Just recently the family and I loaded up the Family Truckster and headed north past Richmond, Washington (which some in my family refer to as "Occupied Virginia"), Philadelphia, New York, and finally to Old Lyme, Connecticut to visit for a few weeks, members of my wife's family. From the time we left my driveway to […]
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What to Wear
I'm getting ready for a jury trial next week, and one of the pre-trial steps I take is getting the client prepared. You'd think that this would primarily be going over the facts of her case and the strategy involved, and you'd be right, but one aspect of that is her presentation in front of […]
There is a Lawyer in My Mailbox!
If you have ever been in a car accident in North Carolina, you may have been shocked at the amount of mail you suddenly get. One of my clients recently got into an accident and brought into my office stacks of letters and documents from attorneys, some hundreds of miles away, asking to represent her […]
UPDATED: The $10,000 Question
I was reading in the local newspaper about a lawsuit recently filed. It was a slow news day, and this particular suit had an interesting twist on a regular car accident case, so somebody thought it might make a good story. The reporter was fairly accurate, especially when she couldn't get either side to talk, […]
The Reason an English King wanted to “Kill all the Lawyers.”
John Adams–MassachusettsSamuel Chase–MarylandAbraham Clark–New JerseyWilliam Ellery–Rhode IslandThomas Heyward Jr.–South CarolinaWilliam Hooper–North CarolinaFrancis Hopkinson–New JerseySamuel Huntington–ConnecticutThomas Jefferson–VirginiaThomas Lynch Jr.–South CarolinaThomas McKean–DelawareWilliam Paca–MarylandRobert Treat Paine–MassachusettsJohn Penn–North CarolinaGeorge Read–DelawareGeorge Ross–PennsylvaniaEdward Rutledge–South CarolinaRoger Sherman–ConnecticutJames Smith–PennsylvaniaRichard Stockton–New JerseyThomas Stone–MarylandGeorge Walton–GeorgiaJames Wilson–PennsylvaniaOliver Wolcott–ConnecticutGeorge Wythe–Virginia 25 out of 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence were lawyers. –Bradley A. Coxe is a […]
Lien on Me
Image by Toban Black via Flickr There are several different types of liens in the law. Generally, a lien is the right that is created by law, or sometimes by express contract, to retain lawful possession of property of another under that person fulfills a legal duty to the person holding the lien. A mortgage […]
The best way to reduce medical malpractice lawsuits
The North Carolina Medical Board has made positive steps in the past few years to better regulate and discipline doctors in the state. However, a new bill in the North Carolina Senate is making it harder for the Medical Board to regulate licensed medical doctors. Among other things, it requires a panel, rather than a […]
I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. An earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN’T MY FAULT!
The North Carolina Legislature is set to debate a new bill to end contributory negligence and adopt the Uniform Apportionment of Tort Responsibility Act This is a pretty big deal in North Carolina and will impact a lot of people in years and decades to come and its flying under the radar of most […]
Disclaimer
Although a response is provided to the specific question, there may be other facts and law relevant to the issue. The questioner should not base any decision on the answer and specifically understands and agrees that no client-lawyer relationship has been established between Bradley A. Coxe or Hodges & Coxe PC and the inquirer.
Smile
Image by Wolfiewolf via Flickr The Raleigh News and Observer has reported a “man bites dog” story. A dental patient is complaining that her dentist told her she needed an expensive dental treatment that a later dentist said was unnecessary. However, it is not the patient suing the dentist, but rather the dentist suing the […]
Show Me.
An experienced trial lawyer once told me “Tell me and I will listen, but SHOW me and I will understand.” This was his philosophy in presenting cases to juries and I think it has even more significance today where TV causes juries to expect CSI magic. The above video is an entertaining 3d recreation […]
Trials and Tweets
Image via CrunchBase Here is an interesting article on how the "Information Age" is impacting jury trials. The article focuses on a New York case that was thrown out when it was admitted by eight (and that's out of twelve) jurors were conducting Google searches, Wikipedia searches, and using other Internet resources to discover facts […]
Back to the Future
Image via Wikipedia I wrote earlier about the ways people find attorneys. Historically, for doctors and lawyers and other professionals, personal referrals and word of mouth was the best way for people to find lawyers, and lawyers to find clients. There may have been just one or two lawyers in town and everybody knew who […]
How to Fire a Lawyer
I’ve previously written about how to hire a lawyer, so I thought I’d write a little on how to fire a lawyer. First, take a look at your fee agreement you signed with your lawyer. It may have some language on what to do if you want to terminate the relationship. Generally, a client (or […]
How to Hire a Lawyer
Despite what certain low forms of legal humor might lead you to believe, Lawyers are people. As a result there are good lawyers and even some bad lawyers. Most lawyers are good at parts of their profession and “need improvement” in other areas. You must have a large amount of trust in your lawyer for […]
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
You might think that a recession and downturn in the economy have nothing to do with car and motorcycle accidents. After all, you have to stop at a red light and yield to oncoming traffic whether or not you have money in your bank account. However, while a driver who is cutting back on expenses […]
Small Claims Court Hearings
I spent some time in small claims court the other day on a minor collections matter. The county where I attended had all the people with cases in one courtroom and the magistrate heard everybody one case at a time. Therefore, I was able to see a few cases in front of the magistrate. […]
Deny, Delay, and Defend
The American Association For Justice has released a report on the top ten worst insurance companies in America. This is a fairly long document but worth a read, especially if you are insured by one of these companies. I have had several cases against persons insured by State Farm and Allstate. Allstate in particular gives offers […]
Have a Happy, Glad, Delighted, Cheerful New Year!
I don’t usually link to or reference “lawyer jokes” even though you will find plenty of lawyers who do. The typical joke usually has the basis of the lawyer being greedy and parasitic. I don’t think that is a fair picture of my profession and I won’t pass along humor that strengthens that stereotype. […]
Myth v. Reality in the McDonald’s Coffee Cup Case
After my last post and the video that followed, I got a few follow-up responses about the infamous “McDonald’s coffee” case that the video touched on. I thought I’d give you a little bit more of the facts: Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was in the passenger seat of her grandson's car when […]