Prior to becoming president, Abraham Lincoln practiced law for almost 25 years in Illinois. He formed three partnerships, working as a junior part-ner to John Todd Stuart (1837–1841), junior partner to Stephen T. Logan (1841–1844) and, finally, senior partner to William H. Herndon (1844–1861). Like many lawyers of his day, Lincoln represented clients in a variety of civil and criminal
Printed in the February, 2011 edition of DeNovo, the magazine for the Young Lawyers Division of the Washington State Bar Association James Dean, who died at age 24 in a tragic auto accident, once said, “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” On the day he died, Sept. 30, 1955, Dean may have been living
New RPCs Would Affect Flat Fees Change is pending for the ethics rules that address whether and under what circumstances Washington lawyers may deposit an advance payment of a flat fee for work not yet performed into a regular operating account versus a trust account. The Washington Supreme Court has under review proposed changes to Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5
As lawyers, we constantly strive to be enthusiastic advocates for our clients. But how many of us put the same level of commitment into being enthusiastic advocates for ourselves? How many of us carve out the time in our pressured days to exercise? Exercise produces a positive outflow of energy that profoundly impacts our health, our self image, the quality
As one Seattle attorney told me, “I took a job at [Firm X] with the belief that I would be able to originate my own clients, which [didn’t] pan out due to conflicts of interest. Meanwhile, an old colleague urged me to simply go solo. I recall talking to him on the phone while looking 27 stories down to the
The Bill of Rights serves as the underpinning for the freedoms we enjoy in the United States. Who is more deserving of these rights than us, the lawyers? We work hard, we incurred student loans and we had to take a bar exam. Now, it’s our turn to enjoy the freedoms handed to us, on a silver platter, by a
Professional, crisp, tailored, stylish but not flashy, attractive but not sexual, demonstrating confidence but not cockiness. Many lawyers, when getting dressed in the morning before a significant meeting or court appearance, take a breath, look in the mirror and wonder if they’ve achieved the best look possible for the day ahead. Confidence is often based, in part, on both how
