The last four hours, CNN has had a parade of defense attorneys, prosecutors and other legal analysts commenting on the livid judge who ordered Paris Hilton back to jail.
If you’re an attorney who practices in your own hometown and national legal news like this breaks, offer commentary, even if you’ve never represented a celebrity.
That’s what I told host Travis Greenlee, who hosts Rainmaker Retreats for attorneys, when I was a guest on his teleseminar on Wednesday. The topic? How attorneys can generate publicity.
Some ideas:
—5 signs a judge is angry.
—Why Paris wouldn’t like your local jail either. One attorney said jail wardens and prison officials puposely turn down the thermostat so low because it “calms down” inmates.
–The judge and the sheriff’s department in L.A. had a shouting match during the hearing, with the sheriff telling the judge that he can’t tell them what to do with their prisoners. He did. They caved. Who’s in charge in your town?
–What about people you’ve represented who have had “mental issues?” Are the local courts ever forgiving?
Analysis. Perspective. A cool head. A controversial or contrarian viewpoint.
If you have it, offer it.
It seems to me this Paris Hilton prison jail saga could be a stage for lawyers in the personal injury civil case areas since Paris got in trouble related to a DUI.
So if your state say is tougher than others on DUI you could comment on how Paris Hilton got off easy compare one of your own DUI cases to Hilton’s and show how unfair it is to some of your clients.
What about Five DUI Trial Mistakes Paris Hilton’s Lawyer’s Made.
How Personal Injury Attorney and Presidential Candidate John Edwards Would Go After Paris Hilton’s Money
How Personal Injury Attorney’s Protect Citizens Against DUI Cases Like Paris Hilton’s
Why Celebrities Don’t Get The Book Thrown At Them In DUI Cases
The DUI Life: How Paris Hilton, Tracy Morgan And Lindsay Lohan Get Through The Not So Simple Court System
Actually the best talk to professionals and for a hard news channel you could give would be called something like: “Hidden Agendas: How A High Profile Celebrity Case Can Expose The Political Aspirations Of Those In The Justice System…in Hilton’s case the sheriff is using Paris’s incarceration to try and push through some reformation of the jail overcrowding situation, while the city attorney and the judge are attempting to assert their authority over the penal system and the rule of law.
For laypeople I think a talk on “How To Ensure You End Up With A Competent Attorney If You’re Ever Facing Criminal Charges And Jail Time” would make a lot of sense here. I see potential malpractice on the part of Hilton’s counsel in how they have communicated with their client and in various courtroom and filing gaffes they have made (like not bringing Hilton in for hearings when the judge has scheduled them leading to delays which aggravate the arbiter of the client’s fate, not timely filing the psychiatric report with the judge to get Hilton home sooner assuming jail really is making her crazy and dangerous to herself, etc).
Celebrities don’t always get the best counsel even if they have a lot of money to throw at them.
I like your ideas, but I wonder how many attorneys would have the courage to talk about that.