I recently chatted with a colleague representing a young boy with a chronic digestive disorder. The principal of his public school refused to allow him to snack during the day as his doctor required, and the child’s condition seriously deteriorated as a result. My friend brought a personal injury action on the boy’s behalf against the school board and the principal. The case would have been much stronger if my friend had included a civil rights cause of action in her complain

One of the most frustrating events in the life of an appellate attorney occurs when a colleague asks us to appeal from an adverse judgment and our examination of the record reveals what would have been an excellent issue for review but our colleague did not object to the trial judge’s ruling. When we ask, “Why didn’t you object?” we usually hear one of two answers: “I didn’t think of it” (an understandable mistake) or “The judge would not have agreed with me” (an inexcusable