts-and-bolts resource for answering written interrogatories by Manhattan's Judge Gerald Lebovits which appeared in the January 2012 New York State Bar Association Journal.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2016
What to expect in 2017 America.
No matter who is elected POTUS on November 8, expect in 2017:
1. Increased American culture wars.
2. Increased Congressional deadlock.
3. A war between POTUS and Congress over the SCOTUS nominee to replace Justice Scalia that will rival the nomination wars surrounding either Robert Bork or Clarence Thomas.
Posted by JD Hull at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
October 14, 2016
The Atlantic: On the GOP's SCOTUS Focus.
See in today's The Atlantic Why the Supreme Court Matters More to Republicans than Trump. Two exceprts:
Conservatives have prized the Supreme Court as much if not more than Congress and the presidency for decades. But the degree to which it is driving activists and party leaders this year is without precedent. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has kept the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat open for an astonishing eight months and counting just so that a Republican president—any Republican—might have the opportunity to fill it. And it’s not just Scalia. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg (age 83), Anthony Kennedy (80), and Stephen Breyer (78) could all retire during the next president’s term.
*******
And for 25 years before Scalia’s death in February, the justices have, on balance, been friendly to the GOP. Republicans haven’t had the presidency or Congress for much of that time, but the Court has tilted conservative. And as they face an uncertain future in which demographic trends will make the nation younger, more diverse, and thus more favorable to Democrats, conservatives view the Supreme Court as a final bulwark they must defend at almost any cost.
“We are only one justice away from losing our most basic rights, and the next president will appoint as many as four new justices,” Cruz wrote in the Facebook post announcing his belated endorsement of Trump. The “basic rights” he was referencing include the right to bear arms, religious liberty, and free speech—as conservatives see them. And of course, the conservative dream of overturning Roe v. Wade would die for another decade or more if the court shifts left.
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The U.S. Supreme Court in 1930s.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
HIllary Rodham Clinton: “Ready for a Fight,” by Barry Blitt.
Original: June 17, 2016
Posted by JD Hull at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2016
POTUS 2016: Running out the Clock.
With 27 days to go, all Hillary Rodham Clinton needs to do is run out the clock. Stick to real issues. Talk like a President.
Trump, for all his contributions in the last 15 months to election coverage, speech and what issues we are allowed to talk about (I think those contributions are long term productive and good), cannot win the 2016 POTUS Election.
Two huge Caveats to a HRC win:
1. Nothing Too Weird can happen to her campaign.
2. There can be no major terrorist attacks on American soil.
Big Ben clock tower, north end of Palace of Westminster.
Posted by JD Hull at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2016
Debate No. 2: HRC 1, Trump 1.
Credit where it's due. As expected, both candidates were much better last night overall than they were in the first debate. But it was Trump's evening. However, after Friday's Trump Uber-Alpha Male video tape--which I'm still not sure what to think about---all Trump could do was get level again. He accomplished that. He bounced back. HRC? She was strong, seemed healthy (at least to me) and had moments where she was presidential. With 29 days to go, it's not over.
Posted by JD Hull at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2016
U.S. Supreme Court on writers, poets and starving artists.
We are asked to recognize that authors are congenitally irresponsible, that frequently they are so sorely pressed for funds that they are willing to sell their work for a mere pittance, and therefore assignments made by them should not be upheld.
--Justice Frankfurter, writing in Fisher Music Co. v. Witmark, 318 U.S. 643, 656 (1943)
37 years in Hell: French Poet-Badass Arthur Rimbaud at age 17, 1871.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
Pence 1, Kaine 0.
I am still voting for Hillary Clinton. But Pence stepped up in the Vice-Presidential debates last night. He was gathered, genuine and at times even presidential. Both candidates were prepared. Neither said anything dumb. Kaine does have that neutered-male weenie patrol new age lackey quality. But both Pence and Kaine are decent if somewhat lackluster pols who could be POTUS if they had to be.
Posted by JD Hull at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2016
Partner Emeritus: Associate lawyering, work ethic, time ethic and real life.
Remarks late last year made by one Partner Emeritus in comments to "Old Lady Lawyer: Ageism Knows No Age", a post by Jill Switzer, at David Lat's enduring Above the Law:
When I was at the firm, I made it known that junior associates were prohibited from talking to me unless I initiated the conversation. There was a simple reason for this policy. I was there to make money and generate business.
Talking with associates was a waste of time as I was not there to assist with their professional development. The firm had other programs for that.
The firm is a business, it is not a goddamn camp Snoopy or the psychic friends network. If you want to network for business under the guise of being "social," do it on your time, not mine.
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Best of PE 3.19.2016
Posted by JD Hull at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2016
Our advice on Wednesday ? Two words. Wilson. Pickett.
Posted by JD Hull at 05:12 PM | Comments (0)