Using Tone to your Advantage
I play the guitar. It is one of those non-law-related things in my life that keeps me sane. If you’ve ever played or seen an electric guitar, you’ll know that there are knobs on there, like these... The knobs control the volume of the guitar’s output and the tone , or sound of the guitar through the amp. Tone knobs appear not only on the guitar but on guitar effects, that can substantially change how the guitar sounds... And even on the guitar amplifier, which is what projects the guitar’s sound to the world... Tone knobs can be wired to do d…
3 Lessons from a Terrible Job Interview
After graduating from law school and taking the bar, I was interviewing for jobs… like it was my job. Image by Jonathan Mueller on Flickr CC BY 2.0. Some interviews went well. And then, of course, some didn’t. Some were obviously my fault: insufficient prep, fatigue, applying for jobs I knew I wasn’t a good fit for, blanking on softball questions like “what classes are you taking this semester?” Others, however, were not my fault: an interviewer singing a derogatory song about my faith, another complaining about women applicants getting pr…
Legal Business Marketing: Viral Videos and the Legal Advertising Paradigm
Legal advertising has a standard format that is problematically recognizable. Since the flood gates were open to attorney and law firm marketing in 1977, massive amounts of money and time have been invested into soliciting clients. Though the Court’s intent in allowing such advertising was for public good, many feel as though the law and legal profession as a whole has taken a black eye from this new found ability to advertised. This essay aims to examine the current form of legal business advertising, how it was developed, and how it might su…
Creating a Better Initial Client Interview
Initial client interviews are important for a lot of reasons. Here are two ways you can create a better initial interview no matter which side of the desk you are on. Understand the Purpose of the Interview Understanding the why of something can greatly influence the what and the how. As for initial client interviews, “[t]he purpose … is to obtain as much information in respect to the situation presented by the client … [and] to sell the attorney’s services.” By moving from an unstructured and reactive interview to one that is pointed …
Microsoft Word Hack: Auto Populating Repeated Words in a Document
Using document properties in Microsoft Word will allow you to set fields throughout the document that when you fill in one, they all will be filled in with the same word(s). Here is what you do: Step 1 If you haven’t already, turn on the Developer Tab . You can learn how to do that HERE . Step 2 Open a form pleading in Microsoft Word (or a pleading you would like to convert into a form). I’ve used this on petitions for the typical cases I take and discovery documents. Anything I can do to reduce the time spent on discovery …
Grandparent “Keys to the Courthouse” in Idaho
When assisting grandparents with concerns about the custody and wellbeing of their grandchildren, there are more options in Idaho other than seeking a guardianship. As explained by the Idaho Supreme Court in Overholser v. Overholser , 164 Idaho 503, 432 P.3d 52 (2018) , grandparents in Idaho hold several “keys to the courthouse” in such situations: "Magic Keys" by cogdogblog is licensed under CC0 1.0 The De Facto Custodian Act under Idaho Code § 32-1701 In certain situations, a grandparent can be deemed a de facto cus…
Leadership: Young and In Charge (for some reason)
I have been very fortunate in my legal career to have some big responsibilities at a relatively young age. Some of this has absolutely been due to being in the right place at the right time. So much of success seems to be timing and taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. But there are several things I can point to as being important to what I’ve been able to accomplish. "Head of Youth" is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Say yes (when it won't overload you) I was recently driving through Grand Teton National Park…
What Can a Lawyer Give for Christmas? Withheld Judgment
A withheld judgment is a tool used by judges to incentivize compliance with probation terms and to allow someone to move on with his or her life after satisfactorily dealing with a mistake. As described by legalbeagle.com : A withheld judgment can allow the defendant to avoid a having a criminal conviction on his record. At the time of sentencing, the judge informs the defendant of the terms he must meet, which can include a probationary period, restitution fees paid to the court and victim, and rarely, jail time. The judge does not, however, …
Save the Cheerleader: Employees or Independent Contractors?
“They think it’s a joke, ‘Oh, these little cheerleaders.’ ” Lacy Thibodeaux Recent accounts of life as a professional cheerleader in the NFL have been anything but glamorous. As a former Oakland Raider cheerleader explained , she was paid $125 a game at the end of the season while being expected to pay for cosmetics, expensive hair treatments, and travel costs out of pocket. Court documents from a 2009 case included a Baltimore Ravens handbook requiring cheerleaders to maintain “warm skin tones” with possible suspensions based on weight viol…
Understanding Immigration Means Understanding Family
Like many others, I was profoundly affected by the images of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi found dead on a Turkish shoreline. You may see and read more about the story here and here but do note that it is highly disturbing . The migrant crisis today in Europe is massive, with 4 million Syrians having fled their homes, Aylan included. Concerning Aylan, the New York Times wrote: [I]t is not the sheer size of the catastrophe — millions upon millions forced by war and desperation to leave their homes — but a single tragedy that has clarified the m…
Casting with a Broader Net: A Classroom of Stereotypes
The third in a series of three about the use of race in affirmative action. Having found that classroom diversity is a compelling government interest, the court battle going forward seems to center on the “narrowly tailored means” used to implement a diversity objective. To achieve diversity that is not centered in race requires an admission processes that looks at a diverse set of signifiers. If race is used as a factor, it must be done so only after making a good faith effort to achieve diversity with race-neutral methods.[1] The Fisher …
Casting with a Broader Net: Diversity in the Classroom as a Compelling Government Interest
The second in a series of three about the use of race in affirmative action. Building upon the rulings in Bakke and Grutter , the Fisher Court made it clear that achieving a diverse student body is a compelling government interest and a constitutionally permissible goal for a university. In analyzing a university’s pursuit of diversity, the Court has given a liberal amount of deference to the educational institution’s own judgment, though such decisions do need to be within reason.[1] This deference includes not only recognizing a need fo…
Casting with a Broader Net: Race-Neutral Diversity in Higher Education
The first in a series of three about the use of race in affirmative action. In 1978 Justice Blackmun wrote “I suspect that it would be impossible to arrange an affirmative-action program in a racially neutral way and have it successful.”[1] He went on to reason that “[i]n order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way.”[2] The Court’s ruling on college admissions affirmative action in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin attempts to walk a nonexistent line between Justice Blackmun’s ideas.[3] By find…
