“If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t plan your mission properly.”Colonel David Hackworth, 1930-2005. Some contrarian legal writers claim leading questions are not practical or especially effective. I disagree. Leading questions—those...
The Practical Lawyer Articles
THE TRUTH IS RARELY PURE AND NEVER SIMPLE
The title of this article is from Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Wilde’s immutable proposition is of great importance to those of us engaged in the adversary system. We are...
SOCIAL SECURITY, SSI, AND SSDI: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Both SSI and SSDI offer cash benefits for persons with disabilities. Both programs are overseen and managed by the Social Security Administration. Medical eligibility for disability is determined in the same manner for both programs. However the...
PRACTICAL SUCCESS
WE CAN DO IMPOSSIBLE THINGS In the summer of 1969, with less technology than what exists in the device you’ll use to share today’s social media tidbits, human beings flew to the moon. We’re so desensitized to the fact of the matter that the...
PROCRASTINATION IS NOT REALLY ABOUT YOU
My name is Jaimie Field and I am a chronic procrastinator. I thought that would feel better getting that out in writing, but honestly, it doesn’t because I am not sure when this procrastination habit began. And make no mistake, procrastination is...
LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF EQUALITY
THE ONGOING CHALLENGE OF LAWFIRM GENDER DIVERSITY Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was first in her class at Columbia, a distinction she achieved while also helping her husband with his coursework, taking care of her daughter, and getting very little...
PRACTICAL SUCCESS
A MARKETER AND A SALESPERSON WALK INTO A BAR…. Even if you aren’t familiar with the setup, you know this is a joke. Marketing and sales can barely stand to be in the same conference room on some days. No way they’re going to drop into a happy hour...
FIND YOUR WHY: THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN WORK AND LIFE
I thought I was ready to practice law long before I walked into my first law school class. At the time, I was working as a law clerk at a personal injury firm. My job entailed interviewing witnesses, preparing and responding to discovery requests,...
MEDIATION—THE BASICS AND MORE
Mediation is a process for resolving or mitigating existing or potential disputes. It is not necessarily a single activity; it may be a group of activities that can differ substantially from one case or problem to another. Mediation involves the...