f/k/a . . .

someone else’s

laughter:

spring evening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one mirror for everyone

the rest stop

restroom

 

 

“tow truck gray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

day at the zoo —
the elephant’s shadow
in a small place

 

 

 

 

Gary Hotham from breathmarks: haiku to read in the dark  

except “day at the zoo –” -  The Heron’s Nest (March 2005)

 

 

 

from dagosan                                               

 

 

snowbank

becoming

compost

 

 

                  [March 31, 2005]

“wolf Dude”  I bet this AP/Houston Chronicle story, “Lawyer charged with prostitution: Schools

official accused of offering services for sex” (March 25, 2005), out of Round Hill, Texas,

will send guilty chills down the spines of far too many lawyers.  The accused is 56-year-old lawyer

Steven C. Copenhaver, who practices in Georgetown, and asks that we keep him in our prayers.

 

According to the article:

“Dawn Miller, chief disciplinary counsel for the State Bar of Texas, said exchanging

legal services for sexual favors could constitute a violation of rules barring ‘illegal or

unconscionable’

fees.” 

 I’d think this might also have a little to do with having the appropriate character to practice law. 

(from LawyerNews, via Legal Ethics Forum)

• 
  
  
  

  Does anyone out there think consenting adults should be allowed to barter sex

  
  

  for legal services, without the law or bar counsel intervening?  (It might help

  
  

  reduce pro se litigation and increase access to justice.)
  
  
• 
  
  
  

  
  

  I’m reminded of the old joke: “What’s the difference between a lawyer and a

  
  

  prostitute”  The clothes.” (listed by Tim Field, the anti-bullying maven)

someone else’s

laughter:

spring evening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one mirror for everyone

the rest stop

restroom

 

 

“tow truck gray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

day at the zoo —
the elephant’s shadow
in a small place

 

 

 

 

Gary Hotham from breathmarks: haiku to read in the dark  

except “day at the zoo –” -  The Heron’s Nest (March 2005)

 

 

 

from dagosan                                               

 

 

snowbank

becoming

compost

 

 

                  [March 31, 2005]

“wolf Dude”  I bet this AP/Houston Chronicle story, “Lawyer charged with prostitution: Schools

official accused of offering services for sex” (March 25, 2005), out of Round Hill, Texas,

will send guilty chills down the spines of far too many lawyers.  The accused is 56-year-old lawyer

Steven C. Copenhaver, who practices in Georgetown, and asks that we keep him in our prayers.

 

According to the article:

“Dawn Miller, chief disciplinary counsel for the State Bar of Texas, said exchanging

legal services for sexual favors could constitute a violation of rules barring ‘illegal or

unconscionable’

fees.” 

 I’d think this might also have a little to do with having the appropriate character to practice law. 

(from LawyerNews, via Legal Ethics Forum)

• 
  
  
  

  Does anyone out there think consenting adults should be allowed to barter sex

  
  

  for legal services, without the law or bar counsel intervening?  (It might help

  
  

  reduce pro se litigation and increase access to justice.)
  
  
• 
  
  
  

  
  

  I’m reminded of the old joke: “What’s the difference between a lawyer and a

  
  

  prostitute”  The clothes.” (listed by Tim Field, the anti-bullying maven)

 

children’s ICU

a tissue box beside

the pay phone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

clear skies

the river dark

with old rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

wind-beaten marquee

saying only

“Coming Soon”

 

 

 

 

John Stevenson’s from Some of the Silence (Red Moon Press,1999). 

 

 

 

 

from dagosan                                               

empty coffee pot

gotta go

gotta go

                  [March 30, 2005]

 

   Martin Schwimmer’s Between Lawyer’s post “How to Lawyer 

When Everyone’s Watching” has sparked a debate between Tom Mighell

and myself about how much a lawyer should say on a website about about the

inappropriate conduct of another lawyer.  What Tom calls simple professional

courtesy I suggest sounds like professional omerta (an enabling silence that

keeps our dirty laundry in-house). 

More on e-shaming: Will Famia, at MSNBC’s Clicked  weblog

column, titled yesterday’s column Don’t make me blog you!

and led off with a link to our post on e-shaming.  Thanks, Will.

What the heck is H&K thinking?  As LegalReader reports: “A Tampa lawyer has

been promoted to the top ranks of Holland & Knight just months after an internal

investigation recommended he be reprimanded for harassing young female colleagues.”

(see St. Petersburg Times, March 29, 2005)

 

  The Federal Trade Commission announced settlement agreements today with

three major “debt services” operations, which the Commission had accused of scamming

consumers of over $100 million.   The press release offers good lessons for practices to be

shunned by honest service providers and avoided by all consumers.   Two consumer info

brochures are available online:

• 
  
  For People on Debt Management Plans: A Must-Do List
  
  
• 
  
  Fiscal Fitness: Choosing a Credit Counselor

 

  The prolific Marty Schwimmer is seeking your input:  “Let’s talk about how

and why lawyers are hated.  And let’s talk about whether lawyers can, through their

blogs, practice and promote judicious thought.”  

 

Orin Kerr reminds us all to Become an Organ Donor.  Right Now, would be nice —  

getting on the list, I mean, not actually giving up an organ right now.  Get info here.

 

children’s ICU

a tissue box beside

the pay phone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

clear skies

the river dark

with old rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

wind-beaten marquee

saying only

“Coming Soon”

 

 

 

 

John Stevenson’s from Some of the Silence (Red Moon Press,1999). 

 

 

 

 

from dagosan                                               

empty coffee pot

gotta go

gotta go

                  [March 30, 2005]

 

   Martin Schwimmer’s Between Lawyer’s post “How to Lawyer 

When Everyone’s Watching” has sparked a debate between Tom Mighell

and myself about how much a lawyer should say on a website about about the

inappropriate conduct of another lawyer.  What Tom calls simple professional

courtesy I suggest sounds like professional omerta (an enabling silence that

keeps our dirty laundry in-house). 

More on e-shaming: Will Famia, at MSNBC’s Clicked  weblog

column, titled yesterday’s column Don’t make me blog you!

and led off with a link to our post on e-shaming.  Thanks, Will.

What the heck is H&K thinking?  As LegalReader reports: “A Tampa lawyer has

been promoted to the top ranks of Holland & Knight just months after an internal

investigation recommended he be reprimanded for harassing young female colleagues.”

(see St. Petersburg Times, March 29, 2005)

 

  The Federal Trade Commission announced settlement agreements today with

three major “debt services” operations, which the Commission had accused of scamming

consumers of over $100 million.   The press release offers good lessons for practices to be

shunned by honest service providers and avoided by all consumers.   Two consumer info

brochures are available online:

• 
  
  For People on Debt Management Plans: A Must-Do List
  
  
• 
  
  Fiscal Fitness: Choosing a Credit Counselor

 

  The prolific Marty Schwimmer is seeking your input:  “Let’s talk about how

and why lawyers are hated.  And let’s talk about whether lawyers can, through their

blogs, practice and promote judicious thought.”  

 

Orin Kerr reminds us all to Become an Organ Donor.  Right Now, would be nice —  

getting on the list, I mean, not actually giving up an organ right now.  Get info here.

end of the holiday
a square of pale grass
beneath the tent

 

 

 

 

 

 

first day of spring

all the fly-fishing books

out of the library

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

higher and higher

on the trampoline

spring rain

 

 

 

 

  MATT MORDEN 

“higher and higher” - tug of the current: Red Moon Anthology 2004; Haiku Canada Newsletter XVII: 1

“end of the holiday” - Acorn #3 (2001) & A New Resonance 2 (Red Moon Press, 2001)

“first day of spring” - A New Resonance 2

 

 

 

from dagosan                                               

one small patch

of muddied snow –

the creek keeps rising

                  [March 29, 2005]

 

potluck

 I haven’t meant to be slighting Steve Bainbridge the past few weeks, 

but I’ll try to make it up to him and get to one of my favorite websites more often. 

A quick look at his recent posts makes me opine:

- No matter what we’re told by the Vatican conglomerate that bought 

Jesus Christ’s service mark, Jesus Was a Liberal, and no amount of

cafeteria-conservative Catholicism (see Steve’s March 28 post at MoJ)

can change that fact.

 

- Is there anyone who doesn’t know just how tightly bunched together the top

tier of law schools is when it comes to quality?  Do serious people (groan men)

really worry about a few rungs here and there on the Rankings ladder?  UCLwhAt?

 

- About the Savings Rate: with the amount of debt so very high and so many Americans

having so little in savings or retirement plans, I’m a bit surprised that Prof. B. is taking

such a Alfred E. Newmanesque stance on our savings rate.  Unless the formula Steve

pooh-poohs is not the one being applied to other countries, it seems highly significant

that Americans are so poor at saving compared to the rest of the developed world.

 

  Another gem from my Referer Page:  Judging from the number of results for the

Google search farting lawsuit>, Ted and Walter at Overlawyered need to start a separate

page for this particularly odiferous type of litigation, which may also merit an intellectual

property subcategory.

 

 Talk about naiveEsq!  When we wrote about the chutzpah of Connecticut divorce

lawyer Gary I. Cohen last October, referring to the “Success Bonus” he was seeking, we asked

“Should a fiduciary put the client on the spot asking for a tip?”  An article in NYLawyer makes

clear that he did a lot more than put his client on the spot (”Metro Lawyer Ordered to Return

$300,000 Bonus,” March 28, 2005).

“Gary Zimmerman claims that, when he balked at the high payout,

Cohen became angry and abusive, hung up the telephone on him,

and threatened to walk out of the meetings and “shelve” the settlement.

According to Zimmerman, Cohen and Grund stood over him and

forced him to wire $300,000 to each lawyer.”  

The article also has interesting quotes by “renowned ethics expert Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr”   

on the similarity between contingency fees and success bonuses.  (via John at Legal Ethics Forum)

end of the holiday
a square of pale grass
beneath the tent

 

 

 

 

 

 

first day of spring

all the fly-fishing books

out of the library

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

higher and higher

on the trampoline

spring rain

 

 

 

 

  MATT MORDEN 

“higher and higher” - tug of the current: Red Moon Anthology 2004; Haiku Canada Newsletter XVII: 1

“end of the holiday” - Acorn #3 (2001) & A New Resonance 2 (Red Moon Press, 2001)

“first day of spring” - A New Resonance 2

 

 

 

from dagosan                                               

one small patch

of muddied snow –

the creek keeps rising

                  [March 29, 2005]

 

potluck

 I haven’t meant to be slighting Steve Bainbridge the past few weeks, 

but I’ll try to make it up to him and get to one of my favorite websites more often. 

A quick look at his recent posts makes me opine:

- No matter what we’re told by the Vatican conglomerate that bought 

Jesus Christ’s service mark, Jesus Was a Liberal, and no amount of

cafeteria-conservative Catholicism (see Steve’s March 28 post at MoJ)

can change that fact.

 

- Is there anyone who doesn’t know just how tightly bunched together the top

tier of law schools is when it comes to quality?  Do serious people (groan men)

really worry about a few rungs here and there on the Rankings ladder?  UCLwhAt?

 

- About the Savings Rate: with the amount of debt so very high and so many Americans

having so little in savings or retirement plans, I’m a bit surprised that Prof. B. is taking

such a Alfred E. Newmanesque stance on our savings rate.  Unless the formula Steve

pooh-poohs is not the one being applied to other countries, it seems highly significant

that Americans are so poor at saving compared to the rest of the developed world.

 

  Another gem from my Referer Page:  Judging from the number of results for the

Google search farting lawsuit>, Ted and Walter at Overlawyered need to start a separate

page for this particularly odiferous type of litigation, which may also merit an intellectual

property subcategory.

 

 Talk about naiveEsq!  When we wrote about the chutzpah of Connecticut divorce

lawyer Gary I. Cohen last October, referring to the “Success Bonus” he was seeking, we asked

“Should a fiduciary put the client on the spot asking for a tip?”  An article in NYLawyer makes

clear that he did a lot more than put his client on the spot (”Metro Lawyer Ordered to Return

$300,000 Bonus,” March 28, 2005).

“Gary Zimmerman claims that, when he balked at the high payout,

Cohen became angry and abusive, hung up the telephone on him,

and threatened to walk out of the meetings and “shelve” the settlement.

According to Zimmerman, Cohen and Grund stood over him and

forced him to wire $300,000 to each lawyer.”  

The article also has interesting quotes by “renowned ethics expert Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr”   

on the similarity between contingency fees and success bonuses.  (via John at Legal Ethics Forum)

I’m a little tired from post-Easter traveling today, so maybe I missed it when I quickly

perused the ABA TechShow 2005 website.  I’m wondering: When and how does the

conference treat the harnessing of technology to help lawyers serve clients better —

especially the less-than-sophisticated client (the average consumer and small business)?  

 

“computer Weary”  There are many sessions on avoiding malpractice when adopting new technologies,

which is an important topic that is more about averting lawyer pain than promoting client gain.  

The TechShow also offers plenty of tips for honing “marketing” strategies that will attract premium

clients.  But, I was hoping for a demonstration of interest in how technology can assist (and

prod) the legal profession to promote clients’ interests in both macro and micro ways — to bring

more efficient and less expensive legal services, along with more pricing and service options. 

• 
  
  E.g., spotlighting the ability and potential of technology to support the Self-Help
  
  
  revolution — so that clients can solve many legal problems on their own, or with
  
  
  minimal use of lawyers (see our post); and exploring whether technology can make
  

  “unbundling” more practical and available

None of the Educational Sessions appears to treat these topics.  We might not expect 

the corporate sponsors to care, but how about the ABA committees working on access to

the justice system for those with low or moderate income?  Maybe the topic will come up in

Eugene Lee’s keynote address, where he’ll “discuss how the legal community can take advantage

of new technologies without having to dramatically alter the way they work.” [But, what’s wrong

with a few “dramatic” changes?]  

TechShow Chair Jim Calloway is aware of these and similar issues.   Last October, 

we quoted from his article Alternative Billing for the “Main Street Lawyer” (with Mark 

A. Robertson, LPM, Sept. 2004).  So, I’m sure he’s tucked a few gems in the conference

Program, and that the ovesight has been mine, not his.  

The Legal Ethic’s Blog’s Ben Cowgill has set up a LEB Techshow webpage he hopes will be “a

valuable resource about the intersection of legal ethics and legal technology, using TechShow as

a springboard.”   I don’t believe the intersection should take place solely at the “micro” level of

professional responsibility and legal ethics.  Beyond the level of mechanical rules, it should go

deeper to the level of first principles regarding the profession’s duties to its clients and society.  

 

Technology offers the chance to breathe life again into the listless cliche about putting the client’s 

interests first.   In the 21st Century, consumers want choice; they want to be active participants

in the design and implementation of the services they receive.  They want information that will

permit them to understand risks and tradeoffs when making purchasing decisions.   If the profession 

truly believes that lawyers are the agents and clients the principals, it must be actively seeking to

harness new and evolving technologies in the service of all clients (not merely those sophisticated

and powerful enough to demand their rights), and not merely in the service of profits, or in the

preservation of lawyer prerogatives. 

 

Technology can help lawyers better compete and innovate.  But, doing so ethically is not just a matter

of following the minute ethical rules of the road.  The ABA TechShow 2005 should be helping lawyers

comply with those rules of the road.  But it should also be acknowledging and advancing a broader

focus and commitment on doing what is best for the client  — on sharing the benefits of technology

with all who need legal services.

• 
  
  Let me know about any TechShow sessions and materials that serve these
  
  
  broader ethical issues.  I’d be pleased to find out that I’ve overlooked them.

 

“schoolBrooks” by Randy Brooks, from School’s Out (Press Here, 1999): 

 

 

up late with old friends . . .

my daughter and her blankie

out of the dark again

 

 

 

 

evening cool

only the widow’s muddied shoes

on the back porch

 

 

 

 

Easter lily

on the shut-in’s coffee table. . .

fingers over each petal

 

    

 

 

from dagosan 

 

her chocolate breath

mingles with mine –

easter sunset

 

 

 

 

 

hills behind

snow mist –

tailgater in the mirror

 

 

  

 

 

our chilly hug –

ice encircles

the island

 

[March 28, 2005]

 

I’m a little tired from post-Easter traveling today, so maybe I missed it when I quickly

perused the ABA TechShow 2005 website.  I’m wondering: When and how does the

conference treat the harnessing of technology to help lawyers serve clients better —

especially the less-than-sophisticated client (the average consumer and small business)?  

 

“computer Weary”  There are many sessions on avoiding malpractice when adopting new technologies,

which is an important topic that is more about averting lawyer pain than promoting client gain.  

The TechShow also offers plenty of tips for honing “marketing” strategies that will attract premium

clients.  But, I was hoping for a demonstration of interest in how technology can assist (and

prod) the legal profession to promote clients’ interests in both macro and micro ways — to bring

more efficient and less expensive legal services, along with more pricing and service options. 

• 
  
  E.g., spotlighting the ability and potential of technology to support the Self-Help
  
  
  revolution — so that clients can solve many legal problems on their own, or with
  
  
  minimal use of lawyers (see our post); and exploring whether technology can make
  

  “unbundling” more practical and available

None of the Educational Sessions appears to treat these topics.  We might not expect 

the corporate sponsors to care, but how about the ABA committees working on access to

the justice system for those with low or moderate income?  Maybe the topic will come up in

Eugene Lee’s keynote address, where he’ll “discuss how the legal community can take advantage

of new technologies without having to dramatically alter the way they work.” [But, what’s wrong

with a few “dramatic” changes?]  

TechShow Chair Jim Calloway is aware of these and similar issues.   Last October, 

we quoted from his article Alternative Billing for the “Main Street Lawyer” (with Mark 

A. Robertson, LPM, Sept. 2004).  So, I’m sure he’s tucked a few gems in the conference

Program, and that the ovesight has been mine, not his.  

The Legal Ethic’s Blog’s Ben Cowgill has set up a LEB Techshow webpage he hopes will be “a

valuable resource about the intersection of legal ethics and legal technology, using TechShow as

a springboard.”   I don’t believe the intersection should take place solely at the “micro” level of

professional responsibility and legal ethics.  Beyond the level of mechanical rules, it should go

deeper to the level of first principles regarding the profession’s duties to its clients and society.  

 

Technology offers the chance to breathe life again into the listless cliche about putting the client’s 

interests first.   In the 21st Century, consumers want choice; they want to be active participants

in the design and implementation of the services they receive.  They want information that will

permit them to understand risks and tradeoffs when making purchasing decisions.   If the profession 

truly believes that lawyers are the agents and clients the principals, it must be actively seeking to

harness new and evolving technologies in the service of all clients (not merely those sophisticated

and powerful enough to demand their rights), and not merely in the service of profits, or in the

preservation of lawyer prerogatives. 

 

Technology can help lawyers better compete and innovate.  But, doing so ethically is not just a matter

of following the minute ethical rules of the road.  The ABA TechShow 2005 should be helping lawyers

comply with those rules of the road.  But it should also be acknowledging and advancing a broader

focus and commitment on doing what is best for the client  — on sharing the benefits of technology

with all who need legal services.

• 
  
  Let me know about any TechShow sessions and materials that serve these
  
  
  broader ethical issues.  I’d be pleased to find out that I’ve overlooked them.

 

“schoolBrooks” by Randy Brooks, from School’s Out (Press Here, 1999): 

 

 

up late with old friends . . .

my daughter and her blankie

out of the dark again

 

 

 

 

evening cool

only the widow’s muddied shoes

on the back porch

 

 

 

 

Easter lily

on the shut-in’s coffee table. . .

fingers over each petal

 

    

 

 

from dagosan 

 

her chocolate breath

mingles with mine –

easter sunset