Posted by Larry Bodine: "Lawyers are skeptical, autonomous, introverted, resistant to new ideas, urgent and easily discouraged by setbacks, says marketing consultant Mark Beese. Leaders, on the other hand, tend to be trusting, team-oriented, social, open to new ideas, strategic and resilient.

The characteristics that traditionally make a good practicing lawyer, however, are quite different from the characteristics that make a good leader - or a good follower. Mark, who is president of Denver-based Leadership for Lawyers, says it's time to change that tradition.

Law firms can overcome these personality and structural obstacles to develop the leadership they desperately need in challenging times. They can they train skeptical, autonomous lawyers to participate on teams - not only as leaders, but also as followers of other lawyers professional marketers who bring essential business expertise to the table.

"Most lawyers find behavioral change to be difficult - even painful," said Beese. "However, in our current environment, change is essential for survival. The ingrained law firm culture discourages effective leadership -- and progress. The lawyer personality, the law firm structure and the weak precedent for leadership must all be addressed."

What kind of culture encourages leadership? According to research, leaders are adaptable, build and mend relationships, build effective teams, facilitate change, coach, collaborate, drive innovation and leverage differences to achieve positive results. They are credible, decisive and influential.

"These behaviors differ greatly from many 'traditional' lawyer behaviors," said Beese. "They will not change unless the firm culture changes to reward these new behaviors.

For the rest of the article, visit the Law Marketing Portal at www.lawmarketing.com 

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

Source: Law Marketing Blog, 25 September 2009 

Posted by StephanieWestAllen: "Someone e-mailed me with this list of legal-related Tweeters. Looks like you need to be a subscriber to Texas Lawyer to see the full list so here's a teaser:

THE TOP 20 TWEETERS TO FOLLOW ON TWITTER.

Texas Lawyer (Sept 28, 2009) Byline: D. TODD SMITH

Since I last wrote about Twitter, the microblogging platform and social media tool has continued to gain popularity among lawyers. Last time, I focused on the ways lawyers can use Twitter to market their practices.

This time, I identify 20 "tweeters"; listed alphabetically according to their Twitter usernames, along with any text from their respective profiles; who provide content that is interesting and useful to Texas lawyers.

1. @ABAjournal: "Continuous news updates from the United States' most-read and most-respected legal affairs magazine and website."

2. @AmLawDaily: "The source for daily legal business news and analysis of leading law firms."

3. @carolynelefant: "Cool FERC lawyer (fercfights.com <http://fercfights.com>). Marine renewables expert. Avid blogger at MyShingle, author Solo by Choice, mom. All at once."

4. @chucknewton: "Husband, father, lawyer, Third Waver, carpet commuter, spare room tycoon that likes crooners."

5. @glambert: "Law Librarian (BigLaw), Blogger, geeklawblog, Competitive Intelligence, Social Media, Knowledge Management (KM), Speaker, not Adam."

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

Source: idealawg, 29 September 2009

Posted by Tom Kane: "Ran across the July/August issue of the ABA's Law Practice magazine which contains an article by Linda Oligschlaeger with The Missouri Bar. Although her advice to solos and small firm lawyers covers practice management generally, I was particularly taken by 7 of her 15 tips which relate to marketing in these (or any for that matter) economic times:

1. Develop a marketing and business development plan ASAP, if you don't have one; 
2. Rekindle relationships with other lawyers and business acquaintances (or any of your contacts) who might refer work to you; 
3. Work on providing the best client service possible, and that includes every person (lawyer and staff) that has any contact with clients; 
4. Consider refocusing your niche(s) to take advantage of new opportunities in the current climate; 
5. Drop the billable hour (okay she doesn't put it that strongly) in favor of alternative fees. As Linda puts it: "Many clients resist what they consider a 'blank check' billing method, especially in this economy;" 
6. Offer assistance to civic or charitable organizations in your community which may pay off down the road; and 
7. Visit your clients in their place of business (which just happens to be my No. 1 Top Marketing Tip) to show your support and build relationships. 

Her other tips relating to broader practice management issues are definitely worth reading. Take a look."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 29 September 2009

Posted by Jim Calloway: "As a former family law attorney myself, I really liked this collection of Ten Best Websites for Family Court Attorneys from Ben Stevens on his South Carolina Family Law Blog. Several of these, particularly the first one, will be useful to lawyers who never practice family law. Who knew there was a site to help you figure out how to meet halfway for visitation and other exchanges?"

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

Source: Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog, 18 September 2009

From the blog: "Sometimes when you are doing legal research, the best place to look for information is at the court where the case took place. Justice Served has released it's list of the 10 Best Court Web Sites to help you identify which sites are going to be the easiest to use for your research!

From Legal Blog Watch

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

Source: Moritz Legal Information Weblog, 29 September 2009

Guest post from Luc Vezina: "Read any book or blog (including this one) that offers advice about working from home and you'll find one of the first recommendations is the importance of controlling your costs. Whether you're starting up your own home-based business or working out of your home for someone else, the less you spend on up-front on technology, the more money (and sanity) you have left for yourself. 

One cost-effective strategy that can help you in that area is moving away from buying technology that requires software and/or hardware, and instead signing on for Web-based services. These services offer a "pay-as-you-go" model that eliminates the need for huge up-front capital expenditures, high maintenance costs, and ongoing support costs. All while assuring the technology you're using has all the latest features and upgrades. 

Here are three ways Web-based services can help you work better for less:

• No IT costs...
• Free maintenance... 
• Use them for nearly everything... 

While home workers choose to go that route for a variety of reasons, no one does it so they can spend more time trying to keep their computers running. Web-based services give you a way to avoid all the geeky stuff - and save money in the bargain."

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

Source: Home Office Warrior, 3 September 2009

Posted by Carolyn Elefant: "It's hard to believe that nearly a decade into the 21st century, 52 percent of solo lawyers still don't have a website, according to the ABA's 2008 Tech Survey.  If you fall into this category, perhaps you figure that a web presence isn't relevant since most of your clients come by way of mouth or referral. Even so, consider the message that lacking a website (or an alternative web presence like a blog conveys.  For starters, many prospective clients and referrers may conclude that if you haven't bothered to stay current on technology, then perhaps you've let your substantive legal knowledge slide as well.  Moreover, many clients regard a website as a basic convenience; a place where at a minimum, they can find contact information, an address and a photo.  By failing to provide this information online, you give the impression that you're insensitive to clients' needs.

Alternatively, the thought of getting a website up and running may intimidate you.  You've heard quotes from colleagues about $10,000 or even $20,000 sites and that's simply not in the budget.  As I'll discuss below, you certainly don't have to put up that kind of money for a basic site.

At the same time, if you're one of those lawyers who has had a website since the mid-1990s, don't pat yourself on the back just yet.   Though a website loaded with Flash, high graphic images and a couple of static pages may have been cutting edge a decade ago, in a more dynamic Web 2.0 age, it is likely showing signs of age.

So, if you don't have a website at all, or you're considering a face lift, consider these tips below to get you started.

1.  Take a trip around the Internet...
2.  Develop a strategy...
3.  Website Features...
4.  Interaction...
5.  Educate Yourself...
6. Design Yourself or DIY...
7.  The legal stuff...
8.  More Reading... 

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

Source: Nolo's Legal Marketing Blawg, 29 September 2009

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: "A new video site wants to play matchmaker for lawyers and clients. The idea behind LegalTube is to help potential clients find the right lawyer by letting them view videos of the lawyers discussing themselves and their areas of practice.

"LegalTube is the only legal directory where finding a lawyer or the answers to your law-related questions is as easy as channel surfing," the site promises. "It's a way to connect attorneys and potential clients by offering 'face time' in the comfort of your living room."

The site is just getting started and has only a handful of videos, from what I could see. Search for a personal injury lawyer in California and there is only one video, for a firm in Newport Beach. The same search for Texas yields just two firms, each with one video. For most states, the search turns up no firms or videos. Instead, potential clients are invited to fill out a form and have LegalTube arrange for an attorney to respond

Another section of the site is designed to feature videos of lawyers answering common legal questions. Again, there is not much here yet. The PI section has two Q&A videos, both from the same Alabama lawyer. Most other sections had no videos, just a message saying that the section has "no Expert Q&A" yet. 

It isn't all business at LegalTube. The site includes three sections of videos described as "arresting entertainment": Law Laughs, in which lawyers tell lawyer jokes and relate courtroom bloopers; Law Tales, where lawyers tell "strange but true stories" from their practices; and Law After Dark, described as "our original webisode reality series that follows night court judges and the very real cases they encounter." The three episodes posted so far show what appears to be an actual night court judge in Alabama as he confronts such situations as a man who wore shorts to court and a woman who can't seem to understand why she shouldn't drive without a license. 

Although there is not much here yet, it certainly makes sense for lawyer directories to match videos with profiles. Videos let potential clients get a sense of the lawyer in a way that simple text never could. Plenty of lawyers have already discovered this with videos on YouTube. Take those YouTube-style videos and arrange them by city, state and practice area, and you could have something useful for consumers. This site is not there yet, but it might be heading in the right direction."

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

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 29 September 2009

Posted by Mark Bennett: "I spent the weekend in trial mode, preparing for a DWI trial in Montgomery County, north of Houston. This would've been only my second trial in a slow year for jury trials (the first ended in an acquittal; several others have been dismissed on the eve of trial) and my client's career was at stake, so trial mode was particularly intense; I may have barked at my loved ones once or twice.

So when a reader emailed to ask,

How (or do) you recharge during trial mode?  I imagine it's very exhausting.

I thought that might be a good topic for a blog post.

It is exhausting: trial mode is stressful, physically, mentally and emotionally. The longest jury trial I've had so far was a five-week federal money-laundering trial in Newark back in '98; I wound up with a raging case of bronchitis (and lost the case, to boot). Trial mode is bad for our health and bad for our relationships. We can do it if we have to, but it's better to have a way to back off and recharge.

So what have I learned since 1998?

First, trust your mind...

Second, find something else to do...

Do what? It'll be something unique to you; here are some things that work for me.

• I like to work on machines..
• I love to read...
• TV sometimes works, but not law shows...
• This year I discovered indoor climbing...
• I also rediscovered computer programming..

My simple suggestion for criminal defense lawyers: find something you enjoy doing and make it your trial-mode break. It'll make you a better lawyer and a better human being.

On a not-unrelated topic, my suggestion for prosecutors: if you know on Thursday that you're going to dismiss my client's case on Monday (as happened on this DWI case in Montgomery County), tell me on Thursday. Don't make me spend the weekend preparing for trial, and don't make my client take a day off from work and drag his witnesses down to the courthouse for a trial that you know is not going to materialize. That, too, will make you a better lawyer and a better human being.

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

Source: Defending People, 22 September 2009

Posted by Kate: "Social networking is helping companies (specificially corporate counsel) cut legal fees by providing groups and forums for them to discuss and share ideas and answers to legal questions for free.  For instance, on Linked In, there are topic groups that you can subscribe to, like Intellectual Property.  You can then post questions and answer other people's questions.  Human resources professionals are also benefiting.  Of course, there are issues about the lack of attorney-client privilege and there is no privacy to the questions.  However, for general inquiries that are not private (perhaps such as "Where might I find good examples of social networking policies?"), these sites can really help.

Corporate counsel are also trading forms and drafting their own documents before sending them to outside counsel.

To read more about how companies are cutting costs, see this article here, which incidentally, mentions LexisNexis, my employer.

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

Source: Kate's Blog, 25 September 2009

Posted by Toby Brown: "Having spent considerable time working with Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs), I am starting to see a more defined path for how AFAs might evolve within law firms. So based on my experience and all I have read about AFAs, I predict the following evolution for law firms:

1) Setting Price...
2) Tracking Profitability...
3) Project Management...

At least that's the way I see it."

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below. Some good comments also.

Source: 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, 25 September 2009 

Do not take my word for it.  Check out the article on American Lawyer entitled Not That Into You.  It reports on a study entitled After the JD, which tracked 5000 lawyers who began practicing in 2000.  In short, what is life like eight or nine years out of graduating from law school?  How well were these lawyers expectations of the future met?  The results, to some, might be amazing.  To us Third Wavers, carpet commuters, connected lawyers, future lawyers, untethered lawyers, solos, small firmers, home office lawyers, virtual lawyers and the like, we have known the results in our hearts for a long, long time.

Here is what the study found.  It is not all about prestige and money.  As stated,

"new lawyers working for firms of more than 250 lawyers are less satisfied with their jobs than their counterparts in smaller firms," and that  "[g]raduates of the most selective schools are the least satisfied with their jobs at large firms, while graduates of less selective schools are relatively more satisfied."

The article has some notions of why this is so, including graduates of elite schools are "groomed to expect success" whereas lower-tier graduates are more likely to view a job at a large firm as "a coveted reward for hard work . . . not to be squandered."

From my position and observations, the issue is not as much about money made as debt incurred, the life style that must be maintained, the image that must be presented, the hours that must be worked, the time for friends and family that must be squandered, and the satisfactions, as a result, that is lost.

Sometimes, when you as a solo or small firm attorney find yourself in a pity party about how you avoided these so-called riches, or did not apply yourself better to get into a "better" law school, or achieve a level where Big Law might be interest, you might count your lucky stars that you are a more humble and contented person."

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

Source: Chuck Newton Rides the Third Wave, 26 September 2009

In the news: "This is the year the recession hit the legal profession. Lawyers and support staff were cut by the hundreds. Law firms went belly up. Court dockets burst with foreclosures and bankruptcies while budgets everywhere went bust. Buried under the statistics are those most affected by it all: the overworked judge, the unemployed paralegal, the laid-off associate and the law firm manager. The National Law Journal talked to people across the profession to find out how the downturn changed their lives."

Read full text

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

From the site: "Lawyers everywhere are dealing with layoffs and diminished job opportunities as a result of the current recession. In this episode of the Litigation podcast, Barbara Levenson, a veteran legal recruiter, offers some tips on navigating the current job market and asserts that job seekers still have options, albeit fewer ones.

Lawyers everywhere are dealing with layoffs and diminished job opportunities as a result of the current recession. In this episode of the Litigation podcast, Barbara Levenson, a veteran legal recruiter, offers some tips on navigating the current job market and asserts that job seekers still have options, albeit fewer ones.

Download this podcast"

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

Source: Litigation Practice, No date given

Posted by Tom Mighell: "Here's an interesting blog to come from a law firm - the Young Lawyers Blog is authored by five associates at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, a firm with offices in Nashville and Birmingham. They're sharing business development, practice, and trial tips, information on recruiting, and lots of posts on social media and other technologies." 

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

Source: Inter Alia, 28 September 2009  

Posted by Connie Crosby: "Back in July I talked about a petition urging to improve PACER, the online access service to U.S. court records and documents.  Until improvements are made, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard have stepped in to provide a tool to give open access to court documents that originate on PACER in cooperation with the Internet Archive. The video below is a presentation by Steve Schultze, fellow of the Berkman Center and new Associate Director at Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy at the September 8, 2009 conference Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase explaining how the tool RECAP (a Firefox extension) works:

 Posted by Mark Zamora: "A great article from Michael Maggiano. Here's an excerpt - Michael is happy to send you the rest as long as 1)You are a Plaintiff's lawyer; and 2)You don't represent insurance companies. His email is listed below:

It was a warm mid-spring afternoon, some 15 years ago. I had just finished a personal injury trial and I was finally feeling the effects of the two-week trial. As I slowly packed up my message and story boards, medical charts and anatomical models, a well-known defense attorney and friend came up to me and asked me to do him a favor. He told me that he was just assigned to this courtroom to commence a personal injury case in which he was defending. He had observed my use of the storyboards, charts and models and complemented me on them. He then told me that he was here on a significant case and was surprised that his adversary had not considered using any visual aids. He asked if I would, as soon as possible, remove my gear so as not to give his adversary any thoughts on the subject. I thought at first he was joking but upon a second look at his expression, I knew he was dead serious. He then remarked to me that he is ever surprised on how few Plaintiff attorneys utilize communication tools to tell the story of their case to jurors in ways that make sense to them.

We trial lawyers prepare like crazy looking for the best experts, researching and reading all the relevant literature, rules, codes, standards, guides and regulations. We comb the universe of knowledge as we arm ourselves like warriors as we enter the arena. We fall in love with our new found skills, knowledge and command of the scientific, technical and medical jargon. By the time we enter the court room we suffer The Curse of Knowledge. We execute incredibly brilliant direct examinations of our experts and cross examination of the opposing hired witnesses. But then we lose the case. What happened? Didn't they hear us? Sadly, they may have heard you but did not understand the message. The only persons who understood us were the lawyers, experts and perhaps the judge. We traveled through the case at Mach 2, high above the courtroom and beyond the comprehension of those who really matter - our jury...

Q. WHAT IS IT THAT JURORS WANT TO KNOW.

For the rest of this article, contact: mmaggiano@maggianolaw.com."

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

Source: Trial Lawyer Resource Center, 11 September 2009

Posted by Carolyn Elefant: "Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on a recent Gallup Poll which showed that even in this recession, business owners outrank ten other occupations in overall well being.  The reasons aren't surprising -- they reflect the importance of freedom to choose the work you do and how you do it, say psychologists who commented on the study.  Even in tough times, business owners hold an edge over other professionals because they're in control.  By contrast, corporate managers and executives wonder if they'll be laid off.

I don't know whether the Gallup Poll included lawyers who own their practices in the study, but the findings still apply.  Take contract attorneys or law firm associates, two of the unhappiest segments of the legal profession.  And it's no wonder; they work under stressful conditions and the constant worry of whether today's job will be around tomorrow.  By contrast, lawyers who run their own practices face similar uncertainty: the possibility that their existing clients will leave or new prospects will never call.  But having found clients before, most solos usually recognize that they can do it again if they need to."

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

Source: MyShingle, 20 September 2009

In the news: "With tales of deferments and pay cuts floating about the industry, your new gig as a first-year associate might seem a bit daunting. So how can you demonstrate your value in this lackluster economy? Trish Lilley, a business development manager at Fox Rothschild, says it's a matter of internal marketing, and she provides several ways to succeed at it. Lilley notes that to ensure that warmth and goodwill surface whenever your name is mentioned, you need to distinguish yourself from the pack."

Topics include:

BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING

LIFE BEFORE LAWYERHOOD

BE TWICE AS NICE

GET AROUND TOWN

QUALITY, QUANTITY & QUESTIONS

GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT

MARKETING MADNESS

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe  <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Penelope Trunk: "Here is my advice about job hunting long-distance: Forget it. It's not going to work for most of you, and you'll need to relocate before you get the job. But for a few of you, there's hope for a long-distance job hunt will work. So, here's some advice if you must make it work:

1. Pitch yourself as specialized...

2. Pitch yourself as a big-city catch...

3. Get a reality check...

4. Be amazing at building local networks...

5. Choose a city since you can't choose a job...

6. Consider your friends and family..."

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

Source: Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, 25 September 2009

Posted by Allison Shields: "Arent Fox has confirmed that some offers made to 'deferred' associates have now been fully withdrawn. This comes as no big surprise, particularly as the old BigLaw model becomes increasingly less viable.

 

The economic downturn and added client scrutiny into law firm staffing and billing issues makes it less and less likely that lawyers whose offers have been deferred will ever actually work for the firms that made the offers. Next year, there will be a new crop of lawyers graduating from law school - will these new lawyers be more or less attractive to firms than the 'deferred' lawyers, whose experience over the past year may or may not be beneficial to the firms that made them offers? 

 

Arent Fox Chairman Marc Fleischaker was quoted in a post by Jeff Jeffreys of the National Law Journal on The Blog of Legal Times as saying that the firm was concerned, in part, about a 'logjam' when this year's graduates are ready to receive offers. But it's difficult to believe that the firms that deferred offers didn't consider this issue when they made a decision to 'defer' some of the offers made to 2009 graduates. After all, these firms continued with their summer associate programs and were well aware that these summer associates would be graduating in 2010, just when their deferred lawyers were ready to return to the firms for full time work...

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

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 25 September 2009

From the site: "When the issue of medical liability reform came up in President Obama's speech on Health Care reform in front of Congress, it was met with boos from Democrats and a standing ovation from Republicans. Co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams welcome medical malpractice reform expert,  Professor Stephan Landsman the Robert A. Clifford Chair in Tort Law and Social Policy from DePaul University College of Law and Darren McKinney Director of Communications from the American Tort Reform Association to look at both sides of medical liability reform as the debate plays out for trial attorneys and the medical profession.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:54 -- 30.0MB)

Related Podcasts

• September 22, 2009 -- The Medical Profession's Relationship with the Legal Profession
• July 22, 2009 -- The Great Debate over Health Care Reform
• February 20, 2008 -- Obama/Clinton: The Remaining Lawyer Candidates
• September 4, 2007 -- Issues in Medical Malpractice
• April 18, 2007 -- Past & Future: Lawyer-Presidents" 

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 24 September 2009

In the news: "Pervasive Web search tools have opened the door to a valuable new marketing opportunity for law firms: the litigation or case-specific Web site. Unlike a firm's legacy site or blog, these case sites can allow smaller firms to catapult their reputations and compete against Big Law."

Read full text

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Posted by Richard Georges: "Verizon And Lte -- Engadget Mobile. Long Term Evolution (LTE) is another acronym you will have to learn starting in 2010. It is the Fourth Generation mobile phone standard, and it will be 7 times faster than what you are using now. Verizon will layer the new speedy network over its existing CDMA network, so the transition should be seamless. You will still be able to use your existing smart phone, until you can't resist the upgrade to an LTE phone. While the real world speeds won't likely be the promised 7 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up that the standard promises, they will be light years ahead of the 1 Mbps of the current EvDO network. Of course, only major metro areas will be covered by Verizon at the beginning, and the complete rollout will take a couple of years. However, smartphones certainly are becoming the REAL personal computers of the new Millennium." 

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

Source: Future Lawyer, 27 September 2009.

Posted by Jordan Furlong: "'Electric' as an adjective has kind of a dated feel, harking back to the 1970s when it modified Horseman, Company, Mayhem and Light Orchestra. But electric cars still retain a 21st-century buzz, keeping the momentum they developed during the recent oil shock as a serious alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles. The Economist recently devoted a special section to what it calls the electrification of motoring, and it makes instructive reading for lawyers. The legal profession could take some lessons from how some key innovations are completely redefining  the basic assumptions of the automotive industry.

...

This isn't completely new, of course -- cellphone providers have been practically giving away the devices themselves, making money instead off the service plans. It's the basis of the Free economy that Chris Anderson writes about, launched by King Gillette's realization that he could give away razors but sell the blades. More and more manufacturers now make products available at no cost while charging customers for the service that makes the product useable and/or valuable. But for all that, it's still shocking to think about getting a car for free in exchange for renting the fuel.

Law firms obviously don't sell shavers, cellphones or cars. But what they do have in common with many modern manufacturers is that their tangible work product is becoming more commoditized, less differentiated, and more susceptible to low-priced, non-lawyer competition. Forms, contracts, simple wills, divorce papers and other basic documents are now available from kiosks and websites operated by courts, non-profits, and the non-lawyer private sector. The difference in quality between a document drafted by a  lawyer and one drafted by one of these alternative services is rapidly narrowing, and with it will narrow the premium that lawyers can charge above what these rivals charge (which in some cases is $0).

So how might a law firm give away products while selling services? Jeff Carr has observed that lawyer work falls into four categories: content, process, judgment and advocacy. The first two are well on their way to commoditization; the latter two remain the high-value and near-irreplaceable purview of lawyers. The day might soon arrive when firms publish and automate their legal knowledge, document assembly and document review process free of charge, over the internet, to anyone who wants them -- but will charge a monthly retainer fee for the personal judgment, advice and representation that animates those documents and processes and provides real value. Wilson Sonsini's term sheet generator is a step in this direction, but so are child support calculators and PCT calculators. The tangible product is the giveaway; the value, and the profit, are in the service...

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

Source: Law 21.ca, 15 September 2009

Posted By Rob Millard: "My friend and colleague Gerry Riskin has just posted a video similar to the Shift Happens video of a year or two back, specifically about social networking. It is compelling and important information for those trying to get their minds around what the impact of social networking is going to be on life, professional practice and the art/science of strategy over the next few years. Very cool!"

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

Source: Adventures in Strategy, 7 September 2009

Posted by Bruce Carton: "Last night at Georgetown University Law Center, several leaders in the legal blogging and journalism world met to discuss "New Media & The Law." The panel featured David Lat (center in the lousy photo from my camera phone below) from Above the Law, Tony Mauro (right) from the National Law Journal and the Blog of the Legal Times), and Matt Welch (left) from Reason Magazine. Eileen O'Connor, adjunct professor at Georgetown and a former reporter and bureau chief at CNN, moderated. The audience included ABA Journal editor and publisher Ed Adams and his Legal Rebels crew, who recently featured Lat as a "Legal Rebel" and arranged for him to interview American Lawyer-founder Steve Brill.

Mauro, a veteran journalist with 30 years of experience covering the Supreme Court, offered several observations on the changes he has seen in legal journalism. He said that for many years the lawyers he covered simply would not speak with reporters. That changed in the 1980s thanks to publications like The American Lawyer. Today, when important Supreme Court decisions come down, Mauro receives no fewer than 10 to 30 pitches from lawyers (and lawyer marketers) vying to provide him with their comments on the case..."

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

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 24 September 2009

In the news: "There's good news on the part-time front, reports The Project for Attorney Retention, an organization that promotes work/life balance policies in the legal profession. It has just released what it describes as a "ground-breaking study," spotlighting the success of part-time partners. Many part-time respondents interviewed for the study have "significant books of business," bill 1200 to 1600 hours annually, and hold leadership roles at their firms. Also of note, a significant number are litigators."

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>

Posted By Tom Kane: "A lot of law firms are into taglines. I've been involved with the practice when I was in-house. At times I like them, and other times I'm ambivalent. The important question, however, is: Do they help bring in business?

I was talking with a large well-known firm last week that has had a slogan for a number of years that I really like. I've seen it in print and on the Internet. It's cool, and it places the firm well geographically. So, what is it? Won't tell ya. It appears that the slogan is very controversial within the firm. Some powerful partners love it, and others DO NOT. The solution: two different letterheads. I'm kidding, right? Afraid not.

I remember being in the middle of a similar controversy over a logo in one of my firms earlier in my career. Solution: two letterheads and business cards. So, what happened. One day an associate and partner met with a representative of a Japanese automobile manufacturer in the hopes of landing some business. The partner hands the gentlemen a card sans logo, and the associate hands him a card with the logo. His response in a nutshell: HUH! They didn't get the work, although I can't say that was the reason.

If your firm is thinking about getting a tagline or has one that is controversial, the best way to solve the problem is to ask your clients whether they like it or not--or whether they even give a damn. With sufficient input from clients, a firm should be able to decide whether a tagline has any business development value for them.

Thanks to Mark Merenda for getting me thinking about this topic today with his reference to "101 Law Firm Taglines - 2009 Edition" by Steve Mathews over on Stem."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 24 September 2009

From the site: "With several high profile security breaches in Massachusetts, securing customer information is a necessity to business legally.  In this debut podcast of the Legal ToolKit, host Dean Whalen, General Counsel for Catuogno Court Reporting and Sten-Tel Transcription Services welcomes Attorney Rodney Dowell, Director of MassLOMAP and David M. Felper, senior partner with Bowditch & Dewey, LLP,  to explore the details of Massachusetts' Data Breach Notification Law: Chapter 93H. They will discuss the protection of personal data, encryption, compliance and how new regulations will impact every Massachusetts businesses.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:48 -- 19.2MB)

Related Podcasts

September 14, 2009 -- Safeguarding Sensitive Information, Data Breaches & Preservation Issues

September 16, 2008 -- Healthcare, Data Security & Preservation Inadequacies

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 24 September 2009

Posted by Sabrina Pacifici: "Peek: Mobile E-Mail On A Budget - Conrad J. Jacoby discusses his experiences using the Peek mobile e-mail device (Time Magazine's 2008 Gadget of the Year), which he believes is genuinely useful and an excellent value for its cost.

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 24 September 2009. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

In the news: "Collecting ESI from the cloud isn't tomorrow's problem -- it's the rare e-discovery scenario that doesn't involve webmail and a facility to download it to a local collection amenable to EDD processing. Consultant Craig Ball details the steps he used to POP multiple Yahoo Mail folders."

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "Here's an off-topic post as a public service.

Lawyers with Depression is a website "created for lawyers with depression by a lawyer with depression." Its founder, Daniel Lukasik, writes--

Since I launched [the site] two years ago, it has gotten national, statewide and local attention and been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Law Journal, The ABA Journal, The National Law Journal, Trial Magazine and many others. I am also writing a book about depression in the legal profession that's going to be published next year by the ABA.

Lukasik also maintains a weblog about lawyers and depression.  It's there that Lukasik answers such questions as "Is There Any Room for Kindness in the Law?"

Please take a look.

Related post at Legal Underground: "Depression, The Lawyers' Epidemic: How You Can Recognize the Signs."

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

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 22 September 2009

[As a librarian with depression, I know how important this post can be!]

Posted by Penelope trunk: "We reorganized the company today. We brought in a new, interim CEO, who's not me. For many entrepreneurs, that is their worst nightmare.

But I couldn't be happier. For one thing, it's a sign that my company, Brazen Careerist, is doing well. Remember when the company was running out of money and my electricity was getting turned off? There was no one worrying then that I was the wrong person for the CEO position. No one cared because it looked like we were going under.

But then the media started talking about how we could be LinkedIn for Gen Y and we started moving fast. I don't worry about of money anymore, and we are moving at a faster speed because we can see where we are going, how we'll make money, and how we'll grow the community.

[Important points are:]

1. Know where your strengths are...

2. Watch where you gravitate...

3. Find people who complement your strengths...

4. Do what differentiates you...

5. If you really can do the job, you'll be doing it already...

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

Source: Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist, 23 September 2009

Posted by Ron Friedmann: "Last month, in As World Embraces Statistics, Lawyers Sit on Sideline, I lamented the lack of statistical mindset in the legal market. Why should we care? 

One reason: statistics can be very important at trial. Bob Ambrogi, in Statistics Surge as Evidence in Trials (IMS Expert Services August 2009 Newsletter, explains the growing importance of statistical evidence.

Another reason: to spot potentially unreliable statistics or analysis, whether for law practice or firm management. To illustrate, I deconstruct the Incisive Legal Intelligence law firm Economic Confidence Index (PDF) released in August (referenced at (an August 4th Incisive blog post).

Not Describing the Sample...

Comparing Surveys from Different Points in Time...

Ask Unambiguous Questions and Help Readers Interpret Surprising Results...

Report Data Accurately and Consistently...

Imagine presenting the Confidence Index to a judge who happens to understand stats and data. If you were the lead litigator, would you want to put this Incisive survey into evidence?

It's a new era for BigLaw. For both the management of large law firms and the proper handling of litigation, law firm managers and litigators will increasingly need to collect and analyze and present data. Let's hope, as Bob Ambrogi suggests, some lawyers and staff really can deal with data properly.

For those who do see a need to learn more about stats, law department management consultant and blogger Rees Morrison suggests 10 free courses to learn more about statistics in his September 13th post."

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

Source: Strategic Legal Technology, 14 September 2009

Posted by Raymond Ward: "If your job involves persuading people through the written word, then you should read Something Judicious This Way Comes by Prof. Michael J. Higdon. In this paper, Prof. Higdon explores the use of foreshadowing in narrative, its effect on people's perception of what they see and hear, and the scientific explanation of how it works. Most important for legal writers, he gives examples of how judges use foreshadowing to make their rulings more acceptable to readers. Lawyers can use the same techniques to make their arguments more acceptable to judges.

Due to its thoroughness, the paper is a bit long--44 pages--but well worth your time. Download it now from SSRN, save it on your hard drive or print out a hard copy, and read it later when you have the time.¹

__________

¹ Extra points to anyone who spots the foreshadowing in this paragraph."

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

Source: the (new) legal writer, 17 September 2009

From the blog: "I came across this post recently, which lists some of the more prominent customer service pet peeves submitted by the blog's readers. Some of the major examples included:

• Phone problems (long hold times, annoying hold music, getting disconnected, blind transfers, etc.)
• Employees that aren't happy to see customers (rude, disaffected, unhappy, etc.)
• Having to repeat information to multiple agents or to the same agent.
• When representatives read from or obviously use some sort of script.

The four examples above are good examples of broad categories of customer service frustrations. What's sad is that the issues above are relatively easy to avoid or to fix, but they're incredibly common in the customer service field. Training representatives and putting processes in place to avoid blind transfers is not rocket science, but a majority of companies still do blind transfers more often than not.

If your company is doing any of these things, think of ways to change that. You should also try to take a few minutes to think of what frustrates you as a customer and ensure that you aren't doing whatever that is in your own call center. Chances are, if something bothers you, it bothers other people as well. For example, I always want to get my problems resolved on the first contact, but I know most call centers don't have perfect first contact resolution (a lot aren't even close). You could do the same in your call center."

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

Source: Service Untitled, 15 September 2009

Posted by Joe Hodnicki: "Susan Nevelow Mart's (Faculty Services Librarian, UC Hastings Law Library) has uploaded Reining in the Results: The Use of Human Indexing and Computer Algorithms in West's Headnotes & Key Numbers and LexisNexis's Headnotes & Topics as Tools for Finding Relevant Case Law to SSRN in draft form. The article was presented at the Conference on Legal Information: Scholarship and Teaching, held at the University of Colorado Law School as part of its Boulder Summer Conference Series. So while it appears to be a work-in-progress, it should be very near final.

Mart took an admittedly small sample, "ten pairs of matching headnotes from legally important federal and California cases and reviewed the cases in the results sets generated by each classification," to compare these two very different systems, West's human indexing and LexisNexis' algorithmic indexing systems. So any results have to be qualified from the start. Not a complaint, the task is simply too much for one person to perform comprehensively.

Among Mart's findings: the average percentage of relevant cases found using West's Key Numbers was 83.2%, LexisNexis's More Like this Headnote was 62.3%, and Lexis Topics was 40.5%. Mart writes:

Since a major difference between the two systems would seem to be the degree of dependence of algorithms for creating classification topics and assigning headnotes to each topic, the role of human editors appears to be a definite advantage in returning relevant results. It seems that it is only the Key Number search results that are limited to those cases where the language of the headnote is present, and if limiting terms are present, where those terms also appear. This is definitely an advantage, but the advantage is not inclusive of all relevant cases.

Why? Because the LexisNexis classification system also returns a substantial percentage of relevant cases not found in West's Key Number System: 44% in LexisNexis More Like This Headnote and 28.2% in Lexis Topics.

See also Mart's findings for her study of using headnotes as limiters in KeyCite and Shepard's. Mart conclusion in a nutshell: don't rely on one vendor's tools for comprehensive cast law research. Mart's advice and article is highly recommended."

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

Source: Law Librarian Blog, 24 September 2009

From the site: "With medical malpractice being a hot-button issue, the medical field and the legal field often times seem at odds with each other.   In this edition of Ringler Radio, host Larry Cohen welcomes Wayne M. Willoughby, partner with the firm Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC in Baltimore and Dr. Zev T. Gershon, team leader at Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, to take a closer look at the relationship between the legal profession and the medical profession.  You'll also hear about the misconceptions about medical malpractice and new developments in Cerebral Palsy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:12 -- 27.7MB)

Related Podcasts

• September 4, 2007 -- Issues in Medical Malpractice"

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 22 September 2009

From the e-newsletter: "If you were under the misguided impression that attorneys and their litigant clients only need to deal expressly with electronic discovery in federal court, you need to wake up and smell the e-discovery coffee."

Read more...

Source: FindLaw's The Practice Paper: For Solo & Small Firm Lawyers. 23 September 2009 Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

Posted by Douglas Keene: "We've been reading Mark Bennett's Simple Rules for Jury Selection and wishing we'd thought of that! So we are 'liberating' his idea with some simple rules of our own. Once you have your jury (perhaps using Mark's 'simple rules') how do you persuade them?

We spend a lot of time reading the research on persuasion and have determined that we're not sure we believe in persuasion per se.  If it exists, it isn't in the form most people think of as 'persuasion'.  We have all been working on our world view our entire lifetimes, and by the time jurors are sworn in, they aren't subject to being swayed by your soaring oratory.  The bad part is, "Wouldn't that be nice!"  The good part is, "What a relief--I'm off the hook!"  Jurors want to do their own assessment of the case, and they will use their own yardstick to measure. Therefore, rather then trying to persuade them to adopt a new view, spend your time crafting a trial story that connects the case facts with their already-held values and beliefs.

There is no such thing as "Persuasion"

• What the most gifted and skilled advocates do is not "persuade", but rather they craft a story that connects with the strongly held beliefs of jurors.
• They don't create arguments or conflicts...
• So tell the jury's story while you tell your client's story...

Over the next year (or so) as we see new research that reminds us of the persuasion strategies we recommend using--we'll write blog posts about them and categorize them all under "Simple Jury Persuasion Rules". We hope you enjoy them. We know we've enjoyed Mark's excursions into jury selection!"

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

Source: The Jury Room, 14 September 2009 [Hat Tip to Tom Mighell at Inter Alia, 23 September 2009

Posted by Tom Kane: "More importantly, are you serving others. I have always gotten a kick out of the British TV comedy by that name. My mother-in-law still watches it every chance she gets. If you want a laugh, check out some episodes on YouTube.

I thought about that show when I saw Thom Singer's recent post on Some Assembly Required, where he mentions the importance of helping others to help yourself. He quotes a famous line from Zig Ziglar, the super salesman, which goes: "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."

From a lawyer's perspective, the same should be your approach to clients and referral sources. Offer to help them in ways that are not necessarily related to a client's matter or an incoming referral.

When coaching lawyers, I often suggest a variation of Ziglar's adage, which is "give before you get," especially when it comes to your networking approach. Then, you will get a reputation for being a person who serves others."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 22 September 2009

Posted by Julie A. Fleming: "Pop quiz: Who are your best referral sources?  List the top 10 of each right now.  If you are a more junior lawyer in a law firm and don't yet have your own clients, list the senior lawyers for whom you do the most work.

Were you able to make the list?  This information should be at the tips of your fingers at any moment.  If you don't know who these people are, your activity this week is to find out.

Assuming you know who your top clients and referral sources are, the next question is: how often are you in contact with them?...

Relationships, like anything else, are always in motion...

Take a few minutes now to set times to check with the people who think enough of you to send you work.  Make it a point to reconnect and to find out what's going on with them.  At the same time, express your appreciation for their referrals.  And then lay your plans so you can be sure to check in with them at least quarterly."

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

Source: Life at the Bar, 21 September 2009

Posted by Bruce Carton: "In a post today on Legal Technology called "Where to Focus With Social Networking," Larry Bodine argues that while the number of online social networks continues to grow quickly, the good news is that marketers and lawyers can ignore most of them. At the top of his list of "time-wasters" that can be ignored is Twitter, which he says a study has shown to be 40 percent "total pointless babble." He cites to other statistics showing that 10 percent of Twitter users account for over 90 percent of tweets, 60 percent drop out after one month and never come back, and 55 percent have never posted a tweet.

One thing I was quite confident of after reading Bodine's post was that a blistering response would be posted quickly by Kevin O'Keefe, CEO of LexBlog and a Twitter evangelist. Kevin did not disappoint, writing today on his blog that:

The basis for [Bodine's] argument appears to be that most lawyers don't use Twitter and that 40% of the discussion on Twitter is mindless - as if the conversation among lawyers and local business leaders in the country club on men's golf day is that of complex legal matters.

Based on the results I am hearing lawyers are getting by building relationships through Twitter, and getting clients as a result, I am beginning to think that Twitter offers the highest ROI of any networking/relationship building tool.

I've already told you that I'm a Twitter fan, although I remain skeptical of its current value for BigLaw business development. As discussed here, however, anecdotal evidence of actual clients gained by solo practitioners through Twitter is starting to roll in.

To me, this is a specific question that has an answer: Either lawyers are getting clients from Twitter or they are not. The "evidence" I've seen so far on this consists of the four lawyers in this article who say they did gain new clients from Twitter; an old report that lawyer Adrian Dayton picked up a "major legal client" on Twitter; and dozens of examples of lawyers who made connections, received speaking engagements and so on that I hereby deem to be irrelevant to this particular inquiry.

So my challenge to you all is this: Provide us with real examples of clients gained through Twitter in the comments below, so that we can all have some facts to work with in the ongoing "Business Development via Twitter" debate."

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

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 22 September 2009

In the news: "Big changes are coming to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on December 1, 2009, explains Merchant & Gould attorney Elizabeth Zidones, that affect various timing requirements, change how some deadlines are calculated and clarify the ambiguity that existed for e-filing deadlines."

Read full text  

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

Posted by Jim Hassett: "Near the end of my recent webcast on "Alternative fees: How to implement sustainable programs for the long run," I asked four senior partners at AmLaw 100 firms to speculate about the future. 

Some said that alternative billing will grow substantially, and that their firms are investing heavily to prepare for this transition.  Others stressed that no one knows what the future will hold, and that different firms have different views and strategies.  But all four agreed that it is prudent to be prepared for change, even if it does not come quickly.

Several panelists noted that the transition to non-hourly billing still seems radical not just to lawyers but also to clients, and even to some of the general counsel who write RFPs asking law firms for creative billing solutions.  As explained in Part 13 of this series, many general counsel want to talk about alternative fee arrangements, but at the end of the day what they really want is a deeper discount on hourly rates.   

Bryan Ives of Alston & Bird noted that there's been "a lot of rhetoric."  While he's had many discussions about alternative fees, to date only a relatively small percentage have actually led to implementing alternative billing arrangements.  Similarly, Lisa Damon of Seyfarth said that her "pet peeve" is that she often has discussions in which GCs are enthusiastic about alternative arrangements, but a few days later gets a spreadsheet back from them asking for lower hourly rates

According to Steve Jenkins at Haynes & Boone, whenever he meets with in-house counsel these days, they want to talk about predictability, efficiency, and alternative fees.  True, the topic also came up in prior recessions, and at that time it did not lead to major changes in the way law firms operate.  However, this particular recession seems broader, deeper, and more global than in the past, and the dialogue over alternative fees seems much more serious, in part because of the ACC Value Challenge.

In Jenkins' view, the current economy and marketplace are likely to lead to a paradigm shift, which "probably will happen." If there is a paradigm shift, law firms will be forced to change in many ways to lower costs and increase efficiency.  Haynes & Boone is preparing for that future.  If the paradigm does not change, they believe the firm will still benefit by being able to offer clients lower cost service and improved efficiency.

Kerry Notestine of Littler said that it takes a lot of effort from both clients and firms to see if alternative fees work, but it's worth the effort.  He believes that the clients and firms that are on the leading edge of this movement will succeed in the legal marketplace, and many of their competitors will not.

According to Lisa Damon, Seyfarth strongly believes that the world is changing.  "Firms are learning to work and think differently, and that's good for clients.  There is less rework, more efficiency, and better training, which will benefit everyone regardless of how it is priced."  In short, "It's a better way to do business, and I don't think we'll go back."

Several panelists noted that you "can't put the genie back in the bottle," which is a sentiment I've also repeatedly heard in my ongoing survey of alternative fees at the AmLaw 100.  There is nothing easy about switching from hourly billing to fixed or contingent arrangements.  But once clients see how it works, they will never go back.

For a summary of this series, download our free LegalBizDev Guide to Alternative Fees.

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

Source: Legal Business Development, 16 September 2009

Posted by J. Benjamin Stevens: "You might know that the Macs in Law Offices (MILO) group is one of the best resources available on the internet for lawyers who use Macs. However, you probably didn't know that it is now the biggest as well.

Let's take a look at the numbers...  The "other" group has been around since May 4, 1999, and as of today, it has 1,597 members.  MILO was founded on February 17, 2007, and as of today, MILO has 1,631 members - with more joining every day.

How was MILO able to grow so quickly and become so successful?  I believe it happened for two reasons:  (1) our great, diverse members, and (2) our commitment to offering a place for open discussions without Draconian rules.  If you are interested in becoming a member or learning more about MILO, simply click here.

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

Source: The Mac Lawyer, 23 September 2009

From the site: "Most discussion of the use of technology by law firms tends to be anecdotal. That's why the annual release of the InsideLegal/ILTA Member Technology Purchasing Survey is welcome news for those looking for the numbers on which to base decisions and spot trends. In this episode, co-hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell will dig into the survey and draw a few conclusions of their own.  After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis' co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:19 -- 24.6MB)

Related Podcasts

• September 15, 2009 -- Inside the ABA Journal's Legal Rebels Project
• July 6, 2009 -- What Technology is Dead Today?
• March 31, 2009 -- Reality Check: The Impact of Legal Technology for Lawyers
• March 3, 2008 -- Legal Software Magic Bullet?" 

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 22  September 2009

Posted by: John Jantsch: "Was a time a few years back when I would tell audiences of small business owners that "if they did not have a website, they weren't really in business."

Fortunately, small business owners have taken heed and now most concede they must indeed embrace the Internet - of course, now that's really not enough is it? My soap box speech these days has evolved to something more along the lines of "if you're not participating in social media and building a total web presence, you're not really online."

Even though you may think you have one of the world's coolest websites, if you aren't constantly adding educational content, finding new ways to connect with your markets online, building community around your ideas, and ultimately using your website as a tool to convert know, like and trust into try, buy, repeat, and refer - then you stand little chance of competing in your chosen industry these days.

I know you've heard plenty of late about social media, but this is really a bigger idea still. What I'm talking about is the total integration of your online and offline activity through the use of a primary web hub.

Want to learn more about this notion? Join me Wednesday, September 23rd at 2pm EDT for a free webinar, sponsored by Verizon, titled - How to Get More from Your Small Business Website. Enroll here. Looking forward to expanding your view of the web!

Related Posts:

• How Social is Your Email?
• Hitting The Social Media Sweet Spot
• Collaboration as a Total Business Strategy
• Learning about new media
• Social Media Hierarchy Revisted

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

Source: Duct Tape Marketing, Duct Tape Marketing, 21 September 2009

From an article by Ed Poll: "A delinquent client account spells more than less cash flow for your practice. It can also be a sign that the relationship is in trouble."

Topics discussed include:

Aggravating Problems...

The Collection Policy...

Monitoring Realization ...

Stop Work...

Other Bankrolling...

Money and Loyalty...

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

Source: Law Practice Today, September 2009

Posted by Jim Calloway: " 'Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket' is the title of a great blog post on law firm financial controls by the Alabama Bar's Laura Calloway. As many of you know, Laura was the Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2009. Too many small law firm lawyers feel that they know and trust each other so well that they do not need strict financial controls. As a former U.S. President once said, 'Trust, but verify.'"

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

Source: Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog, 18 September 2009

Posted by Allison Shields: "Niki Black did a great post recently on her Sui Generis blog entitled, "Live and Let Live" all about her choices in her legal career and the reactions of other lawyers who disagreed with those choices. The entire post is a great read, but she begins with the premise that the law is often a difficult and frustrating profession. As Niki notes in that post,

Clients, the very heart of our business and without whom we would have no income, can make our job all the more frustrating. In many cases, however, the high frustration levels are not the fault of our clients, rather they arise out of the circumstances that lead those clients to retain us in the first place.

In the same post, Niki related an old lawyer joke about two men who get lost in a hot air balloon and ask a person on the ground where they are...

The joke demonstrates the tension that often exists between lawyers and clients, and the preconceived notions that each brings to the lawyer-client relationship. But although lawyers bemoan the fact that their clients seek quick or low cost solutions to their problems which are often created due to the client's lack of planning and failure to request help earlier, perhaps it's time for lawyers to look in the mirror and realize that in many ways, lawyers behave similarly.

How many lawyers approach their practices with a lack of planning about how they are going to attract clients, or even what kinds of clients they want to work with? How many lawyers are willing to expend significant resources or request help with those issues?

How many law firms are technologically far behind other businesses because they don't want to hire help to determine what technology would work best for their practice and to get the necessary training to maximize the technology they have?

How many lawyers are willing to accept help in refining their client service, or to embrace innovative ways of doing business to improve client retention?

How many law firms seek help BEFORE they run into problems with clients or staff? How many are willing to plan appropriately and to manage resources effectively to ensure that the client's expectations are realistic and the lawyer and client are working toward a shared goal, with a shared understanding of value and fees?

Too often, I see lawyers who complain once they've run into staffing problems, when their clients refuse to pay for work performed because the lawyer failed to establish value and payment terms before the engagement commenced, or when business stops coming.

Lawyers who complain that clients fail to avoid risk, don't contact lawyers in a timely manner and then expect the lawyer to work miracles should examine their own attitudes about the business side of their practices to determine whether they should take their own advice, plan ahead and seek help before problems arise."

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

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 22 September 2009 

Posted by Ernest Svenson: "When a case first gets going it's easy for lawyers to agree to how the case will be handled. So that's the best time to agree on a case specific method of handling certain housekeeping issues, or other matters.  The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have the mandatory Rule 26(f) conference which say that "the parties must confer as soon as practicable -- and in any event at least 21 days before a scheduling conference is to be held or a scheduling order is due under Rule 16(b)."

What sort of things should be discussed at this conference?  I'm going to start with one suggestion. I know that there are many and I invite everyone to add their thoughts. After we get all of the thoughts together I'm going to start a new blog post (or maybe a wiki) that lists all of the suggestions on one neat package that may be of benefit to other lawyers.

Here's my suggestion, which occurred to me after I got a great comment to a post where I equated the bulky paper deposition notices that I kept getting to spam.  I had suggested that it would be better if people just served these notices by email.  An astute commenter made the point that this is possible under Rule 5:

"Rule 5 is on point here, which says that a paper, including a notice, is served by "sending it by electronic means if the person consented in writing -- in which event service is complete upon transmission, but is not effective if the serving party learns that it did not reach the person to be served." Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(e)."

So my proposal would be to: (1) agree with counsel in writing that service of pleadings and notices could be accomplished by email.  The rule makes it clear that the service would not be effective if the email bounces back (i.e. you would have "learn[ed] that it did not reach the person to be served.")

So what are your recommendations for things to discuss in the initial meet & confer? (Let's assume that we're in federal court so we can use the Federal Rules as our guideline; later on we can tailor the list to state courts).

Just click on the comment link below to add your thoughts."

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

Source: Ernie the Attorney, 18 September 2009

Posted by StephanieWestAllen: "First, let's look at negotiation. I am sure many if not most of us are aware of the study done by Professor Gerald Williams on styles of negotiation. He found two styles of negotiation were predominately used by the lawyers he studied, cooperative and competitive, and he looked at the effectiveness of each style. Professor Andrea Kupfer Schneider believed that the Williams study conducted in 1976 needed to be updated for reasons she details in "Shattering Negotiation Myths: Empirical Evidence on the Effectiveness of Negotiation Style" (Harvard Negotiation Law Review). [Download the article here.]

She conducted her updated study in 1999. Read the article I have linked to above for the details; how and why she updated the survey is very, very interesting. Below I am pulling quotes from another article she wrote in which she described the study, "Cooperating or Caving In" (Marquette Law Review) [pdf], because the format of "Shattering Negotiation Myths" does not allow copying of the text...."

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

Source: idealawg, 19 September 2009

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "The task of writing legal documents is often easier if one seeks out examples to use as models.

To this end, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals provides access to briefs on its website.

Although you cannot search by topic, you can find hundreds of example briefs. The briefs are free and do not require PACER to access them.

To find these briefs, go to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and look on the left side under "case information." Follow the link for "Briefs - 2007 + prior."

Related Posts:

1. "By Popular Demand, a Writing Sample."

2. "Self-Editing Tips for Legal Writers."

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

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 10 September 2009

Posted by Ed Poll: "Recently, the question was raised as to how much time clients' old files must be retained ... The long and short is, it depends.

There is a duty of safe-keeping for original documents. They can never be destroyed. Your best bet is to make arrangements for the client to retrieve these documents.

Another general mantra is that files can be destroyed when

• it's reasonable under the circumstances to do so
• your jurisdiction has a definitive time provision, such as 10 years (few states do)
• your client agrees to a destruction protocol in your engagement agreement

Here are some provisions to consider for the minimum time frame

• passage of time for filing a malpractice action
• passage of time for lawyer misconduct (is there such a statute of limitations?)
• equal time to maintain client trust account documents
• time equal to corporate and tax records

Bottom line, there generally is no minimum time provided for in the rules of general conduct or in the general rules concerning corporate governance. Lawyers are, generally, stuck with maintaining the clients' files unless the can find the clients and persuade them to retrieve their material and / or create protocols in the initial agreement that the client accepts and signs.

Oh, and what happens to the lawyer who retires, sells his practice ... or worse, dies in his boots? How can the estate of the lawyer protect his/her heirs? What can the lawyer do in advance to protect those loved ones who follow him, seeking to clean up and close his practice?

Other great bits of advice from Ed can found below by clicking on "Home."

Source: Law Biz Blog, 21 September 2009

Posted by Nerino Petro: "My friend, Dan Pinnington (director of practicePRO), article Legal malpractice risks change in tough times (But the best risk management strategies don't) was recently made available to a wider audience and is worth reading. Dan provides sage advice and even though he is in Canada and this was originally aimed at Canadian lawyers, it applies to those of us here in the U.S.A.  While I disagree with his position that you shouldn't sue for fees(sometimes you just have to do it) I do agree that in these tough times, you really need to focus on getting as much cash up front as possible (if you accept credit cards this can be easier).

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

Source: Nerino Petro's Compujurist, 14 September 2009

Posted by John Heckman: "The issue of multitasking gets sporadic attention - most recently on the subject of texting while driving (which could also be construed as a death wish). But it is not new. I always recall my driving instructor many years ago saying that you shouldn't try to make out while driving because you couldn't pay proper attention either to the road or to the girl (that was before the days where PC rules).

One of the most recent studies, done at Stanford, is the one that many recent news stories are based on. It shows that:

"People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time."

The fact of the matter is that "multitasking" in a real sense (or as a computer would understand it) does not really exist. What multitasking really amounts to is that you divide up your time into more or less small "slices" and simply switch rapidly from one "slice" to another. You are still doing one thing at a time, but switching back and forth in rapid succession. So if you "multitask" by doing four things in twelve minutes, you actually focus (for example) on each one of them three times in one minute "slices." For better or worse, human beings simply do not have quad core (or even dual core) brains.

This understanding is behind one of the classic recipes for ways in which lawyers can more efficiently manage their workflow: to set aside one or two periods in a day to deal with email, and to turn off your email during the rest of the day to avoid distraction.

However, this sort of advice runs counter to the current obsession with multitasking, texting, twittering and instant answers to email. Thus the growth of 2-monitor (or even 3-monitor) setups is due to the desire to keep more and more programs open at the same time and swap back and forth between them. Similarly, people who run stock tickers or sports tickers, not to mention Instant Messaging clients on their desktops are just inviting interruption and distraction.

Multi-monitor setups can be very useful if you regularly work on tasks that involve consulting multiple sources - but just having your email open on a right-hand screen is an invitation to disruption and lack of productivity.

To increase productivity you have to reduce the tendency toward rampant multitasking. Or, to put it another way, instead of dividing up your time into "slices" of 2 minutes, and switching back and forth, try to divide up your time into bigger slices of 15 minutes, half hour, etc. In some cases you may not be able to control this.  There are phone calls you absolutely have to take. However, in others - only dealing with email twice a day in segments of a half hour at a time or answering all your phone calls at the end of the day, for example - you may be able to bring at least a small amount of order to the chaos of multitasking. This approach is embodied by an attorney who is in a meeting or working on drafting an important document and tells his assistant to "hold my calls."

In short, what the Stanford study cited above shows is that people who "multitask" do each one of the multiple tasks less well than someone to takes the same amount of time but does them one at a time. So yes, most of what passes for multitasking is inefficient and counterproductive - and will lead to performing each task less well than if it were done as a single task all at once."

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

Source: Does It Compute? 11 September 2009

Posted by Sabrina Pacifici: "The Art of Written Persuasion: Part V - Improve Your Vocabulary, Improve Your Success: Troy Simpson returns with this fifth article in the series, and investigates the link between having a good vocabulary [lawyers have a speaking acquaintance with around 23,000 words] and being a persuasive lawyer.

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 20 September 2009 Copyright ©2002-2009. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

In the news: "Looking for work is tough, especially for senior candidates in the current legal marketplace, acknowledge consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass. Understand that the vast majority of employment inquiries end in rejection, regardless of experience level. Stay focused on what you have to bring to the table, and remember that despite how many "no's" you receive, it only takes one "yes," the right one, for your career, to proceed toward success. The only way to make a smart career move is to keep looking."

Advice includes: Don't take it personally, Don't catastrophize, Learn from the experience, Get support, Take Good Care of Yourself, Manage your expectations, Diversify, Accept rejection gracefully and Benefits of Experience

Read full text

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

Posted by Bruce Carton: "I'm a fan of Twitter, and have been using the service since early this year both personally (@brucecarton) and as a news feed for securities litigation news (@SecuritiesD). I'm also interested in its use and value to lawyers, particularly to lawyers in the "BigLaw" world. Looking at it through this BigLaw lens, I have been pretty skepticaI thus far as to Twitter's potential as a business development tool for lawyers (as opposed to a more generic PR/news distribution tool for law firm news and announcements, which seems like a no-brainer use to me).

Stories are starting to pop up more often these days, however, about lawyers who have used Twitter to actually get new, paying clients. On Tuesday, Lawyers USA ran an interesting article about several lawyers who had successfully turned their activity on Twitter into clients. These include:

Brett Trout (@bretttrout), an intellectual property attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, who has gotten six new clients since joining Twitter a year-and-a-half ago.

Deena Burgess (@DeenaEsq), a New York attorney who started her own firm a year ago, and who has turned five Twitter followers into clients.

James Walker (@cruiselaw), an attorney in South Miami, Fla., whose practice is devoted solely to suing cruise lines on behalf of injured passengers. Walker "tweets about the three things he knows best: cruise ship law, cruise ship law and cruise ship law." Walker says that one of his followers, a California maritime attorney, has referred Walker cases which Walker estimates to be worth several million dollars.

Stefanie Devery (@StefanieDevery), a real estate attorney in Mineola, N.Y., has received about 10 referrals from out-of-state lawyers who follow her on Twitter in the six months since she began using Twitter.

I have yet to hear any BigLaw Twitter success stories, but perhaps that will be the next wave? Please weigh in here with your own examples of lawyers who have used Twitter to gain new legal clients.

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

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 18 September 2009

Posted by Rick Borstein: "I received a lot of positive correspondence after I created and posted a set of Dynamic Exhibit Stamps in my blog article Add Dynamic Exhibit Stamps in Acrobat using a free stamp set.

 

If you followed the instructions in the article, a new, dynamic stamp was installed in the Comment and Markup toolbar.

 

When you use the stamp, Acrobat . . .

1.                Asks you for the case number:

 

 [Graphic available at the source site]

2.                Stamps it on the document

 

 [Graphic available at the source site]

A number of lawyers pointed out that they need to stamp more than just the exhibit number.

 

David Masters, author of the book "The Lawyers Guide to Adobe Acrobat", emailed me this:

 

In Colorado, our courts expect exhibit stickers to indicate Plaintiff's or Defendant's and have the case number on them.

 

The job then was to create a dynamic stamp which asked for two lines of input. More importantly, the stamp should be able to be customized.

 

Mission accomplished and delivered in this blog article!

 

Once applied, a stamp looks like this:

 

 [See source site for graphic]

 

Follow the MORE below for:

·         Credits

·         Download

·         Installation

·         How to use the stamp

·         Instructions on how to customize the stamps...

 

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

Source: Acrobat for Lawyers, 12 September 2009

In the news: "Mark Gerow, who leads the application development team at Fenwick & West, describes some of the ways that SharePoint can reduce the effort to create, manage and retrieve documents and increase their value, as smart documents, to both your firm and its clients -- while lowering costs."

Topics discussed include:

SMART DOCUMENTS

HOW SHAREPOINT MAKES DOCUMENTS SMARTER

METADATA FEATURES

·        Content types:

·        Built-in fields:

·        Custom fields:

·        Search:

·        Versions:

PROCESS FEATURES

·        Event receivers:

·        Workflows:

Read full text

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

From the site: "Microsoft is hard at work on its Office 2010 product.  We've started to see features of the updated productivity applications, and here are some of the great feature enhancements to expect in PowerPoint 2010:    

1.    Screenshot Tool...
2.    Video Editing Tool...

3.    Add a Video from an Online Site...
4.    New Slide Transitions...
5.    Save PowerPoint to Video..."

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

Source: ABA TechShow 2010, 8 September 2009

Posted by JD Hull: "Get off your knees. Quit bottom-feeding. Stick with sophisticated users of legal services.

The answer to the question is no. "Being nice" to clients is not the goal or point of client service.

We didn't launch What About Clients? in August 2005 because yours truly is loved by all, and wanted to show you the utility of charm, niceness, or Mr. Rogers-like skills, with those we pitch or represent.

We started it because even the better and higher-end lawyers have remained "lawyer-centric", haven't a clue about what good clients think about, and treat even to-die-for clients like troublesome peasants.

And because, at the time, no one in the global legal or business community, other than Chicago's Patrick Lamb and the Canadian Bar Association, was talking about CS compellingly by (a) actually putting clients first, and (b) explaining just how to do that.

[Photo of Mr. Rogers and his Neighborhood]

Marrying substantive skills to the Art of Client Service is the way to get and keep good and great clients. Not all clients.

We at WAC? believe we know what CS is: it's thinking about and acting on the obvious client service aspects presented by everything you do for those clients in your services firm (but no one else thinks about), and disciplining everyone around you in your firm to do it with you. You build a service culture from the ground up from which all else flows, right down to that last opinion letter or Rule 12(b)(6) motion your firm wrote, client by client.

Everyone around you must buy into it--or leave, and quickly. Period.

The truth: most clients are not worth the trouble of representing.

Continue reading...

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

Source: What About Clients?, 16 September 2009

In the news: "Roxanne B. Conlin and Associates, a Des Moines, Iowa-based plaintiffs firm, is one of only a handful of firms in the country that allows parents to bring their babies to the office. This is not on-site day care; it is full-time parenting in the workplace. In Roxanne Conlin's experience, parents are so happy to keep their kids nearby that they are motivated to perform at the top of their game. And because they aren't constantly worrying whether their child is being fed or changed, they are better able to focus."

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 18 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw> 

Posted by Sabrina Pacifici: "Working Mother: "These are turbulent times for law firms. The economy is still reeling, several prestigious firms have collapsed, and layoffs have been rampant. No doubt about it, this sector is feeling the recession. But for working-mom lawyers, who've long sought more flexibility, this may be just the moment they've been waiting for. Our 50 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women are leading the charge for change, using the power of flex both to cut costs and retain lawyers. Already, our winning firms have more lawyers working reduced hours (8 percent versus 5 percent nationwide) and also employ more female equity partners, who share in their firm's profits (20 percent versus 16 percent nationwide)--and that's just for starters. We salute these firms for recognizing that making the legal profession work for women is good business for everyone."

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 17 September 2009. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Tom Kane: "Isn't the need self-evident? By that I mean, if you don't plan what road your marketing should take, any frivolous (activity) path will get you there - to paraphrase the Cheshire cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which I've mentioned before.

If you are going to the grocery store or on vacation, don't you at least "think" about how you will get there? Of course. So, why would you give your career, your livelihood, or how you will pay for your kids' college education less thought? Unfortunately, that is the case for too many lawyers, who just believe the legal work will always be there, which is amazing in this day and age.

I ran across an article on planning on NewIncite.com that points out four good reasons for planning:

1. Marketing activities will be more strategic and tied to business plans;
2. Documenting a plan allows it to be shared with everyone in firm, who can all help sell the message (See  "Marketing Should Involve Everyone in a Law Firm");
3. Helps manage the budget and negotiate with vendors; and
4. Keeps everyone on tract when day-to-day "firefighting" (i.e., client demands) get in the way.
5. Although the article wasn't talking about lawyers or law firms, the points are applicable to our industry nonetheless.

If you are still not convinced, let's revisit the idea that the work will always be there. That's just wrong for so many reasons, it too should be self-evident. Planning leads to a more focused and effective approach, which leads to more business generation, and that is job security. Believe it when I say that "Rainmakers Don't Get Fired." 

That alone is reason enough to plan your marketing and business development activities, rather than chasing your career down a rabbit hole."

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

Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 17 September 2009

Posted by evan Schaeffer: "If you work for a large organization, you might find this article a little creepy. "What your emails say about you: Our electronic trails are powerfully revealing - for those who can decode them."

Although the article has only a cursory relation to the topic of this weblog -- it mentions e-discovery --  it might be relevant to lawyers for other reasons. The article profiles a company called Cataphora that "tries to model what an 'effective' employee looks like based upon her electronic trail." For example, Cataphora can look for "who's using all-caps (typically a sign of high emotion) or who is communicating with people on a distant part of the org chart - a relationship that makes no organizational sense."

And there are some law-related applications:

Over the years, Cataphora has helped out in many cases where it's useful to know whether an employee is thriving within the company. This may indicate whether he will be a co-operative witness. Or take the example of a whistle-blower. While it's against the law to conduct a witch-hunt and fire the whistle-blower, it's very advantageous to know, before you get into court, who the whistle-blower may be (i.e., is it someone in a position to give a lot of information to the government?). When dealing with these kinds of issues, Cataphora started with the basic tradecraft assumption that a happy employee is unlikely to cause problems.

Want to know more? Here's a link to Cataphora's website.

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

Source: Trial Practice Tips Weblog, 17 September 2009

Posted by J. Benjamin Stevens: "If you are an attorney who uses Macs in your practice and you aren't a member of the Macs in Law Offices (MILO) group, then you are missing out on one of the best resources available on the internet. 

The MILO forum has well over 1,500 members (with more joining every day), including some of today's best legal technology experts (such as Randy Singer, Grant Griffiths, Finis Price, Brett Burney, and Blake Boyd) and software developers (from Rocket Matter, LawStream, Daylite, and many more).

This helpful resource is free, and joining is as easy as clicking here or using the button in the left-hand column of my blog and providing a little bit of information about you and your practice.  If you haven't already done so, I hope that you will check it out today!"

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

Source: The Mac Lawyer, 15 September 2009

Posted by Tom Mighell: "Dennis and I are pleased to be back with another podcast - in this episode, we discuss Facebook and its growing popularity among lawyers, our new affection for the Google Reader,  and we take a fresh look at Google Docs and Spreadsheets.  Finally, we answer a listener question:  what podcasts do we listen to?

1.  Facebook for Lawyers

-- Facebook

2.  Tools We Use

-- Google Reader

-- FeedDemon

3.  Collaboration Tools

-- Google Docs & Spreadsheets

4.  What Podcasts Do We Listen To?

-- NPR Podcasts

-- Buzz Out Loud

-- This Week in Tech

-- This Week in Law

-- net@nite

-- IT Conversations

-- Pardon the Interruption

-- Babylon Podcast

-- John Coltrane Podcast --  The Traneumentary

-- Pop! Tech Podcasts

-- TED Talks

Direct download: TKMR_Episode_6.mp3

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

Source: The Kennedy-Mighell Report, 18 August 2009

Posted by Bonnie Shucha: "Thanks to my colleague, Mary Jo Koranda, for pointing me to a service called inumbr, which provides you with a free, auto-expiring anonymous phone number that forwards incoming calls to your home or mobile phone. Callers do not see your home or mobile numbers.

I tried it out this morning and it worked as advertised. You have to tell it what area code you want for your anonymous number (the closest is Chicago area), then tell it how long you want the number to last (hour, day, week), and finally enter your real phone number.

After you hit submit, you'll get a new screen with your new anonymous number. It will be a phone number with an extension.

To test out the system, I registered my office phone for the anonymous number. Then I called the anonymous number with my cell phone. The service did indeed ring my office number but there was a message that said that I'd reached the number through the number service. 

So, people to whom you've given your anonymous number would know that there was something different about it, but not necessary what -- unless they were also familiar with inumbr. All in all, pretty slick. See the FAQ for more info."

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

Source: WisBlawg, 15 September 2009

Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: "Ohio juvenile courts have a significant new tool at their disposal that has been developed by the Ohio Department of Youth Services and University of Cincinnati's Center for Criminal Justice Research.

The Ohio Youth Assessment System is a "streamlined, web-based system for assessing young offenders in determining appropriate dispositions, treatment, and levels of supervision, designed, in part, to help judges decide whether they should send juveniles to more-costly state programs or less-expensive community projects," according to a Columbus Dispatch article last Friday morning.

The roots of the Assessment lie in Ohio's RECLAIM program. In evaluating those programs back in 2005 with U.C., ODYS found that the effectiveness of those programs was mitigated by the risk level of the youth being served in the program. Risk principles propose that the intensity of service be matched to the risk level of the offender, in practice calling for the focusing of resources on the most serious cases, with high risk offenders benefiting most from intensive services and low risk youth left to minimal services. In fact, some research suggests that providing intensive treatment to low risk cases can have a detrimental impact on low risk youth because it exposes them to higher risk offenders and disrupts their pro-social community networks. [Ohio's RECLAIM program was created by provisions in the 2003 biennial budget appropriations bill (HB 152), now codified at ORC §5139.41, 5139.43, and 5139.44. The complete text of the 2005 study can be viewed here, or the "Executive Summary" here]...

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

Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 16 September 2009

From the e-newsletter: "If you have recently cleared the Bar exam and are unemployed, you have likely given thought, time, and maybe even some blood, sweat, and tears to finding a job. And somewhere along the line you may have thought to yourself, wouldn't it be so much easier if you just put out a shingle?"

 Read more... 

Source: FindLaw's Practice Paper. 16 September 2009. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

From the e-newsletter: "Jurors empaneled for a trial typically are instructed by the judge not to do anything on their own to learn about the facts and circumstances of the case outside of the courtroom." 

Read more... 

Source: FindLaw's Practice Paper. 16 September 2009. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.

In the news: "Twitter faces issues involving right of publicity, defamation and free speech, say White and Case attorneys William Coats and Jennifer Gossain. To avoid exposing yourself and your company to liability, think about what you tweet, stick to the facts and tweet your opinions."

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 17 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>

Posted by Allison Shields: "September is back to school time. Even if you haven't attended school for a while, September still may make you feel as if it's time for a new start - a fresh perspective. Often that means looking at your plans for your practice moving forward. It's an opportunity to review what you've been doing and whether it is serving the goals you have identified for your practice. Since your practice revolves around your clients, that's a good place to start.

Where do your clients come from?...

Are the clients you have the clients you want?...

If you've kept track of the above information, you'll want to review it with these questions in mind:

Who refers business to you? Is it existing clients? Former clients? Lawyers or other professionals? In what fields and/or practice areas? Do you receive referrals from networking groups or contacts related to specific groups or activities? Which ones?

Once you know who refers business to you, explore what kinds of business you receive from each referral source. Which referral sources refer your ideal clients to you?

Do a mini makeover

Armed with this information, you can improve your marketing and business development efforts.

During this back to school season, when you are re-evaluating old tasks or considering taking on new ones, joining groups or determining which activities to undertake, determine whether those activities are likely to bring you into contact with your ideal clients and referral sources that can lead you to your ideal clients.

How can you allocate your resources adequately to target your ideal clients and your best referral sources? Should you eliminate a group or activity that hasn't resulted in business or doesn't bring you in contact with your target market? 

Can you step up your efforts with respect to those sources from whom you haven't been receiving business? For example, if you aren't receiving referrals from former clients, can you plan a better method of keeping in touch with former clients to stay 'top of mind?'

Which referral sources refer you the most/best business? Where can you find more referral sources like them?

Which referral sources could use additional education about your services or the clients you're seeking to represent?

Set goals informed by the above questions and then create strategies for achieving them, with specific, scheduled action steps to move you forward."

Full text is available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 16 September 2009

From the site: "In part two of this two part series on email management on Legal 3.0h!, co-hosts and legal technology consultants,  Adriana Linares and Debbie Foster, conclude their discussion on email. They will explore the intricacies of Outlook, including controlling spam and highlight "screen real estate."  Adriana and Debbie will also look at dealing with list mail and PM Software integration.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:52 -- 26.9MB)

Related Podcasts

August 11, 2009 -- Email Management: Part One

July 20, 2009 -- Email Etiquette 2.0"

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 16 September 2009

Posted by Robert Ambrogi: "The summer 2009 issue of Capital Ideas, the newsletter of the Capital Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association, features an article, "Trend Report: Legal Blogging: How, Why and What's Next?" Author Eric Gruis of Howrey interviews Larry Bodine and me on how to create and maintain a successful blog. The newsletter is a PDF download and contains several other informative articles."

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

Source: Robert Ambrogi's LawSites, 16 September 2009 

Posted by Sabrina Pacifici: "Official Google Blog: "Google for the Public Sector, a one-stop shop of tools and tips that local, state and federal government officials can use to help promote transparency and increase citizen participation. The site helps government agencies:

Make your website, and the information it offers, easier to find. For example, in less than 50 technical staff hours, Arizona's Government Information Technology Agency made hundreds of thousands of public records and other webpages "crawlable" to search engines and visible in Google search results.

Visualize your information and tell your story in Google Earth & Maps to the hundreds of millions of people who use them. The State Department runs an interactive Google Map of Secretary Clinton's travels, which shows where she has been and includes photos and videos.

Use the power of online video to engage millions of potential viewers and give constituents a voice. In the U.S. alone, the Senate, House of Representatives, White House, and federal government, among others, all have YouTube channels."

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 16 September 2009. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Posted by Raymond Ward: "All advocates should know that good storytelling is powerfully persuasive. Certainly our clients have stories that we should search for and tell. But what we may not realize is that the law itself has its own stories. And when our task involves developing the law itself, we should search for and tell the story that will persuade the court to move the law in the desired direction.

That is the thesis of a thoughtful article by Prof. Linda Edwards: Once Upon a Time in Law. In it, she gives examples of how lawyers in Miranda v. Arizona and Bowers v. Hardwick transformed what might have been abstract legal discussions into compelling stories. The lesson for the rest of us: Go thou and do likewise. (Hat tip to Legal Writing Prof Blog.)"

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

Source: the (new) legal writer, 5 September 2009

Posted by Diane Pfadenhauer: "According to a recent study, weight discrimination, particularly against women, may be an emerging form of discrimination in the workplace.  According to the study by The International Journal of Obesity:  

"Among obese people, approximately 28 percent of men and 45 percent of women said they have experienced discrimination because of their weight."

There's a long slippery slope with a lot of confusion on whether conduct by an employer in such instances could amount to perceived disability under the American's With Disabilities Act, not to mention more protective state and local laws.

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

Source: Strategic HR Lawyer, 3 September 2009

Posted  by John Patterson: "'Thank you' are the two most important words in the English language. Yet, how often are you served and end up the only one in the equation doing the thanking? It is always important and never more so in today's tough economy to make sure customers know unmistakably that you never take them for granted. If all your customers exited tomorrow (which they certainly could), how well would you fare the day after tomorrow?

The goal of an effective "Thank You" is not simply the expression of a statement but rather the conveyance of a feeling. We have all been on the receiving end of "thanks" knowing there was little sincerity. Thanks means communicating gratitude in a fashion that makes customers feel your authenticity. Most customer relationships don't end in dispute; they wither away from disregard and neglect. Remember: customer relationships are fueled by affirmation, attention and care which are critical elements of service warmth. Also remember most customers do not feel obligated to let you know they are unhappy much less they are leaving! Research tells us that only 4% of disappointed customers will even bother to complain!...

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

Source: Service Untitled, 10 September 2009

Posted by Tom Kane: "Do you know the real answer or are you just guessing? Those of us who provide client feedback services, and have reported how favorable clients react to satisfaction surveys, have an obvious bias. But that makes it no less important to ask your clients how you are doing.  I have written a number of times on the topic (see Continue Reading below for some of them), and Aronson/Heintz Associates has a thoughtful piece on their web site. And, last week Joyce Smiley reported on an article in the August issue of The American Lawyer by Editor-in-Chief Aric Press quoting him as saying that "It's time to talk to your clients...You can either be part of their (clients') deliberations and process, or you can be surprised by their conclusions."

Therein lays the rub. If you don't ask your clients how you are doing, and they have issues, you won't be part of the process. And you may never learn about possible problems, even after clients have "migrated" to another law firm. It just doesn't make sense to not protect your most valuable assets - current clients - at least the key ones.

This is so important that I even wrote (to my own potential detriment) in "Of Counsel" last October that it made sense to hire someone in-house full time to do them, as four firms had done. (Unfortunately, two of the four firms no longer have someone in-house dedicated to that role.) Whether you pay a consultant to do the satisfaction surveys or do them in-house isn't the important point. Doing them is.

Client satisfaction surveys are so simple and relatively inexpensive, when compared to overall marketing budgets in most firms, that it is a wonder that many firms still don't do them. When one considers that 70%-80% of new business comes from current clients or referral sources (often clients themselves), it is baffling.

So again, why don't more law firms ask their clients if they are satisfied with their services? I want to say I don't have a clue, but unfortunately I do. Too many firms are afraid to ask, or think they already know what their clients think, thus negating the need to ask.

Unfortunately, both are wrong answers.

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

Source: The Legal Marketing Blog.com, 15 September 2009

In the news: "You'll be too busy to network. Your billable hours will suffer. Your firm is so well-established that you don't need to worry about getting clients. First-year associate Eric D. Frank writes that like many others, he had these thoughts, but now realizes that developing marketing skills early on makes you a better lawyer. He discusses how even first-year associates can benefit from a business development plan, which can include simple steps like meeting with law school friends for a drink."

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 16 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw> 

Posted by Joe Hidnicki:  "A September 12, 2009 article in the New York Times, A Legal Battle: Online Attitude vs. Rules of the Bar by John Schwartz reviews recent disciplinary proceedings against practicing attorneys. One case involved a blogging criminal attorney who questioned the motives and competence of a judge. Another and more serious example involves a former Illinois public defender who is charged with disclosing confidential client information that might also constitute "assisting a criminal or fraudulent act." About all this, Schwartz quotes Michael Downey, who teaches legal ethics at the Washington University law school: "When you become an officer of the court, you lose the full ability to criticize the court."

The WSJ Law Blog and the ABA Journal pounced on the New York Times article with an unmatched furrosity for not breaking the developing story. Maybe the authors should read Legal Profession Blog where Mike Frisch (Georgetown Law Center) broke the public defender story in his September 9, 2009 post, Blogging Lawyer Charged with Confidentiality Violations. The attorney lost her job as an assistant public defender after 19 years of service over her blog postings.  Frisch reported that the Administrator of Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission had filed and published charges against and her. See his post for blog excepts quoted in the complaint [Text of Complaint].

See also Danielle Citron's Concurring Opinions post,  Professional Responsibility Meets Facebook, Another Oops the Bar and the comments to Above the Law's Lawyers' Social Media Horror Stories."

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

Source: Law Librarian Blog, 16 September 2009 

From the blog: "Most law firms have a website, but few law firms actually get much, if any, business off of the Web.  The first problem most firms face is that their websites don't get much traffic in the first instance.  They treat their website as a brochure and include their web address in the signature line of their email.  They know that prospective clients will probably look them up, and they want to look good to those who care to check.  The second problem is that most law firm websites don't ask prospective clients to contact them.  On the Web, a lot of traffic is transient.  Unless you invite people to pick up the phone or send an email, chances are they will simply drift through..."

Continue reading "Turning Web Traffic Into Clients" »

Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 4 September 2009

In the news: "A more comprehensive approach to security management in the law firm is to layer a data loss prevention systems strategy on top of electronic redaction, metadata management and encryption. DLP systems help detect and prevent the misuse and unauthorized transmission of confidential data."

Read full text 

Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 16 September 2009. Copyright 2008.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw> 

Posted by Carolyn Elefant: "Opening a law firm by choice or by circumstance offers a chance at a fresh start.  However, it's all too easy to tarnish that bright, shiny new beginning with a nasty ending at your former position. That is what appears to have happened with Jim Driscoll's departure from St. Louis law firm Brown & Crouppen, as least as described in this article. 

According to the story, the Brown & Crouppen is suing Driscoll alleging that he violated his employment agreement by failing to record cases in the practice management software system or intake database, used his personal address and cell phone and pleadings and maintained files outside of the firm's office.  (It bears noting that the article just tells the firm's side of the story, and it's not clear how reliable that is given that the firm still lists Driscoll as an attorney even though the firm's complaint says that Driscoll resigned in 2008).

However, there are lawyers wso eager to get their own firm started that they do indeed  engage in the kind of conduct described in the complaint: they try to leverage their existing firm's contacts and reputation to generate business for themselves in anticipation of leaving.  Don't do it.  Starting a law firm is difficult enough.  Doing it under the cloud of litigation by your former firm doesn't help.

Below are more resources on how to leave a law firm:

MyShingle Resources on Leaving a Law Firm, Part I (including links to ethics decisions and sample departure letters to clients)

My Shingle Resources on Leaving A Law Firm, Part II

Avoiding a Bad Break Up When Leaving a Law Firm (Wis. Law Journal, 9/11/09)

Missouri Bar Checklist for Leaving a Law Firm

Leaving a Law Firm in an Internet Age (trademark issues)

Don't Neglect Your Reputation When Leaving a Law Firm (Carolyn Elefant, Complete Lawyer July 2008).

If you have any others to add or want to share your experience, let me know."

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

Source: MyShingle, 11 September 2009 

Posted by Arnie Herz: "Yes, I know. A lot of lawyers recoil at the thought of being salespeople. We develop business. We network. But, we don't sell our legal services.

With the economy remaining tight and consumers becoming even more discerning, maybe the time has come to reconsider this hardline stance. Or, maybe it's time to rephrase the question to make it a bit more palatable.

How about: What are your clients buying?

According to marketing expert John Jantsch; no matter what's in the sales hopper (greeting cards, HVAC supplies or legal services), "at the end of the day, [people] buy some variation of the same five things." They buy products and solutions that:

• Make them more money
• Save them more time
• Allow them to avoid the frustration of doing stuff they don't like
• Help them save or not lose money today and in future
• Help them feel better about themselves

Jantsch goes on to note that we can focus our energy on just one of these selling points or "come up with ways to mix and match" them. Of course, no matter how we decide to go, we need to have a solid sense of who our clients are and the problems they have that we can and want to help them solve with our legal services.

If you need some insight into the psyche of today's consumers (a/k/a our clients), this article on recession-proof products offers some good food for thought (think chocolate and alcohol)."

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

Source: Legal Sanity, 17 August 2009

From the site: "In this edition of the ESI Report, host Gina Jytyla, Managing Staff Attorney in the Legal Technologies division at Kroll Ontrack, welcomes Alan Brill, Senior Managing Director for Kroll Ontrack's Information Security Services, and Steve Baird, Managing Director for Kroll Ontrack's Information Security, Computer Forensics and ESI Consulting Group, to discuss pressing information security concerns. Specifically, the discussion addresses how to protect your sensitive data from the growing risk of data breaches and explores best practices in responding to a breach incident. In the Bits & Bytes Legal Analysis segment, Kroll Ontrack Legal Correspondent, Kelly Kubacki will take a look at the order issued in Pinstripe, Inc. v. Manpower, Inc. and the important issue of litigation holds and preservation in discovery.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:04 -- 20.2MB)

Related Podcasts

September 16, 2008 -- Healthcare, Data Security & Preservation Inadequacies

September 8, 2009 -- E-Discovery Trends in the Paralegal World

August 12, 2009 -- The 2009 Socha Gelbmann E-Discovery Survey

May 26, 2009 -- Learn to use NEW Technology: 101

April 14, 2009 -- Legal Hold: Don't Destroy Those Documents"

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

Source: Legal Talk Network, 14 September 2009

From the Web Site:

From the Law Library of Congress, a short video is now available for viewing. Introduction to GLIN, featuring GLIN Director Janice Hyde and Comparative Law Specialist Hanibal Goitom, explains how the Global Legal Information Network works.

The video runs about 8 minutes.

Access The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)

[Their] Source: Law Library of Congress

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

Source: ResourceShelf,  5 September 2009 

Television advertisements soliciting plaintiffs for medical malpractice lawsuits increased from about 10,150 ads in 2004 to more than 156,000 ads in 2008--nearly a 1,400 percent increase in four years, according to a new study released today. The study showed that spending for these ads increased from $3.8 million to nearly $62 million during this time period--a 1,300 percent increase in 2008-adjusted dollars."

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

Source: Docuticker, 11 September 2009

Posted by gar Reynolds: "Though it may not seem obvious standing in the bustling center of Shibuya or Shinjuku in Tokyo, the Japanese perception of beauty is largely based on space, especially space as it is found in nature. Once you understand this, the intricacies of Japanese art and design begin to make sense...

The principle of Ma

A form of space seen in Japanese art forms, such as traditional Japanese gardens, and Ikebana, is Ma (間). Ma means empty, spatial void, and interval of space or time...

In formality there is freedom

To those unfamiliar with the art of ikebana, it may seem like a casual craft with no formal rules, but in fact, there are clear rules governing the art of ikebana...

Lessons for your creative life

1. Empty space is as important as the positive elements. Learn to see space. Learn to create space.
2. Space allows other elements to "breath," to move, and connect -- with each other and the viewer.
3. Empty space is a powerful amplifier, helping to create a whole that is more engaging than the sum of individual parts.
4. Suggestion and subtly in design engages the viewer, allowing her to complete the uncompleted.
5. Arrangements (designs) should stimulate the imagination of the viewer.
6. In formality there exists creativity and freedom of expression. No structure, no freedom.
7. In simplicity there exists clarity, beauty, and meaning.
8. Asymmetrical balance is natural, dynamic, and engaging.
9. For the designer (or artist), focus, calm, vision, and gentleness of spirit are more important qualities than raw enthusiasm. Slow down your busy mind.
10. Careful arrangement of the elements based on solid principles creates beauty and engagement without decoration."

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

Source: Presentation Zen, 14 September 2009

Posted by Evan Schaeffer: "Plaintiffs' lawyer Ron Miller has an informative post explaining why he serves interrogatories at the time he files a complaint, noting in part--

The advantage in first obtaining answers to interrogatories is that the answers should help the attorney determine who should be deposed, what questions should be asked of those deponents and what documents should be obtained in the case. Having the interrogatory answers, in some cases, also may tend to shorten the length of time required for the deposition. A possible advantage in taking the opposing party's deposition before serving interrogatories is that the party's deponent will not have thought out the factual and legal position thoroughly with the attorney and be as prepared as he/she might be otherwise.

As Miller writes, there's a split of opinion on this issue among plaintiffs' lawyers. The full post, which contains much additional discussion, is titled "When to Serve Interrogatories?"

Related post from Trial Practice Tips: "Depositions Before Interrogatories?"

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

Source: The Trial Practice Tips Blog, 1 September 2009

Posted by Robert Ambrogi: "The document-assembly site WhichDraft.com enables automatic assembly of contracts and other legal documents. Users start by finding the type of document they want and then they fill them out by answering a series of simple questions. The site provides its own collection of documents and also allows users to post documents.

Of course, attorneys are sometimes reluctant to rely on form documents. A nice feature of WhichDraft is that lawyers can also use it to automate assembly of their own documents. The site allows users to upload their own documents and build their own sets of questions and answers for completing them. Lawyers can keep these documents private or opt to share them.

The site also includes simple collaboration tools. These include the ability to share documents with others by e-mail, to track multiple versions of a document, and to compare versions with red-lining. All the site's features are provided without cost.

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

Source: Robert Ambrogi's LawSites, 14 September 2009

Posted by Allison Shields: "Today I have been reminded of the power of packaging. Packaging is just as important for service providers as it is for product manufacturers. And packaging goes far beyond simply having a great logo and letterhead - or even a great website.

As a lawyer, part of your job is to ensure that your clients understand the services you provide and how those services help your clients reach their stated objective. But different clients learn in different ways.

Statistically, it has been determined that:

60-70% of the population are visual learners - they receive and process information best when a variety of visual tools are used;

18-30% of people are kinesthetic learners - they learn best when involved in some kind of physical activity;

12-18% of your clients are likely to be auditory learners - they absorb information best by listening

As you can see, a relatively small percentage of the population learns best solely by listening, and yet lawyers rely heavily on the spoken word to interact with clients. Many people learn visually - which is one of the reasons why YouTube is so popular and why video can be such a powerful tool for lawyers.

What is the learning style of your ideal client? There may not be any way to know. To increase the chances of reaching your ideal client, it may be time to diversify your packaging.

How can you package your services in new ways so that you reach clients and potential clients whose learning styles may be very different?...

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

Source: Legal Ease Blog, 11 September 2009

Are Law Firms Ready for Transparency?

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Are Law Firms Ready for Transparency? Attorney and KM expert V. Mary Abraham provides details on how one law firm has found a way to create real transparency in its dealings with clients via an extranet, and whether this process may start a trend.

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

Source: beSapcific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 13 September 2009. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.

Legal Implications of Cloud Computing - Part One (the Basics and Framing the Issues)

Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "Legal Implications of Cloud Computing - Part One (the Basics and Framing the Issues) - Attorney David Navetta contends that there there will be significant financial pressure on organizations to take advantage of the pricing and efficiency of cloud computing, and if attorneys fail to understand the issues ahead of time there is a serious risk of getting "bulldozed" into cloud computing arrangements without time or resources to address some serious legal issues that are implicated.

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

Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 13 September 2009. Copyright ©2002-2008 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.