Um… wow.
No, this is not a Saturday Night Live skit. This is for real.
Straight cash, homie…
“Look at that old fart in the corner sleeping. What is the matter with him?,” John said to me, laughing.
John had just started his own solo practice about two months ago after getting laid off at an insurance defense firm. John is about my age. Why did I sit down next to him? It’s gonna be a long afternoon I thought to myself…
I looked over to my left. There was old Pete Keating, slumped over in a chair dozing off. Pete must be in his 80s by now. Although he didn’t look like much, Pete was a legend among the criminal defense bar.
Today I was covering a routine status conference for Leo. Show up, get a continuance, and then go home. Although I don’t practice criminal defense, that seemed like something I could handle.
I didn’t want to write about Rachel Rodgers again. Really, I didn’t. Rachel is smart, web savvy, and pretty cute. Honestly, I feel like a big hurtful bully by continually writing about the stuff she does. If Rachel were selling real estate or things on etsy, I would probably give her props. She is a heck of a business person and makes nice websites. We are also both are fans of Tim Ferriss.
But this is law we are talking about, and Rachel is continually finding new and clever ways to straddle that grey line of “is that ethical.”
Today, Rachel’s new venture takes the cake. Absolutely takes the cake. I tried not to write about it, I really did. But I just couldn’t resist. This is truly unbelievable…
We’ve had a few good months at the firm, so the partners decided to get new briefcases. As a result, Leo is going to do a comprehensive post on Lawyerist next week about briefcases.
Until then, here are some musings about my briefcases…
Last year you might remember that I got a large Saddleback classic coffee brown briefcase. I originally got a medium but returned it for a large after a buddy of mine said it looks like a murse.
Apparently I am not the only one who had this issue (no, I did not make this video):
Given that I am about 5’5, the medium sounded like the best fit from the FAQ. However, my 13 inch Macbook Pro barely fit in the medium bag, let alone legal sized red wells. The medium went back and I exchanged it for a large. The large looks much more proportional in my opinion, even on a short guy like me.
Today I came across what could possibly be the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. Florida Coastal has decided to respond to the crisis of too many unemployed JDs with mountains of debt by creating aΒ Center for Law Practice Technology (CLPT). What is this CLPT? According to the school’s website:
βAt its core, the certificate offered through the center will ensure students graduate with the technological competence all lawyers need in light of the demands of the profession, namely how to leverage technology to serve clients more effectively and efficiently,β Granat said. βHowever, we also understand it is perhaps even more important to prepare students for new positions in the burgeoning market of companies offering technology solutions for legal services, including electronic discovery, legal process outsourcing, law practice management software, automated document assembly and more.β
So your solution to the debt crisis is to teach recent law graduates, most of whom don’t have any savings to start their own virtual law firms? Hmmmmmmm….
Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking on behalf of the Fishtown Neighbors Association to address Philadelphia Zoning 101. Β Between all the acronyms, verbiage, and procedural hurdles to getting a zoning variance the process can seem more complicated than it is.Β The goal of the talk was to provide a basic overview of how the zoning process works here in Philadelphia.
In case you missed it, here is our “Philadelphia Zoning 101 Guide.” This should answer basic questions about how the zoning process works here in the City of Brotherly Love. Β Hopefully you don’t think it’s boring.
Leo previously wrote about changes to the Philadelphia Zoning Code that took effect in March 2013.