Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus.

1410 Posts and Counting

On Losing Streaks and Black Swans.

We rarely give proper credit to luck. The last Superbowl was won by two astounding plays — Harrison’s 100 yard touchdown run at the end of the first half and Holmes’ acrobatic catch at the end of the game. The odds that the lumbering Harrison would be tackled by the pursuit (he had to run through the entire opposing team to score) seemed overwhelming. But it didn’t happen. So too, were the odds against Holmes pulling in the ball he over-stretched to reach while falling to the ground with both feet barely in bounds. But it happened and by a thread, the Steelers won the championship. The endless retelling of those two plays (at least in Pittsburgh) spoke of incredible skill. Luck didn’t make it into the story. The two heroes were showered with awards and will live in legend as long as Superbowl highlights are broadcast in Pittsburgh. In fairness, large amounts of both luck and skill were required to execute these game-winning plays.

Harrison Barnes, Legal Recruiter, on Over-lawyering the Deal.

This story illustrates a trait often found among lawyers (not all, but many) to overkill a contract negotiation and unwittingly poison the relationship between the parties in the process. Frequently, the client doesn’t even want any of the 1001 changes suggested by counsel but goes along on the assumption that others must be getting all these perks. Over-negotiated contracts eventually lose their focus, consistency and purpose, becoming a meandering affair, full of lawyerly phrases like “notwithstanding the foregoing” and “including, without limitation.”

Urgency.

he task with the closest deadline is viewed as the most urgent – – and perhaps it usually is. But what about the rest of them? Must there be a deadline for a task to acquire urgency?

Judd N. Poffinberger, Jr.

Posted by Cliff Tuttle Judd N. Poffinberger, Jr. passed away on December 2, 2009.  He was described by the ACBA as the most senior lawyer at K&L Gates, a product of merger involving the Pittsburgh firm last known as Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP. Poffinberger, who graduated from Harvard Law in 1949, had been the firm’s […]

Every Story Has a Legal Backstory.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009 Case in point: Elin Woods is renegotiating her prenuptual agreement — with the help of lawyers. CLT

Kudos to Angela R. Winslow who just made Shareholder at Dickie McCamie & Chilcote . . .

It goes to show: you don’t have to look very far from home to find a hero.

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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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