High Pressure

The Humble Lawyer

The Humble Lawyer

Humility is sometimes defined as freedom from pride or arrogance. Studies show that humble people handle stress more effectively and report higher levels of physical and mental well-being. Unfortunately, it can be challenging for mere humans to express humility. Typically, this is attributed to our misinterpretation that actively demonstrating humility is a sign of weakness. In truth, humility is a sign of inner strength. Unfortunately, lawyers are often portrayed as anything but humble. The words “egotistical,” “arrogant,” and “pompous” are some of the words often used to characterize attorneys. Many of the descriptive words used to describe lawyers have the prefix “self”...

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List Of Resources For Lawyers With Substance Abuse Problems

List Of Resources For Lawyers With Substance Abuse Problems

Attorneys greatly differ in how they deal with stress. Some can deal with the serious responsibilities involved in representing clients while others instead turn to alcohol and drugs to cope with maintaining a law practice. Attorneys can never have enough resources to help them deal with problems related to substance abuse. In recognition of this area of great concern, California requires that attorneys must include substance abuse education in the twenty-five hours of continuing legal education required by the State Bar every three years. California’s Alternative Discipline Program (ADP) also assists attorneys with substance abuse or mental health problems. However, the result may be the...

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Lawyers And Ergonomics

Lawyers And Ergonomics

In the last few decades, the practice of law has substantially changed. Computers and related technology, specifically the mobile phone, have become a vital part of the 21st-century law practice. The result is that most lawyers spend an abundant amount of time using their computers and mobile devices. While these devices are convenient and time-saving, thus improving the efficiency of the modern law practice and reducing costs, which increases profits, there are drawbacks in the ergonomic issues that are caused by constantly staring at a computer, tablet, or phone. The modern 21st Century lawyer must have a comfortable workspace and utilize...

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Preparing For An Online Bar Exam – Test-Taking Considerations

Preparing For An Online Bar Exam – Test-Taking Considerations

In October, California administered its first online bar exam because of the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, in addition to California, states across the country are planning to administer another online bar exam in February. New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Connecticut have all committed to online tests. The State Bar plans to release results from the February bar exam in mid-May. The results for the October bar exam are expected to be released in mid-January 2021. The State Bar is actively working on shortening the grading timeline so that applicants receive their results on an expedited schedule. Currently, it appears that the February 2021 bar exam will also be administered online....

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Preparing For An Online Bar Exam – Technical Considerations

Preparing For An Online Bar Exam – Technical Considerations

In October, California successfully administered its first online bar exam because of the coronavirus pandemic. The results for the October bar examination are expected to be released in the middle of January 2021. California presently plans to administer the February 2021 bar exam online as well. The State Bar hopes to release the February bar exam results in the middle of May 2021. The State Bar is actively seeking to reduce the grading timeline so that applicants may receive their results in an expedited fashion. Several states have already conducted online bar exams and will continue this practice for the February 2021 examination. Taking a bar...

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Five Things To Avoid During A Hearing

Five Things To Avoid During A Hearing

Whether it is the first time or the hundredth time, it is an exhilarating and nerve-wracking experience to walk into a court hearing. On one hand, an attorney’s attention is directed at asserting and protecting the rights of his or her client. On the other, he or she must act within the decorum required by the court and avoid any mistakes that may be detrimental to a case’s outcome. No lawyer is invulnerable to mistakes but some mistakes are more detrimental than others. The following lists five things that any attorney should avoid when handling a hearing, whether live and in-person...

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Avoid Overextending Yourself During The Pandemic

Avoid Overextending Yourself During The Pandemic

In the last months of the spring and summer, this blog has featured material with a focus on trying to help law students remain productive through the pandemic. Perhaps one aspect of the quarantine that has been overlooked is for everyone, not just law students, to avoid overextending themselves by trying to do too much during these trying times. As people everywhere are forced to stay at home as the global pandemic rages amidst events causing widespread demand for social change, there is a bottomless “suggestion box” to which all types of media are regularly contributing. It seems that maximizing our...

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Best Film Depicting Law School – The Paper Chase

Best Film Depicting Law School – The Paper Chase

Arguably, there are simply not that many movies about lawyers that depict their experiences in law school prior to practicing law. Perhaps because films with Paul Newman as a sole practitioner suing doctors defended by big firm-lawyer James Mason in The Verdict or Spencer Tracy as a judge hearing cases of heinous war crimes in Judgment At Nuremberg are just a bit more compelling. Spencer Tracy was also in one of the most interesting films about lawyers, playing a character patterned after Clarence Darrow in Inherit the Wind. The Paper Chase always seems to be at the top of the list...

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State Bar Lowers Passing Score Necessary For Bar Exam

State Bar Lowers Passing Score Necessary For Bar Exam

On August 10, the California Supreme Court released an order that detailed final arrangements to permanently lower the passing score for the California Bar Exam, which will now be administered online in October 2020. In a letter sent to the State Bar of California's Board of Trustees. the court stated that it would not apply the lower passing score retroactively to past test-takers. Three other states: North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington, have lowered Bar Exam passing scores during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the changes to the passing score in these states are temporary and only apply to future examinees. “With one exception, the court is unaware of...

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The September, Um, October Bar Exam Approaches – Don’t Fear (Bar Exam Moved To October)

The September, Um, October Bar Exam Approaches – Don’t Fear (Bar Exam Moved To October)

The California Supreme Court first announced preliminary plans for administering the October Bar Exam online in a July 16 letter to the State Bar Board of Trustees. These plans have been confirmed and finalized with the next California Bar Exam scheduled for October 5–6, 2020. Under the direction of the California Supreme Court, the exam will be administered primarily online. The California First-Year Law Students' Exam, also known as the Baby Bar, has been rescheduled to November 17, 2020. In July, California Supreme Court justices held a videoconference with California law school deans, then held a three-hour virtual hearing to receive input from law school graduates registered...

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