New Biography Chronicles Phil Hoff

December 21, 2011

My friend and mentor, Phil Hoff, also a co-founder of our law firm, Hoff Curtis, was featured today on the front page of the Burlington Free Press. The story, entitled “Biography Chronicles Former Gov. Phil Hoff’s Impact,” describes the background of a new biography, “Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State” [...]

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Ten People You May Not Know Were Lawyers

December 17, 2011

Here is a change of pace: A Guest Post from Holly Kearny– “Everyone knows law school isn’t easy, and becoming a practicing attorney can be just as hard. But did you also know that there are many people who used a career as an attorney as a stepping stone to bigger and better things? To [...]

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In US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen, The Third Circuit Says Equitable Defenses Limit The Subrogation Rights of ERISA Plans

November 30, 2011

A new case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit,  US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen, ___ F.3d ___, 2011 WL 5557411(3d Cir. Nov. 16, 2011), represents a bright spot on the otherwise rather bleak horizon for injured plaintiffs trying to negotiate medical liens asserted by ERISA welfare benefit health plans. During [...]

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Practical Legal Education and Access to Justice: Problems That Can Help Solve Each Other

November 28, 2011

The point of this series of posts is simply this. We have a huge access to justice problem. We also have a serious problem with legal education: it simply doesn’t actually prepare students to practice law. If every problem is an opportunity, together these problems can solve, at least to a large extent, one another. [...]

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Are Law Schools About To Start Teaching Law Students How To Practice Law?

November 20, 2011

My last five posts have been on the same topic: the need to change legal education to add enough practical education to permit law students to start practice at a basically competent level, and by doing so allow some of them improve access to justice by serving the needs of low and middle income clients. [...]

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What’s Legal Education Got To Do With Access to Justice?

November 4, 2011

Sorry for the long gap since my last post. The real life of my own practice of law was about as busy last month as it’s ever been, and I just could not get back to this series of posts. So, for those you who were reading along, here is the Cliff Notes recap. My [...]

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Why Don’t American Law Schools Teach Law Students How to Practice Law?

September 29, 2011

So if as my last post, “Where Should Lawyers Learn How To Practice” suggests, we know how to teach law students to practice law, why aren’t American law schools doing it with every student on a routine basis? I believe there are two reasons: First, it is a more expensive delivery model than the standard [...]

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Where Should Lawyers Learn How to Practice?

September 28, 2011

Traditionally, young lawyers received training in the skills needed to practice law in law firms. But today, for most law graduates, that training is hard to come by. Many young lawyers just can’t find jobs. When they can, fewer and fewer firms have time to spend on training. Even at large firms, clients are refusing [...]

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Law School: Necessary, But Not Sufficient

September 27, 2011

Last June, in San Diego, I conducted my final in-person meeting as Chair of the ABA Delivery of Legal Services Committee. Committee member Luz Herrera, arranged to have our meeting hosted at the Thomas Jefferson Law School, where she is a member of the faculty. The Law School was a gracious host, and the Dean, [...]

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Delivery of Legal Services: An Unfinished Agenda

September 8, 2011

The close of the American Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in Toronto last month brought with it the end of my service as the Chair of the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. The Committee’s mandate is to “to improve access to lawyers and legal services for those of moderate incomes – those [...]

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