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August 12, 2011
Depositions under the American Federal Rules: There's a Reason they call it Discovery, Jack.
Savor the Brutality. Bleed. Make Friends with the Pain. Learn not to cringe. At depositions, remember to "get The Badness in your case out in the open". Hostile witnesses. Non-hostile witnesses. See a 2008 article by Chicago trial lawyer Stewart Weltman that we love and apparently cannot live without: "The Two Most Important Questions to Ask During A Discovery Deposition-Part I". Excerpt:
There is a reason why it is called discovery. Invite the other side's witnesses to tell you everything they possibly can about why your side should lose.
Revel in these "bad" answers---don't cringe. Make sure that you carefully dissect every part or premise of a "bad" answer.
Drawing a bead: Badness needs to get out in the open.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2011
Fear Kills--but first it Paralyzes, Enslaves & Stupefies.
A celestial character played by actor Rip Torn in the 1991 Albert Brooks movie Defending Your Life referred to earth-bound humans as "little-brains"--because their fear and inability to seize moments and take risks rendered them immobilized, self-imprisoned and "dumb". So, in the movie, humans couldn't learn anything, get anything done, have new and better relationships, grow and be happy. The Stage Manager in the Thornton Wilder play Our Town makes similar comments about the lives of the town's people. Are you doing the stuff now you can't do when you're, well (gulp), dead. Why have regrets?
Posted by JD Hull at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2011
Clapton: August Afternoon Boost. Music. Trumps Diet Dr. Pepper, Jack.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2011
Professionalism, Actually.
Let’s say you’re a blues guitarist with a broken ring finger on your fretboard hand. What do you do? If you’re Albert King, you put a splint on it, and you get out there and play.
Clients. Consumers. Buyers. It's about "the customers"--and not just about being polite and courtly to other attorneys. It's not a club. Lawyers are a dime a dozen. Not that big a deal anymore. No one cares. For example, every single person waiting tables in Washington D.C. last week was a graduate of Georgetown, Hastings or Yale Law. (Eventually they will eat your lunch.) It's true. We checked. So get over yourself. Think about the Main Event. Remove your head from your Wazoo. Work harder to distinguish yourself. Join a better club. For starters, visit Ray Ward's Minor Wisdom or his the (new) legal writer.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
They Called It Stormy Monday.
But Tuesday’s just as bad.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2011
In Bruges: What if the Kray Twins were Chatty, Funny & Guilt-Ridden?
West Flanders, Belgium. I have been there 3 times--mainly passing through, usually on the lamest of pretexts to simply be there. But anyone can get a good idea of the look, feel and rhythm of this medieval city in Belgium's West Flanders province just by seeing the movie In Bruges.
Much of it is shot in the striking Market Square area of Bruges. The film is about two skilled Irish hit men (Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell)--nice guys for the most part--with Ralph Fiennes as their wonderfully foul-mouthed, mean and manic crime boss who rose up from London's storied East End. Imagine a yarn about London's Kray Twins--but one also featuring their mean boss, and a younger, sappier brother (Farrell), who wants to mend his killing ways. Chatty, passionate criminals, all three.
While as violent as the Krays, the two male leads are a bit different: funny, smart, 100% heterosexual, hopelessly Irish. Tripped up by guilt and good hearts.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)