2020 San Diego Super Lawyer for Business Litigation.
I am honored to be selected a 2020 San Diego Super Lawyer for Business Litigation!
Working 4.0 – San Diego Courts Update
The Superior Court has fully closed now for all but emergency matters through April 3. All civil proceedings are continued and all court filings are suspended. For filing deadline purposes, all days during this suspension are considered holidays meaning, in effect, that all filing deadlines are continued for the duration of the court suspension and will reset where they were when the suspension is lifted. So, rights in ongoing cases will not be prejudiced by the court suspension.
The U.S. District Court in San Diego remains open but under very severe restrictions. All jury trials are continued to April 16 and no new trials are being set. Individual district judges retain discretion to hold hearings and conduct proceedings, by telephone or video conference where practicable, as necessary to preserve the rights of the parties. U.S. District Court electronic civil filings are still ongoing.
Accordingly, we will be making no new filings in Superior Court but will continue to meet all filing deadlines in all matters in U.S. District Court. Otherwise, cases and matters remain on file and active.
Regardless of these changes and any more to come, our practice is open and running, and will remain so in this unsettled time. Our opponents are surely working. So are we. We are here, we are available, we continue to fully represent our clients and protect their rights in all ongoing matters, and we are taking on new matters. If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to call/email/text.
Be safe and stay healthy.
Working 3.0 – San Diego Court Update.
San Diego Court Update:
The Superior Court in San Diego has now closed except for emergency matters through April 3. All civil proceedings are continued. But, electronic civil filings are ongoing. We understand they will be held in queue and processed by the Court when operations resume.
The U.S. District Court remains open but under very severe restrictions. All jury trials are continued to April 16. No new trials are being set. Individual district judges retain discretion to conduct proceedings, by telephone or video conference where practicable, as necessary to preserve the rights of the parties. U.S. District Court electronic filings are ongoing.
Accordingly, we will continue to meet all filing deadlines in all matters in both the Superior Court and U.S. District Court. Our opponents are working, so are we. The battles continue, just from a distance for awhile.
Regardless of these changes and any more to come, our practice is open and running, and will remain so in this turbulent, unsettled time. We are here, we are available, we are working, we continue to fully represent our clients and their interests, and we are taking on new matters. If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to call/email/text.
Be safe and stay healthy.
Working 2.0
The Superior Court in San Diego has now closed for all but emergency matters through April 3. All civil proceedings are continued. As of now, the U.S. District Court here in San Diego is still operating with visitor limitations. But, I suspect that will change in short order. We will continue to monitor for changes in court directives. Otherwise, our cases remain on file and active. Our opponents are working, and the battles continue, just from a distance for awhile.
Regardless of these changes and any more to come, our practice is open and running. My paralegal, Veronica, is working remotely but is fully set-up to continue her important work on behalf of our clients and to meet their continuing needs. I will be working at the office primarily but remotely at times. We are fully equipped for remote work as necessary and will be fully available as usual.
We have invested in the infrastructure to effectively work with our clients from afar and have been doing so efficiently for quite some time. We will continue to do so in this turbulent, unsettled time. We are here, we are available, we are working, our cases proceed, and we are taking on new matters. If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to call/email/text.
Be safe and stay healthy.
Time to Meet & Confer – Episode 7 – The San Diego Law Library – A (Free) Legal Research Treasure Trove for Attorneys
It may be that the San Diego Law Library is one of our legal community’s best keep secrets – or is it? Hundreds of lawyers and legal professionals take advantage of the incredible AND free legal research tools, services and programs provided by our friends at the law library. Listen to this episode to learn how the San Diego Law Library can become a valuable partner in helping you save legal research time and money so you can focus on developing documents and strategies that your clients will love.
This episode of the San Diego County Bar Association’s “Meet and Confer” podcast is live at https://www.sdcba.org/index.cfm?pg=Tech-Center and on Apple iTunes and Google Podcasts.
Working.
The state court in San Diego has postponed jury trials through March. The federal court is operating normally, but some postponement of federal jury trials is presumably inevitable. Otherwise, the courts are open, and cases are proceeding. Likewise, my office is open. We are being careful, taking precautions, washing hands, wiping surfaces, shaking elbows, and working hard to maintain a safe work environment. And, as has been the case for many years now, we can and do largely work with our clients from afar and make all our court filings electronically. So, we are here, we continue to represent our clients, our cases are proceeding full speed, and we are taking on new matters. Be safe. Stay healthy.
San Diego Magazine Top Lawyer for Civil Litigation.
Proud and quite happy to be named by San Diego Magazine as one of San Diego’s Top Lawyers in 2020 for Civil Litigation!
San Diego Lawyer Artists!
In the February/March 2020 edition of SDCBA’s San Diego Lawyer, Renee Stackhouse and I have an article on San Diego Lawyer Artists. Check it out at page 32 – https://bit.ly/3cEGeo7
Time to Meet & Confer – Episode 6 – There’s More to These Lawyers Than Meets the Eye (and Ear) – Lawyers Artists – Live Now!
Organized, structured, methodical, tactical, deadline-oriented, device-laden, neatly-stacked documents on sleek desks, always busy, always working, always billing — these common (and commonly inaccurate) perceptions of lawyers seem far removed from notions of artistic inspiration and individual creativity, and from sketchpads, easels, and paint. But, is that accurate or fair? Are the traits that make lawyers successful incompatible with those that could make them happy, fulfilled, and successful artists? Can one be both a busy, successful lawyer and an active, creative artist?
Episode #6 of the San Diego County Bar Association’s “Meet and Confer” podcast answers this question and is live at https://www.sdcba.org/index.cfm?pg=Tech-Center and on Apple iTunes and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of SDCBA’s Meet and Confer podcast, Renee Stackhouse and I chat with San Diego attorneys Philip Mauriello and Nannette Farina about their art and music, and its significance in their professional and personal lives.
San Diego Attorney Nannette Farina has a successful San Diego complex business, commercial and bankruptcy litigation practice. She is also an active working artist. Her work has shown in juried art shows and she has successfully sold pieces and worked on commission. San Diego Attorney Philip Mauriello just launched his San Diego business law practice. His is also a musician, playing guitar and mandolin. Phillip regularly performs and has played in cover bands, including a country cover band in New Jersey!
Can one be both a busy, successful lawyer and an active, creative artist? As David and Nannette attest in this interesting podcast, “Yes, Why Not?” Take a few minutes, give it listen, and get inspired!
And take at look at Renee’s and my companion piece on “Lawyer Artists” in the Jan/Feb 2020 Edition of SDCBA’s San Diego Lawyer.
“Meet & Confer” is a podcast for and about our unique San Diego legal community. We hope to grow our San Diego audience as we grow the podcast. Please look for new episodes, keep listening, and let us know what you’d like to hear about on future episodes by sending an email to [email protected].
Losing your First Trial, Ouch! Good Bosses to the Rescue!
I was lucky to be able to try my first case very early in my career – in my 3rd year of practice, now almost 35 years ago! It was a business case, breach of contract, I think, a bench trial in North County Superior Court. Up against two older experienced attorneys.
I had worked hard, was ready to go, fully prepped, couldn’t lose! When I Ieft the office early that morning to go to court, two of my bosses, Dick Lynn and Jim Mehalick, both fine litigators, were in the small reception area of our small firm to see me off. Dick, with a big smile on his face, said – I will never forget this – “if you lose, don’t come back!” Jim smiled. Funny, I thought, kinda? They wished me good luck. Off I went.
I represented the plaintiff. Trial started, I gave opening, put up my witnesses, got my evidence in, closed my case, and LOST! Motions for judgment granted to both defendants.
Devastated. Obviously picked the wrong career. What will the client do – sue me? What will my bosses do? Maybe they weren’t kidding, will they let me back in? Jill and I have a baby on the way, just bought a house, how will I pay the bills? Back to marine biology? A young lawyer unrealistically projecting out years about how a career crunching loss would ruin his entire career and life! In retrospect, silly, but, hey, I LOST my first trial, a case I knew I couldn’t lose.
I went to work the next day to face my bosses. Needless to say, they let me back in the office! We went over the trial, the result, and our remedies. They were encouraging, supportive, thoughtful. They explained, as any trial lawyer would, you can’t win them all, you will lose cases you thought you would win and win some sure losers. Great support, perfect advice – just what I needed, righted my ship, reestablished my gravity. Taught me some lessons. Put me back to work. Ending of the story – we appealed, won, and settled the case.
Moral of the story – its good to have supportive bosses/colleagues/mentors and perseverance pays!