Hoosier Lawyer

ISBA Annual Meeting -- Worth Your Time to Attend

If you have not attended the Indiana State Bar Association's Annual Meeting for a while -- or maybe never -- you owe it to yourself to invest in yourself and your practice by planning to attend the 2010 event.

There were lots of great CLE sessions.  Chuck Kidd gave a great update on recent disciplinary cases.  The discussion about relatively new Rule 8.4.  It's a new rule governing what is perceived as discriminatory conduct, and stretches far beyond any previous restrictions.  What once may have been viewed as boorish or even accepted conduct or comments about race, gender, sexual orientation and similar matters is now getting lawyers in front of the Disciplinary Commission.  It was a very important session.

But even more important was the opportunity to network with fellow members of the bar.  In just a short time, I had conversations with an Indiana Supreme Court justice, a Court of Appeals judge, and renewed acquaintances with lawyers from South Bend, Fort Wayne, Columbus and throughout the state.

It's not too early to put it on your calendar for 2010.

New Uniform for Solos?

Seeking a tax deductible office uniform, is this the new uniform for solo lawyers?

Gov. Mitch Daniels: Judges Incompetent -- Except to Send Someone to Death

I could not help but notice the juxtaposition of two articles in a recent issue of Indiana Lawyer and how they reflect on the administration of justice, particularly by Governor Mitch Daniels. 

In one article Gov. Mitch Daniels vehemently attacked the Court of Appeals judges who issued a decision overturning Indiana's voter identification law.  It wasn't that Gov. Daniels disagreed with the decision, but the way he did it.  The Governor blasted  the judges who decided the case, calling it  political,  saying the writing judge was usually wrong, and stating that "better judges" had affirmed the law.  The Governor's statement effectively called the deciding judges incompetent and political stooges who decided cases based on politics, not the law. 

Gov. Daniels vitriolic language drew the unusual step of sharp rebukes from both the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Association.

But on the same page of the Indiana Lawyer was a story about the Innocence Project headed up by attorney Barry Scheck.  The article featured an Indiana man who spent 17 years in prison on a wrongful conviction. 

What is noteworthy is that Gov. Daniels has sent more prisoners to their death than any recent governor.  Eight in five years. 

Think the irony is lost on the Governor.  Here he is sending men to their death who have had their cases heard by the same judges that the Governor says are incompetent. 

Hey Gov. Daniels -- what happens the next time someone comes up for execution that has had their appeal heard by these judges you called incompetent?

Crossing the Thin Blue Line

Police work is tough.  No question.  But any criminal defense lawyer will tell you that some police officers are not above shading the testimony, or even creating testimony , to put the accused behind bars.

Example 1:  In Lafayette, Special Judge Millikan just denied a motion to dismiss an officer from a wrongful death case where he failed to check on the well-being of a child, who was later murdered -- then lied about it on his report -- and in his later deposition.

Former Tippecanoe Deputy Glen Teller was convicted of perjury after he admitted to a fellow deputy that he lied both on his report and in the deposition.  For the article,  CLICK HERE.

Example 2:  Five Birmingham policemen were fired after the discovery of video showing them beating an injured unconscious man, then deep sixing the video for more than a year.  For the article, CLICK HERE.     

Its not that the victim was a good guy.  He lead police on a wild car chase, endangering countless people on the road.  At one point he purposely swerved toward a policeman in the road, barely missing him.  The guy deserved the 20 year sentence he received -- and maybe a little more.

But nothing justifies the conduct of the five officers involved. 

The van they were chasing flipped, and the driver was thrown out, obviously injured and unconscious in a drainage ditch.  The officers jumped from their car and began beating the unconscious man with fists and clubs.  The video stops only when one officer apparently remembers the who thing is being recorded, and runs back to his car and switches off the video camera.

To make matters worse, the cops hid the video for over a year.  When you see it, you'll know why.  To see the video, CLICK HERE.

Alice Through the Looking Glass: Obama upholds "States Rights" reversing Bush "Big Brother Federal Government"

Democrats are for bigger government in Washington, less power to the States.  Republicans believe that local government is better, and Washington intrudes too much into the rights of States to governm.  Right?  That's what we keep hearing the talking head so.

But what we're really finding out is that its not about smaller government in Washington, or more power to the States.  It's about whatever method pushes your own agenda forward.  Remember Terri Shivo?  Certain GOP legislators made a mockery of the notion of keeping the federal government out of local affairs, and sponsored an intrusion that no Democrat would ever dare propose -- that a state court decision on a matter of state law be subject to review by a federal appeals court.

Now the latest role reversal.  The Obama Administration has prompty (thankfully) acted to undo the Bush Administrations last-minute efforts to usurp state law on nearly every type of consumer legal action by means of pre-emption.    The result:  States remain free to make and enforce their own laws which they feel are necessary to protect their own citizens. 

Here's an except from the Associated Press article :

"The Obama White House on Wednesday undid a Bush administration policy that used federal regulations to undermine a wide range of state health, safety and environmental laws.

Many of the federal regulations limited the ability of injured consumers to sue companies in state courts.

The move involving a policy known as "pre-emption" marks the latest step by President Barack Obama to redo the policies of his predecessor.

In a memo to government department heads, Obama said that pre-emption of state law should be undertaken only with full consideration of the legitimate prerogatives of the states.

The Bush administration rule-making effort also had undercut state financial regulation and state consumer protections in many fields.

The Obama White House on Wednesday undid a Bush administration policy that used federal regulations to undermine a wide range of state health, safety and environmental laws.

Many of the federal regulations limited the ability of injured consumers to sue companies in state courts."

Belterra -- Great Location for 8th Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference

The 8th Annual Indiana Solo & Small Firm Conference is coming up soon -- June 4-6 at Belterra Resort, Casino & Spa. 

I'm not much of a casino fan, but this is a fantastic location for the Conference.  The meeting rooms are great -- as good as any place where we have held the Conference.  And the meeting area is  separated from the casino area so if you don't gamble, you don't have to pass slot machines and blackjack tables in order to attend your CLE sessions.

But this Conference is more than CLE sessions, and Belterra is a great place to unwind.  The drive is a bit long -- but it is through beautiful country that will, if you let it, help put you in a more relaxed state of mind. 

The resort has a world class golf course, an inviting pool, and a full service spa.  Belterra seems out of place -- a 15-story resort that springs up from the fields along the banks of the Ohio.  Take a stoll across the grassy lawn behind the hotel and spend a while just watching the river flow by. 

So take advantage of all the great CLE.  Take your chance at the gaming tables if you are so inclined.  But make sure to take a few quiet moments for yourself.  That too, is as important as your ethics CLE sessions.

Bush and the Busses -- How "W"s legacy impacts the Indianapolis 500

For decades the Indianapolis bus system, now Indy Go, has provided race day bus service from downtown Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Airport, but not this year -- another victim of George W. Bush and his "ideology over everything" style of administration.

The same folks who said "hands off" Wall Street and the Banking industry, also said when it comes to public transportation, we can't have city-owned busses competing with private industry.  So due to federal regulations,  Indy Go can no longer provide race day bus services (and make money to support our public transportation system).  Instead, the job has been turned over to two private bus companies, who may or may not meet Indy Go's level of race day service, and who will put a sizeable chunk of money that would have gone to support public transportation into their private coffers.

Way to go, George.  Another mark on that legacy you left for all of us to clean up.

WHEN IT RAINS: My Mac Works Great, But Everything Else Is Falling Apart

The good news -- the more I use my MacBook Pro, the more I think I made the right decision to switch to Mac.  The MacBook Pro is a gem.  And the interface with Windows through VM Fusion allows my needed Windows programs to run better than they were running on my IBM Thinkpad.  There are still some issues I'm working with, but I think THE GREAT EXPERIMENT -- switching to Mac -- is going to be a big success.

BUT . . . just as I got the MacBook networked, my case management system up and running on the new computer, and started learning the subtle differences between the Mac environment and Windows -- KA-BOOM -- I got hit with technology DOUBLE-WHAMMY. 

DIRGE FOR A PRINTER

First, my main printer/fax/copier died.  Well, technically it didn't die.  It could be saved by a transplant -- well, more accurately a new printer tray and paper sensor.  But by the time I added up the  cost of the printer tray, the new ink cartridges it needed, and the belt which would need replacing in the next 2-3 months, it was clear the best decision was to invest in a new multi-function printer/fax/copier.  

So I did some research, looked for a deal, and ordered a new HP laserjet.  It took more than a week for delivery -- during which we put off all the major printing we could, and got by with the ink jet which is primarily used for envelopes and labels.  So after a week of limited printing / fax abilities, the new printer was delivered.  In about 30 minutes, my assistant and I had it up and running.  

The new HP is not quite as fast as the Brother multi-purpose machine it replaced, but it does not appear to have the Brother's finicky nature as to paper, which limited me to buying only one type of paper in order to prevent incessant jamming.  It also appears that it is much more friendly toward using alternate sizes of paper.

The Brother wasn't a disaster, and I got about three years of use from it.  But the ink was VERY expensive.  The belt needed to be replaced about every 15 months and cost about half the original price of the printer.  Finally, its constant jamming on any envelopes and all but two particular brands & weight of paper were extremely frustrating.  

WHERE DID MY EMAIL GO?

Long before I decided on switching to Mac, I decided to switch my website to Findlaw.  While I loved the site I put together with my nephew, it did not track well with Google and other search engines.  So I bit the bullet and hired Findlaw to re-do my website, hoping to keep much of what I like about my former site.  

So . . . at the same time when I'm dealing with the switch to Mac, and a dead printer, I get the call from FIndlaw (owned by Lexis) tech people that they are ready to switchover my domain to Findlaw.  With a few little clicks in the ether, those who would type on my domain name -- www.hoosierlawyer.US -- would go to my new website rather than my old one.  And hopefully at that point, those searching on Google, or Yahoo, or any other search engine, will start seeing my name when they search for an Indianapolis lawyer.

But here's the rub.  When they were ready to make the switch, I asked several times to make sure that this would not interfere with my email, which would continue to be handled through Iquest's email servers.  "No problem," I was told.

Yeah, right.

At precisely 1:34 p.m. on December 3, the website was switched over.   And at precisely 1:34 p.m. on December 3, I received my last email at my primary business email address -- terrell@hoosierlawyer.US.  Likewise, my assistant received her last email.

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH ! ! ! 

Like so many, I depend on email to communicate with clients, exchange documents with other lawyers, and make inquiries with fellow lawyers on several State Bar Association listserves.  But not now.

After a conference call with both Findlaw and Iquest on Thursday, I was assured the glitch would be corrected, but that it would take between 12 and 48 hours for the correction to take effect.  

Here I sit on Sunday night, four days later -- and I still cannot access my business email either through my email program or through Iquests web-based email system.

LESSONS OF TECHNOLOGY AND LIFE

Fortunately I have my Blackberry and a backup email account with Gmail, the Google web-based email. For some reason, the email does seem to get through on my Blackberry  -- a point I will be discussing with the Iquest/Findlaw tech people on Monday.  And through Gmail, I was able to circulate documents for a real estate closing.  

In short, my recent technology dealings have been a tangled web -- pun only partly intended.  But in a somewhat perverse way, it has also been a rewarding experience.  Despite all of the issues, my office has continued to function.  We've found ways to work around the loss of a printer and loss of an email server, all while making the adjustment from Windows to Mac.  

Technology is like so much in life -- it seldom runs perfectly.  There are always issues popping up, and when one thing goes wrong, it seems like more will follow in quick succession.  

But what do we do when this happens?  Do we just throw up our hands and give up?  Or do we follow the directive of that philosopher/fashion guru Tim Gunn from my favorite show, Project Runway:

"Make it work."  

I'M THROWING THIS MAC AWAY . . . . . . . . . OH, WAIT -- THIS IS COOL ! ! !

My great experiment with switching to Mac nearly came crashing to a halt this week.  But just when everything seemed hopeless and I was ready to pack up my MacBook Pro and take it back, we found a solution to my networking issue.  After that, I downloaded my case management software, loaded it, and "ta-dah ! ! !" -- it connected to my server and we were up and running at full speed.

The major issue that was plaguing me from the outset was the inability of my new MacBook to fully connect to my assistant's PC, where my case management data is stored.  One of the great touted advances of Leopard its its ability to "plug and play" with PCs on a network.  And while my new Mac immediately showed my assistant's computer as a "shared" computer, it would not allow me to connect as a user.

Assistance from the Apple Store on networking issues really wasn't helpful.  I got some help from the MacLawyers listserve which allowed me to connect to my assistant's computer as a "guest", but that did not allow me to change files on her computer, which is critical to the functioning of my case management system.

So with a recommendation from the Apple Store, I bit the bullet and called a consultant for an in-house visit.  He assured me over the phone that this would be a simple issue calling for his minimum 1-hour fee.

He showed up Wednesday -- nice guy who seemed to know his stuff.  Well about 3 hours later, I believe the line was "I've don't know why its not connecting.  In all the years I've been doing this, I've never seen this."

ARRRGHHHHHHHHHH   ! ! ! !

This is the point in our story when I'm ready to throw the Mac out the window -- well, not really.  But I did seriously think at that point that at the end of the day, I would box up the Mac and take it back to the Apple Store

But my consultant was persistent.  And about 30 minutes after that point, he called me in and we had the connection.   There was no specific problem that he found, and in fact, the computer still doesn't show the connection the way it should.  However he worked the problem and found a solution.  Even better, he was able to write out instructions and show me how to set up the computer to share files with other computers on the network.

HURRAY ! ! !    But would it work when he was gone?   Quiet miraculously, the answer is "YES"!

After he left, I downloaded a new copy of my case management system -- Practice Advantage 9.  With some help from the tech folks at Lexis, I was able to download and install the software, connect it to my assistant's computer, and access all the case data.

Even better, we were able to download and install the remote laptop version, create the needed clone library, then sync up the data base with the remote data base.  This means I can now take my computer with me and have access to all my files, including documents, emails, contacts, calendar, and even billing information.

And amazingly, the loading and setup of Practice Advantage went through without a single hitch.  Just clicking "Next" a lot, dragging and dropping a file, and watching the little green bars mark the progress of the operation.

So as of now, my MacBook is networked, my critical case management system is functioning, and my WordPerfect (yes, I'm still a committed WordPerfect user), is up and running.

So we're locked and loaded, and ready to roll.  And just in time.  I've got an appellate brief due in 10 days.  Gotta go.

Mac Transition -- Week 1 Report

The jury is still out on the transition from PC to Mac. 

Overall, I really like the Mac computer.  I had my first One-to-One lesson at the Apple Store, and it generally went pretty well.  I'm starting to learn some of the different ways which files -- particularly photos -- are handled in the Mac environment.  It will take some getting used to, but the learning curve in that area is not particularly steep.

I continue to have frustration about two particular issues -- and to date the Apple folks have only been minimally successful in alleviating that frustration.  First and foremost is the inability to network to my secretary's computer.  Despite the fact that my Mac shows the Reception computer on its shared list -- along with my IBM Thinkpad, which is now attached to my network in another office -- but I still cannot connect in that way with my secretary's computer.

I did receive some advice via the MacLawyer email list which helped.  By using my secretary's computer IP address, I can connect and access the files.  However I am connected only as a guest, which means I can't change anything (unless I load it on to my computer and save it there), and I lose the connection if I turn off my computer, or click the wrong button.  This means I cannot yet work toward using my case management system, which depends on being able to manipulate the data, which is stored on my secretary's computer.

Second frustration -- though not as great -- is that the Apple store tech did not transfer all of the designated data from my laptop and 3 external harddrives on to my new MacBook.  This included a failure to transfer any data from Outlook into the Mac Mail system.  This was exaccerbated by the fact that the tech left the CD used for doing this in my CD drive, so when I tried to start up my MacBook, it wouldn't start, instread trying to boot off the CD.  After some confusion and frustration, my assistant actually figured out to check and see if there was a CD in the drive.

All in all, I'm not ready to throw out the MacBook yet.  I can see that it is really well designed and well-conceived.  But I am beginning to have growing concerns about the networking issues.

More to come