The Better Chancery Practice Blog

With around 400 substantive posts on this blog to date, and another 160 not-so-substantive, you can’t be blamed if perhaps you find it a challenge to dig up what you’re looking for. So here are some tips to help you find that elusive post you’re seeking, as well as to enjoy the blog in general.

Rooting Around  …

• SEARCH. See that box on the right-hand panel with the word “Search” and a magnifying glass? Move your cursor over there right now and type in Unknown Heirs. Go ahead. I’ll wait. See? You are taken to a page with a selection of posts where that term appears. Try different terms, like child custody, publication, Albright, whatever. Just click on the title of the post you want to read, and Voila! Hint … If you’re searching for a rule, like MRCP 56, it’s best to use a search term for the substance of the rule rather than its number. “MRCP 56” might return every use of MRCP and the number 56, as in 56 So.3d 788.
• CATEGORIES (right panel). Under the Search Box is another box under the title “Search Older Posts by Category.” The box says, “Select Category.” When you click it, a drop-down menu will appear. Select a category and you will get a selection of all the posts in that particular category. It’s a good tool to start big — for instance, “Estates” — and refine your search with other tools.
• CATEGORY (left panel). So you’re reading a post about notice to creditors in an estate and wonder what other posts there might be on this topic. Click on a category and you’ll get a selection of the others in the same category.
• TAGS (left panel). Tags are like categories, only a little more refined. Click on a tag and you will find other posts that I aassigned the same tag. Tags are not neceessarily consistent, though, so this isn’t a sure-fire search tool.
• WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN READING ABOUT. Over there on the right is this feature. It registers the most frequently viewed older posts in this 24-hour period. It’s like the “trending” function on some web sites. You might see something there that piques your interest.
• OLDER POSTS. Scroll down the page and you’ll see this legend with a list of months and years. Click on one and you’ll get a selection for all the posts for that particular month.
• PAGE JUMP. Go to the very bottom of the page — either scroll down or hit your “End” button — and you’ll find several boxes with numbers. “1” is this page. Click on another number to go to earlier pages.

12th District Info …

• HOME. At the top of the page are four buttons. Home is today’s page. When you’re through reading those posts you searched, click HOME to return here.
• ABOUT. This button is there for folks who wander here unawares and want to know exactly what all this nonsense is “about.”
• TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. If you’re wondering how to get a case scheduled for hearing in the 12th District, or what a pre-adoption conference is and why it’s necessary, or how we handle irreconcilable differences divorces, or how to set an ex parte or Rule 81 matter, this is the tab you need to click.
• MY BACK PAGES. (Apologies to Bob Dylan) This tab gets you info about me, including contact, bio,  disclaimers and more.

Checklists, Notebooks and Fair Use …

• I encourage you to copy posts you find useful. One way is to copy and paste. To print a post, click on the title and you will be taken to a page with only that post on it, which you can then print. If you try to print from the main, or “Home,” page, you will print out ten posts.
• The checklists particularly lend themselves to use this way. Print out the Albright checklist, for example, and have it in your file for your next custody trial. I actually keep a binder on the bench with all of the checklists. If you’re handling an estate, print out the checklist for closing an estate and track it through your handling of the matter to a conclusion so that you’re sure to do everything required in the proper order.
• Lawyers have told me they are printing out posts and making notebooks tabbed with subject matter according to how they use them. Great. I think this is a marvelous idea. And feel free to make copies of whetever you need to include in your trial notebook. If you have an upcoming trial with a thorny evidentiary issue and you find a post on point, copy it and have it handy. Caveat … Don’t cite me as authority — I’m merely a lowly trial judge — cite the case or other authority referred to in the post.
• You are welcome to copy anything here for your own private use in the practice and study of law, but not for commercial or for-profit use. If you use want to use anything from this site in a publication, please ask permission first and give credit.

Links and Comments …

• On the right panel are links to some blogs and web sites that you might find helpful. They are grouped under headings. “Courts and the Bar“ has links to the appellate courts, the very useful Second District web page, and the MSB page. “District 12 Law Firms“ has links to all of the web pages that I know of for law firms physically located in Lauderdale and Clarke Counties. If you want your link here, set up a web page and give me the link, and it will appear. “Lawyer Blogs“ includes links to blogs by lawyers around the state. These are informational or of general interest; not included are lawyer blogs that are marketing tools or self-promoting. A post highlighting some of these is here. Lawyer blogs that go un-updated for too long disappear from my blogroll. “Mississippi in General“ has links to blogs with Mississippi news or of interest to Mississippians. “Resources“ is a set of links to blogs that you might find helpful in your practice of law. “Schools“ links to the two Mississippi law school web sites. “Worth a Look“ is a selection of links that I find entertaining, or interesting, or simply quirky. Be sure to check out my favorite, Holiness Snake Handlers, which opens with the incomparably memorable line “Take my opinions with a grain assault.” These change from time to time, according to my whim and caprice.
• Comments appear under posts. All comments are moderated, so yours may not appear immediately after you comment. Comments are encouraged, particularly ones that raise questions that bear a closer look, as well as comments that prompt discussion. Filtered out are abusive comments and comments by laypeople castigating the courts and the legal profession; there are plenty of other forums where that sort of thing is enjoyed and encouraged.

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