I won!

Not a contest, and not the lottery, but the case I argued in front of the appellate court back in July! I represented the appellants meaning we were trying to get the case overturned, and the Appellate Court finally came back with a ruling.... in my client's favor! I am still in a bit of shock as it was an administrative case, which rarely gets overturned on any level of appeal, and also because I had figured we had lost since the Court was taking so long to write their decision!
I'm so excited, it is such a great feeling. Just another reason I love litigation, although it takes a lot of patience and time, there is nothing like winning a motion or a case!

Appellate Court

So one of the many reasons work has been quite busy this week is because I was preparing for my very first argument in appellate court. I've written two or three appellate briefs (I know, its terrible that I can't remember exactly how many, but I honestly lose track of the different cases I have worked on), but before this week I had never actually argued in front of the appellate court. I was scared, but I knew it was not something I could pass up when my boss asked me if I wanted to argue this case. It is not that I didn't want the opportunity, but I was terrified of subjecting myself to a panel of appellate justices.
In appellate court each side has 20 minutes to argue their case, but during that twenty minutes you have to be prepared to be interrupted, questioned, and argued with. (In my case the justices actually took a full hour in questions us). It is considered the justices job to attack your argument, and conceding on an issue or providing the wrong answer can cause your argument (and entire case) to crumble and fail. And while it is important to answer every question the justices poses, it is also crucial to stay on track and not allow their questions to cause you to stray from the issues at hand or prevent you from getting your point across.
One thing that one of the partners has taught me is that the difference between winning and losing, is often, how you frame the issue. Therefore, in my argument before the appellate court it was crucial that I stressed the right points and didn't allow the appellee's irrelevant arguments derail or distract from the point of our appeal - which was that the prior decision was arbitrary.
Much to my surprise the argument went really well (especially considering my limited experience). If I haven't mentioned already, I represented the appellant (person appealing the decision), and for that reason I expected to be eaten alive. The person appealing hasthe burden (to prove that the prior decision was wrong) and therefore the court will generally attack all your arguments and be harder on you. Fortunately, that wasn't the case for me, I think the justices were actually harder on the appellee - which was good for me and my case.
I was scared to death, and am honestly still in shock that I was able to stand there and clearly, cohesively, give favorable responses to every question they threw my way. It was like my adrenaline took over and I just calmly and naturally answered each question with confidence. (I can't help but feel that God was present, because it went so ridiculously smooth and so much better than I had expected).
I know most people assume that attorneys are good at arguing and quick thinking - but honestly, I never had these skills (naturally). But after this week I realize that these are skills that I am learning and developing - and that, is such a great feeling!
As to whether we will win - it is still a long shot - my boss told me that only about 20% of these decisions are reversed. Although it would be an extra bonus to win this case simply because I am a "first year attorney" who "knows nothing."

Absurd

Since I am still a relatively new attorney and am still learning I still submit everything (big/important) to a partner for their review/feedback before I file it in court. Recently I have realized just how far I have come in the last year because most of my pleadings/briefs come back with only a few (if any) modifications and suggestions.
So last week I was working on one of my favorite cases and after the partner reviewed it he told me that I needed to omit the word "absurd." I had said something along the lines of "Respondent's argument is absurd." (And it is). Earl told me that I couldn't leave that in because it was a personal attack, and that I shouldn't stoop to the level of the other lawyer (he had earlier written something about my "in artful pleading." He did say that I could use illogical and contradictory - but absurd, was crossing the line. I omitted that adjective and didn't think about it again... until the next day, when I got opposing counsel's brief. After skimming through his brief I quickly noticed that he stated that my argument was "patently absurd." I had to laugh - and tell Earl - he insists that I am the better lawyer for being above it all. I have to agree that it is not my argument, but his argument that is absurd...but we'll let the Judge decide.

Today...

Well last week (Wed) I called opposing counsel and requested that they send me an electronic copy of their discovery requests. I wanted the document in electronic format so that I could type the answers in the document rather than having to retype the entire document. First of all when I called to make this request the attorney was out so I left a message with his support staff asking for someone to email it to me. Ya know, email, figuring that would be the easiest way to send me the document. So after I didn't get a call back for two days (Fri) I called again. So the assistant answering the phone sounded annoyed and was like "well I gave him the message." I was extremely nice and explained that we were closing in on a deadline and asked her if she could tell him I called again. Twenty minutes later I get a call back, same assistant. This time she tells me that the attorney is dictating (transcribing) a letter to me. Confused I try to explain that I was requesting an electronic version of the request but before I could get it out the woman interrupted me saying "I know what you requested! And I am telling you that he is dictating a letter." Surprised at this response I didn't know what to say so I just said, okay and thanked her for the message and hung up. A few minutes later I realized that if the attorney had to send me a letter to respond to my request I at least needed the letter faxed to me because if it was put in the mail I wouldn't get it till next week (today). So I decided to call back, knowing that I was going to further annoy the less than patient assistant. When I called back before I could even make my request she told me that the letter the attorney was dictating was just stating that he would be making me a disk with the document on it. Although I knew I'd have to wait for the disk to come in the mail I didn't feel like pushing it and just gave up on the idea of getting it emailed to me. So today in the mail came my disk. . . .

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
A three inch floppy disk! I was shocked. The attorney seriously sent me a document on a three inch hard floppy disk. Seriously? I mean computers don't even come with floppy disk drives anymore! I have to use a special attachment in order to read the freakin' thing because none of our office computers have a floppy disk drives! I've heard of attorneys not being in this century as far technology but seriously don't drag me into your timewarp!

Also today we found out that Drew got accepted to do a Sub-Internship for the program he applied to for October! We got the medical information to the the August program I talked about last week but still haven't heard anything from them or from the September program.
Last week Drew finished up Pediatrics and this week has marked the start of Family Medicine. It is his FINAL clerkship/rotation of third year! Only six more weeks and he will officially be a fourth year medical student!

The weekend and other updates

Drew and I had a great weekend - it was fantastic to finally be in town, we were traveling the last three weekends and will be doing so again this weekend for a wedding and a baby shower! We got quite a bit done around the apartment - it needed a lot of cleaning, and we had lots of laundry to do since we have been too busy to get around to these things. I also had a chance to get some errands done. Saturday we even had time to take a bike ride on a local bike path down the the next little town (it was only three miles each way) and although it was quite chilly, we still had a nice ride. Sunday night Drew got a call from one of his med school buddies that they were one man short for their softball league and asked if he could sub. Although I was disappointed that I couldn't spend the evening with him I encouraged him to go because I know he won't have many opportunities to play softball this summer. His friend ended up pulling his shoulder out of his socket and Drew ended up getting hit not once, not twice but three times ... once in the arm and twice in the exact same spot on the side of his knee. Below is a picture of his knee when he came home last night - if you look closely you can see the marks from the stitching on the softball(s).

And here you can see how swollen it is here . . .
And here is a picture of his knee tonight... the swelling has gone down but now he has quite a bit of discoloration!

(Now that I have thoroughly grossed you out)

Drew is in his last week of peds, which means that he has a tests on Thursday and Friday. Next week he will start family medicine (his last clerkship/rotation of third year!) He also has three applications in to three different hospitals hoping to get away rotations or Sub-I's there. One of them emailed him last week to say that they were missing medical information but NOT to call them. He has emailed them twice with no response - this is extremely frustrating because the program is competitive so we want to get them the necessary information so that they can review his application as soon as possible! We're trying to be patient, but that is not particularly my strongsuit.

Also tonight Drew and I got to attend a reception honoring contributors to the innocence project at the governor's mansion. To briefly sum it up the mansion was amazing and the event was truly inspiring - they had two men there who had been wrongly convicted and had spent years incarcerated (and on death row) but were eventually exonerated by the work done by the various innocence project volunteers. I am quite proud to work for a firm that is so concerned with helping such noble causes (and is not just focused on making a dollar but also contributing to society).

New Attorney Training

Thanks to a relatively new Illinois Supreme Court Rule, all new attorneys are required to take a 16 hour course in "basic skills" within 12 months of becoming licensed. So being that I was sworn in last May this last weekend was my last opportunity to attend this mandatory class. Thursday night I traveled to Chicago so that I could attend Friday and Saturday's day long classes. The highlights of my two days in Chicago were the great restaurants and the nice hotel.

We stayed at hotel Monaco, and I had a beautiful view from my room.

Thursday night we went to Catch 35 for fish and Friday we went to Gene and Georgetti's for pasta and steak.

Friday and Saturday were painfully long. Eight hours of various subjects most which of were redundant of each other or of law school classes. People texted, emailed and flat out slept through the program. And then there were others that took word for word notes. Personally I think the ones that took elaborate notes were the ones that have opened up solo practice due to the terrible economy. Also at the class I ran into about ten of my law school classmates. Only about five or six of them had employment the the legal field. So while the program was painfully long and boring it did make me realize that I am so lucky to a) have a job and b) have a job I enjoy and c) have a job where I am learning a lot. The fact that I have learned a lot and the fact that I have good mentors in my firm was another reason I found the lectures so boring.... I knew most of the material and the stuff that was new to me wasn't particularly interesting or useful (it was in areas I am not practicing in right now). I think that the program was probably more useful to new lawyers that are the solo practice (that I already mentioned) or to those that don't have other attorneys they can go to with questions. I also figure that the information that I knew from law school, for those who didn't already know this stuff (from not learning it in law school) they aren't going to learn/understand it now from a two hour lecture on the subject.

This "New Attorney Training Program" is a perfect example of something that sounds good in theory or on paper (like much legislation). I mean it sounds like a good idea to give new attorneys classes in basic skills to help them as they start their careers. But in all practicality there are other elements that come into play that make it less than ideal. For example the ISBA that was putting on this program is trying to cut down on costs, and in order to do so the majority of the program was on video - which takes away some of the usefulness of the program. I mean lets be honest, it is easier to pay attention to live speakers for eight hours in one day then it is to watch eight hours of video tape. And then there are also those other elements that I already spoke about, like if people didn't learn it in law school they aren't going to learn it now.... Needless to say I want those sixteen hours of my life back. And seriously I think that if the members of the Supreme Court had to sit through 16 hours of lectures I think they might change their mind on this mandatory program...

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for how much I have learned in my first year of being an attorney, and how much I continue to learn at my job. I feel so lucky to be working for the firm I am at because (for the most part) they are extremely good about mentoring. I realize how far I have come in a year, and also how much more there is to learn! Although I hated law school, I love being an attorney. Tomorrow is the first time I am going solo on an out of town hearing (I've always gone with a partner) - so it feels good to know that they trust me enough to handle this hearing on my own (and I love every opportunity I get to be in court!)

Yesterday...

I had my first mediation. We represented the good-guys and we were attempting to settle to avoid going to trial. Unfortunately that didn't happen. The main issue was money. After about five hours of mediation (the mediator going between the two parties, listening to both points of view) each party had only moved a few thousand dollars (us more than them) and a few hundred thousand dollar disparity existed. At which point the partner I was working with decided that we were going no where and just told the other party to leave. And they did. Although it was somewhat unproductive and everyone wasted more than half a day, I did learn a thing or two. It was my first mediation, so I did take a few things away from it. It was also neat to watch the different style of the partner and the mediator. All attorneys have different advocacy styles especially depending on the type of proceeding (mediation, arbitration, trial etc.) and all mediators are different in the technique they use when working with the parties. Personally since I was just assisting it was easy to take the side of our client - but I know that when it is my job to be the main attorney I will have to be a little more realistic and encourage our clients to move. Although an attorney is supposed to be an advocate, you have to open your clients eyes to the reality of the other sides case and somewhat play the devils advocate in order to get things moving. A client will only see the strenghts in their case and if you don't point out the weaknesses they are going to be very surprised and shocked when it goes to trial! Another good thing is that I don't have any trial experience. While I have done various hearings and proceedings none of them have been full blown trials. I have a case or two that will get to trial eventually, but litigation moves so slowly. So although trial is riskier than settling (in the case we did the mediation) I am very much looking forward to the experience. And although I am a little biased, I do think my clients have the better case!

The husband it on call tonight - there must be a number of births going on tonight because didn't answer his phone earlier and he hasn't tried to call me yet.
As far as prayer requests - Ms. Abbie is currently in labor as I write. So I am praying for a quick, smooth labor and a healthy birth of Ms. Campbell. And while we are on the subject of prayer requests I think I can now take my Mom off the list - she seems to have had a full recovery from her torn miniscus and her stomach issues! But while I take her off I will be adding my parents - just consider it a special intention - they are under a lot of stress with my Dad's job right now.
And although its early I think I will be calling it a night. I haven't gotten much sleep lately and it's making my days drag. But I am quite excited about the news of baby Cammie's arrival - here's hoping that I get some sleep!

I got reemed out today...

thank goodness it wasn't by anyone in my firm. So I got a call today and I didn't recognize the name but the conversation went something like this:
(We'll call the person Attorney Guy)
M: This is Marissa
AG: I'm calling about the objection to our motion for extension of time on the Smith brief
M: Yes
AG: I want to know why in your motion you made the statement that the government asks for multiple extension of time. I do appellate work an it is common practice to ask for extensions of time. Everyone asks for extensions of time.
M: Well that is just how we drafted our motion. Our firm does a lot of work with the government and it has been our experience that they ask for multiple extensions of time and we don't want to be dealing with five or six extensions of time.
AG: Well I am in appellate work and that is not the practice, no one in our office does that. You obviously know nothing about appellate work! What - you have only been an attorney a year?
M: Well I am sorry you feel that way, is there something I can actually help you with?
AG: Yes, yes there is! Do you have your motion in front of you?
M: No I do not.
AG: Well in your brief you state "In appellant's affidavit..." It should be appellee, YOU are the appellant. And it also refers to our reply brief. Don't you know that YOU file the reply brief?
M: I'm sorry that must have been a typo.
AG: No, a typo is when you hit the wrong key. You wrote the wrong thing. You obviously know nothing about appellate work. Ms. First Year Attorney! (At which point he hung up)

Needless to say I ticked the guy off! The stupid thing was it was a motion for an extension of time - I don't even understand why the guy is so freakin' upset? I didn't even say that he shouldn't get an extension of time, I simply stated that if the extension is granted it should be the only extension. And as far as the comment about the government asking for multiple extensions that is part of our standard response. And the fact that he is sooo ticked off proves the point that he was planning on asking for at least a second extension of time. The other funny thing is that if he is really so busy that he needs multiple extensions of time - why is he waisting his time looking up information about me in order to find out that I had only been practicing law a year? I doubt he would have had the balls to yell at someone his own age. But I have to laugh that little ol' me was able to make a grown man so angry without even trying! What a silly little man!

As far as my medical student - he had a more eventful day yesterday. He got to help with a delivery. With some instruction, he got to be the one who caught the newborn baby! I guess the Mother was very calm and did very well through the whole labor and delivery. Drew said it was a very neat experience - but he made the point to say he is very glad he is a man. Then today he got to circumcise a new baby boy. Drew said he felt bad doing it, but that surprisingly the baby wasn't that bothered by it. I asked lots of questions about both experiences, but I will spare you all the details because I don't want to gross anyone out!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Today...

I won my first case! Hopefully if the State does not appeal our client will be entitled to his backpay. I must say it felt really good to win against the state - my employment in Springfield along with dealing with many cases against the state has left me with great disgust for the Illinois State government. Now I must say some of this is particularly aimed at a particular governor - who made history today by technically being impeached "twice." But the majority of my remaining frustration and resentment comes from a few less than pleasant assistant attorney generals and counsel for the state agency's. Which leads me to the biggest challenge I face as a lawyer. I notice that the partners I am learning from all are so very friendly with opposing counsel in person. While I have no problem exchanging pleasantries and hello's I have no desire to chat with them about their children or their personal lives. And I should further explain that its not all attorney's I feel this way with, its just a few select few. It's those that have made objections just for the sake of objecting, or literally made things up in pleadings, or that file bogus motions just to procrastinate.... it's these attorneys that drive me absolutely nuts! I'd like to think that I would never do such things because I would never want a judge to question my creditability. Some of these things I also find unethical because I know they are done just to add additional work, which means extra and unnecessary expenses to the clients. Therefore I find these attorneys annoying, unintelligent and just plain despicable, which is why other than exchanging casual greetings I have no desire whatsoever to converse with them. I am not sure if my feelings are a "woman thing" - since women generally hold onto things; or it is just a personal or rookie thing. Either way, the point of my story was that this is something that I am going to have to get over.

We had a great end of last week and weekend (other than me getting sick). Thursday and Friday I was in Chicago for an Illinois State Bar Conference with work. It was very nice I attended two CLE (continuing legal education) sessions, and attended two receptions which allowed for some networking. I have found that I have a very unique benefit with my firm in that they are big supporters of the ISBA and all bar associations. Therefore our firm pays for and encourages us to go to any and all bar events. I find that most other firms are really only represented by partners at these events. My firm also took us out to very nice dinners both Thursday and Friday night. My dad was in the city on Thursday night and joined us then and Drew came in town Friday night and joined us that evening. I also was lucky enough to get to see my friend Celia who I had not seen since law school graduation. Needless to say I had a great time in Chicago!

Saturday we headed to Southbend, IN for a wedding. Both the bride and groom are ND alums so the wedding was most naturally Irish themed with navy dresses and gold sashes. It was beautiful (and fun), but I was a little under the weather and only lasted until 10:30.


Today when we got back in town I headed straight to prompt care - turns out I have some kind of infection in my throat (and I think sinuses).... so I am going to work from home tomorrow. I had better get back to addressing Christmas cards, we are very behind this year.