Blog
Mediation Madness
OK; I ADMIT IT! THIS POST IS PURE GRIPE. 1. Because mediation in Family Court began with a low budget “pilot project” in the Eastern Panhandle, too few Family Courts understand that mediation works best with a lawyer mediator, and lawyers representing the clients. It is true that this takes money and luck, but in the 20%-40%… View Article
Ten Dire Results of “Representing Yourself”. (Things that have happened.)
Be your own lawyer, and chaos may reign: 1. If your spouse goes bankrupt, you might have to pay off their car, or credit card, or go bankrupt yourself. 2. By getting a few more, or fewer, “overnights” with your child/children PER YEAR, you may save (or lose) thousands of dollars in child support, 3…. View Article
Commitment to Clients
Most clients do not know what to expect in their relationship with their attorney. Certainly, it varies by the attorney. Too many people in every walk of life do not come to work with a true passion for what they do. To me, law school seemed to be a place where the common theme was… View Article
Why Be a Lawyer?
Not everything can be original. This is part of the “signature” a fellow trial lawyer puts on her e-mails. There is one way in this country in which all men are created equal -there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein,… View Article
The Mysteries of Attorney Marketing
The Mysteries of Marketing. The Yellow Pages has opened a whole new section “Attorneys”, in addition to Lawyers. Now they can charge us double! Then, two new cases arrive from The Internet. A woman cries out for help on CraigsList, and a total stranger, from another state, finds and hires me for her! The lawyere… View Article
Southern Tour
It is great to get away from the “daily grind”. My work is never boring, but it is stressful. The same clients who call daily, or more, are the same ones who are shocked that their bill has inched above the retainer, and, not unusually, they tend not to have any more funds readily available. The clients… View Article
Lawyers Are People Too
Nancy Hunter on Dingle Peninsula; Ireland is the homeland for Irish Road Bowling. This post is supposed to become part of a magazine article, but the reporter hasn’t even ascknowledged receiving it, so I shall post it here, so at least I can see it in print! JBH. Questions for Executives with Unusual Hobbies *Tell me… View Article
Don’t Be Your Own Divorce Lawyer….#2
Where was I??!! Once I get started with my “gripes” regarding our profession, I become a little crazed. Let’s start again. Divorce laws frequently change. The standards for “custody” have changed markedly three or four times during my career. A variance of as few as 1 – 4 “overnight visits” a year can impact child… View Article
Don’t Be Your Own Divorce Lawyer….. #1
This is the blog post I did not want to write. Why give away something I have every right to charge “real money” for. Besides, the “powers that be” and “administrative people” of the West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals are diligently working, at least from my perspective, to diminish those remaining services that small-town… View Article
Powers of Attorney.
While awaiting our WV Mountaineers to take on Duke in the semi-finals of the final four, I think I will write about a very sexy subject…………NOT! Many people seem to have little clarity on the purposes of powers of attorney. Military service members know them because they need their spouse or family to be able… View Article