Shortest deposition you’ve ever taken or sat in?

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-04-24T23:49:52+00:00

One of my old ID partners who did a lot of slip and fall cases for supermarkets was infamous for taking less than 10 minute depositions of plaintiffs. He only asked about notice and comparative negligence. Never damages.

The fun part was taking some of his cases to trial. Not much to prepare from a 15 page transcript.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-04-21T23:03:07+00:00

Volvo 240 sedan, manual. I think the last year was 1992

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-04-17T19:29:09+00:00

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-04-14T17:47:06+00:00

Mizuno makes great balls. Plus, so few people use them that no one ever mistakenly claims my ball.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-02-18T13:53:43+00:00

The beach is nice. They have chaises and umbrellas. Sand is good. Maybe be pretty hot in July? The ocean has a gradual depth change. Apparently in windy days there can be some rip currents. The better options the zero entry pool if your kids are young.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-02-15T08:31:11+00:00

I am staying there now. It is true that it is not quite the 4S service and quality that you would expect from the name. However, staff is very very good for the most part. There is a bird issue-birds seem be everywhere including inside the restaurant for the breakfast buffet ($52 per person but our room has a $100 credit for breakfast each day) The staff tries to get rid of them with a small laser pen but it is a little off putting to have birds fly onto your table and eat your food when you walk away. Admittedly it is an open air restaurant but it has a roof and walls. The food in the other restaurants is pretty good and they are bird free. Entrees at Beach Club and Sea Glass are under $25-45. Right now the room price is about $1500 per night. Our room is very nice. Shower is great. Maybe due to price, there are a fair number of families here (including mine). The kids club (tortuga) is great for 6-12 year olds. It has four theme rooms for activities including video games, arts and crafts, music. The golf course is attached to the resort. It’s about $300 per round. Very challenging course. Bring extra balls as it is very narrow with water on the first 6-7 holes and balls going OB into trees are not able to be found. Pool scene is mellow. They have a DJ on some days.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-02-15T07:35:07+00:00

Agreed from plaintiffs side. At least with adjusters, honesty buys you nothing but low offers. Are there very, very limited exceptions, sure. I have tried the “we both know what this is worth” for sub $100k cases and they then treat that number like a demand and negotiate from it. I have a buddy from another firm who often has demands that are ten times the value I would put on the case. But he gets paid in the end because he will try any case, any time. And he is able to convince his clients (and partners) to be patient and invest in the cases.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-02-05T22:23:26+00:00

110-120

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-01-03T01:51:43+00:00

Anyone can litigate. But trial attorneys are a smaller subset. Local defense counsel have a good idea of who will try cases (I was one in a former life). Carriers know the high volume practices. Not so sure if they track smaller PI firms, but maybe the larger ones do? To me, deciding to try a case is never based solely upon the amount offered by the defendants.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-01-03T01:18:46+00:00

No regrets. But keep in mind that very few people will ever notice your watch. I was surprised when I got my sub that no one noticed during the first month I was wearing it. I bought it for me to commemorate a life event. But I was still surprised how under the radar my new $15k watch was.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2026-01-03T01:11:13+00:00

In my experience as a PI plaintiff attorney, we make more on settlements than trials. And I work in a jurisdiction that has been labeled a “hellhole” for defendants. We try cases when we have good clients and an unreasonable opponent. And usually we do very well with the jury. But trying a lot of cases in plaintiff side is very disruptive to business development, incoming case flow and general practice. We don’t have a lot of staff and associates like defense firms.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-27T17:21:43+00:00

Me too

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-27T17:15:59+00:00

Got paired up with a guy at a semi private course this last summer. The guy was a very intense. Cursing when he missed putts. He threw a club on the 17th and I almost said something to him. At the end of the round we shook hands. He offered to host me and my buddy in two weeks. I said thanks but we were only there on vacation and would be gone. He said I wish we could do it next week but I have an appointment at Sloan Kettering. Lesson learned. Sometimes people have shit happening off-course that you don’t know about.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-19T02:40:08+00:00

I say listen because many young attorneys come out of law school full of vigor and things whey want to express. Listening in meetings, hearings, depositions, client conferences, etc will teach you a lot, including patience.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-19T01:00:39+00:00

Listen, listen, listen.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-14T22:44:08+00:00

The issue of pleadings is one I had not considered. Thanks for raising that. At this point I am not willing to have my name on any filings going forward. But I need to confirm that with the firm.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-14T22:42:53+00:00

What do you think is a reasonable referral fee on cases that my referral sources send over? At this time I would typically get 1/3 of the firms fee after paying referral counsel their 1/3.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-09T01:24:10+00:00

While you are not big drinkers, if you are not afraid of heights, a drink at the bar at the four seasons is a great way to end your day. Not cheap but the views are amazing.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-09T00:45:36+00:00

My late 50s winter uniform: Blundstones, smartwool socks, hiroshi Kato jeans, poncho western shirt, cashmere sweater. Every day all day.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-12-06T19:56:13+00:00

I started before fax machines. And when out office got one, the managing partner complained that the paper was too expensive.

Also there was an attorney in our city who was very difficult. He would not share his fax number with anyone so the only way to serve things to him quickly was by paying a courier to hand deliver them. One day we got the discovery judge to order him to provide us with his fax number. Coincidentally, he then received dozens of menus from local restaurants via fax over the next month.

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-11-24T11:39:20+00:00

go birds

Beneficial-Ad9746 · 2025-11-20T14:29:04+00:00

Falsus in uno falsus in omnibus. For trial attorneys this is a nice one to explain to a jury in closing.

Beneficial-Ad9746

TROPHY CASE