The Archives
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A Day in the Life
I just took the MPRE
The MPRE is the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam: ((the head proctor definitely called it the Multiple Professional Responsibility Exam)) it’s the yin to the Bar Exam’s yang. The Shaq to the Bar Exam’s Kobe (in that you can’t possibly consent to what the Bar Exam will do to you, but it’ll buy you really nice things afterward if you keep your mouth shut). The MPRE tests your knowledge of what is permissible, proper, and legal for lawyers and judges to do.
For instance, did you know that a lawyer is not permitted to accept payment of his fees in sexual favors? Actually, you probably did. That seems pretty self-evident, actually. I don’t know why my professor bothered to- oh. Well then. Moving on.
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Legal Theory
Purchasing Power
Lawyers have specific rules about conflicts of interest. Because of the nature of advocacy, you want your lawyer to have your interests in mind as he earns his paycheck. If your lawyer is also being paid by the other side to have their interests in mind, you’re not really getting advocacy so much as arbitration. (SIdebar: arbitration, by the way, is much cheaper than going to trial, and you can generally get your claim resolved much more quickly.)
The other big concern, of course, is keeping confidential information that your lawyer has confidential. To that end, not only is a lawyer prohibited from representing both sides of a conflict, but every other lawyer in his firm is prohibited from representing his opponents. And not just within the same trial, but in any two trials (about the same legal issue) where two clients have diametrically opposed interests.
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The News
Long Distance Relationships
Sure, the long distance thing always starts out well enough. You assume you’re going to stay in touch. You assume that nothing can go wrong. And hey, it’s kind of convenient to have the place to yourself again. But in the back of your mind, you know that what you had together won’t be the same when you’re so far apart.
I speak, of course of the lawyer-client relationship, and the law firms that outsource work on your case to foreign countries. In a bizarre twist, saving costs by sending jobs to India isn’t just for companies that make blue jeans anymore.
Almost Legally
Life does not imitate Harvey Birdman
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Just got my first email addressing me as Professor Mauro. Oh, I don't think I'll be correcting this person just yet.
