Blog Posts



Parable Project: The Budding Fig Tree

The following is a short parable reported in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke. I rely on Mark's Gospel, which is generally acknowledged as the earliest. It is reported at Mark 13:28.
"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you...

Whither Legal Aid?

The New York Times this morning reports that Legal Aid societies nationwide are feeling the pinch of economic necessity. As interest rates fall in an effort to jump start a lagging economy, revenue for Legal Aid drops. That is because these groups are heavily dependent on income derived from...

Time for a New Dream?

A little more than 45 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and dreamed aloud of a day when all Americans would live in a land where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. We celebrate King's legacy and his...

Drawing Swords In Connecticut; Appoint Judges For Life

Connecticut does not elect its judges, and for that I am truly grateful. Judges who bow and scrape for approval have a tendency to use their discretion in the service of the lowest common denominator. But every eight years, each judge in Connecticut does face reappointment by lawmakers. And that...

The Parable Project: The Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids' parable, also known as the ten virgins, is reported in Matthew's gospel.
I am simultaneously drawn and repelled. Simple virtue would suggest sharing. Who would expect such niggardly behavior by the groom. When is he to arrive? There is no telling. One needn't always be wakeful,...

The Parable Project: The Barren Fig Tree

Trial lawyers are storytellers. But even more, the lives we live become stories. They become stories as we narrate their content. We seek meaning in these narratives, and philosophers, poets and theologians devise theories and means to sort experience into forms that make narrative sense. This much...

A Tax On Legal Services? Fees Will Rise

Estimates of Connecticut’s budget deficit for the current fiscal year range from about $200 million to more than $350 million. No wonder lawmakers are looking everywhere they can for extra tax dollars.
The Connecticut Bar Association fears that lawmakers may be looking to tax legal...

A Word On Parables

A perhaps liberating take on Jesus's parables.
"A parabolic reading insists that the importance of these stories lies in their meanings. An empty tomb without meaning ascribed to it is simply an odd, even if exceptional, event. Only when the meaning is ascribed does it take on significance....

Unreasonable Dicta -- Or Why Herring Stinks

Much in the law turns on the mental state of the the parties involved in a dispute. Three mental states matter both in terms of the criminal law and civil rights law: intent, recklessness and negligence. Confusing these can yield disastrous consequences.
Today's United States Supreme Court...

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