Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2009

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2009

Business-dispute mediation is catching on, but old habits are hard to break.(Michigan)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Gary Gosselin ADR Businesses often find themselves at odds with each other, but instead of working it out, they frequently resort to costly litigation. In addition, companies tend to sidestep mediation agreements in favor...

Commentary: health industry must actively manage conflict resolution programs now in place.(Michigan)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Donna J. Craig, Esq. The health care industry is not immune from the stresses and strains other businesses and professionals endure during these harsh economic times. As the unemployment rate increases, the number of uninsured...

Commentary: making ADR your day job.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Robert E.L. Wright, Esq. So you've finished a 40-hour mediation training, completed two observations, have been observed by a qualified mediator and finally gotten your name on some court rosters. Unless your phone is...

Commentary: non-neutral parties add layer of expense.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Martin C. Weisman, Esq. In many types of commercial contracts, clauses exist that mandate arbitration. Sometimes those clauses call for the appointment of a single arbitrator, but many of them call for a panel of three arbitrators....

Commentary: arbitration review remains limited.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Larry J. Saylor, Esq. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) sets guidelines and imposes limits on arbitration agreements, making those affecting interstate commerce enforceable. Under Chapter 1 of the FAA, a reviewing court can set...

Commentary: early-stage mediation often produces better results.(Michigan)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Zena D. Zumeta, Esq. Late-stage mediation has been a familiar process for attorneys for almost a decade in Michigan. While this method of dealing with impasses tends to avoid trials, clients in today's stressed economy also are...

Commentary: confidentially yours? Inconsistencies abound when keeping mediation classified in cases.(Michigan)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Tracy L. Allen, Esq. It starts in the pre-mediation conference call or in a pre-mediation letter and it goes like this: "This is mediation, so everything you say is confidential." No one argues, and the process continues. ...

Look at overall performance before saying, 'I deserve a bonus - don't I?'
April 6, 2009... Byline: Ed Poll LawBiz Coach's Corner As executives of the country's leading financial institutions can attest, few words arouse greater passions these days than "bonus." CEO pay at large companies used to be 10 to 15 times that...

Economy takes tough toll on divorced families.(Michigan)
April 6, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Judge Jon H. Hulsing is facing heartbreak every day. A steady stream of families come to the 20th Circuit Court in Grand Haven, where he is tasked with fairly deciding the kinds of arguments that never feel fair:...

With national firms collapsing, Michigan looks attractive to summer associates.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Throughout the decade, industry closings and skyrocketing unemployment numbers haven't made Michigan the most desirable state in terms of being a great place to land work. But, one look at the demand for summer...

6th Circuit says there is no ERISA exception to 'discretionary clause' prohibition.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Insurance Law The federal law that governs employee-welfare-benefit plans provides health insurers no shelter from Michigan's rules prohibiting the use of "discretionary clauses" in insurance contracts. ...

Federal and state lawmakers try to balance bad economy with judicial pay increases.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg If it weren't for the job itself, U.S. Eastern District Court Judge Gerald Rosen would be miserable with his position. The reason, he says, is that it's become darn difficult to make a living as a federal judge. ...

Michigan Supreme Court grants rehearing in Michigan Catastrophic Claims Assn. case.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association won Round One in the Michigan Supreme Court by a vote of 4-3. But the MCCA may not be so lucky in Round Two. On March 27, the court voted 5-2 to rehear the...

The buzz about Butzel Long: managing partner quells rumors about the firm.
April 6, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Phillip J. Kessler confirmed, in response to rumors about a mass layoff at Butzel Long PC, that the firm did indeed eliminate 5 percent of its lawyers early this year. But it was not an economic layoff, as the...

Costs plus billable hours equals revenue: simple math, but not always a simple solution.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Ed Poll >The recession is sending many law firms back to the basics, and nothing is more fundamental to the business than the two basic models to make money. In the first model, look at your revenue and figure out what your...

Michigan's three largest law firms make 1st-quarter cuts in staff.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Citing shifts among in-firm business practices and lack of work in certain practice groups, Michigan's three largest law firms in 2009's first quarter scaled back their support staff numbers and, in one case,...

Profile of a pilferer.(occupational fraud)
April 13, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Desperate times have led some workers to do what may have been at one time unthinkable: They steal from their employers. When they're caught, they overwhelmingly say that a lack of internal controls allowed the...

Stealing the company dime: incidents of occupational fraud are on the rise.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Though stories of million-dollar and billion-dollar fraud grab the headlines, the reality is that business owners are far more likely to be ripped off by their own employees than Wall Street swindlers and crooked...

Michigan Supreme Court takes a 'pass' on changes to attorney-fee rule.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 Nearly five years after proposing changes to the rule that governs the types of fees an attorney can charge a client, the Michigan Supreme Court still hasn't decided what...

Times and tactics have changed in the world of labor contract negotiations.(Michigan)
April 13, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Labor Relations Concessionary bargaining is putting attorneys on both sides of negotiations in an unusual position as they sit at the table: Seeing eye to eye. Gordon A. Gregory and Robert M. Vercruysse are...

Michigan Supreme Court finds nonparty's comparative fault depends on duty to negligence plaintiff.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court A nonparty can't be a "nonparty at fault" in a negligence case unless the nonparty owed the plaintiff a duty. That's the conclusion the Michigan Supreme Court reached in Romain v....

Alternative billing, regular appearances will keep you close to clients in troubled times.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Tom Kane, Esq. Over the more than two decades that I've been doing legal marketing, I have documented that 80 percent of new work comes from current clients (either in the form of new matters or referrals) or referrals from other...

Michigan Supreme Court refuses to go public with rule recommendations.
April 13, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The Michigan Supreme Court, which has committed itself to being more transparent in its conduct of the state's judicial business, has refused to disclose to the public recommendations that it will consider at a...

Clear billing methods help clients recognize your value.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Ed Poll >I recently participated in a listserv exchange concerning what has become a common issue: A law firm's largest client suddenly demanded a 10 percent rate cut. Without it, the client would stop sending new work to the law...

Commentary: preparation is one of the keys to a successful courtroom appearance.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Cheryl A. Bush, Esq. Too often, a lawyer views a client's deposition as a passive event. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether you represent the plaintiff or the defendant, whether the lawsuit involves a personal...

Feelings or facts?
April 20, 2009... Byline: Richard Gabriel A mother sobs gently in her deposition, describing the last moments of life her teenage daughter experienced after a head-on collision. She cries as she talks about the plans her daughter had to go to medical...

Show and tell.(demonstrative evidence)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Daniel Wolfe and Lance Johnson Using demonstratives to tell a story during trial can be critical to the success of a case. Employing a multimodal presentation strategy, one that coordinates both visual and auditory elements,...

Reliable testimony.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Julie Campanini Inexperienced witnesses dread cross-examination. They fear they will lose the case during their cross; they will be made to look less than credible; and the jury won't like them. Whether the cross-examination is...

Women lawyers face challenges combating juror bias.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher Sometimes, the toughest critic a woman trial lawyer faces is another woman - especially one sitting in the jury box. But a little understanding and sisterly solidarity can win over the most critical female...

Temper, temper: keeping your cool in the courtroom means keeping a clear head.(Michigan)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg There are some kinds of tactics that only work in courtroom television dramas - a lawyer passionately raises his voice, or even physically attacks opposing counsel. But in real life, in real courtrooms, in real...

Michigan Catastrophic Claims Assn. fighting for recusal of Michigan Supreme Court Justice Hathaway.(Justice Diane M. Hathaway)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association wants Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane M. Hathaway to recuse herself from rehearing its case because the nature of her husband's law practice creates an appearance...

Loaded language in Michigan Supreme Court ruling may foreshadow change in adhesion contract law.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. In a contract case that had nothing to do with the parties' bargaining power, a four-justice majority of the Michigan Supreme Court went out of its way to mention twice that the parties were of "equal bargaining...

Fighting back: lawsuits against bill collectors increasing as agency tactics become more aggressive.(Michigan)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Gary Gosselin Creditors have stepped up efforts in collecting bad debts, but consumers aren't sitting still when collectors cross the line. In fact, they're fighting back with lawsuits in increasing numbers. It's a case of...

Michigan employers grapple with balancing drug-free job sites and the medical marijuana.
April 20, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Gravely ill people in Michigan will soon be able to use marijuana to treat symptoms of their illnesses. But their employers are facing potential problems as they try to keep a drug-free workforce. Proponents of...

Chief of homicide unit takes over felony trial division of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.(Michigan)
April 20, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg The transition plan was going to be fantastic, thought Robert Moran as he prepared to slide into his new duties as chief of the trial court in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The plan would allow him to...

In slow economy, take advantage of more marketing time.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Matthew Prinn Business of Law The current state of the economy has resulted in less demand for legal services. As service providers, attorneys will inevitably find themselves with fewer billable hours. How to make...

6th Circuit ruling means hospitals may be at risk due to expanded pool of plaintiffs.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- Analysis Hospitals may get sued more often under a federal appeals court ruling that non-patients can sue for injuries they suffer due to a hospital's failure to properly...

Michigan-based auto supplier hit with $47.7M tab for recalls.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Douglas J. Levy Verdicts & Settlements Plus For a recent multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract lawsuit between an automaker and a supplier, James P. Feeney believed the best way to win over members of a jury was to put them in...

6th Circuit ruling could reopen federal parole determinations.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Federal prisoners who were denied parole after having had their release hearings conducted by video conference may have grounds to request a new hearing under a recent federal ruling. In Terrell v. U.S., a...

Online social networking offers benefits, so long as the perils are identified, avoided.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Gary Gosselin Online social networks like Facebook and Twitter offer the potential to reach millions of people, but they also can be a trap for the uninformed. Common sense is the key to using the sites, said Milford attorney...

Big move to a small office: former Butzel Long attorneys form specialty law firm in Birmingham.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Practice Profile Keefe A. Brooks had an epiphany of sorts: When it comes to law firms, sometimes less is more. So after a 29-year career at Butzel Long, he broke out on his own and this month opened a...

Employers have some rights to know about workers' private lives: when does it become too personal?
April 27, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg Labor & Employment The boss is watching. Watching how much you drink. Watching you smoke. Watching you say something untoward on your Facebook page. Often, the line is fuzzy between watching employee behavior...

State appellate defenders office to ask state of Michigan for money to cover crime lab costs.
April 27, 2009... Byline: Carol Lundberg The State Appellate Defenders Office (SADO) will ask the state to pony up $318,000 it needs to cover the additional costs it has incurred as a result of errors made in the now-closed Detroit crime labs. The...