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You Hardly Talk To Me Anymore...

Meet and Confer You Dummies

When I come through the door at the end of the day.

Have you wondered how "new" Magistrate Judge Goodman is doing?

Well, he's forced to put with this crap in addressing both parties' failure to comply with the Local Rule "meet and confer" requirements:

In order to ?confer,? a movant must have a give-and-take exchange with opposing counsel. Sending an email and demanding an immediate or near-immediate response and then filing a motion before having an actual substantive discussion with opposing counsel does not amount to a conference or consultation. Instead, it is a one-way missive.

Indeed, that is a problem I have generally with people unable to have civil conversations anymore.  In order to have an actual conversation, you have to approach it from the position that your own views may be incorrect, subject to change, and that you are absolutely willing to acknowledge and hear what the other person is saying and possibly even agree with it.

This is true for both participants in a true conversation.  Otherwise you are just yelling at each other, and may as well be speaking to a wall, potted plant, or (gasp!) Glenn Garvin.

I also like the "but they did it first" defense, which the Magistrate Judge addresses appropriately:

Counsel for Royal Bahamian and QBE both violated Local Rule 7.1(a)(3). The local rule permits the Court to deny all of the motions. QBE urges me to do so (for Royal Bahamian?s motions). QBE?s counsel, who apparently does not follow one of Benjamin Franklin?s better-known proverbs, asked for this severe consequence before QBE?s own, similar violations were exposed.8

The Judge's footnote then references one of Franklin's wisest proverbs: ?To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.?

Not sure of its relevance here, Your Honor, but I totally agree with it.

So far I'm liking this judge......

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on October 21, 2010 (boomark / email).