Ancient American cars and ubiquitous posters featuring Che Guevara—these were among many reminders of the foreign and the familiar MSBA members encountered on their visit to Cuba. The billboard reads, “We see you each day … pure as a child or as a pure man, Che Commander, friend” Viewed through the lens of another country’s>>>
When the Grass Turns Brown: Prosecuting Marijuana Mixtures in Minnesota
. “A felony?” Mary Jane Baker exclaimed. “A felony? Possession of marijuana brownies is a felony?” “Ms. Baker, please stay calm,” Minnesota Peace Officer Tom Friendly said. “I need to make a phone call to the county attorney to sort this out.” Ms. Baker stood in shock. The last thing she expected to hear this morning was>>>
Lore in the Law: A Short Case for the Colorful Brief
Caress the detail, the divine detail. —Vladimir Nabokov The written word is not a peculiarity of the law, but it is an obsession. Being foremost in the habit of multiplying synonyms and compounding problems by the generation of their words, lawyers unsurprisingly have amassed vast bodies of literature on the topic of legal writing. >>>
The Judge Looks Bored: How to Keep the Judge Interested
For many attorneys, trying a case is one of the most engaging and stimulating experiences of their career. Why then do judges and juries look bored? And how can the attorney overcome such boredom without being inappropriate? It happens in almost every trial: You look up from your notes and the judge looks bored. You know it is not a good>>>
Issues in Joint Custody & Shared Parenting: Lessons from Australia
Separating parents often want to share physical custody of their children and these disputes can be fraught with high conflict. Australia’s and other jurisdictions’ recent experience setting guidelines for shared custody is cautionary as regards enacting a legislative presumption of joint physical custody and instructive in identifying>>>
How Interesting … Statutory Interest on Awards, Verdicts, Judgments, and Debts in Minnesota
In an economy where margins are thin and the average return on investment continues to scuffle, the statutory interest rates for awards, verdicts, debts, and judgments are an increasingly important consideration for attorneys and their clients. The interest rates are higher than one might think, but the statutes and cases governing interest are>>>
When Crisis Strikes Law Firms: What to Do, What to Say
Law firms, relying as they do on public trust and the confidence of clients, have every incentive to act when a crisis threatens to damage their reputation and relationships. Advance planning makes sense: an appropriate response in one instance may be disastrous in another. In 2007, at a prestigious East Coast law firm, a secretary reports to>>>
Arbitration Agreements & Collective Action: The Consumer, the Class, and the FAA
The Supreme Court’s Concepcion decision has brought significant clarification to a turbulent area of competing policy considerations involving agreements to arbitrate, but questions remain regarding just where the balance should be struck between favoring arbitration and protecting consumers. When federal policy (embodied in the Federal>>>
Employee Retaliation Claims
Retaliation claims in the workplace have gained prominence in recent years at both federal and state court levels. While recent federal rulings have tended to favor employees, Minnesota state court decisions have treated retaliation claims more skeptically. As the United States Supreme Court returned to work last month to begin its 2011-12>>>
Incomplete Repairs: New Remedies for Disputes in Residential Construction
Minnesota’s newest Notice and Opportunity to Repair Law offers remedies to help homeowners and homebuilders resolve their construction-related disputes without litigation but additional changes to the law are needed before the repairs to the previous statute can be considered complete. Not only is a family’s home its “castle,” it is>>>
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