©Stu Rees. All rights reserved.
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Did you Know that Stu also licenses his artwork for use in newsletters, presentations, print publications and on websites? He even offers special rates for student and teacher use.
You can also purchase original artwork and custom prints (framed or unframed) from Stu.
Timesheet readers get 15% off all licensing orders, original artwork and custom prints (use coupon code BILLHOUR). Click here for information on licensing "Two Late Timesheets", click here for information on licensing "Management Committee", or visit www.Stus.com for more information on licensing one of the hundreds of other images Stu offers. For more information on original artwork and custom prints, click here.
|
Greetings From TBH: Need to Send Belated Holiday or Birthday Wishes? Lawtoons to the Rescue!
|
|
My message: in this case, the punch line is in the inside of the card:
Dilatory
Behind us are Christmas
And the miracle of eight,
But for sharing good wishes,
It's never too late.
May you have health and prosperity
'Til December's last date
In short, all the best in 2008!
Other features I use: The "Classic" font has a celebratory feeling that I think is perfect for holiday cards. I use a rich font color (like maroon or navy) and make the font bold. I also upload my logo, which is printed beneath the text. I have the cards shipped to me, so that I can write a personal note and hand-sign each one.
|
These cards also come in handy as belated birthday cards.
If you have a story about how you use TBH greeting cards, we'd love to hear from you: send your story to us at info@TheBillableHour.com. Tell us what card you use; who you send it to; what message appears inside the card; whether you take advantage of our optional free personalization features (do you upload your signature/logo? Do you upload a photo to be printed on the inside left panel?); whether you have your cards sent directly to the recipients or shipped to you; whether you have uploaded your contacts directly into your cardstore account to make sending cards even easier; and the reaction you've received from recipients.
©Dan Rosandich. All rights reserved.
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
|
Video of the Month: A Speech for Those Very Special Clients
|
To watch more of the funniest law-related videos from all over the web, join us at The Video Venue!
Special Book Excerpt: Trial by Ordeal and by Battle
by Adam Freedman
|
Trial by jury was a medieval invention and, some would say, remains a distinctly medieval spectacle. For centuries, the British determined guilt and innocence by the ordeal, such as the ordeal by water—if she floats, she’s a witch—and the ordeal by fire (cousin to today’s commonly-invoked "trial by fire"), in which the accused had to walk nine paces with a red-hot iron in both hands.
Another method of dispute resolution, trial by battle, or battel, was imported to England by the Norman conquerors. Although not distinguished by verbal jousting, trial by battle had its own technical rules of pleading. A man accused of a crime could demand a battle by pleading "not guilty" followed by the words "and I will defend the same by my body." After which he would have to throw down his gauntlet (an armored glove).
In 1215, the Catholic Church effectively abolished trial by ordeal. Suddenly, authorities all over Europe had to find an equally scientific way to determine innocence and guilt—a tall order at a time when bloodletting represented the latest in medical technology. British jurists hit upon the novel idea of rounding up twelve local men and making them swear to tell the truth. The twelve men were called a jury, from the Old French word juree, and ultimately, from the Latin jurare, meaning "to swear." Jurare, by the way, is also the root of jurat, a word that is still inserted at the end of many boilerplate affidavits, next to the notary public’s signature.
You might have noticed that the Church did not abolish trial by battle, but only trial by ordeal. The right to a battle was hardly ever invoked after the fifteenth century, but it remained a legal option in England until 1819. In that year, a man named Abraham Thornton stood accused of murdering young Mary Ashford, whose elder brother William pressed charges. On November 17, 1817, Thornton appeared in the Court of King’s Bench and was asked to enter a plea. He entered a plea of not guilty and challenged Ashford’s brother to a battle. He then threw down a large gauntlet; presumably to the astonishment of all present. The case against Thornton was dismissed and Parliament rushed through legislation to ban trial by battle.
There is a postscript. The Act of 1819 only applied to England and Wales. In 1985 two brothers on trial in Scotland invoked their right to trial by battle against the Queen’s champion. The court, however, decided that the right to trial by battle no longer existed in Scotland and, even if it did, the brothers had failed to throw down a gauntlet. So there.
Excerpted from the book The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese by Adam Freedman. ©2007 by Adam Freedman. Reprinted by arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, L.L.C.
Lawtoons
by Suzan Charlton, Esq.
|
©Suzan Charlton. All rights reserved.
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Suzan Charlton is a professional cartoonist who is rumored to practice insurance coverage law as a hobby for a major Washington D.C. law firm. Her cartoons cover a wide range of law-related topics, from law school grades to law firm romance.
Song of the Month: The Language of Law
by the Bar & Grill Singers
|
(sample)
Available on Grilling Me Softly
The language of law
Notwithstanding and hereinabove
Wherefore said shall include but not limited to
Quid pro quo sine die
The language of law
Jurisdiction and sine qua non
Ex post facto in rem guardian ad litem
In personam de jure
Voir dire habeas corpus interrogatory
Due process probation plea of not guilty
Issue subpoena deposition duces tecum
The language of law
Mitigation and statute of frauds
Motion in limine interlocutory indefeasibly vested
Plaintiff assumption of contractual indemnity
Hearsay consideration motion j.n.o.v
Jury hereinbelow special exception
Recusal abuse of discretion
The Rule of Perpetuities
The language of law
Inter vivos and per capita
Testamentary trust equity omnibus
Pro hac vice amicus
The language of law
Intervenor ab initio
Forum non conveniens scienter lis pendens
Witness non compos mentis
Per se obiter dicta writ of certiorari
Ex delicto ordered adjudged and decreed
Res ipsa loquitur in accord and satisfaction
The language of law
Jurisdiction and sine qua non
Ex post facto in rem guardian ad litem
In personam de jure pro bono
Sing the language of the law! Cha cha cha!
Just one of the hilarious songs on
Poeticus Lex: Where There's a Will There's a Way
by Fred C. Russcol, Esq.
|
You can't protect your heirs until
You get yourself a valid Will,
Failing which, the State will choose
The way things go, despite your views:
As guardian for minor child,
If valid Will has not been filed,
The courts will have discretion to
Select without a word from you-
The person chosen by the courts
Will do acts of heir-raising sorts!
Administering your estate
May be a person you would hate,
But if you leave no Will behind
The court will just be flying blind.
Your money, stocks and bonds, and jewels
Will pass by statutory rules
And you will not have any say
In how they give your things away;
Without a Will expertly made,
Your wishes will not be obeyed.
And taxes that you might avoid,
If proper tactics were employed,
May reduce, to your chagrin,
What passes to your kith and kin
If you neglect to contemplate
A fitting plan for your estate.
The best part of a Will, you'll find,
Is that it gives you peace of mind,
To know you’ve acted to ensure
Your loved ones will be quite secure.
The main concern is not to wait
Beyond the point when it’s too late;
Since none of us can ever tell
Just when we’ll make our last farewell,
The only prudent course to take
Is to give your heirs a break
And start to make a Will today,
Without another day’s delay.
(If some heir later makes you sore,
That's just what codicils are for!)
Fred C. Russcol, Esq. is Of Counsel to Castro & Remer, P.C. in White Plains, New York. This poem was originally printed in the Westchester Bar Journal and is reprinted with the permission of the Westchester County Bar Association.
