Monday, June 6, 2011

Ithaca DWI Lawyer Larry Newman attends The National Criminal Defense College in Macon, GA

http://www.ncdc.net/tpi/indhex.html

It is an honor and privilege that I was accepted this year to attend the National Criminal Defense College's two week summer trial intensive. They limit the session to 96 lawyers and it is all hands on trial work. Last week I was sent four case files with police reports, grand jury testimony, blood evidence, lab results, autopsies, etc. We are working on a murder case, a rape case, a bank robbery, and a . . . (I didn't read everything yet).

Anyway, I am excited to learn, to practice, they video us every day! and then critique us later... scary.

I hope to return to Ithaca, NY a better person and lawyer, I truly believe they are one and the same. One cannot separate professional life from private life. If I am to be the best advocate for my clients then I must improve continually from day to day and year to year.

 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Ithaca DWI Lawyer "All that Glitters May Not be Gold"

That well known line probably comes from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, as in:

All that glisters (glitters) is not gold;Often have you heard that told:Many a man his life hath sold


To me it means don't always believe what you see or hear. Sometimes people don't want the truth, this is especially true in DWI cases. 


Lawyers are not supposed to offer promises or guarantees of outcomes and yet many do that in an attempt at selling their services. I can sometimes offer "predictable ranges" based upon what is (the info/ the facts) in front of me but to tell people that something is certain is often impossible without all the discovery (police reports, documents, etc.).






Look at this piece of fruit I recently bought at Tops Market. It looks perfect. A perfect pear. Colors are very attractive, and it even has a fancy little label. When I cut it, it was mealy and horrible. 


Fruit is always risky, even those pieces that look amazing. I always caution people to not buy into hype or those lawyers that offer guarantees.