Wish List Unlocked: Here’s What Lawyers Want For the Holidays
By Cedra Mayfield
cmayfield@alm.com
Meticulous. Critical. Analytical.
The same traits that often make lawyers great at their craft can also render them difficult to shop for. As the clock ticks down to the holidays, Law.com attempted to eliminate some of the guesswork by directly asking litigators what they’d like from Santa, both literally and figuratively.
However, the answers didn’t come packaged with a shiny red bow.
I suppose it should not come as a surprise that few attorneys willingly shared their actual gift lists.
Fortunately, New York City real estate attorney Joshua Kopelowitz didn’t shy away from detailing what he’d likely give himself.
"My two favorite things are real estate and sports. I have and will continue to travel the world for a soccer game and a great ski slope. With winter upon us, I am looking to get my ski gear in order,” the Fox Rothschild partner told Law.com. "Last year I bought myself a new ski jacket and ski pants. This year, for Chanukah, I am thinking of new ski boots, feet warmer, ski boots bag, and the like. There’s nothing better than seeing our wonderful country and heading to a client’s hotel or restaurant or both after a great day on the trails!"
Kopelowitz's candor turned out to be just as elusive as an active sighting of Santa’s freight. The bulk of the attorneys who opted to share their holiday wish lists with Law.com focused predominantly on improvements they hoped to see in the legal industry as a whole and their individual practice areas.
While improved communications with opposing counsel topped multiple attorneys’ professional wish lists, a desire for “more time” dominated the legal cohort’s personal requests.
'Like Most Lawyers, I Work Long Hours'
In response to a LinkedIn prompt, supervising attorney Will Page of the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York questioned whether "prison sentences for [President-elect Donald] Trump and [New York City Mayor Eric] Adams count?" as eligible wish list requests.
Meanwhile, corporate defense litigator Matthew Feinberg of Goldberg Segalla in White Plains, New York said his conceptual wish included "a 25th hour of the day."
Turns out, many lawyers fancied increased access to the commodity of time. In Georgia, personal injury attorney Richard Kopelman of Kopelman Sitton Law Group in Sandy Springs shared his desire to spend more time with loved ones.
"Like most lawyers, I work long hours and would always enjoy more downtime with friends and family,” Kopelman said.
Atlanta criminal defense attorney Michael Bixon of Bixon Law echoed the sentiment, but also possessed a legal desire.
"For Georgia to legalize marijuana,” Bixon told Law.com.
'Meaningful Penalties for Discovery Obstruction'
In addition to desiring more time outside the office, litigators shared a common yearning for industry improvements ranging from interpersonal communication with opposing counsel to practice-specific litigation stipulations.
Atlanta litigator Michael Neff of Neff Injury Law shared his preference for Santa to grant the legal community "meaningful penalties for discovery obstruction, especially in cases against large corporations.”
"After 30 years of handling complex injury cases, I've seen how strategic stonewalling in depositions can delay justice for seriously injured clients," Neff said. "What I'd really like to see is judges consistently enforcing existing discovery rules with teeth. That would level the playing field for injured plaintiffs and actually save everyone time and resources in the long run."
In Maryland, civil litigator Brent Ceryes of Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico in Baltimore said he wanted "to see continued recognition of public nuisance theories of liability, including on behalf of public entities."
"These causes of action help to ensure that local governments and, by extension, the taxpayers that provide their revenue aren’t stuck with the costs and externalities of industries that maximize their profits at the expense of social welfare," Ceryes said.
Further north in New York, Kopelowitz noted conceptual improvements were also on his holiday wish list.
"I'd ask for one simple thing: the gift of cooperation. If that bar is too high in today's world, I will simply wish for courtesy," Kopelowitz said. "I live and breathe real estate. I get too many cases simply because people refuse to have the courtesy to listen, to respond, to care. An access agreement that turns into a litigation because a phone call is not returned. A transaction that ends up in litigation instead of an amendment. It’s just too much. So that is my wish—a year of cooperation or, if we cannot reach that lofty goal, then a year of courtesy."
Kopelowitz's request for civility carried over to a desire for improved communication between opposing counsel.
"As a lawyer, I've noticed in recent years a trend among many to use email as an alternative to talking on the phone. Forget about face-to-face conversations," Kopelowitz told Law.com. "I’ve always found it beneficial to get to know opposing counsel as early on as possible, but that’s become increasingly difficult, with some lawyers neither taking calls nor returning voicemail messages, instead opting to communicate almost exclusively through email. I’m not suggesting email isn’t useful; it can be, but it isn’t a replacement for telephonic or in-person communication. [It would] be nice to get back to interacting the way we used to."
Meanwhile, personal injury attorney Tor Hoerman of Tor Hoerman Law in Edwardsville, Illinois shared that he'd appreciate "the gift of brevity."
Hoerman described the "wonderful gift" as centering around "witnesses that answer questions without needless explanation, pleadings that don’t exceed and sometimes come in below page limitations, [and] "'meet and confers' that don’t end in 'I will talk to my people.'"
"But the best gift of all would be a peaceful holiday free of anxiety for all of my friends and colleagues in the litigation community on both sides of the ‘v’ and on the bench," Hoerman told Law.com. "We all know how fleeting and evasive that can be in this field that we love so much."
In New Jersey, family law attorney Lynda Hinkle of the Law Office of Lynda L. Hinkle in Washington Township shared that she'd like lawyers in the Garden State to have access to "a working, highly user-friendly e-courts system for every division!"
In Texas, civil litigator Michelle Simpson Tuegel of The Simpson Tuegel Law Firm in Dallas desired a legislative revamp.
"As someone who works in the area of sexual assault and abuse, I understand how challenging it is for survivors to come forward and how common delayed disclosure is. One of my greatest hopes is for Texas, my home state, and Montana, where I am also licensed, to pass revival legislation allowing survivors with older claims to seek justice," Tuegel said. "Montana enacted a similar law that has since expired, but unfortunately, Texas has yet to pass any retroactive legislation addressing the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims. This year, Rep. Ann Johnson of Harris County introduced a bill to change that. Seeing this legislation pass and giving older survivors the opportunity for justice would be the greatest gift."
Don’t Forget the Judges
Litigators aren't the only ones with holiday wishes.
Turns out, judges want in on Santa's legal gift list, too.
In Georgia, Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Shondeana Morris shared that she’d personally enjoy for her family to gift her a spa gift card, “Pottery Barn Plush Gray Faux Fur Ombre Robe, Spa Scented Candle [and/or] Tickets to Friday Nights at the High Museum."
The jurist also held desires for the legal community as a whole that included "a civil, criminal, or domestic trial before the end of the year without any hostility between the attorneys."
"[I would also like for a]ll of our Georgia lawyers and judges to sign up to 'Use Your 6' counseling sessions before the end of the year and commit to attending at least one session before the new year," said Morris, highlighting a program that provides members of the state bar with six clinical sessions per calendar year with an independent, fully licensed counselor.
As for this litigation reporter, I'd like to engage more legal sources who are comfortable with letting their hair down enough to have a little fun when opportunities like this holiday story exist. Oh, and I wouldn't be upset if Santa dropped off a Ninja SLUSHi Professional Frozen Drink Maker, too.
Happy holidays!
