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Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "The perfect deposition question has the following characteristics:

• It's short -- it contains no unnecessary words;
• It's clear -- it contains no ambiguities and is susceptible to only a single meaning;
• It's self-contained -- its meaning can be ascertained with reference to the one single question, standing alone;
• It's free of pronouns like "he," "she," or "they" -- otherwise, it would violate the rule just above;
• It's plain -- it contains simple words as opposed to complex, difficult ones; and
• It's a single question -- it contains only one question, not two or three.

Where can you find perfect deposition questions? You might find them in a deposition transcript, but you might not. The perfect deposition question is often an ideal, something you'll try for but won't always achieve.

Why should you care about making your deposition questions better? To the extent that your deposition questions lack the characteristics of the perfect deposition question, they will be harder for you to use in the ways that lawyers use deposition answers: in motions, for example, or for impeachment at trial. Questions that are ambiguous, confusing, or hard to understand will lead to answers that will be that much easier for the deposition witness to evade if that turns out to be what the witness wants to do..."

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Posted by Bonnie Shucha: "In her Wisconsin Law Journal blog, Bev Butula offers tips for researching layoff information. One of the databases she mentions is JWT Inside's Layoff Report Database.

The researcher can search by week or keyword. The weekly report lists the various companies, locations, affected workforce, news source, and date of the layoffs for that particular week.

Refinement by industry, metropolitan area (includes Canada), headcount, or date range is available. These results first provide a list of the company, date, and industry. Selection of a particular company will then take the user to the news story. It appears that the database goes back to the late 1990's.

To give you a flavor for what's included, see the screenshot below of a search I did for layoffs in the Madison area in the last year.

[To view screenshot see the source site listed below]

Bev also suggests the Bureau of Labor Statistic's Mass Layoff Statistics site.

The main webpage provides instant statistics on the right hand side of page (with an RSS feed). The page also offers links to the various databases to query and tables. Like many BLS tools, these databases are very dynamic and provide an extensive amount of information."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

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Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "The United States Code is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is divided by broad subjects into 50 titles and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since 1926, the United States Code has been published every six years. In between editions, annual cumulative supplements are published in order to present the most current information. In addition, the United States Code browse feature has been restored. The browse feature allows you to browse individual U.S. Code titles, down to the section level, for the latest available update. In the current table, Titles 1 through 41, with the exception of 38A, are based on the 2006 edition (January 3, 2007) of the Code. Titles 38A, and 42 through 50 Appendix, are based on Supplement V of the 2000 Edition (January 2, 2006) of the Code."

• 2006 Edition (Titles 1 - 41, with the exception of Title 38A) (The general and permanent laws in effect as of January 3, 2007)

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 30 December 2008. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Guy posted: "I may get more value out of Twitter than anyone else on the planet because I use Twitter as a tool--specifically as a marketing tool--for my website Alltop and my book, Reality Check . If the concept of using Twitter in a commercial manner interests you, keep reading. If it doesn't, then you can continue to send and receive tweets about how cats are rolling over and the line at Starbucks. 

Forget the "influentials..."

Defocus your efforts...

Get as many followers as you can...

Monitor what people are saying about you, your company, and your product...

Ask for help...

Make it easy to tweet on your behalf...

Create an email list...

Make it easy to "post to Twitter..."

Offer advice deals to Twitter users...

Tell the complainers where to go...

The full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "One of the reasons my column runs in more than 200 newspapers is that I send out one blog post a week to about 1000 editors. I have to do the list manually because, big surprise, most editors at most papers do not subscribe to blogs.

Today I was besieged by out of the office responses. Of course, everyone is out of the office. Very little news happens between Christmas and New Year's that you can't predict and write beforehand.

The time between Christmas and New Year's is a great time for you to take things into your own hands. During this time, almost all of senior management is completely checked out in most industries. After all, this is what senior is all about - getting to go where you want to at the end of December. So you might find that there are opportunities to get a big break.

For example, two years ago, my investment banking brother was sitting around in December and a big merger came up. He got to do high-level work on the deal because no one wanted to interrupt their vacation. And here's another example: I know that what's going on in Israel is not cheery news, but there is a bunch of western journalists getting their their first chance to report on a big story because the big-story journalists want to be with family and friends the last week of December.

So much of career advice is about finding someone to mentor you and taking jobs with people who will create opportunities for you. But that's not enough. You also have to take responsibility for yourself.

So use this time to make your own big break. Keep alert for something big that might need doing, and, in the meantime, if there's not something big, here are five ideas for what else you can do at work between Christmas and New Year's."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, 29 December 2008

Business guru Peter Drucker offered this brilliantly succinct description of the difference between managing and leading: Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." Makes sense--but can you measure the cost-benefit tradeoff of one against the other in a law firm, in both qualitative and quantitative ways?

The authors have dealt with hundreds of lawyers and law firms in our years as practice management advisors. When asked to perform confidential evaluations, it becomes apparent fairly quickly when we're working with a firm that falls into one of four areas in terms of leadership and management. We fancy those four areas as being like elements of the cosmos, so indulge us while we spin that metaphor to explore leadership in qualitative terms. Then, we'll pitch some benchmarking data for a more quantitative perspective.

A Law Firm Cosmology in Four Parts

In the universe of law firms, management and leadership--be they strong or weak--intersect to produce the following types of firms..."

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Thoughtful Legal Management, 11 December 2008

From the e-newsletter:

"The Government Domain: Wrapping Up 2008 http://www.llrx.com/columns/govdomain40.htm

E-gov expert Peggy Garvin provides an overview of the significant developments in the world of online government information this past year. According to Peggy, overall the year saw a push by individuals and nongovernment organizations for increased access to digital government information. Specifically, new official government and non-government websites came online, and existing sites developed more sophisticated features.

E-Discovery Update: My E-Discovery Holiday Wish List http://www.llrx.com/columns/ediscoverywishlist.htm

Conrad J. Jacoby's holiday wish is for the legal community to finally develop one or more judicially accepted standards that can be used to craft consistent ways of requesting and producing information. With baseline procedures in place, both producing and requesting parties, as well as judges, will be able to make more informed decisions about the need for discovery and the way in which such discovery should be conducted."

Source: Pacifici, Sabrina. "New on LLRX.com for December 2008." Copyright © LLRX TM, Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://www.llrx.com/subscribe.htm>.

From the blog: "We've seen the Billable Hour conundrum in legal publications for decades, returning like a boomerang that we thought finally escaped our grasp.

Then a few months ago you find the Billable Hour appearing in the business press. Hmmm, interesting.

But when Mrs. Wired GC hears it on the radio last Friday, it means (a) things are changing or (b) an extremely slow news day at NPR. I, for one, would have driven into a ditch.

The four minute audio is available here.

There are some excellent sound bites, including a sort of point-counterpoint between Nicole Auerbach from Valorem Law Group and Pamela Rothenberg from Womble Carlyle.

Paraphrasing, for the Flash media player-impaired..."

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source:  The Wired GC, 25 November 2008

From the blog: "Hosts: Denise Howell, Colette Vogele, Ernest Svenson, J. Craig Williams, and Scott Wolfe

 

Obama's BlackBerry issues, blogging vs. advertising, the MySpace suicide case, and more.

 

Talking points: http://delicious.com/thisweekinlaw/19.

 

Audible pick: We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business, Unabridged, By Barry Libert and Jon Spector, Narrated by Stow Lovejoy. For a free audiobook, visit AudiblePodcast.com/twil."

 

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: This Week in Law, 16 December 2008

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Center for American Progress Action Fund, Lifetime Losses: The Career Wage Gap, by Jessica Arons: "Unfortunately, even in the absence of intentional discrimination, most women in this country also are likely to lose substantial amounts of income due to something we at the Center for American Progress Action Fund have termed the "career wage gap." The more commonly known gender wage gap is the annual difference in median wages between men and women who are employed full-time. The career wage gap looks at how the current annual gender wage gap accumulates over a 40-year period. It thus provides us with an estimate for lost wages over a lifetime of work.

• View an interactive map of wage gaps for women "

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 29 December 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Robert Ambrogi: "The Washington bureau of McClatchy Newspapers has launched a legal-affairs blog, Suits & Sentences. The blog is written by reporter Michael Doyle, a former Knight Journalism Fellow at Yale Law School and an adjunct instructor in journalism at The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs."

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Source: Robert Ambrogi's LawSites, 29 December 2008

In the news: "Goodyear's defense against a lawsuit brought by Jeffrey Katzenberg of Dreamworks over defective heating hoses illustrates how trial technology can show jurors the structure and mechanics of a multimillion-dollar home, and the craftsmanship and rare wood that went into it."

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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 30 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: "The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday announced adoption of its rules regarding public access to court records-- its first formal policy guiding what court records the public can and cannot see, according to the Toledo Blade--ending, or at least putting on hold for a time, a debate reaching back some six years or more that initial addressed privacy matters & identity theft concerns as more courts began making records available on the Internet. ( Court's Announcement )

Cleveland lawyer David Marburger told the Blade that the rules were not as problematic as those proposed a year ago, but that they still set a bad precedent. "It opens the way for broad swaths of closed court records," he said. "The court assumes it has the authority to adopt these rules and amend them later to identify a record solely based on its content that should automatically be kept out of the public domain even if no litigant in a case asks that the record be closed." Marburger questions the Court's authority, in the first place, to issue general rules he says go beyond administrative housekeeping to affect litigants' substantive rights.

Amendments proposing the new rules were submitted after some two years of work and research by the Commission on the Rules of Superintendence, which makes recommendations to the Supreme Court regarding the rules that govern all Ohio courts.

Language for the rules, the Court said, was based in part on the report and recommendations of the Privacy and Public Access Subcommittee of the Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Technology and the Courts, a subcommittee that included members of the public and the media. Rules include:

The Court will instruct local court personnel next year in the intricacies familiarizing them with the public access rules.

Rules become effective May 1st. 2009"

 The active links are available at the source site listed below.

If you really want to be a great service organization, an important question to ask is: does your IT department provide great service? And with that in mind, you can go on to ask any number of similar questions:

• Does your website development team provide great service?
• Does your HR department provide great service?
• Does your accounting department provide great service?

If you didn't pick it up already, the core issue is the quality of internal customer service. 

If your customer service department is providing excellent service on a consistent basis to all of your customers, that's great. It means that the people in that department understand the importance of customer service and are both motivated and empowered to deliver superior customer service.

However, if those people go to inquire about their health insurance or how to get their computer fixed and they have to work with an angry employee who is obviously not committed to the same level of service excellence, it can be discouraging. It can really wreak havoc on a corporate culture when some people are highly motivated and others don't care...

Full text of this post is available at the source site listed below.

Sheryl Katz has experience as a BigLaw associate and partner (WilmerHale, Bryan Cave, Perkins Coie, and Graham & James), general counsel, and business person. Here are her comments:

I read your blog post about the possibility of large companies getting sick of big firms and going to small firms. Having been a General Counsel I think this is highly unlikely as more than a minor trend.

If small firms that would do the same quality work for less were truly available, I would have farmed out more work to them. In some cases former law school classmates, or former attorneys at Wilmer or other firms that I knew, were available in smaller firms to help on matters. Sometimes this resulted in good quality work and lower bills. However, small firms often don't have the depth of staff, so some matters that are not even necessarily that big can really only be handled by a bigger firm. Also, on a lot of transactions you really need your tax lawyer, corporate lawyer and banking lawyer to be at the same firm.

Then there is the issue of outside parties on transactions. If you are working with a large bank or Venture Capitalists or Private Equity, you may find that they want to work with a "name brand." Often they are indifferent to the legal fees because they are not the ones paying the bills.

There are very good lawyers everywhere; there are great solo practitioners. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of mediocrity. If, as General Counsel, I had to put too much work into the project training outside counsel or fixing their work, then I didn't want to use them again. The firm I used the most was expensive but always did an excellent job, and its associates were efficient enough that the bill was often cheaper than less competent counsel from smaller firms.

On the other hand I regularly used a small IP firm that had split off from a large mega firm. The work was consistently great and it was a bargain. But I knew the lawyers really well and before I used them I tried several small IP firms and was very frustrated.

Going to a large firm in a lot of cases is sort of like going to a chain restaurant. You pretty much know that the minimum you are going to get is going to be acceptable. And if the firm messes up, as General Counsel, you are covered. After all, you can always say "It may be a mess but Blank, Blank and Blank is reputed to be a great firm so don't fault me for hiring them."

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Source: Strategic Legal Technology, 26 December 2008

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "The process of picking the best posts of 2008 is actually very subjective. But I do think that year-end lists are a good way to look at the conversations we have had this year, and how our thinking has changed both personally and collectively.

Posts about my divorce weren't my most popular, but I learned the most from them:

...

Subjectively popular posts of 2008

The Hardest Part of My Job is that Everyone Lies about Parenting June 2008 (161)

Plastic Surgery is the Next Must-Have Career Tool, Maybe May 2008 (126)

Advice from the Top: Marry a Stay-at-Home Spouse or Buy the Equivalent May 2008 (168)

7 Reasons Why Graduate School is Outdated June 2008 (135)

Living Up to Your Potential is BS June 2008 (202)

My Annual Rant about Christmas at Work Dec. 2008 (187)

Post that generated the most thank-you notes:

How to Answer the Toughest Interview Question Feb. 2008 (117)

Post that I cried the most while I wrote:

The Part of Postpartum Depression that No one Talks About Feb. 2008 (102)

Post with the most diatribes in the comments section:

Writing Without Typos is Totally Outdated May 2008 (151)

Post that generated the most interviews from mainstream media:

Give Thanks that there is No Job Shortage for Young People Nov. 2008 (115)

Most popular guest post:

Twentysomething: Why My Generation is More Productive than Yours Sept. 2008 (140)

Thank you so much for all your comments and emails. The blog continues to be my favorite part of my job. And maybe my favorite job that I've ever had."

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Neurolaw and Criminal Justice

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Neurolaw and Criminal Justice: Ken Strutin's article highlights selected recent publications, news sources and other online materials concerning the applications of cognitive research to criminal law as well as basic information on the science and technology involved."

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 December 2008. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Deep Web Research 2009

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Deep Web Research 2009: Marcus P. Zillman's guide includes links to: articles, papers, forums, audios and videos, cross database articles, search services and search tools, peer to peer, file sharing, grid/matrix search engines, presentations, resources on deep web research, semantic web research, and bot research resources and sites."

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 December 2008. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

In the news: "Economy-driven corporate cutbacks in holiday celebrations this year could be good news in at least one sense for legal and human resources departments: fewer party-related harassment claims. The gift for ACC's 25,000 members is a free two-minute phone message on "holiday party ethics" - including an overview of acceptable party behavior - for in-house lawyers and HR executives to share with employees."

 Read full text

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In the news: " In e-discovery, sometimes the lawsuit is the first sign of trouble that forces you to immediately choose which fires to fight. Don't be paralyzed by fear of failure or confusion about where to begin. Trial lawyer Craig Ball suggests eight steps to take before the ESI experts arrive."

They include:

Read full text

By Julie A. Fleming: "The last couple of weeks of the year offers a fine time for several activities.  Finishing the last work of the year and getting bills out is task critical, but not the only one on the list.  Attending holiday gatherings and talking with clients and other contacts to express your appreciation and good wishes for the new year is likely at the top of the list.  (If it isn't, perhaps you should reconsider.)  Recreation, relaxation, and re-energization may be on the list for many, which presents a good chance for starting 2009 ahead of the game. 

I always recommend that, just as you close one day by checking on what went well or not and laying plans for the next day, you close the year in reflection and planning for the next year.  I recently challenged a client who'd been working some comfortable but unsuccessful client development activities with the observation that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  After a moment's silence, she chuckled wryly and said, "Well, I guess I've always been a little off...."

So, what's gone well this year, and what must you change to reach your goals?  Sometimes the changes are minor, like choosing to reach out to a different group of lawyers in your firm or your network in hopes of building a stronger professional community. 

And sometimes, the changes demand real courage and unflinching honesty.  When I started Life at the Bar in 2005, I faced a huge learning curve.  I wasn't getting the results I wanted, so I decided to work harder... And harder... And then finally, exhausted, I looked squarely at the facts and admitted that I needed to change something if I really wanted different results.  That's when I began re-examining my business approach and asked for help.  I worked with a marketing coach one-on-one for several months, and earlier this year I joined a marketing mastermind group led by a coach. 

From the Law Practice Today: "Ed Poll offers wise counsel about how to insure that your firm will operate successfully in a tight credit market and ways to remain solvent in a troubled economic climate."

Talking points include: Banking Considerations, Operating Cash, Deposit Management, and the Fundamental Principle.

Read the article

Source: Law Practice Today, December 2008

 From the blog: "How does a case proceed once it does get selected by a firm? In part two of this discussion on the life cycle of a lawsuit, Ringler Radio host, Larry Cohen and co-host, Bill Wakelee, Settlement Annuity Specialist in the Philadelphia office, welcome back Attorney Paul Brandes, Partner at the firm, Villari, Brandes & Kline, P.C, to discuss next steps in proceeding with a case. They will discuss the secondary process of pre-filing of the lawsuit, how to be thorough in the process, risk versus reward situation and get a real life example of a case that came full circle".

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Posted by Jim Hassett: "The holidays are a good time of year to step back and get some perspective.  So I just spent some time re-reading what top bloggers wrote in 2008.  Here are a few you won't want to miss:

From Tom Kane's Legal Marketing Blog:  More on What GCs Look For in Outside Law Firms.  

From Dan Hull's What About Clients?:  If you can't steal our clients, you're fired.

From Gerry Riskin's blog Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices: Bravo Pepe & Hazard for demonstrating what "client driven" really means. 

From Bruce MacEwen's blog Adam Smith, Esq.:  Heller Ehrman (1890-2008).

From Larry Bodine's Law Marketing Blog: Only 3% of Legal Work is Influenced by Directories.

From Amy Campbell's Web Log:  Large Law Firms Getting Serious About Value?  An Introduction to ACC's Value Challenge.

And finally, from my own blog, an oldie but a goodie: The top ten ways for lawyers to increase client satisfaction.  Nothing is more important than increasing client satisfaction, especially now.  If you want more ideas for how to accomplish that, see The LegalBizDev Success Kit."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Posted by Carolyn Elefant: "I've been reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, which explores those factors that contribute to extraordinary success.  Though I'm not quite finished with the book, I've already found so many nuggets that help explain why some lawyers who start a law firm experience wild success while others flounder.  I'll share some of these reasons after I've finished the book, but for now, I'll focus on just one factor that matters:  fulfillment.

Some experts would have you believe that you can snap your fingers and poof - without breaking a sweat, a successful law firm materializes, one where you work four hours a week and earn hundreds of thousands of dollars.   That's not the way starting a firm works, at least not in my own experience.  And in fact (and this is something that in a world full of Four Hour Work Week wannabees, I'm almost embarrassed to admit), I wouldn't even wish for a magic potion that would produce an insta-lawfirm because putting in the work is what makes starting a firm so rewarding to begin with.

Of course, long hours doesn't have to mean drudgery, and that's what Gladwell emphasizes. Those who find grand success don't shirk work; they embrace and celebrate it because it doesn't feel like a burden to those who love what they do.  Writes Gladwell (p. 159):

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "The employment rate of people with disabilities, by Burt S. Barnow. 44 Monthly Labor Review • November 2008.

"Critical issues in evaluating employment policies for the disabled are the measurement of employment status, the measurement of disability status, and the question of which subpopulations of the disabled should be included; no clear consensus has emerged regarding the outcome of these issues, except that surveys must provide more comprehensive coverage."

Promoting employment for people with disabilities has long been an important policy objective in the United States. Some examples of Federal policies whose goal is to increase employment for people with disabilities are the vocational rehabilitation system, funded by grants from the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration to the States; the Ticket to Work program; the Work Opportunity Tax Credit; and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Many of these policies are relatively new; yet analysts have noted a decline in the employment rate of people with disabilities in recent years,1 and some evaluations of the ADA indicate that, rather than increasing employment, the Act may have reduced employment for those with disabilities. These surprising findings have led some observers to take a closer look at employment statistics for such individuals. Perhaps, they argue, it is not that the programs and policies have failed to aid disabled individuals in finding employment; rather, the statistics themselves are misleading and inappropriate."

Posted by StephanieWestAllen: "From the program Web site:

Cutting Edge Law and the Transformational Lawyer - J. Kim Wright

Doug is a lawyer turned peacemaker. Early on in his journey from being a hard core trial lawyer to becoming a healer, teacher, mediator, and peacemaker he learned about the work of J. Kim Wright.

Listen here.

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: idealawg, 23 December 2008

Posted by Ron Miller: "The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog offers a tip on avoiding asked and answered objections in depositions: "The deposition has now gone on about an hour. Is there anything we've discussed so far that's refreshed your recollection as to whether there was one meeting or two?" There is a reason why on material questions lawyers often ask the same question more than once: we often get different answers."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

For about 50 years the 'billable hour' has been a dominant feature of the legal profession. Coined by some as the "cockroach of the legal world," many argue that it's all about the 'quality' of time spent on a client, not 'quantity'. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi, as they welcome Attorney Stewart Weltman from the Weltman Law Firm to discuss the status of the 'billable hour'. They talk about the shift in legal billing practices and reaction from the legal community."

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 Full text of this interesting article is available at the source site listed below.

In the news: "In e-discovery, sometimes the lawsuit is the first sign of trouble that forces you to immediately choose which fires to fight. Don't be paralyzed by fear of failure or confusion about where to begin. Trial lawyer Craig Ball suggests eight steps to take before the ESI experts arrive."

Read full text 

Posted by Jordan Newman: "Back in September we introduced an iGoogle gadget that makes it possible to read recent posts from all of our corporate blogs, right on your dashboard. With the help of developer Ben Lisbakken, we're ready to roll out the next version of the gadget, which translates posts into 34 languages. Using Google Translate, the gadget gives people all over the world access to posts they might otherwise be unable to read. The default setting translates posts into the language in which your browser is set, but you can also choose from any of our supported languages by going into the "Edit" setting (found in the "Menu" arrow in the right-hand corner). If you want to learn more about Google in Latin America or AdWords in Russia, for example, but haven't had the chance to learn Spanish or Russian, give the gadget a spin. While machine translation is not exact, and we're constantly working to improve the quality, hopefully this new feature lets you get the gist of the post.

Here's a list of the supported languages:
Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Just choose the category of blogs you would like to read and click the "Translate" button.

The gadget will translate the posts and give you the option to "Revert" back to the original language. And to read the entire blog in translation, just click on the blog title beneath the post.

We hope you have fun exploring the entire Google blogosphere."

Illustrations and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Posted by Michelle Golden: "Recently published by Law.com is an article by C.C. Holland that I contributed to, along with a few other blog experts and practitioners.

Though directed at attorneys, the info in the article is just as valid for CPAs and other professionals who are interested in doing great blogs.

How to Build a Better Law Blog

Don't have a blog and wondering what you'd even blog about?

From the article, this is what John Mesirow, who writes Legal Juice (which is a VERY cool looking blog reminding me yet again mine needs a serious make-over), says about that.

"Over the years I had a file of interesting cases, bizarre statutes, anything law-related that was funny, weird or crazy, and I had the idea to start a blog," says Mesirow.

Although the blog's main purpose is marketing (it's cross-linked to his firm's Web site and has helped boost traffic), he stays true to the mission of the content: "If I think it's funny, entertaining or interesting I put it up there.

Also in the article, another reference to the fact there are over 2,000 law blogs out there and, according to our Accounting Blog List, a paltry showing of 60ish accounting blogs...this number having about doubled since last May (the beginning of the 2008 accounting marketing season).

Don't expect too many accounting blogs to sprout between January and April, but I bet next summer we'll see a significant up-tick in accountant blog numbers."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Thank you for choosing our blog as the Best Legal Blog Digest in the 2008 Law-Related Blogging Awards (The Blawggies)! It is an honor to be nominated with Robert Ambrogi, Carolyn Elefant and Kevin O'Keefe! Thanks again to one of the "Master Bloggers!!"

Check out the other winning legal blogs at his website http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/2008/12/dennis_kennedys_2008_lawrelated_blogging_awar.html

In the news: "Offshoring has been widely adopted by many companies when it comes to back-office operations. But LPO -- legal process outsourcing -- is different. Despite the early hype, companies have not been as quick to sign up. Some are worried about the quality of the work, and cite cultural differences and security concerns as reasons for the reticence of some legal departments to send work abroad. What about 2009? Will recessionary pressure to reduce legal costs push more companies to ship work overseas?"

Read full text 

In the news: "Is it true that law firms never promote legal secretaries from within? Very true, according to The Assistant-at-Law, a legal secretary for a Texas-based firm. In her own experience, and based on what she's seen, legal secretaries don't just face a glass ceiling, but a lead one. It's not that she's never seen a legal secretary obtain a promotion, but exceptions -- such as the secretary who received a promotion only after developing a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome -- are less than inspirational."

 Read full text

Posted by Tom Mighell: "Another day, another blog from Epstein Becker Green. This one is the Executive Women's Networking Blog, and it's a forum for women executives to share their experiences [and] opinions about business development, networking, mentoring, and life/work balance. It's published by Frances Green, a partner and member of the firm's Labor and Employment practice."

The active link is available at the source site listed below.

Posted by John Jantsch: "Keyword research tool Wordtracker recently added a cool free tool called Keyword Questions. I think this has some great SEO potential for small business marketers.

Search engines have gotten really good at returning results for anything people want to know, so a growing number of people search by simply asking questions. What is marketing? How to install WordPress widgets? How to make a duct tape wallet?

The idea Keyword Questions is that you can put any keyword of phrase in its search box and it will return a list of the actual questions people are asking about that topic and some measure of the volume. Using this tool for all of the various terms related to your business could spark some great and very specific ideas for creating blogs posts and pages that address and are optimized for these exact questions.

I am often asked why business owners would want a blog and this is a great reason. People may not be looking for another blog to read, but they are searching for answers to questions and challenges and getting good at answering those exact questions is a fabulous way to use a blog to build business."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "Most people who are on top of their game respond to most emails within 48 hours. However some emails are so terribly written that it's actually impossible to send an answer. Other emails are so terribly written that the amount of time it would take to figure out what to answer is simply not worth it.

In order to get the response you're looking for, you need to ask a very good question. Here are five ways to do that:

1.      Don't send an essay...

2.      Don't be vague...

3.      Do heavy lifting in the self-knowledge arena before you ask for help...

4.      Ask the right question of the right person...

5.      Admit when you don't have a good question... 

Full text and the active link are available at the source site listed below.

Source:  Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, 22 December 2008

In the news: "Web 2.0 provides new ways for users to communicate and collaborate, such as blogs, wikis, social networks and file-sharing sites, and increasingly, it's part of the workplace. In addition to the benefits of Web 2.0, law firms and companies are beginning to realize its legal risks."

Innovative companies necessarily tolerate some legal uncertainty while the law catches up with new business practices, but three best practices can reduce the legal risks of Web 2.0 developments:

1. Establish clear company policies...

2. Develop Appropriate Terms of Use...

3. Take advantage of legal protections in Web site design...

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 22 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe  <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the e-newsletter: "Legal Files Software, Inc., a leading case and matter management software development company, now further supports a virtual office by offering seamless integrations with popular mobile devices that run on BlackBerry or Windows Mobile operating systems."

Read more...

Source: FindLaw's Public Advisor. 1 December 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

About this Issue: Usual and Customary Practice

Now, as next year beckons, it's time to turn good ideas into action, making them your usual and customary practice. This issue offers suggestions from lawyers and experts that are put to effective use every day. Don't wait to make them a habit for you.

Lead Article: Case Study - Young Lawyer Shows Five Ways to Build a Team of Allies to Make Your 2009 a Success

Premeditated Business Development: How it Can Work for You or Against You

Rx for a Growing Practice: What Your Doctor Could Tell You about Business Development

Get the Words Out; Get the Names In - Speaking and Writing with a Purpose

Clients at the Gate: Why You Can't Afford to Keep Your Colleagues a Secret Anymore

Let Your Presentations Come to Life

Top Ten Networking Tips for Lawyers

Marketing Tip: Crafting the Perfect Case Study...and Why

Story synopsis and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Posted by Ed Poll: "I have warned about the dangers of law firms paying staff salaries and even partnership draws by using their bank lines of credit. In a credit line arrangement, the firm borrows and repays at will up to the amount of the credit line, which the bank regularly reviews and extends, increases or terminates as circumstances warrant." 

Continue Reading...

Posted by John Wallbillich: "Bloomberg reporters Carlyn Kolker and Lindsay Fortado delivered a great article today about one company's ability to get a substantial discount in exchange for a continued commitment of business:

Lawyer Mark Peroff made a promise to the Japanese maker of the video game "Final Fantasy" when he moved to Hiscock & Barclay, a 200-attorney firm in upstate New York: I'll cut my legal fees if you follow me.

The answer from his Tokyo-based client Square Enix Holdings Co.: "We're on board," according to Peroff, who works out of Hiscock's Manhattan office and says he's undercutting larger New York firms' hourly fees by up to 20 percent.

This article is worth printing out and marking up. In-house lawyers will find it instructive; law firms might consider it as wallpaper for a dartboard.

As far as the annual rate increases, this year firms may find that clients are in a different frame of mind. It may be that holding the line on rate reductions is the new increase.

More later this week (I'm on my way to a post-election kegger; half-full or half-empty depends upon your point of view...)."

The active link is available at the source site listed below.

Source: The Wired GC, 4 November 2008

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "The topic of today's post is overstatement. An example of overstatement can be found in the title of today's post, in which I suggest that overstatement might be the only writing problem that really matters.

Well, not really. It is important, though. At Robust Writing, Jesse Hines explains the concept in "Overstatements: An Enemy of Honest and Accurate Writing"--

When you overstate something, you're stating it too strongly, exaggerating the merits of your idea.

Overstating things can undercut your overall argument and diminish anything else you have to say in the eyes of your readers, potentially propelling them to ignore you altogether.

If you engage in overstatement, you won't be able to maintain your credibility as a legal writer, as I noted in my article, "Five Steps Towards Persuasive Writing." Hines makes a similar point and quotes from Strunk and White--

When you overstate, readers will be instantly on guard, and everything that has preceded your overstatement as well as everything that follows it will be suspect in their minds because they have lost confidence in your judgment or your poise. Overstatement is one of the common faults. A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a single carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for readers, the object of your enthusiasm.

Overstatement weakens the force of your legal arguments. Add it to the list of problems you check for during self-edits.

Link from Celia C. Elwell and Raymond Ward at the (new) legal writer.

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Trial Practice Tips Weblog, December 18, 2008

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "TechCrunch: "Video search on YouTube accounts for a quarter of all Google search queries in the U.S., according to the latest search engine numbers from comScore. Its monthly qSearch report, which was released on Thursday night, breaks out the number of searches conducted on YouTube. If it were a standalone site, YouTube would be the second largest search engine after Google. More searches are done through YouTube than through Yahoo, which has been the case for the past few months."

Additional resources include:

"YouTube and the Law"

"Not Your Grandchildren's YouTube: Lawyers Tap into Marketing Potential of Online Video"

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 1 June 2008. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Ron Friedmann: "In the Web 2.0 world, companies interact and learn from their customers via the web. What lesson can we draw for the legal market?  

The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World in the Wall Street Journal Business Insight / Journal Report today explains how major companies use Web 2.0 approaches to connect with consumers. (It also offers a brief over of what Web 2.0 is.)

Business to consumer (B2C) is approximately a one to many relationship. Even with stiff competition among suppliers, consumers outnumber suppliers by several orders of magnitude. The legal market, in contrast, is a business to business market (B2B) characterized by many to many relationships. That is, there are a large number of both suppliers and consumers. Consequently, it is harder for any single law firm supplier to engage its consumers (clients) in Web 2.0 dialogue.

Law firm suppliers and law departments consumers - that does not let you off the hook. Your answer cannot be "I can ignore Web 2.0″. Instead, it must be the question "how can I take advantage of Web 2.0 to improve the service we offer / receive?"

The best answer to that question I've seen to date is Legal OnRamp. In its by-invitation model, which limits the community to serious suppliers and consumers, I believe the legal market can replicate many of the benefits the WSJ explains accrue to companies using Web 2.0 to connect to consumers.

The only question is will law firms and law departments 1.0 realize this before law departments and law firms 2.0 take over."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Strategic Legal Technology, 15 December 2008 .

Posted by Bonnie Shucha: "Google Alerts allow you to enter search terms and receive notification whenever it finds new content matching those terms.

You can specify if you would like to search news, blog, web, video, or group content or all of the above. You choose whether you want it to alert you as-it-happens, once-a-day or once-a-week. You can receive your results via email or now though RSS.

Law Practice Magazine offers these ideas on how lawyers can make use of Google Alerts:

• First and foremost, enter your own name as a keyword, so you know what the world is saying about you.
• Likewise, enter your firm name, as well as the names of your partners, so you can help everyone keep track of news related to the firm (and its reputation).
• Monitor news about legislation, regulations and the like in particular practice areas and business sectors.
• Keep a weather eye on what competing law firms are doing.

There are seven more points and active links at the source site listed below.

Posted by Jeff Beard: "A few months ago, Adobe released Acrobat version 9. I've wanted to blog about this for a while now, but also really wanted to use the software before posting to provide a realistic assessment. This time around, I've had the good fortune of trying both Acrobat 9 Professional and the new Extended version. Keep in mind this is the ninth version, so it's become quite a mature package by now. While there's not a huge number of new features, there are a number of subtle refinements throughout, which is a good thing. Unlike the jarring interface change from Acrobat 7 to Acrobat 8 that made users squirm to have to relearn it (though I greatly preferred 8's interface to 7's), this time around, Adobe kept the visual changes down to a minimum. So it's much easier to get your bearings quickly with version 9. Whether you need to upgrade really comes down to this: What is new can be helpful, depending on how you typically use Acrobat.

First off, the biggest noticeable change for me is that the web site PDF capture and conversion module actually works, for the first time since they added the feature several versions ago...

For those assembling and publishing PDF binders, the newly named "Portfolio" feature is really a refinement of the binder along its evolutionary scale...

Those of us concerned with embedded metadata will be happy to hear that the metadata removal features have been enhanced as well...

For a balanced, in-depth review, I'll point you to Brett Burney's article on Law.com. Also, Rick Borstein's Acrobat for Legal Professionals blog has a great post detailing all of these changes and more. Overall, Acrobat 9 Professional and Professional Extended seem to launch more quickly and seem more refined. Bottom line, those who are only using Acrobat 8 for the most basic use may not see much reason to upgrade to 9, but those who are responsible for creating and distributing more complex and professional-looking PDFs should definitely give it a try."

From the blog: "On Monday, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it has enhanced its rules governing court security plans and standards. These changes to Superintendence Rule 9 would require all Ohio courts to establish court security committees, adopt emergency preparedness and continuity manuals, evaluate information technology, and implement new security protocols. Click here to read the new amendments."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 18 December 2008

From the site: "From the study announcement:

A new study from Knowledge Networks shows that consumers are now bringing their multiplatform media habits - from mobile media to GPS to Internet browsers - to the search for a dentist, lawyer, pizza parlor, or other business. The Y Advantage: Landscape 2008 provides the first scientific look across eight key platforms at how consumers are expanding beyond print forms such as Yellow Pages when researching a business's products and services.

Nearly half (48%) of consumers report print Yellow Pages as the resource they turn to most often for information on a business or service, and more than three-quarters (77%) use the print Yellow Pages overall. Search engines (49%) are the second most-turned-to source, followed by Internet Yellow Pages (36%), and free or fee-based 411 (30%).

[Their] Source: Knowledge Networks

The active link is available at the source site listed below.

Source: ResourceShelf, 18 December 2008

Posted by Tom Kane: "The American Bar Association recently asked lawyers to predict the future. Over 14,300 lawyers responded, and yesterday the ABA issued an early summary of the survey results to those who had participated. Some results:

• 19% of lawyers expect to lose their jobs,
• 78% anticipate that "everyone" will be affected in some way by the recession,
• 59% agreed that the profession will be "rocky for awhile," and
• The majority held that the legal business won't improve until 2010.  

Based on these early results, it seems clear that it's time to crank up your marketing going forward. The reasons are pretty straightforward:

1. Take a look at my January 2005 post "Rainmakers Don't Get Fired!," and
2. "Plan to Crank up Marketing Budget in 2009. Huh?," because many firms are likely to be cutting their budgets next year, and that means it is a great time to get out ahead of the competition.  

So, now is the time to increase, not decrease the firm's business development efforts."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 18 December 2008

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "Here's advice from Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, when asked for three ways that lawyers can improve their oral arguments--

First, know the record, your brief, and the cases on which you rely. Second, moot the case with other attorneys in your firm or with law students or faculty (a group often overlooked as a valuable resource). In short, practice practice practice! During practice sessions you will probably be asked many of the same the questions the Court will ask. Third, decide the two or three major points you want to make with the court. Keep them firmly in mind and make them at least once but probably several times. These same suggestions are given over and over by appellate judges and they warrant repeating.

Abrahamson's advice was giving in an interview with Howard Bashman, collected at Bashman's 20 Questions for the Appellate Judge site. It's question 16. At Bashman's site you'll also find interviews with twenty other appellate court judges--plenty of material to keep appellate-court junkies busy throughout the holidays!"

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 16 December 2008

From the blog: "The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced yesterday that it has completed a "Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System," also known by the acronym SACWIS. This web-based system will be used by all of Ohio's child welfare workers to determine eligibility, conduct case management, and administer adoption, foster care and child protection services. Interestingly, Cuyahoga County was the last county to connect to the network that began with Muskingum County in August of 2006. The system, which is the first of its kind in the nation, will be available 24x7 and will connect all of Ohio's child welfare agencies with agencies in 26 other states that are already using the system."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 18 December 2008

From the site: "As chief prosecutor for Maricopa County, which includes the city of Phoenix, my office prosecutes about 40,000 felonies each year and includes a staff of 300 prosecutors. In June 2005, we surveyed 102 of those attorneys, all of whom had trial experience, and they reported that the CSI effect is no myth: Of the prosecutors we surveyed, 38% believed they had at least one trial that resulted in either an acquittal or hung jury because forensic evidence was not available, even though prosecutors believed the existing testimony was sufficient by itself to sustain a conviction. In about 40% of these prosecutors' cases, jurors have asked questions about evidence like "mitochondrial DNA," "latent prints," "trace evidence," or "ballistics"--even when these terms were not used at trial.

On television, if the CSI people do their job right, the jurors will have little choice but to convict. In real life, the false expectation of plentiful scientific evidence can create a bias in the jury if this issue is not properly addressed at trial. The investigative techniques portrayed on CSI are not always available or even reasonable. Yet almost eight out of ten Maricopa County prosecutors believe that jurors are disappointed in the lack of forensic evidence presented at trial...

Continue reading this interesting post at the source site listed below.

Source: The Yale Law Journal, 1 February 2006

From the site: "You may have heard about the Gardasil vaccine for teenage girls, but you may not have heard about the serious side effects, allegedly affecting some young women. Merck, the company that manufactures the vaccine, the CDC and the FDA all say Gardasil is safe, effective, and important. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, who will discuss this controversy and the litigation swirling around Gardasil with experts, Attorney Tom Girardi, nationally known plaintiff lawyer from the California firm, Girardi & Keese and Erin Brockovich, (yes the real Erin Brockovich from the movie by the same name), President of Brockovich Research & Consulting. They will take a look at the side effects in some cases, Gardasil litigation and focus in on the efforts to educate young women about this controversial vaccine."

Right Click and Download

Play Windows Media       

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Talk Network, 18 December 2008

From the e-newsletter: "If you have (or want) window tinting on your car, truck, or other passenger vehicle, get familiar with laws that regulate vehicle window tinting, as well as exemptions to those laws. FindLaw offers basic information on window tinting laws, "medical necessity" exemptions, and state-specific information on window tint laws."

 Read more...

Source: FindLaw's Public Advisor. 18 December 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "While I'm away for a few weeks, getting some holiday R & R and before Solo Practice University gets in the fast lane, I wanted to resurrect some posts which will make you think about the future of the legal profession and your place in it.  These were inspired more than a year ago based upon a series of articles in the London Times written by Richard Susskind, Emeritus Professor of Law at Gresham College, IT advisor to the Lord Chief Justice and consultant to leading law firms.

His new book The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services just came out November, 2008 and will certainly have a profound impact on the legal profession, but I don't think most solos will take the opportunity to read the book as they should because they don't necessarily have the time to think macro as they are micromanaging their days.

However, I do recommend you try to get the book when it debuts in the U.S.  In the meantime here are my 2007 thoughts on the subject with links to the original London Times articles from 2007:

Will Lawyers As We Know Them Exist in 100 Years?

A Lawyer in Every Stop & Shop?

And while you are contemplating the future, I recommend you read additional posts from the category Demographic/Economic Trends because this will give you a more macro perspective of the profession and the economy...

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source:  Build a Solo Practice, LCC., 18 December 2008

From the blog: "From the Amnesty International News Release:

Amnesty International has said that industry claims that Taser stun guns are safe and non-lethal do not stand up to scrutiny. The organization called on governments to limit their deployment to life-threatening situations or to suspend their use.

The call came as the organization released one of the most detailed reports to date on the safety of the stun gun. The report "USA: Less than lethal?" is being published as the number of people who died after being struck by Tasers in the USA reached 334 between 2001 and August 2008.

"Tasers are not the 'non-lethal' weapons they are portrayed to be," said Angela Wright, US researcher at Amnesty International and author of the report. "They can kill and should only be used as a last resort.

"The problem with Tasers is that they are inherently open to abuse, as they are easy to carry and easy to use and can inflict severe pain at the push of a button, without leaving substantial marks."

Direct to Full Text: USA: 'Less than lethal'?: The use of stun weapons in US law enforcement (130 pages; PDF)

Direct to Full Text: USA: Stun weapons in law enforcement (8 pages;PDF)

[Their] Source: Amnesty International

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Docuticker, 17 December 2008

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "In his popular plaintiff-oriented book David Ball on Damages, David Ball has a section titled "The Best and the Cheapest," which begins like this--

In every community, there is an ample supply of first-rate expert witnesses who can testify on a wide variety of topics. Explore this resource especially, but not exclusively, for smaller cases where you have no money to bring in the usual high-priced array. For between $50 and $100 an hour you can often solve some of the biggest problems in your case.

Who are these mystery experts? Look for them among "the best repository of testifying experts you can find: high school teachers."

According to Ball, high-school teachers are both cooperative and skilled at explaining difficult concepts to a lay audience.  They also have built-in credibility in the community.  As Ball writes, "They need not provide opinions. All they have to do is explain (and perhaps demonstrate) a principle or a process." (For more on this point, see my last post about experts.)

Finding an expert from among local high-school teachers is something I've never tried myself, but it's a tip worth thinking about." 

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 11 December 2008

In the news: "As legal work recedes amid an ailing economy, some firms are finding that they have far too many lawyers in nonequity limbo, making them rethink their business model. K&L Gates Chairman Peter Kalis says he is "very" comfortable with his firm's business structure, which he likens to a diamond with the nonequity partners comprising the widest portion. But one firm's diamond may be another's detritus. Consultant Ed Wesemann says many law firms are laboring with "a big inner tube around the middle."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 18 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Allison Shields: "There's no doubt that we've become an email culture. Most of the time, email is quick and easy, it eliminates playing telephone tag, and it enables you to get your message across and move on to the next task on your list. But there are times when email just isn't appropriate.

Last week, I heard about a local law firm which is generally considered to be a great place to work with a collegial atmosphere and a good culture, who made a major partnership announcement to the firm by email. While that kind of announcement may work in some firms, knowing this firm, it just didn't seem to make sense to me, particularly for an announcement of this magnitude.

When a firm has created a culture of collegiality and a family atmosphere, making this kind of announcement by email creates distance between firm management and staff, while at the same time minimizing the effect of the announcement. Major firm announcements made by email tend to get lost or ignored. They send a signal that the firm didn't think enough of the announcement to make it in public and personal. The firm missed an opportunity to welcome its new partner in style and to make an impression on those in the firm seeking to advance.

Email is certainly a useful tool, but there are occasions when it isn't the most appropriate method of communication. Mark Hermann and James Beck point out that some client communications shouldn't be sent by email, either, in their post entitled "On Communicating By Email." (Hat tip to Robert Ambrogi for alerting me to the post)

When you've got important information to transmit either within or outside of your firm, in person is best, but if that won't work, at least consider using the telephone - or be prepared for your email or memo to generate inquiries either in person or by phone, and make certain to be available to respond."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 17 December 2008

Posted by J. Benjamin Stevens: The Legal Mac section of this month's Law Practice Today was published today, featuring the article "Online Legal Practice Management Software Predictions for 2009" by Larry Port: 

Innovations in the use and development of online software have created new opportunities for law firms, and can present cost-effective methods for adoption.

The year 2008 was a transformational one for legal practice management. After years of minimal new product development, the field broke wide open with the arrival of an exciting new option: Online, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for law firms.

For some time now, SaaS has been successfully applied to sales force automation, HR and payroll, project management, and other mission critical businesses. The legal industry, traditionally slow to adopt technology, was ready for this new option for several reasons. For one, new web technologies, commonly labeled Web 2.0, now allow for a desktop-like experience over a web browser. Also, day-to-day exposure to web applications has become a common and accepted practice, whether via Social Media sites like Facebook or through online banking. And, an increasingly mobile workforce is looking for ways to connect from any location, from any type of computer.

The impact SaaS solutions can have on the majority of legal software consumers, small law firms, can be profound. Before the emergence of SaaS practice management tools, a small firm could: 1) Purchase software directly from the manufacturer and spend time to install it independently, 2) Purchase the software, installation, and training through a value-added reseller, or 3) Forego dedicated legal practice management software in favor of a home-grown solution, typically cobbled together from Outlook, Word, and Quickbooks. However, SaaS applications are zero-install solutions that are simple to use and allow users to eliminate high-overhead setups in favor on monthly subscription fees. In other words, this fourth option greatly expanded choices for the legal technology consumer.

As transformational as 2008 was for legal practice management, it was still mostly a year of "dipping the toes in the water", so to speak, and beginning a dialog about online options. But as 2009 draws near, web-based legal practice management will no longer be a brand new concept. So what's in store for the coming year? Here are my thoughts:

1. Expect more features...
2. Watch for increased adoption and growth...
3. Count on more mobility...

4. Expect economic conditions to favor monthly subscription models...

5. Watch for expectations to change...

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source:  The Mac Lawyer, 17 December 2008

Posted by Raymond Ward: "If you work with a keyboard, then you should know Dan Pinnington's 10 skills to make your typing faster and easier. I've been working with computers since 1982--virtually my entire adult life--and I learned three new things by readings Dan's article. (Hat tip to Slaw.ca. )

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: the (new) legal writer, 9 December 2008

In the news: "This is the story of how Parker Poe, with no prior experience in portal technologies, formed close partnerships between law firm departments and its vendor XMLAW to create Parkway, an invaluable intranet resource for attorneys and staff. It wasn't easy, but here's how it happened."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 18 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe  <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: "Sometimes announcements get overlooked or are not widely spread around, even though of importance to many people. In case you missed it.....

Ohio Jury Instructions (OJI) were reorganized by the Ohio Judicial Conference back in November to simplify their use by judges and practitioners. LexisNexis was required to provide a complete OJI database with updated numbering of all instructions to WestLaw and Casemaker for their online versions. (See Notice)

In the new revision, Volume 1 ''General Instructions'' has been eliminated, and the applicable general instructions included in the civil and criminal volumes. There is one civil volume, now organized by general subject matter areas, and one criminal volume. There are, however, still three binders. The criminal volume will now be comprised of two binders with a separate tab for ''Traffic'' offenses.

The numbering of all instructions has also been revised and simplified. Instructions will now be identified as ''CV''(Civil) and ''CR''(Criminal). For example, current 4 OJI 503.01, dealing with Aggravated Murder, becomes CR 503.01. A ''Correlation Table'' will be included in each volume containing previous and new section numbers. Both volumes have newly designed, slightly larger loose-leaf binders. The format of individual instructions has not changed.

Jury instructions, while perhaps being one of the jurisprudence's lesser celebrated entities-- behind all of the rules, statutes, and case law--none the less can serve lawyers and judges by providing insight into matters now before them, especially when current conditions or circumstances are more novel or usual.

Black's Law Dictionary describes model jury instructions as "directions or guidelines a judge gives a jury concerning the legal aspects of a case, usually approved by the state's bar or similar group." Put another way, Indiana's Third District Court of Appeals in 2005 said "the purpose of an instruction is to inform the jury of the law applicable to the facts of a case without misleading it and to enable it to comprehend the case clearly so it can arrive at a just, fair, and correct verdict." ( Case )

"Standardized" or "model" instructions to a jury were first attempted in Ohio in 1922, but it wasn't until 1958 that Ohio Jury Instructions were published and privately circulated by the Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association. In 1960, a "Standard Civil Outline--Negligence" was released, followed by a companion criminal outline in 1962. Ohio Jury Instructions have been since been revised four times.

Jury instructions in Ohio are codified in ORC 2945.10 and 2945.11. Civil Rule 51, Criminal Rule 30, and Jury Standard 16 also pertain to jury instructions. ["Ohio Trial Court Jury Use & Management Standards" in "Appendix B" of Ohio Rules of
Superintendence" @ http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Rules/superintendence/Superintendence.pdf ]

Posted by Allison Shields: "Last week at a meeting of one of my networking groups, a question was posed about what changes we've seen in networking as a result of the current economic slowdown. Many people in the room - all of whom were active 'networkers' - stressed the importance of networking in general, but particularly when the economy is slow. In a difficult economic climate, it's more important than ever to maintain your existing relationships and continue building new ones.

Others pointed out that those seeking to cut costs should avoid making the mistake of cutting their marketing budgets to the bone and eliminating or cutting back on networking and related expenses. History has shown that those who cut their marketing efforts - particularly where those efforts revolve around creating and maintaining relationships - are the ones who fail to survive the slowdown, or who are behind the curve when the economy picks up.

I have noticed some new faces at the events and activities I've attended over the past several months and am sure that it is, at least in part, due to the economic slowdown. Lawyers who may not have felt the need to market themselves or to network in the past have realized that the changing economy requires a change in habits. So for those who are new to networking or may just be a bit rusty, I offer these thoughts for effective networking:

First, know yourself...

Know your clients and potential clients...

Communicate effectively...

Think first about what you can give, not what you will get...

Remember that the real networking happens outside the room...

Finally, be yourself and have fun!"

The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 16 December 2008

Posted by Julie A. Fleming: "Networking is always a popular topic for lawyers who are engaged in rainmaking, and the reason is simple: the people who know, like, and trust you will have an enormous influence on your success in practice.  And there's no time like the holidays for networking, because so many organizations and groups arrange holiday gatherings.  

If you're an introvert and the very thought of attending a holiday gathering to develop business relationships makes you want to dive for the nearest rabbit hole, keep breathing.

Networking doesn't have to be painful -- not even for introverts.  How's that?  

Good networking involves relationship-building... Ask questions like these:

• What is most exciting in your business right now? 
• What concerns you most about what's going on in your business or industry? 
• What do you want to see happening for you in 2009?  

Asking questions and listening with genuine interest to the answers you get will benefit every networker in two ways:...

A few additional thoughts on how to network well:

• Be prepared with something to say...
• Be prepared to introduce yourself in 30 seconds, without stumbling...
• Carry business cards and have them easily accessible..... 
• ....But don't offer indiscriminately them at the beginning of a conversation...
• When someone offers you a business card, look at it before you put it away...
• Pay attention to the conversation...
• Listen... 
• Think about how you can help the person with whom you're talking... 
• Set your intentions before you go...
• Follow up with your contacts after the meeting.   

To make the most of a networking event, you must follow up with the key people with whom you speak. Don't overlook standard follow-up tactics like sharing a meal or coffee, a golf game, or a sporting or cultural event.  Think about other opportunities as well: 

• Check this article for 15 non-golfing ways to build business relationships. 
• Follow up with some of the people you meet at a networking event with a handwritten note, tailored to the recipient...
• Reserve a table for 6 or 8 for lunch or dinner after your event.. 

The most important approach to making the most of the holiday gatherings you attend is to engage people.  Don't hang around with the same people you see every day or every week: make it your goal to meet new people, to reconnect with those you no longer see regularly, and to set yourself up with some new business relationships to grow in the new year."

Full text and active link are available at the source site listed below.

Source:  Life at the Bar, 11 December 2008

Posted by Tom Kane: "Yep! While a number of large law firms are cutting lawyers and staff, it is no secret that budgets, including marketing budgets, are being trimmed for the coming year. Unfortunately that is shortsighted. In fact, it may reduce the amount of new business harvested in the coming year.

If business development is good for law firms in good times, spending dollars on marketing in a down economy makes even better sense. Why? Because while others are cutting back, there will be less marketing "noise" out in the marketplace and more chances to be noticed.

In an article in Law.com's Small Firm Business that discusses the impact of the economy on marketing budgets, I was impressed with what the managing partner of a 108-lawyer Houston-based firm said:

"We're expanding our marketing," says Wayne A. Risoli (of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, et al.). "We believe this is an appropriate time to let all Fortune 500 companies know that our rates are so good that we can handle your work for a very good value."

So, it's time to crank it up.  You need to let prospects know, as well as remind clients and referral sources, about your firm's "good value."

That is not to say that it isn't important to scrutinize what your marketing dollars are being spent on.  A firm should focus on those business development activities that are likely to produce the best and quickest return on investment.

Nonetheless, it will be a hard sell at some firms. But, those firms that resist cutting back - in fact, increase their marketing budgets in those areas that will maximize ROI - will most likely reap a more bountiful harvest in 2009."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 16 December 2008

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "What are you hoping to achieve when you comment on a blog? 

• Is it to continue a conversation with an author because they have engaged you and inspired you to answer? 
• Is it because the blog has high traffic and you hope to get a little of that traffic directed to your site (providing you give a URL when prompted)? 
• Are you simply doing so to get noticed by the blog author regardless their traffic?
• Or is it a combination of all of the above in varying degrees depending upon the blog?

I would venture to say most commenters are moved by all three in varying degrees.  I know I am. So I'd like to make a few recommendations:

1.  Only comment when you have something of genuine value to add to the conversation.
2.  If you have a blog, don't just link back to your main page.  Link back to either your About page which lets the author and her readers know who you are or link to a particular post you are quite proud of and/or got high readership and comments.
3. In addition, depending upon the sophistication of the blog, quite often the author will have enabled a widget which will also grab your most recent blog post.
4. Go to Gravatar.com if you haven't already and sign up for a universal gravatar.  This way, if the blog (or any site for that matter) is gravatar enabled, every time you post a comment your picture automatically comes up when you use the associated e-mail address. The picture which you use will hopefully be one you use elsewhere and this creates a subtle, 'I know her' effect.

For example, depending upon the blog author's site, I will either sign in with a relevant post from this blog or from Solo Practice University, but it will be one that makes sense for that readership.

But most importantly, make comments that are meaningful and add value.  This is what reflects most upon you and is the single most important factor contributing to your online reputation.  The rest is just an added bonus."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 14 December 2008

In the news: "Gone are the days when due diligence meant reviewing a resume and examining public records. Today, a witness, juror, expert or business prospect is more likely to have a social networking site than a criminal conviction. Don't miss out on the benefits of this new information arena."

Examples of various types of information culled from online networks include:

• Developing personal information on a witness' marital status, education and significant life events.

• Piecing together the background on an adoptee from Google Groups, genealogy sites, adoption discussion Web sites and blog comments -- that helped a birth mother prepare to contact her son. The profile I put together showed that the son knew he was adopted and that his adoptive mother had died.

• Finding where and when an insurance claimant had moved by turning up relevant comments on her son's social networking blog, and following that over time to track family events.

• Reviewing captions in photographs to identify family, former lovers, employment, assets, accidents, injuries and illnesses.

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 12 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe   <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

In the news: "Search technologies, such as those found in enterprise search platform Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, can help control access to legal information on the Web to meet clients' needs. Mark Gerow of Fenwick & West describes how his firm successfully implemented SharePoint Search."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 17 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the site: "The information contained in this kit is geared to help service providers across Ohio - providers of legal, medical, social and membership services - educate their clients/target audiences. These Provider Partners can help their clients understand what advance directives are, who needs them and how to put these documents into effect."

Light the Way is located at http://www.osbf.net/advancedirectives/forms.html

Source: Email from G. Baker on 16 December 2008. "Ohio Living Will Link." <GBaker9916@aol.com>.

From the blog: "The Ohio State Bar Association has posted a short list of 12 key steps involved in the valuation essential for closing, selling or acquiring a law practice. Some of the more important tips include: the core asset is the attorney's "good will"; law practices are valued lower than the standard measure of purchase price being a multiplier of business revenue; and although the multiplier range is .5 to 1.5 times annual earnings, prices can also be adjusted to reflect staff skills, condition of equipment, and retention of key employees. These and other tips come from the OSBA's online e-book called Officekeeper that OSBA members can access for free."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 11 December 2008 

From the blog: "People are making a difference in the legal community. The American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession recently announced their selection of judges, lawyers, a legislator and a law professor to receive the 2009 Spirit of Excellence Awards, honoring efforts to promote a more diverse legal profession. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Fred Alvarez, chair of the ABA Commission on Opportunities for Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession and award recipients Attorney Richard A. Soden, of counsel to the Boston office of the national law firm of Goodwin Procter LLP and Justice Dan Sosa Jr., retired Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, to talk about diversity in the legal profession. They will discuss the progress over the years, how they have overcome barriers and made opportunities available to others and how they encourage young people to pursue law as a career."

Right Click and Download

Play Windows Media

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Talk Network,  11 December 2008

In the news: "Business pitches on the golf course, surprise $35,000 bills for legal memos and lawyers who discuss cases with the company's executives without keeping in-house counsel in the loop are just a few of general counsel's least favorite things. Four general counsel from Boston-area companies and organizations, representing Emerson College, health care provider Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. and technology companies Cognex Corp. and Waters Corp., dished about outside counsel's mistakes at a recent legal forum."

Topics discussed include:

Billing Blunders, Manners Matter, and Smaller Firm Concerns

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 16 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Mary Ellen Bates: "I just read an article from FUMSI, written by Amelia Kassel, on Social Networking: a Research Tool. She has some great tips for using tools - particularly LinkedIn - for finding information and contacts."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Librarian of Fortune, 28 October 2008

From the e-newsletter: "Navigating all the "smart" phones out there and picking one for yourself can be tricky, and purchasing one for someone else can be even more daunting. But with plenty of feature-packed options available this holiday season, ranging from the consumer-friendly iPhone to the more business-oriented BlackBerry Bold, chances are you can find a phone that's a better gift than a reindeer sweater.

Read more...

Related Resources
• FindLaw's Communications Section

Source: FindLaw's Modern Practice: Law & Technology. 12 December 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "E-Discovery Update: My E-Discovery Holiday Wish List - Conrad J. Jacoby's holiday wish is for the legal community to finally develop one or more judicially accepted standards that can be used to craft consistent ways of requesting and producing information. With baseline procedures in place, both producing and requesting parties, as well as judges, will be able to make more informed decisions about the need for discovery and the way in which such discovery should be conducted.

The active link is available at the source site listed below.

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 14 December 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

In the news: "Consultant Ari Kaplan attended the IQPC Sixth Annual E-Discovery conference in Manhattan to close out the year on electronic discovery. The recurring issue throughout the two-day exposition was the growing importance of search and its influence on the life cycle of information."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 15 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

National Labor Relations Board 

From the e-newsletter: "The NLRB administers the primary laws governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector.  As you might expect from a government site, you'll find a lot of information -- on workplace rights, board and administrative law judge decisions, rules, regulations, and much more.  The Research and Publications tabs both have a ton of resources available for download or purchase."

Source: Internet Legal Research Weekly by Tom Mighell. Volume 9, Issue 36. 14 December 2008. Subscribe <http://lists.inter-alia.net/mailman/listinfo/inter-alia>.

I have a long weekend vacation planned to view the Festival of the Lights at Oglebay - NO POSTS TOMORROW.

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "... For the sake of this post let's create a new persona Jack and make him a prospective client in today's new economy. One who is angry, panicked and depressed.

Jack's a very bright guy. He knows he has to pay his mortgage, put food on the table, pay his non-negotiable bills first in order to not lose what he already has and to physically survive. IF he is presented with an optional legal matter (optional being in the mind of the individual) he will likely not pursue it or at least not pursue it in the same way clients have done in the past and the way in which you have relied.

If it is an emergency legal matter, if the price tag is too high or the payment options are not workable he will be the one who attempts to take care of his legal matter pro se.  After all he's smart and now he has time.  And he has the internet. Unless it is a serious criminal matter, or a contingency case with no out of pocket costs to him, chances are he assumes he can can create his own Will (which, by the way, many unfortunately consider 'optional' or simply not on their radar), negotiate a speeding ticket (after all trying to negotiate a deal and still having to pay the ticket can be seen as cheaper than hiring an attorney because now he doesn't even have to calculate time away from the job), attempt to figure out bankruptcy, even try to work through a divorce.

This is the mindset you will be up against. Survival. Resentment. How do you educate Jack that doing it by himself is not necessarily the right or best answer even with his current circumstances?  How do you show Jack it is not only smart, but affordable and cost-effective versus the disadvantages of the pro se options as well as the legal landmines?  How do you show Jack you understand what he is going through and will work with him?  How do you do this while still turning a profit and paying your own mortgage and putting food on your own table?  How do you do this when many lay people believe lawyers are somehow handed money the minute they pass the bar even though most of us know this is sadly not the truth?

This post is not about the answers.  This post is about getting you to think about your current business model including overhead, your pricing strategies, your current client education programs and how you plan to reach out to Jack and show him you are the better alternative to going through the stresses of handling a legal matter on his own?

Related Posts:

"Marketing Defined" - It's Not a Dirty Word

Will Bartering Legal Services For Chickens Come Back In Vogue?

How Do Your Clients Find You?  Or Do They?"

The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below

Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 10 December 2008

Full text and the active link are available at the source site listed below.

Source:  Some Assembly Required, 2 October 2008

Posted by Ed Poll: "Complete your time sheets daily, every day.

The best practice is to keep a running log of time (software-based or otherwise) of everything you do as you do it. If you're a scrap-of-paper person, then you need to aggregate and compile the list for your billing program before leaving the office that day. Even if your memory rivals that of the elephant, you will miss things if you don't do this every single day.

One missed 10th of an hour each day translates to 23 lost hours a year. And failure to keep current, proper time records will usually result in more than just 1/10th of an hour lost ... DAILY ... and MANY thousands of dollars in lost billable revenue!"

Source: Law Biz Blog, 9 December 2008

Posted by Jim Hassett: "For many lawyers at large firms, last year's business plan was simple:  bill more hours, then raise rates.  Those were the days.  But the economy has changed everything, and this year's business plan will require more thought. 

If your revenue has already started down, you know that you need to re-think your approach to marketing.  And even if it hasn't, you still need to adjust your approach, because hungry competitors are coming after your clients.

Every lawyer needs a business plan, because if you don't know where you are going, you'll never get there.  In this series of posts, I will explain eight steps that will not only help you to write a better business plan, but also increase the chance that you will follow up and implement it successfully.

Step 1 - Identify the tactics that will have the greatest impact for your practice...

Eight steps to a better business plan (Part 2 of 3)

Step 2 - Prioritize your target audiences...

Step 3:  Commit to a definite number of marketing hours every week.//

Step 4 - List action items that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed)...

Step 5 - Customize the plan's format to your individual needs...

Eight steps to a better business plan (Part 3 of 3)

Step 6 - Coordinate with others...

Step 7 - Track time and activity, every week...

Step 8 - Review the plan quarterly...

What you should do today

If you already have a written plan, now is a good time to review it in light of what's going on in the economy.  Be sure to consider defensive marketing to protect the relationships you already have with clients and referral sources.

If you don't have a written plan, this would be a great time to write one.  To get started,  many sample formats can be found on the web.  Or see my book Legal Business Development:  A Step by Step Guide for an outline of a "one page business plan" focused on action items.  Or sign up for my webinar "Eight Steps to a Better Business Plan" on December 16 or January 14 and get a copy of "The LegalBizDev Guide to Business Plans," which includes the proprietary format for our new expanded "two page business plan."

Whatever format you choose, don't forget to make a commitment to marketing time every week, whether it's five hours, or two hours, or even just one hour.  Because the most fundamental law of marketing is simple:  if you spend no time, you will get no results."

The full text of these posts are available at the source site listed below

Source: Legal Business Development, 19 and 25 November and 2 December 2008

Posted by Wayne Schiess: "Romanettes are the lower-case Roman numerals used frequently in legal writing and especially in legal drafting:

(i), (ii), (iii)

I disfavor them and said so in my book Better Legal Writing . I say we have a perfectly good numbering system:

1, 2, 3
(1), (2), (3)

So why use Roman numerals and Romanettes?

What I didn't know is that Romanettes isn't a word. I exaggerate. It's not in standard dictionaries or Black's. Eugene Volokh blogged about it here:

http://volokh.com/posts/1226638091.shtml

He quoted from a U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in which Chief Justice Roberts admits he'd never heard the word.

But it's a good word, a useful one."

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Posted by David Canton: "Dan's 10 essential technology skills and practices contains some good tips (although I must admit I'm not good with keyboard shortcuts - I think more graphically and tend to use the mouse).

I have a couple more to add.

When creating Word documents don't use the "enter" key to create spaces between paragraphs. The right way is to use the paragraph settings to set the "before and after" spacing. Otherwise, you can't make efficient use of things like paragraph numbering or bullets. And by using the "before and after" setting, you can often easily adjust the length of a document a bit to make it fit on one less page.

And don't use page breaks to keep headings and paragraphs, or multiple paragraphs together. The "keep with next" feature within the paragraph settings does a far better job, and continues to work when things get moved around during editing. That's assuming, of course, that you have used the "before and after" setting to create paragraph spacing.

And if you want to keep a consistent look and formatting among your headings and paragraphs, use "styles".

One thing I like about Office 2007 is that the controls used to do these various things are very visible and easy to find. I highly recommend the upgrade."

The active link is available at the source site listed below.

Source: Slaw, 10 December 2008

Posted by Greg Lambert: "No, this isn't about turning Twitter into an online dating service.  This is about finding that special "business" contact on Twitter by using Twellow to help guide you in the right direction.  Why Twellow??  Because it indexes the biographical information that Twitter users and allows you to find people by who they say they are.  

Twellow has some good functions built into their site, but I have found that their categorization is "good" but not "great."  So, use that if you want, but I'm going to let you in on a secret that will allow you to do some really good searching of Twellow, right from the search text box.

Let's say you want to find a list of all the CEO's that have Twitter accounts.  You could easily enter CEO into the search screen and come back with a list of 1,300+ Twitter accounts (of which you can actually view the top 1,000.)  But, I've discovered that Twellow has a couple of hidden "features" in its search function.  Using these features can really help narrow, or expand your results list.

Search Functions:

1. "&"  = AND function.  So, you can look for CEO & Zappos
2. "|"   = OR function.  You can search for CTO | CKO
3. " "    = [quotes]  Exact String Search.  Find "Law Librarian"
4. "-"  = NOT function.  Find Lawyer -blogger
5. "( term )" = Group Function.  Find (lawyer | attorney) California

Still with me??

Good.  Let's put this to use and start finding some contacts that we can build upon!!

CEO OR President OR Founder Twitters (4,200+)

CEO Only Twitters (900+)

President Only Twitters(600+)

Founder Only Twitters (2,100+)

CFO OR CMO OR CIO OR CTO OR CKO "C-Level" Twitters (500+)

Lawyer OR Attorney OR "Legal Counsel" OR Barrister (800+)

(Lawyer OR Attorney OR "Legal Counsel" OR Barrister) Texas Or TX(30+)

As you can see from these searches, you can narrow or expand your searches within Twellow to help find that special someone.

Contact me via Twitter, if you need help constructing your searches.  Good luck!  I only ask for a 10% commission on any new business you bring in!!  (just kidding...)"

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

From the e-newsletter: "If you would like to learn more about the role of trusts in the estate planning process, the "Trusts" topic in FindLaw's Estate Planning, Wills, and Trusts section can provide valuable information and resources -- including discussion of how trusts are created, tips for selecting a trustee, comparison of different types of trusts, the pros and cons of living trusts; and more."

 Read more...

Related Resources
• Browse the Estate Planning Center

Source: FindLaw's Public Advisor. 11 December 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

In the news: "The economic downturn presents an opportune time for firms to re-examine their policies for managing client matter information -- to cut costs and go green. When a client calls, asking "What environmental initiatives has your firm implemented?" your firm will have a solid response."

TIPS FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE RECORDS MANAGEMENT

1. Whenever possible, print research and draft documents double-sided on recycled paper...

2. Switch from legal-sized to letter-sized for paper and file folders...

3. Print draft documents in "draft" mode...

4. Manage and distribute documents electronically to save paper and reduce storage...

5. When transitioning inactive physical files to off-site storage, remove documents from binders and hold them together with rubber bands...

6. Ensure that only the official file is stored off-site...

7. Purchase records supplies that are made from recycled materials...

8. Work with your off-site storage vendor to establish a schedule to minimize the amount of trips to and from off-site storage...

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 10 December 2008. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe  <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Allison Shields: "Although I'm not an avid fan of the show, Boston Legal, I did catch most of last night's series finale, and I couldn't agree more with the sentiment expressed by Shirley Schmidt, the character played by Candice Bergen, when she admonished members of the firm to be sure that, whatever they were going to do, they do it with passion.

While passion may seem an odd subject to discuss with lawyers, particularly in these difficult economic times, I submit that Bergen's character hit the nail on the head. Ultimately, you are at your best and you do your best work when you're passionate about what you're doing. When times are tough and the going gets rough, it's often passion that makes the difference and helps you persevere. If you're not passionate about what you do or who you do it for (or, better yet, both), the difficult times will seem that much more difficult. Everything becomes a struggle and much more stressful if your heart isn't in it - and that's particularly true when you're living from paycheck to paycheck and you're desperate for the money..."

Continue reading this interesting post at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Ease Blog,