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ABOUT US |
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| RANT, APOLOGIA AND INTRO: | |
| This is a first for me, having an "About Us" page, so indulge me while I rant about finally getting around to fooling with nonsense like this. This is a "first" because I have not had an "About Us" page in all the years employlaw.com has been on the Web [since 1995-1996.] Guess 12 years into having employlaw.com online I am a little late for the online festa. | |
| Based on my "meh" attitude about all this, bear with me as I treat this "About Us" page as my personal sandbox. | |
| SOME USELESS BACKGROUND [or as we say in law, "foundation"]: | |
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When I first started working in lawyers' offices I always thought it a bit much for lawyers to display framed diplomas, certificates and other fancy looking stuff. Many lawyers mounted their achievements in expensive looking frames, much like a hunter would mount an elk on the wall. In addition to bragging about one's accomplishments, I suspect that lawyers thought such stuff implied one's intelligence, abilities and legal prowess. But from what I could tell over the years, the fancier a certificate looked, the more of a false advertiser the attorney appeared to be. In other words, such lawyers were the dullest pencils in the box. |
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| So I never have had diplomas, certificates and awards plastered on the plaster. I do confess that one time I became delusional and got caught up in feelings of accomplishment and greatness. I had four snappy diplomas and certificates professionally framed ["mounted"], and at great expense mind you. What a waste of money because I eventually came to my senses and never put them up on the wall. They sat in a cabinet and then eventually were relegated to my basement, which many esteemed scientists are using to study the black hole phenomena. | |
| WHY NO "ABOUT US" PAGE: | |
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My policy about not showing off or
bragging has extended to employlaw.com. When I designed employlaw.com in
1995 an "about us" page was NEVER in the works and since that
time I have NEVER uploaded a page that talked about myself nor my
accomplishments. I have always said there's no need to take up critical web pages with talk about victories, accomplishments, a picture of my office, the building and perhaps our mugs against a backdrop of outdated leather law books. I have always adhered to the golden rules of website development [at least to me they are golden rules.] 1) Readers want content, not fluff. 2) As I always tell people [students, clients, seminar attendees] a judge and jury make decisions based on evidence, the law and the merits of a position or claim. A fancy pants, slick website, office building, or certificates on the wall won't be taken into account in the courtroom. Yes, one needs to look sharp and dress for the type of jury one is in front of, but juries are generally prohibited from visiting a lawyer's website to see what it and the lawyer is all about. 3) Bragging about past cases or results are akin to giving prospective clients false hope and in my opinion may constitute false advertising. Truth is, unless a lawyer can guarantee the exact same outcome or similar results of another case, the lawyer or law firm has no business telling people "here is what I achieved on a different case." And it's a disservice to brag about results and then post in fine print [that few people can see, read or understand] that "your results will differ." |
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| PERMIT ME TO BE MORE BLUNT: | |
| Unless a lawyer looks like this... |  |
| Or operates out of here... | |
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Then what's the point of all the fluff? In my opinion, lawyers are like Hollywood actors and directors, a lawyer is only as good as the result he or she will obtain on YOUR CASE [just like in Hollywood where one is ultimately judged on his or her premiering movie, not past accomplishments.] Unless the lawyer can guarantee the same result on your case [only moron lawyers predict case outcomes], he or she should NOT be trumpeting achievements or results from another case because saying "look what I did on this other case" is an injustice and false advertising. Similarly, showing off one's certificates, diplomas, or pictures of the office don't say squat about the lawyer's abilities to solve a client's problems. What counts is a lawyer's ability to help people out of a pickle. |
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ON WITH THE SHOW |
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| PICTURE: | |
| For any number of reasons lots of lawyers post pics of themselves on their websites. Come to think of it, lots of businesses do that too. I guess there's some conventional wisdomers out there who preach that it's a dandy practice. As a matter of personal preference I don't like it. But who am I to question swell ideas. If it's good enough for Arnold on his website, it's... you know the rest of the saying. So here you go. | |
| Unlike many people posting pics that are dated 20 years or when they were 50 pounds lighter, this pic was taken recently. Yes, I look pissed off, but I have a lousy smile and when expressionless I look mean or pissed off. I've dealt with it, so you can too. | |
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| SCHOOLS: | |
| University of California at Berkeley: Law/Society/Political Science. | |
| PRACTICE EMPHASIS | |
| Competitive business litigation; non-compete agreements, employment law with emphasis on discrimination, wage claims, wrongful termination, severance and intellectual property issues. | |
| OTHER STUFF | |
| Teach law and college students the most important subjects: legal writing, civil procedure, civil litigation/trials, and electronic litigation. | |
| I have a pilot's license and used to own a plane. [That sounds impressive. woo hoo!] | |
| I have two fur bearing creatures, aka cats. I clean the litter box twice daily. Surely that shows I'm responsible. | |
| Hobby - building electric vehicles. Here is my latest, called "The Player" since it attracts lots of attention. Someday hope to go national with it | |
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| THE OBLIGATORY PANORAMA OF MY LAST OFFICE |
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| LOCATION |
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The Business Litigation Group,
Employlaw.com and Michael Mortimer are located in beautiful San Francisco. |
