January 2009 Archives

Posted by Reid Trautz: "A tweet from Dennis Kennedy yesterday brought my attention to  this blog post from Ron Baker of the Verasage Institute about recession-proofing your law firm. I met Ron several years ago at a LexThink event, and have been a huge fan ever since.  Ron is a value-pricing guru, and his post highlights that his philosophy has even more value for firms now than when the economy is humming. Furthermore, I believe that firms that do change their pricing/expense structure along the lines Ron advocates will find themselves in a better financial position when we exit this recession.

Smaller firms will find it easier to implement value-billing, but many lawyers just aren't sure where or how to start this process. It seems too daunting, too risky. However, as Ron points out, firms that take the risks will reap the profits. In other words, if you keep doing what you are doing, you'll keep getting what you are getting!

Ron has a number of articles and books that will help firms get started (and now is the time when we have a few extra hours to fill) on this conversion process. The ABA also publishes one of the best books on this subject, Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour, by Jim Calloway and Mark Robertson.

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

Source: Reid My Blog, 27 January 2009

In the news: "Deborah M. House, vice president and deputy general counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel, has done her share of job hunting and hiring. She estimates she has pursued and been offered 10 jobs in her career -- she has been rejected for three -- and has hired 50 people from hundreds of candidates. So House feels she is in a strong position to offer advice to in-house lawyers who've been laid off or downsized in the current economic calamity and are looking for work"

The condensed version:

1. Information is your friend...

2. Put your best foot forward...

3. Follow directions...

4. One size does not fit all...

5. Do the hard work and be creative where necessary...

6. Practice, practice, practice...

7. Be ready with that question...

8. Keep the discussion balanced, interesting and even entertaining...

9. Conduct yourself professionally at all times...

10. Network, network, network...

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 30 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the site: "2007-0291 and 2007-0472.  State v. D.H., Slip Opinion No. 2009-Ohio-9.
Franklin App. No. 06AP-250, 169 Ohio App.3d 798, 2006-Ohio-6953.  Certified question answered in the negative, and judgment affirmed.
Moyer, C.J., and Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, and Carr, JJ., concur.
Lanzinger, J., concurs in judgment only.
Donna J. Carr, J., of the Ninth Appellate District, sitting for Cupp, J.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourtofohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2009/2009-Ohio-9.pdf"

Source: Supreme Court of Ohio, 8 January 2009

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "In this series of posts, I'll dig into the archives of The Trial Practice Tips Weblog and highlight some of my prior posts about depositions. Although you can see all of these post in this weblog's deposition category, I thought I'd try to reorganize some of them in a new way.

I'll begin with the first five ways a lawyer can ruin a deposition. I've been guilty of all of them at one time or another--

         1. Deposing someone who doesn't need to be deposed at all. Unnecessary  

         depositions are a waste of time and money. See this post: "Not Every Witness

         Need to Be Deposed." 

2. Failing to investigate the witness online. Just a few minutes of Internet research can turn up lots of things about a witness you didn't know before.  Here's a post about that: "Deposition Tip: In Preparing for a Witness, Always Check the Web."

3. Trying to wing it. Maybe you're so good that your only preparation is getting to the deposition on time. Sound foolish? It is. See this post: "The Dangers of Winging It in Depositions."

4. Neglecting the preliminary questions. Those cookie-cutter questions lawyers ask at the beginning of a deposition have a purpose. Don't skip the "you know you're under oath"-type questions, but don't turn them into a speech either. Here are two posts that make these points: "Those Preliminary Deposition Questions: What's Their Purpose?" and "Those Preliminary Deposition Questions: Don't Make a Speech."

5. Assuming the witness is telling you the truth. As human beings, we're conditioned to believe what people say. I feel like I am, at least. That's why I'm constantly making this mistake, even though I wrote this post: "Practice Tip: "Assume Your Deposition Witness Is Lying."

Next up: Five more ways you can ruin a deposition. If you can't wait, see the hundreds of tips in my deposition book, Deposition Checklists and Strategies.

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

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 29 January 2009

**A Compilation of State Lawyer Licensing Databases http://www.llrx.com/features/lawyerlicenses.htm

Trevor Rosen and Andrew Zimmerman's guide focuses on websites that will help you determine whether a lawyer is currently licensed to practice in a particular state.

**Art of Written Persuasion: Part IV - What Makes a Good Problem-Solving Model?

http://www.llrx.com/columns/persuasion4.htm

Following up on his commentary about how problem-solving models can help lawyers (and law students) to solve legal problems systematically and to communicate legal solutions persuasively in writing, Troy Simpson discusses what makes a good problem-solving model.

**FOIA Facts: New FOIA Provisions Take Effect http://www.llrx.com/columns/foia53.htm

Scott A. Hodes discusses two sections (Section 6 and 7) of the OPEN Government Act of 2007 that just went into effect, and the problems that will be encountered by requesters trying to use them to their advantage.

**The Upside of the Downturn - Time to Work on Your Know How http://www.llrx.com/extras/knowhow.htm

Knowhow expert Gretta Rusanow highlights content as the focus for law firm knowledge management plans this year.

**Metadata - What Is It and What Are My Ethical Duties?

http://www.llrx.com/features/metadata.htm

Jim Calloway explains why every lawyer needs to understand a few basic things about metadata. He contends that the legal ethics implications of metadata "mining" are no longer just of interest to the lawyers processing electronic discovery, or the ethics mavens.

**LLRX Court Rules, Forms and Dockets, continually updated by law librarian Margaret Berkland http://www.llrx.com/courtrules

**See also:  beSpacific - www.bespacific.com - the research blog on law and technology issues, updated daily since 2002. With a searchable database of over 19,000 postings, Sabrina I. Pacifici focuses on primary documents and reliable resources on topics that include: the financial institutions crisis, privacy, Congressional hearings and legislation, e-government, legal research, government documents, cybercrime, civil liberties, knowledge management, and more.

**Subscribe to the free weekday e-mail update: http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html

--------------------------------------

CONTACT:

Sabrina I. Pacifici

Founder, Editor, Publisher

LLRX.com

http://www.llrx.com

spacificATearthlinkDOTnet

In the news: "The quest to examine all ESI and pursue discovery sanctions often leads to runaway litigation costs. A lawsuit's true merits don't justify engaging in every EDD process available, says Morris Manning litigation partner Larry H. Kunin. Three scenarios illustrate his point."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 30 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe   <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the blog: "I got an email today from a company and the sender forgot to BCC the recipients. Something like forgetting to BCC a group on a mass email is pretty embarrassing because it is so simple to avoid. Plus, people get pretty upset when their email is sent to hundreds of people (or more) and left open to all types of spam and annoyances just because of a careless mistake.

Here is a checklist you should always consider before sending out a mass-email:

• Always triple read the email and then have someone else read it.
• Be sure to check things like subject lines, attachments, to, from, CC, BCC, etc. before sending such emails. Are all of the fields formatted like they should be?
• Make sure that all links in the mass-email work correctly and will be formatted correctly in different mail programs. Some mail programs might move them to another line or display them in a different way. Be aware of that.
• If you are linking to images for the email, make sure they will work and that there is enough bandwidth for the images to display.
• Make sure you have your subscribe and unsubscribe links.
• Check your spelling and grammar once again.
• Ask yourself if this email is worth sending. Does it let the customer know about something important? Do you already send a lot of email? etc.

None of the things above are complicated, but they are all important. Your customers probably get enough email already (I know I do!), which makes wasting their time with a poorly formatted or non-working email even worse. Taking 10 or 15 minutes to ensure the emails you send out are well done and informative will save you a lot of time and likely make you a lot of money in the long run."

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

Source: Service Untitled, 26 January 2009

Posted by Raymond Ward: "Molly DiBianca has collected her list of 30 best blogs on writing. She was kind enough to include this one, for which I'm grateful. But please peruse her list and check out the other 29.

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

Source: The (New) Legal Writer, 12 January 2009

From the blog: "Top Ten Jury Verdicts of 2008

After steadily declining for years, the size of the Top Ten Jury Verdicts rose dramatically in 2008.

The top verdict in 2008 was $388 million, a significant increase over 2007's top award of $109 million. The average award increased dramatically as well, driven by three verdicts of well over $100 million - including one of nearly $400 million. The average award for 2007 was just shy of $51 million, while the average award for 2008 more than doubled, to $112 million.

The year's top verdict was awarded to a 70-year-old inventor who claims he was hounded by California tax authorities for the past 15 years. And five of the Top Ten Verdicts stemmed from personal injury cases, including $85 million for a medical school student who was badly injured after falling into a manhole and $84 million for an elderly man struck by a U-Haul with a faulty parking brake. Interestingly, there were no medical malpractice cases in the Top Ten.

[Their] Source: Lawyers USA

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

Source: ResourceShelf, 28 January 2009

Posted by Allison Shields: "I recently came across the following quote:

"A man cannot lead others where he is not willing to go himself."

It's a great quote in many ways and certainly food for thought. In the current economic climate with the changes we're seeing in the practice, including layoffs and cutbacks, leadership becomes particularly important.

For those firms that want to survive in this economy, leadership is critical. If firms want to keep good talent and keep clients happy, law firm leadership will have to deal with the fallout of economic pressures facing their firms and their clients. Law firm leaders will need to be crystal clear about the firm's vision and be willing to do what it takes to get there and to help the attorneys and staff that remain in the firm to reach the firm's goals.  Communication of the firm's vision and goals to everyone on staff is a crucial first step. If leadership isn't willing to articulate the plan and take the necessary steps, the rest of the firm will be unable or unwilling to follow."

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 28 January 2009

From the e-newsletter: "How often do you find yourself doing one activity and thinking about another? Perhaps you check email while you're on the phone or talking to someone? Or you read the paper (or browse the web) while your partner or child is trying to tell you something?

It's so common to do this, and when we do, we generally think we're making good use of the time by multitasking. And yet, most of us have also had the experience of getting "busted": the person who's talking realizes we aren't listening, or we make an error because we're juggling two (or more) tasks simultaneously. At a minimum, our stress level goes up because the brain isn't wired for multitasking.

Instead, try being fully present with what you're doing. If you're in conversation, close your email and put your phone on "do not disturb" so you can direct all of your attention to the discussion. Conversations tend to go more quickly when you're fully present because you're at full attention, and you'll notice that you catch not only what's said, but also what is going unsaid that should perhaps be explored.

For instance, imagine that a colleague is briefing you on an expert witness deposition prep session and the words say all is well. If you are fully present to your colleague, you might notice tension in his face that you would miss if you were looking at papers or email while he's talking. Seeing the tension, you'd have an opportunity to inquire and learn that although he can't put his finger on the issue, something isn't right about the testimony or the way the expert is presenting it. That's valuable information that could go undetected. (Should your colleague raise the concern without being asked? Absolutely. However, many of us are uncomfortable bringing up a concern without any evidence to back it up, and so he might well not mention it.)

How to become fully present? I recommend a quick centering exercise, which can be as simple as taking 3 or 4 slow, deep breaths. Bring all of your attention to the present activity, and if you find your attention wandering, breathe deeply again and bring it back. This level of focus will allow you to be more effective and less stressed.

As Malcolm Forbes said, "Presence is more than just being there." Being fully present focuses all of your senses on the task or person at hand. It's a learned skill. Try an experiment: resolve to be fully present for a couple of hours a day and see what you notice. I'd love to hear your feedback!"

Julie Fleming Brown, J.D., A.C.C. provides attorney development coaching and consulting to law firm associates and partners, focusing on topics such as leadership, client, and professional development; career strategy; and work/life integration. A certified leadership coach (Georgetown University), Julie publishes the weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers and posts often on the Life at the Bar Blog. Learn more at www.LifeAtTheBar.com or by contacting Julie by telephone at 800.758.6214 or by email to jfb@lifeatthebar.com.

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

Source: The Timesheet, February 2009

 Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Collaboration Through Wikis at Hicks Morley - Heather Colman explains how wikis were an ideal KM solution for her law firm. Quick and easy to set up, requiring little IT support, wikis support central data repositories and provide features including search capabilities, email, RSS, and also allow users to create a taxonomy of subject tags to classify information."

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 January 2009 Copyright ©2002-2009. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Tom Kane: "After reading for months about tons of layoffs of both lawyers and staff by BigLaw firms, one may think that the legal business is in trouble in this down economy. Not so fast. An article to the contrary by Thomas Adcock that appears the recent issue of Law.com's Small Firm Business.

Adcock points to a number of small law firms that are doing just fine, thank you very much. The reasons are varied and include:

• Lower fee structures
• More litigation, generally
• White-collar defense
• Business restructuring, as well as mergers and acquisitions
• Professional liability
• Insurance coverage issues

Moreover, there were a couple of things mentioned in the article that particularly ran true for me (and are applicable to any size firm). The first was a comment by David E. Danovitch of 21-lawyer Gersten Savage that clients will "stick with you through thick and thin so long as they're happy with your work." The other was something consultant Ari Kaplan mentioned about "becoming business partners...rather than just problem solvers" for your clients.

So, both of these latter points relate to solid client relationships, which are the key to client retention even in tough economic times; and small and medium-sized firms have a real advantage IMHO."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 29 January 2009

In the news: "One pie-in-the-sky ideal for budgets from outside counsel is that law firms will submit accurate projections of their costs on all matters, extending out for a year, and that in-house managers will review the budgets critically and analyze and act on that information. But law firms and law departments fall far short of such exemplary practices. Consultant Rees Morrison and business professor Paul Morrison look at five elements of budgeting and propose some new-ish ideas that can actually be put into effect."

The five elements are: 

(1)   "Accurate projections..."

(2)   "All matters..."

(3)   "Extending out for a year or so..."

(4)   "Review budgets critically..."

(5)   "Analyze and act on that information..."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 29 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "This post is not meant to tell you how you should use  Twitter  or whether you should even like Twitter.  But it is a post about how I use Twitter and why I choose to use it the way I do as well as some overall observations.  If you can pull some tidbits out of it that work for you...great.  I am certainly not pretending to be an authority on the Twitterverse. Quite frankly no one CAN be because it is simply too new and its uses, acceptable behaviors, etiquette and more are in its infancy. That being said, some people certainly have more time than others to explore the myriad of Twitter aids, applications, technical advances, widgets and more because of their occupations and curiosity. So, in this regard they may be a little ahead of the pack..but not by much.

Personally, I do get tremendous value out of my time on Twitter and wanted to share for those who may still seem skeptical:

Some are obvious benefits.  Others, may not be as obvious.

FIRST: I use Twitter to 'connect...' 

SECOND: I only follow people I am interested in for business or pleasure but am more heavily weighted towards business...

THIRD: I have also found the Direct Message (DM) function replacing e-mail more and more because of its speed and brevity...

FOURTH: Twitter has in large part become my RSS, both feeding my blog posts from this blog and Solo Practice University and receiving others...

FIFTH: I'm finding I now affirm a blog author's great post not by commenting as readily but by Tweeting or Retweeting (RT) on Twitter to give it more exposure...

SIXTH: I use Twitter to share what I am reading...

SEVENTH: Twitter has become a great forum to pose questions and get immediate responses...

EIGHTH: I have used Twitter to find a virtual assistant...

NINTH: I share personal joys and sadness, nothing so intimate it shouldn't be there...

TENTH:  I use Tweetdeck to organize those I'm following, those who have replied to me and Direct Messages.  I use EasyTweets to schedule tweets at select times.

What I would not recommend you do on Twitter:

DO NOT BE ONE-DIMENSIONAL...

DO NOT BE A MESSENGER...

DO NOT BE AN OBSERVER...

Use of Twitter is very personal. Before you enter the Twitterverse know what your goals are.  And then mind your own business knowing everyone is on there for their own reasons which, quite frankly, are none of your concern.  Your power and pleasure lies in your ability to follow or unfollow. 

Find your voice, who you want to Tweet with and remember, your followers are listening...

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

Source:  Build a Solo Practice, LLC., 28 January 2009

In the news: "In part three of a five-part series, video marketing guru Gerry Oginski presents his million-dollar tip: Include what 99 percent of attorneys do not include in their videos: Information! The more info you give a viewer, the greater chance you'll be seen as an expert in your field."

NEXT UP IN THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES
Practice Tip No. 4: Keep your video short, but not too short, and not too long.

PREVIOUSLY IN THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES
Practice Tip No. 1: What you should never include in your video that 99 percent of attorneys include: Yourself!
Practice Tip No. 2: Do not talk about how difficult your area of law is.

Read full text

<http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the blog: "You can find the official LC feed here:
http://www.twitter.com/librarycongress

[Their] Source: LC

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

Posted by Reid Trautz: "Twitter seems to be taking the legal profession by storm these days, yet many lawyers have either not heard of Twitter or do not understand the basics of what this free new service is all about. 

New York Times tech guru, David Pogue, does a great job explaining what he thinks Twitter is and how to get started--I mean, he is an uber-techie and he was scratching his head about it!  Yet, I am not sure he gets basic enough for many of us.

The "Getting Started" resources on Twitter are helpful to get started, but I still wanted more depth and explanation of what to expect. So I found several more educational posts on Twitter basics:

• A step-by-step presentation on SlideShare that is very helpful.
• A video from Remarkablogger that provides a good overview.
• Good blog posts here and here that are aimed more at the advanced beginner.
• Of course, WikiPedia has good overview information, but not much on how to get started Tweeting.

The jury is still out on the benefits of lawyers using Twitter; however, I like what I see so far. Twitter is another tool to quickly communicate with a large audience that should be added to a lawyer's marketing arsenal. I also look forward to presenting a session on Twitter and other Web 2.0 media with Steve Matthews at the ABA TECHSHOW in April.

Oh, and once you've set up your Twitter account, be sure to follow me on Twitter!"

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

Source: Reid My Blog, 26 January 2009

 Posted by Larry Bodine: "Here's something refreshing: the General Counsel of AutoZone described in 20 words or less what his company does.  He said" 

Source: Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog, 28 January 2009

Posted by Carolyn Elefant: "For almost two weeks now, I've been dealing with a family situation that has taken me out of town, spending both days and nights at the hospital.  Like many of my colleagues who responded to the MyShingle contest question, I too employ technology that lets me take my office with me on the road.  Unfortunately, great as technology is, it has its limits in that it can't actually do our work for us, particularly when that work involves complicated legal questions that don't lend themselves well to forms or templates.  So now more than ever, I'm coming to realize the importance of back-up -- not back up for files (though of course, that's critical), but human back up as well.  

So where can solos find colleagues who can back them up?   Here are some tips for finding good back up:

1.      Don't wait until the last minute...

2.      Make sure you can work with your back up...

2.      Reach out to colleagues...

3.      Scope out the talents of younger or newer solos lawyers...

4        Offer your help...

5.      Realize that back up will cost you...and get over it...

So fellow solos - who's got your back, and how did you find them?  Please share your ideas in the comments section."

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

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "Ernie the Attorney remains on the trail of the paperless office. For details, see his post, "Upcoming 'paperless lawyering' seminars," and sign up to receive notice of seminars that might be taking place near you.

Related Post: "The Paperless Office Wiki: Everything You Need to Know" (and other posts noted therein)"

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

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

In the news: "A JURIX 2008 workshop, "Natural Language Engineering of Legal Argumentation," presented research into an "intelligent" support tool in natural language for arguing law. According to Dr. Adam Wyner, such a tool, once developed, will affect legal practice in the forseeable future."

Read full text

Posted by Rick Kuykendall: "Pretty well done, in my opinion. www.mydeniedclaim.com

Attorney Joey James and I have worked together and he's a courtroom litigator. His most recent verdict was in a case involving Dollar General.

The website is one that sets out what to do when a claim has been denied. These include disability claims involving UNUM, as well as:

• UNUM Life Insurance Company of America
• Paul Revere Life Insurance Company
• First Unum Life Insurance Company
• Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company
• Provident Life and Casualty Insurance Company

I'll be watching the site, and perhaps assisting folks in MD, VA, DC and the Atlantic States."

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

Posted by Tom Kane: "Evan Chesler, presiding partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore shocked a lot of people within the legal community with his recent opinion piece on Forbes.com advocating the death of the billable hour.

Basically, he states that the billable hour "makes no sense." Making more money by dragging out a matter (or in his analogy, making more money by getting "bogged down a land war in Asia") is "frankly nuts." Pretty strong words from a firm that doesn't really have to worry about clients questioning their bills, I wouldn't expect.

Even though tons of folks (too many people to mention here) in blogosphere, including yours truly, have long advocated doing away with the billable hour, Chesler's comments, one could argue, clearly takes the debate to a higher level. Not many would expect such a position from a BigLaw firm of Cravath's stature. Now maybe the concept of alternative fees, although not new, will take on a bit more momentum.

Although there have been many different suggestions for alternative fee arrangements (see Continue Reading below for a few of my posts on the topic), I found a couple of ideas from a named partner in a 10-lawyer Philadelphia area firm worth considering.  Gary Lentz of Bochetto & Lentz wrote an article published in The Legal Intelligencer and on Small Firm Business suggesting a couple of approaches that could attract new clients and enhance fee opportunities in this down economy.

The following two variations on the same theme are worth consideration by firms of all sizes:

• Multi-phased Fee Agreements
• Phase I - an initial flat fee to evaluate the case, develop strategy, negotiate and "prompt resolution" (with a potential for a bonus) and drafting complaint, if necessary;
• Phase II - a mix hourly, fixed fee and/or contingency, if necessary to file and pursue the matter in court.
• Blended Contingency Fee Agreements - an initial flat fee to cover the evaluation of the case and drafting the complaint, followed with a contingency fee based on outcome of the matter.

Take a look. They may just work for your firm, particularly with clients who are encountering their own uncertainties in the current economy.

Continue Reading

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

Source:  Legal Marketing Blog.com, 26 January 2009

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: "In the latest issue of the ABA Law Practice Management Section e-zine Law Practice Today, lawyers Courtney Kennaday and Reid Trautz consider a topic most of us prefer not to think about: "When You Go to Heaven, Will Your Practice Go to Hell?" Lawyers -- especially those in solo and small practices -- know full well they should protect their clients and their families by planning for untimely death or disability. Do they? Not often enough.

Kennaday and Trautz are both practice management advisers -- Kennaday for the South Carolina Bar and Trautz for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Both agree that it is all too common for a lawyer's practice to be hobbled by sudden death or disability. How do they know? "Because we get the calls and e-mails from the people the lawyer left behind, wondering what on earth they are supposed to do."

So what should the lawyer do to prepare for the unforeseeable? Prepare a plan. Designate another lawyer to step in and review your files and notify clients. Contact your own bar's practice-management adviser to discuss options. If you die without a succession plan," Kennaday and Trautz write, "you are leaving no possibility of a satisfactory outcome for anyone you leave behind."

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

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 26 January 2009

In the news: "In these rather unpleasant times, some firms use the economy as a reason to "cull the herd." This culling process can ensnare support staff, underachieving associates and non-equity partners. While it may be true that better times made it easier to tolerate unproductive support and professional personnel, the current conditions should not be seen as an opportunity to rid the firm of all that does not fit the firm's newest business model, says attorney Anthony S. Volpe."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 27 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe  <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the blog: "The Supreme Court of Ohio's Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law has issued a UPL opinion addressing online legal document preparation. Without naming names, the Ohio Board stated that "an individual, not licensed to practice law in Ohio and doing business as an online legal document service, may not draft or prepare legal documents and pleadings, nor select and complete legal forms for an Ohio resident." (Syllabus of Opinion UPL 2008-03). Relying on precedent from Ohio and elsewhere, the Board stated that such conduct constitutes the unauthorized practice of law."

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

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 26 January 2009

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "This is a paraphrased title from a great blog post by Jeremiah Owyang called "Build Your Network Before You Need Them" and he says it best here:

Those who ignore the party/conversation/network when they are content and decide to drop in when they need the network may not succeed. It's pretty easy to spot those that are just joining the network purely to take -not to give. Therefore, be part of the party/conversation/network before you need anything from anyone. Start now, and continue to build relationships by giving now: share knowledge, help others, and become a trusted node and connector, not just an outlying 'dot' of a comet that swings in every 4 years or so.

When we build a network of connections, if you just join as a taker, you will be exposed as the opportunist you've been flagged to be.  This is not what networking is about.  Why do so many people get this wrong?  No wonder networking is viewed as an intimidating chore by some, those very people who see it as 'asking'  or 'begging' for something first rather than offering genuinely and generously first.

Networking is about letting others know what you can uniquely offer to them and sharing freely, positioning yourself as a resource, a sphere of influence or one who can direct others to those who can provide the information or services they seek.  We are remembered best for those things we give freely without asking for anything in return.  And without fail, the rewards come when we least expect it.

When you think of your next social and/or professional networking opportunity position yourself as a giver.  Think first of what you can bring to the party rather than what you can take home in a doggie bag. The experience may be less intimidating because you are not asking for anything.  This philosophy will not only help you to enjoy those 'networking events' but also make you a better professional and a better human being.

Related Links of Interest:

Do You Have A Social Media Strategy?  The Good, The Bad & The Time-Sucking

Social Media; The Good, The Bad & The Time-Sucking (Part II)

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

Source: Build a Solo Practice, LCC., 26 January 2009

From the site: "Unemployment numbers are rising as companies are shedding workers at an alarming rate. In-house lawyers are front and center to make sure their companies don't run afoul of laws that protect workers during layoffs. Join In-House Legal, host Paul D. Boynton Esq., with guest Bret A. Cohen, an employment law specialist and partner at Mintz Levin in Boston, for insight on layoffs and lawsuits - how in-house lawyers can effectively advise their companies on this pressing issue."

Right Click and Download 

Play Windows Media

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 26 January 2009

Posted by the ResourceShelf:  "From a UN Pulse Post:

The UN Office of Legal Affairs, Codification Division has launched several new online resources:

+ Official Records of Diplomatic Conferences;

+ A new portal for all legal publications;

+ UN Legal Publications Global Search; and

+ RSS feed for the Audiovisual Library of International Law.

[Their] Source: UN Pulse

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

Source: ResourceShelf, 26 January 2009

Posted by Tom Mighell: "The blog Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Defense is published by Andrew M. Hale & Associates, a Chicago law firm. The site focuses on giving a voice to "hardworking police officers of this country that are being routinely blamed for every wrongful conviction that takes place."

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

Source: Inter Alia, 27 January 2009

Posted by Julie A. Fleming: "This week's task:  Review your biographical sketch and update it if appropriate.

Why is this a good activity?  Your bio sketch is likely to be your first introduction for potential clients who are referred to you, for potential clients who find you on the Internet or otherwise, for other lawyers, etc. Your sketch may also

(Read the rest of the entry...)

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

Source: Life at the Bar, LLC., 19 January 2009

From the blog: "Worth reading - The Ohio Family Law Blog has posted 2 interesting articles about "virtual vistation" as a supplement to standard parenting time. The articles cite ORC 3109.051 and a North Dakota case from 2007."

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

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 24 January 2009

From the blog: "For the very first time, the Ohio Supreme Court has issued a state-wide rule for GAL's (Guardians ad litem) that will take effect on March 1, 2009. According to Supreme Court's Press Release, new Rule 48 will govern appointment, responsibilities, training and reporting requirements for GAL's and will apply in all domestic and juvenile court proceedings where the court appoints a GAL. To help implement this new Rule, the Ohio Judicial College is scheduling upcoming training."

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

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 24 January 2009

From the e-newsletter: "A prominent legal-ethics professor has ignited a firestorm of controversy with his accusation that three equally prominent legal-ethics professors gave bad legal advice while serving as paid experts in a major employment litigation."

Read more...

Related Resources
• Browse Expert Witnesses

Source: FindLaw's Practice Paper. 22 January 2009 Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

In the news: "The new year has begun, but a damaged economy continues to keep midsize firm leaders largely in the dark about expectations for the next 12 months. Stephen A. Madva, chairman of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, acknowledges "the most upbeat comments by the best and brightest" financial experts say the economy could see an uptick in the third quarter, but notes, "the best and brightest are wrong on a regular basis." Still, a number of firms anticipate new work from increased governmental regulation."

Talking points include:

MIDDLE GROUND

THRIVING IN A DOWN ECONOMY

OPPORTUNITIES KNOCKING

 Read full text http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/lawArticleCareerCenter.jsp?id=1202427708525

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 26 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the site: "Want to know what went on in the world of e-discovery in 2008? Would you like a peek into what's new on the horizon? In this edition of The ESI Report, Gina Jytyla, Kroll Ontrack Managing Staff Attorney, opens the ESI Buzz with special guests Andrea Marshall, legal consultant for Kroll Ontrack and Attorney Todd Newton from the Mitchell Williams law firm, as they review 2008's ESI developments and discuss predictions for the year ahead. In the Bits & Bytes Legal Analysis segment, Gina Jytyla and Kroll Ontrack legal correspondent Meridith Socha, focus on the facts surrounding Covad Communications Co. v. Revonet, Inc."

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 23 January 2009

Posted by J. Benjamin Stevens:

"As my long-time readers may recall, my friend and fellow blogger, David Sparks of the MacSparky blog, attends the Macworld Expo every year, and he has been kind enough to report his findings to my readers.  The following are David's thoughts on the 2009 Macworld Expo: 

Daylite Touch...

Livescribe Smartpen...

FileMaker Pro 10...

MacSpeech... 

OmniFocus ...

Microvision Projector...

Timeline 3d...

SMART Digital White Board...

 iWork 09...

Many thanks again to David Sparks for his excellent work in reporting on the 2009 Macworld Expo and for allowing me to republish his article here at The Mac Lawyer.  If you haven't visited David's MacSparky blog, you should do so, as it's one of the very best on the web."

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

Source: The Mac Lawyer, 14 January 2009

From the e-newsletter: "As the April 15th income tax return filing deadline approaches, if you're finding yourself facing financial problems that may make it difficult or impossible for you to meet your tax obligations, help is available from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a number of national and state-level organizations that offer free or low-cost assistance for taxpayers."

Read more...

Related Resources
• IRS Help for Financially Distressed Taxpayers (IRS.gov)

Source: FindLaw's Public Advisor: Legal News & Resources for the Public. 22 January 2009 Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

Posted by Kevin O'Keefe: "I posted last November that every major law firm in the country has a LinkedIn profile providing detailed demographic information.

 Law practice management expert, Rees Morrison, emphasizing the value of LinkedIn for law firms in a post this morning thought my statement about every major law firm having a profile a touch of an exaggeration. I'm not sure it's an exaggeration.

Is there a law firm in the AmLaw 200, widely accepted as the 200 largest law firms in the country, which does not have a detailed law firm profile in the company profile section of LinkedIn? I am not aware of any. Let me now if you know of any AmLaw 200 firms without a LinkedIn profile.

These profiles were not created proactively by the law firms, as they would be with Martindale-Hubbell. The LinkedIn firm profiles are automatically generated from the demographic information in LinkedIn profile's completed by lawyers and other professionals employed by law firms.

Let's pull randomly number 100 on the AmLaw 200, Kilpatrick Stockton, a full-service, international law firm in nine offices across the eastern United States and in Europe. You do this by clicking on the company link on the home page of LinkedIn. Key in the firm name or browse to law firms. Here's a the screenshot.

[Screenshot is available at the source site listed below]

Look at Kilpatrick Stockton's law firm profile on LinkedIn. Included in the profile are links to the 418 employees with LinkedIn profiles, career paths to the firm, who the firm's employees are most connected to in LinkedIn, new hires, promotions, popular profiles, top schools, median age, gender breakdown, and much more. Here's a screenshot.

[Screenshot is available at the source site listed below]

Free detailed law firm profiles in a social networking site that has 30 million registered professionals users spanning 150 industries. Powerful stuff.

Expect every law firm, large or small, to have a LinkedIn profile in the coming years. That's something I don't believe any legal directory is going to match."

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

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "We all know that people judge each other in the first five seconds they see each other. We talk about clothes, and weight, and tone of voice. But you can also judge someone by their walk.

Don't tell me this is shallow. You can't help but judge people by their gait. But the good news is that we are very good at judging people on first impressions. It's probably a survival skill we developed very early on as humans - before you could Google someone to know their credibility. And when it comes to gait, it is possible that we each have a unique gait, like a unique thumbprint. (Yes, people are developing security technology based on gait: Cool, right?)

I am convinced that you can change how you function in the world by changing your gait. We already know that people with the most control over their image work hard on understanding the body language they project. For example, if you feel defensive, resist the temptation to fold your arms in front of your chest and the person you're talking to will think you are listening better. And, in fact, you will be listening better because based on your physical urge to fold your arms you gained intellectual awareness that you are feeling defensive.

Scientists have taken body language analysis one step forward and found systematic ways to describe how gait relates to mood. The first career coach I ever had used this science. She taught me how to change my walk in order to exude more authority. I was a young upstart bouncing around the office and needed to look grounded. She showed me how to shift my center of gravity to lower in my body. And, in the process of changing my gait, she actually did change the way I approached people - I exuded more authority.

So here are personality traits that we reveal in how we walk. In each case, researchers have found that if you change the way you walk, you can change how you are living. (more...)

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

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "Life after Big Law actually exists even if you are laid off unexpectedly.  This is the story of Jeena Belil:

Guest Blogger - Jeena Belil

Going Solo After Layoff?  Yes, It Can Be Done!

In 2004, I was the Managing Attorney for a small New York Insurance Company.  By September of 2007, my entire department was laid off as a result of a "reduction in force".  It would only get worse for law firms and legal departments in large companies during 2008 and we have not seen the last of it.  You may be working in a law firm right now and silently freaking out over what is to become of your job, but you may not have to.  Now may be the perfect time to go solo.  I did, and I'll never go back.  It can be done.  Here are five things I did to get my practice up and running:

1. I changed my paradigm and got out of my comfort zone...

2. I decided to practice what I already knew how to do...

3. I readied myself while I still had a job...

4. I had my financial house in order...

5. I made a plan... 

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

Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC., 23 January 2009

From the site: "Hear how to properly settle a workers' comp case and comply with statutory requirements to create a medicare set aside program, allocation or trust. On this Workers' Comp Matters program, host Attorney Alan S. Pierce, and Attorney Neal Winston from the firm, Moschella & Winston LLP, update Medicare Set-aside issues and discuss the implemented changes that will affect liability cases in 2009."

Right click and Download

Play Windows Media

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

In the news: "As another effect of the down economy, staffing cuts are forcing attorneys who used to share an assistant with one colleague to share with two or three. But some caution against making staff cuts the first line of financial defense, especially where associate cuts make more sense."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 23 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Ron Friedmann: "Money pours into e-discovery. Courts rule on it. Lawyers debate it. Seemingly missing though are statistics. 

Is e-discovery and document review today all that different from litigation support 20 years ago? Sure, technology has changed. The underlying process, however, has not. The biggest difference is the volume of data.

There's a field dedicated to dealing with high data volumes: statistics. EDD debates rarely includes a serious discussion about statistically valid sampling and comparisons of review approaches.

If the US system of litigation had a mechanism to pay for statisticians to assess alternative approaches to e-discovery a document review, I suspect EDD discussions - and judicial decisions - would be very different.

The February 9-13, 2008 Georgetown Law E-Discovery Training Academy has an outstanding faculty and well-conceived syllabus. As I read the session descriptions, I don't see that statistics will enter the discussion. I hope that future e-discovery training programs will include a session devoted to statistics.

As a one-time econometrician (statistical economist), I think litigators should have enough knowledge to make an informed decision about whether statistics would help manage the EDD and review process. If lawyers doing EDD were pilots, including stats is not like making the leap from visual to instrument flight rules. It's more like flying with your eyes open rather than closed."

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

Source: Stategic Legal Technology, 17 January 2009

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "Using CiteGenie, you can "automagically copy text with correct citations from Westlaw, Lexis, and other websites."

Here's how the author describes the free program, which plugs into your browser--

Cutting and pasting when doing legal research using your browser is simple. But having to construct the citation for what you pasted is not so simple. This is especially true with legal citations from sources like Westlaw. You have to stop and copy the case name separately, determine the pinpoint page numbers, and adjust the date and court name format.

So I decided to write a browser plugin that would automatically add a pinpoint citation to the text I copy and paste. Thus CiteGenie was born.

If something like this interests you, just surf to the website and try it for yourself.

[Their] Source: "Achieve total recall with online tools," by Catherine Sanders Reach, Trial Magazine, January 2009."

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

Source: Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 20 January 2009

Posted by Jim Hassett: "A growing number of visionary firms are leading the charge to alternative fees.

Source:  Legal Business Development, 21 January 2009

Posted by Ed Poll: "Darryl Cross is the Vice President of Client Profitability for LexisNexis. In this position, he reviews the marketing efforts of many lawyers and law firms. After all, it's marketing... and selling... that creates the revenue from which profitability will result. Darryl discusses with Ed the differences between marketing and selling... and why lawyers either fear or hate to sell their professional services. Darryl and Ed also discuss several easy ways in which reluctant lawyers can be more effective and thus thrive in this downturned economy.

22 minutes, 24 seconds
5.3MB

Click here to listen."

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

Source: Law Biz Blog, 20 January 2009

In the news: "In part 2 of a 5-part series, video marketing guru Gerry Oginski offers this advice: Do not talk about how difficult your area of law is. Viewers aren't interested in how specialized or arcane your practice is. It's a waste of breath and a great way to lose a potential client."

NEXT UP IN THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES:

Practice Tip No. 3: What 99 percent of attorneys do not include in their videos: Information!

PREVIOUS IN THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES

Practice Tip No. 1: What you should never include in your video that 99 percent of attorneys include: Yourself!

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 22 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe   <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 21 January 2009 Copyright ©2002-2009. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "I picked up this amazing video from a fellow tweeter and wanted to share on this blog because it sends a powerful message. It is a message I hear often from those who want to go solo as they come up against an oppressive message drilled into them by the generation before.  While it speaks broadly, control over one's destiny remains the theme of this unique piece.  I also think it is important to note who the sponsor is...at the end.

(Oh, and I'm hoping the boys at WAC? will take a peek, too.  They swear they read my blog and have challenged me to convince them their perspective needs shifting...on Gen Y, that is :-)

....she always makes too much sense. So we do not always agree with Susan Cartier Liebel--is that a great multicultural handle or what?--but we always read her anyway at her Build A Solo Practice, LLC. Reason: we check in with her just in case we are wrong-headed, backward or archaic about life and the law generally, which is likely. If we ever decide to evolve, and become sensitive new age gentlemen.....Holden Oliver from this recent post.

[Use the active link below to listen the video.]

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

Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC., 21 January 2009

From the blog: "Crystal Ball: Craig Ball's 2009 E-Discovery Predictions: Craig Ball, an Austin-based attorney and forensics consultant, joins Law Technology News' editor-in-chief Monica Bay for a lively discussion about what's ahead in electronic data discovery. Will it be a year of assimilation rather than innovation? Will lawyers stop shaking their fists and start embracing e-discovery? Tune in!

Click here to listen to parts 2 and 3

(Brain Drain and Grimm Prognosis):

Right Clock and Download

Play Windows Media

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 21 January 2009

From the site: "From the Lifehacker Post:

Previously mentioned people search engine Pipl has updated once again, this time offering three new reverse lookups based on email, username, and phone number.

Direct to Pipl.com"

Posted by Ed Bott: "In the past few months, I've written extensively about Windows 7, often focusing on a specific set of features or technologies. Inevitably, someone in the Talkback section says I'm dodging the most important question: Is there a single killer feature in Windows 7 that justifies an upgrade, especially for someone who is happy with Windows XP and has chosen to avoid Windows Vista?

For another perspective on this topic, see Adrian Kingsley-Hughes' post, Windows 7: revolutionary or evolutionary?

The obvious, if oversimplified answer, is "No." For most mainstream business and home uses, there's no killer feature in Windows 7. You can rip an MP3 file, edit a Word document, browse the web, read a PDF file, and probably do just about any other common task, especially those involved with basic business functions, with any hardware and any OS from the 21st Century.

But who needs a killer feature? After using several builds of Windows 7 for roughly three months, I can see enormous potential for greater productivity. But before I dive into the list of why I think that's true, a few caveats...

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

Source:  ZD Net, 19 January 2009

Posted by Jordan Furlong: "I'm currently taking part in an intriguing conversation at  Legal OnRamp about the reasons why GCs hire prestigious, big-name law firms. A recurring theme in the discussion is that in-house lawyers often default to using big, well-known (and often highly inefficient) firms because of the protection these firms' prestige affords to corporate counsel. Just as no one was ever fired for buying IBM, as the old saying went, no one gets fired for sending important and potentially calamitous work to Famous & Expensive LLP: "I paid top dollar for Top Law Firm, so don't blame me for what happened."

My contribution thus far has been to ask (a) whether  that protection actually materializes in practice, (b) how much outside counsel work is so important that it requires the F&E imprimatur, and (c) if any GC has yet been fired for failing to rein in outside counsel costs. The whole conversation might eventually form the basis of a separate post. But it does lead me to a related and I think pretty important subject: what "law firm prestige" itself actually represents.

"Prestige" is one of those words, like "professionalism" and "value," that we throw around a lot in the law without establishing exactly what we mean by it. Interestingly, trace its etymology back to Middle French and you'll find it originally referred to an illusion or a conjuror's trick, a sleight-of-hand; if you've ever wondered where the old magician's standby "Presto!" comes from, you have your answer. That's something to keep in mind when considering law firms' "prestige" -- that we're talking more about the appearance or suggestion of merit than we are about the actual presence of merit itself.

Let's say an in-house counsel purchases a law firm's services at least in part because he expects that firm's "prestige" will provide effective cover against adverse outcomes. The clear implication, I would think, is that that prestige reflects a higher quality of service and/or results, as compared with less well-known or less "prestigious" firms -- otherwise, why would it be relevant to the question of whether the corporate counsel made the right call? This implies that there's a rational, measurable connection between a prestigious, well-known name and better, more reliable results.

But is that actually the case? And it it's not, are clients who rely on "prestige" when making their legal purchasing decisions doing little more than buying smoke and mirrors?...

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

Source:  Law21, 20 January 2009

By Tina Hilton of Clerical Advantage: "First, I've gotten brave and attempted a second podcast with this post. You'll find the link below. Now on with the show...

Listen to the Podcast of this Post

Directly on the heels of my post concerning Virtual Assistant Rates, I'm going to get really brave and tackle something that the same Linked In Question & Answer Discussion brought to my attention.  It is all about 'new' virtual assistants.  It has been voiced that new VA's should not ask for the going rate when they start out. Again, surprisingly, I disagree.

I can hear your arguments now.  No one starts out in a position getting paid the average rate for the industry. They always start at a lower rate and work up. And you would be right, if we were talking about the traditional job marketplace. But we're not.
We are talking about the virtual assistant industry.  Anyone even contemplating becoming a virtual assistant should have at least 5 years of professional office experience as an executive assistant, office manager/supervisor, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant or some similar professional position.  As I've stated here before, customer service, receptionist and mail clerk positions are not qualifying experience to become a VA.

...

Eventually business professionals are going to catch on to the fact that the more qualified virtual assistants are going to be charging more professional rates.  Just the same way potential employees with more training and experience are going to demand higher salaries.  You get what you pay for.

So to the new virtual assistants out there, if you're an accomplished professional hanging your shingle, you shouldn't hesitate to charge what you're worth.  And don't let anyone devalue your worth simply because you're just launching your own business."

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

Source: Home Office Warrior, 15 January 2009

In the news: "Now that 2008 firm financials are becoming clearer, legal recruiters and consultants say lateral partner moves are bound to heat up just as they do at the start of every new fiscal year. But this time around, they say the added pressures of a tanking economy and firm layoffs will flood the market with even more partners looking for new homes, or for quick escape routes off sinking ships. And in D.C., recruiters and consultants see a handful of well-positioned firms as particularly desirable places to land."

 Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 21 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

From the blog: "Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog.

A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration's online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities:

Communication -- Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.

Transparency -- President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that's just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President's policy priorities.

Participation -- President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it."

[Their] Source: White House ("THE BRIEFING ROOM - THE BLOG")

Source: ResourceShelf, 20 January 2009

Posted by Tom Mighell: "David Miller is a federal appellate lawyer practicing in Cleveland. But he's also a cartoonist, and at Courtoons he offers a daily cartoon making fun of the law, lawyers, and the legal process."

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

Source: Inter Alia, 21 January 2009

Source: Robert Ambrogi's LawSites, 19 January 2009

From the site: "New technologies are great if they provide the services you need and want. Our authors review two of the hippest new mobile devices and finds them wanting in different ways.

iPhone vs. Blackberry Storm: Blackberry Storm By Lee Rosen

iPhone vs. Blackberry: iPhone By Jeff Richardson

The active links are available at the source site listed below. Scroll down to the bottom!

Source: Law Practice Today, January 2009

In the news: "Surprisingly, many IT pros and attorneys don't understand the power of computer forensics, which can dig up deleted files. But the practice goes further, focusing on the analysis of computer data with the specific purpose of being able to testify as to what the data means."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 21 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe   <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Tom Kane: "Meeting client expectations has been a recurring theme of mine, and one I have discussed a number of times in the past. (See Continue Reading below for links to several of them.) But, those posts dealt mostly with meeting client "service" expectations. What about the "outcome" or "results" side of a client engagement.

Chuck Newton's Rides The Third Wave blog has a post about the dangers relating to client expectations that fall into that category.

Happy clients are the ones whose expectations have been met, and more work or referrals from that client group are a direct result of said happy clients. It makes tremendous sense to make sure you have done a great job of communicating with your clients as to what they can expect not only in how their matter and engagement will be handled, but how realistic their expectations are as to the outcome as well.

It isn't easy to talk about potential negatives when attempting to sell your services to a potential client. But, the more straight forward a lawyer is in explaining what the client should expect, in both how their matter will be handled and the potential options as to outcome, the better the long term reputation of that lawyer will be.

So, make sure that you ask and understand the expectations of your clients in both areas. That is smart marketing."

Continue Reading

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

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "Most of us set goals for ourselves to do things that are difficult for us to do. Instead, how about setting goals to work hard at something that is actually a pleasure?

It's clear that the deep, fulfilling experiences in life are when we are very focused at what we really enjoy doing. So goals should start with that premise, and aim to create more of that in our lives. Here are five steps to create goals that encourage you to do more of what you love.

1. Stop thinking about the goal, and start thinking about the process...
2. Discover your best goals by watching what you like to practice...

3. Take action where your passion lives, and the other stuff will follow...

4. There is only one, real goal. So acknowledge it...

5. Aim for flow...

Full text is available at the source site listed below.

From the e-newsletter: "January 21, 2009 / Webcast. Discovery in 2009 & Beyond: Emerging Market Trends That Will Help You Stay Ahead of the Curve is a free webinar that will explore how smart companies are approaching eDiscovery in 2009. Our experts will examine key trends in legal matters involving ESI and provide valuable information on approaching eDiscovery more effectively."

 Read more...

Posted by Charles Perez: "We're a busy little crew here at Video Resources (as evidenced by my long overdue blog-sorry!)

When we're not saving lives and reputations we make it a practice to keep up on as many subjects, programs or products which will have a positive impact on our services.

With the goal of being "all things to all clients" I undertook a three day "Power User" course which explored the complexity and versatility of CT Summation, probably the best litigation support program in the known legal universe (for those who know how to tap into its incredible power).

Although CT summation isn't exactly the first choice to use for trial presentation (it lacks many of the robust features of say, Sanction or Visionary) it is probably the best known litigation program in the legal community. Many of our clients rely heavily on CT Summation and it's imperative in "our world" to know how to adapt, capture and present data, regardless of its native format.

So, with my time at a premium, I jumped at the chance to participate in a three day course taught by Henry Alonso , owner of Alonso Consulting & Training. Henry has over 16 years of hands-on experience working with CT Summation and has several years under his belt providing litigation support to a variety of top level law firms - it was a no-brainer of a decision to learn from Henry and well worth the investment.

The course was a non-stop, hands on adventure that allowed me to perform, in a real-time, legal environment; Henry taught us tricks and shortcuts that even many seasoned users of the program aren't aware of ; after 24 hours of immersion into every aspect of the program I and my fellow "Boot Camp Power Users" came away with a solid understanding of just how powerful the program is. (We got a really cool certificate to boot!)

Two weeks later I discovered just how useful this training would be..... 

Continue Reading...

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

Source: Trial Presentation Blog, 10 December 2008 on December 10, 2008

Posted by Darren Browse: "In this guest post, Steve Schwartz, a professional LSAT tutor, discusses how he has used Facebook to promote his Ace the LSAT blog and create a community of readers.

Your blog's readers probably have Facebook profiles already, and making ..."

Click Here to Continue Reading

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below. Be sure to read the 49+ comments!

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Burney's Legal Tech Reviews: A Review of the 8GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro - Brett Burney returns with a review of the well designed, low cost, high capacity SanDisk Cruzer Micro, which includes U3 technology that turns the flash drive into a portable computing environment."

In the news: "When a mail server is down, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." And when you are at that point, you obviously need that message. With that in mind, Legal Technology editor Sean Doherty reviews a high availability solution for Microsoft Exchange from Teneros."

Read full text

From the blog: "In Herring v. United States, No. 07-513, the United States Supreme Court upheld the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit holding that the exclusionary rule does not bar evidence seized after an arrest based upon a recalled arrest warrant.  The warrant had been recalled by the court, but the withdrawal was never entered into the police computer system.  By the time the police realized the mistake, the arrest and seizure of drugs and a weapon had already been made.  In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that police mistakes leading to an unlawful search, which are the results of isolated negligence rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, do not require the application of the exclusionary doctrine."

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

Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 15 January 2009

From the Division of Public Education: "Visit www.lawday.org to download the complete 2009 Law Day Planning Guide. If you have requested a hard copy, you will receive it in approximately 2 weeks.

Be sure to visit the Law Day store for new items and themed products - the 10% discount deadline is February 27.

May 1 isn't that far away. Bar associations like the NJ State Bar Association and the Ohio Bar Association have already posted their YouTube contests online. Don't be left behind - start planning your Law Day event today."

Source: Email from the Division of Public Education. "Law Day Planning Guide Available Online." 15 January 2009

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "There is no other way to figure out where you belong than to make time to do it and give yourself space to fail, give yourself time to be lost. If you think you have to get it right the first time, you won't have the space really to investigate, and you'll convince yourself that something is right when it's not. And then you'll have a quarterlife crisis when you realize that you lied to yourself so you could feel stable instead of investigating. Here's how to avoid that outcome.

1. Take time to figure out what you love to do...

2. Take time to figure out what you can get paid for...

3. Watch people around you to figure out who is happy...

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

Source: Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, 15 January 2009

Posted by Carolyn Elefant: "Virtually every guide on marketing a law firm recommends speaking engagements as an effective way to generate clients. Unfortunately, there's usually not much detail provided on how to secure a speaking engagement -- particularly if you're a newer or less experienced lawyer -- how to select an appropriate venue, how to choose a topic, or how to get the word out about your talk.  So that's the focus of this week's post: How to make the most of speaking engagements to market your practice.

Before I get to the how-tos of speaking engagements, I'll spend a little time discussing the marketing benefits of speaking engagements.  First and most importantly, speaking engagements give you a chance to personally interact with prospective clients without having them feel pressured to retain you, as they might at an initial consultation.  Personal interaction also lets clients can get a sense of your demeanor and personality, factors that are often relevant to their decisions.  Second, speaking engagements are efficient, because they give you a chance to make contact with multiple prospects all at once.  Third, speaking carries a public-spirited component -- it's a way to market and educate the public at the same time.  Fourth, speaking engagements give you an opportunity to reach out to existing clients and reconnect by inviting them to hear your presentation.  Finally, when you speak, many will perceive you as an expert and thus, speaking events can enhance your reputation and elevate your visibility within your markets.

So how can you find speaking opportunities and make them pay off?  Below are some tips.

1.  Identifying your target audience...
2.  Finding a place to speak...
3.  Choosing a topic...

4.  Materials...
5.  Getting the word out...
6.  The actual speaking event... 
7.  After the talk...

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

Source: Nolo's Legal Marketing Blawg, 14 January 2009

Posted by: Tom Mighell: "...At Nolo's Legal Marketing Blawg Carolyn [Elefant] is the featured writer there on all things marketing, primarily for solo and small firm lawyers, but certainly there's good marketing advice for all lawyers there. Recent posts have include[d] great information on listservs, sharing your articles online, and getting "found" online."

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

Source:  Inter Alia, 16 January 2009

From the blog: "The stand-out free social networking and micro-blogging service, Twitter, has been praised and shunned by legal professionals. What do YOU think? Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome Kevin O'Keefe, CEO of LexBlog and Owner of LexMonitor and Attorney Scott Greenfield who writes the blog, Simple Justice, to discuss the pros and cons of Twitter and discuss whether it is a phenomenon or a necessity for lawyers and law firms."

Right Click and Download

Play Windows Media

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 15 January 2009

Posted by Robert Ambrogi: "The share of adult Internet users who have a profile on an online social network has more than quadrupled in the past four years, from 8 percent in 2005 to 35 percent now, according to a new Pew Internet study of adults and social networks. Not surprisingly, use of social networks still remains much heavier among younger adults, with 75 percent of those aged 18-24 using social networks compared to 7 percent of those 65 and older. (Full report in PDF.)

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

Source: Robert Ambrogi's LawSites, 15 January 2009

From the e-newsletter: "Every new year brings new changes to the thousands of pages of the Internal Revenue Code, the law that spells out what you can and cannot do in filing your federal income tax return in time for the April 15 deadline. What do you need to know for 2009? FindLaw provides up-to-date highlights of key federal income tax law changes for individuals and families, and links to more information on these changes direct from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Read more...

Related Resources
• FindLaw's Tax Center, Updated for 2009

Source: FindLaw's Public Advisor.15 January 2009 Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

Posted by Tom Kane: "If you really want to make a difference so that clients remember you and send you referrals, then a story Trey Ryder tells about a doctor may help. As the story goes, Trey was talking with a small business owner who told him that 15 years earlier his wife's doctor called on a Saturday to check on how she was doing.

There are two impressive aspects to the story. One, that a doctor called on a Saturday to check on how a patient was doing after surgery; and second that the patient's husband was still telling the story 15 years later.

Now that's some awesome word-of-mouth marketing. Funny thing is that same thing happened to me. I still talk about the call I got a few years back from my doctor at 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday. He was calling because he had just gotten back from vacation, and wanted me to know right away that my blood tests came out fine. (Of course, I didn't mention to him that my blood pressure nearly went through the roof by the very fact that he called on Saturday evening - but why ruin a good story.) I'm not sure how many patients I have sent him since, but heaven knows I have sure recommended him enough times.

So, why not do the same. Pick up the phone and call your client after a matter is completed and ask how they are doing, how you did, and is there anything else you could assist them with. In fact, why not call a client when it's least expected and bring them up to date on a current matter?

As Trey concludes:

"... when YOU pick up the phone, and YOU take time from your schedule to call your client, that's significant! That's what your client remembers. And that's another reason your client will return in the future -- and send referrals."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 15 January 2009

In the news: "Lack of diversity and work-life balance are often treated as separate problems in the legal profession, but a new initiative headed by the Project for Attorney Retention is seeking solutions that address both. The Diversity and Flexibility Connection will bring together managing partners from firms with a dozen general counsel from major U.S. companies to develop a list of best practices to promote diversity and work-life among attorneys, and a metrics system to weigh how effective those practices are."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 15 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: "I am working with a very committed client at the moment who has been sharing stories with me of her partnership experiences and why she knows she will be leaving her firm and is working towards this goal very soon.  And her story is probably more common then most realize.

She is the partner in a five person law firm in a well-heeled town in Maryland.  She has been the partner in this firm for more than 8 years. She is the youngest partner and does very well in her two chosen practice areas.  She made partner because she was good, really good at rainmaking and handling her clients.  This is perfect.  However, as typical, her partners are second wave with extraordinary overhead, support-staff heavy and associates overpaid to the point they are disinterested in learning rainmaking activities themselves.  They are just very comfortable with their paychecks and she is just one voice.  And this typical partnership expects the younger partners to start buying out the older partners in a few years while pushing the associates up through the partnership track.  That's the model.

In 2007 she alone brought in $400,000 more in billables than any other partner.   She took home only an extra $106,000 from all her work.  The following year, believing she may have to go overseas because she is in the reserves, she wanted to spend more time with her family, took fewer cases. Yet her partners relied upon her to do all the heavy lifting.  When she didn't they responded typically not realizing they had an obligation to up their game as well and said, 'wassup?'.  They just depended upon her for their income and got lazy.

This was when the lightbulb went off. She realized if she can generate this type of revenue and is just giving it away because the others aren't pulling their weight, why should she be in a partnership?  And so she is breaking free..."

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

Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC., 15 January 2009

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "This direct-examination tip comes from "Persuasive Direct," by Jim McElhaney, in the January 2009 issue of the ABA Journal--

When you prepare for trial, don't write out your questions. They'll sound stiff and unnatural when you read them out loud. Instead, write down the answers you're looking for on the right-hand side of your outline, leaving the left side of the page for occasional notes and reminders. That system forces you to 'free-form' your questions to get the information you need. It makes everything sound more natural, including the witness's answers.

There's more in the full article, which encourages you to leave the legalese in your office when you head for courtroom."

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

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 6 January 2009

In the news: "What you should never include in your video: yourself! If you have a Web site that says you are a lawyer, people presume that you know what you're talking about, says trial lawyer and video marketing guru Gerry Oginski. If you give potential clients a reason to doubt you, they will."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 15 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe   <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by StephanieWestAllen: "With the way Twitter is becoming a part of our culture, I think lawyers should have at least a rudimentary knowledge of what it is and how it works. Now that Tweeting is being allowed in the courtroom, I see even more reason for lawyers to get up to speed on micro-blogging. Even though most lawyers do not appear in court, Twitter is something that more and more of their clients will be using.

Examples of Twitter in the court . . .  Click to see the Tweeting of a reporter from a sentencing trial in Spokane. And just last week a Colorado judge approved Twitter use. From an article in The Colorado Independent:

Prosecutors and defense attorneys wanted bloggers silenced in the courtroom next week, but a Boulder judge ordered Monday that cell phones and computers won't be banned from the child-abuse trial of Alex Midyette, the Boulder Daily Camera reports. The attorneys argued that live-blogging and Tweeting the sensational case could tip witnesses to proceedings before they testified, thus impeding a fair trial. "I think there are other manageable options and less restrictive options than shutting down the flow of information during the trial," Boulder District Judge Lael Montgomery said.

More comments about court Tweeting at Social Media Law Student.

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

Source: idealawg, 11 January 2009

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: "If you want to catch fish, go where the fish are. If you want to catch law students and young associates, go to Facebook, which is teeming with them. That was the reasoning last August, when the Am Law 200 law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle launched a Facebook page to serve as a central component in its law school recruiting efforts. (I wrote it about it then at my LawSites blog.) Now, a Texas firm is dropping a line in the water with a Facebook recruiting page of its own.

Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, a commercial law firm with offices in Dallas, Houston and Austin, unveiled its Facebook page Monday. "The initiative is designed to increase Munsch Hardt's visibility among young associates and law students," an announcement said. The page features video testimonials and photo albums from former summer associates along with information about the firm and its summer-associate program. A poll on the page asks, "How many weeks would you prefer your summer clerkship program to be?"

The page was the work of the co-chairs of the firm's law school hiring committee, partner Kitty O'Connell Henry and associate William J. Moore. Henry tells Texas Lawyer reporter Brenda Sapino Jeffreys, writing at Tex Parte Blog, that she believes information on the Facebook page will help sell the firm and answer some of the questions students and young lawyers have about it. Young associates at the firm are enthused about the page, Henry says. "We have video clips of four of our youngest associates, who talk about our culture and how they feel about the firm. It's great," she says. Now to reel them in."

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

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 14 January 2009

Posted by Jim Calloway: "A few years ago I wrote a blog post stating that all law firms really needed a Web site now. I hoped law firms would make it their New Year's Resolution for 2006 to set up one if they didn't have one and look at improving their site if they had one.

So now it is 2009 and I see Internet marketing being even more important for lawyers. The social networking sites are growing and many more people are using their browsers in their smart phones to locate important information. More people look to the Net first when searching for information. Certainly most law firms of any size now have a Web site. But some solo and small firm lawyers resist. I think mainly they just don't know where to begin. So I wrote a primer, Web Site How-To Tips for the Small Firm Lawyer, a few weeks ago. I hope this encourages the remaining laweyrs without a Web site to get going.

But if you have had a Web site for a few years, don't be complacent. The odds are that if you haven't thought about your Web site much in the last couple of years, it is due for a facelift. The color scheme may be dated or you have still list departed lawyers on it. Review your Web site now to see how you can improve it in the new year.

One idea might be to take some photos within your firm to use instead of stock impersonal pictures. I'd be overly cautious and get signed releases from any employees whose photos were used. (Sure it is OK to pay them a little bonus for consenting.) Respect the wishes of any employee who does not wish to be photographed. But, how much more alive, interesting and personal would your Web site be if it had pictures of your office and your staff instead of models and actors? Take plenty so you can easily rotate in new photos in a few months without having to have a new "picture day."

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

Source: Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog, 5 January 2009 

Are Social Networking Sites Discoverable?

From the blog: "Because traditional tort law does not recognize invasions of privacy that occur in public, arguments that information posted on social networking sites should not be discoverable because it is "private" face an uphill battle. To determine whether a litigant has an expectation of privacy in an Internet posting, courts will generally first ask whether the person had a "subjective expectation of privacy." In trying to prove a subjective expectation of privacy in a user's profile, the inherent nature of the profile or its everyday use works against any notion of an expectation of privacy."

[Their] Source: Legal Technology (Law.com)"

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

Source: ResourceShelf, 13 January 2009

Posted by Mark Bennett: "Keep your overhead as low as possible. You need a good laptop. You don't need a secretary.

Join your local, state, and national criminal defense lawyers' organizations, and join their listservs.

You don't need ProDoc (unless you're doing more than just criminal law)...

Answer your own phone whenever possible...

If your local courts have an online information service, subscribe.

Get admitted to practice in federal court.

If business is booming in a nearby county, having a presence down there might be a good idea.

Use a written contract...

Your clients are not your property...

Don't lie to your clients...

Don't tell the State what your case is about until it's too late for the prosecutor to woodshed the cop to get around your defense...

Charge at least what you think you're worth...

Put up a website...

Decide now what kind of practice you want to have in a decade...

Never ever ever put a client on the record to protect yourself...

If you don't speak Spanish, learn.

Form a relationship with a good bondsman...

Treat every case like a serious felony case...

If a client comes in and wants to pay you a nominal fee "just to get him probation", decline...

Never mislead your clients into pleading guilty...

Avoid making predictions about what the board of pardons and paroles will do.

Law school did not prepare you for this...

Criminal defense law involves helping people through the absolute worst times in their lives. Base every decision on what will help them most."

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

Source: Defending People, 23 April 2007 [Thanks to Susan Cartier Liebel's BlogRoll  for this link]

Posted by Justin Patten: "Interest in using mediation to resolve conflict at work continues to grow as HR professionals and business managers face the challenges of keeping staff motivated (if not happy) as well as satisfying shareholders desire for profits or growth.

Human Law Mediation is encouraged to see such interest but also concerned. Concerned that for those inexperienced in mediation mistakes could be made unless some of the finer details of mediation are understood.

I've written before (Mediation, not for the uninitiated) about the different skill sets required by mediators and lawyers when handling disputes and conflict but here I want to focus on two distinct forms of mediation - with some pointers on in what circumstances each should be used."

Read more about:

Mediation Before It Goes Legal

Post-legal Mediation

At: Human Law, 16 December 2008

 Five Tips for IT to Survive the Plunge

In the news: "Who would have expected the world economy to take such a precipitous plunge? Attorney Ross Kodner issues tips for law practices to batten down the hatches, tighten belts and learn to better exploit their existing infrastructure before rushing to upgrade and buy new technology."

The five tips include:

1. Exploit office suites...

2. Time purchases...

3. Leverage Web 2.0...

4. Compare prices...

5. Green your practice...

Read full text


Hungry Lawyers in Lean Times Invite GCs for 'Free' Lunch

In the news: "The phone is ringing off the hook in the office of Stuart Nichols, general counsel at tiny MIPS Technologies. Who's on the line? A lot of "old friends" at law firms who suddenly aren't so busy, just calling to see if he wants to go to lunch and "catch up." "When times are good, they've got their book of business -- now they're really desperate for a job that would just involve a few hours," said Nichols. So, are general counsel actually swayed to hand over legal work because of a free lunch?"

Read full text

Business Development in 15 Minutes a Day

In the news: "Do you ever hear yourself saying there are never enough hours in the day? Do you ever complain you don't have time to go out and build your book of business? Do you want 2009 to be the year you attract a huge number of new clients? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then make sure you put aside 15 minutes each day. That's all the time you need to boost your productivity and your network, according to productivity expert Neen James. She outlines three strategies for getting fast results.

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 14 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe

From the blog: "For years, in-house lawyers have struggled with keeping the lid on legal expenses. On In-House Legal, host Paul D. Boynton Esq., welcomes guests Susan Hackett, senior vice president and general counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel and Jeffrey E. Stone partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, to discuss the Value Challenge Initiative and the relationship in-house lawyers need to have with outside law firms to get more accountability and value from their service providers."

Right Click and Download

Play Windows Media

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 13 January 2009

From the blog: "Recently, I wrote a post titled "The Lessons of Format and Familiarity How To Take Your Blog To The Next Level and Build a Strong Reader Base" which discussed how to improve your blog by creating a more familiar format and sticking to certain key content areas in which you are passionate.  Today, I'm going to give you my top ten blogging tips to take your blog to the next level.  I guarantee that if you follow some or all of these ten items, you will see your traffic, the number of readers plugging you into their RSS reader and comments to the next level and beyond.

Continue reading "Top Ten Tuesday: My Best Blogging Tips for Building A Loyal Readership" »

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

Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 13 January 2009 

Posted By Tom Kane: "Do you want more traffic coming to your website? Who doesn't?

Tom O'Leary, a true SEO guru, has a post on leveraging the combined Justia and Cornell University directory listings over on The Attorney Marketing Blog.  He informs us on how you can get the search engines to pay more attention to your web site and/or blog (Tom has done some SEO work on my blog, and I have been very, very pleased).

The directory listings are free and Tom lays out step-by-step instructions on just how to take advantage of them for your law firm or practice. The process he lays out, particularly for smaller population centers vs. mega-cities, can result in multiple search results on the first page of Google.

First, go to Justia.com (under "Lawyers" at the top, enter your last name - especially if you go by "T. Edward Smith" as you may be in the directory as Thomas Edward Smith).

Then, click on "View Profile", then "Claim and Update your profile" and "Claim by Phone." What happens next is cool. Your listed telephone number is called immediately to verify that it's you trying to access the profile (so make sure the phone number is correct - if not, "Claim by fax").

Finally, as Tom mentions, take advantage of the opportunity to enter as much information as possible. The more data you include, the better the search engines will like you. He reports that one firm ended up with 6 of the 10 results on the first page of Google after doing the above.

This is GREAT stuff, Tom. Thanks."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 13 January 2009

Posted by Grant Griffiths: "Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the hot button topics right now and there is a lot of discussion about it. For some, just the thought of worrying about SEO causes a sick feeling to overcome them. And it shouldn't. Search engine optimization is not something you or I should be scared of. In fact, it is not impossible for us to do and because of that, we need to be looking at SEO every time we draft a blog post.

Why do I Need to Worry About WordPress SEO

• Search Engine Optimization, commonly called SEO means just what it says. We need to optimize not only our entire site for maximum search engine placement. We need to make sure we optimize each blog post too.
• Not being found in a search conducted by one of our possible visitors is really the same as our blog not existing at all. In other words, we need to make sure we are being found in the search engines when someone is looking for topics we are writing about.
• Keep in mind there is a direct correlation between the link structure of a blog, its content, and whether or not site pages will rank well in a search. What? Exactly, keep reading.
• The questions we have and the answers we need about WordPress SEO are really not being answered by the generic SEO courses available right now. In fact, there is almost nothing out there that thoroughly addresses the needs of a person who is both new to SEO and who is using a WordPress self-hosted blog, until now.
• A new study course to teach WordPress SEO is available. I was given an advance copy of the program and it was amazing. I have been blogging for 4 years and there was a ton of stuff on it I did not know. In fact, I have already started to do some of the suggestions on my own blog and my traffic has increased.
• The study course is called, WordPress SEO Secrets: Search Optimization Magic for WordPress Blogs. This is one study course you don't want to miss out on.

Get your own copy of this great WordPress SEO study course by going to this link: WordPress SEO Secrets: Search Optimization Magic for WordPress Blogs

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

Source: Home Office Lawyer, 11 January 2009

In the news: "Performance excellence means more than winning a trial or doing thousands of deals, if you have responsibility for the growth and development of an entire law firm. If you are, or plan to be, a law firm leader, your skill set must be much broader. How do top leaders develop the necessary skills and improve their abilities to lead? Coaching may be one key to success, according to consultant and lawyer Susan Letterman White, as long as you do your research first and find a skilled and compatible coach."

Talking points include:

WHY COACHING?

WHAT IS COACHING?

THE BASICS OF COACHING

 Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 13 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "There's a huge market for telling women how to be happier. Maybe it's because women read more than men. Or maybe it's the discrepancy that women know when they are overweight and men don't. Or the discrepancy that most men think they are good parents and most women think they need to be better parents. The list goes on and on, in a glass-half-empty kind of way.

In general, I think the strength of women is that they see things more clearly. Yes, it's a glass-half-empty world for women, compared to men, but women should leverage their stronger grip on reality. So here's my contribution to women and clarity. I am debunking five totally annoying pieces of advice I hear people give women all the time.

1. Take a look at the lists of best companies for women to work for...

3. Marry a stay-at-home dad to give you more space to grow your career...

4. Join an all-women networking group...

5. Don't cry at work...

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

Source:  Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, 12 January 2009

From the blog: "Source: Center for Constitutional Rights

This report released by the Center for Constitutional Rights includes the newest and most comprehensive numbers and lists of detainee status by nationality. The three simple steps are: 1) send those can go home home, 2) secure safe haven for those who cannot, and 3) charge those who can be charged and try them in ordinary federal criminal court.

It has been often repeated that closing Guantánamo will be a challenge. The reality is that the restoration of the rule of law to that offshore prison--and this country--should be significantly less complicated than the dismantling of the law has been. The time to close Guantánamo is long overdue--and it can be done in three months.

+ Full Report (PDF; 201 KB)

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

Source: Docuticker, 13 January 2009

Posted by Michelle Golden: "Lyne Noella is a wise lady whom I've long admired and known through the accounting marketing circles. Lucky for us, she has a blog called Relationship Marketing Program.

She posted yesterday her Top 5 New Year's Resolutions (all about marketing).

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

Source: Golden Practices, 3 January 2009 

In the news: "Do you know where your interns blog? A blog written by a former intern to the San Francisco Public Defender's office has prompted the San Francisco Superior Court to look into whether a PD used peremptory challenges to dismiss potential jurors solely because of race or ethnicity."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 13 January 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe  <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "FOIA Facts: New FOIA Provisions Take Effect - Scott A. Hodes discusses two sections (Section 6 and 7) of the OPEN Government Act of 2007 that just went into effect, and the problems that will be encountered by requesters trying to use them to their advantage."

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 12 January 2009 Copyright ©2002-2009. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Ernest Svenson: "Several friends of mine have recently gotten an Iphone, and have asked me to recommend some applications that I find useful. Here is my review of a few of the general utilities I have tried:

Weather

 ...WeatherBug (free)

... The Weather Channel (free)...

Voice search

 ...The first program that I can heartily recommend is called Melodis Voice Dialer (free)...  

Travel

 ...Several programs are cropping up that allow you to track the status of flights.  I've used a program called FlightTrack..

Location-based information

 ...Yelp (free...) 

...UrbanSpoon (free)...

...LocalEats (.99 cents)...

...OpenTable (free)...  

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

Source: Ernie the Attorney, 9 January 2009

Posted by Tom Mighell: "I always rave about  Mozy, the online service I use to back up my critical home computer documents. I get unlimited storage for around $55/year, which is a pretty good price to me. But here's a service that offers unlimited storage, like Mozy, but for free. Livedrive works just like a normal hard drive, but it's online. You can see your files online from any computer -- even from your iPhone.

Now, the downside of Livedrive is that, like any hard drive, it doesn't back itself up. Livedrive comes with no automated backup software, like Mozy. But you can use any commercial backup program in conjunction with Livedrive, so this isn't really a serious drawback.

Livedrive is free right now, but I bet this doesn't last forever....so sign up now and take advantage while you can."

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

Source: Inter Alia, 13 January 2009

From the blog: "2008 brought a lot of legal stories into the headlines, from the dismal economy affecting law firms to the always controversial Supreme Court rulings. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi, along with the editors from two of the most prominent legal publications, Edward Adams, editor and publisher of the ABA Journal and Steven Fromm, Editor-in-Chief of the National Law Journal, to discuss the top legal stories of 2008, standout lawyers from the year gone by and look ahead to what may be on the horizon for 2009."

Right Click and Download

Play Windows Media

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 9 January 2009