Alex Davis: Law in Louisville

Trial lawyers drink whiskey and watch Ozark

2018-09-13T08:09:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a revelation while drinking bourbon and watching an episode of Ozark. To be a great lawyer, you can't just think and react. You have to act first. You have to play offense.

Here's what I mean. Marty Byrde, the financial planner played by Jason Bateman in the Netflix series, is crafty and smart. But he gets criticized for thinking too much, and not taking action. In this particular episode, his wife burns a field of poppies that will be turned into opium. Byrde agonizes over what to do with the field, but his wife ultimately takes action. Her decision has consequences, but she arguably saves the day.

Put another way, trial lawyers drink whiskey and try cases while litigators drink wine and take depositions. Those aren't my words. They belong to a South Dakota state court judge. The full story is here, but the general idea is to avoid getting bogged down with unnecessary motions and formulas. The law is filled with rules and structure. The most successful attorneys follow the rules, but they're also flexible and they'll call an audible when the circumstances require it.

I'm still learning to balance this stuff. In the six years since I was sworn in, I've made my share of mistakes. But most of my audibles have turned out fine, in part because the decisions were calculated risks based on research and careful analysis. It's easy for young lawyers to be paralyzed by indecision and uncertainty, or fear of being wrong. That's not how you win at trial, or even in motion practice. Whether the case is a garden variety car wreck, or complex litigation against a giant pharmaceutical company, action is almost always better than inaction. Creativity and flexibility work better than sticking to your outline, or filing the same motions every time. This may not work if you're a real estate or banking lawyer. But it's the heart of my playbook for practicing civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. And after a 12-hour day of trial prep, it came into focus with the help of a TV show and a glass of some of the finest bourbon I've had, which just happens to be made at Copper & Kings, right next door to our law firm here in Louisville.

The magic number: ruminating on my first 10,000 hours as a trial lawyer

2017-01-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

“The further I get, the further I want to go.” — Nas

Enrolling in law school in my mid-30s was exciting, but at times frustrating. It's not easy to start over in a new career, surrounded by people at least a decade younger than you are. It's like showing up to an amazing party that started four hours ago. The clock is running. Why didn't I get here earlier?

So it feels good to be barreling toward the end of my fifth year as a trial attorney. I'm close to passing a milestone that some view as the minimum threshold for mastering one's profession. According to author Malcolm Gladwell, practicing at least 10,000 hours in a given profession is the "magic number of greatness” to achieve mastery. If this holds true, I'll achieve ninja status as a trial attorney in the very near future.

Based on what I've learned since 2012 as a lawyer, my black belt will not fall from the sky. I am still a long way from mastery. In many respects, I'll never get there. But that's fine with me. My first five years of practicing law have given me a staggering amount of information, opportunities and new skills. I've spent every single minute at Jones Ward PLC here in Louisville. A few highlights:

Won a $12.9 million jury verdict against a drunk driver who killed three people in a fiery taxi cab crash near a casino.
Argued three other cases to jury verdicts, including one that I lost at trial and then got reversed on appeal.
Learned how to litigate class action lawsuits, with dozens of fact patterns involving everything from tire fires to cameras to bank fees, Internet scams, video games, and more. In one class action, a train derailment case that settled for $3.1 million, I had the privilege of personally handing out checks to hundreds of people in a small town in Kentucky where the derailment happened.
Met and worked with some of the nation's top trial lawyers, and had the chance to practice against some of the most skilled and experienced defense lawyers, including top-notch attorneys at BigLaw mega-firms like this one and this one and this one. There are plenty of things to complain about in our industry — stress, risk, unfair decisions by judges — but I'm constantly impressed by the professionalism and civility that most veteran lawyers possess.
Traveled like a mad man practicing mass tort cases involving medical devices and pharmaceutical products, the bread and butter of our law firm's practice. In just the last year, I've taken or defended depositions in Dallas, Baltimore, Boston, Seattle, San Jose, New Orleans and many other cities.
Helped hundreds of people injured by drugs and medical devices that I never even knew existed five years ago. As a mass tort attorney, I represent plaintiffs in almost every state in the nation. Seriously, I'm missing Alaska and Hawaii but I have cases pretty much everywhere else. Here's a tiny sampling of what I'm working on now: DePuy Orthopaedics Hip Implant Litigation (Ohio and Texas); Testosterone Replacement Therapy Litigation (Illinois); Boston Scientific Transvaginal Mesh Litigation (West Virginia); Biomet Hip Implant Litigation (Indiana); Xarelto Bloodthinner Products Litigation (Louisiana); Zofran Birth Defect Litigation (Massachusetts, Abilify Compulsive Gambling Litigation (Florida); Talcum Powder Ovarian Cancer Cases (California).

While there is no ninja belt in sight, I feel great about my first five years and can't wait for the next five and the five after that. It's not the easiest profession, but the intellectual challenge of practicing law and the ability to help real people keeps me bouncing out of bed almost every day, ready for more. There is no magic number to being a veteran lawyer. On a couple of narrow points, I may very well know more than any lawyer in the country. On a zillion other issues, I know very little or nothing. I'm smart enough to realize I can't solve every problem, and confident enough to keep pushing toward victory on the issues I do understand. Perhaps more than anything, I'm grateful to be part of a fraternity of professionals who help each other, help people, solve problems, and hopefully make the world a better place in the process. I can't imagine being anywhere else.

Now hiring: apply to be our summer law clerk

2015-04-29T08:43:00.001-04:00

You're nearing the end of your first or second year of law school, and you want to get your feet wet in the real world. You like helping people, and the idea of holding corporations accountable for their actions might be one of the reasons you went to law school in the first place.

More than anything, you have hustle. You go above and beyond. You create opportunities. You are the kind of person other people turn to when they need help. You're creative and you have energy. If these qualities sound familiar, you may want to apply for our summer law clerk position at Jones Ward PLC. I wrote a lot of blog posts about clerkships and employment during my law school years. I'm now overseeing the hiring process for our firm's next summer clerk.

Here's how to apply: send a resume, cover letter and transcript to alex@jonesward.com. Ideal candidates will be in the top half of their law school class or better. The deadline to apply is this Friday, May 1. If you're a student at U of L Law, you realize that Friday is Oaks Day, the day before Derby. It's also exam week. But hey, in the real world, time doesn't stop for horses or exams. Interviews will take place the following week.

Here's more about the job: this is a paid, full-time position starting in May and running until school resumes in the fall. You'll be doing work for plaintiffs in mass tort and class action lawsuits. Much of our practice is product liability litigation against large corporations. We sue them for making dangerous stuff that hurts people. Bad drugs. Bad medical devices. Bad consumer products. Defendants range from Pfizer and Bayer to General Electric and Ford. You'll be drafting lawsuits, filing lawsuits, interviewing clients, reviewing medical records, and maybe showing up in court or preparing for depositions or trial. If you're looking for a summer job where you sit on the sidelines and watch other lawyers do the real work, this is not the clerkship for you.

Here's more about us: Jones Ward PLC is a full-service law firm in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. We have a team of eight lawyers who handle hundreds of cases on behalf of injured people across the nation, from California to Florida and New York to Texas. You can read more about our cases here.

Any current law school student in the U.S. may apply for the clerkship. Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at alex@jonesward.com. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Attorneys cheer as law school numbers dwindle

2014-10-14T08:53:00.001-04:00

It's no secret that the myth of law school being an easy path to riches is largely just that -- a myth. An article in today's edition of The Courier-Journal provides the latest numbers behind the disturbing trend of declining applications at law schools nationally and in Kentucky. Here's a glimpse:

U of L
2011: 1,495
2012: 1,109
2013: 749
2014: 618
Decline: 59%
UK
2011: 1,114
2012: 1,168
2013: 919
2014: 672
Decline: 39%
NKU
2011: 891
2012: 717
2013: 681
2014: 524
Decline: 41%

The number of applications is dropping, the article says, in large part because smart students realize that the job market for freshly minted lawyers is not strong enough to justify the mountain of student loan debt that often comes with a three-year Juris Doctor degree. Even at a school such as U of L Law, where tuition is far lower than private schools, it's not difficult to pick up a $60,000 or even $80,000 tab if you are borrowing for tuition and taking a cost-of-living stipend.

But what gets me about the C-J's very well-written article is not the application drop. It's the quotes from practicing lawyers who are cheering the bottom falling out in our industry. One criminal defense attorney said the trend is "great news," while another remarked that some local lawyers are "starving" for work.

It's true that we're enduring a market correction in the legal industry, and fewer applications to law schools may result in a better job market for new grads over the next few years. But if you ask me, the pallor mortis hanging over law schools is not a good thing in the long term. I agree with the following thoughts from Susan Duncan, U of L's law school dean:

While polls show most Americans distrust lawyers, Duncan says they will care about declining law school enrollment "if the quality of legal services declines" or if they can't get "an expert lawyer when they need one."
She also said that it is in the country's best interest to ensure that "the best and brightest" go to law school.
She cited a statement from the American Association of Law Schools on the value of a legal education that says "progress begins with the rule of law" and that it is "the foundation of our society."

Once upon a time, I had similar thoughts about journalism, an industry that has been rocked even more than the law in recent years. Before I bailed out of newspapers and went to law school, my job prospects often felt uncertain, but I never cheered for the industry to implode. For the same reason, I wouldn't steer anyone away from law school now. If you are smart, hard-working, and most importantly have a passion for justice and helping others, my advice is to ignore these negative comments of practicing attorneys. The law school route isn't easy. But if you are fully committed, when you reach the battlefield, there's a good chance they will be no match for you.

Judge's orders: lawyers need vacations

2014-07-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

Sitting in front of a federal judge at a recent hearing, I picked up a valuable grain of wisdom. Teams of lawyers on both sides were negotiating a schedule in a class action lawsuit. Someone mentioned that they might need another week to submit the final version of a document because someone in the office took a vacation. It was almost like an apology. Like the attorney dared to take a break from the hectic pace of the legal profession. But the judge didn't blink.

"I'm all in favor of lawyers taking vacations," he announced, and then quickly extended everyone's deadlines.

The judge was right. Lawyers do need breaks. Our work is stressful. If we do not achieve the desired result, a client may lose thousands or even millions of dollars. Or maybe they'll go to prison, or lose the right to see their kids on weekends. As I take on more responsibility as an associate attorney, tackling larger and more complex cases, I understand these high stakes. And I see the value of balancing long hours with a few breaks in between. It doesn't have to be a month-long junket to the other side of the planet.

Over the weekend, I had a fantastic getaway with a couple of guy friends on the Ohio River. We paddled kayaks for 30-plus miles, from Madison, Indiana, to the outskirts of Louisville, camped on a beautiful sand beach, and sipped bourbon as the waves lapped the shoreline. It was a page out of Huck Finn, with a dose of Walt Whitman and a few coal barges mixed in. The trip reminded me that the beauty of the outdoors is often just a few steps from my home here in Louisville. And now I'm back in the saddle early on a Monday morning, the first one in the office, ready to slay the dragon and fight for justice for my clients. But first, a few photos.

Louisville beats nation in latest lawyer jobs report

2014-04-18T08:29:00.000-04:00

Graduates of the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law are snagging jobs in greater numbers than their peers at other schools, a new report shows.

The latest numbers from the ABA show that, out of 127 graduates in U of L's Class of 2013, a total of 104 students — 82 percent of them — had secured jobs where bar passage is required or it is an advantage to have a J.D. Only eight of those students were unemployed and still seeking a job. Both figures are pretty much unchanged from the previous year's data on Class of 2012 grads.

The local numbers are better than the nation as a whole. For example, a friend and fellow U of L grad who is now a reporter published this online story showing the following:

"Nationally, 11.2 percent of graduates from the class of 2013 were unemployed and seeking work as of Feb. 15, up from 10.6 percent in 2012. Only 57 percent of graduates were working in long-term, full-time positions where bar admission is required, which is an increase of almost a full percentage point over 2012.

The class of 2013 was the largest ever, according to the ABA, with 46,776 students earning degrees. About 4 percent of employed graduates were working in positions funded by law schools, most in short-term, part-time jobs."

I've written about law school employment issues many times before on this blog. You can slice the statistics any way you want, but the bottom line in my view is that students are better off at schools such as U of L where tuition is relatively low, and there is not a bevy of competing nearby law schools in the area (UK and IU are an hour's drive away, and NKU is closer to 90 minutes). It also goes without saying that you probably shouldn't go to any law school unless you have a solid game plan for what you are going to do with that expensive degree. Congrats to UofL grads who are entering the job market, and good luck!

Ten Reasons I Love Louisville More Than Ever

2014-02-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's tough to live somewhere ten years and call it short term. This dawned on me a few months back when I passed the decade mark as a Kentuckian. It's easily the longest amount of time I've lived anywhere — including Vermont, Indiana, Ohio and Oregon — since childhood. And while I've been restless from time to time, the truth is I love Louisville and Kentucky more with each passing year. Cue the drum-roll for my Top Ten List of reasons to dig the River City that have nothing to do with Derby.

10. The Highlands. Just when I think I’ve checked out every restaurant, pub, and art gallery, something new pops up. I’ve lived in this funky neighborhood for all ten of my Louisville years, and it keeps getting better. My wife and I met friends over the weekend for drinks, and our theme was “places we’ve never been” that are close to our houses. We started at El Camino (see photo below), a hip new taqueria with a surfing vibe. We hit three other new places nearby, and probably could do the same thing again next weekend. Other great neighborhoods: Crescent Hill, Clifton, Germantown, NuLu.

9. Outdoor Rec. I’m an outdoor junkie, whether it’s biking, kayaking, running, or skiing. You might think, after ten years, that I’d have a good handle on all the local hidden gems for outdoor recreation. Not true. In just the last year, I’ve discovered half a dozen new whitewater kayaking surf holes (lower pool, McAlpine Lock and Dam), and a bunch of new cycling and running routes (tip of the hat to the new Big Four Bridge and the new sections of the Ohio River Greenway in Indiana).

8. A Terrific Job. The market for new lawyers is generally terrible, but that’s not the case in Louisville. Most of my colleagues from the Class of 2012 at U of L's Brandeis School of Law are gainfully employed in jobs that we love. I count myself in this group. I love my job as a trial lawyer at Jones Ward PLC, fighting for people who are injured by big corporations. It brings new challenges every day, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

7. Urban Living. One of my pet peeves is waiting in lines. Same goes for sitting in traffic. In Louisville, I get the benefits of living in a big city without the hassle of a terrible commute. My drive to work down East Broadway lasts about five minutes. The coffee in my to-go cup barely gets touched.

6. Great Public Schools. JCPS gets a bad rap for long bus rides, and its Rube Goldberg student enrollment system. I have no complaints. My kids attend a magnet school a mile from our house, where the test scores are among the best in the nation and kids call teachers by their first names. There are no hall passes, no dress code, and very few discipline problems.

5. U of L. A few years ago the University of Louisville unveiled a giant billboard along Interstate 65, proclaiming the school as the best college sports town in America. Some people laughed. But not anymore. The school’s sports teams won so many titles in 2013 that national media dubbed it the “Year of the Cardinal.” I grew up in a pro sports town, but I’m now a full convert to the hysteria of March Madness, plus college soccer, football, and baseball. Bring on the ACC in 2015.

4. Progress, Progress. Kentucky might not be known for left-leaning ideals but Louisville a pretty progressive place. We’re pushing for more bike paths, creating arts districts, reinventing downtown, expanding parks, and preserving our heritage of great architecture, from the Victorians of Old Louisville to the cast-iron facades of Main Street. Don’t get me wrong, the city could be more progressive. But it’s pretty good right now, and getting better all the time.

3. Booming Business. The River City has always seemed like an easy place to launch a new venture. In my time here I’ve managed rental property, flipped houses, run a tree removal business, and started a law practice. My wife runs a bed and breakfast, and she recently launched herown self-run business as a clinical social worker. In all these endeavors, we’ve met people who provided us with advice, encouragement, and ideas. The city’s business vibe is friendly and supportive, about as far from cutthroat as you can get.

2. Family Friendly. For all the cool grown-up stuff to do here, the bigger draw for me is how easy it is to raise a family. The low cost of living allows us to have a house with plenty of room that’s close to almost everything we want to do. The kids’ basketball and soccer leagues are just a mile or two from home. Same with Cub Scouts, church, indoor soccer, Lakeside Swim Club and other family-friendly venues.

1. A hometown for the wandering spirit. Louisville, and maybe to a larger extent Kentucky, has a Southern sense of hospitality and charm that is easy to take for granted until you spend time elsewhere. If you are a military brat, a gypsy, or just don’t like where you’re from, chances are Louisville will change your mind about the concept of home. This place, with its amazing people and independent funky spirit will make you want to settle in and stay awhile. And it’s home to bourbon, lots of bourbon. Come on.

Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Litigation: My Corner of the Legal Universe

2014-01-13T08:52:00.001-05:00

A friend recently asked me how I spend my time as a lawyer. She is an attorney in Florida, handling real estate issues, wills and trusts. I know a little bit about those areas, but not much. Like a lot of attorneys, I know a little about a lot of areas, and a lot about a few tiny niche subjects.

In the last few weeks, for example, I helped a Spanish speaking lady find help with child support. I talked to a prospective client about a medical malpractice case, and discussed a debt collection issue with a friend whose property was damaged by a renter. I also spent time preparing for a trial in a car wreck case. But the vast majority of my energy was devoted to the finer points of litigating on behalf of patients with failed metal-on-metal prosthetic hip implants. If you're keeping track at home, that falls into the field of torts, in the area of product liability, in medical devices. It's a pretty small corner of the legal world, but many lawyers spend their time hanging out in these niche areas. Here's a blog post that I wrote about hip implant injuries, for our law firm, Jones Ward PLC.

"Metal-on-metal hip implants made by DePuy, Zimmer, Stryker and other companies can fail after just a few years, forcing the patient to undergo a painful and costly revision surgery. But that’s just the starting point in terms of injuries that some of these defective devices can cause unhappy customers. Here are some of the other problems that can result from a failed metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty:
Dislocation after revision: after the metal hip is surgically removed, it’s not uncommon for the patient to experience a painful dislocation in the following months. This usually requires a return trip to the hospital, where the surgeon performs a closed reduction or open reduction operation to re-join the femoral components.
Foot drop: even the most skilled surgeons face a tough job repairing a joint with damage from metallosis. This condition is caused by elevated levels of cobalt and chromium, which can lead to osteolysis, purulent fluid, infection, tissue necrosis, ALVAL, pseudotumors, and other damage to the hip area. Revision surgery also carries a risk of damage to the sciatic nerve. If the nerve is stretched or cut during surgery, it can lead to a condition called drop foot, where the patient has trouble lifting the front part of the foot.
Re-revision: having a revision surgery to remove the failed prosthetic device carries a higher risk of future revision due to the compromised hip area.
Pulmonary embolism: dangerous blood clots can form during or after revision surgery. A clot in the legs, often called a deep vein thrombosis, can breaks free and travel to the lungs, causing blockage of the arteries. In some cases, this can be fatal.
Stroke and heart attack: unfortunately, revision surgery can lead to increased risk of stroke or heart attack, especially in a patient with a history of cardiac trouble.
The lawyers at Jones Ward PLC represent people with metal-on-metal hip implants across the nation. Here is a list of some of the defective hip devices that Jones Ward is litigating, along with typical dates of implantation.

Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG hip stem: Feb. 2009 to June 2012.
DePuy ASR: 2005 to 2010.
DePuy Pinnacle: 2003 to 2012.
Biomet M2A Magnum: 2004 to 2011
Biomet M2A Taper: 2003 forward

Smith & Nephew BHR and R3 liner: 2006 to 2012
Zimmer Durom: 2007 and 2010
Wright Conserve and ProFemur: 2003 to 2012.

If you or a loved one have been injured by a defective metal-on-metal hip implant, call Attorney Alex Davis for a free case evaluation, or send an email to alex@jonesward.com."

Advice from the top: what's your legal narrative?

2013-09-08T12:03:00.000-04:00

One of our law firm's partners recently asked me an intriguing question: what is my narrative? As an English major and a former journalist, I can appreciate a good narrative. Tolstoy, Hemingway, Bukowski — those guys can sling a story. But my narrative? What the heck did that mean? Turns out, he wanted me to think about my future career trajectory as a lawyer. What is my focus? How do I find cases? Where do I want to be in five years? In ten years?

Thinking about one's career as a narrative isn't easy. I pondered it for a week or two. I'm still not finished pondering, but I did realize a few things about what I need to do in order to make it happen. Some of the building blocks in my narrative need to be stronger: more trial experience, deeper connections to the legal community, and a better understanding of the science behind the mass tort cases that are at the heart of my practice.

I also realized that my narrative is better than I thought. I just wasn't telling anyone about it. So, I grudgingly joined LinkedIn. I also revved up Google Plus. And I updated my online profile at our firm's Web site, which hadn't changed in a year. The new version is posted below. I'm sure it lacks a few things. But it gave me a better picture of where that narrative is heading. Got your own thoughts about your narrative? Plug them into the comments field at the bottom of this post.

Alex C. Davis

Associate
alex@jonesward.com

Tel: 502-882-6000
Fax: 502-587-2007

Marion E. Taylor Building
312 South Fourth Street, Sixth Floor

Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Alex has lived in Kentucky since 2003. A native of Akron, Ohio, he graduated Cum Laude from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, where he was Notes Editor of the school's flagship law review.

As an associate at Jones Ward PLC, Alex helps clients to recover from devastating injuries caused by metal-on-metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy, Biomet, Stryker, Smith & Nephew, Zimmer and other companies. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, and represents clients across Kentucky and Indiana, and from Florida to New York to Washington, as well as Maine, Tennessee, Michigan, California, Illinois, and many other states.

Alex also assists clients with medical malpractice and personal injury cases, including auto and truck accidents, as well as wrongful death, nursing home negligence and insurance bad faith. As an avid motorcycle owner and bicyclist, Alex has a particular interest in representing injured cyclists.

In his class action practice, Alex represents plaintiffs in cases involving train derailments, student loan servicers, and banks that offer payday loan products. He also has been involved in the following Multi-District Litigation (MDL) cases:

DePuy Orthopaedics ASR Hip Implant Litigation MDL 2197
In re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2100
In re: Chantix (Varenicline) Products Liability Litigation MDL 2092
In re: Prempro Products Liability Litigation MDL 1507.
In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon," MDL 2179.
In re: Higher One OneAccount Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL 2407

Alex previously worked for more than a decade as a daily newspaper journalist in Ohio, Oregon, Indiana, and Kentucky. His work as a professional writer took him across the United States and Mexico, investigating stories about political corruption, natural disasters, immigration, and many other topics. He spent the last six years of his journalism career at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky.

While in law school, Alex received the top grade in Advanced Trial Practice, and founded a student chapter of the American Association for Justice. Alex also holds a bachelor's degree from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he was a four-year member of the men's varsity soccer team and received the school's scholar-athlete award.

Alex is active in the American Association for Justice, the Kentucky Justice Association, and the Louisville Bar Association. He is a professionally trained photographer and videographer, and speaks conversational Spanish. He volunteers his time with the following community organizations:

Highland Youth Recreation
Burrito Riders of Louisville
Highlands Cub Scout Pack 40
Board of Trustees, Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church (2008-2010).
Class Chair, Earlham College Class of 1998

Alex lives in the Original Highlands neighborhood of Louisville with his wife and two sons. You can follow his personal blog at this link.

For bar exam takers, the journey is just beginning

2013-08-01T08:28:00.001-04:00

Hundreds of law students finished taking the Kentucky bar exam yesterday, ending a grueling ordeal that will be etched into their minds for the rest of their legal careers — if they end up passing. Results come out in October.

It seems like not too long ago that I checked the pass list myself, fingers trembling as I scanned through the numbers, then exhaling hard when I saw the good news. But as I thought about the bar exam yesterday, and the people I know who took it, a different thought crossed my mind. The bar was difficult, no doubt, but not nearly as difficult as the months that followed after I was sworn in as a new lawyer.

It's been a whirlwind year, filled with humility, frustration, lots of long hours, and some small victories too. I took and defended my first depositions, argued my first motions in Jefferson Circuit Court, and reached settlement agreements in a bunch of civil cases at the firm where I work. I also had the privilege of participating in a jury trial, launching several class action lawsuits, and giving advice to dozens of clients about their cases. For this week's bar exam takers, the end of studying has arrived, but the real work has not even started. If your experience is anything like mine, the road ahead will be tough but rewarding. Everything will be new. You will make mistakes. But you'll pick things up and move forward, and maybe somewhere around the six-month mark you'll start to feel like you have more answers than questions.

Specializing is a dirty word in our profession — ethics rules prohibit us from saying we "specialize" in a particular area — but it does help to have a niche. Mine is mass torts. I represent people who are injured by defective products, from metal hip implants to dangerous prescription medications. Most of these products are made by large corporations with boundless financial resources. Most of the clients are everyday people who have never filed a lawsuit, but who have suffered horrible and in some cases permanent injuries. It's a cause that is easy for me to be passionate about, and I'm grateful that I am in a tiny corner of the legal profession where I find meaning and purpose in most of the things I do. By the way, terrific book recommendation: All the Justice Money Can Buy, the story of legendary trial lawyer Mark Lanier and the fight about Vioxx and its maker, Merck. Incredibly, I am now actively working on mass tort cases with both Lanier and many of the other plaintiffs' lawyers who appear in the book, although admittedly my spot on the totem pole is quite a bit lower

— reviewing discovery, drafting pleadings, corresponding with clients. Still, it's thrilling to be a part of something that has seemingly endless potential and room for future growth. Becoming a great lawyer doesn't happen overnight, but you have to start somewhere. Congrats to those who finished the bar exam this week. Your journey is just beginning.

Louisville tops list of most efficient law schools

2013-05-31T19:29:00.005-04:00

The University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law scored the number one spot on a new list of the nation's most efficient law schools. Rutgers was second. George Mason was third.

The list was created by U.S. News, the publisher of a closely watched — and highly criticized — annual list that purports to rank the top law schools. Louisville was 68th in the most recent list of best schools, up sharply from previous years. For better or worse, many prospective law students place great weight on this list in deciding where to spend the next three years of their lives before picking up a J.D. Employers also depend on the rankings.

According to the magazine, the new "efficiency" rankings show "which law schools are able to produce the highest educational quality, as determined by their place in our Best Law Schools rankings, but spend relatively less money to achieve that quality."

To be sure, there are areas where this new list could be picked apart and scrutinized. For example, it would seem that schools such as Louisville, which are located in relatively low-cost cities, don't have to pay their professors as much money in salaries, which in turn would boost their efficiency. The nearby University of Kentucky was tenth on the efficiency list. Likewise, schools that receive less financial support from their parent institutions are forced to make do with less. But at the end of the day, it's hard to argue that the No. 1 showing is a bad thing for Brandeis.

During my time at U of L Law from 2009 to 2012, I can recall a lot of terrific professors and classes, and not a whole lot of ornate wood trim or fancy furniture. The place was pretty low key for a professional graduate school, but that never bothered me because I always felt I was getting a good return on my investment — and I continue to feel that way as a lawyer today. Go Cardinals!

Ten Reasons to Love the Louisville Cardinals

2013-04-08T08:32:00.002-04:00

The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team will get a chance this evening to win its first national championship since 1986. Remarkably, our women's team has a shot at the title as well. In honor of this double success story, and because it's going to be incredibly hard to focus on anything but basketball over the next 12 hours, here's yet another top ten list of reasons why every lawyer should support their hometown team. Some of these are specific to Louisville, but most can be applied anywhere.

10. The law requires a slavish devotion. If you want to be good, you have to put in the time. Rooting for your local sports team gives you something to do outside of work. Everyone needs a hobby.

9. Advocacy. Cheering for the local team gives you a new way to express your allegiance with a particular cause or client. Being an aggressive advocate is an important skill.

8. Kevin Ware.

7. Louisville is on a serious success streak. Football team wins Sugar Bowl. Soccer and baseball teams are tearing it up. And both basketball teams are playing for a national championship -- in a city that is already the nation's top television market for college basketball. Wow.

6. Louisville's law school recently made a giant jump in the US News rankings, landing at 68 in the most recent poll. The University of Kentucky, at 58, also posted a nice gain.

5. Speaking of Kentucky, U of L's rival and sometimes partner, being a passionate fan gives you something else to argue about beyond pre-trial motions and Medicare subrogation. Practice pointer: if you are a hater, i.e. you hate the other team so passionately that you can't celebrate their independent success, keep it to yourself. Bitterness won't win you any business.

4. Road trip! I had an amazing time watching Louisville beat Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen a week ago in Indianapolis. A bunch of friends are in Atlanta right now getting ready for tonight's game. Good excuse for a road trip.

3. Be a winner. Right now, to support Louisville is to associate yourself with a winner. While loyalty is important in any business, being a winner is especially important for attorneys.

2. Business. It makes business sense to show your support for the home team, whether it's Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Wichita State, etc. Aligning yourself with the local team is a networking tool, a conversation starter, even a branding tool for your law firm.

1. Community. This is what it all boils down to. Being a supporter of the local college team shows you care about the community where you live, and the education of future generations of community leaders, including your children and the children of your clients and colleagues. When three fourths of your hometown's residents are going bonkers about the team, flying flags from their car windows and wearing red T-shirts to work instead of suits, why not join em? Go Cards!

University of Louisville

Six-month checkup: Rookie year couldn't be better

2013-02-21T08:29:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week, a law student showed up at our office in downtown Louisville. She was interviewing for a job as a summer law clerk. I was asked to sit down and speak with her. Like most tasks in my first six months as a lawyer, I had about 15 seconds to prepare. But unlike some of the more nerve-wracking ordeals of my rookie year — motion hour, the first few depositions, mediation, trial prep — this one was a piece of cake. Shoot the breeze with a law student for half an hour? No problem. In fact, the experience gave me an excuse to take a short and wistful stroll down memory lane. Just a year ago, I was in a similar position, scratching my head over employment prospects in a dismal job market and wondering if I had made the right choice.

With all the negative press about law school — click here for my previous posts, or here for Exhibit B in the Huffington Post —I felt compelled to offer this student my unsolicited thoughts about why being a lawyer is so great. Even after just six months, I can't imagine not being a lawyer. Sure, it's stressful at times, and the hours are long, but the experiences I've had since last August have been among the most rewarding of my adult working life. I've sued a bunch of giant companies like this one and this one and this one on behalf of injured people who otherwise would not have recourse. I've had the privilege to learn from some fantastic lawyers and judges with decades of war stories and experience under their belts. I've learned about wide-ranging areas of the law — train derailments, banking, medical devices, worker's compensation, prescription drugs to name a few — and gotten a taste of how much more there is to learn.

Although some of it has been terrifying, I can't think of a more invigorating experience than going head to head with another smart attorney, with my client's interests on the line. I realize that not all law students are looking for that pressure. There is plenty of other legal work out there that can be rewarding. At the same time, I'm sure there are many law students and freshly minted lawyers out there who are kicking themselves about the huge level of law school debt, the terrible job market, and the stressful/disappointing/unrewarding nature of their newfound careers. Just don't count me among them.

Thanksgiving Highlights of a First-year Lawyer

2012-11-24T09:32:00.000-05:00

As I wind up a week with the family in Hilton Head, I can't help but give thanks for some of the fantastic experiences I've had in the last two months since our swearing in ceremony as lawyers. First of all, I'm grateful to be working at a law firm with flexible partners who haven't blinked an eye at my week-long vacation in the midst of a busy time of year in our business. Other biggies:

Hilton Head 2012 with the boys

In many ways, I'm grateful that the law school gamble worked out at all. While many members of the Class of 2012 at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law have found great jobs, others are still searching. And by most accounts, the market is tough out there. A recent story in the Washington Post stated that, nine months after graduating, half of all law students last year did not find jobs as lawyers. That's a bad fraction.
I'm grateful to be playing a small part in some legal cases that bring me deep personal satisfaction. In the last three months, I've helped launch class action lawsuits involving unfair banking fees for college students, a conspiracy linked to Anthem health insurance premiums, and a train derailment that spilled dangerous chemicals into the environment.
I'm grateful for technology, which allowed me to edit videos, communicate with clients and other lawyers, and draft pleadings from my laptop during vacation.
I'm proud to know more than a handful of fellow law graduates who have struck out on their own, starting independent law firms like this one and this one that are running on grit and ambition. They're going to do great things.
I'm thankful for all the veteran attorneys and judges, like this guy and this guy and this guy, who have graciously welcomed me into a profession that demands vast knowledge and experience.
I'm humbled by the opportunity to help people recover from serious injuries, including cases like this one, that are caused by the negligence of others. It's a responsibility I don't take lightly.
More than anything, I'm thankful for family. Cheesy yes, but also true. I'm thankful for a week of building sand castles with my kids, taking oceanfront strolls with my awesome wife, gorging myself on rich food, and waking up early to run off the calories. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Class action suit targets Kentucky's largest health insurer for conspiracy and unfair price tactics

2012-10-21T10:34:00.000-04:00

I'm proud to be the plaintiff's attorney in a federal class action lawsuit filed recently by our firm, Jones Ward PLC. The suit is against Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, for illegally conspiring to drive up prices for consumers. Anthem is the largest health insurer in Kentucky by far, collecting $326 million in premiums every year. The next largest insurer, Humana, collects just $27 million in premiums. Anthem's status as the 800-pound gorilla of health insurance in the Commonwealth is no accident. Anthem operates under the Blue Cross Blue Shield trademark, and is part of insurance mega-company Wellpoint, Inc. Anthem's strategy for limiting competition is simple. It teams up with other Blue Cross partners and illegally divides up the nation's insurance market in violation of the Sherman Act. The insurance companies then agree to stay on their own turf and not compete with each other. In the process, they drive up prices and keep competitors out.

To read more about this case, and to download a PDF copy of the lawsuit, click here.

Bad products flood U.S. economy

2012-10-12T15:27:00.000-04:00

From exercise bikes and vitamins to coffeemakers and walking shoes, defective products are flooding the U.S. economy and harming consumers in all walks of life. That's the general message of a newspaper story published today by Darla Carter of The Courier-Journal in Louisville. In describing a long list of recalled or defective items, Carter writes that "products that we buy to improve our health or make our lives easier can leave us feeling cheated because they don't live up to marketing hype or have dangerous flaws."
This news story should not come as a surprise to consumers who have been injured by these products. It happens more often than you might think. The attorneys at Jones Ward PLC receive calls every day about problems like this. Here's a list of some of the defective products:

MR. COFFEE SINGLE CUP BREWING SYSTEM

Sunbeam Products, recalled 520,000 of its coffee machines after more than 60 reports of burn injuries to the face and other body parts.

REEBOK'S EASYTONE WALKING SHOES

Reebok over-hyped its EasyTone walking shoes and ended up paying $25 million for refunds.

WINDOW BLINDS BY BLIND XPRESS

These blinds were recalled after a 2-year-old girl was strangled in the loop of a cord that wasn't attached to the wall or floor. This isn't the first miniblind recall. Anyone with children should be especially careful to check the brand's safety record and make sure blinds are properly installed.

CHILDREN'S VITAMINS

Vitamin marketers including NBTY paid $2.1 million to settle charges about children's multivitamins featuring the Disney Princesses, Winnie the Pooh, and Spider-Man. The vitamins were falsely promoted as being good for healthy brain and eye development.

AB CIRCLE PRO

The company that makes the Ab Circle Pro will pay up to $25 million to settle charges of deceptive advertising. They claimed that working out three minutes a day on the Ab Circle would lead to a 10-pound weight loss in 14 days. It's ridiculous and sad that a company would even try to make a claim like this. Think about it: a total workout of roughly 45 minutes leading to a 10-pound weight loss.

EARLY MODEL TRX SUSPENSION TRAINER DEVICES

There have been hundreds of reports of this product breaking, causing injuries to the head, face, shoulder and hip.

GENERIC ANTIDEPRESSANT BUDEPRION XL 300 MG

This drug, Budeprion XL 300 mg., is marketed as equivalent to Wellbutrin XL 300 mg. Turns out it's not equivalent at all, which means some patients might not get the desired effect with the generic drug, which is used to treat depression and to prevent seasonal affective disorder. It's made by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Impax Laboratories.
This list of recalled products could certainly be longer. Indeed, nearly every day a consumer product in the United States is recalled due to safety concerns or fraudulent marketing. If you or a loved one have been injured by one of the above products, or another recalled consumer item, call Attorney Alex Davis at 502-882-6000 for a free case evaluation, or email him at alex@jonesward.com.

Metal hip implant cases moving forward

2012-10-10T15:56:00.002-04:00

I've spent most of the last three years learning about how metal hip implants injure people. These medical devices were promoted over the last decade as the best thing since sliced bread. They were pitched as a product that would last forever. Turned out that many of them had a higher than normal failure rate.

Now, hip device companies are facing a mountain of lawsuits from people with a nasty condition called metallosis, which can injure the kidneys, destroy tissue and bone, and cause memory problems. Here's a blog post that I wrote for our law firm, Jones Ward PLC, earlier today about the latest twist in the mass tort world of hip implants.

"Dozens of lawsuits over failed Biomet hip implants are being merged together in a federal court in Indiana, over the objection of Biomet.

The cases, including some from Jones Ward PLC, involve failed metal-on-metal implants made by Biomet. The most common type is the Biomet M2A Magnum. Lawyers for the Indiana company argued that the cases should not be merged together, in part because they claimed the devices were not as defective as other metal-on-metal implants such as the DePuy ASR.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation, or JPML, disagreed. The panel, in a ruling filed Oct. 2, 2012, wrote that Biomet's efforts to settle some cases involving failed Magnums were "dwarfed by the almost 70 cases currently pending in federal court."

That number will almost certainly grow in the coming months as lawyers with Jones Ward PLC and other leading mass tort law firms seek compensation on behalf of those who have been injured by failed metal-on-metal Biomet implants. Sadly, the problems with these implants are similar to the problems with other metal-on-metal implants made by DePuy, Zimmer, and other manufacturers. In certain patients, the metal parts rub against each other, shedding tiny particles of cobalt and chromium into the patient's bloodstream, which can lead to a dangerous condition called metallosis.

The only permanent cure for metallosis is surgery to have the metal implant device removed. Although the cases against Biomet will likely require extensive litigation over the coming years, the recent ruling by the JPML is a step in the right direction toward getting injured implant recipients the compensation they deserve. Unlike a class action lawsuit, these cases will be merged together in Indiana just for the purposes of handling pre-trial testimony and the exchange of evidence, which is called discovery. In theory, each case would return to a local court once the merged case in Indiana is complete. If you or a loved one have been injured by a failed metal-on-metal hip implant made by Biomet, DePuy, or another company, call Attorney Alex Davis at 502-882-6000 for a free case evaluation, or email him at alex@jonesward.com."

Lawsuit of the week: penis amputation case

2012-10-06T06:31:00.002-04:00

Our law firm, Jones Ward, was swarmed by reporters this week after we filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Louisville man whose penis had to be amputated due to poor hospital care. That's right. Amputated. Ouch.

To read a copy of the complaint, click here. Numerous television stations and newspapers, some as far away as England, ran stories about the lawsuit, and it was the focus of a special report on CNN.

What wasn't mentioned in those segments is the fact that the attorneys at Jones Ward PLC deal with these kinds of cases on a daily basis. For example, the law firm currently represents a coal miner who had his foot and lower leg amputated in a job-related accident in eastern Kentucky. It also represents individuals who have had body parts amputated due to failed medical implants. Perhaps the saddest amputation case of all was a jury trial in which the attorneys at Jones Ward successfully argued in favor of a woman who witnessed the amputation of her newborn baby's head in the hospital as the baby was being born. The jury awarded the woman $1.4 million.

In other news, here's a photo of me, obviously pretty pleased with myself, at the swearing in ceremony for new lawyers on Thursday. There's another ceremony in Frankfort on Oct. 19, but I wanted to be official as soon as possible. Time to get to work.

Sweet, sweet news: Bar Exam results arrive

2012-10-02T20:46:00.001-04:00

All my poker chips riding on one number

Life is returning to normal, whatever that means, after a few days of total pandemonium following the release of the July 2012 bar exam results in Kentucky. The good news: I passed. Better news: I don't know of anyone who did not pass. Of course, there are folks who didn't pass the exam. The overall rate of passage in Kentucky was roughly 80 percent for the February exam. First-time exam takers from U of L Law had a 90 percent pass rate last summer, and those with top-notch grades in law school did even better. For a full breakdown of bar passage rates, click here.
I'm just relieved that the process is over. It was a humbling experience. I'll be sworn in as a lawyer Thursday by Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Lisabeth Hughes Abramson in Louisville. My name will appear on lawsuits as soon as my license is complete, possibly as soon as next week. Then it's on to depositions, discovery, and possibly a trial later this year or early in 2013. Most people don't wake up in the morning and smile when they remember they have to go to work. I honestly can't wait to get to work as a lawyer. Congratulations to all those who passed the Kentucky bar exam.

Five things every new lawyer should know

2012-09-21T08:47:00.002-04:00

It's been exactly 13 years since the bar exam in July. OK, maybe not 13 years, but it feels that long. Anyway, the results will be releaseed exactly one week from today in Kentucky. Other states, including Nebraska, Florida, Utah and West Virginia, already have released their scores. But there's no use in lingering over the long wait time. The mountain cannot be moved. Instead, I offer a few modest pointers that I've picked up over the last few months. I'll be adding to this list over the next year, and blogging about my experience and the experience of other young lawyers in the Louisville area.

Get a criminal lawyer in your Rolodex. Over the last six weeks, I've been approached by friends and neighbors for help with two different traffic tickets, and a dicey immigration-related matter. Even if I did practice criminal law, I couldn't do anything for these folks because I'm still waiting on my license and bar results. But I probably would still refer them to a friend who focuses on criminal law because they would be better served by someone with experience in that area. So, it pays to have a few criminal defense lawyers on speed dial. And you never know when you might need them for yourself!
Find a focus. I'm stubborn, and I'm still learning this one the hard way. My main practice areas are in mass tort litigation and personal injury law. Check out our firm's blog here for details. So when I tried to file a quit claim deed the other day as part of a mortgage application for my house, I had to do it three times before getting the process right. Sometimes, it pays to hire someone who knows exactly what they're doing.
Treat everyone you meet with the same level of respect and courtesy. This one should be a no brainer, but it's been burned into my skull even more over the last two months as I take phone calls and meet with new clients. At least in the world of plaintiff work, it is absolutely impossible to tell at the outset what will turn into a monster case, and what will turn into a non-starter.
Don't forget your law school buddies. I'm trying to meet at least one law school friend for lunch or dinner each week. I'm learning about their experiences, asking advice, and reminding them about the areas where I practice in case they stumble across a whopper client who needs help in my practice area. With a crazy schedule and loads of work, lunch away from my desk once a week is harder than you might think.
Stay busy. Especially over the next seven days, I'm packing my schedule with as many client visits, deadlines, and other tasks as I can create. My aim is to forget all about the results of that little test, and the fact that all 130 or so members of our class will be furiously clicking refresh on a certain Web site next Friday afternoon to see if their number pops up. In fact, I am sure that I'll be so busy the results won't even surface in my mind during the 48 hours before they are released. Yeah, good luck with that.

Bar exam in 12 days: scary photos, scarier practice tests, and a final push to the end

2012-07-11T22:17:00.003-04:00

It's ten o'clock at night and I'm still buckled down in the living room, poring over special venue provisions for civil actions against Kentucky tobacco growers. Earlier today, it was reams of multiple choice questions for a sample MBE test. In twelve more days, I'll sit down with several hundred other students and take the bar. I'm actually starting to feel OK about it. Over the last few weeks, however, I've been through intellectual boot camp: eight to ten hours a day of studying, thousands of pages of facts and rules, seventeen different outlines, countless essays, etc. As one fellow student put it recently,

Agency, Civil Procedure, Commercial Paper, Secured Transactions, Torts, Wills, Trusts, Administrative Law, Conflict of Law, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Domestic Relations, Evidence, Income Tax, Personal Property, Real Property. Anyone feeling overwhelmed?

After law school, at left, and before the bar, at right

You can get a sense of the pressure and stress from the photo at right, depicting me at graduation from law school (confident, happy, full of wisdom) and then just a few days ago when bar prep was in full swing (haggard, frightened, mentally drained). I'm kidding, of course. Sort of. Maybe. From what I gather, most other recent law grads are going through exactly the same process, straddling the line between burnout and freakout. One of the brighter spots is that I've gotten a lot of great advice from friends, law professors, and practicing attorneys. Some of what they've said:

Accept the fact that this summer will be the worst summer you have experienced in a long time, and perhaps the worst ever. However, the worse your summer, the better the bar exam. If the summer is going really well, the bar probably will not.
The bar is a rite of passage, and you'll most likely get through it. It doesn't have a lot to do with actually practicing law, and you can perform below average on the bar and still pass.
Bar prep tests are designed to scare the hell out of you (this much is certainly true), so that you'll study harder, and do fine on the real deal.
Most law students from Louisville pass the Kentucky bar with no problem (our pass rate is typically around 90 percent). The few who fail either didn't study hard, had a major panic attack during the exam, or had major personal problems strike in the days or weeks before the test.

This will be my last blog post before the bar. I'm already feeling guilty about my tobacco growers and their venue provisions (please, for everyone's sake, sue them in the county where their warehouse is located, or where the grower resides). I have a feeling that the bar exam will turn out fine, but I'm not leaving anything up to chance. Don't cross your fingers for me. I don't want luck. Pushing hard until the end seems to be the only way to do it.

Bar exam: pressure mounting, five weeks to go

2012-06-21T09:01:00.003-04:00

This morning I'm sitting in a second-floor classroom at the U of L law school, doing what I do pretty much every morning: preparing for a marathon lecture about the bar exam. For the next three and a half hours, a curly-haired professor from UNC is going to talk about the ins and outs of constitutional law, from privileges and immunities to interstate commerce and the First Amendment. Earlier this week it was a guy from Yale talking about real property. Before that we marched through the laws of evidence, agency, tax, torts, corporations, and contracts. The material for the bar exam is vast, and the preparation seems endless.
The crazy thing is that we haven't even really started. A lawyer friend who lives in my neighborhood says it doesn't really begin until the "twenties" of June. One of the partners at the firm where I work says the go date is July 1, when I'm supposed to go full time on bar prep. So far, preparing for the bar has been not too different from working as a law clerk. Both require the ability to focus on countless mundane details for hours at a time, and then be able to analyze and remember those details weeks later. This weekend we're going to take a practice run at the MBE, a 200-question multiple choice monster that spans six core topics. The other half of the bar consists of 12 essays, each lasting 30 minutes. So far the summer hasn't been too bad. I've been busy at work, handling helping clients in personal injury and mass tort cases, answering discovery, filing lawsuits, and getting ready to start practicing in earnest this fall. But as we get deeper into studying and the real date of the bar exam draws closer, I can feel the pressure mounting. Full-time bar prep for me starts in less than 10 days, and then it's a month-long slog to the finish line. In times like these, I am grateful that there are other things that fill my life --- kids, wife, a house to worry about, lawns to mow, Monday night soccer, cleaning the swimming pool, etc. Diversions keep me sane, even if time for diversions soon will be precious.

Shift from law school to law job is humbling, hard

2012-06-02T10:29:00.002-04:00

Ever heard of the 10,000-hour rule? The idea is that, in order to master a specific skill, you must put in the equivalent of 10,000 hours of practice, or roughly five years of full-time work. The rule is staring me in the face as I begin the steep climb to competence as a rookie lawyer. The members of the Class of 2012 at U of L, myself included, spent the last year as 3Ls, the top dogs in law school. Now we're starting all over at the bottom. Louisville did a great job teaching me the law, but the field is so vast and there are so many things to learn. What's the difference between filling out a summons in state court compared to federal court? How do you write a claim for loss of consortium? How does Medicare subrogation work?

Bar exam: that's me in eight weeks

Part of me wishes that I could push the fast-forward button and get to the point where I feel at least semi-confident about the areas where I will be practicing. For now, however, practice is not even my biggest worry. Bar prep started a week ago, and the exam itself is looming less than two months away. Listening to the Barbri lectures is like taking a mental stroll back through the first two years of law school. It's mildly interesting to remember all the cases that we read in order to learn tidbits of Contract law and Negotiable Instruments, but for the most part it's a painful process -- four hours a day of lectures so we can remember who gets priority in a fight between two creditors over a secured transaction (the perfected interest, of course), or whether a defendant's rights are violated when police conduct a stop and frisk search without probable cause (no, so long as there is reasonable suspicion of criminal activity). In addition to the lectures, we're supposed to be spending another four or five hours a day reviewing and outlining our subjects. Then there's the four or five hours a day I'm working at the firm that was generous enough to give me a job. How many hours are there in a day again?
Lots of people have given me advice about studying for the bar this summer. They've told me not to worry too much. They've told me to worry a lot. They've told me it's a marathon, and not to get burned out early in the summer. All in all, I've heard way more horror stories than pleasant memories. At least it's comforting to know that Louisville has a high pass rate, especially for students who did well academically in law school. It's also good to know that you only need a score of 75 out of 100 on each essay in order to pass the Kentucky portion of the exam. Then again, there are 12 essays, and only 30 minutes for each. Screw up just one, or fall behind on your timing, and you are in serious trouble. In the end, I imagine that bar prep, and work as a first-year lawyer, will be much like law school: a long and grinding path, with plenty of frustrations along the way but rewards at the end for those who persevere. Final note: I've updated the title of this blog because I am technically no longer a law student, and I've changed my profile accordingly. However, if you are interested in law school at U of L, or in the legal market in Louisville, you can still contact me with questions or thoughts. My email: alex@jonesward.com.

Top Ten List: Law School Graduation Highlights

2012-05-14T09:53:00.001-04:00

It's Monday morning, just two days after the graduation ceremony for our law school class. The voice mail light on my phone at work is blinking furiously, and the weekly attorney meeting is just a few minutes away. Still, I can't resist taking one more look back at the moment the Class of 2012 walked across the stage and finished law school. Here's my Top 10 List of the best moments from graduation:

Getting ready to graduate

10. Scanning the program at graduation and thinking about all of the ridiculously successful and hard working, interesting people in our class. We had about 125 people finish law school. There were grads in their mid-twenties, at least one who is older than fifty, some with multiple kids, and a few who had kids during school.

9. Listening to Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Lisabeth Hughes Abramson delivery our commencement speech. She focused on the unexpected ways that life delivers success, and how mistakes and problems can turn into possibilities.

8. Walking across the stage and getting the official handshake from Dean Jim Chen, who will no longer be the school's dean after next month, but will continue to be connected to the law school. He's done a terrific job, and will leave big shoes to fill.

7. Standing up in our chairs on the stage and giving a somewhat unplanned standing ovation to Harrison Rich, the valedictorian of our class. For an interview with Harrison, click here.

6. Not thinking about the bar exam. Even for a minute.

5. Watching all of the other students cross the stage, and thinking about our collective future. Some of us will no doubt run into trouble. Some will be substance abusers. Some will fail the bar. Some will commit ethics violations. But right now, the future seems bright. We're heading into judicial clerkships, first-year associate jobs, additional academic degrees, and all sorts of other lofty pursuits. Louisville Law has done a great job preparing us during the last 1,000 days. The next 1,000 are up to us.

4. Receiving our hoods from Dean Kathy Urbach, head of the law school's Professional Development. I thought it was pretty cool that, in a down economy in which many of us are still struggling to find jobs, we selected her for this honor. If you're thinking about going to law school at Louisville, rest assured that Dean Urbach will not rest until you are employed. Here's a message that she sent to our class a few days ago:

Dear Law School Graduate Peeps,
I find myself thinking about each of you, hoping that your law school experience was meaningful and inspiring. I suspect the answer is complicated but I sincerely hope that it was more positive than negative.

I can tell you without reservation that your law school experience was meaningful and inspiring to me. Many of you have allowed me the privilege of getting to know you fairly well, which has been a joy. I've observed each of you work hard without stopping, lead with integrity and face the enormous hurdle that is post-law school life with grace. I've admired your dedication, intelligence, talent and humor both up close and from afar. I'm most honored to be your hooding professor.

3. Thinking, even during graduation, about how exciting and hectic my life as a lawyer is going to be. I'm already swamped with work, handling demand letters for personal injury cases, interviewing clients for medical malpractice suits, writing subpoenas and briefs, and analyzing thousands of pages of medical records for our mass tort practice, which involves prescription drugs and medical devices. By the way, I'm going to continue using this space to blog about the bar exam this summer, and then life as a lawyer in Louisville. If you have blog ideas, send 'em my way.

2. Throwing a party at my house the night of graduation, and spending time with all of the law students, attorneys, friends and others who showed up. I felt loved beyond anything that I deserved.

1. Seeing all of my wonderful family and friends before, during, and after graduation. I could not have done the last three years without them. Here's one final sappy thank you.

Grab bag: A few parting thoughts on law jobs, graduation, alcohol trouble, and sweet victory

2012-04-13T14:10:00.004-04:00

I've got multiple ideas competing in my head for a blog post today, but instead of picking one I'm going to write about all of them.

1. Finality: in less than a month, I'll be picking up my J.D. as I walk across a stage in a gown and cap that cost me $90 to rent. For one day. Not too happy about the rental, but attending law school at the University of Louisville is still hands down the best career decision I've ever made. As I check off my final obligations in the coming weeks -- one exam, a few more classes, a couple of papers -- feel free to email me at acdavi07@louisville.edu if you are applying to law school and want candid advice about where to go and how to get there. Later this summer, I'll be writing about the bar exam, and then life as a first-year associate at this law firm.

2. Disappointment: this week I filled out the NALP survey for graduating law students, which provides salary information and employment statistics to aspiring law students, some of whom have turned around and sued their former law schools. The survey was a disappointment, partly because I found out it doesn't collect compensation details beyond base salary. That makes for a vastly incomplete picture, especially for those of us (outside traditional BigLaw) who are relying on more complex pay structures that take into account contingent fees, profit sharing and other types of bonuses. At the same time, I'm happy to be able to report having a job at all. Many, many, many students in my graduating class are still searching for an offer. My sources tell me all but a handful of last year's U of L grads found jobs within nine months. Here's hoping that's true for the Class of 2012 as well.

3. Scandal: spreading gossip is not one of my goals for this blog, but I feel obligated to mention the second U of L law grad in recent months who has made headlines in the legal world. In a bad way. Both students allegedly did dumb things in public involving alcohol, which you can read about here. I'm sharing the information not because I am in a position to judge others, but because it's a good reminder of the perils that lawyers (and law students) face when it comes to substance abuse.

Brandeisliga 2012

4. Victory: congratulations to the law school's soccer team, Brandeisliga, which won the university's intramural futbol championship earlier this week. I'm still a bit sore from playing three games in as many days, but it was a great experience. Soccer bonus: 50 greatest goals of all time via YouTube.