Norm Pattis 
is a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer. He believes that the state is a necessary fiction and that taking it too seriously is the first step toward tyranny.
Get to know him better!
1: what’s your most favourite part of the day?
The first hour of the day: It’s too early for the phones to ring; I have a chance to plan the day and think things through. It is the calm before the day’s chaos.
2: what’s the worst kind of person you ever sat next to on a flight?
Fat, snoring, middle-aged men. They take up too much space, both physically and sonically, and they feel entitled to do so.
3: were you ever in a situation where you came up short with a good come back? You can give it now!
Boy, oh. That’s hard. I feel much like Sisyphus every day. A judge once gave a complex and detailed oral ruling denying a motion to suppress evidence and killing any chance to prevail on appeal. She smiled at me as she finished her ruling. I immediately stood and said: “All of which to say, reasonable minds can disagree.” I then moved for her to reconsider a decision I thought “improvidently founded in fact and law.” She stopped smiling.
4: which trial/case still haunts you till today?
A client killed himself not long ago. I miss him still. I defended him in complex civil litigation. I spoke to him the day before he died. I wish I had known to listen better.
5: if you have a blog, how did you get started? Who or what inspired you to blog?
Mike Cernovich of Crime and Federalism called and asked me to blog in 2005. I did not even know what a blog was. He inspires me still as he is an independent thinker. I have come and gone in the blawgosphere: I stick with it because it helps me to clear my head and stay focused.
6: did you end up in the profession of your childhood dreams?
My childhood was so chaotic I had no dreams beyond avoiding harm. I struggled to find the right profession. I think I would prefer writing fiction, but I have neither the time nor the talent. So I suppose the answer is no as dreaming about a profession did not seem to be an option. I was too scared.
7: tell us about your most embarrassing experiences in a restaurant, peeing in the wild, opening a bottle of wine, or do-it-yourself projects. Pick one and tell all!
When I was a young, first-time home owner, I decided to replace a door into the house. I removed the old door, and attempted to put the new one up. But I could not get it aligned, and spent the better part of a day fussing with it. An elderly neighbor took pity on me as the sun went down, and had the door up, swinging and in just the right shape in about 10 minutes. I still have no idea how he did it.