Defending People

the tao of criminal-defense trial lawyering

Blogging Rules

| September 24, 2010

D.A. Confidential describes some of the rules he follows when writing blog posts: Do not write about ongoing cases. If I want to draw attention to one of my cases, say it’s going to trial, then I let people know it’s going to trial and I post a link to a news story about the [...]

Share

Warning: This is Not the Happysphere

| June 22, 2010

If you are a blogging lawyer, and you want to be read by other bloggers, know that being read by other bloggers includes being taken to task publicly when you write something dumb or silly or ill-considered or even just vapid. If you don't want to be read by other bloggers, if you are blogging [...]

Share

Three Years

| March 18, 2010

Today begins my fourth year of writing Defending People. It all started on March 19, 2007 with Introduction. Since then I’ve written 1,325 posts and published over 6,000 comments. I’ve had about 429,065 unique visitors, and received enough positive feedback to keep me both blogging and humble. Thank you for reading Defending People. Without you [...]

Share

Tried to Comment on Texas Lawyer Blog

| March 9, 2010

I tried to leave a comment on Texas Lawyer magazine’s Tex Parte Blog. I got this in my email from the Managing Editor of Texas Lawyer: Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on Texas Lawyer‘s blog. To publish it, I need your written permission, full name and city, all of which will [...]

Share

Chris Dorbandt and Catalyst Design: Partners in Crime

| March 3, 2010

Rule 7.02 Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services(a) A lawyer shall not make or sponsor a false or misleading communication about the qualifications or the services of any lawyer or firm. A communication is false or misleading if it:(1) contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact necessary to make the statement [...]

Share

The First Annual Bloggers’ Best Awards

| December 11, 2009

If you have a blog and agree that blog popularity contest are jokes, please join me at Social Media Tyro in choosing the best law blogs of 2009, and spread the word. Thank you.

Share

Comment Bug?

| November 9, 2009

If you tried to leave a comment in the last couple of days and it didn’t post, please try again or leave a comment here. I had installed the Subscribe to Comments plugin, and I think it might have broken commenting.

Share

Lessons in Media Relations and Blogging, from Tyler Flood [Updated, and Again]

| November 7, 2009

Tyler Flood (one of the smartest lawyers Tyler Flood has ever met!) says of his recent debacle in the Houston Press: During the course of this process I praised so many of my colleagues and even told Mike who to talk to, including Jed [Silverman], Gary [Trichter], Troy [McKinney], [Mark] Thiessen, Murph [Doug Murphy], Jim [...]

Share

Stuff I Don’t Want to Miss Mentioning

| October 30, 2009

Scott Greenfield makes the world a little safer for blawgers (via Houston criminal-defense lawyer Paul Kennedy). RIP John O’Quinn. A great lawyer and, like many great lawyers, not without personal demons (Rick O’Casey, Houston Chronicle). Memo from Pat Lykos to Harris County prosecutors: if you violate Batson you’re “incompetent;” if you violate Brady it’s the [...]

Share

Power, Responsibility

| October 21, 2009

As if it were not humbling enough being, on my very best day, the fourth-smartest mammal in the house, I’ve got this blog and my loyal readers to remind me of my modest position in the universe. If I were afraid of making mistakes, I’d never get anything done. Life and the practice of law, [...]

Share

Bad Behavior has blocked 3275 access attempts in the last 7 days.