by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

There is nothing like being away from home to make a person appreciate just how great home really is. I have just returned from trying a serious brain injury case in Orange County, California. I was admitted to practice in this particular case as pro hac vice counsel. For reasons I will explain herein, the case continues on despite the fact that I must return home. However, as I return, I have had the chance to reflect on how much I appreciate Georgia jurisprudence.

by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

Every year, I volunteer as an attorney coach for a nearby high school. As some of you may be familiar with my previous articles, I find my participation with mock trial to be among the most rewarding of my extracurricular activities as a lawyer. In addition to enjoying working with students as they learn the rules of evidence, the process of preparing witnesses and a case at large, and how to effectively work with their peers, there is a collective feeling of accomplishment for my fellow coaches and the students when it all comes together at the competition.

by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

Like all attorneys who live somewhere other than underneath a large rock, I have seen many of the benefits and detriments that social media can bring to a legal practice. There are countless articles on how we as lawyers can engage social media to market and network with others in our own communities and beyond. There are also articles advising us on properly counseling our clients as to the recommended use or refrain from use of social media while cases, both civil and criminal, are pending. It is my hope that this article presents at least some new thoughts on the topic, but if they were all that new, I would likely be better off just posting them on Facebook.

This week, the Fulton County Daily Report featured an article about a young plaintiff in an automobile collision case whose verdict was almost certainly negatively impacted by her posts on social media sites. These posts undermined her claims of pain and featured her in a less than wholesome light. Plaintiffs’ lawyers in personal injury cases, myself included, go to great lengths to explain these types of consequences to our clients as we plead with them to avoid using social media during litigation, but we might have just as well asked many of them to stop eating or breathing.

by Daniel DeWoskin Trial Attorney www.atlantatrial.com I’m not sure that even if I clawed into the very depths of my imagination I could bring any insight into this 2012 election that has not already been beaten into the ground by…

by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

Before you begin this article, I should tell you that it could be a gigantic book. Instead, I will keep it to a length certain not to take you more time to read than it would take me to get my four year old dressed and buckled in for the daily ride to school. For those of you who truly live your professional lives by the billable hour, I can only imagine the havoc that a child’s sense and understanding of time must bring into your life. Along with all the wonders and joys and all of that other stuff. The good stuff, I mean.

I, myself, have never practiced in such a way that the billable hour has controlled my schedule. Sure, I have billable hours, but many of my cases are contingency based or flat rate. This gave me a little bit of an edge when my kids came along and suddenly my schedule was, well, totally obliterated. You see, for all the social and professional events I have to make, and all the client appointments, late nights working, weekend meetings, and other round the clock stuff so many of us attorneys do, I have always made certain that my priorities are straight.

by Daniel DeWoskin Trial Attorney www.atlantatrial.com I recently appeared for jury duty in DeKalb County. I woke up in plenty of time to get ready, make sure that my office was aware and prepared to place any upcoming court appearances…

by Daniel DeWoskin
Trial Attorney
www.atlantatrial.com

I have jury duty coming up. Unlike many folks, I am thrilled at the opportunity, although I think there is a better chance of my getting hit by lightning than actually making it onto the jury. I am proud to be able to do my civic duty and will enjoy the possibility of participating in voir dire from the other side of the bar. It has also been a long time since I have had a jury summons and I think it will do me good to experience first hand what my clients and I ask of so many members of my community each year.

Some time ago, my wife received a jury summons and asked me how she could get out of having to serve. Although she was (half) joking, I responded by telling her she could renounce her citizenship. I was not laughing at the time and we ended up having a rather serious discussion about the importance of jury duty. I was not lecturing my wife by any stretch of the imagination, but instead we both had a constructive conversation about why it is that many people so dread engaging in service. My wife would make an excellent juror, as she can be very fair (unless she thinks that I have done something wrong; in those moments, she’s never fair).