Lawyers and Gambling

It’s sad to read about lawyers who have lost their practice.  I know how hard all of us have worked in order to pass the bar, build a practice, and establish a name in the community.  Here is an article describing what the media is calling a “fallen lawyer”.  The lesson: lawyers are not immune to the problems of society.

GE Class Action Gets The Go-Ahead

Class actions are important because people who otherwise don’t have the resources to bring a lawsuit can nonetheless be compensated. But from a defending company’s perspective, it can also mean that the heightened sense of systematic wrong-doing may lead to inflated damages or punitive damages.

The newswires  are all abuzz with the recently certification of a class action for gender discrimination against GE.  The potential class members include female entry-level executives and female lawyers (the class representative is a lawyer).  There is, of course, still the discovery and trial itself to get through, but certification is a big first hurdle.

What does this do for GE’s public image? Nothing good, I’m sure.

Does gender matter in the judiciary and in negotiations?

In a follow up to my earlier post, I found this article in which the author quotes some reactions from male lawyers and a female lawyer about how female judges are now being trained in the UAE.  The men stress that females are simply different in a way that would not allow them to be good judges.

On the other side of the world, this article from The Lawyers Weekly also discusses some differences between the genders.  The author provides a summary of a speech by Donna Goodhand, a leadership communications specialist, who recently spoke to the Women’s Law Association of Ontario on legal negotiation styles, including strengths and weaknesses that female lawyers exhibit.  Here’s an excerpt of the article discussing something that I catch myself doing all the time:

Goodhand also recommended avoiding a few gender traps, such as “undermining openers.” These include expressions such as “I guess what I’m trying to say,” “It’s probably just me,” “in my opinion,” or “I’m sorry” when you’re not. Diminishing endings, also a problem, include “isn’t it?”, “right?” or “you know what I mean?” These expressions should all be dropped, Goodhand said.

She explained that the use of these strategies is contextual. If undermining openers and diminishing endings are used in a rapport-building social encounter, they’re absolutely right. If they’re used in a competitive encounter such as legal negotiations, they’re deadly.

No more “undermining openers” for me in 2008 (or at least I’ll try not too)…oh wait, is that an undermining opener?…Oh, crap.

Answer filed in Cozen O’Connor gender discrimination suit

I wrote about this gender discrimination lawsuit a few months ago and thought that Cozen O’Connor would try to kill it, but according to Law.com, it is still alive and kicking:

“But the answer says the firm “denies that Ms. Biswanger represented the firm’s ‘most prominent’ clients in ’substantial’ matters because these terms are vague and undefined. The firm regards all of its clients as ‘prominent’ and it treats all matters as ’substantial.’”"

That last line is funny to me although I can’t pinpoint why exactly.

Wedding lawsuit: Not a happy occasion

The New York Post has a blurb (with photos!) about a “lawyer bride” who was not happy with her flowers. (No, it’s not me, I loved mine! I had red roses which were pretty and fresh! I wish I could get married again.  To my husband for the second time, I mean, not to a different person, haha!)

[The defendant florist] blamed the “completely unwarranted” suit on Glatt’s lawyer bride, Elana.

“She’s being a Bridezilla,” he fumed, claiming that Elana would order elaborate arrangements that her future mother-in-law, who was paying for the flowers, would then trim down.

Read both the first and second pages and then ask yourself: would you spend $27,000+ on flowers?!?

Behind every lawsuit there is a story

Cozen O’Connor faces a gender discrimination lawsuit.    Every firm has its own “culture” or an “attitude” unique to the firm and it’s always fun to get a peek inside… but I think that when it comes to lawsuits, firms usually settle rather than have their firm culture and gossip dragged outside for all to see regardless of whether the claims are true or false.

BarBri Class Action reminder

BarBri offers bar exam preparation courses that walk law students through the preparation for the bar. In my opinion, it was part psychological preparation, part substantive law preparation. Of course, BarBri has been in the news the past few years for reasons other than it’s teaching methods. 

A federal antitrust class action pending against it in the United States District Court for the Central District of California called Rodriguez, et. al v. West Publishing Corp., d/b/a BAR/BRI, and Kaplan, Inc., Case No. CV-05-3222 R (MCx) finally settled and now they are about to sort out the claims.  If you took any BarBri courses between August 1, 1997 through July 31, 2006 , you might want to fill in a claim form.  You must have the form post-marked by September 17, 2007.  According to the website for the class action:

The $49,000,000, plus interest (“Gross Settlement Fund”), will be used to pay for the costs of notice and settlement administration, and to pay for the attorneys’ fees and expenses approved by the Court. The remaining balance (“Net Settlement Fund”) will be distributed to Class Members pursuant to the Plan of Allocation.

Internet bloggers estimate that each person will receive around $125 USD.