Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. For the bulk of lawyers who charge for services by the hour, their most valuable asset for revenue is their time. Attorney choices on allocating the scarce resource of time…
Category: The Practice of Law
Let’s Take Palace Intrigue Where We Can Get It – R.I. Supreme Court Justices Dissent From A Miscellaneous Order!
Along with merits-based written opinions in contested cases, the Rhode Island Supreme Court issues a large volume of administrative, executive and miscellaneous orders each year. They’re mostly supervisory or perfunctory orders to ensure that the judicial branch keeps humming, covering…
Decoding The Calls and Different Court Calendars in Rhode Island Superior Court
When I was more of a spring chicken than I am now, a senior associate invited me to tag along at a Superior Court motion calendar hearing. “It’s time you learn what formal, ready, and ready subject mean,” she said. …
The Power of Art in Learning and Understanding the Law
Jim Murphy, the Chair Emeritus of the federal District of Rhode Island’s litigation academy (I just made that title up, but it seems appropriate), is renowned for his stirring lectures during academy programs. Like all faculty of the litigation academy,…
Let’s Confer About Conferring and Then Confer: Latest Proposed Change to Federal Rules Is Further Evidence Judges Don’t Like Discovery Disputes
On August 15, 2018, the federal Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure released its latest proposed change to the federal rules of civil procedure to require opposing parties to confer in good faith when serving deposition notices to organizations under…
Stipulation or Consent Motion or Private Agreement? A View from the Salt Mines
Litigation is adversarial. The inherent conflict means that most lawsuits involve parties who don’t like each other, and there’s a natural tendency to refuse to budge on anything. But sometimes, in the midst of this systemic friction, it makes sense…
What is the Practice of Law, Anyway? The Rhode Island Supreme Court Will Soon Tell Us.
Under long-standing rules, only lawyers can practice law by representing other people in legal matters. The only general exception to this rule is that non-lawyer natural persons can represent themselves. Representing yourself in a legal matter is called acting “pro…
More Women Than Men Passed the Rhode Island Bar Exam Last Year. Is Change Finally Afoot?
Every year, the popular legal website Law360 publishes the gender breakdown of attorneys in private practice. The numbers are usually depressing. Law360’s annual 2018 Glass Ceiling Report surveyed more than 300 national law firms on the gender demographics of their…
The Top 11 Reasons Why the R.I. State Law Library is Awesome!
The Rhode Island State Law Library is one of the jewels of the Rhode Island legal system. It’s a great place for research and a jumping-off point for difficult legal questions. Still not sold on taking a field trip to…
Revisiting the Judicial Tenure & Discipline Decision on Judge Ovalles and What It Tells Us About Judging
Every once in a while, a case comes along that turns the sock inside out, like a motion to withdraw a guilty plea where the defendant’s former attorney testifies for the prosecution, or when attorneys sue their former law firms. …