Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Tips For Young Lawyers -- Broward Edition.


A spy report from inside Judge Zeller's courtroom this morning, all regarding one lawyer who shall remain nameless:

1. Try to be on time.

Coming 20 minutes late and making your way through a crowded courtroom while the judge is speaking is probably a bad idea.

2. Take off your cheap sunglasses.

Once you have entered the courthouse, put them away. Continuing to wear them even as you sit down inside the courtroom makes you look like a schmuck.

3. Take the gum out of your mouth.

This is especially true when addressing the Court. If the Judge has to direct you -- a lawyer -- to stop chewing like a cow and to spit out your gum when you make your argument, you are in fact a real schmuck.

4. If you need to move for a continuance, you probably ought to put it in writing.

Also, if the Court asked you if you filed one, you should probably answer yes or no. Last I checked, there was some sort of rule against ore tenus continuance motions, and you should probably have reviewed it before looking like a first-class, genuine schmuck.

Class dismissed, kids!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also, that 1980's porn flick called and said they want their wigs back.

SFL Fan said...

Ahhhh, the Broward County Courthouse, what a pleasure!

South Florida Lawyers said...

1:49 -- ouch.

fake-Chris-Carver said...

You mean you dont like my Top Gun aviator shades?

fake Alvin Davis said...

No way I am taking off the red specs.

Holly at Tropic of Mom said...

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I know there are lots of cool Latin terms for all that stuff. Isn't there one about the no gum chewing?

Anonymous said...

Why a 1920's rendering of the Biltmore Hotel when blogging on Broward?

South Florida Lawyers said...

4:10, that's the old Broward courthouse before it was demolished in 1960 to make way for the graceful, functional building that we have today.

Anonymous said...

4:10...well I'll be damned. That sure does look like what George Merrick had in mind.

Bill said...

any homework?