Futurelawyer

Doctors Diagnose, Lawyers Identify Problems.

The hardest part of advising clients is telling them what your services will cost. And, unlike Doctors, clients rarely have insurance. So, after we identify the problem, we have to deliver the bad news before we can get to work solving it. But, like the Fram Oil Filter guy, you can pay me now or pay me later. Legal problems seldom go away on their own.

 

#WhyIAmASolo - I Love Elon, But The Math Doesn't Work.

Elon is a brilliant entrepreneur; but, he isn't Santa Claus. As a solo, I enjoy autonomy; and, I can create my own work-life balance. Do the math.

Memories Don't Die If We Remember Them.

Ten years ago today, I wrote this paragraph about my grandfather's law school graduation photo, which has been on the wall of every law office I have occupied for the last fifty years. I still look at it every day, and give thanks I knew him, and give thanks for another day to live and do my best. 

"Marty Martin Georges (1889 - 1979). As I was leaving the office for court this morning, my eyes came upon a photograph that has hung on my wall for over 30 years. In a few months, I will celebrate the 100th anniversary of my grandfather's graduation from Law School. He was a great man, who never realized his dream of practicing law, losing his hearing in service, as an Artillery Officer, in World War I. He spent his career in the Post Office Department Investigations Division. This photograph, which I reproduce below, is my proudest possession. He is the handsome gentleman seated, legs crossed in the center, wearing his trademark bow tie. He graduated in June, 1913, and went to fight soon thereafter. I often look at this photograph, and remember that, in his later years, he was proudest of the fact that I followed in his footsteps and practiced law. We were the first grandfather grandson members of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. I also think of the other men in this picture, all long dead. What were their dreams, their aspirations? Are we living life, or treading water? This picture reminds me that every day is a gift. How are you living it today?"

Inspiration.

He raced toward the end of his life,

as though his life depended on it.

He hurried towards his goal,

Blinders fixed,

Pupils dilated,

Huffing and puffing.

What did he seek?

Was he afraid of what lay behind?

Did he long for what lay ahead?

As he traveled the road,

He realized that he could not see

the roses or the other flowers

along the way.

Their blurred outlines

gave suggestions

of beauty,

But he had always

seen them

on the periphery

of his voyage.

Then,

unexpectedly,

she appeared before him.

No matter how he tried to escape,

she stayed with him,

Tugging,

Pulling,

Cautioning him

against his frenzied course.

Stop and see,

she said.

Wait for me,

she said.

I will be here

if you stay with me.

He had never felt such power

in one so gentle,

and he responded in kind.

His inclination

to speed ahead

was tempered by her gentle, loving voice.

He stopped to listen.

Just as suddenly,

the roses and the flowers

came into focus,

and the beauty of the world

became apparent.

His breathing slowed,

and,

as he turned,

She looked at him

and smiled.

He was blind.

Now, he could see.

 

 

FutureLawyer Owned The First SmartWatch, But Litigator Is Cooler.

I thought I was cool, since I owned the first Smartwatch made some years ago; but, apparently Litigator beat me by a few Millennia.

#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Have To Work For Rita Or Elon.

Solo law practice means that I don't have a boss at the office. You might say that every client is somewhat of a boss; but, clients come and go, and a good lawyer never gives up his independent exercise of the profession to a client. In fact, clients hire lawyers to exercise that independent judgment, which they are trained to do. If a client tries to control the representation, the client is a fool, and the lawyer who stays isn't really a lawyer anymore. So, I work for myself, and, while I have great respect for Elon Musk and the other entrepreneurs of the world, I don't think I want them telling me how many hours or what sacrifices I must make to work for them. Elon allows the people he hires great autonomy in doing their job; but, he is still a boss, and hires and fires at will. I don't need that in my life. If I were a young man again, I might make an exception for him; but, I am not that young man anymore. So, if you want to live your life in the way you see fit, go solo, young warrior. You probably won't make a lot of money; but, trust me, there are more important things in life. 

#WhyIAmASolo - I Can Install A Big Mouth Billy Bass On The Wall If I Want To.

25 Blogs Guaranteed To Make You Smarter.

25 Blogs Guaranteed to Make You Smarter. I made Curt Harden's Cultural Offering list again this year, and I am honored again, as I have been each year he has run the list. Along with Execupundit, by Michael Wade, Curt has introduced me to some great blogs. Whoever said blogging is dying, and being killed by short attention span social media, is wrong. These blogs, along with others, have enriched my life, and, indeed, made me smarter. Kurt's take on Futurelawyer:

Future Lawyer - “Future Technology for the Lawyer of Today” is the moniker but you really get a site run with the swagger of a lawyer who has lived life to the fullest.  A long-time favorite and NOT a law blog.

Thanks, Kurt. I don't chase awards; but, I accept this one with gratitude. By the way, your Cultural Offering, and our friends at Execupundit and Ray Visotski's Mitigating Chaos, Stephen Landry, our resident New Jersey higher learning guru, Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership Blog , Serpentine Sheldon Serpentine, Jonathan Turley , a brilliant man, and many others are some of my favorites that you have introduced me to. Thanks.

What If They Had A Pandemic, And Nobody Came?

You would think that impending death wasn't a basic feature of being alive. The insane reactions to the pandemic were, in hindsight, foolishly over reactions, and many lost minutes, and hours, and days, and weeks of quality living due to bureaucratic bungling and overreach. How often, in our lives, do we say, if we knew then what we know now? "Trust the science?". Perhaps it is a good thing that most of us now have a healthy skepticism for anyone who purports to know what the science says. In any event, we are all going to die anyway. What matters is how we choose to live while we are here.

Put your mask on,

they said, as he entered the store,

and use that sanitizer

by the door.

You need to be careful,

said the flyer posted next to the counter.

The clerk looked like something

out of an alien invasion movie,

wearing a plastic shield

that reflected the light

from the garish fluorescent bulbs

in the ceiling.

He stared at big Xs on the ground,

taped with duct tape

in the color red,

which he supposed meant

it was serious.

Of course, he thought,

it was serious.

Death stalked him every day.

It was one heartbeat away,

or one fall down the stairs,

or one senseless act of violence.

Death was his companion.

He had learned to welcome its breathing

in the night.

Now, death was everywhere.

It screamed at him from the headlines

in the newspaper.

It followed him around,

like a puppy at Christmas.

In the early morning,

death spoke to him,

only after he spent some time

with the coffee.

But, he always knew it was there,

around the corner.

It eyed his wife as well,

speaking under its breath,

with an evil voice

and a muffled rejoinder

about the inevitable suffering

that goes with being human.

As he ran from the store,

ripping the mask from his face,

and screaming in anguish,

he realized that death would be there

anyway.

He resolved to live today

with a better companion.

Life tended to be easier to talk to.

Life was a happier brother in arms.

Life was his present.

His future

would have to take care of itself.

#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Have To Work With The Meeting Moth.

You BigLaw employees know who I am talking about. Every organization has one or two (except, of course, we solos). The Meeting Moth just can't stop going to, or calling, meetings. Then, in a display of hypocrisy unknown until now, makes clear that he hates meetings. Why do they do it? I don't care. I just don't want to be in the same room with them.