Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

My blog has been void of new content lately. This is in large part to a just completed reworking of Guest Law Firm PC. We're going paperless. My intern, David Ruff a brilliant law student at OCU, has been studiously scanning every file and organizing our database. I know it sucks to scan files all day, but I've been mixing in some exciting courtroom action to make it worthwhile. Office work may not be intellectually challenging, but he's getting some lessons in law office management that will pay off much more that punching out Pro Doc boilerplate all day.

The end result of David's hard work is that GLFPC made the switch from Elawsoftware to CLIO. Elaw was a cutting edge program 4 years ago, but we've grown frustrated by the complete lack of updates and the fact that Elaw ONLY works with internet explorer (Chrome all the way).

Elaw has a few features I really miss (automatic court appearance letters etc), but it had reliability problems that drove me batshit crazy at times. It was designed in Texas for criminal defense lawyers and I still recommend it to my PC bound friends.

CLIO is cleaner, faster, more reliable, easier to navigate and... built for civil firms that bill hourly. I'm shoe horning in my criminal practice to fit the CLIO system but I can't complain.

It's been two months since the switch and I've noticed a huge increase in my personal productivity. Guest Law Firm PC is a hyper efficient justice machine; lubricated by technology and managed by my brilliant super hot CEO/wife.

Going paperless removed another barrier to my creativity and work product- the paper file. With my Ipad I have my firm with me whereever I go. I get a suppression idea- I get on CLIO and review the discovery, add some notes to the client's online file or go straight to Lexis to research it. Elizabeth and I spend less time managing my practice, and I can spend more time just practicing law.

Did I mention my Ipad?
I made the plunge into the Ipad a month ago. My files were scanned so I can access everything on the Ipad without the need for bulky tree killing paper files.

It works almost flawlessly (the Kaufman County Courthouse is a 3g dead zone) and I should quit bringing paper files to court any day now.

What's interesting is the reaction the Ipad received. The legal profession is facing a revolution of technological change and some lawyers are scared. My Ipad has been mocked and ridiculed in open court. I've heard more than a few lawyers opine on the merits of the old fashioned pen and paper practice. Most lawyers have been receptive, but the Ipad is rorsach test for how an attorney views the technolegal revolution.

Lawyers who are either unwilling, or incapable of embracing the wireless/paperless future will be at a competitive disadvantage. The market is going to weed out the Luddites and reward the Jetsons. The business reality is that I can do more better work because I'm not digging through paper files or confied by my law office.

I don't have to bring a file home to work on it. If an idea hits me at 11pm I have instant access to every case I have. This helps me realize my full potential as a lawyer, and find my best ideas to each case.

The old business model- Law office full of huge paper files with law library; Lawyer, Paralegal, Secretary- is dead. The law office has been reduced meeting clients and a focused place to work. It's no longer necessary for quality legal work.

This is frightening and threatening to many of my friends who have had the same business model for years, if not decades.

Potential clients should be aware that technological savvy does not mean someone is a great lawyer. It does mean that you may be paying more for their inefficiency and overhead, and that this lawyer may not be able to handle a larger caseload as well.

I had my first speaking gig for LEAP today. I've been a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition for a few years now and I was excited at the opportunity to present some our ideas to the Richardson Rotary Club.

First, I'd like to thank the Rotarians for the opportunity. Really nice people and very receptive to the discussion. I should join the Rotary club someday. The Rotarians mission of service and promoting peace and goodwill actually lines up quite well with the LEAP message.

On a technical note, I used Keynote on the Ipad for the first time. Better to test it out with a non jury audience before taking it to court. It worked fine, but the Ipad doesn't have a remote control for Keynote- FAIL. You can use your Iphone as a remote if you have a wifi connection. But the Ipad needs a bluetooth remote post haste. I had to stand next to my Ipad and touch the screen to change slides. Not horrible, but it really cuts down on my ability to work the room.

As for the substantive discussion, I first detailed why the status quo must end. Skip ahead if you've heard this before.

1. The War on Drugs is over, drugs won. Drug use has not plummeted and denabd remains largely unaffected despite spending over a $1T and arresting over 39M.
2. Prohibition gives the market over to cartels. At least $20B in monopoly profits. Cartels use these profits to wage war in Mexico (over 20,000 deaths in the last 3 years) and bribe our cops.
2a. Opportunity costs are real; the time we waste busting pot smokers (at the alarming rate of 100 per hour) could be better spent improving the clearance rate of real crime (rape, murder etc).
3. We can win the drug war in 3 easy steps.
Step 1, legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis for medical/recreational use. Pot is 60-80% of cartel profits. That move alone would save thousands of lives in Mexico.
Step 2, take back the addict market. Given away free heroin to addicts under a doctor's supervision. We reduce disease and death, and put more drug dealers out of business.
Step 3. Create a legal market for recreational drugs. People wouldn't smoke meth if we had some legal form of Aderrall available. People wouldn't smoke crack as much if we had the Original Coca Cola back.

That's it. You've put every cartel out of the drug business, and you've given back millions of law enforcement hours and billions of law enforcement dollars to solving crime, not busting addicts and college kids with joints.
The reaction was largely positive. I was asked how we can end the WOD when our politicians lack the will to even discuss the issue. I explained that Rotarians are leaders, not fringe anarchists or economic eggheads (we've got those supporters in spades). Start by talking with your friends, and then emailing your reps in Congress. Tell them we want a new approach, something that works. The subject is still taboo in many circles and we need to change the stigma associated with advocating for regulating, controlling, and legalizing drugs.

One thing I learned is that most people don't spend any time researching this issue. They are busy, and operate on the assumption that the government wouldn't spend so much time and money on the WOD if it wasn't a good idea.

I assume, because I read libertarian/defense blogs frequently, that everyone knows what I know about the WOD and cannabis prohibition. Not so much. The audience are shocked by the fact that over 20,000 Mexicans have been killed in cartel warfare in the last 3 years, that 100 pot smokers are arrested every hour, that the clearance rate for rape is 40% (largely because of the resources wasted on drug cases). Presented with the evidence most will admit the WOD is FUBAR and we need a fresh approach.

To that end, I'm looking for more speaking gigs. Want me to speak at your next event re: ending the failed drug war? Email me directly, or contact LEAP (leap.cc).