The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Succes

Brian Tracy has traveled and worked in more than 30 countries, studying business, economics, philosophy, psychology, history, and entrepreneurship. The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success is based on those years of study and provides a wide-ranging view of the things that make some businesses -- and lives -- work, and others fail. The author provides a wealth of practical advice distilled into 100 easy-to-follow laws covering the major areas of work and business, such as leadership, money, economics, selling, negotiating, and time management. He includes numerous examples to show how each law functions in the real world and practical guidance on applying it to one's life and work.

Deportation Lawyer

Question: Attorney Lerner, I understand that you are a deportation attorney. Can you describe what qualifications you have to represent clients in deportation proceedings? Answer: Regarding Immigration Law, in 2000, I passed a rigorous examination and extensive experience requirements by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. My firm handles all types of deportation cases from all over the United States. It is critical that you get an expert attorney to represent you for the deportation and removal cases, not just somebody who happens to be local. At the deportation or removal hearing, depending on the case, as a deportation lawyer, I can apply for many forms of relief to try to win the deportation case against the client. Some of these forms of relieve include political asylum, withholding of removal, and convention against torture, registry, adjustment of status, cancellation of removal, termination for deferred action, prosecutorial discretion, administrative closure among others. Question: So what does a deportation attorney do at the actual hearings? Answer: At the deportation hearing, a deportation attorney will be able to perform and guide the client through the entire through the process, the master calendar hearing, the contested hearings, and the individual hearings. Keep in mind that the master hearing is very important as it determines in many instances the direction of the case and should not be taken lightly. The contested hearings are very important as well as they will determine whether or not the charges against you will be sustained and whether the charge of removability will be issued. Finally, the individual hearing is critically important as this is the trial on the particular matter. There will be witnesses, testimony, evidence and other matters which will comprise of the entire trial. After the trial, the Immigration Judge will make a decision upon which you will either win or have to appeal. In any case, it is crucially important to have a qualified deportation attorney who is an expert and has years of experience as a deportation lawyer. Question: How many years of experience as a deportation lawyer do you have? Answer: As a deportation attorney, I have nearly 20 years of experience. With each case, I am better able to handle and help the client who is either in detention or fighting the case while not being detained. Question: How can you take deportation cases all over the United States? Answer: Because Immigration Law is Federal Law, an experienced deportation lawyer who is admitted as an attorney, can practice anywhere in the United States. As for deportation hearings in other States, I travel all over the United States to help clients. Many times, other than the Individual Hearings, the Immigration Judge will allow telephonic hearings. Since deportation and removal cases are very complicated, the client absolutely does wants an immigration attorney who is an expert deportation lawyer. There is too much at stake to hire somebody because they are local or simply charging a lot less money.

Two Names You May Not Know and May Never Hear Much About

But if you are at all interested in what may be coming out of new NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin's office, and if you are an employer you should be, then you should at least know of Jennifer Abruzzo and Rachel Lennie, the new deputy general counsel and assistant general counsel respectively.  See Corporate Counsel's, New NLRB GC Begins Building Labor Legal Team.

Because the GC controls what cases are initiated the legal judgments as to what kinds of cases and the theories on which they will be brought will rest primarily in the hands of these three for the next four years.

The Things People Say and Do

One of the many changes that have happened since I first started practicing law in 1975, is the appearance of services which monitor the filings of new lawsuits and send summaries to law firms. One such excellent service is Courthouse News Service, which actually does a lot more than just prepare summaries of new lawsuits. In the first paragraph of their "about us" they note:

Courthouse News Service is a nationwide news service for lawyers and the news media. Based in Pasadena, California, Courthouse News focuses on civil litigation, from the date of filing through the appellate level. Unlike other Internet-based publishers that simply aggregate information prepared by other content providers, Courthouse News publishes its own original news content prepared by its staff of reporters and editors based across the country.

In any event, one of their recent reports of a filing of a lawsuit by a pro se plaintiff in Harris County, Texas was the following:

Plaintiff points to  ...  an executive assistant, as the source of such office hostility that plaintiff gave her an article titled "De-clawing cattiness at work." She was fired the next day. She wants $600,000 damages.

And just in case you are wondering, it is at least theoretically possible that this did happen as a Google search reveals a 2005 article by Executive Coach Kay Cannon, De-clawing Cattiness in the Workplace.

Apparently, no matter how good the advice, it was not appreciated.

ENDA Half-way Home?

For the first time ever the United States Senate seems poised to pass legislation that would prevent discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgendered individuals appears to have obtained the 60 votes that would allow it to pass. See, Bill on Workplace Bias Appears Set to Clear Senate Hurdle.

However, with Speaker John Boehner in opposition, it seems unlikely that the bill will be put to a vote, much less pass the House. Although this is one issue on which big business is generally neutral, so stranger things have happened.

In a speech last month, I predicted ENDA as one of the first pieces of employment legislation I expected, if the legislative gridlock ever melted.

I will stick with the prediction, but I would be surprised if this were an issue that made gridlock disappear, even temporarily.

A Study That Won't Make You Feel Good in Half the Country

Sara Murray of the WSJ has an interesting story this week about state legislation in the now 23 states that as of January will require employers to allow employees to bring weapons into their parking lots. Guns in the Parking Lot: A Delicate Workplace Issue. 

What caught my attention was the mention of this statistic:

 A 2005 North Carolina-based study in the American Journal of Public Health showed that workplaces that allowed guns were about five times more likely to have a worker get killed on the job compared to workplaces that prohibited all kinds of weapons.

For guns, the linkage was actually 5 to 7 times more likely. For those who want to get into the weeds, a link to an abstract of the study is here.

Now one study alone is not enough to dictate policy, but if I am an employer responsible for assembling a large group of humans 300+ times a year, it would certainly give me sufficient pause to ask for a concrete explanation of why such a legislative action makes sense.

Blogging Is a Habit

And like any other habit, it is much easier to fall out of than create.  I am always amazed how after working out regularly for several months, missing a couple of weeks can put me back to ground zero in terms of the work out “habit.”

That has certainly happened to me with blogging as well.  But with the first Monday of October, which of course is the opening of the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court, it seems a like a good time to try to kick the habit back in gear.

At least I have been doing some things, including sharing some of my thoughts on the practice of law with the folks at the Paralegal 411 website:  http://www.paralegal411.org/interviews/michael-w-fox/

And there’s more in store.  This Friday in Austin, Angie Marshall and I will be speaking at our firm’s seminar on:

TITLE VII AND EMPLOYMENT LAW: THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS

When Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it marked not only a turning point in civil rights, but the beginning of the imposition of an adversary system in the workplace. Trace the history of the development of anti-discrimination law, obtain a greater understanding of current cutting edge issues, and gain an insight into the future during this informative session.

There will be lots of other great speakers and topics as well, including former NLRB member,  Brian E. Hayes.  For more information and registration information, check here:  11^th Annual Labor and Employment Law Update.

And before the year ends, I will be speaking  in lovely Charleston, South Carolina with Peter Hughes and Anthony Alfano, Chief Employment, Labor & Benefits Counsel, Tyco at a program designed exclusively for Labor and Employment law in house counsel .

Our topic:

Trial Techniques for In-House Counsel: Don’t Make Juries Mad

Taking a case before a jury can be a nerve-wracking prospect for in-house counsel. The stakes are high and the results can be gratifying . . . or astonishing. This session will cover multiple trial issues and strategies, including juror insights and strategies for voir dire, challenging evidentiary issues, preparing witnesses, selecting experts, and more.

And hopefully, by then I will also be back in the blogging habit.