If you come here often–and I appreciate those of you who do–then I want you to know you’ve been greatly appreciated. The fact that you come here and read my ramblings means the world to me, and I want you to know that. Since we opened the doors of the Collaborative Compound, there’s been a…
Ever said something nasty to someone else on the Internet? Thought so. You may want to reconsider the next time you do that, because now Federal Prosecutors are having their say in who can question them and who cannot. This article by Ken White at Popehat explains the nuts and bolts of it better than…
There’s a technique we use in collaborative practice called establishing the “third narrative.” It requires one to put himself or herself in the shoes of the other side, consider their points and yours, and then reach a point where one can construct a version of the events leading to the conflict that makes sense for…
The Internet Outrage Machine never stops. One week, we get a story about a Muslim woman who was targeted by “Islamophobes” because she couldn’t get an unopened can of coke on a flight. The next week, we get a story of people who are offended by backwards words on public transit. Another week, stories circulate…
I need to avoid the news when I wake in the mornings, certainly so until after I’ve finished my coffee. I didn’t follow that maxim this morning, and now I’m left shaking my head over the way the world has lost its damn mind. The Columbia University Mattress Girl, Emma Sulkowicz, has now created an…
The trial yesterday was one of the most brutal I’ve ever encountered. I don’t want to go into details, but I will say that in this situation, the collective power of the State of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services and a Guardian ad Litem who had made up her mind and simply didn’t give a…
I attended Carson-Newman College for undergrad, and spent about a year and a half in an education program at the University of Tennessee pursuing a Master’s. Carson-Newman was and still remains a quiet little Southern Baptist institution that required all students to attend church services at least once a week to graduate. UT is a…
Personal and professional stuff to follow here. Those not interested in either can move on safely. ====================================================== I live with a fear as a parent that most won’t know. It’s inescapable, and it’s not the traditional fears of things like “will Talia reach something on the counter she shouldn’t” or “will Sebastian go to a…
This week, I’d like to thank Indiana Governor Mike Pence for providing us with yet another example of why making laws isn’t always the best of ideas, and the rest of the world for reminding us why–yet again–people don’t really get the process of lawmaking, or how passing a law can have unintended consequences. There’s…
I recently got an open house invitation to a new mediation practitioner’s office in an area not too far from Compound West. The new “Mediation Center” had a fancy set of invitations, and links to a new website. As I am one who always welcomes another interested soul in bringing change to the legal profession…
Snow has been falling here in East Tennessee for the past week. It’s continuing now. The weather started with freezing rain and an ice storm, then cleared out mildly enough for people to get to the grocery store. Now it’s snowing again. Knox County schools have been closed for a week. Most counties in Northeast…
You’d think people working in the world of professional wrestling, where parties are insulted routinely in screaming matches, hit with steel chairs, thrown through tables, and subject to backstage “ribs*,” a treating physician working on wrestlers would build a little thicker skin than most. Apparently, you’d be wrong. On February 19, 2015, Christopher Amann, a…
About a year or two ago I got asked who my biggest influences were when I spoke in court. I usually tend to give two answers: Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Paul Heyman. I think the latter is someone who every attorney needs to watch tape of carefully to learn the art of getting your…
I’m sure many of you remember me talking fondly about Knoxville-based comedian J.C. Ratliff’s album recording last year. It was an amazing evening at Sassy Ann’s, an incredible set by J.C., and full of crazy moments including the Knoxville Fire Marshall attempting to shut the entire show down. Since that night, people have been asking…
Via Jamie Satterfield at the Knoxville News Sentinel’s “Lady Justice Unmasked” blog, we have a ruling from the Tennessee Supreme Court that shocks absolutely no one who does work in Tennessee’s Juvenile Justice system. The Department of Children’s Services is now under no restraint whatsoever to prove they have made reasonable efforts to reunite children with…
The Collaborative Compound 