Friend, here's The Timesheet for January 2008

Don't bother slogging through the millions of videos on YouTube—so many of which are lawyer-bashing, not to mention just not funny. Instead, browse our collection of the funniest law-related videos on the web at The Video Venue.

At The Video Venue, we're aggregating the funniest law-related videos from various web video sites (including YouTube, Revver and Google Video, among others). Not only have we collected the videos, we've also organized them into playlists for your viewing pleasure. Some playlists are organized around the type of video (such as music, movie clips and commercials); others are organized by topic (such as law school, contracts, torts and criminal law). Of course, you can also create your own playlists to personalize your viewing experience.

But to keep the site fresh, we need you to submit your favorite law-related videos, too. You can suggest a video that's already posted to the web, upload a video, or even record a webcam video.

After you submit a video, we will review it for content and quality. If we approve the video, it will be posted to TVV.

Win a $50 Billable Hour Gift Certificate in the Funniest Legal Video on the Web Contest
To encourage visitors to The Video Venue to actively participate in making TVV the best site for law-related videos on the web, we're running a contest to name the Funniest Legal Video on the Web. The winner will receive a $50 Billable Hour Company gift certificate.

To enter the TVV Funniest Legal Video on the Web contest, all you need to do is join the Video Venue community by clicking on the "Members" icon in the Video Venue navigation bar, which looks like this:

The contest runs through January 31. The winner will be announced in the February issue of The Timesheet.

More Video Venue Goodness
Want to follow The Video Venue by RSS? You can subscribe to the site's main feed (for all recently added videos), or the feeds for individual playlists.

Want to share Video Venue with your blog or website visitors? Just embed our completely customizable widget on your site. You can even choose to have the widget display only videos in a particular playlist.

Here's a widget configured to match the look and feel of The Billable Hour website:

(This is just a picture; we were afraid that the
actual widget would trigger sp'am filters)

Want to embed a particular video instead of a widget? Just click "share" when you're viewing the video.

What if it's your mind that needs decluttering? When your brain is filled with "must do" tasks of both professional and personal origin, when you're worried about something, when you're trying to make a difficult decision, and when all of your thoughts are further agitated by the "noise" of life, it's easy to get lost in mental chaos. One day when I was preparing for a major client meeting and dealing with my mother's terminal illness, I stopped by the grocery store on my way home. I knew I was distracted, so I'd taken the time to write down the items I needed to buy. But I proved how distracted I was when I returned to my car to find it still running with the keys in the ignition! I wish I'd had access to the terrific post by Zen Habits titled 15 Can't-Miss Ways to Declutter Your Mind. The tactics (with clarification available in the Zen Habits post):

1. Breathe
2. Write it down
3. Identify the essential
4. Eliminate
5. Journal
6. Rethink your sleep
7. Take a walk
8. Watch less TV
9. Get in touch with nature
10. Do less
11. Go slower
12. Let go
13. Declutter your surroundings
14. Single-task
15. Get a load off (Vent!)

Julie Fleming Brown provides professional and personal coaching for lawyers on topics such as client and professional development, job searches, career transitions, and work/life balance. She is also certified to provide the DISC® assessment. Please visit http://www.LifeAtTheBar.com/ for more information and to arrange a complimentary coaching exploration session. To get your free Life at the Bar Survival Kit, go to http://www.lifeatthebar.com/MenuSignUp.htm

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!

What with the holiday season and all, we've been so busy here at The Billable Hour Company that I didn't have a chance to send out cards to my legal research and writing clients. Luckily, the cards in the "Weird Law Words" series of cards from the Billable Hour Card Store's Lawtoons collection work perfectly as belated holiday cards. The card I use: Although I'll be using Weird Law Words 2, Weird Law Words, More Weird Law Words and Still More Weird Law Words would also work. Who I send the card to: colleagues, clients and friends

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.

To watch more of the funniest law-related videos from all over the web, join us at The Video Venue

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.

©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.

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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!

To view Juris Comic, click here

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.