Each occasionally, the great of us win. Undoubtedly not typically sufficient, however after they do, it’s cause for celebration. So, let’s have fun the Biglaw corporations which have informed the administration to place it the place the solar doesn’t shine. They’ve both gotten or are within the throes of getting aid from the courts holding that 47’s govt orders are unconstitutional violations of the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. What’s much more enjoyable is that the flimsy excuses the caved Biglaw firms have used at the moment are proven, to paraphrase what film producer Sam Goldwyn reportedly stated, to not be definitely worth the paper they’re not written on.
What a number of us lawyer varieties predicted is now extant: the blowback impact that these of us sitting within the low cost seats have been ready for. Now shoppers are questioning in regards to the tenacity of these corporations. In the event that they gained’t struggle for their very own survival, how can these shoppers count on them to struggle on their behalf? They don’t seem to be solely asking that query however beginning to pull work back from these vaunted Biglaw corporations. It’s laborious to chunk the fingers that feed these corporations whereas concurrently giving free meals to at least one who positively doesn’t want it.
The Wall Avenue Journal thinks, and rightly so, that journalists write the primary model of historical past. By no means extra so than as of January 20, 2025. What is going to historians suppose, with the leisure of retrospection, about these tumultuous instances which have simply begun? For an individual who’s inordinately involved together with his personal public picture (we known as them “media hounds”), I’m wondering why 47 doesn’t appear to be involved outwardly with how historical past will view him. His management of the narrative is not going to final endlessly.
As one who began as a journalist and has spent nearly 5 many years as a lawyer, I’m nonetheless fascinated by the intersection of journalism and regulation, by no means greater than up to now 10 years with the rise of “pretend information,” “unsocial media” (my phrase, I don’t know if anybody else makes use of it, however be happy to take action), and the shortcoming of individuals to just accept factual actuality. Disinformation has by no means been larger, and belief within the media and different establishments has by no means been decrease.
Lengthy gone are the times when individuals trusted “Uncle Walter” or ”Huntley-Brinkley,” (Google them) and others. When Walter Cronkite returned after a tour of Vietnam and stated that the battle couldn’t be gained, LBJ responded that if Cronkite didn’t imagine the battle could possibly be gained, then he, LBJ, had misplaced center America. LBJ then determined to not run for re-election in 1968.
Flash ahead to immediately. Nobody believes something that anybody says. The truth is, studying about Cronkite’s remarks (and I keep in mind them vividly because it was the peak of the Vietnam battle protest period), the AI abstract of his remarks disclaimed that it “might include errors” An admission of AI imperfection? Actually?
We legal professionals additionally worth precision in information. In the event you get information flawed, then we aren’t trusted. It’s not simply the information anymore; it’s instances, too. Hallucinations reside amongst us. If we don’t take the time to ensure the instances stand for the propositions we argue, and much more basically, that the instances really exist, then we’re in, to make use of a nonlegal time period, deep shit with shoppers, opposing counsel, and the courtroom.
Has anybody (I’m taking a look at you authorized ethics gurus) thought-about whether or not the offers reduce between numerous Biglaw corporations and Trump might run afoul of our skilled duties? Who’s now the shopper of these Biglaw corporations? The German Bar Association is cautioning its legal professionals to watch out about potential conflicts. Who do the Biglaw corporations symbolize? Their pre-existing shoppers or 47? A PRE query or two?
Is there Taco Tuesday behind bars? It doesn’t matter whether or not you favor laborious shells or comfortable tortillas. You must know that TACO is now an acronym for 47’s whirling dervish adjustments of thoughts. Maybe Tom Girardi, the disbarred California lawyer who had been identified for his trial prowess extracting big {dollars} from numerous defendants, can have them on his jail menu. He begins serving a seven-year sentence in July for stealing from shoppers, together with different misdeeds. Yet one more instance of how the State Bar of California did its greatest Rip Van Winkle (Google it) impersonation for years. And do you suppose that the 86-year-old Girardi will really serve any time within the clink? Your ideas?
Jill Switzer has been an energetic member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practising regulation in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a various authorized profession, together with stints as a deputy district lawyer, a solo observe, and several other senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which provides her the chance to see dinosaurs, millennials, and people in-between work together — it’s not at all times civil. You’ll be able to attain her by e mail at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.
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