There are various ways in which lawyers can run into legal-related problems or issues of legal ethics including civil lawsuits, legal malpractice, and breach of fiduciary duty or lawyer criminality and its consequences for discipline.
Topics: legal malpractice, legal ethics, civil lawsuits, fiduciary duty, lawyer criminality, and discipline.
Certainty v. Uncertainty In Testimony
Q. Are you certain about that? I have been asked in a deposition from time to time whether I was certain as to the truth of what I had said. My answer is a shortened version of this: No. I am not certain. I am not terribly uncertain either. I am openminded...
The Legal Imagination
Question as to Talent and Imagination I read not long ago that Albert Einstein once said that extraordinary intelligence was characterized by having a really intuitive mind with reason as its critical servant. I hypothesize that really intuitive minds all have...
DRESSING WELL IS DRESSING ‘RIGHT’
All aphorisms and adages are false when taken to be universal. Some adages have wisdom. Here is an old one for attorneys: Orderly appearance, and therefore dress, among other things, tends to lead to (and is often a necessary condition) for more successful practice....
Deposition Treachery
TRICK QUESTION TO BE TAMED Several times I have written about depositions questions to be suspected and refused avoided. I have, for example, written about questions ostensible trying to make sure that the deponent understands questions. I have suggested...
MORE ANSWERING QUESTIONS IN DEPOSITIONS
"ANSWER ONLY THE QUESTION ASKED!" In preparing for a deposition a lawyer (L) is often tempted to tell his client (C) to answer only the questions and not to elaborate at all. There are several good reasons for this. First, without thinking ahead, C might give an...
ANSWERING QUESTIONS IN DEPOSITIONS
ANSWERING QUESTIONS IN DEPOSITIONS To the extent one's client ("C") is to testify at a deposition, s/he needs some suggestions, lessons, instructions, training, etc.--the level depending on the nature of C. There are lots of things to emphasize. Here's one. L:...
WRITTEN DISCOVERY’S INSTRUCTION AND DEMAND SECTIONS
WRITTEN DISCOVERY EXPERIMENTS: STARTING WITH INTERROGATORIES Michael Sean Quinn Many instances of written discovery involve several "instructional" sectional sections with numerous provisions. Metaphorically speaking these amount to "You must answer our...
Sworn Oaths for Witnesses
ON SWEARING TO TELL THE "WHOLE TRUTH" Michael Sean Quinn, PhD, JD, 512-656-0503 I've been bothered about this idea forever. I am also bothered by being bothered. No body else worries about it, I tell my self. But if I'm swearing to tell the...
Deposition Techniques: Basic and Sophisticated
SOME EFFECTIVE DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES: Attached is a set of lecture notes for a CLE presentation for the University of Texas Law School on how to take depositions well. Veronica Czuchna and I prepared, "published," and used it in 2002. It was...
A Representation Declination Letter: Good, Bad, Both?
A "No Thank You" Email Michael Sean Quinn* I friend of me uses various versions of this form-ish letter. I rather like it. Another friend of ours didn't like it much. I guess that is what being controversial means....
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