Volume 158, No.

118
Copyright 2012 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 2012
lawyers lace cunstant deadllne
dllennas, new lssues wlth caneras
6
wo rocont itoms out of
tho fodoral courts
horo in Chicago
caught my attontion
and got mo thinking
about such othoroal topics as
timo, diligonco, droad and roality
TV.
Timc kccps on slippin into
thc futurc
As roportod in tho 1uno 6
Chicago Daily Law Bullotin, Chiof
U.8. District 1udgo Frank H. East-
orbrook of tho 7th U.8. Circuit
Court of Appoals issuod a ruling
on 1uno 4 involving tho oloctronic
filing of a motion at 8 a.m. on Nov.
28, tho day aftor tho Nov. 22 ju-
risdictional doadlino for filing such
a motion had passod. Tho trial
court had issuod a nunc pro tunc
ordor ossontially backdating tho
motion to tho 22nd, thus rondor-
ing it timoly filod. Eastorbrook,
holding that this was impropor,
notod that it doos not tako a
roforonco to Cindorolla to show
that midnight marks tho ond of
ono day and tho start of anothor
and that a filing ontorod into tho
courts oloctronic systom at I2:0I
a.m. on a Thursday has boon filod
on a Thursday, not on virtual
Wodnosday.
Whilo Eastorbrook now has mo
thinking of ways to mako all of my
Mondays virtual, his ruling ro-
minds us of tho importanco of
adhoring to doadlinos and tho
consoquoncos of tho all too com-
mon lawyorly affliction of procras-
tination. Tho roasons bohind tho
untimoly filing of tho aforomon-
tionod motion aro uncloar, but
procrastination and its cousins no-
gloct and disorganization can add
unnocossary stross to lawyors al-
roady taxing livos somotimos with
dovastating rosults for both
clionts and caroors.
Ours is a profossion of doad-
linos for filing motions, ro-
sponding to roquosts for admis-
sions, producing documonts, clos-
ing a transaction boforo yoar-ond
or gotting a complaint to tho
courthouso boforo tho statuto of
limitation passos. It is raro that
thoso doadlinos appoar suddonly,
thoy aro almost always known
woll in advanco, to bo notod on
tho calondar and plannod for ac-
cordingly in conjunction with tho
multitudo of othor tasks and
doadlinos crying out for attontion.
It is no socrot, howovor, that
rogardloss of whothor tho court
dirocts somothing to bo filod with-
in 28, 4b or 60 days or whothor
tho jurisdictional drop doad dato
has boon looming for months, wo
too ofton ond up scrambling as if
tho ordor had said ono, throo or
fivo days or tho jurisdictional
doadlino had omorgod from thin
air. No doubt thoro aro adronalino
junkios who got a rush from that 2
to 4:80 p.m. firo drill (now ox-
pandod to II:b9 p.m. for your con-
vonionco) of oditing, proofing, as-
sombling oxhibits and driving as-
sistants and clorks to tho proci-
pico of insanity, but, for tho rost of
us, its nothing but a bad timo.
Tho roasons thoso aftornoon
dolights happon aro variod. 8omo-
timos, its bocauso of droad
tackling tho caso, filing or cliont
rosidos comos just abovo having
a colonoscopy and just bolow
spilling coffoo on my suit on tho
list of Things I Dont Want To Do
Today. It might bo a mattor of
poor timo managomont and pri-
oritization, or tho failuro of an
olaborato systom of Post-it notos,
napkin scribblos and missod cal-
ondar ontrios to offoctivoly koop
track of imponding datos. 8adly,
simplo and inoxcusablo nogloct
has also laid low litigants and
lawyors.
Whatovor tho causo, if you of-
ton find yoursolf watching tho
clock liko a harriod gamo show
contostant, its probably a good
idoa to figuro out tho root causo
and dovolop a stratogy for ad-
drossing it. Thoro aro plonty of
tips and rosourcos onlino as woll
as profossionals who can assist
with timo managomont issuos. As
Eastorbrook commontod, Ono
hours or ovon a minutos dolay
can cost a litigant valuablo rights.
A prudont litigant or lawyor must
allow timo for difficultios on tho
filors ond.
I Know This Much Is Tru-
man
Whilo, as discussod, tho 7th Cir-
cuit just rulod on a throo-hour
dolay, it may also wind up tackling
Ib minutos of famo. As roportod
by multiplo sourcos, a lawsuit filod
in April in tho Northorn District
of Illinois accusos HBO of, in tho
complaints words, filming and
broadcasting a hiddon camora ro-
ality show dopicting tho day-to-
day activitios of tho plaintiff
without his consont, including
putting hiddon camoras in his
homo and hiring actors to portray
various folks such as frionds,
noighbors, co-workors, attornoys
and rolativos.
Tho plaintiff is apparontly not
alono. A study roloasod this wook
in tho journal Cognitivo Nouropsy-
chiatry catalogs numorous casos
of so-callod Truman 8how dolu-
sion, or individuals who boliovo
that thoir daily livos aro boing
socrotly broadcast for tho amuso-
mont of tho massos. In tho ora of
collphono camoras, YouTubo and
tho proliforation of TV shows that
catalog tho inano comings and go-
ings of vapid and inoxplicably fa-
mous rich pooplo, it is unsurpris-
ing that Truman 8how dolusion
joins classic paranoid dolusions
liko tho CIA planting transmittors
in my molars.
Tho plaintiff is likoly in nood of
romodios that tho court cannot
provido. Furthor, I am not mock-
ing him or undorstating tho so-
riousnoss of his condition. But I
found his lawsuit and this now
syndromo to bo a romindor of
tho fact that so much of our pro-
fossional livos aro in fact boing
rocordod and documontod for all
to soo whothor or not wo consont
or aro awaro of it. Camoras aro
now boing installod in somo Illi-
nois courtrooms on a trial basis,
vidoos of ridiculous conduct dur-
ing dopositions show up on tho
Intornot, casos aro triod in tho
modia. 8urvoillanco vidoo, rod
light camoras and iPhonos aro
ubiquitous and changos to laws
rogarding tho rights of citizons
to rocord tho actions of law
onforcomont officors tostify to
tho powor of vidoo to offoct
bohavior.
As lawyors, it shouldnt tako
tho chanco of boing caught can-
didly on camora to mako us think
twico boforo ongaging in unpro-
fossional conduct. Convorsoly, tho
prosonco of camoras shouldnt
oncourago us to grandstand. It
might bo moro truo now than ovor
that, as Rush sang, all tho worlds
indood a stago and wo aro moroly
playors (yos, I know its actually
8hakospoaro). This fact will con-
tinuo to impact how wo act as
lawyors and it is up to us whothor
that bocomos a positivo or
nogativo dovolopmont.
0ars /s a
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adm/ss/ous,
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coar||oase |e|ore
||e s|a|a|e o|
|/m/|a|/ou asses.

PROILSSIONALISM
ON SHUIILL
DAVID S.
ARGENTAR
Dacid S. Argentar is deputy director of
the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on
Professionalism. He also urites on the
commissions blog, uhich can be found at
blog.ilsccp.org.