One of the last things you want after your office party this coming holiday is to get arrested for DUI (Driving Under the Influence). After all, it is bad enough confessing crushes at the water cooler…but it would far worse to go to work a few days after the office holiday party and have to explain to your supervisor that you need to take time off from work to go to court, and oh by the way, you’ll also be taking the bus to work for the next 90 days because your driver’s license is suspended.

No Holiday Party Exceptions to DUI Charges

There is no “holiday party” exception to drinking and driving charges. Officers are never tolerant of DUI drivers, and

How much can you drink at an office party and not be pulled over for a DUI?

they are less tolerant of them during holiday seasons. Courts act in a similar manner. The government sends a message to potential drinking drivers through billboards, radio and TV public service ads, which basically say “You will be caught, you will go to jail and you will lose your driving privileges.”

So now that you’ve been reminded that law enforcement is out there, and you know that they will be tough on people who are drinking and driving, how much can you safely drink and still drive?

Guidelines: How Much Alcohol to Drink

Your blood alcohol level is a significant part of determining whether you are going to be charged with or convicted of DUI. Drinking and driving safely is computed on how much alcohol is in our systems when we drive. A huge part of that is based on how fast we burn off, or metabolize, alcohol after we drink it. Doctors know that there are many variables in how people metabolize alcohol. However, before we go into specifics, let me give you a very loose guideline: for each ounce of alcohol consumed, wait 90-120 minutes before drinking alcohol again. For example, a 12-ounce beer or a six-ounce glass of wine or a 1.25-ounce shot of hard liquor has about an ounce of alcohol in it.

Keep these general guidelines in mind:

• Do not assume that any mixed drink only has a “shot” of alcohol in it. A trick is to drink less, and to alternate alcohol with sparkling water, juice or soda.
• Drink less at the end of a holiday party so that you have less alcohol in your system when you drive.

You should drink less, or not at all, if:

• You weigh less than 140 pounds
• You are drinking on an empty stomach
• You take prescription medicine
• You are sleepy, sick or worn down
• You metabolize slowly (females have a slower metabolism and thus use up alcohol more slowly than males)

If you match any of the above, and you are going to drink, the best thing to do is to take a cab or to ride with a sober friend.

If you are charged with a holiday party DUI (or any DUI) in Colorado, call Shaun Kaufman Law at 303-309-0430. With your help, and the help of experts, he will examine the complex scientific and medical issues in your case and defend you with expertise and compassion.

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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Drive Sober Apps: Free

To promote safety on the roads, some states offer apps to aid those who have been drinking find a sober ride home. Here’s a few:

Kentucky: The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety offers Drive Sober Kentucky app that includes finding a ride, reporting drunk drivers and a blood alcohol estimator.

Wisconsin: The Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation offers a Drive Sober app that offers features similar to Kentucky’s.

Wyoming: The Wyoming Governor’s Council on impaired driving offers its app, Drive Sober Wyoming, which includes features similar to Kentucky’s and Wisconsin’s, as well as a Find a Taxi option.

Mr. Checkpoint: Free

It appears Mr. Checkpoint is available in California only. As its name implies, it provides locations of DUI checkpoints based on the app user’s region. There is also an option on its website to sign up for email alerts that list DUI checkpoints every Friday, Saturday and on holidays.

Oh Crap App: Free

Gotta love the name of this app, and its motto: Shut up, Wise up and Lawyer up.

Apparently DUI lawyers in Iowa first created the Oh Crap App to educate the public about their rights while being investigated for drunk driving, and I’ll also add that the Notify On-Call Attorney is a handy way to drum up business. There is also a Notify a Bail Bondsman function.

I have to wonder if someone who’s been drinking has the wherewithal to read and use this app, but that’s probably why there’s a big red “emergency” button labelled Oh Crap. The advice given to app users is to press this button when pulled over by law enforcement (this starts a 15-minute audio recording that a lawyer may later use).

The Oh Crap App is currently available for Iowa, Kansas and Wisconsin attorneys.

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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Photo courtesy of Antonio Zugaldia CC By 3.0

There’s a lot of talk about Google Glass and legalities these days. Let’s look at some of those issues, starting with a description of the device.

What Is Google Glass?

Basically, it is a wearable computer with a camera, microphone and display in the form of eye glasses that the wearer manipulates through voice commands, taps and even winking. The camera sees what the wearer sees, and the wearer can:

• Record video, audio and photo.
• Use GPS for location tracking and retrieving directions.
• Connect to a smartphone for placing calls, texting and email.

Google Glass can connect to the Internet in one of two ways:

Google Glass – Photo courtesy of Mikepanhu CC By-SA 3.0

Privacy Issues

It’s bad enough that other people cannot always tell if they are being recorded by Google Glass wearers, but also everything recorded is stored on Google’s servers “in the cloud.” And you know that everything on Google’s servers belongs to Google, right? Wanted to check because drafted email messages stored on Google’s servers were the reason the United States’ former director of the CIA, David Petraeus, resigned in 2012. Petraeus didn’t know that drafts of his emails to his lover were Google’s property.

Facial Recognition Built Into Glass?

According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, it’s likely that facial recognition software will be built into Google Glass in the near future. That means a wearer can look at you and the Glass’s facial recognition software will “compute” your identity, then dredge up all kinds of information about you, such as your Twitter news feed, Facebook page, which legal blogs you read, and so on.

There currently is a technology patent for a detector that blurs people’s features when a portable camera is in the vicinity. Great, a software product that can thwart Google Glass, right? Sorry, but no. Google is currently seeking a patent for a contact lens Google Glass that would escape any public detection.

While seeking this patent, Google stated on its blog it “won’t add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place.”  Hmm, wonder what those strong privacy protections are. Not so long ago, 38 states, including the District of Columbia, reached a settlement for $7 million with Google over its illegal collection of data from wireless networks, including private WiFi networks of residential Internet users.

Banning Google Glass

Businesses are starting to ban Google Glasses being worn on their premises for liability and security issues. There are also concerns over wearers illegally recording others without their permission in two-party consent states, as well as wearers violating the Wiretap Act. 

Backlashes to “Glassholes”

There have been violent altercations between people not liking their privacy being violated by disrespectful Glass wearers (by the way, the moniker being used for a disrespectful Glass wearer is Glasshole — no, I’m not making that up). Recently, bar patrons in San Francisco and New York have attacked Glass wearers who appeared to be recording others without their permission.

Restaurant Owner Takes Heat for Banning Google Glass

When a restaurant, Feast, in the East Village kicked out a female patron who refused to take off her Google Glass, hundreds of “Glass groupies” rallied against the restaurant, accusing it of being discriminatory against “technology.” Feast’s owner, Brian Ghaw, refused to apologize for kicking out the woman. His customers, Ghaw said, “felt uncomfortable about having somebody who could potentially videotape them.” Ghaw’s restaurant remains a No Google Glass zone to this day.

What Kind of Places Are Banning Google Glass?

According to an article in SEJ, bars are the number entity to ban Google Glass. To read the other nine top spots, check out the article “Top 10 Places That Have Banned Google Glass.”

Interestingly enough, law firms aren’t on that list. Yet, anyway.

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins, authors of A LAWYER’S PRIMER FOR WRITERS

Australian online magazine Festivale reviewed our current nonfiction book A Lawyer’s Primer for Writers: From Crimes to Courtrooms.  Below is the review.

A Lawyer’s Primer for Writers (2014)
by Ali Khan, editor, Festivale Magazine 

Did you know about courthouse dogs?

Not drug sniffers or law enforcement canines, but dogs that work with defendants and witnesses who need the support of a friendly, assistance-trained dog. They are just one of the many groups who work in American courthouses, and their history and examples of their use are found in A Lawyers Primer for Writers.

This is an indispensable guide for those who want to set scenes in, particularly, the American legal system.

Click on above image to go to book’s Amazon page

Are all defense attorneys unlikeable? How are trials prepared for? What are the steps of a trial? Are breath tests accurate? Can the police lie to you? What are the top five mistakes writers make at a crime scene?

Can you trust the source?

Shaun Kaufman has worked in the criminal justice system for 30 years. Colleen Collins is an author of other writing books and together the authors co-owned a private investigations agency where they specialized in legal investigations.

It’s all good meat for the writing process. Information in this book isn’t just excellent for fact checking, it’s a launch point for ideas for your next story. 

Written in a clear, concise, layperson’s style, A Lawyer’s Primer is highly accessible and a very enjoyable read. It winds up with a dozen films to watch and tips on whether liberties were taken for dramatic effect.

Get it. Read it. Run with it.

Click on cover to go to book’s Amazon page

Link to full review: Festivale Magazine: A Lawyer’s Primer for Writers

“Put together with the user in mind, this intelligently organized handbook for practicing writers will make you sound like a practicing lawyer. Use it to transform your courtroom characters from stereotypes into engaging people.” ~Warwick Downing, former DA in Colorado and author of The Widow of Dartmoor, a sequel to Hound of the Baskervilles

“A LAWYER’S PRIMER FOR WRITERS is an entertaining, knowledgable, must-have research tool for writers of all stripes. I know I’ll be referring to it often!” ~Dennis Palumbo, author of the Daniel Rinaldi mystery series

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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Back in March, I wrote a blog about ATF agents who were suing the government, which began:

ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — on their official website, they still go by the abbreviation ATF) special agent Jay Dobyns worked undercover in the Hell’s Angels gang.  After finishing this undercover job, he and his family received death threats, among other horrific threats, and eventually his Arizona home was burned to the ground while Dobyns was out of town. Fortunately, his wife and children, who were sleeping inside the home, survived.  (To read the full blog article, click here)

This week, former ATF special agent Jay Dobyns won his case against the government.

U.S. Government Ordered to Pay Dobyns $173,000

Judge Francis Allegra ordered the government to pay Dobyns $173,000, and threw out the government’s claim against Dobyns for writing about being the first federal agent to infiltrate the inner circle of the outlaw Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in his New York Times best selling book, No Angel, My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels. The judge also threw out the government’s claim against Dobyns for producing a movie about his ATF experiences.

If the movie takes off the way his book did, Dobyns could become a Hollywood star.  But to many of his ATF peers, he already was one. While active as a special agent, Dobyns earned the ATF Distinguished Service Medal and the prestigious Top Cops award. In an article written by fellow ATF agent Vincent A. Cefalu in TickletheWire.com, Dobyns remained loyal to the agency and its personnel despite the hardships Dobyns and his family endured after he became a whistleblower:

Throughout these years, Agent Dobyns continued to do what “The Bird” does. He continued to offer his expertise in undercover operations to his fellow Agents as well as outside State and Local Agency’s. Dobyns was a coveted speaker and trainer in all walks of law enforcement and even military training environments. With very public disputes with ATF swirling, Dobyns continued his infectious praises for the Agency and its personnel he loved.

(Link to full article: “ATF Agent Says Goodbye to Legendary Fellow Agent Jay Dobyns”)

Judge Found Two ATF Officials Not Credible

In his ruling, Judge Allegre found the testimonies of two of Dobyns’ superiors in the ATF Arizona office to be “not credible.” More than that, the judge said one of the supervisors, George Gillette, “lied” about the arson that burned down Dobyns home (while his wife and children were inside — fortunately, they escaped).  Gillette is no longer an active agent, in fact he’s under investigation for illegally selling a gun that turned up in a Mexico crime scene where a Mexican beauty queen was killed.

If all of this wasn’t documented in court records and the press, it would sound like a fiction story, wouldn’t it? That’s exactly what Judge Allegre thought as well when he described some of the courtroom testimony he heard as being “a remarkable tapestry of fiction.”

In Jay Dobyns’ Own Words

Jay Dobyns has posted his reactions and thoughts at his site JayDobynsGroup.com. Also posted there are pictures of his legal team, his home after the arson, and images of his family, fallen border agent Brian Terry and this saying:

The truth is like a lion.

You don’t have to defend it.

Turn it loose, and it will defend itself.

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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The close, symbiotic relationship between investigators and lawyers can be challenging because PIs and attorneys often have different work styles, training and professional objectives.

Approaches, Backgrounds and Goals

One difference in PIs’ and lawyers’ work styles is that many investigators work alone.  Although some attorneys also work alone, many work in cooperation with other lawyers and legal staff members.

PIs and lawyers have also experienced different types of training. Some private investigators may have very little training, such as those who work in unlicensed states, of which there are five in the U.S., including my own state of Colorado (not to say that all unlicensed PIs lack training and skills — I’ve known many investigators in my state who are ethical, professional and immensely skilled).  In contrast, some investigators have extensive backgrounds in accounting, law enforcement, computer science, even psychology. Attorneys, on the other hand, earn doctorate degrees and must pass a grueling bar exam that covers every aspect of the law.

Additionally, PIs and attorneys have different professional objectives. A PI has a vested financial interest in completing work tasks and issuing his/her invoice. Lawyers are on a different time clock, where the best resolution for the client may take months, sometimes years.

How a PI Can Nurture the Attorney-Client Relationship

I’ve worked within the criminal justice system for 30 years, the majority of that time as a criminal defense lawyer. For a decade I also co-owned a legal investigations agency, during which my wife (my business partner) and myself wrote the blog Guns, Gams and Gumshoes, which has been recognized by Ellery Queen magazine as one of the top three true-crime blogs, and has been twice noted by the American Library Association’s Booklist Online as its “Web Crush of the Week” during its annual mystery month. Guns, Gams and Gumshoes is still going strong, by the way — to check it out, click here.

In one of our blog posts on Guns, Gams and Gumshoes, we wrote how a PI can build a constructive, successful relationship with a lawyer, based on our firsthand experiences. Below are those tips:

Tip #1: PIs should be prepared, timely and succinct. Attorneys are busy people who are juggling dozens, sometimes hundreds of clients. When a PI schedules a meeting with an attorney, he/she should bring an agenda, reports and important evidence. Be on time — punctuality is a courtesy to anyone, be it an attorney-client or your other investigation clients. Don’t ramble on at meetings — be succinct and to the point. Both of you are professionals who are handling important client matters.

Tip #2: Focus your investigative products. Lawyers don’t pay investigators for their opinions and speculations about what judges and juries will do — lawyers pay for facts and evidence. Make sure your investigative reports, both oral and written, scrupulously adhere to agreed-upon investigative strategies and goals defined by you and your attorney-client. For example, if an attorney requests for you to learn the color of a specific vehicle that a witness saw, focus on obtaining that evidence — don’t gather extraneous data such as the neighborhood where the observation occurred or the color of other vehicles in the area!

Tip #3: Be knowledgeable about the legal basics of what you’re investigating. When a PI works for a lawyer, the investigator should have an understanding of the legal basics in that attorney’s area of the law. For example, if a PI works for a family law attorney, the PI should understand such family law doctrines as child custody guidelines and no-fault/fault divorces (depending on the state the PI and lawyer practice in). If a PI conducts criminal defense investigations, he/she should understand the principles of criminal culpability. There are numerous ways for a PI to understand legal fundamentals, from taking a course at a community college to obtaining certification through the National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI).

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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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(Book Excerpt: A Lawyer’s Primer for Writers: From Crimes to Courtrooms)

Many legal thrillers focus on the dynamics of trial lawyers battling it out before and during a courtroom trial. Therefore, we thought it would be interesting to briefly talk about some popular prejudices against trial attorneys. If you’re writing a trial lawyer character, perhaps he or she confronts one of these prejudices from clients, jurors, even social acquaintances.

What Is a Trial Lawyer?

Some lawyers are known to be “trial attorneys,” meaning they are skilled at conducting courtroom litigation in their areas of specialization. For example, Shaun, the co-author of this book, is a trial attorney who specializes in criminal defense, business litigation and personal injury. Writing a story featuring a trial lawyer sets up some rich possibilities for dramatic courtroom scenes.

Outside the courtroom, however, trial lawyers have many other responsibilities that aren’t always as glamorous as books and film often portray. A trial lawyer often spends days reviewing files, interviewing witnesses, discussing cases with his/her clients, filing documents with the court. Each of these processes can take weeks or months as trial attorneys prepare for trial — later in this book, we go into more detail about what takes place throughout the pretrial phase and trial itself.

Now let’s look at some urban legends about trial lawyers.

They Don’t Have Souls

Below is a telling quote from the acclaimed attorney Gerry Spence, who has tried and won many nationally known cases, about one dark prejudice:

“Today the trial lawyer could be as pure and honest as Jesus in a pin-striped suit — and still the jurors will see him through jaundiced spectacles. Or the woman, as trial lawyer, could be Mother Teresa in a conservative business dress — dark worsted wool, a small string of no-nonsense pearls at her throat, a tiny gold cross pinned at her lapel, her face that of a saint — and still the jurors would undress her to her soul to see if, indeed, she has one. Suspicion. Worse. A thin fog of hate surrounds all lawyers for the people, these warriors for the people’s justice.” -Gerry Spence, American trial lawyer who has never lost a criminal case

So how does your fictional attorney deal with this? Does she take on a false bravado to compensate? Does he ignore it, or enter most situations (whether personal or professional) with an irritating bluster? Or, like Gerry Spence, perhaps it encourages him to reach out, be human and correct the misconception when opportunities arise. Of course, the last thing you want is a saint for a trial attorney, so such a Gerry Spence-like character would need an admirable flaw or two in his shining-knight characterization.

They’re Aggressive

Another popular misconception is that all trial attorneys are “aggressive.” Here’s a definition of the word aggressive: Inclined to behave in an actively hostile fashion.

It’s a loaded word, one many attorneys love to use in their  ads, as though an attorney behaving like a pit bull on crack equates to sure wins for a client.

Check out ads yourself to see how attorneys love this word. For example, we recently looked on the back of a fat telephone book (they still exist, you know) — and surprise! There’s a full-page ad where the attorney promises “Aggressive Representation.” We flipped to the yellow pages under Attorneys and saw these words in multiple ads: “Affordable and Aggressive.” We also saw several ads of a lawyer smiling next to the words “TOUGH and AGGRESSIVE Lawyer” (capitalized just as it is in the ad).

Aggression in the Courtroom

With the popularity of the word aggressive in lawyers’ ads, does that mean an attorney must be aggressive to be a winner in the courtroom? According to a local respected trial defense attorney, the answer is no. Below is his take on the term:

“In most cases, it simply is better not to be overly aggressive either in pre-trial matters, or at trial. Much of criminal law practice before trial consists of careful investigation and skillful negotiation. This is no place for an attorney to behave aggressively or unreasonably, at least not if they know what they are doing! Even at trial, most experienced trial lawyers know that being aggressive and unfriendly is likely to turn off the jury and everyone else.

While there certainly are situations that call for an aggressive cross-examination of an accuser or other witness, an experienced trial attorney knows that under most circumstances it is better to appear to the jury as a professional and reasonable defense attorney because that makes it much more likely that they will adopt the defense’s version of events and acquit their client. Usually if the jury doesn’t like the attorney, it’s bad news for the client. In fact most prosecutors want obnoxious, aggressive defense attorneys because they know the jury will not like them or their client. It’s a tough lesson to learn for the first time after your trial is over.”

~ End of Excerpt ~

A Lawyer’s Primer for Writers: From Crimes to Courtrooms by Shaun Kaufman and Colleen Collins. Available exclusively on Amazon.

Twitter As Search Engine

When I first became a Twitter user several years ago, I had no idea what a hashtag was. When my wife, who’s been using Twitter for five years, asked what hashtags I was using to help spread the word about my law practice, I laughed. Hashtags? Sounded like something between a short-order cook and a childhood game.

But when she said that Twitter had evolved into a powerful real-time search engine with millions of search queries each day (that number has increased to over two billion daily), and that hashtags were a means of conducting these searches, like for finding a lawyer who specialized in DUIs in our city, I decided hashtags were noble social media creatures.

Hashtag Format

A hashtag is the # character followed by a word or term; for example, #Colorado marks a tweet as relevant to the state Colorado. Hashtags can also be combined words; for example, #ColoradoCrime would refer to a crime (or subject relevant to crime) in the state. Sometimes people use several hashtags, such as #Colorado #Lawyer.

A few guidelines:

• Twitter doesn’t allow punctuation in hashtags. 
• The more specific the topic, the better.
• Don’t overuse them in a single tweet (some people say use no more than three — too many are distracting and/or annoying)

Finding or Tagging Topics

People conduct over 2 billion searches on Twitter each day

Hashtags are useful for both finding topics as well as tagging a topic in your tweet so others can more easily find it. By the way, I just did a search on Twitter for #ColoradoCrime and it’s not a popular tweet — the most recent tweet tagged with #ColoradoCrime was nine months old.  So if you were interested in finding topics related to current crimes in Colorado, that wouldn’t be a useful hashtag. However, when I ran a search on #Colorado #Crime, dozens of tweets related to crimes in Colorado displayed, with the most recent dated a few days ago.

Within Twitter, you can search for a hashtag in the search field at the top of the Twitter screen, or by clicking a hashtag within a tweet. You can also run a search on a hashtag from your browser — results from both Twitter and Facebook will display (Facebook also uses hashtags).

Now let’s look at some useful hashtags for lawyers.

Common Legal Hashtags

Here are a few hashtags that relate to the legal world in general, from lawyers to courts: #legal #lawyer #law #lawsuit

For example, if you’re interested in attracting a broad readership for a tweet (such as for a blog post on a general legal topic), add the hashtag #legal or #law. When I post a new blog article, I’ll often add the hashtags #legal #blog

Legal Hashtags by Practice

Here’s a sampling of hashtags for different law specializations: #DUI, #personalinjury, #divorce, #familylaw, #patent, #bankruptcy, #criminaldefense

For example, a defense lawyer in Houston might add the hashtags #criminaldefense #Houston to a tweet that markets his/her practice.

Good Idea Not To…

Use legal jargon in hashtags (or anywhere within the tweet, actually). Jargon is great for legal eagles like lawyers, judges and paralegals, but jargon can easily alienate others, like potential clients.

Self-promote too often. I’ve heard that one self-promotion tweet per ten tweets is a good guideline.

Additional Twitter Articles for Lawyers

Lawyers guide to Twitter language and acronyms (Real Lawyers Have Blogs)

Hashtags in Law Firm Social Media Marketing Benefit Attorneys (LawMarketing.com)

Blawg 100 Amici: ABA Journal’s nominations for best legal blogs

If you enjoy my posts, please consider nominating my blog (shaunkaufmanlaw.com), or one of the legal blogs listed on the right side of the screen under Blogroll, to the ABA Journal’s nominations for 100 best legal blogs – Submissions are open through August 8: Click here to submit 

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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I like to think  that for the most part I’m a pretty easy-going guy with a sense of humor, but even I have to admit that this profession, especially for those of us practicing criminal defense, can at times be filled with difficult issues and heart-wrenching life stories.

Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks for getting my attitude back on the positive track. Not saying I’ve learned the Zen secret of eternal lawyer-happiness, but for what it’s worth, here’s my three cents on the topic.

Five Tips for Being a Happier Lawyer

Tip #1: Get some perspective. A client drops you, a judge snaps at you, you didn’t make partner, you lost a case you poured your heart into…guess what? It happens to every lawyer…well, maybe not Gerry Spence, who’s never lost a criminal case…but it happens to everyone else. So step back and look at the big picture. It’s not just about you, really.

Tip #2: Appreciate the good things in your life. Sometimes a lawyer’s world gets jam-packed with problems and issues and difficult personalities and…you get the picture. Especially at those times, take a moment and remember what’s good in your life. Maybe it’s something your child said to you recently that made you feel ten feet tall, or the special dinner your wife surprised you with, or your dog’s latest crazy antic. I read somewhere that people who express thankfulness feel happier in general.

Tip #3: Stay positive. Not always easy, but sometimes just making yourself think positively can get your attitude back on track. Being positive, or at least detaching yourself from negativity and being more objective, can help you be a better decision maker.

Tip #4: Lighten up. Sometimes all it takes is listening to soothing music, or maybe listening to an old George Carlin record, or watching Bill Murray in Caddyshack, or reading some irreverent lawyer blogs like Bitter Lawyer or Lowering the Bar. I mean, how can you not laugh at articles like “Are Tattoos Replacing Lawyer Business Cards?” or “Legal Dare #1: Use Wingdings in a Letter” (both from Bitter Lawyer).

Tip #5: Shake your money-maker. Or more simply put: Exercise. I stole this one from attorney Erin Curren’s article “Finding Bliss at the Bar: How to Be a Happy Lawyer” which has far more tips and information than I have here, like how not to let depressing statistics about the legal professional get to you (my suggestion is to not read them in the first place), common traits of happy lawyers and more.

Blawg 100 Amici: ABA Journal’s nominations for best legal blogs

If you enjoy my posts, please consider nominating my blog (shaunkaufmanlaw.com), or Bitter Lawyer or Lowering the Bar (two of my favorites that I listed in the above article), to the ABA Journal’s nominations for 100 best legal blogs – Submissions are open through August 8: Click here to submit 

• About
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Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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Be respectful when broaching safe driving concerns with the elderly

Years ago, when my grandmother started having problems driving, it was other family members, not her, who first noticed she was having difficulties. Started with a pattern of scratches and dents on her car, followed by her mentioning how she was getting lost more often on streets she used to know so well. That’s when we decided it was time to have a family chat with Grams about her driving, which we wanted to do with respect as she had been fiercely independent all her life.  

If you’re concerned about an older driver in your family, I’ll review some warning signs of unsafe driving, followed by tips for handling “the talk.” Remember, it’s not only for their safety, but also for others.

Indicators of Unsafe Driving

These might have been occurring gradually over time, or perhaps they came about suddenly due to illness or medication:

• Is he/she experiencing eyesight problems, such as difficulty seeing at night, blurred vision or not seeing signs or lights until they are close?
• Any hearing problems, such as not hearing another car’s horn honking or an approaching ambulance?
• Is there a pattern of getting lost or missing streets or exits that the person has commonly used?
• An increased number of dents and scrapes on the car? Have there been recent traffic tickets or warnings?
• Erratic driving due to the older person getting more easily frustrated, confused or overwhelmed while driving?
• Is he/she forgetting how to do basic tasks, such as working the turn signals, windshield wipers, braking in time for a stop sign or red light?

Tips for Discussing Your Concerns

As I mentioned above, make it a priority to be respectful. It’s possible your older relative may actually be relieved that the topic is being brought up, but it could also be that he/she feels that their independence is being threatened. Below are ideas for handling the discussion:

• If possible, include other family members or close friends. Or perhaps have the discussion with a more objective third party, such as the older person’s physician.
• If feasible, discuss a gradual transition. Dramatic changes in life can be upsetting no matter how young or old we are, so consider a transition as long as safe driving isn’t an issue. For example, perhaps the older person stops driving on freeways or driving at night.
• Be prepared with facts. Rather than make a sweeping statement such as, “You’re getting too old to drive,” instead refer to incidences that have occurred, such as, “You’ve mentioned recently that you’ve been getting lost more while you’re driving,” or “I’ve noticed several times recently that you’re driving slowly, noticeably below the speed limit.”  
• Discuss the positive aspects of not driving. For example, saving money on gas, car maintenance, and so forth; less stress driving in traffic; increasing one’s social circle through shared rides; and likely a happier, slower pace of life without a car.
• Also be prepared with transportation alternatives. Let the older person know if you or other family members can help with driving him/her places. If not, research ahead of time other transportation — some cities have senior citizen organizations that offer transportation services, or some cities offer shuttle services, and so forth. For those who use wheelchairs, there are special, motorized chairs that a person can use for short trips to the store, a friend’s house, etc.

• About
• Latest Posts

Kaufman

Managing Partner at Shaun Kaufman Law

Shaun Kaufman has 30 years of in-court experience, with hundreds of hours spent defending numerous high-profile cases including homicide, white-collar theft and RICO offenses. Specialties: Criminal defense, personal injury, business litigation, DUI.

Shaun Kaufman Law: 303-309-0430

Latest posts by Kaufman (see all)

• Holiday Office Parties and DUIs: Enjoy the First, Avoid the Second - November 19, 2014
• DUI Apps: From Oh Crap to Mr. Checkpoint - October 28, 2014
• Google Glass: Privacy Issues and Backlashes to Glassholes - October 5, 2014

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