"The Velvet Hammer" Blog — Karen Koehler

Paris day 5 L'Gustation

We rush to make it on time to our last class, cut through the Luxembourg Jardin, exit and realize we shouldn’t have. We are off course, back track and eventually arrive a bit late. Hear the first speaker on Qui Tam – a subject that I don’t think I have any interest in but which is absolutely fascinating. I want to do a Qui Tam. Hear tummy rumbling. Take a quick break. Run to patisserie down the street, pick up a small (it is small – it is it is – well, ok maybe just not gigantic) almond croissant and because it IS kind of small, also get a pain d’raison just in case. Rush back to class and mange both. Much better.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 30, 2010traveling lawyer, lawyers have fun

Low Brow

After another morning of class and petit dejeuner at the same café with Vicky, we get on a bus and drive to the Jacquemart Andre Paris Art Museum. This is a mansion in the area of the Arc D’Triomphe that has been fully restored, furnished in part and upstairs houses an art collection. Today the special exhibit features Rubens and Poussin. There is a tour guide with us. She is in fact an art history professor. Tres knowledgeable and in her heavy but charming accented English begins telling us – even in the bus – of the history of all that we see. We arrive at the mansion. We enter thru the typical non descript façade and step into a scene of beauty.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 29, 2010traveling lawyer

Paris day 3 - le supper et la chanteuse

We meet at a bistro type of restaurant. Our group fills the entire place. Tres impressive. Suddenly, we hear the sound of - could it be - an alto saxophone. Mai oui! There is a bright red headed very slim French woman dressed in a black dress and bomber jacket who has come to entertain us. She waltzes around our tables (I'm not sure how since the sax is as big as she is and there's little navigable room but she is a determined femme). Voila - she is done. We clap.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 27, 2010lawyer seminar, lawyers have fun, traveling lawyer

Paris day 3: going to class

Can I ever be on time for anything? Well, we could have if we’d ignored the delightful petite dejeuner awaiting us downstairs in the breakfast nook. But we don’t. Then we underestimate the walking time and thus arrive at the seminar midway through Jack Sheridan’s speech. We would have been even later if we had stopped at all of the patisseries and boulangeries along the way. He does employment cases and I haven’t heard him speak before. He’s talking about a method to demonstrate emotional damages in whistleblower cases. I like the way he does it with a rating scale.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 27, 2010lawyer seminar

Paris day 2: just call me compass

I head out the hotel take a right and manage to find the Seine river. This is my goal because I figure it will be less difficult for me to get lost. I’ve got such great location radar. It is like my intuition just takes me there. I pat myself on the back (mentally because I’m running of course). And notice that I can go down off the sidewalk and run on a path right alongside the river. I do that and head to the right to see what else is downstream. Not terribly interesting plus the path runs out, so I turn back.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 26, 2010running, traveling lawyer

Paris day 1: staying awake

The guy sitting across the aisle from me puts his blindfold on, slumps over his blanket and doesn’t move until we touch down about 10 hours later. I have no idea how he does this as we get on the plane at 1:30 in the afternoon. Maybe he’s taken a sleeping pill. Whatever he’s done, it is impressive.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 25, 2010traveling lawyer

Which of us is right - did I interfere or did she harass

We aren't supposed to spit, scratch and yell during lawsuits. Most of us do our very best to be as civil as possible. I have numbers of friends I've made who are on the other side. They are the ones who nick named me velvet hammer because "you are nice and soft spoken and will smile as you are pounding on us relentlessly." Donna and I will most likely not ever make it to the friend category. Miracles can happen, but she bristled at me as soon as I walked into the room. And I don't even know her.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 20, 2010deposition, legal profession

Shopgirl

My sister Susan gave me this book last time I was in L.A. The cover is a still from the movie of the same name starring the writer of the book - Steve Martin. I almost never read a book that has a movie for its cover. But Pooh (some nicknames are meant to last forever) tells me I'll like it. Plus this is a novella - not a book - since it is only 130 pages long.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 20, 2010book review

The "P"s

These are the bones of an inspirational speech I've given a few times to trial lawyer associations. The Ps inspire me and hopefully they will do the same for you. Please add to this list and pass it on to another trial lawyer.

Passion - The ability to throw oneself head first into a cause with heart, mind, body and soul. Strangers who observe you can see the energy, dedication and belief emanating from your pores. Without passion we cannot advocate.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 14, 2010legal profession, public speaking

The Lawyer Blog Guru

I look at the clock - 7:40 am - and wonder what is on my plate today. Pull calendar off phone - 8:00 am breakfast meeting Library Bistro. Crap!

Wash face, brush teeth, throw on warm outfit, run out the door, drive across town (2nd Avenue is the best- lights are syncronized) and find a place to park where the meter is broken. I wonder if I'll get a ticket. Run into restaurant ten minutes late (sorry) and there waiting in a cozy corner is a man I met last week on the internet.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 10, 2010writing, legal profession

Blogging Genetics

My daughters rarely read my blogs. At least not voluntarily. I say - you need to read my blog it's a good one. And they moan - mommmmmm we don't need to read your blog. We live your blog. I can't really argue with that. Go back three summers ago. We are in Paris and do our own website so family and friends can follow along on our travels. Each day I blog, they sigh, and we upload the most recent pictures. The night before we leave, Cristina is sick and waiting for us in the apartment (we're staying in a darling walk up in the 7th). The other girls and I have been shopping. We split up about two blocks before we reach home. I go to get them jambon sandwiches, they go to get crepes one last time.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 9, 2010family, writing

Celebrating a manly life

Personally I don't read the New York Times. It is reputed to be one of the largest and best newspapers in the country. I suppose if I was a Very Important Person, I could aspire to have an obituary placed there when I died. A slightly morbid thought for sure. But the Harvard Business Review blog today headlined this article: "The NYT is Dead Wrong." http://j.mp/bX5nWX. And we all know Harvard has a better reputation for smartness than any newspaper.

Karen KoehlerSeptember 6, 2010women

Blabbing to the world

I hit the wrong key and think - did I just hit the wrong key?

Flashback about ten years ago. We are just getting into the whole email thing. Cautiously because we are lawyers and about five years behind everyone else. There are about 500 of us trial lawyers on a listserve. It is changing the way we know and can help each other. Very cool indeed!

Karen KoehlerSeptember 3, 2010legal profession, women, writing, looking back

“The Velvet Hammer” Blog

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