COVID-19 and Jury Trials: “It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over”

Last week I testified before the judiciary Committee of the Vermont House of Representatives on H. 417, a bill that would reduce the size of juries in civil cases in Vermont from 12 to 6 members. The impetus of the Read More …

Don’t Forget to Educate Your Clients About the Attorney-Client Privilege

In our practice we see lots of new clients. We are particularly sensitive to the attorney-client privilege issues because many of them communicate with us about employment problems. For employees, it often true that just consulting an attorney may have Read More …

Happy Thanksgiving!

As a profession, we have much to be grateful for. Of course, we have the opportunity to earn a living, often a good one. But more significant, from my perspective, is this: If we choose to do it, we can use our skills to be of real service to others, and that’s an unusually rewarding opportunity.
Read More …

Update: How do we Resume Civil Jury Trials in Vermont

Here is more on that federal criminal trial described in my September 28, 2020 Post: How do we Resume Jury Trials in Vermont It’s based on remarks made by Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford today at a Federal Read More …

Remembering the Honorable Robert W. Larrow

“Have a great weekend, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, and call if you need bail.” Read More …

How do we Resume Civil Jury Trials in the Vermont Courts?

We have no doubt, the ‘right of trial by jury’ spoken of in the constitution, and which it is said “ought to be held sacred,” means a jury as at common law, which consists of twelve men, and that wherever a constitution guaranties ‘the right of trial by jury,’ it is not competent for a legislature to reduce that number to six, or any less number than twelve; for the very theory of a trial by jury requires the unanimous consent of twelve men to the verdict.
Lincoln v. Smith, 27 Vt. 328, 358-9 (1855) (emphasis added).
Read More …

Think you Know all There is to Know About Negotiating? Think Again!

If there is one thing that almost all lawyers do, it is negotiate. Business lawyers do it. Litigators do it do it. Real estate lawyers do it. I suspect that even patent lawyers do it. Most of us think we Read More …

The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Irrevocably Changed the Practice of Law

The Coronavirus pandemic has launched a worldwide, mass experiment in the practice of law by remote means. Thousands of lawyers are working remotely for the first time, looking for platforms for depositions by video conference, scheduling video mediations, and much more.

We are engaged in a massive test to determine what works and what doesn’t. We will probably decide — or our clients will decide for us — that many of the in-person practices of the past are not essential.
Some lawyers will fail to adjust. But don’t be afraid. Buckle down and learn what you need to learn to adjust to the new normal.
Read More …

Question: How Many US Laws Are There? No One Knows!

Question: How Many US Laws Are There? I saw this question on Quora this morning and thought it deserved a serious anwer. Here is what I can say: No one knows. What is a Law?  Even the definition of law is Read More …

How the #Me Too Movement has Changed the Law of Sexual Harassment, Part I

This is the first of three posts on how the #Me Too Movement is changing of the law of sexual harassment. First, I’ll address generally the difficult nature of preventing such behavior. Second, I’ll summarize and comment on changes to Read More …