Brandon Lewis, partner with the Dallas litigation boutique Reid Collins & Tsai, joins us on today's show! Brandon talks about how COVID is impacting jurisdictions differently, reading great writing to improve your writing, and the importance of attention to detail.

COVID-19 Update (Recorded 7/16/20)

Shuttered offices in early March and haven't been back; firm is geared toward working remotely
They have a NYC office
Use tools: Office 365/Teams/Zoom but stay home
Courts shut everything down
different state Supreme Courts came out with new orders regularly and it was a challenge to keep up with the rules of the road for each jurisdiction
Deadlines extended / statute of limitations suspended
Some hearings have been done virtually
Some Zoom mediations
He hasn't done a Zoom deposition though others in his firm have
Mostly pushing things off so they can resume more normal operations
Learning from others how to work from home has been important
maintain schedule
get dressed in work clothes
forgive yourself for struggling and give yourself some grace

His firm/practice:

Litigation boutique of 34 attorneys specializing in complex commercial litigation; director/officer liability; financial frauds/insolvency; professional malpractice.
almost all of the work is from the plaintiff side
Offices in Austin, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and New York
There is a lot changing on the bankruptcy side in the wake of COVID
much of their work arises when a company goes bankrupt
statutes of limitations
new laws for relief
U.S. Supreme Court decision on 546e (the "Safe Harbor" provision") of the Bankruptcy Code
COVID will create a wave of bankruptcies that will ultimately lead to resulting litigation
silver lining is that fraudsters will be exposed

Advice to lawyers:

Read Mark Herrmann's The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
short, easy read
tons of great advice
Read good writing; think like a lawyer and never write like one
Bryan Garner preaches this
Want the judge who reads your work to think Hemingway, not "comes now the plaintiff..."
Best way to write like this is read excellent writing by others
Attention to detail is crucial; table stakes
This will show up in your written work product
When you are done, print it, hold it in your hands, pick up a pen and go through it.
will help you catch typos, grammar, etc.
spell-check isn't perfect and your eyes won't see everything when it's on screen
Read it back to front (one paragraph at a time)
It is not the partner's job to catch your typos
If a partner gives you an assignment, don't just answer his/her question...solve the problem.
Just answering the question assumes the partner asked the right question in the right way, and much of the time that is not the case; assume they asked the question too narrowly or clumsily
Therefore answering the question will likely lead to a follow up question; anticipate that and take the next step to ultimately solve the problem
that makes you indispensable, and indispensable associates are the ones who become partners
Your first client is your partner; that is the person who feeds you work. Keep them happy and it will build your reputation both in the firm and beyond.
Clients will hear about you by word-of-mouth
Be purposeful/target in your community/organizational involvement
add value

Advice to lawyers seeking a job

Attention to detail in documents is key; no typos, no generic cover letters
need to know you want a job at this firm doing what we do
Experience level / writing sample that highlights that
Since most are coming from out of state, want to know why Dallas? How likely are you to stay?
They will ask you to talk about the most interesting/complex case you have worked on; can you explain it to someone who has never heard about it before? That will show them whether you can explain something to a jury/judge.

Rapid Fire questions

Trait/characteristic - good judgment
Habit key to success - learning from mistakes and borrowing from others' ideas
Favorite app/tool - Outlook Calendar and OneNote
Favorite social distancing activity - cooking for the family (especially pork chops)
Favorite legal movie - A Civil Action

Thanks again to Brandon Lewis for coming on the show!