Back to Basics
The young lawyer, having just finished reading a book on military history, likens a lawsuit to a form of warfare. The older lawyer tries to explain the two are not quite analogous even though both in a general sense utilize both “strategy” and “tactics.” Marshalling those facts favorable to your side of the case. A […]
Snap Judgments
We meet someone for the first time. We instinctively “assess” that person, a process that can take place in a second or two. General appearance, speech patterns, verbal fluency, presence of an accent, ethnicity, age, gender, body habitus, configuration of the hands, eyes, and face––that’s it, we’ve made our split-second assessment. We have a distinct […]
Seeking Out the Absurd
The notion that “serious” results can only originate from “serious” thinking needs to be revised. Many breakthrough ideas, providing workable solutions to intractable problems, can be arrived at via distinctly unorthodox means. The Absurd. Problems that admit of no simple solution––too often they’re examined rationally, logically. But what if these problems were seen as an […]
Parsing Persistence
Lawsuits do require a fair degree of “persistence.” But what does this word mean? Webster defines persist as “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning.” There’s even a noun form for one who persists––persister. The word persist derives from the latin persistere, literally,“per”—through, steadfastly––and “sistere”––to stand; that is, to […]
The Invisible Primacy of Privacy
Does the right to privacy explain many, perhaps most, constitutional guarantees? Is the First Amendment nothing more than a privacy right to freely express ideas? Is the Second Amendment nothing more than a privacy right to keep and bear arms? Is the Equal Protection Clause nothing more than a privacy right not to be subjected […]
