Nuts and bolts...

For the few interested in these sorts of things, the site template theme that I had been using for quite a while was deprecated, no longer receiving support or updates. While I put off moving to a new theme for a while, it had to happen. Unfortunately, there was no way to fully configure a new theme to match all the customizing I had done in the old theme (things like custom css controls specific to the them because they address unique labels). The only option was to take a lot of notes about style settings and then jump in with both feet. I managed to get things fairly close, even making some changes I’ve wanted to make for some time but could not because they weren’t supported in the old theme. I still have some work to do to add a few missing things, but the content is basically all there. Anyhow, just wanted to explain what motivated some of the changes (as opposed to sheer boredom with the appearance).

The Complex Litigator is moving domain hosts, so there may be wonkiness...

The Complex Litigator is moving all domain services…right about now. It may be smooth, but it may cause a day or three of strange behavior. The upside is that I can install proper certificates for secure connections, which will speed things up. Also, I can manage the domain in the same place that I manage the blog, so one less trip when things need updating.

Carry on…

UPDATE: Like, OMG, it finally worked. I spent the entire day fighting to push this transfer through.

A word to the (un)wise...

Work product gets reused by other attorneys all the time in the legal profession. No big deal, right? If someone crafts a good argument on an issue, and someone else is facing that same issue, it makes sense to present that good argument. I take no issue with that.

What I do take issue with, however, is false attribution of the original source of the argument. That treads into dangerous terrain. I note this distinction because it has come to my attention that an “enterprising” young lawyer out there copied a large number of very elaborately formatted and designed Microsoft Word templates and then began passing them off as his own to other employers. Re-using an argument I’ve created is fine. Who could blame you really? But to tell an employer that you bring value because of the hard work that went into creating the templates that you ripped? That’s just shady. I am providing this public service announcement while maintaining the anonymity of the little rapscallion in the hope that this friendly note will encourage more honest disclosures going forward. By the way, I have the very first versions of many of those templates (like the mediation brief format I devised to resemble an appellate brief, rather than a letter or a pleading), creation-date-stamped and all, so I could prove my point if I had no other option…

A word to the…wise.

Last day at Berns Weiss LLP

Today is my final day at Berns Weiss LLP. Beginning next week, I will return to familiar terrain, once again into the wage & hour breach.  My thanks to Berns Weiss for everything and best wishes to everyone there.

The biggest move...

After four years at Spiro Moore (formerly, Spiro Moss), I have decided to take the biggest step of all and chart my own course.  There are still some things to sort out, but in short order I will have an announcement about my landing spot and my partner in this venture.  Until then, let me say that it was a privilege to work at Spiro Moore, but I am very excited by what is to come.

I won't be leaving the class action field, but I will be re-tooling my focus a bit.  Much more of my time will be devoted to union corruption cases, and much less will be focused on wage & hour.  There will be some other things to work on, but why spoil every good surprise, right?

MCLE credit for Episode 1 of Class Re-Action is now available

Now that I have State Bar approval of Episode 1 as MCLE, I have flipped the switch on the MCLE store.   If you listened to Episode 1 and feel like picking up an hour of credit for your time, you can purchase the credit here.  Remember, you don't have to do anything to listen to the Class Re-Action podcast, but any time that you would like credit for episodes that you have listened to, you have that option open to you.​

Episode 2 of the Class Re-Action podcast is now available

Episode 2 of the ​Class Re-Action podcast is now available.  After sorting out some audio issues, I can say with confidence that the sound is massively improved upon over Episode 1.  Episode 2 should be available through iTunes and the XBox music store very soon, if they aren't there already.

Happy 5th Birthday to The Complex Litigator!

To celebrate surviving 5 years (holy smokes!) of blogging here at The Complex Litigator, I have rolled out a new look and feel to this site (now live), put the pipes in place to offer MCLE credit for the Class Re-Action Podcast, ​and generally tinkered quite a bit behind the scenes.

The second episode of Class Re-Action will be recording March 24th and available some time that evening for direct download, for streaming, and through the iTunes and XBox stores.​  I will get the MCLE store up and running shortly.  The podcast will remain free; you will have the option of purchasing MCLE credit for a show that you have listened to at your discretion.  The sales are intended to offset the substantial cost of getting the Class Re-Action podcast off the ground with recording equipment and the ongoing costs of providing guests with higher quality (recording quality) microphones for better sound control.  I think it will be more like a tip jar than a commercially viable endeavor.  I just want to come close to break-even.

First Class Re-Action Podcast approved for MCLE credit

I will have more announcements related to this auspicious event, but I just received my notification today that the Class Re-Action Podcast, Episode 1, has been approved for MCLE credit.  The short version is that I have been preparing to move this blog to the newer Squarespace v6 platform to accommodate my ability to offer MCLE credits through the blog.  I will soon be switching to the new platform, and the look will change a bit when I do implement the switch.​

The Class Re-Action Podcast is almost here!

That's right; it was not an empty promise.  It took a lot of wires and audio gear, a boatload of software, and some new skill development, but the inaugural episode of the Class Re-Action podcast is in the can!  I need to navigate a few more hoops to get to the finish line, but I will hopefully have the first episode syndicated out through iTunes and the Microsoft Xbox Music store in the next day or so.  Until then, thanks to my first episode guests of Tim Blood (Blood, Hurst & O'Reardon), Michael Singer (Cohelan, Khoury & Singer) and Tom Kaufman (Sheppard Mullin).