While an appeal is a continuation of a lawsuit, it’s always considerably different than ordinary trial practice. The appellate lawyer has another responsibility, this specialist is suited to cooperate not with a trial jury but with a very specific audience, and a very peculiar skillset is applied here. The judges have likely never met the […]
Read MoreA discussion of the relationship between form and function had been ongoing in design and engineering circles for decades, from Louis Sullivan’s conviction that “form ever follows function” to the more modern construction by Steve Jobs that design is not just what a thing looks like but how it works. While lawyers’ work product is […]
Read MoreThe Internet is always on, always present, and lawyers almost always have access. The modern lawyer uses the Internet to communicate, research, and store massive amounts of data. Without the Internet, most law practices would grind to a halt. At the same time, cybersecurity threats have become increasingly prevalent, and lawyers of every breed know […]
Read MoreLegal arguments and reasoning follow a similar path, drilled into aspiring lawyers beginning their first year of law school. In an appellate brief, the lawyer begins by setting out the issue or question to be answered, followed by the governing rule of law. Then comes an analysis, in which the legal standard is applied to […]
Read MoreOral argument is a frequent topic of discussion at every CLE presentation and bench-bar networking event. Appellate attorneys want to know how they can get oral argument granted more often, and they want to know how they can use oral argument to their client’s best advantage. Lawyers seem hesitant to accept that the vast majority […]
Read MoreTo start managing your cybersecurity, perform a risk assessment. In a risk assessment, you attempt to determine the threats you face, where you are vulnerable to those threats, and the impact the threats would have on your practice or organization. Understanding your risks equips you to make informed decisions about where and how you spend […]
Read MoreEvery day we as lawyers think like lawyers as we advise clients and present and decide cases. But we do not stop to ask what “thinking like a lawyer” actually is and how it turns us into leaders in all areas of society. I think of legal reason as a form of moral reason that judges questions […]
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