February 2017 Notes: Keeping Your Cool

Airport Lawyers. If early results are any indication, the Trump administration will be keeping lots of lawyers busy. Besides the usual change-of-administration drama, the early days of this go-round saw the middle east travel ban, a poorly-executed executive order that was almost immediately derailed in court. Out of that fiasco – which took effect with no warning – came the inspiring stories of the legions of lawyers who took to the airports to help those who became ensnared by the ban in the midst of their travels. And despite the fact that the travel ban is currently stymied in court, immigration issues – and the need for counsel, often on short notice – are certainly going to continue to loom large. Technology is there to help. Several apps and websites, including “Airport Lawyer” and “Immigration Justice,” have been put together to ensure that travelers caught up in these issues can get matched with resources and volunteer legal counsel.

“Reputation Management” via Court Fraud. I’ve written about this a couple of times already, but developments continue to churn along, and I suspect we have only seen the tip of the iceberg so far. The scheme is simple: file a lawsuit, line up a fake defendant, and get a “settlement” or “judgment” finding that an online review is defamatory. Then use that court-sanctioned result to have the review removed or de-indexed. Except that no one involved had anything to do with writing the review. The latest exposure of this tactic comes from federal district court in Rhode Island, where a judge found fraud on the court in obtaining a phony consent judgment, and ordered the matter submitted to the US Attorney for investigation. I can’t emphasize this enough: if you have hired a reputation management firm to help with your online identity – and especially if you have done so in response to negative online reviews – ask that firm pointedly about the specific tactics they are employing. Because if there’s one thing no lawyer wants to be party to, even inadvertently, it’s fraud on the court.

Work on that Poker Face. Look, no one said that being a lawyer would be easy. It’s one of the only job where even as you are learning and building your competence, there’s someone constantly looking to take advantage of your missteps. One thing we learn as lawyers – besides being assiduous about details, to avoid those missteps – is to maintain our composure, no matter what’s going on. Because let’s face it: getting baited into overreacting is really bad for your clients and your career. And it can easily lead to sanctions or fines, as two attorneys recently found out. Skeptical about the testimony a witness is delivering on the stand? Better to work on some effective cross-examination questions, rather than making exaggerated “gagging noises” in response. And hey, who hasn’t had a combative deposition? But you know, even if things are getting really heated, it’s probably a good idea to stop short of throwing coffee on your opposing counsel.

Briefly:

Why it’s important to make your law blog as “niche” as possible.

At least 26 states have now decreed that lawyers have a duty of technological competence.

GE creates internal “Yelp for Lawyers” to help in-house counsel evaluate outside law firms.