actfax retweeted
Certain big divorce firm lawyers in Chicago who will remain nameless just...ignore emails we send. Essentially you're stiff-armed into filing motions for dumb stuff you could resolve over the phone.
Why? Easy. They have to generate fees. They have very fancy offices to pay for and high billable hour requirements (over 2000/year)! They have to meet.
So the tactic is - simply don't reply, draw the motion, and tell your client how hard you fight for them.
You cost the family 10k in fees for an issue that could be resolved with a couple calls.
They aren't problem solvers, they are problem creators.
They can hide behind "zealous representation."
Unprofessional. Long term harms their own client. Makes them look like jerks and damages their meta case.
actfax retweeted
- You: "My stocks went up 10%."
- Government: "Congratulations! That's taxable."
- You: "But inflation was 8%. I only really gained 2%."
- Government: "We tax the full 10%."
- You: "You tax the inflation you created?"
- Government: "Capital gains are capital gains."
- You: "So you profit from debasing my money twice?"
- Government: "You're not an economist."
actfax retweeted
What if... just spitballing here..,we weighted our decision-making toward pursuing good things -- straightforwardly and stubbornly -- not swerving to avoid fancied apocalypses?
actfax retweeted
Before you send a cease-and-desist over trademark or IP infringement, run your own client's registration and priority date against the actual facts you're accusing the other side of.
What that check catches: a registration that lapsed and never got renewed, a priority date that's actually later than the other side's first use, a class of goods that doesn't cover what you're claiming infringement over. Any one of those turns your demand letter into the other side's Exhibit A in a declaratory judgment action against you.
A cease-and-desist is a factual representation with your name on it. Verify it like one before it goes out, not after opposing counsel writes back with the dates that don't work in your favor.
actfax retweeted
Probably waiting until 70. I am the higher earner by far and I want her survivor benefit to be as much as possible.
actfax retweeted
This book, or significant excerpts from it, should be required reading in schools. Once you see the ebb and flow of mass social hysterias through the ages it becomes really easy to spot them for what they are as they pop up in society today
actfax retweeted
As is this catchy number: youtu.be/v4if--NgcQg?si=nJ0R…
actfax retweeted
Over 60% of federal judges surveyed said they already use at least one AI tool in chambers, mostly for research and document review. The lawyers filing in front of them aren't the only ones who need a verification habit now.
actfax retweeted
I used to think working with publicly traded companies would be amazing. 2 years ago, I started working with a big PubCo on M&A.
They were as insufferable. They negotiated rates and renegotiated them every few months.
They insisted on billing hourly, but wanted to use in-house lawyers for everything, other than major risk issues, which they wanted me to write memos so in-house counsel could cover themselves (with me).
Finally, I found that in-house were just actively attempting to take my forms and process with the explicit goal of pushing me (outside counsel) out.
They would take my forms, redraft them, then send them to me to “bless” - the legal work was garbage, but when the bill showed any amount of drafting time, they were shocked because in-house had already drafted the docs - yes, but they were trash.
Altogether, it was one of the least rewarding, and most transactional relationship of my career.
You see this attitude in Ford’s message below - Outside Counsel will be rewarded - like with dog treats?
My clients work with me because it’s a partnership and they value the knowledge and experience that creates real value for clients. I consistently make clients more money than they pay me.
When there is a real partnership, we go above and beyond for our clients, without having to be “rewarded”.
Every law firm/outside counsel and in-house should read this from Ford Motor’s Chief Policy Officer & General Counsel
“AI will bring a new balance of work between outside counsel and in-house legal departments. Ford’s legal team will be looking to reward external counsel who deploy AI fastest for greater productivity.
Meanwhile, in-house lawyers enjoy superior knowledge of their clients’ needs, data sources, processes, and operations, positioning them to develop and continuously update tailored AI tools for their clients’ daily business. AI legal solutions developed internally may therefore serve company needs with greater continuous fidelity and efficacy, which could be a major structural advantage for in-house legal departments over external legal-service providers.
In the coming months, however, we will look for—and reward—entrepreneurial approaches by external counsel both big and small to meet Ford’s legal needs with AI that brings net savings.
Third, as concerns the competition between external and in-house counsel, our internal use of AI for increased productivity so far exceeds what we have seen from external counsel. We now employ AI across the full spectrum of our legal practice areas. AI agents make entirely new legal service delivery models possible, empowering us to leverage our legal capacities dramatically.
…we will continue to invest and expand our AI capabilities in-house, even as we solicit innovation from external legal service providers and are prepared to pay for demonstrable gains in productivity.
We are likely to expand our relationships with external partners who innovate and deliver quickly, and curtail our reliance on those who lag behind. As responsible stewards of our clients’ resources, we will adjust to the new AI equilibrium in the legal-services market, even as we aim to influence it.”
news.bloomberglaw.com/legal-…
actfax retweeted
They should also haul Deborah Birx before committees. She does not have pardon immunity, and she was arguably equally as destructive as Fauci.
actfax retweeted
Great news that the ICC-prosecutor is removed from office today.
Next step is to remove the entire #ICC from The Hague and end the existence of this ridiculous Kangaroo court.