Contributing Writer

March 14, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

The perils of a celebrity-managed defense are exposed in a recent state Supreme Court decision involving convicted rapist-murderer Richard Lapointe. Over time, Lapointe`s defense team has grown short with lawyers who could produce results. Lapointe`s backers have tried to control the case with lawyers they could dominate.

By ANDY THIBAULTLaw Tribune Contributing Writer

4 minute read

July 03, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Summer time, and the living is easy, but only if you get the Hell out of Dodge. The eager beavers running the courts like to keep us hopping year round these days. My prescription? Time at the beach. Here are some books you might want to pack into the beach bag. Whatever you do, don`t bring a cell phone with you. Out of touch may not be out of mind, but why let the office spoil a perfectly good day.

By Norm Pattis Law Tribune Contributing Writer

4 minute read

April 01, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

I was in federal court the other day when a group of visiting Chinese law professors appeared, escorted by translators and Jay Pottenger of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Clinic at the Yale Law School. I wondered what they would make of a hearing about conflicts of interest in a death-penalty case. I kept thinking about the cost of a bullet.

By Norm PattisLaw Tribune Contributing WriterLaw Tribune Contributing Writer

3 minute read

February 22, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

One of the most important nights of the past century for trial lawyers was the evening of Oct. 25, 1946. The location: The weekly meeting of the Moral Sciences Club at Cambridge University in England. Some of the brightest minds of the century gathered in musty rooms. The most percipient observers; philosophers of world-wide renown, and reputations that glow still.

By Norm Pattis Law Tribune Contributing Writer

4 minute read

January 15, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Sugar and spice! Ginger and molasses! As my daughter and I toiled last month creating a battalion of gingerbread men, I found myself musing about, what else?, appeals. Well, more properly, the proper ingredients for an effective oral argument. You were expecting something more festive? Bah humbug-I`ll leave that to Martha Stewart.

By LINDA L. MORKAN Law Tribune Contributing Writer

5 minute read

August 23, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Good Lord, the process of taming the world can be so depressing. It is not enough that wood faeries, nymphs and the forlorn creations of our fears are progressively banished century by century. The irrepressible desire to order, to classify and to tame is spreading everywhere. Not even Rome`s Trevi Fountain is safe.

By Norm Pattis Law Tribune Contributing Writer

3 minute read

May 17, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

My days at the bar are numbered. That`s because the grievance goombahs are turning surly. It turns out we now have to mind our Ps and Qs even when not acting as lawyers. Do I dare to question the kings and queens of propriety? Let me risk all! Quick, someone call a proctologist: The Statewide Grievance Committee has a headache.

By Norm PattisLaw Tribune Contributing Writer

3 minute read

April 18, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

My children find it hard to believe, but there was once a time when we got information from things called books-collections of paper bound in hard covers, kept in large public spaces called libraries, rich with the fragrance of musk and dust and scrubbed linoleum and all the heady knowledge of the universe.

By SHEILA A. HUDDLESTON Law Tribune Contributing Writer

4 minute read

February 28, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Sometimes the rough edges of life cut so deep we are compelled to do something, nay, anything to ease the pain. Murder inspires such a reaction. The murder of a pregnant woman crushes our spirits. But let`s not lose sight of something fundamental: Bad law often rises from the ashes of tragic facts.

By Norm PattisLaw Tribune Contributing WriterLaw Tribune Contributing Writer

3 minute read

April 30, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

Can you explain what Circuit City and Waffle House are? Most people would describe them as business establishments that one would find in or near a shopping mall. On the other hand, to the individual experienced in the laws of the workplace these are the shorthand names of two U.S. Supreme Court decisions handed down in 2001 and 2002. They both deal with certain aspects of mandatory arbitration agreements covering employment disputes.

By PETER A. JANUS Tech Tribune Contributing Writer

4 minute read