Email Scam Alert: Beware of Unsolicited Business Offers in Your Inbox

by Elizabeth Marum
DeKalb Bar News Editor
em@torrientemarum.com
www.torrientemarum.com

About a year and a half ago, I first came across a check scam targeting attorneys with trust accounts. In a nutshell, the firm where I worked received a letter (I believe by UPS or FedEx) with a certified check and instructions for a wire-transfer. The letter asked that the firm deposit the check in their trust or escrow account and then wire the money to the payee less any fees owed to the firm. Immediately, the office manager was on the phone with the GBI, confirming that this was, in fact, a counterfeit check scam.

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Litigator’s Playbook: Show and Tell – Bring Your Case Story to Life with Visuals

by Jeri Kagel, M.Ed., J.D.
Trial Synergy, LLC
www.trialsynergy.com

If your case is going to trial, then you and your witnesses have a story to tell and keeping your jurors interested in that story is what leads to the success of your case. Those of us who have worked on trials over the years – be they simple or complex – know the importance of keeping your jurors engaged with the themes of the case.

You start early – whetting jurors’ appetites during voir dire and then grabbing their attention during your opening statement. If only it could end there. But you still have your trial ahead of you. The details of your story must be told. The facts may be boring or complex, the case itself may be tedious with bits of information never fully coming together in ways that people best digest and integrate information. Yet, criminal trial or civil, defense, plaintiff or prosecution, you need them to “get it” if you want a verdict in your favor.

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Practice Corner: Encounters with Pro Se Litigants

by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

We have all heard that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Many of us have had occasion to walk into a courtroom, be it in magistrate, state, or even superior court, only to find that the courtroom is packed with pro se parties waiting to have their matters adjudicated. Watching inexperienced people handle their legal matters can at times be entertaining and at other times extremely frustrating. We observe these parties fumbling with rules regarding cross-examination or the admission of evidence. It is almost always apparent that these people are uncomfortable, intimidated, and unaware of how much they do not know about prosecuting or defending a legal action. Out of necessity, desperation, or perhaps stubbornness, many people still choose to represent themselves in court.

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From the Health Coach: What Do You Want?

by Helen Hamlin

We all have something that we want to change about our lives. Typically, we decide to make a change due to some sort of conflict. Perhaps your doctor warned you about some of the health issues you may have to contend with if you continue on the path that you are currently on. The doctor is talking about your poor eating habits, your lack of adequate sleep, your inability to break away for a well-deserved vacation. You know the doctor is right, but the doctor offers little direction to help you make the changes necessary to get there.

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