Recently in Training and CLE Category

In a long, long rant published on the ABA Journal's website, famed legal writing deity Bryan Garner accuses the vast majority of attorneys of being sorry scribes. He supports this proposition by citing the Dunning-Kruger effect, a well-known psychological principle that can be summed up in a few words:

The more you suck at something, the better you think you are, especially in relation to others.

Wait, so Garner is saying lawyers are arrogant about their abilities? Color us shocked - and mildly insulted to boot.

New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said he would make pro bono a requirement and as of Thursday that's the law of the land in the Empire State.

The rule makes aspiring New York lawyers complete 50 hours of pro bono work before they can be admitted to the New York State Bar Association. That's of course in addition to graduating from an accredited law school, passing the bar exam, the MPRE, and showing 'good moral character.'

The requirement will affect lawyers seeking admission in 2015 which means law students already have to hop-to if they don't want to delay their admission.

Reading someone else's text messages is generally frowned upon but sometimes it happens. At least, that's what Assistant District Attorney Doug Mann and defense lawyer Eric Perkins are arguing.

The pair have been ordered to attend ten and five hours of ethic classes, respectively, by a judge who claims she caught them snooping.

Judge Angelica Hernandez recused herself from a capital case involving the pair and banned Mann from her courtroom until he completes the class. He says it was all a misunderstanding, reports KIII TV.

Whether you're a young associate or a veteran attorney, knowing what you should and shouldn't do at a deposition can be tricky and nerve-racking. Not to mention expensive if you screw up.

After all, it's one of the most important first interactions you'll have with witnesses and opposing counsel. And it's arguably where cases can be won, lost, or settled, depending on the outcome.

That's why whenever you conduct a deposition, you should keep the following things in mind.

With "The Hunger Games" currently tearing up the box office, it's easy to pass the movie off as a simple teenage popcorn thriller. But lawyers can actually learn some choice practice lessons from the film.

The movie takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world and centers around a young girl named Katniss Everdeen. She volunteers to take her sister's place in the annual "Hunger Games," a competition where teenage children fight to the death until only one remains.

Sounds a lot like life as a trial lawyer already, huh? Surprisingly, the film sheds a lot insight on how to deal with opposing counsel.

Some might think he is not qualified to teach legal ethics, but former White House counsel and Watergate lawyer John Dean is doing just that.

Approved to teach a series of Continuing Legal Education courses across the country, Dean is first going to teach Skadden associates what a lawyer should do when his client is engaged in criminal activity.

Though informed of the entire affair only after the Watergate burglars were arrested, John Dean was convicted of obstruction of justice and spent four months in prison, reports The New York Times.

If you've graduated from law school in the last five years, chances are you spent many a class on Facebook. And you can deny it all you want, but we all know that class time was not spent catching up with far-flung friends. Nope. It was spent perfecting the art of Facebook stalking.

As law students, job applicants and now (hopefully) associates, we all took on the role of Facebook stalker. Want to learn about your interviewer? Facebook stalk them. Want to get in good with your professor or partner? They've all got Facebook these days. Want to take down the suck-up stealing all your glory? Take 'em down with Facebook.

It turns out that attorneys can get disbarred from a jurisdiction where they are not even admitted to practice.

Attorney Leonard Kingsley has been disbarred from Delaware and Pennsylvania for helping an accountant prepare estate documents. He is licensed to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania but not Delaware, according to the ABA Journal.

As a result, Leonard Kingsley was charged with engaging in and assisting in the unauthorized practice of law and related violations in the state of Delaware.

The Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association has a new leader. Elected during the ABA conference in San Francisco, New Jersey attorney David B. Wolfe will serve a one year term as head of the Division.

If one of the benefits of youth is energy, David Wolfe will be a youthful leader in the best sense. In addition to his work as a partner at at Skoloff & Wolfe, P.C. in the firm's real property valuation and litigation departments, Wolf's responsibilities with the ABA include service in the ABA House of Delegates, and a recent appointment to the board of The American Bar Foundation. Wolfe has also served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Judicial Independence and the ABA Commission on Mental Health and Disability Law.

Wherever you may fall in the law school timeline, there is an event to add to your docket. It is the auspicious American Bar Association (ABA) meeting held annually for law practitioners and law students. And get ready to hail the nearest trolley, because the action starts this Thursday in San Francisco.

What will you do when you get there? Fear not, here's a guide to show you what's hot.