Arbitration & Mediation

Why the Legal Blogosphere? Try Ken Adams

By Victoria Pynchon

O.K., from time to time I draft a brief for someone.  It keeps my hand in the game and REALLY -- it's MUCH EASIER to make $$$ doing what I did for 25 years than for what I've been doing for four.  I have HIGH HOPES that my research and writing mini-career will soon be shut down by my ADR career, but in the meantime . .. . . .

Shameless plug:  Listen . . . . I'm very very very very good at negotiating the resolution of complex commercial litigation.  I should be in heavy rotation.  Try me!  I won't let you down.

What this post is really about

Not that long ago, appellate attorney Greg May asked the readers of his excellent California Blog of Appeal how they used the legal blogosphere to help their clients.  I answered, but I didn't have anything really exciting to report.  Until this morning.

Yesterday, I spent hours researching a fairly obscure contract interpretation question.  I didn't find case ONE and I'm a pretty good little first year research associate -- always was.  So what did I do?  I turned to my virtual buddy, Ken Adams (who never writes a rambling post like this one) over at the brilliant, thorough and sophisticated Adams Drafting.  My brain must have been turned off yesterday because I couldn't find anything by searching his blog either.

So I did what I told my readers over at the IP ADR blog to to yesterday -- say "please."

Voila!!  In my in-box this morning, a link to the most comprehensive, practical, brilliant (relatively lengthy) article ON MY PRECISE LEGAL QUESTION that could easily make the difference between winning a $2.5 million appeal or losing it.

Listen.  You can't find this stuff in academic articles.  And you can't find it in Witkin or CalJur or AmJur or in the case law.  You can't find it in the California Civil Code's canons of construction or maxims of jurisprudence (my favorite:  "superfluity does not vitiate").

Ken Adams is the foremost authority on contract drafting in the nation.  And I have that wisdom tucked into my back pocket the moment it finally occurs to me to go over to his blog to have a look see.  

So that's how I use the legal blogosphere.  It's my law firm.  It's my community.  It's my home. 

How much better does it get?

Thanks Ken!

Full post as published by Settle It Now Negotiation Blog on February 29, 2008 (boomark / email).