Demand Letters

A demand letter will rarely convince someone that they are wrong, because few people ever believe that they are wrong. But if a letter contains a good explanation of the relevant facts and law, it can help the other side's lawyer explain to their client why it may be better to settle than to litigate.

Depositions

Depositions are interviews by a lawyer, usually in a conference room, in front of a stenographer (also called a court reporter, even though they do not work for the court) who takes down a word-for-word transcript of the discussion. One major purpose for a deposition is for the lawyer to learn information from a witness, and to know what the witness will say if she is called at trial. The lawyer can also use this transcript as evidence to support an argument before trial, or as evidence at trial if the witness under certain circumstances.

What is this Blog?

I tried for awhile to come up with a catchy and clever name for the blog. I wanted a name that reflects the challenge of a demanding and technical job, that portrays me in a positive light, and that is funny enough to make people laugh and want to read more. But instead I went with “Unpredictable” because it is the word I use frequently to describe the job.

Case Law Research

Making good search terms is a true art that I think only gets better with practice, trial, and error. I am far better at it now than I was when I was in law school or a junior associate. But it's not uncommon to make a search like this if you are looking for a case concerning reasonable reliance in a bank fraud case that was dismissed because it was in the wrong court: (reasonabl! /s rel!) AND ("forum non" /5 (deny or deni!) AND (bank or finan!)