Enjuris

In this week’s Enjuris Briefs: Washington State considers letting nonlawyers practice, while student loan debt continues to reshape young lawyers' careers. We cover a data breach involving nude photos, new regulations aimed at reducing pedestrian deaths, and an AI tool that could revolutionize depositions for personal injury attorneys. Plus, a Michigan judge makes headlines by calling herself a “new racist.” Happy Friday! 🎉

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 We are thrilled to welcome Michael Day as the newest contributor to Enjuris! Michael Day is the founder and managing partner of Michael M. Day Law Firm, LLC, where he leads a client-centered approach to #personalinjury law. Under Michael's leadership, the firm has handled over 6,000 personal injury cases, recovering more than $47 million with a 99 percent win rate. Michael's commitment to justice is backed by his impressive credentials, including his membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and numerous accolades, such as being a six-time Georgia Rising Star Super Lawyer honoree and an eight-time Avvo Clients' Choice Award winner. Join us in welcoming Michael to the Enjuris community! Learn more about his impressive background by visiting his profile on Enjuris. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ghFhmHA5

And now for something completely different. In the personal injury world, it's easy to get caught up in the negatives: car accidents, catastrophic injuries, wrongful deaths. But it's important to remember that good things happen, too, even in challenging times. Take, for example, the story of personal injury attorney Leslie Bloomenthal and his son, Andrew. Leslie began showing signs of dementia shortly after retiring from his practice on Congress Street in Boston. At first, the signs were subtle—occasional lapses in speech and shifts in behavior. A neurologist eventually diagnosed him with Parkinson’s-related dementia. “In the weeks that followed, I felt as though I was freefalling in preemptive grief and then felt guilty over my childish inability to stay strong for my dad,” Andrew Bloomenthal wrote in a piece for Boston Magazine. “I started coming home a lot more often.” During one visit to the family’s summer home, Andrew’s mother woke him with surprising news: “Dad says he’s due in court today,” she said. “He says he’s scheduled for trial, so I’m taking him into Boston.” Although she knew her husband had been retired for over a year, he wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she wasn’t about to let him drive himself. Andrew tried to reassure his father by inventing a story that the courthouse had called to say the case was settled. But when his father pressed for a name, all he could manage was “Susan.” So, Andrew joined his mother as they drove his father to court. “Somewhere in Quincy,” Andrew recalled, “Mom took stock of Dad’s T-shirt and denim shorts—hardly appropriate courtroom attire for the man who once wore three-piece suits." She quickly pulled into a Goodwill store, and in just a few minutes, she’d found a dress shirt, khaki pants, and a perfectly fitting size 38 blazer. Inside the courthouse, while Andrew’s mother parked the car, he guided his father through the doors. After surrendering his phone at the front desk, he quietly asked a staff member if his father had a case on the docket. The answer was no. Thinking fast, Andrew told his father that his case was scheduled for later in the day and suggested they sit in on another trial while they waited. Excusing himself, he found a clerk in an administrative office and explained the situation. Understanding the dilemma, the clerk—whose own father had experienced a similar condition—quickly devised a plan. When Andrew brought his father over, the clerk greeted him warmly. “Counsel! It’s great to see you again!” the clerk said. “Today’s your lucky day.” He explained that he had just spoken with the judge, who had resolved the case in Leslie's favor. “And His Honor also told me he’s never seen such airtight pretrial motions in his entire career!” the clerk continued. Leslie beamed before starting to ask a question. “An appeal?” the clerk interrupted. “Can’t happen. You won. And if I may add, it’s been an honor sharing these halls with you over the years.”

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 We are thrilled to welcome Alan Wagner as the newest contributor to Enjuris! Alan Wagner, a civil trial lawyer since 1983, is a partner and the President of Wagner, McLaughlin & Whittemore, P.A, a leading civil litigation firm based in Tampa, Florida. Alan has distinguished himself as a skilled courtroom lawyer with extensive experience in personal injury cases, including premises liability, truck and commercial vehicle accidents, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. His firm also handles cases involving maritime and admiralty law, legal malpractice, and other areas of civil litigation. Join us in welcoming Alan to the Enjuris community! Learn more about his impressive background and expertise by visiting his profile on Enjuris. 👉 https://lnkd.in/g63qEdEU

This week in Enjuris Briefs: Two youth football deaths in a single day; an officer sentenced for selling crash data to lawyers; a landmark Amazon case sets a new precedent; a college party ends in a tragic fall; lawyers unknowingly breach client confidentiality using a popular app; Uber found to owe a duty of care to drivers in carjacking case; an Oklahoma judge blames a surprising diagnosis for drive-by shootings; and a Supreme Court justice dishes on Biglaw. Happy Friday! 🎉

“It’s a matter of priorities, and you are not one of them.” We’ve all fantasized about quitting our jobs in a dramatic fashion at some point. So, while we certainly don’t endorse the actions that led to his resignation, it’s hard not to admire the nerve of Connecticut attorney David J. Kurzawa. Kurzawa recently resigned from the bar amid allegations of mishandling his trust account. His reason for stonewalling ethics investigators? A fishing trip. When pressed for documentation, Kurzawa sent an email too entertaining not to share: “I was on vacation, landlocked salmon fishing at East Grand Lake in Weston, Maine, three of us caught about 50 fish, all of which went back into the lake alive, except for one dinner, 3 fish 20 to 22 inches long, they were delicious. Egg batter, then breadcrumbs fried in Peanut Oil. Hot Peanut Oil dissolves any soft bones left in the fish after they are filleted. Then lemon juice on the fried fish. You want to die for. Anyway, I was away. I will send you my response to this terrible offense next week.” He continued: “I have a real estate closing early next week and my client is going on vacation an[d] I have to have certain documents signed before he leaves. It’s a matter of priorities and you are not one of them at this time. I tell my children all the time (twin daughters and a son) that they are surrounded by idiots. Also, a law school classmate, who was brilliant, use to say that you can teach them to read and teach them to write, but you can’t teach them to think.” In his resignation affidavit, Kurzawa denied some of the allegations but acknowledged there was enough evidence to prove violations related to trust accounts and responses to ethics inquiries. Admitted to the bar in 1978 with no prior disciplinary record, Kurzawa stated that he had planned to retire for some time and that the ethics investigation accelerated his decision. “It wasn’t a big thing,” Kurzawa remarked, “but I’m done.”

In this week's Enjuris Briefs: A murder-suicide claims the life of a prominent personal injury attorney, while a compassionate court clerk protects a lawyer with dementia from public humiliation. A U.S. appeals court revives a lawsuit against TikTok over the "blackout challenge," and damage caps may not apply in the Matthew Perry wrongful death case. Law school applications are surging, a woman sues after being shot at a Major League Baseball game, and a Colorado attorney is suspended for impersonating a judge online. Happy Friday! 🎉 #LegalNews #PersonalInjury

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older, simpler, and better words, and those are the ones I use." – Ernest Hemingway In law school, you basically learn a new language. During your first year, it sounds impressive, and you toss around terms like res ipsa loquitur and inter alia like Oprah giving away cars. By the second and third years, though, many of these words start to feel a bit cringey, and you can almost always spot a 1L by the way they cling to these phrases. Sure, they come up in practice, but as you gain experience, you start to wonder—are these words really necessary? This brings us to a new study that challenges the very foundation of legalese. Published in the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, the research looks at why legal language is so notoriously convoluted. The study tested whether this complexity is intentional—like a “magic spell” to confer authority—or just a byproduct of an iterative, copy-and-edit process. Surprisingly, the findings suggest that legal drafters choose complex structures to give legal texts their authoritative punch. The study found that it’s not the editing process that complicates these documents; it’s the initial drafting that sets the tone. Interestingly, the study also found that even laypeople tend to adopt legalese when tasked with writing official-sounding documents. This suggests that the tendency to use complex legal language isn't confined to the legal profession; it’s a broader cognitive inclination when people want to project authority or formality. Check out the full study: https://lnkd.in/gamjZUaH

🚨 Breaking News: Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi, known for his role in the "Erin Brockovich" case, was convicted of embezzling $15 million from clients, including victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash. His estranged wife, Erika Jayne of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," has denied involvement in the fraud. The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, reached their guilty verdicts in just four and a half hours.

We're thrilled to welcome Joseph L. Benson II, an award-winning personal injury attorney from Las Vegas, as the newest Enjuris contributor! A standout at Earl Wooster High in Reno, Joseph excelled in football and track, earning “AAA All-State” honors in two skill positions and helping his team achieve All-State Football Champion status. After earning his B.S. in Hotel Administration from UNLV, where he was on the Dean’s Honor List, Joseph found his true calling in law. He earned his J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and studied under U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in Dublin, Ireland. Since 2000, Joseph has built a remarkable legal career, handling thousands of cases as a founding partner of Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC, with a specialization in Civil Tort Litigation. His expertise has earned him spots in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and as one of the “Las Vegas Leading Lawyers” in Vegas magazine. Joseph’s insights have been featured on NBC and ABC news, and his contributions noted in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. At Enjuris, he’ll use his experience to help injury victims navigate personal injury law. To learn more about Joseph L. Benson II, visit his profile: https://lnkd.in/gHzdj8GJ Welcome, Joseph—we’re thrilled to have you with us!