Above: Pictures of Mr. Hayasi and Mr. Popov
Here are a few of my thoughts on the documentary we will be watching today.
1. Facts are slippery things. Even with a videotape and dozens of up close, eyewitnesses, I am still not sure whether Popov caught the ball. Also, often it seems that one side has a compelling argument on the facts...until you hear the other side's version of the facts. The truth often lies somewhere in between.
2. Possession is a particularly slippery concept.
3. "Stonefingers" Finkelman couldn't catch a baseball if his life depended on it, so he devised a theory of possession that would allow him to drop a ball and still claim to have caught it.
4. It is often better to settle a lawsuit than to try it. Litigation is expensive, and sometimes only the lawyers profit from trying cases that should be settled.
5. Some clients use litigation to feed their huge egos--avoid clients like this as a plague. They might even sue you after the first suit ends badly.
6. Is it ethical to generate almost $700,000 in legal fees for a case that may be worth only a fraction of that amount?
7. Some clients (who will remain nameless, but there is a huge overlap with #5 above) are total jerks. Avoid these clients like the plague.
8. Am I the only one who thinks that Judge Kevin "You're So Vain" McCarthy is a little too in love with himself and his 15 minutes of fame? He probably thought that case was about him!
9. Do you embrace the "one ball theory" or the "two ball theory" of the case?
8. Am I the only one who thinks that Judge Kevin "You're So Vain" McCarthy is a little too in love with himself and his 15 minutes of fame? He probably thought that case was about him!
9. Do you embrace the "one ball theory" or the "two ball theory" of the case?
