Archives For Professionalism

The Power of One – “It’s good to be a little frightened. It’s good to respect your opponent. It keeps you sharp. In the fight game, the head rules the heart. But in the end the heart is the boss.”

April 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

IMG_8050There is a quote from The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay that came to mind when I came across this photo I took back on August 14, 2012 when Diane and I went to Frankfort to watch oral arguments in cases re-examining and applying the new decision in McIntosh v. Three Rivers Medical Center.  The quote is

“It’s good to be a little frightened. It’s good to respect your opponent. It keeps you sharp. In the fight game, the head rules the heart. But in the end the heart is the boss.”

I had almost forgotten what it is like when you see that one person, that one individual, that one lawyer facing a challenge in a venue he or she had not been before.  You have only one first argument, one first appearance, and one first chance at Kentucky’s highest court – The Supreme Court of Kentucky.

We relish that cause and the exhilaration it brings, but along with the rush is that pit of fear in the bottom of your stomach.  Because you are in new territory that no amount of preparation or assistance can guide you.  Because when you walk up to the table on the other side of the bar with nothing between you and the bench that in a matter of moments will be filled by seven justices of the Supreme Court, you are no longer practicing with the net.  Your family, friends, and fellow attorneys are behind you, but behind you on the other side of the bar.

Here is a repost of my remarks on the Kentucky Court Report back then.  I read them again tonight.  It made me feel good to remember that the practice of law is oftentimes the power of one, and that one can change the life of a client, change the law, and thus change the lives for thousands of people who will never know what he did.  Should attorney Brad Slutskin who is the lawyer in this photo prior to his argument prevail, then he will know.  However, I have done this post as a reminder for him and others that I know.  I know regardless of the outcome, or the result, or the decision.  I know, his wife knows, and now you know.  Brad made the good fight for his client.  Or as my dad would say, he done good.

Last week, Diane and I, went up to the Kentucky Supreme Court to hear the arguments in the two cases addressing the post-McIntosh world of “Open and Obvious” in premises liability.  We were providing some emotional support for both plaintiffs’ counsel making their first appearance – Brad Slutskin and Joseph Pepper.

The cases were Dick’s Sporting Goods v. Webb  and Shelton v. Kentucky Easter Seals Society, Inc.  The issue was the same in both cases -  whether summary judgment for the defendant was granted properly under Kentucky River Medical Center v. McIntosh, 319 S.W.3d 385 (Ky. 2010).

All counsel were well-prepared and ready.

IMG_8064However, I took the above picture of Brad Slutskin in the quiet moments before the seven justices entered and arguments would begin.  An awesome responsibility, and after all the work, all the preparation, all the assistance from others, it is at this moment, this point in time, when it is you and you alone shouldering the hopes and needs of your client.  That folks, is what trial law is all about.  BTW.  Brad done good.  His wife was all smiles at the end too.  We sometimes forget that as lawyers we die just one death in the arena, but our loved ones watching from outside the bar die a thousand deaths with every breath, every word, every question.

And when it was all over, the counsel representing the plaintiffs in the underlying cases and making or assisting in the arguments and briefs had a quiet moment with a smile and a sense of relief.

IMG_8074As soon as I am sure who is who and have their correct and complete names, I will supplement this post.

I did this post as a reminder to myself and others that behind the dry legal principles at stake are the lives of those who have been deeply involved, litigants and lawyers alike, whose lives are affected and changed by these events.

After this was posted, I was reminded that Melissa Ann Wilson who argued on behalf of Cardinal Hill Hospital was making her first appearance before the Supreme Court, as well.  My wife and I spoke with her, and she was friendly, graceful, and more importantly for her client, she was well prepared and articulate, holding her ground and answering the questions.  I had no idea this was her first time.

 

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More on Big Law Firm Overbilling Story. Firm’s response – “an unfortunate attempt at humor by three former lawyers of the firm.”

April 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

Man carrying money sackHate to continue coming down hard on the large law firms full of suits and formerly the darlings of corporate America for their billing to the tune of “churn baby churn”, but the bottom line is that it’s just like a line out of the movie “The Firm”.

Worse than that is the fact that the appearance of overbilling is just as bad as actual overbilling since the claim is easily believed and instantly the object of derisive jokes.

And, let us not forget the collateral consequences that the small firms and solo practitioners out there who are managing their work, their business, and their ethics within the bounds of the law may be thrown into the same pot.

And that is totally unfair.

Some lawyers openly profess a leadership style that you can’t teach hungry.  Hunger is a basic need for survival, but without professionalism it can become greed.  And greed can be inculcated, learned, and embraced without the proper doses of professionalism and service.

It’s not what you take from the law that is important, but rather what you give back.

You can’t teach hunger, but you can control it, put it in a cloak of professionalism, and slap on some public service, and darn it, you get a lawyer!

Here is the response from the firm on our earlier story which begs the question of “who was watching the store?” or “where were the supervising attorneys?”.

Did the remarks go unheard, the billing overlooked, unseen, unnoticed?

Now where are all those chamber of commerce and tort-reform advocates who should be criticizing this practice which is a more likely reason for the high costs to business and insurance rather than attorneys representing those hurt and harmed by the negligence of others.

DLA Piper issues memo about legal fee controversy  3/27/2013

The memo said that a series of emails written by former DLA Piper lawyers about the law firm’s billing practices had been “an unfortunate attempt at humor by three former lawyers of the firm.”

And for our earlier stories:

 

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Legal Overbilling Redux – “Attorneys dispute Citigroup counsel fees”

April 3, 2013 — Leave a comment

CitigroupAnother story on overbilling by lawfirms has hit the news.  Here is a link to another story just a few days ago.  Click here.

Here is a story from Law.Com’s “Corporate Counsel” in which Citigroup, Inc. is claiming that the lawyers they hired for a securities litigation case are billing five to nine the rates they are paying for temporary attorneys for the case.

This practice is not new in the world of business.  How many businesses have you heard that let go of their older employees and replace them with younger and cheaper hires?  Cutting costs are fine in the business world, but does it really sound fair in the context of professional legal practice where you pay the hires $50 and bill the cost as $275 to your client?

It sounds bad.

It sounded bad when I heard an insurance defense firm do the same thing with law students and would pay them a low law student rate but bill the insurer a much higher paralegal rate that was three or four times their cost and pocketing the difference.

Sounds like the corporate world is not going to stand for it and is scrutinizing the bills they receive.

Another ouch.

Attorneys dispute Citigroup counsel fees.
Corporate Counsel (4/1, Reisinger, 43K) reports, “The plaintiff’s lawyers in the Citigroup Inc. securities litigation case are tying to inflate the price of temporary attorneys nearly five to nine times the actual cost, according to William Ruane, a former associate general counsel for litigation at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. ‘The market value for the services provided by temporary attorneys . . . is, at most, in the $50-$75 range,’ Ruane said in a declaration earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. But plaintiff law firm Kirby McInerney is seeking $275 to $550 per hour for such services, according to court documents, justifying the upcharge in part because the law firm trained and supervised the temps. In total, the law firm is seeking 16.5 percent of the $590 million settlement in legal fees for the class action case.”

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Legal Overbilling in Corporate America revealed in New York Times story by Peter Lattman.

April 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

Man carrying money sackCorporate and insurance over-billing is a sore topic in this following story from New York Times.  Time may be a lawyer’s stock in trade, but over-billing may be what powers the Benz in this law firm which is the subject of this New York Times story.

It would be easy to paint all insurance and corporate law firms with this story.  However, most lawyers take their reputations, good name, and legal professionalism seriously.  Not just to stay out of jail, but that is the way a professional operates.  Unfortunately, the greed that drives this story casts a shadow upon us all.  Sad.

 Suit Offers a Peek at the Practice of Inflating a Legal Bill

They were lawyers at the world’s largest law firm, trading casual e-mails about a client’s case. One made a sarcastic joke about how the bill was running way over budget. Another described a colleague’s approach to the assignment as “churn that bill, baby!”

The e-mails, which emerged in a court filing late last week, provide a window into the thorny issue of law firm billing. The documents are likely to reinforce a perception held by many corporate clients — and the public — that law firms inflate bills by performing superfluous tasks and overstaffing assignments.

The internal correspondence of the law firm, DLA Piper, was disclosed in a fee dispute between the law firm and Adam H. Victor, an energy industry executive. After DLA Piper sued Mr. Victor for $675,000 in unpaid legal bills, Mr. Victor filed a counterclaim, accusing the law firm of a “sweeping practice of overbilling.”

Mr. Victor’s feud with DLA Piper began after he retained the firm in April 2010 to prepare a bankruptcy filing for one of his companies. A month after the filing, a lawyer at the firm warned colleagues that the businessman’s bill was mounting.

“I hear we are already 200k over our estimate — that’s Team DLA Piper!” wrote Erich P. Eisenegger, a lawyer at the firm.

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Three Essential First Steps to Build Your Platform. A place to stand when you have something to say!

February 6, 2013 — Leave a comment

top-of-the-high-diveBefore taking the jump.

You need to build your platform.

You know the tools you will need.

A blog, a web site, social media, facebook ™, google plus ™, twitter ™, linkdin ™, etc.

But what are you going to say, how you going to say it, and where are you going to say it?  Soapboxes work but no one is looking up to you when you bark on the street corner.  But build you a solid high dive platform, walk out to the end, prepare to jump, and . . . .

That is what I mean by a platform.  Questions, questions, questions:

  • How do you start?  Well, you can employ the serendipity method and learn by trial and error.  Or, you can learn from another’s mistakes.  I suggest the former.
  • Where do you go?  Start with Michael Hyatt.  That is my suggestion.

Then, here are two critical things you should do.  No, three critical things you must do.

First, go and read Michael Hyatt’s  blog at MichaelHyatt.com  

Second, subscribe to his podcasts.

Third, buy his book.

Oh, did I say three?  Well, how about four.  Attend Platform University.

Why do all this since you are highly educated and motivated professional who has already succeed in a competitive world?  Because, all of us can do better.

“A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether.”
Roy H. Williams

The book says it all.  Helps you to mold the message, fold the medium, and make gold from the momentum.  Buy the hard copy or the digital copy, but buy it buy all means.  A builder builds best when he has well designed plans to follow.  Here’s the plan.

Michael Hyatt is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World (Thomas Nelson). It is also a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon bestseller.

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