Thursday, October 29, 2020

In a bind

Once upon a time, a few years back, the wife and I took a vacation to Europe.  While traveling about, I saw what Europeans consider everyday business fashion for men - a two-piece men's suits with uber-slim, leg-gripping pants.  I mean, these their pants were (just about) hermetically sealed to guys legs.  It really bugged me those pant legs were so narrow.

Thing is, I like my pants to be airy; I like space between my legs and the fabric.  When I sit down, I don't want to have to fight to sit down.  See chair, plant backside. That simple.  It's not so simple with those tight-fitting suit pants - you gotta coordinate what you're going to do before you do it.

So, what has all this to do with law and legal things (and yes, there is a connection)?

The other day I'm talking with a lawyer person.  Seems lawyer person is having a quandry.  Seems lawyer had filed a civil action.  Seems lawyer's client was of the sleezy type and lawyer really didn't want to file the civil action but client was persuasive (money and all) and lawyer shot off the complaint.

Pursuant to S.C. R.Civ. P. 12(a), a defendant has 30 days in which to respond to a complaint (basically the same time frame in all 50 states).  Turns out it is day 32 and defendant has not filed a response and Lawyer is feeling torn between his legal duty and his civic duty.  He tells me - do I file a request for default (under S.C. Rule 55) or wait (because sleazy client, and all) in hopes defendant gets their act together?

What would you do?  

I mean, people bag on attorneys all the time about their being a bunch of money-grubbing, ambulance-chasing s.o.b.s but, as it turns out, some (actually, many) of them have a conscious and want to do the right thing - even if their bar card hangs in the balance.

Anyway, lawyer is in a bind (not unlike those European men suits some guys wear) and is sitting in front of me (me, of all people) because, well, that's the life of a lawyer.  You go to law school for 3-ish years, pass the bar, know tons of stuff about law and legal things and sometimes (yes, sometimes) you have to seek the power of an omnipotent law librarian to help make sense of it all.

Yeah, sometimes it's just like that.

1 comment:

  1. Woman here...who has worn leggings, but not to work. The thing about leggings is that because they are so stretchy, you don't have to maneuver them any which way in order to sit down. You see chair, and plant your behind.

    That is very different than dress pants or those European skinny pants for men. That kind of maneuvering is reminiscent of a dog spinning circles and shuffling a blanket to make sure it is comfortable.

    While the intent of your piece is not about leggings, it is great to hear that some attorneys out there have integrity. Thanks for all the great work you do!

    ReplyDelete