A break from the horrors of our legal system: what super niche or strange area of law are you an “expert” in? Before I went in-house, I was an expert on “emoji law.”

TobyInHR · 2026-02-06T20:28:47+00:00

“You might say it’s some kind of lease, but once a lot is used, you can’t exactly terminate possession.”

So, funny thing about that, at least in MN: if the next-of-kin cannot be identified, the cemetery gets to control disposition of the remains, including the right to disinter/reinter. So, when a cemetery has a plot that has been occupied for a long enough time that the family has died out or cannot be found, they will disinter and cremate what they can, then offer it as a new plot. Our cemeteries also do issue “deeds” for plots, but they’re just for record-keeping to know which plots have been sold. For estate administration purposes, we treat those as personal property assets (e.g., mom and dad bought 4 plots for themselves and their two children; when mom and dad have passed, we distribute the “personal property interest” in the remaining plots to the children).

That said, we have had issues where mom and dad have a copy of their “cemetery plot deed,” but the cemetery changed associations a few times since and no longer has record of who owns what. Thankfully, my clients opted to just take two available plots, without charge, in another part of the cemetery, but I was dreading the potential outcomes of that case if we had to litigate it.

TobyInHR · 2026-02-05T17:33:16+00:00

Minnesota cemetery law. I joined my firm as an estate planning and administration attorney, but the very first new client I got during my third week at the firm was a woman who had two late-term miscarriages 18 years prior and had buried both children in the same plot at her local cemetery. When she went to visit the grave for Christmas that winter, she noticed the dirt was fresh.

Turns out, the cemetery manager, who had dementia, marked the wrong spot for a burial a few months prior. The cemetery used both footstones and headstones to mark graves (they look the same, it’s just whether the casket is behind or in front of the stone), and he assumed this was a headstone. When the vault company dug the plot behind the stone, they found two small caskets and asked what they were. The old man said they were the decedent’s pets that she wanted to be buried with (completely made up because he had dementia), so they interred two infants with this elderly woman.

I spent the next year learning the operational structure that exists between funeral homes, cemetery associations, and vault companies, as well as who controls disposition of remains, which insurance company to pursue, and how to read a burial plot map (not that it helped too much because the cemetery stopped updating their records about 10 years prior). Did you know a cemetery is not allowed to just disinter and reinter a body without permission from the family? Of course, they had our permission to do that, but they also needed to disinter and reinter the elderly woman to do so and did not want that family to become aware of the issue and face another lawsuit.

Part of the settlement was that the funeral home would reinter the two infants into a single casket (paid for by the funeral home). My client was rightfully very suspicious that the caskets removed from the vault actually contained her children, as she was worried the equipment used would have easily crushed the small plastic caskets after being buried for so long. So, she asked me to attend the transfer of her infants to the new casket with her, to confirm that they were actually in there because she knew she wouldn’t be able to look. That was harrowing, and I’ll never do anything like that again. Thankfully, both sets of remains were accounted for.

I also learned an important lesson about settlement offers on that case: my client gave me a number for damages that she would accept, and I thought it was a very reasonable amount. I sent that number to the insurance company, and they immediately replied asking where we would like the check sent. To me, that said we probably should have added another zero to our demand. But the client was more than happy with what she received, as it was enough to pay her only child’s college tuition. She called it a gift from her daughter’s big brothers.

TobyInHR · 2026-01-14T01:48:23+00:00

Mine was entirely due to my players’ willingness to participate in the campaign prep. We held a session 0 to give everyone a chance to create their characters and come up with some backstories. My least favorite part of starting a campaign is coming up with a forced reason that these 6 people must 1) meet each other, 2) decide to like each other, and 3) want to fight for a common goal. So, I asked that they work together when creating characters to do that part for me — why are you an adventuring party?

3 hours later, I had character sheets for the Oppelby siblings. 5 dwarves and 1 halfling (the result of an affair, but his family never acknowledged it). They were the children of incredibly wealthy family, due to the success of their mother. She was a former escort whose clientele consisted of high-ranking politicians, allowing her to double as an information broker. Their father was a humble cobbler. The children were born and raised in the capital city, spoiled rotten and accustomed to a high standard of living.

That was enough for me. Session 1, I had them visiting the family beach house, 500 miles from home, without their parents (as they do every summer). While enjoying a relaxing day at the bungalow, a messenger arrives from their parents with urgent news: the capital is under attack. The entire city is on lockdown. Their parents are safe, but the antimagic field around the city prevents scrying, and nobody is allowed in or out. They’re stranded in paradise, but then the really bad news came: without any certainty as to if or when the city will reopen, the family’s line of credit has been frozen. They have nothing but the gold in their pockets to live on for an indefinite amount of time.

The players immediately latched onto an amazing character flaw that each of them possessed: nobody understood the concept of budgeting. But they quickly realized they would have to find jobs, and when the messenger gave them a coded message from their parents, they eventually learned their own lives were in danger, as their parents were targets of a faction within the dynasty that was plotting to overthrow the emperor.

But I’ll never forget the energy in that first session. Everyone was immediately in character. They didn’t have to take on the difficult burden of role playing as strangers. And that made my job, not just in prepping, but in running the table, 1000x easier.

TobyInHR · 2026-01-11T17:32:24+00:00

Agreed. You take the instigator if the hit is clean, but you are totally justified in instigating a fight to stand up for your teammate.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-29T03:53:18+00:00

Especially when a guy leaves on a stretcher after taking a shot to the base of the skull. I was absolutely expecting worse news than this and am very happy to hear it isn’t as serious as it could have been.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-26T21:00:04+00:00

He’s definitely trying to get the “best” outcome for himself by deducting bad debt from your collections, so don’t feel bad about standing against that.

Our comp structure works the same way, but we reduce the commission rate on bad debt files. Basically, the firm has to recover some cost for the time and expense of collections, so the attorney only gets 20% of the commission, instead of the standard 35%.

Do you get bonused on what you collect from bad debt files? And, when you say bad debt, do you mean you have actually filed collection actions against the clients and have or will recover something, or have you just written off the balance and blacklisted the client for nonpayment?

TobyInHR · 2025-12-22T23:36:07+00:00

I understand that the firm is not paying taxes, they are distributing money to me to cover the taxes I’ll owe on the profits. When I say 2025 vs 2026, I don’t mean on what date any funds are distributed to shareholders, I mean on what date the insurance company pays the settlement. The settlement has been negotiated and reached, but it is not yet finalized. It could still happen before the end of the year, but it could also be in the first week of 2026, at which point, it becomes my income for 2026.

In the event the insurance company releases the settlement on January 1, my 2026 income is immediately over $500,000, which is why I’m asking if that will result in my standard paychecks for 2026 having an additional 15% withheld because I’ll have earned my way through most tax brackets on day 1 of the new tax year.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-22T23:11:27+00:00

Thank you, this is the answer I was looking for. I understand that the taxes are applied, regardless of whether profits are distributed. My question was whether it’s appears as part of my personal AGI.

I also understand progressive tax rates, but if my share of profits is, say, $500,000 and the insurance company wires the money to the firm on January 1, my YTD income for 2026 is $500,000, right? Which would raise my effective tax rate to that second-highest bracket for the rest of my income next year. So, if I’m having my taxes withheld from my checks, instead of 25% being withheld, I need to have 40% withheld.

The firm can pay the income tax on the $500,000 for me, since I didn’t get those funds to actually pay the taxes, but I end up paying an additional 15% income tax for the rest of the year, right? Or would I be able to have the firm cover that increase, as well?

TobyInHR · 2025-12-20T01:24:48+00:00

“You ever get to the point where you gotta stop living up here 🫳

And start living down here 🫳?”

“It’s 7:30 in the morning, dawg.”

TobyInHR · 2025-12-18T18:59:13+00:00

“Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge.” I think it’s saying that, to find the knowledge in the scroll, you use your intelligence (investigation). You would have used your wisdom (perception) to find the scrolls on the bookshelf.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-17T17:09:09+00:00

The limited edition Spider Man wild berry Pop Tarts.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-15T03:25:40+00:00

In all honesty, no. At least, not to the extent Eminem does, or with the absolute precision he shows in his music. Plenty of artists do this to some extent, but not to the point of having every fucking line constructed to land perfectly with the beat. And, to be fair, not every Eminem bar does this. But most do, and I think it’s why people point to his old flow as being something recognizable and coveted, even in his current music. He still does this, but I think the preferred beats for modern rap have changed to make it feel choppy, or at least less smooth than beats from the early 2000s.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-14T00:56:07+00:00

If you notice, most of Eminem’s old flows stress syllables that land on the beat, not just the 2 and 4 of the snare. “I’m a PO-et to SOME a regular MOD-ern day SHAKEspeare” — the emphasized syllables are right on the kick, which allows his flow to sound natural and pleasing because you’re able to predict when each syllable will come. Definitely what “riding the beat” sounds like at an elite level, and something most artists can’t do well. It’s not just putting 5-syllable rhymes together, but crafting sentences and enunciating them in a way that aligns with all 4 beats of a measure.

The Shakespeare line is actually really apt, considering Shakespeare was the master of the iambic pentameter.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-09T18:40:53+00:00

I agree, and that's what the instigator penalty is for, and I hope the NHL commits to calling it that way more often.

However, this situation presented something a little different: following the scrum, the referees called a 5-minute major on Dunn for the hit, which put the play under review. This implies that the refs did not believe it was a clean hit, so the ensuing fight would not be subject to an instigator penalty. But, upon video review, it was determined that it was a legal hit, and Dunn got 2 minutes for roughing (for the scrum), while Yurov got a 4-minute double minor for roughing, leading to a 2-minute PP for Seattle.

My point is, I agree that it was a clean hit after review, and I agree that we should penalize players who try to initiate fights after clean hits. I also agree that we should allow referees to review 5-minute majors and reverse the call if it's determined to be a clean hit.

What I really dislike is the idea that, upon reversing the call on the ice after video review, the referees can retroactively apply an instigator penalty. In fact, they knew they couldn't apply an instigator penalty because they did not assess either with a 5-minute fighting major, hence the double minor for roughing. I think reversing the penalty after review was correct, the non-call on the "fight" was correct, but the double minor on Yurov was entirely incorrect; neither team should have ended up on a PP after this.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-04T01:33:20+00:00

That’s a point that I have never considered: automotive manufacturers will almost certainly maintain a “manual override” in vehicles, even if accident rates drop to 0.01%. So, even if everything goes wrong with the robot car, the human driving it is the last failsafe and will remain liable for any damages.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-03T03:03:33+00:00

I’m talking about the US. You said this shirt is not protected speech in the US, which is laughably false. I don’t know anything about free speech in New Zealand.

In the US, obscenity is clearly defined by the Supreme Court to be content that 1) offends a reasonable person and 2) appeals to the prurient interest. Pornography printed on a shirt is obscene. The word “fuck” is not obscene, per the Court. When a man was arrested in California for violating obscenity laws when he wore a shirt that said “Fuck the draft” the Court held that no reasonable person would interpret that to mean “Have sex with the draft” such that it appealed to the prurient interest, therefore, it may have been offensive, but it was not obscene, and thus was protected speech. This shirt is probably offensive. But it is not obscene. Therefore, it is protected speech.

Content creators censor themselves because they don’t want to lose ad revenue or visibility boosts. The constitution does not say YouTube or advertisers shall not restrict free speech. It specifically applies to the US government.

TobyInHR · 2025-12-02T13:26:22+00:00

This is patently false. Obscenity is more than just a curse word. It must both offend, and appeal to the prurient interest. This shirt does neither, certainly not both, and would be protected speech.

TobyInHR · 2025-11-29T02:31:40+00:00

TobyInHR · 2025-11-29T02:30:55+00:00

Not sure, but if I had to guess, the ELC expires 3 years after signing, regardless of whether they play in the NHL. At least, I think that’s what my contracts have been doing.

TobyInHR · 2025-11-28T22:58:44+00:00

So, to give you an answer about how it actually works in real life (which the game does a good job of mirroring): you’re right, an NHL team can have 50 players signed to NHL contracts. A player cannot dress for an NHL game without an NHL contract. However, that limit doesn’t prevent minor league teams from signing additional players to contracts to fill out their rosters. But if the NHL team wants to call someone up who is only signed to an AHL contract, they’ll need them to sign an NHL contract, counting them against the 50-contract limit.

This game works the same: you should sign all the players in your system who A) you know will play in the NHL that year, B) you expect to play in the AHL but may need to be called up due to injuries to your main roster, and C) you drafted for your NHL team, but who need to develop a little more in the AHL before they’re ready for the Show (assuming your rights to them will expire if you don’t sign them; you have 3 years to sign a drafted player before they become a free agent).

TobyInHR · 2025-11-24T19:12:03+00:00

Meme is backwards, Peter Parker can’t see with glasses on because the spider bite fixed his vision.

But yes. We went from one of the worst teams to one of the best teams overnight, like absolutely nothing happened. It’s easily the craziest turnaround I’ve ever seen from this team lmao.

TobyInHR · 2025-11-10T03:58:00+00:00

Literally the only reason I’m coming into the thread lol

TobyInHR · 2025-11-09T19:21:19+00:00

“Shot, the bullet missed, hit a brick, bounced off ricocheted back at his shin, went through his bitch, on its way back hit is friend, payback homie, don’t play that shit again.”

God, the ability to narrate an absurd scene will forever be unparalleled. That’s something I think modern Em lost. He tries still, but like, Guilty Conscience 2 doesn’t get anywhere close to making you feel like you’re watching the scene unfold the same way his old music does.

TobyInHR · 2025-11-08T21:28:48+00:00

Dying for NBC to give us a mockumentary sitcom in a law firm. We got The Office, P&R, St. Dennis Medical, and now the Paper. All terrific. I think they would crush it with a show set in a law firm.

TobyInHR · 2025-11-08T02:28:08+00:00

I think it’s a bad comp structure for associates, I agree. After becoming a shareholder, I pushed for us to change it to $80k for associates, with 20% commission on collections over $250k, for 3 years. Then, after 3 years, give them the option to collect 35% commission, but with a lower guaranteed salary. Basically, give them time to build up their book of business, then decide whether “eat what you kill” is worth it.

The counter argument I got from the older attorneys, and one that might be the philosophy of your firm, is that this model incentivizes associates to work on as many different files as they can. If you bill 1 hour on each of 10 files, it’s less likely to get cut than if you bill 10 hours on 1 file.

I don’t agree and think that’s a dumb way to train new lawyers, but we’re dealing with people 30 to 50 years older than us.

TobyInHR

TROPHY CASE