Attorneys and Barristers of the Lounge

[Ephraim Tutt]

I've noticed that there's quite a few brothers of the Bar (and maybe some sisters too) hanging about in the Lounge after hours.

So, I've booked us this here room with its own bar to meet with fellow legal beagles from around the world and discuss what we do, and most importantly the lids we wear when pursuing the course of justice.

Pull up a seat, tell us who you are and what area you practice in, any legal tales you wish to tell and, of course, your favourite hats, pens, watches and other vintage gear.

Let me begin - I'm an Australian lawyer, admitted in Qld and the High Court but my practice these days is in the area of lawyers ethics which sees me wandering around the countryside advising and encouraging the lawyers of this land about professional standards.

Like all of you, I've a range of lids and among the ones worn this week was the youngest of my collection - my Akubra Bogart coupled with an Elgin 1926 pocket watch and art deco (20s) silver fob with red enamel depicting a chess knight.

So step up Memphis, Tortswon, Spats and the rest. I'll shout the first round....so what are ya drinkin'?

 

[J.J. Gittes]

I'm liking that watch and fob alot, I like how the red enamel makes it pop and stand out.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Keeps pretty near perfect time too JJ. I wish I had a decent camera so as to get some close-ups of that fob. It's a beautiful thing and is a similar vintage to the watch. The red enamel is surrounded by a laurel wreath and topped by a crown.

The knight encourages me and those I deal with to have courage in what we do.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Now that you're all awake....

Bump

 

[Spats McGee]

I'll pull up a seat here. I'm an American lawyer, Arkansas to be exact. Admitted to practice in state & federal courts, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Most of what I do is bread-and-butter work, divorces & criminal defense. But I've just applied for a job as a deputy prosecutor, so I'm going to have to quit taking on defense cases.

I have a Waterman Phileas, Waterman Expert, another Shaeffer, a Pelikan, a Jean-Pierre Lepin and a few other fountain pens, but the is the one I carry to work every day is an old, battered Shaeffer. It's either a Triumph or an Imperial, and I always forget which. It's got an inlaid nib & I've had it about 15 years. I've carried it halfway around the world and back. It's faded from being run through the washer, stained from the Baystate Blue ink that I use in it, and scratched from a variety of abuses. I love this pen.

My hat collection remains fairly small at about 10 hats. I've got a couple of straws, but really prefer the felts, so I wear them as soon as weather turns cool enough. I've got a couple of Stylemasters, my Resistol Frankenhat, The Covington (a Buckaroo Hatters custom), and a couple of others. I occasionally have to meet clients whom I've never seen before away from the office. This is usually a result of a call that begins with, "My son was arrested & he has court tomorrow." I tell them where to meet me and then tell them, "You'll recognize me. I'll be the guy in the hat."

Let's not forget bow-ties. I don't have any vintage ones, but I do have a few bow-ties, which I wear on a regular basis. Almost invariably, this leads to someone approaching me & examining my bow & asking, "Is that a real bow-tie?" or "Did you have to tie that?" Yes, I did & no, it's not a clip-on.

The only pocket watch that I own is an old Elgin that my grandfather restored. He gave one pocket watch to me and one each to my brother and my cousin (his 3 male grandchildren) for Christmas many years ago. It works well, but it's one of the very few items that I own that sits in a display case.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Welcome to the Observation Bar Association, Spats.

You've turned to the dark side and become a prosecutor!!!??

And what the hell is a Frankenhat?? Is that it's name or is it a creature made from parts of other hats that will soon rise up and kill its creator in a quest for self-discovery and hat rage??

How about some pics of those pens? And what are you drinkin' bro?

 

[Old Fogey UK]

Greetings to all the lawyers of the Lounge - from an English Solicitor !
(That's an Attorney to Americans)

 

[Spats McGee]

Welcome to the Observation Bar Association, Spats.

You've turned to the dark side and become a prosecutor!!!??

Yes . . . to make a long story short, I'm trying to move back to my hometown. There's a deputy prosecutor's job open & I want it. I love having my own practice, but a regular paycheck sure would be nice. The DPA position would provide that regular paycheck & health insurance for the whole family, and I will be allowed to keep my private civil practice open. I also checked the Public Defender's office, but they're full.

And what the hell is a Frankenhat?? Is that it's name or is it a creature made from parts of other hats that will soon rise up and kill its creator in a quest for self-discovery and hat rage??

It's this Resistol cowboy hat, which I converted in a fit of mad-scientist rage:

​

(My wife doesn't think I'd look good in a Frankenhat like CRH posted. lol )

How about some pics of those pens? And what are you drinkin' bro?

I'll try to get some pics of them up soon. The camera on my phone doesn't do them justice.

Coffee. Cheap office coffee.

 

[anon`]

Well, I'm just gonna sneak in here and steal a seat way off in a corner. With a little bit of luck, I'll be joining y'all in... oh, about four years' time

(PS~ Love that watch and fob!)

 

[CRH]

...


I'll try to get some pics of them up soon. The camera on my phone doesn't do them justice.

Coffee. Cheap office coffee.

Please do!

Handwriting is becoming a lost art form and real handwriting is done with liquid ink. Markers and ball points just put out chicken scratch.

Oh, I'm no lawyer but I keep the Iowa Code bookmarked!


:coffee:

 

[Atticus Finch]

I like the idea of having a place here on the Lounge where we lawyers can hide. It sorta helps keep everyone else safe from us.

I'm a State's Prosecutor for North Carolina Judicial District 3-B. I've been in the district about sixteen years. Before that, I was a prosecutor up in the 1st District. Most of what I do is white-collar crime and burglaries, but I also handle about half of our office's habitual felon prosecutions. I once averaged about a dozen or so big jury trials a year, but recently I've scaled that back to a more manageable number. Now I try to let our hungry, young, gogiter ADAs have more court time.

Some years ago, I began looking for a political "trademark". I had always worn fedoras when I was fly fishing and hiking and I had always liked the looks of the Stetson Open Road. I especially liked how ORs look with a suit and tie. So, in my very first post on the Lounge, I asked where I could get a silverbelly Open Road in size 7 3/4. I was kindly directed to the Quality Hats web site and I've been wearing Open Roads ever since. And the trademark thing seems to have worked. Now, when I attend political meetings, go to court or even just go out for coffee, people act downright disappointed if I'm not wearing my Open Road.

AF

 

[Doublegun]

I too am a lawyer although I left practice about 12 years ago and have been called a "recovering lawyer." I worked for a large firm then a small firm doing med mal and insurance defense before hanging out my shingle. Being on my own was fun, exciting and got me into some interesting places and situations. However, there was something about not having a steady paycheck or insurance that kept me up most nights so I took a position with what was then West Group (now West, a Thomson Reuters business). I now manage the field staff for the Government Division in part of the Midwest. The hours are just as long but I work from home and get to spend a great deal of my time with my family and also fly fishing and chasing grouse behind my English Setters.

 

[memphislawyer]

Well, guess it is okay to let down the facade and tell you about me. I am a lawyer and I live in Memphis, Tennessee, probably not too far down the road down I-40, going West, from Spats. I am 49, and a solo practitioner, no office staff. You can find out more about me at www.lawyers.com/memphislawyer.

I handle much the same work as Spats, divorce, collections, a little Plaintiff's personal injury work, foreclosures, bankruptcy, criminal defense. Been at it since 1985. I have lots of attorneys in my family, some in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. My daughter is in her second year of law here at the University of Memphis, doing much better than I ever did. She wants to live in Atlanta and is looking for a summer job there thay may lead to a full time position when she graduates.

I had pens, fountain pens, but since I do not write much or write well, the only one I have is the maxi-sized Visconti Black Divina roller ball. Two nice watches to my name, one well known, the other, well, I got a great deal on it from watch forum, timezone. Id love a Reverso and then a Patek.

Sam

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Welcome aboard Chaps - still no ladies I notice.

I'll respond to some of your posts later this evening (our time) but right now I'm getting ready to host number 1 daughter and her partner for an Aussie barbeque lunch.

But what I will say is - where's the pics lads??! Lets see those lids and vintage things that are part of the way you do law.

And anon - law students are welcome. I also teach in law schools - mainly in criminal law, internet law and ethics. Hang in there - it gets easier, though I gotta admit I struggled with everything beginning with 'E"' - Equity, Evidence...Ethics....Nah! I'm kidding about ethics.

Barbie awaits...

 

[anon`]

And anon - law students are welcome. I also teach in law schools - mainly in criminal law, internet law and ethics. Hang in there - it gets easier, though I gotta admit I struggled with everything beginning with 'E"' - Equity, Evidence...Ethics....Nah! I'm kidding about ethics.

Oh, I'm not quite that far yet! I made the decision to get serious about my long standing threat to go back to school late last year, too late to really try for admission in 2009. So I'm taking my time and trying to get everything just so for 2010.

So wish me luck! I'm halfway over the first hurdle (good LSAT score, solid LOR writers and a halfway decent undergrad GPA)... let's hope I clear the second one, now!

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Oh, I'm not quite that far yet! I made the decision to get serious about my long standing threat to go back to school late last year, too late to really try for admission in 2009. So I'm taking my time and trying to get everything just so for 2010.

So wish me luck! I'm halfway over the first hurdle (good LSAT score, solid LOR writers and a halfway decent undergrad GPA)... let's hope I clear the second one, now!

Get a headstart and read up on the first two cases you'll learn in law school: Donoghue v Stevenson and Carlill v The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. You'll find them on Wikipedia. I have an orginal Carbolic Smoke Ball Co ad framed on my office wall.

It's funny how those early Law School cases still make us lawyers smile.

 

[Spats McGee]

Get a headstart and read up on the first two cases you'll learn in law school: Donoghue v Stevenson and Carlill v The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. . . .

Would you believe that the 1st case I ever had to read was Pennoyer v. Neff? It was a terrible way to start law school!

Good luck, anon! Here's my law school tip: Get a calendar/day planner & get your time management skills in order. IMO, the toughest things about law school are time & stress management, and part of the stress comes from difficulties in managing time.

 

[anon`]

Thanks for the tips both, Mssrs Tutt and McGee; I'll take a look at those cases, and I think I'm gonna try to strike a deal with my folks for a Filofax if I get accepted to my school(s) of choice

Though I hated my past life as an insurance adjustor, I sure had a lot of fun directing litigation on my files. Unfortunately, my attorneys often gave me the "Good child--run along and play now" treatment, and lost or accepted unacceptable compromises all too often. No doubt that's played a major role in this decision. But digging through CA case law (and frankly, the Labor Code) was always the bright spot in that job for me.

 

[Spats McGee]

My decision to go to law school was similar. I was working at a consulting firm that handled unemployment accounts. Spent most of my days on the phone & filling out unemployment claim forms, but I was having an awful lot of fun digging around in the various unemployment compensation codes . . .

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Actually anon. I was wrong. You're American. For some reason I thought you were British - that's what happens when you post in a hurry. The cases I mentioned are English/Scottish cases that apply there and here in Oz. You guys won't be bothered with them.