Jordan Rothman’s recent piece about the preference that some courts have for local counsel as opposed to out of towners should surprise exactly no one.
Why the preference for local counsel? Easy. Local counsel are (or should be) familiar with local rules (whether stated or implied). They know (or should know) the local judge’s preference for the handling of matters (oral arguments? tentative rulings?) and how to behave at appearances. Local counsel knows (or should know) the lay of the local legal landscape. You shouldn’t be surprised at local judicial eccentricities, how to move or not move around the courtroom, how to interact with court staff, whether asking for priority is DOA, and so on. No surprise that courtrooms are modern versions of fiefdoms. One courtroom clerk had a sign on her desk: “We don’t care how you do it in Los Angeles.” So, if there’s any hesitation to hire local counsel, explain to the client why the additional fees are worth it. You don’t want to have to explain to your client that you have been “hometowned.”
Another recent ATL column opines that formal law firm mentorships are at death’s door.
Perhaps for Biglaw firms, the die has been cast, but mentoring lives on, regardless of what it’s called today. It may be called pointing an associate in the right direction for research, it may be called showing an associate how to write a brief, reorganizing it in such a way that will grab the reader’s attention, it may be called counseling a new associate on how to prepare for a hearing that she will argue (what a concept), and so on. Mentoring still exists. A rose by any other name …
Corollary to the demise of mentoring is the death of DEI. The FTC, doing 47’s bidding, has strangled Diversity Lab. It’s the silent (or not so silent) execution of what had been attempts to level the playing field. Calling it a “scourge” and a “plague,” the FTC managed to destroy the Lab’s efforts purely by bullying and similar tactics. Just another example of the contempt for anyone who isn’t a white male, in other words, anyone who does not have a BSD. (Look it up.)
When you started law school, whether recently or decades ago, did you know what you wanted to do as a lawyer? Of course, some do, having grown up on lawyer films and TV shows. But reality bites, and just because you think you know your legal career path, that doesn’t make it so.
A perfect example: Biglaw firms are recruiting so early in law school that many 1Ls have no concept of the various choices they may have after graduation and bar passage. “What do you want to do” is a question often asked and often answered hesitantly. Some may think that they want “deal work,” only to decide that it’s not what they went to law school for. Others dream of trial work, of presenting a case to a jury, only to have that dream shattered when they realize that very few cases actually go to trial, and that most, if not all, of “trial work” today consists of arbitrations (no juries there) and mediations (ditto).
Lastly, wasn’t it nice that no one had to fly to Rome this past weekend to visit the Colosseum? We had our very own gladiator battle in D.C. (and I am not referring to Congress). Unless you were on Mars this weekend scoping out available properties for purchase with Elon Musk, the South Lawn of the White House hosted a UFC event on 47’s 80th birthday, wearing his usual scowl. Can’t he lighten up even on his birthday?
What a classless and grotesque event the UFC was, only made worse by the gratuitous and insulting comment about Michelle Obama. Real men don’t make these kinds of comments publicly, and hopefully not privately, but then, of course, I am assuming facts not in evidence.
In stark contrast, look at the myriad ways that visitors here for the World Cup have embraced us, yes, us, we the people across the country who have welcomed them to big cities and small, to our hospitality and especially our food. Mac and cheese, barbecue, Taco Bell, Waffle House: representative food that almost all of us eat. How can they not love us? We have shown those visitors that the country is far more than just one man and his capos. May it always be so.
Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.
The post Random Neural Firings And Cage Fighting On The South Lawn appeared first on Above the Law.
Jordan Rothman’s recent piece about the preference that some courts have for local counsel as opposed to out of towners should surprise exactly no one.
Why the preference for local counsel? Easy. Local counsel are (or should be) familiar with local rules (whether stated or implied). They know (or should know) the local judge’s preference for the handling of matters (oral arguments? tentative rulings?) and how to behave at appearances. Local counsel knows (or should know) the lay of the local legal landscape. You shouldn’t be surprised at local judicial eccentricities, how to move or not move around the courtroom, how to interact with court staff, whether asking for priority is DOA, and so on. No surprise that courtrooms are modern versions of fiefdoms. One courtroom clerk had a sign on her desk: “We don’t care how you do it in Los Angeles.” So, if there’s any hesitation to hire local counsel, explain to the client why the additional fees are worth it. You don’t want to have to explain to your client that you have been “hometowned.”
Another recent ATL column opines that formal law firm mentorships are at death’s door.
Perhaps for Biglaw firms, the die has been cast, but mentoring lives on, regardless of what it’s called today. It may be called pointing an associate in the right direction for research, it may be called showing an associate how to write a brief, reorganizing it in such a way that will grab the reader’s attention, it may be called counseling a new associate on how to prepare for a hearing that she will argue (what a concept), and so on. Mentoring still exists. A rose by any other name …
Corollary to the demise of mentoring is the death of DEI. The FTC, doing 47’s bidding, has strangled Diversity Lab. It’s the silent (or not so silent) execution of what had been attempts to level the playing field. Calling it a “scourge” and a “plague,” the FTC managed to destroy the Lab’s efforts purely by bullying and similar tactics. Just another example of the contempt for anyone who isn’t a white male, in other words, anyone who does not have a BSD. (Look it up.)
When you started law school, whether recently or decades ago, did you know what you wanted to do as a lawyer? Of course, some do, having grown up on lawyer films and TV shows. But reality bites, and just because you think you know your legal career path, that doesn’t make it so.
A perfect example: Biglaw firms are recruiting so early in law school that many 1Ls have no concept of the various choices they may have after graduation and bar passage. “What do you want to do” is a question often asked and often answered hesitantly. Some may think that they want “deal work,” only to decide that it’s not what they went to law school for. Others dream of trial work, of presenting a case to a jury, only to have that dream shattered when they realize that very few cases actually go to trial, and that most, if not all, of “trial work” today consists of arbitrations (no juries there) and mediations (ditto).
Lastly, wasn’t it nice that no one had to fly to Rome this past weekend to visit the Colosseum? We had our very own gladiator battle in D.C. (and I am not referring to Congress). Unless you were on Mars this weekend scoping out available properties for purchase with Elon Musk, the South Lawn of the White House hosted a UFC event on 47’s 80th birthday, wearing his usual scowl. Can’t he lighten up even on his birthday?
What a classless and grotesque event the UFC was, only made worse by the gratuitous and insulting comment about Michelle Obama. Real men don’t make these kinds of comments publicly, and hopefully not privately, but then, of course, I am assuming facts not in evidence.
In stark contrast, look at the myriad ways that visitors here for the World Cup have embraced us, yes, us, we the people across the country who have welcomed them to big cities and small, to our hospitality and especially our food. Mac and cheese, barbecue, Taco Bell, Waffle House: representative food that almost all of us eat. How can they not love us? We have shown those visitors that the country is far more than just one man and his capos. May it always be so.
Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.
The post Random Neural Firings And Cage Fighting On The South Lawn appeared first on Above the Law.
