The first time I stood in front of a jury, in a large superior courtroom in Spokane County, I was a younger lawyer with more energy than eloquence, more ambition than experience. I'll never forget the feeling as if my legs might give out and collapse as easily as the accordion files in my briefcase. My mouth...
"Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American...
"My friends, we are certainly very happy to see each of you out this evening. We are here this evening for serious business. We are here in a general sense because first and foremost we are American citizens and we are determined to apply our citizenship to the fullness of its meaning. We are here also because of our...
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?~ Langston Hughes
An American businessman, on vacation in a small Mexican coastal village, observed a fisherman returning from the sea with a small boat filled with large yellowfin tuna. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. "Only a couple of hours," the fisherman replied. "Why didn’t you stay out longer...
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them...
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,but people will never forgethow you made them feel.~ Maya Angelou
My baby sister is a lot cooler than me. And smarter. And generally better at everything. My brother and I would tell you that Jamie developed her savvy from having to put up with the two of us growing up. Jamie had not one but two protective older brothers. But the truth is Jamie has always been the talented...
Yesterday, I learned that a friend of mine died early this year. His name was Marvin Lanter. Marvin was a trial lawyer, like me. You can still find his website, his law firm, and YouTube videos of Marvin Lanter online. The first thing everyone noticed was the accent. Marvin was raised in a Jewish New York neighborhood. I met Marvin...
One day, an old man was walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed ashore by a storm. Off in the distance, he noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often, and as he drew closer, the old man could see that the boy was carefully picking up starfish and...
