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1 week ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
In a best-case scenario, a lawsuit or some other kind of legal matter settles with everyone signing a settlement agreement and one party paying the other a lump sum for a release of claims. However, sometimes parties do not have enough money to make payments under a settlement agreement all at once and a longer payment period is needed. In my practice, I have seen payment periods of a few months to a few years.
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2 weeks ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Lawyers typically face all kinds of adversaries as they handle legal matters for clients. Some adversaries are pushovers and only do the bare minimum needed to promote their clients’ interests. Other adversaries on routine matters might “go through the motions” and do nothing out of the ordinary in bringing a legal matter to a close.
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3 weeks ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Many law firms have pro bono programs since they want to perform good work with the skills they obtained through the practice of law. Indeed, some law firms take the saying “to those much is given, much is expected” and try to pay it forward by performing pro bono work.
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4 weeks ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Professional courtesy is an incredibly important concept within the legal profession. Judicial resources are often stretched thin, so it is important for adversaries to work together on certain matters and make it easier for matters to be handled. This often includes tactics like agreeing to adjournments, emailing courtesy copies of documents, and other favors that do not impact the substance of a matter.
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1 month ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
A few years ago, I wrote an article about how fax numbers in some contexts. Indeed, some legal professionals cling to faxes even though email seems like a more preferable method of communication, likely owing to habit and the fact that fax might leave less of a digital footprint than email. Although fax was seen as a technology of the future in Back to the Future II, fax has been an outdated communication method for years.
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1 month ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Most litigators need to travel for court conferences, depositions, site inspections, and other events during the life of a lawsuit. Depending on the type of appearance, a lawyer might spend more time traveling to attend an event than at the appearance itself. While many lawyers bill for travel time in some fashion, I have encountered vastly different policies surrounding how much an attorney should bill clients for the time spent traveling to and from appearances.
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1 month ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Last year, I wrote an article about how it often makes sense to hire local counsel rather than to travel for clients in some circumstances. Travel time can add costs for clients, and if a lawyer is not admitted in a given jurisdiction, it might be better to have local counsel handle a case rather than pro hac into a jurisdiction and handle a matter in a faraway forum.
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1 month ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Contingency fees are a time-honored tradition in the legal profession through which attorneys accept a case in exchange for a portion of a recovery if a favorable outcome is achieved. In many instances, contingency fees allow greater access to the legal system since clients who may not be able to pay for counsel fees might be able to pursue causes of action they otherwise would not be able to pursue if attorneys work on contingency.
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2 months ago | 
abovethelaw.com | Jordan Rothman
Lawyers are taught that they should exploit every advantage possible to serve a client’s interests. Indeed, some might argue that a lawyer’s duty of diligence requires that an attorney take every step that will advance a client’s position even if this might unfairly impact other stakeholders to a dispute.
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2 months ago | 
legalafrica.org | Jordan Rothman
One of the issues that many small firm lawyers face is they often need to appear at multiple court appearances at the same time. Although larger firms might have the resources to send multiple attorneys to court appearances so lawyers do not need to be in the same place at the same time, small firm lawyers may not have such resources. Indeed, I found myself needing to attend two court appearances at the same time earlier this year in two separate courthouses.
