LEX FUGIT

GUEST POSTER (SORT OF)-STEPHEN LEUCHTMAN

As a new member of the State Bar of Michigan's Senior Lawyers Section, I have access to the Section's listserv.

As of the end of March, 2021, the main topics of discussion are COVID 19/Masks/Restrictions and the 2020 Election.

However, there are some gems to be found among the posts.  This one was found in a post from attorney Stephen Leuchtman.  I had an interesting case with Steve after I went to the defense side.  I thought Steve was a life-long plaintiff lawyer, but I was interested to learn that he started as a defense lawyer.

This story, about an auto negligence trial, is posted here with Steve's permission:

"I started out doing insurance defense work; and in the early 70s, I tried a case against the late Al Lopatin.  Al's client had a laminectomy two years after a car accident, and he got a neighborhood general practitioner to testify that the two were related.  To counter this, I called Dr. George Pendy--the physician who actually did the surgery--to testify that the car accident had nothing to do with the plaintiff's disc pathology.  Pendy was prominent.  He was the chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Harper-Grace.  On cross-examination, Al (who was a master of feigned righteous indignation) asked Pendy if he was really saying that the nameless doctor, who attended Johns Hopkins Medical School and was a longstanding practitioner in his community didn't know what he was talking about.  Pendy calmly replied, 'I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.  I don't know what he's talking about.'"

VISITING THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD

On Friday, March 12, 2021, I did something many older folks do from time to time.  I took a drive through the old neighborhood, in this case the northeast corner of Woodward and Jefferson in Detroit, pictured above.  Now called the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (CAYMC), in the old days it was the City-County Building, known as  "the CCB".  Those initials might still be edged in the glass of the entry doors.

I timed my trip for  a Friday morning, to coincide with the time which, for decades, that weekly festival known as Wayne County Circuit Court motion day, was celebrated. Because of an early conference call, I did not arrive until 9:45am, a time when one would often meet a Wayne Circuit judge or two entering the building for their 8:30 motion call.

The picture above was not taken on March 12, but it does accurately depict the level of activity around the building that morning. I could have parked in front of the building on the Jefferson side, something I was never able to do in 40 years of practice.

Usually, if I arrived at 9:45, the closest parking would be on a surface lot along Brush near Jacobys.  "Hey, Boss, how long you gonna be here, Boss?  Ten Dollars, Boss.  Park over there, Boss. No, not there, idiot."

Very peaceful that morning.  Friday morning at Wayne County could be called many things.  Peaceful should not be one of them.  I am afraid when the pandemic ends, Friday mornings will never be the same.  No more packed elevators.  No more using the stairs to get from the 9th floor to the 16th because of the packed elevators.  No more waiting for your opponent until you became the last  motion on the docket.  No more resolving motions and cases in the stairwells.  Zoom hearings, or still worse, no hearings will be the normal forever.  Sad.

My March 12 nostalgia tour did not end with the trip downtown.  Later on a took a walk past the building shown below, a practice I have visited as both a plaintiff lawyer and defense lawyer. Ah, me.

 

PUTZ BY NAME, NOW PUTZ BY NATURE?

This is not meant to be the first post in a journal of my new (partially) retired life.  

Less than 2 weeks in, no patterns have emerged.  I am still trying to organize my new professional and personal life.  I haven't finished incorporating my work office stuff into my home office to make my "new" home/work office.  I am still shifting various accounts from work to personal, with all the attendant frustrations that come with that process.

I haven't sent out my new professional announcements yet.  Next week I hope.  

I did spend the first week of retirement doing things that I couldn't do on someone else's M-F, 9-5 schedule.  Those appointments, and being a Wayne County Case Evaluator took up the whole week.

It was not until Monday, March 8, that I woke up with nowhere particular to be.  Kept real busy, registering 17,500 steps on the old FitBit.  But, my plan for the day, such as it was, became my first experience in "putzing" around.  It was fun.  It was productive and I did set my own schedule.  All refreshing for me.  But, back to more organized endeavors next Monday.

Funny, this is the first time the word "putz" could be applied to me as a verb.  Putz, as a noun, has been attached to me plenty of times.

For my very literate readers, such as there may be, I always try to incorporate a graphic or picture to break up the dull verbiage.

With the graphic above, I have truly struck gold, as the words "putz" and "tool" have been applied to me professionally.

Learn more about Putz Tools here. 

I figure the company deserves a plug.  If they have the courage to name their company Putz Tools, then they are pretty confident in their products.  

Kind of reminds me of a guy I used to work with that introduced himself on the record as "Mr. Wonderful".

March 15--back to work.