There's More than One Way to Leave a Courtroom

The last time I was in one of Little Rock's new federal courtrooms, a Bailiff slipped in through a door on one side of the room. The door was so gracefully set into the wood paneling that I had not noticed it before. What caught my attention was the view beyond: a bare cinder block hallway. I guess if you're in court to be sentenced, the velvet-and-mahogany treatment ends at the exit door.

Making Law

When I was in law school, a professor told me that one of the best things about practicing law in Arkansas was the frequent opportunity to make new law. You see, Arkansas is not a particularly litigious place, so a lot of legal questions are still undecided here.

I have found my professor's assessment to be accurate. Twice in five months I have had to ask a court to apply a statute or principle that has never been used in Arkansas before. It's fun to think that a case I'm working on now might be cited as precedent in a few years.

Trial

Have you had the experience of going out of town for a few days, then coming home and feeling a little disoriented by your everyday life? It's as if you've been to an alternate universe, and have to re-learn your old routines. I find that going to court has a similar effect. I've participated in two full-on, multi-day trials now, and on both occasions I have come back to the office feeling as if I had been to some far-away place for a very long time. The courtroom really is a kind of alternate universe where different rules apply.

Rejection Letter

I got an email from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission yesterday informing me that I have not been selected for hire. I don't know what I applied for or when, but it has to have been before January 15. Their vetting process for job applications must be incredibly thorough.

Emotional Roller Coaster

I ran away to law school because I thought accounting was too boring. I'm not bored anymore, but I am stressed.
It's a major thrill to file a big, beautiful brief that busts the opposition's chops with a perfectly crafted legal argument. On the other hand, it's a real punch in the gut to get a brief from the other side and have to read a twenty-page takedown of that argument. Either way, the adrenaline rush is continuous. My hair is much grayer now than it was when I applied to law school. I hope it makes me look experienced.

Straight Talk

If you want to hear some really frank talk about race, spend time around trial lawyers. Hardly a week goes by in the office without a conversation about the challenges associated with having a Black or Latino client, juror, judge, or opposing counsel. With big bucks on the line, lawyers can't afford to be delicate about such issues. I'm sure race comes up even more among criminal attorneys.

Citation, Schmitation

I have already forgotten most of what I knew about proper legal citation. My firm has a house style that has nothing to do with the Harvard Blue Book or the ALWD manual. If I were a law clerk, I'd probably look askance at the briefs I file. Hopefully the clerks who read my stuff are more open-minded than that.