Josh is a criminal defense attorney who protects people facing DUI charges, drug offenses, and summary convictions like underage drinking.
Before opening a law firm, Josh was a law clerk to a criminal trial court judge outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He researches and writes court opinions addressing alleged Constitutional due process violations, suppression motions, allegations of trial court error, and collateral attacks on convictions.
Josh graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2010 with a certificate in Civil Litigation. While in law school he worked for the Ohio Attorney General, Chester County District Attorney, and the Allegheny County District Attorney. He graduated cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh's College of Arts and Sciences with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication & Rhetoric and Political Science.
On Lawyerist, Josh writes about ethical issues, the use of social media, and starting his own law firm. He writes less regularly on his personal blog about his weight loss journey, including how he lost 100 pounds and what he learned while doing so. In his spare time, Josh (slowly) runs marathons.
This post is for those studying for the bar exam as well as current practitioners. If you’re studying right now you won’t appreciate this example. But to the lawyers out there, tell me if this scene sounds familiar:
Opposing Counsel: Sir, did you ever have any conversations with Mr. Jones about the car accident? Witness: Yes. Opposing Counsel: What did Mr. Jones tell you? You: Objection Your Honor. Hearsay. Opposing Counsel: Your Honor, Mr. Jones is here to testify. Judge: Overruled.
I recently downloaded and read Alexis Neely’s Law Business Manifesto. It’s an interesting approach. Of course it is written like a marketing piece, because it is, but there are still some gems. I’ll be doing a full review soon, but in the meantime I’ve started implementing one of her strategies: not taking unscheduled phone calls.
Earlier this week Bitter Lawyer published an article about salutations. Technically, the article was about valedictions, or the closing clause in an e-mail. Many commenters asked what they should be using, since the author argued against most of the common sign-offs. Unfortunately, The Atlantic Wire’s Guide to Advanced Digital Etiquette is useless on this issue. In my opinion, the answer is the same as it is for any legal question: it depends. You could take a formal approach, a satirical approach, or my favorite, the minimalist approach. But don’t use the same valediction all the time. It’s boring. And your standard automatic signature for one day may be totally inappropriate for another day.
Pennsylvania has an elected judiciary. This year, my local county will elect attorneys to fill two judicial vacancies. Several counties across the state will also be filling more than one vacancy.
Bar associations across the state will give recommendations and endorsements of various candidates, then publish those for the general public. But what about the individual lawyer? Should we help run these campaigns? Donate money? Attempt to educate the public about our peers?
I spend an unfortunate amount of time waiting for court to start. As a result, I sometimes find myself sitting around in groups of attorneys, kibitzing about anything under the sun. And inevitably, every month or so, one of these attorneys is complaining about his job. The attorney will lament some recent client interaction or overdue bill. Then the conversation will turn to why the attorney wishes he had done something else with his life. I’m serious. As the young lawyer, I’m then regularly given “advice” to “get out while I can.”
I recently bought a new domain name for a side venture, and registered for a free email with domains.live.com. It is the hosted domain equivalent of an Outlook.com address. The premise is identical to Google Apps for Your Domain (GAYD). But, because GAYD is no longer free, I decided to give Microsoft’s alternative a chance. It excelled in document creation and editing (as one would expect from the creator of Microsoft Office) but the e-mail couldn’t keep up with Google.
Unfortunately, I started watching The West Wing while studying abroad in London. The timing was unfortunate because I probably spent too much time catching up on previous seasons. But I enjoyed every episode (except the post-9/11 episode) and loved the show. My favorite character by far is Toby Ziegler, the White House Communications Director. He’s surly, opinionated, and sometimes crass. He has an appreciation for red meat, cigars, and liquor. But beyond those admirable traits, the character can teach us a lot about the practice of law. Aaron Sorkin’s creation can teach us about winning and losing, about teamwork, and about praise.
To help with my bar association’s History Project I recently read Before the Colors Fade: Some Reminiscences by William C. Porter, Esq. Beyond an interesting history of the Washington County Bar Association, the booklet paints an interesting picture of the practice of law from 1940 to 1980. Most interesting, Mr. Porter ends the thirty-five page booklet with advice that was as true then as it is now.
I use MyCase and its iPhone app daily, and I have for nearly a year. My partner and I use it for all of our invoicing, conflict checks, billing, and general matter management. So, how has it held up?
Overall, MyCase seems to have lagged behind Rocket Matter and Clio in development over the past year. And now that we have used it for so long, a lot of the shine has worn off. We are noticing flaws that did not bother us when we started with it.
Today MyCase announced a new version of their iPhone app. The previous version was essentially just a mobile billing platform. You could not do much else with it. But I’ve had the beta version of the newest offering and it is head and shoulders above what they had before.
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