The illusion of the final signature I recently spent 14 hours deconstructing a contract that was designed to be unreadable, only to find the one clause that changed everything. My client sat across from me, the smell of strong black coffee filling the room, convinced the litigation was over because they had signed a piece…
Read more
The Brutal Reality of Pre Litigation Strategy The office smells like strong black coffee and old paper. You are here because you think you have a case. Or worse, you think you can win. Most clients walk in with a sense of righteous indignation that usually lasts until the first billable hour. I watched a…
Read more
The room where silence becomes a weapon I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. We were in a mahogany paneled room that smelled like old paper and expensive floor wax. The air was thick with the scent of…
Read more
I recently spent 14 hours deconstructing a contract that was designed to be unreadable, only to find the one clause that changed everything. It was a collaborative law participation agreement. The couple thought they were being civil. They thought they were saving money. They were actually signing away their right to keep their legal counsel…
Read more
I smell like strong black coffee. I am here to tell you that your legal strategy is failing before you even step into the conference room. You have been told that mediation is a peaceful alternative to the scorched-earth policy of a trial. You have been told it saves money. For most, that is true.…
Read more
I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. It was a cold Tuesday morning and the air smelled like strong black coffee and old paper. The mediator we hired was supposed to be a neutral force, but he was…
Read more
I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. They thought being helpful would win over the opposition. It did the opposite. It gave the defense a roadmap to their jugular. In the high-stakes environment of family law and civil…
Read more
I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. We were in a cold, fluorescent-lit room in downtown Chicago. The defense attorney was a vulture. He stopped speaking. My client, uncomfortable with the void, started explaining why they felt guilty…
Read more
The room smells like strong black coffee. It is the only thing keeping this room grounded while you sit across from a person who spent ten years gaslighting your reality. Your case is failing. It is failing because you still think the law is about what is fair. It is not. The law is a…
Read more
The reason your mediation failed and how to fix it I smell like strong black coffee and the cold residue of a ten hour negotiation that went nowhere. Your case is failing. You walked into that conference room thinking the truth would set you free, but truth is a luxury you cannot afford when the…
Read more
