Amy Goodusky
Amy F. Goodusky, a former paralegal, rock 'n' roll singer and horseback riding instructor, is of counsel at O'Brien, Tanski & Young in Hartford.
Legal Ease
Thrill Of Victory, Agony Of Lost Case
Monday, October 19, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
My past two columns have featured ever-so-slightly fictionalized excerpts from a lawyer's diary, with the names changed (actually, redacted) to protect the not-so-innocent. The first installment examined law school and the bar exam. Part two focused on not-so-glamorous early years at a law firm. Here we go again with part three:
Legal Ease
'Favorite Beatle' Query Not A Career Highlight
Monday, October 5, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
Last week, I offered Part I of a thinly fictionalized version of an actual lawyer's diary. It started with law school and ended with successful passage of the bar exam. Here's the second of three parts: January 1997: Managed to bluff my way into this job. True, everyone thinks I am still a paralegal, but now I get to leave my desk periodically which may almost be worth the money I spent on law school, not including all the packages of cookies I bought from the truck. I miss the lunch truck guy.
Legal Ease
Lawyer's Diary, Vol. 1:Back To School Days
Monday, September 28, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
Delivered into a doldrum which would otherwise have been consumed with the remaining two weeks of a trial, I decided to write a column - but about what? As I reached for the chocolate, my gaze lit upon my Lawyer's Diary. Suddenly, I regarded it in a new light: A Lawyer's Diary! So, the next several segments of this execrable epistle will be devoted to a thinly fictionalized version of an actual lawyer's diary. To be fair, I should start with law school.
Legal Ease
A Legal Board Game Could Be Appealing
Monday, September 21, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
When I think of the summer of 2009, I will remember that it rained. There was nothing much to do with the exception of scanning the monsoon from the window, eating unseemly and immoderate amounts of chocolate and playing board games. This sparked my entrepreneurial flame. There should be a board game for civil lawsuits!
Legal Ease
Outburst Leaves Counsel With Egg On Face
Monday, August 31, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
One of my fellow members of the defense bar proved the existence of God. I am sure she was not aware of it at the time. The evidence, however unintentional, was persuasive. In the interests of keeping her identity secret, I have omitted any details of her physical appearance and have changed her initials. I will refer to her as "B." Here is what happened.
Legal Ease
This Bump On Head? That's A Long Story
Monday, August 3, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
A claim I am defending on behalf of a hospital involves a rather unusual event. When I conducted an obsessive-compulsive review of the treatment records, I discovered that to each physician, the Plaintiff in question had described that incident in slightly different terms. In one case, he said the incident occasioning his medical treatment had happened at home. In another provider's records, the incident is documented as having occurred while he was on vacation.
Legal Ease
Not An Actress, But Plays One In Court
Monday, July 27, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
Don't tell anybody, but I have a degree in theater. When I obtained it, from an eccentric educational institution notoriously devoid of scholastic structure which everyone colloquially called "Camp Hamp" I genuinely believed that I had a future in the performing arts. Of course, I had some evidence that I could perform, having been drafted out of a bathroom at the infamous Mad Murphy's to sing in a rock 'n' roll band.
Legal Ease
A Disclaimer To Satisfy The AG, Aunt Mildred
Monday, July 13, 2009 | by Amy Goodusky | The Connecticut Law Tribune
The stock in trade of most lawyers I know is language. No single class of persons plays as well with semantics, vocabulary, and most pertinently, doctoring the spin of it all. We are famous for tweaking, modifying, shading, couching, maneuvering, posturing, inflaming, exhortation, rumination, innuendo, implication, vindication, fervent advocacy and equally ardent defense. Lawyers are also expert in surreptitiously inserting clauses, codicils, provisos, exceptions, dodges, disclaimers and definitions in our quest for linguistic legerdemain. This stuff is called the fine print.
