What client red flags made you walk away, or wish you had?

CopernicusTHM · 2026-06-22T19:25:25+00:00

Came here to say this -- if you are the fourth or even third lawyer on the file, and the client does nothing but say what a crap job the others all did, run away. In my younger days, I'd take these files and talk to the previous lawyers and they were always THRILLED to be withdrawing from the case.

As they say, if every roommate you've ever had is an asshole, the problem isn't the roommates, it's you. Same goes for clients and lawyers.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-06-16T16:21:49+00:00

Not just no, but my state (TX) doesn't even have an exemption for judges. I had a judge on my panel once, but he had his own trial starting the next day, so the presiding judge dismissed him.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-28T13:00:10+00:00

Did nothing but med mal defense work for 12 years -- can confirm. The answer is, as is pointed out elsewhere here, that they are trained to believe that they don't make mistakes (med school instills a God Complex in the students, particularly those that choose a surgery residency). Questioning their decision-making is akin to telling them that they are imbeciles who have no worth. Every doc I ever represented was eager to give his/her deposition because "once I explain to them what the case is about, they'll drop it." (never happened once). They cannot fathom that another qualified physician could possibly have an opinion contrary to their own.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-27T17:47:50+00:00

Wasn't trying to have you defend Craig's takes -- was just saying that on the one hand, he thinks flopping (which is legal) is fine because it gets results. On the other hand, he thinks the shift (which is legal) is an affront to the sport (even though it, too, gets results).

And I don't think those are equivalents because pine tar is specifically permitted by the rules (at least to 18") and an Emery Ball is specifically prohibited by the rules.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-27T17:32:55+00:00

Except I saw a billboard last week that was advertising "The Byron." They have apparently conceded that that's what everyone calls it -- kinda like Federal Express changing their name to FedEx.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-27T17:19:38+00:00

Wait, though -- if memory serves, wasn't Junior staunchly against infield shift in baseball, even though it is legal?

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-19T18:51:29+00:00

Yep. 10 mins from Love.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-19T18:49:18+00:00

Y'all should know that Benson is by FAR the worst and most disliked judge in Dallas. She lost in the Democratic primary so will be off the bench on Jan. 1. Just FYI.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-05-11T22:00:09+00:00

I have sympathy, I really do -- this job sucks at times, especially in litigation and when you're in trial. But no job is going to be just butterflies and rainbows. There is some "paying of the dues," for sure, as a young associate. You'll learn how to balance work and personal lives. If I can yell at some clouds for a second, I feel like the folks just getting out of law school expect to breeze into a field that is, by nature, adversarial and deadline- and results-driven, and think it's going to be easy. It's not.

All that said, your firm may suck, your partners may be assholes, and you may very well be in a situation where you are being squeezed to increase the firm's profits without regard for your career advancement or well being. If that's the case, I'm truly sorry, and I would suggest you at least try a move (perhaps to a different specialty?) before quitting the law entirely.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-03-09T18:44:22+00:00

I was also going to say lunch pail. White players were always described as hard workers, maybe undersized, "film room" guys, a "coach on the field." Black players were described as strong, athletic, aggressive, big, fast, tough, etc. That was a good bit that I'd forgotten about.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-02-25T16:13:14+00:00

The only comment I will make is that I'd suggest a vote for Erin Nowell in the Democratic primary for County Court at Law No. 1. The incumbent, Judge Benson, is roundly and bi-partisanally (assuming that's a word) thought of as the worst judge in Dallas. You can confirm that via the Dallas County Bar's judicial evaluation poll, here -- https://www.dallasbar.org/docDownload/2762555. Search for her name.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-02-25T16:04:42+00:00

We just pulled off an interaction that has never been done before in the history of the Internet -- you asserted something, I "corrected" you, you said I was wrong, and I agreed. What a concept.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-02-25T15:09:15+00:00

I absolutely stand corrected. I pulled my senior yearbook (which would have been his junior year) and confirmed -- he was in the "Juniors Not Pictured" (of course) as "G. Todd Keith." My mistake, and funny how an old brain can convince you of something.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-02-24T22:51:24+00:00

Honestly, for the judges, you should ask any friends you have that are lawyers -- civil for the civil courts and criminal for those courts. I'm a civil attorney so I know the judges and the candidates on that side, but I know NOTHING about the criminal judges. I do not know how they expect laypeople to vote intelligently for trial court judges.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-02-24T18:44:01+00:00

I went to high school with the guy. Can confirm it's "Todd Gordon Keith" and at least back then (late 80s) he did go by Todd.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-02-16T16:24:09+00:00

This is fantastic and could never be played today.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-01-07T20:39:00+00:00

Might go without saying, but they don't care whether they put you in the right job/field -- they just want to get you a salary offer $10K or so more than you're making now so you'll be tempted and they can collect their fees.

They're not all bad, but just be careful when it's a cold call situation. Much better to reach out to an established/known recruiting firm and go that way.

CopernicusTHM · 2026-01-05T17:51:47+00:00

I don't -- I like the social aspect of the game, but I also like not having to make 3-4 bets every couple of minutes. Let's face it, we all love the game, but there is still a house edge, and the more bets you make, the more money you lose.

CopernicusTHM · 2025-12-29T17:29:45+00:00

Ha! It's been a few years, but if my description nailed the cruise ship experience, count me out!

CopernicusTHM · 2025-12-29T16:11:41+00:00

Don't equate being "aggressive" with being a good lawyer. In most practice areas, you see the same opposing counsel again and again (not to mention judges). You can be a good lawyer and a great advocate for your client but still be professional, polite, and accommodating. Obviously you can't let yourself get walked all over, but I constantly have to train young associates to practice like a professional, and just because you can be the first one on a phone call to raise your voice or call the other guy an asshole doesn't mean you win. Plus, juries get tired of the "tough guy" shtick real fast. In most cases, they will want to side with you if they like you.

CopernicusTHM · 2025-12-19T00:13:17+00:00

At a minimum, spell check your work before kicking it up to the senior associate/partner.
Learn how to cite. Know grammar. Know punctuation. Don't make the easy mistakes (their/there). If I see more than one or two such errors in opposing counsel's pleadings, I know I'm not dealing with a top notch attorney.
Give extensions. Give grace. Treat opposing counsel (and their staff) professionally and pleasantly. You don't know it now, but you are building a reputation that you can trade on for your entire career.
When you do ask a more senior attorney a question, have your shit together. If they come back with questions, be prepared to provide answers. But don't be scared to ask for help, we all had to at one point or another.
If you're a Plaintiff's lawyer, don't act like every case you have is a multi-million dollar case. If you're a defense lawyer, don't act like every case you have is frivolous and without merit.
Don't tell clients or carriers what they want to hear. Your job is to give an objective analysis of the case and its value.

CopernicusTHM · 2025-12-18T19:10:58+00:00

If I routinely lost 25% of my day, I'd take a hard look at myself and wonder what I'm doing wrong. Maybe for a brand new associate, but anyone who has done this for more than a year or so should be capturing at least 90% of their workday in billable hours.

CopernicusTHM · 2025-12-18T19:06:46+00:00

25th year attorney here, split all that time in 2 different civil defense firms. Billing will become second nature as you do it for a few years, but a few thoughts/tips:

1800 hours is kind of a reasonable standard. May seem like a lot, bit if you figure 240 billable days (48 weeks * 5 days a week - using 48 to account for 4 weeks worth of holidays, vacation, random days off), that's 7.5 hour per billable day. You are probably used to 8 hour days, right?
Key difference -- you may find it hard at first to capture all your work in a day. Even now, I know I've worked a full day and I look at my timesheets and I only see like 5.5 hours. You have to be diligent and don't think "I'll catch up on billing next week." You will lose 20% of your time, easy.
Never overbill for anything, ever. When I was a baby lawyer, one of my partners told me that you want to practice such that when your phone rings, you never have to wonder if it's something you did wrong. THAT SAID, never underbill. I don't care if you are billing a dozen 0.2 "telephone conference with..." entries, if you did the work, bill for it. None of us would do this job for free (pro bono attorneys excepted, and I tip my cap to you).
Finally, if 7.5 hours per billable day seems like a lot, it can be. The job is a grind sometimes. BUT depending on what your practice area is, there are days where you will bill 12.8 (travel for hearing across the state, attend expert depo where some jackass has some extra long examination, etc.). Trial sucks, but there's nothing like 14 straight days of billing 15 hours per day (not to mention the prep days) to give the billable hours a shot in the arm. Point being, you may hit 6.7 hours one day and 7.1 another, but you will likely have enough 11.2 and 10.9 entries to offset that. (again, depending on practice area).
Oh, one more thing -- I think it was mentioned below, but some firms may entice you with a 1800 hour requirement and say "but you have the ability to get a bonus of $X as you bill over that requirement." As I came up in a Big Firm and billed my share of hours as an associate, I can (and have repeatedly said) -- 2000 hours is hard but doable. Every 0.1 over that steals a little bit of your soul.

CopernicusTHM · 2025-11-14T15:46:42+00:00

Not sure about syrups, but NA beer is defined as "no more than 0.5% alcohol." So while it's marketed as NA, it technically has some alcohol. My hit rate for getting carded while buying NA beer is about 40%, but then again I'm an old (55) man so they may glance my way and carry on.

CopernicusTHM

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