Futurelawyer

#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Have To Worry About Delegating EFiling Responsibilities.

Ethics Opinion 12-2 The Florida Bar. The advent of EFiling in Florida has caused some to question whether it is ethical for lawyers to delegate the filing of legal pleadings to firm employees who are not licensed to practice law. Recent opinions have held that the 2012 Ethics opinion on the issue of delegation, which blessed transactions which were ministerial in nature, have now been adopted for efiling. Since no lawyer judgment is required to efile a document, this is a no brainer. But, as I have opined often, I really like the idea of doing stuff myself. If I make a mistake, I can only blame myself. But, I don't have to lose sleep over what someone else has done in my name. If that makes me a control freak, so be it. None of us are in control anyway. Lawyer on, grasshopper.

#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Have To Attend Zoom Team Meetings.

Zoom Launches Zapps, OnZoom. I don't mind Zoom. I don't mind hearings over Zoom. You don't have to travel to the courthouse, or wait in Judge's antechambers, etc. I don't like Zoom conferences, however, all due respect to the companies and firms and Bar Associations that put them on. But, sitting in front of a screen for hours at a time is not my idea of fun. At least, at a hotel conference, I can play hooky and go sit by the pool with an adult beverage. But, leveraging Zoom by scheduling regular firm meetings is beyond the pale. Somebody shoot me, please. If there were ever a moral imperative for solo practice, it would be sitting in front of a computer screen, and discussing firm budget issues for hours. Ugh.

 

#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Have To Look For A Job During A Pandemic.

This little Interview that Florida Bar President Dodi Foster-Morales has with a legal recruiter highlights the difficulties new lawyers have had in a pandemic smothering job market. Law Firms, like everyone else, have been focused on their own survival, and hiring isn't part of that equation. However, what if you didn't have to apply for a job with anyone? What do you have to lose by just being what you are, a solo lawyer? In 1972, after law school, I was faced with that choice. I had a law school classmate who didn't want to go looking for a job with a big firm either. We went down the street to an old dilapidated building, across the street from a liquor store, half a block from a used car lot, and in an area of town that would not be considered high end. We signed a lease, rented a copy machine (that's what passed for technology in those days), and let our friends and family know that we were now practicing lawyers. 49 years later, and I still drive to an office that is mine. Many of us solo lawyers don't make the big money; but, we provide for our families, call our own shots, and never, ever, have to go to a job interview with a legal recruiter. Want to be in a recession proof job? Want to work during a pandemic? You have options.

 

Before Watching The Hearings On Monday, Watch This.

Michael Wade, at Execupundit, highlights some testimony of Justice Scalia, about the role of judges under the U.S. Constitution. It has always been enlightening for me to watch pundits, politicians, and even lawyers and judges who really have a lack of knowledge about the U.S. Constitution and its purpose and history. Call it the anti-government manifesto of the people. It was intended to limit the power of government, not expand it. If a grant of some power to the government is in it, fine. But, if not, you don't get to claim it as a Congress or a President. Again, this has only become a political hot potato in recent decades because one political side decided to try to influence it. Now, there is a threat to increase the number of Justices, in order to further a political agenda. As Justice Scalia points out, read the entire Federalist Papers before spouting off about what the Constitution should be. For me, it should be a limit, and a check and balance, on government power over us, not an instrument wielded to control us. 

A Rational Discussion Of The Upcoming Supreme Court Nomination Hearings.

In a time when the left hates the right, and the right hates the left, it is refreshing to have rational, thoughtful voices speak out. When did it become a sin to agree to disagree? If you want a lawyer's view on what Supreme Court nomination hearings should look like, watch this mini law school class by Professor Alan Dershowitz. As lawyers, we owe it to others to explain the legal process, and to show why rational discourse is necessary to the continuation of the Republic. We don't riot in the streets and loot businesses in our free country to make political points. We shouldn't politicize judicial appointments. When we do, we risk destroying the independence of the judiciary, and that weakens the Republic. Take half an hour, and get a rational view of what the next couple of weeks should look like, in a rational world.

 

A Soccer Mom On The Supreme Court

Finally, a common sense reaction to a great Supreme Court pick. This is the judiciary, not politics. This may be the best Supreme Court pick in our lifetime. Throw out your preconceptions, and listen to Carolyn Elefant and Mark Randazzo. I am passionate about free speech, regardless of which political nutjob opposes it. Justice Barrett will be a beacon of light on the Supreme Court. Take it to the bank.

I woke up this morning to the news that Amy Barrett was the nominee. I was not happy about that, as all the reports were...

Posted by Marc John Randazza on Saturday, September 26, 2020

#WhyIAmASolo. FastCase Legal Research Gets Better And Better.

Legal Research Online Doesn't Have To Be Expensive. Many State Bars use part of members' dues to provide services to their lawyer members. One of those services is online legal research. Reported cases, statutes, and regulations are the essentials for advising clients. Florida provides that service to its lawyer members, and I can access any Florida case or statute that I need. However, lawyers also steal from other lawyers' previous work. Law firms often have brief banks and use copies of work performed in previous cases as resources. Why reinvent the wheel? Solos, like myself, don't have that advantage. We often call on other lawyers for help and copies of forms and previous work to use as a resource. Perhaps the coolest new part of the FastCase service comes from their acquisition of a brief bank, with pleadings and motions and other work, searchable and usable for legal research. Finding the law is just the beginning for a lawyer. Once found, it must be written in motions, pleadings and briefs, that must be filed with courts. Today's solo lawyer can have the resources of thousands of law firms, and Florida lawyers get it for the price of Bar membership. It is a brave new world, and one in which a solo lawyer can survive and thrive.

The World Is Going Insane - Now, You Can't Say A Prohibited Word While Teaching A Law School Class

What kind of lawyers are being created by our educational system? Is the U.C. Irvine School of Law educating lawyers or triggered, self loathing, weaklings? A law professor, teaching about hate speech, and the legal questions surrounding it, quoted (you know "") the n word in her lecture. Immediately, demands were trumpeted to remove her, and she was barred from teaching 1L classes. From the post at Instapundit:

"law students will become lawyers, and will have people depending on their lawyerly brains and judgment for their lives and liberty. If they can’t hold it together in the face of a bad word, they need to find another job. So too do administrators who throw their faculty members under the bus at the least threat of complaint."

This sounds a lot like having a neurosurgeon performing brain surgery; but, you can't allow any blood on the table! I am very seldom speechless at the idiocy of this current higher education system; but, I am truly unable to properly vocalize how insane this is. This is my shocked face.

 

I Didn't Invent The Internet, But I Helped Lawyers Understand It.

Diane accidentally gave me the idea for this post this morning when she came out to my man cave that used to be a garage and cast her eye on the graphic sitting on top of a bookcase behind my desk, asking what it was, and why was it crooked. It was ironic that she asked about it, while I was using the Internet and scanning the news of the world and checking social media, and checking email and making connections all over the globe, all while sitting in my garage on a Sunday morning. The graphic, I explained to her, was the graphic used by the Florida Bar at the 1994 Bar Convention, at which I was educating Bar members about this new thing called the World Wide Web, and telling them how it would change their lives. At that time, only a few people believed me. What a difference 25 years makes. I don't ascribe magical powers in possessions, and the only ones I value are computer or gadget related; but, this graphic panel holds a special place in the FutureLawyer's memory. Now, get out there and "Surf The Net!"

#WhyIAmASolo - I Get To Be A Member Of The Solo And Small Firm Section Of The Florida Bar.

LINK - Summer 2020. I love solo practice. I love the fact that solos and small firms are the backbone of Florida law practice. We are lawyers, counselors, advisors, and friends to a large variety of other human beings. We help. The Florida Bar's Section on Solo and Small Firm Practice is one of the most active in the country, and promulgates many helpful resources for Florida lawyers. Much of what they do is valuable to lawyers everywhere. This edition of the newsletter LINK is a perfect example. What better occupation could there be than to be a trusted advisor to real people facing real problems in a complicated world?