Question of the Week

What’s the Most Unexpected Office Party Liability Problem You’ve Seen?

The holiday season and the parties that follow are in full swing. With these bashes, some of which we learned can be très expensive, comes concern about liability. This made us wonder… What’s the most unexpected, unusual and/or bizarre liability problem that ever arose from a law office (and/or client)…

Dec 13, 2007 3:08 PM CST

What’s The Best Lawyer-Themed Gift You Ever Received?

In this month’s ABA Journal, we noted examples of Law’some Gifts this holiday season. Shark ties, iPod Nanos preloaded with niche practice programming make the list. And over at the lawyer-owned The Billable Hour Co., there are loads of J.D.-centric games, and accessories. So this made us wonder… What’s the…

Dec 6, 2007 4:01 PM CST

What Was Your Worst Work-Related Travel Experience?

Thanks to Foreign Policy magazine’s online edition, we learned about the worst airports in the world. We’ll be sure to try to avoid the “squalor” of Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, and the “grimy terminals” at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris. But this made us…

Nov 29, 2007 4:25 PM CST

How Does Your Firm Organize Gift Exchanges?

The SoloSezzers were abuzz recently with chatter about experiences with office gift exchanges. One solo noted that when her staff was all female, everyone got pj’s from Victoria’s Secret. Staffers also were treated to surprises from Santa, including stockings full of treats and gifts from their holiday wish lists. Another…

Nov 20, 2007 8:09 PM CST

How Did Music Education Influence Your Life, Career?

E Street Band guitarist and Sopranos actor Steven Van Zandt began beating the drum this week to protest cuts in arts programs in schools. He came to a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday armed with fresh stats from a new Harris Interactive poll that notes at least seven…

Nov 15, 2007 4:12 PM CST

How Would You Feel About Switching Sides of the Advocacy Aisle?

This week ABAJournal.com noted that Sandra Day O’Connor—among other things—recommends that prosecutors and public defenders be dumped in the same office and advocate for the government or the defendant depending on the case. So we wondered… How would you feel about switching roles—from public defender to prosecutor, defense to plaintiff,…

Nov 8, 2007 4:05 PM CST

What Images Are Too Cliché for Law Firm Ads?

On his Business Development blog not long ago, lawyer and marketing expert Peter Darling made note of the images one should never use in a law firm ad because they are cliché—gavels, eagles, scales of justice are just a few. Then this week, midsize Chicago firm Much Shelist launched an…

Nov 1, 2007 3:40 PM CDT

What Have You Done in Your Work or Home Life to Go Decidedly Untech?

Intel’s high-tech engineers have decided to take a business casual to a new level, shunning e-mail to wind up the work week. We think Intel’s e-mail-free Fridays is a great way to escape—ever so briefly—the wired world in which we live. But this made us wonder… What have you done…

Oct 25, 2007 3:06 PM CDT

If You Had a Magic Skeleton Key, What Private Places Would You Like to Have Access To?

On a recent visit to the U.S. Supreme Court, I was a little surprised to learn that veteran high court reporter Tony Mauro of Legal Times had never stepped foot on the highest court in the land—the Supreme Court’s private basketball court. That’s where—to the envy of their fellow JDs—clerks…

Oct 18, 2007 2:29 PM CDT

If You Could Rename Your Law School, What Name Would You Choose?

With news this week that the powers in Berkeley are suffering an identity crisis and may bolt from their law school’s name Boalt Hall, we had this question: If you—because you won the lottery, got that big firm partnership, won the verdict of a lifetime—had naming rights to your law…

Oct 11, 2007 2:02 PM CDT

What Would Be The Movie Title for Your Life Story?

There certainly is no shortage of memoirs these days. Everyone wants to tell their story and defend or explain their exploits. Cupcake Brown, an ex-prostitute-turned-lawyer, announced she is leaving the law to do just that—writing a movie that follows her best-selling memoir, A Piece of Cake. This made us wonder,…

Oct 4, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

If You Could Be A Bionic Lawyer, What Would Be Your Strength?

With this week’s premiere/return of the “Bionic Woman” TV series, up pops a question: If you could get a bionic superpower to help you in your practice, what would it be? Answer in the comments below. Read last week’s answers.

Sep 27, 2007 4:36 PM CDT

How Have You Been Censored in Court?

There’s some good discussion on ABAJournal.com about a Nebraska judge who barred a woman from using the word “rape” when she testified during a sexual assault trial against her alleged attacker. The woman has filed a long-shot federal suit against the judge. The merits are being argued by our readers.…

Sep 20, 2007 4:23 PM CDT

Would You Trade Your Office for an RV to Jump-Start Your Practice?

This week we heard about a team of former big-firm lawyers who ditched their corner office aspirations to spend their days roaming the streets in of all things a recreational vehicle. Though the mobile office image may elicit some chuckles or comparisons to Robin Williams and his silly comedy RV,…

Sep 13, 2007 2:25 PM CDT

Would You Pick a Lawyer to Serve on a Jury?

Time and again lawyers, especially high-profile lawyers, are excluded from sitting on juries. Why would or wouldn’t you seat a lawyer on your next jury?

Sep 6, 2007 3:15 PM CDT