LEX FUGIT

LEX FUGIT?

 Some time ago I joined the ranks of what people might politely call, "seasoned attorneys".  While I enjoy working now more than I have in 20 years, I find that a number of attorneys and judges of my vintage, have left the racket, I mean practice. Some are happily retired; some not so much. Others have left for health reasons and others, sadly, have passed away.  I miss them all; admittedly, some more than others.

 

Lex Fugit is a made up Latin phrase--Lex for law, and Fugit as in Tempus (time) Fugit (flies). The site is intended to be a place to preserve memories of the  legal scene in Michigan, with the emphasis on the Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Genesee County Courts, where I have had the most experience.

 

After a generation in the practice, I find that I  have  war stories for almost every occasion. I'd like to share my stories of the practice and the people who have made it so memorable. And, I hope that readers will share their stories  as well. The lawyers and the practice deserves to be remembered.

 

Lawyer's stories, tales, anecdotes, and reminiscences, are welcome and encouraged.  Please submit to me at mbutler@lmdlaw.com.  I may withhold names of characters involved, if I think it necessary.  I have done so with a few of my own stories that appear here.

 

And, finally what blog/website would be complete without a plug for the author's facilitation/mediation business?

 

As readers of this blog will learn, I am not real big on the self-promotion industry, with its various awards and LinkedIn posts.  But, I am also aware that when considering the appointment of a mediator, there is a certain "default" list of names that comes immediately to mind.  I have the same list for my litigation cases.  People tend to forget other mediators. 

 

So, as I attempt to get on that "default" list, I would like to point out that I have extensive litigation experience representing parties on both sides of the "v".  And, as we enter the "Brave New World" of a new No-Fault Act and a new set of Court Rules, I have both written and made presentations concerning both.  I don't think those on the "default" list can say that.  End of self-promotion.

 

 My CV and mediation procedures can be found here.

 

To steal the closing line of one of my heroes, the late Judge Kaye Tertzag:  "Be well."

 

Mike Butler (734-776-0231)

THE LATEST LAUREL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

 

Shown above is but the most recently bestowed token celebrating a career of sterling achievement, honors, and courtroom victories without number.  Just one more memorial of the thanks of a grateful nation, and acquired at a very reasonable, one time only charge.

Those who have seen my business signature block, shown below, are familiar with my status as a Junior G Man as well an official of the following:

The Radio Orphan Annie Secret Society;

The Buck Rogers Space Scouts;

The Dick Tracy Secret Service Patrol (wherein I am also the Inspector General).

.

You can keep your Super Lawyers, Lawyers of Distinction, and your Premier Lawyers of America.  A bona fide commissioned officer in Buck Rogers Space Scouts finds himself in some pretty exclusive company these days.

Much like the de luxe, upgraded plaques available from the "pay to play" lawyer honor societies (see below), I opted for an enhanced Junior G coffee mug.  Black handle and mug interior.  After all, when you are a board member of such an august organization, you deserve to pay for the very best.

The mug will be displayed proudly on my office credenza between my Buhl Bar shot glass and my Knights of Pythias coffee creamer.

 

 

CARTOONS FOR SEASONED PROFESSIONALS 1

 

A.  FOR LAWYERS AND OTHERS

 

 

B.  AGAIN.......

 

 

C.  FOR ALL LAWYERS OF ALL AGES

 

FEEDING THE HUMBLEBRAG BEAST

I do have several media accounts, but I really don't pretend to understand them .  For instance:

My Instagram account (4 years):  Never posted anything.

My Twitter account (7 years): 4 original Tweets-maybe.  I'll never make it in politics.

LinkedIn (6 years): 2 total posts/shares, which I don't think I can find on my "page" or whatever they call it.

Facebook Page (11 years):  Very few personal posts.  No politics. No pictures of my food.  No family business shared.

The one exception to this level of activity is a Detroit Catholic Schools Group page I moderate on Facebook.  Number of members?  Humility forbids. And if there is a way of measuring "hits" I haven't been interested enough to find out.

LinkedIn is supposed to be the social media platform for professionals.  It is (or maybe has become)not a business resource, but a nauseating morass of shameless self congratulation and self promotion.

The 2 most common words on LinkedIn:  Humbled and Honored.  And the bar for LinkedIn's "humblebrag" accomplishments is set pretty low.

As to self-promotion, and here I kid you not (as Jack Paar used to say), a young lawyer of my very limited acquaintance, last week posted a redacted copy of an arbitration award he obtained when he sued a tenant on behalf of a landlord for the full unexpired future term of a leased property the tenant had vacated during COVID.  He invited people to contact him so he could do the same for them.  Thanks for pitching in during the crisis, chief.

LinkedIn is not set up the same as Facebook.  It is hard to find someone's past posts unless you are really interested in finding them, and who is?

So, to keep yourself in the forefront on LinkedIn, you have to post a lot.  Under such conditions, keeping the Humblebrag Beast that is LinkedIn, fed can be a challenge.

I am here to help.  These are accomplishments from my own recent experience.  Please feel free to use:

SEEMS LIKE NEW OLD TIMES

Today was the first installment of the 2020 MAJ No-Fault Institute.  The first virtual institute in the event's long history.  Shown above is the end of session Q&A with most of the day's panelists.

I am a member of the MAJ (Michigan Association for Justice), though with limited privileges (though not similarly limited  dues), because most of my work is on the defense side.  My 25 years as a plaintiff lawyer cuts no ice.

As always, the presentation and materials were excellent.  As we are all getting used to the phase in of the new Michigan No-Fault Act, the insights of the presenters were especially impressive.

I have attended many of these institutes, and I miss the networking for sure.  However, today, I was able to sit next to my dog Rosco, and we both enjoyed that.  He got in for free-special Senior K9 rate for dogs who have never done defense work.

The benefits of networking do have their limits.  At last year's institute, my buddy Chris Hastings greeted me and asked if I was there looking for information to use against "us".  I know he meant that in fun.  Chris is a great guy, and he was one of a select group (Chris, Wayne Miller, shown above, Mark Sucher, Stan Feldman and I) who together attended a 3 Stooges festival at the Redford Theater several years back.  Thereafter we went to Morton's Steakhouse in Southfield (no longer open) for drinks.  Oddly, no other festival attendees showed up at Mortons.  I assume most went back to their respective mothers' basements.

We were all plaintiff lawyers at the time, so Wayne suggested a parlor game of sorts.  We were each to name the biggest defense lawyer a**h*** we had ever encountered.  Interesting subject, but the game ended in less than 30 seconds when we all picked the same guy.

I know I have mentioned this elsewhere, but it bears repeating.  Wayne Miller's favorite Stooge is Shemp Howard!  My God, you wonder how the man has the wit to find his way to court.  Remember court?

 

SERIOUS (IMPAIRMENT) DISCUS-SION

OR-NO LONGER ADROIT AT QUOITS

 

This post recalls on of the more interesting, but probably not one of the most ingenious attempts Michigan's plaintiff PI lawyers employed to meet our Supreme Court's periodic pronouncements on what a "serious impairment of a body function" meant under the Michigan No-Fault Act.

This post is not meant to be a lesson in Michigan legal history.  But given the volume of auto accident litigation, what is, or is not, a serious impairment has been very important to the citizens of this state, and its practicing lawyers.

Although the term "serious impairment" is found in the No-Fault statute, MCLA 500.3135, the term has received radically different interpretations by our Courts over the years.  Seasoned practitioners will remember the cases: Cassidy v McGovern, DiFranco v Pickard, Kreiner v Fischer, and McCormick v Carrier, that defined succeeding eras of auto neg litigation.

During the time the Kreiner case made it more difficult to prove an injury seriously affected a person's lifestyle, so as to meet the threshold, an enterprising plaintiff lawyer developed "The List"-a comprehensive list of activities, the performance of which might be affected by an auto accident related injury.

"The List" was circulated far and wide.  It was sent to clients to fill out, sign and return to their attorneys.  

Now the fun came with how the clients were instructed to complete the form, and what was done with that signed form once it was sent back to the lawyer.

If I remember correctly, the form which my firm used, merely told the client to circle the items he/she could not do after the accident, along with any additional comments the client might wish to include.  

One of the primary uses of "The List" was that it was a signed, and presumably comprehensive statement by the client of his her restrictions after the accident.  As such, it did found itself being attached, perhaps unwisely, to discovery answers.  

The List is still in use, but in modified form.  So, I will not reprint it here.  In the revised form, the client is told to circle only the items the client could do before and are restricted in doing after.  And the form is not used in litigation, but merely as an information gathering tool for the attorney.

That is wise.  While I applaud "The List's" developers for attempting to be comprehensive, I also suspect "The List" was composed during several liquor infused sessions.

For instance, in the "Sports, Recreation and Hobbies" section, the following are listed, among the 80 options:

High jumping
Discus throwing
Javelin throwing

 

LEX FUGIT GUILD UPDATE

COVID 19 has essentially shut down the courts of southeast Michigan, certainly as practitioners knew them, since mid-March, 2020.  

This website was initially designed to reminisce about the practice of law in the Detroit area over the last 30-40 years.  Back in the days when Wayne County Circuit Court had judges in 3 separate buildings downtown (not counting Frank Murphy-Recorder's Court was a separate entity back then).  Motion day on Friday could take you to the CCB-now the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, the Lafayette Building-now demolished, and the Old County Building-since remodeled, but now vacant.

I haven't been inside the Circuit Courthouses of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw or Genesee (not to mention Kent, Newaygo and Isabella, among other), since before March 1.  

While I have been a remote case evaluator, mediator, and litigant many times since the shutdown, my only in person appearance since mid-March was in fashionable Huron County (Bad Axe) where the only Circuit judge's entire court room was turned over to the case evaluation panel, with evaluators and litigants equally distributed among counsel tables, court reporter station, jury box and audience.  The judge wasn't around-he's no fool.

I now find I miss the cattle call of motion day in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb, though I can't say I miss jamming passengers like sardines into elevators on the first floor of the CCB.  On those days I learned Newton's 4th Law of Physics-that now matter how tightly people are packed into an elevator on the first floor, for every single passenger that exits on an upper floor, 2 more can get on.  Without limitation.

Lawyers connect and network in the courthouse, its courtrooms, its hallways and its stairwells(a branch office for many attorneys).  And its case evaluation tribunals.  Those networks are "off the air" at the moment-and a very long moment it has become.

SUPER LAWYER

"And just wait until you see the magazine ad I paid for, the plaque I paid for, and the logo on my signature block (that I paid for).  And my many self effacing LinkedIn posts."

LEX FUGIT-NICHOLAS MANIKAS

 

THE NOBLEST ROMAN OF THEM ALL

 

The subtitle of this post is based on the Latin cadence of Nick's first and last name.  Over the 25 years I knew Nick, a couple of times I used the greeting:  "Hail, Nicholas Manikas, Noblest Roman of them all."  Pretty weak humor, even for me.  I gave it up quickly.

But, it is fitting to bring the title out of mothballs right now.

With Nick's sudden death on September 22, 2020, the Guild of Lawyers lost one of its best.

Nick and I had several cases together over the years, starting back when he was a defense attorney with Gary Caravas, and I was a plaintiff lawyer with Bernstein and Bernstein (not Sam).  Nick went on to work with Citizens' house counsel. 

Coincidentally, we both switched sides of the "v" in 2015. I left Bernstein and Bernstein, and he joined the Sam Bernstein law firm.

My office resolved a case with Nick the week before his death.  It wasn't my case, but I did get to appear at a witness deposition with Nick in early 2020, before COVID 19 changed everybody's professional and personal lives.

Even though we were now on opposite opposite sides, it was like old times.  Nick always had a way of conveying, without saying, that he knew more than he was letting on.  Also, and I think you can see this in the picture, left, he could let you know, with a look, that he knew you were full of (fill in the blank), but that it was all right, because you were doing your job.

Nick looked 15 years younger than his age, and this was perhaps another reason why his sudden death came as such a shock.  Nick would certainly keep on going when his contemporaries were in rocking chairs and cardigans, wouldn't he?

Life continues to prove, by compelling evidence, that the future is promised to no one.

Nick's memorial was on October 1, at the EH Peters Funeral Home in Grosse Pointe Woods.  It was the first such service I have attended since COVID.  I waited in line outside for about 45 minutes.  Fortunately, the Peters funeral home had a long covered overhang in front of the building.  It helped shield us from the rain, thunder and even a bolt or two of lightning.

All visitors wore masks and only 10 or so were allowed in the building at a time.  I don't know Mrs. Manikas, or Nick's sons, so it was difficult to express my condolences.  The certainly wasn't an opportunity to share Manikas stories with other friends and acquaintances.  There should have been drinks and big cigars.  I left, glad that I came, but not feeling that I hadn't adequately paid my respects to the man.

Since "court" in the traditional sense, stopped convening 7 months ago, the Guild of Lawyers has lost several members.  Our jungle telegraph-the courthouse hallways, has been shut down.  And if we hear the news of someone's passing in time to attend the memorial, if any, the gathering does not do the job of helping us send off a member of the brotherhood.

So, when the Lex Fugit Podcast finally gets going, I think one of the first things I will propose is an annual party.  Attorneys, spouses, significant others, kids, friends will be welcome.  No business or self promotion, no mention of LinkendIn profiles, Instagram, Twitter, FB accounts, billboards, TV or radio ads, or sponsorships of sports teams, broadcasts, weather, sunrise and/or sunset. 

Just members of the Craft celebrating friendships and shared experience.  No discussion of courtroom wins, unless you include your courtroom losses as well.

Before it is too late.  Because, before we realize, it will be.

Nick would like an event like that.

OMNES AVE MANIKAS!!

GOOD LORD-EVEN THE RED MASS COMES BACK TO LINKEDIN SELF PROMOTION

Disclaimer--I love the Red Mass put on by UDM Law School at Sts. Peter and Paul Church on Jefferson.  The LinkedIn self-promotion criticism is not about the UDM Red Mass.

The 2020 edition of the Red Mass, sponsored by the University of Detroit Mercy Law School took place on Tuesday, September 22.  It is the oldest, continuous event of its kind in the US.

It was a livestream event this year due to COVID 19.  Not sure how well it was publicized.  I did not have notice of it before the event, though I am on more legal and Catholic mailing lists than most (Catholic Lawyers Society, MAJ, MDTC, Detroit Bar Association, Michigan Bar, the Detroit Catholic, AOD, Knights of Equity, Knights of Columbus, Wayne State Law School among others).  

I learned of the event, after the fact, on LinkedIn, of all places.  The poster child for the Deadly Sin of Pride.

Seeing my friend, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Mike Riordan, masked, in the bottom picture, I thought I'd yank his chain and asked how many additional organizations I needed to join to be notified of this event.  He did respond with a link to a livestream recording of the Mass, which can be found here .

And a promise to included on the UDM Law School (not my alma mater) mailing list for the event next year.

I did poke around LinkedIn to see if the Red Mass was advertised anywhere on the platform.  I did not find any announcement under the #RedMass search term, but I did find exhibit:

A nauseating instance of self-congratulatory, self-promotion which is the hallmark of LinkedIn.

Mr. TJ Shope , features a picture of himself reading "an" intercession at the Archdiocese of Phoenix Red Mass, an event in which Bishop Olmstead had a minor role (compared to Mr. Shope).   I say this because while Mr Shope is shown front and center, in hi def, all other participants, including the Bish and various other clerics, are shown in the background, through a soft focus filter,  to emphasize their comparative importance-at least in relation to Mr. Shope.

And lest we forget, Mr. Shope has now performed this service (at this service) for the 8th time.  While he thanks both the Bishop and the Archdiocese of Phoenix for the invitation, it is clear to me that they should be thanking him for deigning to turn the light of his countenance unto this event.

Mr. Shope's profile picture shows him in a cowboy hat.  Wah-Hoo!!!

For those not familiar with the Catholic Mass, there are generally 7 or 8 intentions/intercessions in the Prayer of the Faithful after the priest's homily(sermon).  Other civilian participants would include a couple of lectors (scripture readers), a commentator (emcee) and 8 or so EMEs (Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist-Communion Giver Outers).  So, Mr. Shope was not the only act on the bill.

But let me add my congratulations to his own.

Which reminds me of a story-most things do. It is legal and Catholic related, but was not featured on LinkedIn.

For a very short time in 2017, I was president of the Catholic Lawyers Society of Detroit.  The reigning Prez had to leave town quickly to take up a Social Security judgeship appointment in Pennsylvania.  Memory is a bit fuzzy but I think the VP at the time(if any) was unwilling or unable to take on the post.  As I was trying to put together the only fundraiser in years, I "volunteered" to fill the post on an interim basis.  

The fundraiser was a performance of "Late Nite Catechism" (a tremendous one woman show), preceded by a Mass.  the venue was my alma mater, Catholic Central High School.

My Board of Directors turned out to be less help than I would have liked, and I had to procure the elements of the set, put it up and tear it down without assistance.  At the Mass, I served as a lector and EME, for want of volunteers.  We did without a commentator.  The event was set on a Saturday night, so the Mass fulfilled the Sunday obligation.

It was a wonderful event, taking about 10 hours of my Saturday.  I set a record for steps on my FitBit that I have not come close to since.

PRODUCTIVITY

 

 

"I spent so much time shopping for productivity tools that I forgot to work.

....doing stuff like writing self-promotional material for my LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts.  And then writing checks to pay for honors bestowed on me by various attorney recognition websites.  The work never ends."