Archive for the 'Lawyers' CategoryPage 2 of 20

Lawyer Held in Contempt of Court for Pretending to Masturbate

Can the law ever become too lenient? Everybody is familiar with the tag line “ignorance of the law excuses no one” and true to its strictest sense, no one, even those in privileged positions are excused from any of the provisions of the law. If you committed your transgressions and violated any of these provisions of the law, you are directly subjected to the scrutinizing eyes of the court. When faced with such a prospect, you need to protect yourself and get a legal professional to defend you.

Expectations for a Defense Lawyer

Who else do you turn to other than a defense lawyer? Typically, the government provides the services of a public defense lawyer should the person be financially incapable of paying for their legal counsel. Of course, a defendant with financial means at the disposal can definitely bring forth his personal lawyer.

Now, what are the usual thoughts that go through your mind when thinking about the services that a defense lawyer will provide for you? Are they not supposed to be the ones defending their clients against the impending punishment looming over their heads? Moreover, defense lawyers are also expected to keep abreast of the entirety of the list of laws which the Constitution or the Law of the Land embodies. Lawyers are also expected to carry themselves with dignity, professionalism, and style at all times as well. This entire concept has been entirely shoved to the side in the case of attorney Adam Reposa.

Defense Attorney Adam Reposa Crosses the Line

Attorney Adam Bulletproof Reposa, esq. | Collage of His Images

At 33, Adam Reposa, an Austin defense lawyer was charged with criminal contempt of court as he made the gross mistake of committing lewd gestures in the courtroom right before the eyes of County Court-at-Law Judge Jan Breland. Reposa allegedly aimed his simulated masturbatory gesture directly at Judge Breland and the judge found this act to be malicious and contemptuous, to say the least. As a result, the Austin defense lawyer was led out of the Heman Sweatt Travis County courtroom bearing handcuffs. For this misdemeanor, defense lawyer Reposa has been sentenced to jail for a period of 90 days. District Judge Paul Davis has stressed that he was proud to clear things out in order to “uphold the integrity of the judicial process”.

How Reposa gesture came about was while defending his client on the charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol. What the court didn’t expect was the dramatic turn of of events. In the course of representing his client, he suddenly looked directly at prosecutor Richard Gentry, rolled his eyes, and pulled off the obscene gesture during the pretrial hearing. Judge Breland found Reposa’s actions to be “intentional and contumacious conduct during the court’s review of the plea bargain offer to his client before jury trial.”

When Contempt is Part of the Legal Picture

The Honorable Judge Jan Breland Image

In basic terms, contempt of court is a civil infringement with a criminal punishment. Retired Judge Davis was assigned to hear the complaint filed by Judge Brendal. Judge Davis clarified that contempt of court is a complaint filed against a persona whenever the court decorum is violated for any grounds applicable. The judge noted that Reposa seemed to be undecided on whether to admit his fault or justify his act because he reportedly did both things during the hearing that took place in the county attorney’s office. Reposa also tried to argue that he didn’t intend the gesture for the judge but instead it was meant for the prosecutor.

In case you were wondering, Reposa’s name is listed on the State Bar Web site as Adam “Bulletproof” Reposa.

The State of Texas v. LeCharles Williams | Judgment of Criminal Contempt of Court by Adam Reposa

(Click to view image full-size)

How Business Cards Can Skyrocket Your Legal Business

When you’re growing your legal business, whether as a solo practicioner or as part of a law firm, you know the importance of a business card. It’s a simple marketing tool that is extremely effective in making your business grow and be known, and works as a powerful advertisement without the hefty cost. It contains everything that a customer may need to know in order to contact your office, when they are interested in the products you’re selling or services that you offer.

Getting The Word Out

It’s also a good way of showing your profession to others. For example, for an accountant, a business card is a good marketing tool to advertise services, such as tax preparation and business structures. Its works with any profession and any industry and is simply part of how people transact business. When you go to a business meeting, you exchange cards - this is often a show of professionalism - and you should never be caught without one.

Business Cards | Lawyers | AttorneysIn offices and commercial establishments, business cards are prominently displayed in card holders to make it accessible for everyone. Usually, they are placed in clear acrylic card display holders to make them visible and easily recognizable. Legal Andrew mentioned some ideas of how to display your legal business card, which can greatly help in your promotion. He discusses one great idea which he saw in the rear of a car. The car had some lettering on the back window, advertising his business of selling some solar panels. The owner, however, had a clever idea of converting his wiper blade into a business card holder to support his advertising.

Take One - From the Wiper

The owner put a “take one” label sticker on the wiper so that any interested passerby can simply get a business card. The business cards were stuck underneath the wiper blades, creating curiosity and inviting action from strangers to go and get one. It’s a cool idea and certainly beats the old fashion way of displaying them in the office. Another one mentioned is an acrylic mounted card display holder in the back window, giving the car driver free advertisement opportunities wherever the car goes. It’s also convenient - the only expense is filling up the holder!

Getting Your Promotion On - Indoors

Of course, these are outdoor-use ideas but there are also some ideas for indoor business card promotion. Aside from the common clear acrylic display holders, other objects may also be used to hold your business cards. A good example is a decorative plate that can be placed on the desk or the counter. It’s a creative way of showing your well designed cards and breaking away from the traditional and oftentimes boring card holders. If your a woodworker like Andrew , you might even be able to create a simple wooden plate to hold his business cards. Think creatively when it comes to getting customers attention!

The Power of Business Card Promotion

The combination of a well designed business card and creative card holder will definitely improve your advertising campaign. It’s a simple, effective and relatively cheap method to undertake in your promotion efforts and may even become an ice breaker for customers - allowing easy flow of conversation about your service. There are many more ways to explore the business card display holder idea and all you need is some imagination to come up with a cool idea and design.

Jake Warner Profile: The Self-Help Legal Trailblazer

We all know that legal fees are sometimes unaffordable by those with limited income.

We all know some people will not have the capacity to hire lawyers and represent them in every dispute they may find themselves in.

So, placed in a difficult situation, these people turn to free legal aid given by the government. The problem however, is that there are thousands of low-income people needing legal assistance and there are not enough lawyers to go around - the outcome is a long waiting list.

Jake Warner | NOLO Press CEOOne of the problems is that the legal aid system is limited in helping only the poor, which leaves out the middle class income earners who also need the financial help with their legal expenses, which can make these people unable to afford hiring private lawyers to represent them. This is where Ralph “Jake” Warner got his idea when he co-founded Nolo Press in 1971. He believes in reshaping the legal system and makes it easy for everyone to understand. The motto of the company is “Law for All”. Jake Warner believes that law is an integral part of democracy and he is passionate about it. His goal, achieved through Nolo Press, is to reshape the law by putting it in layman terms and make it easily accessible by everyone.

Jake Warner must have been greatly influenced by the prevailing “free living” concept of his era in 1966. The sentiment at that time was anti-corporate and all about communal living and free love. Many of his fellow graduates eschewed the traditional path out of law school of getting into the big law firms and getting big money. His classmates liked the idea of working pro-bono, helping others get legal representation at low costs or even free.

Jake had the dream of making law accessible to all and this goal has driven him to find a way to make it accessible to middle class income earners who were previously not qualified to get help from legal aid. In 1971, Warner and his business partner Ed Sherman, published their first book titled “How to Do Your Own Divorce“. The book was written by Sherman and for quite a long time they lugged cases and cases of this book door-to-door to various bookstores until they found a distributor that was willing to represent them.

Today Jake Warner serves as chief executive for Nolo Press, and they put out dozens of self-help law books a year covering varying topics such as landlord-tenant rights and estate planning. He remains aggressive and passionate about making law accessible to all by publishing books like “Nolo’s Quick LLC: All You Need to Know About Limited Liability Companies” and many more. His company also produces software, like “Quicken Willmaker“, which is a bestseller and they are also launching a bid to sell legal forms and products online.

Thanks to people like Jake Warner, people of limited means now have a choice when it comes to representing themselves in court. While no one will deny that the services of a lawyer are without comparison, NOLO has given people an option and has given many people a taste of the law - perhaps spawning more than a few future law students looking to further their legal education.

Jake Warner received his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and his undergraduate degree from Princeton.