In the news: “The loss of a leader can rip the heart out of a law firm, sapping morale, identity and confidence. Case in point: Boston's Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, which dissolved this year. Some firms actually resist facing up to managing partners' retirement or the phasing out of their duties -- a situation that one consultant likens to "telling your father that he now ought to take the back seat." To those who haven't planned ahead, experts warn that a fear of dealing with the future can leave a law firm without one.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
29 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Genie Tyburski posts: “LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell introduced a new marketing tool, called Group Profiles, on martindale.com. It lets law firms add a detailed overview of practice areas or industry groups to their Martindale-Hubbell listing. According to chief operating officer, Paul Gazzolo, "the Group Profiles product was just launched last fall and there have already been more than 100 law firms sign up to create profiles, creating a database of more than 1,000 group profiles."
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
29 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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TVEyes Searching For Podcast Information
From Tara Calishain: “Broadcast search provider TVEyes has announced Podscope, which will search for words within audio, specifically podcasts. Yup folks, we got a search engine for finding words spoken within a podcast. Whee! It's in beta and is available at http://www.podscope.com/. (A lightly-populated blog about the project is available at http://www.podscope.com/blog/.)
The query box is actually inside someone's head. Um. Okay. I did a search for Apple. A couple of minutes and several ActiveX alerts from my firewall later, I had a list of search results, mostly from MacCast. (No result count, though. Grr.)
Each result has a + next on it. Click on that and it'll expand to a list of time points at which your word of interest was spoken, with play and stop buttons. (This didn't work in Opera, worked fine in Firefox.) To the far right of the search results there are also links to the site, to play the entire podcast, to the XML feed, and to the specific article related to the podcast.
I can see this as a really nifty discovery tool for finding podcasts on my topic of interest….”
Source: ResearchBuzz #334
28 April 2005
Reproduced with permission of ResearchBuzz (http://www.researchbuzz.com).
Copyright 2005 Tara Calishain. All rights reserved.
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Genie Tyburski posts: “A new search engine designed help you find podcasts may outpace some of the podcasting directories and portals. Reviewers generally like it. The article explains how it works and briefly discusses how to create a podcast.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
29 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Marty Schwimmer: "Infinity Broadcasting, which I believe is the second largest radio company behind Clear Channel, has announced an all-podcasting radio station. There are competing creation myths about how long podcasting has been around, but it seems inarguable that this is some sort of record for uptake of a communications technology by the mainstream.
UPDATE: Discussion of whether the blogosphere and the podpeople represent a tipping point for MSM here and here."
Source: Between Lawyers, 28 April 2005
I'd want to know about Cool Works
From the e-newsletter: "Want to work in the Grand Tetons or on a cruise ship bound for the jungle rivers of South America? This site lists thousands of jobs (paid and volunteer, seasonal and full-time) at national and state parks, ski resorts, summer camps, dude ranches, cruise ships, and more, plus listings for RVers. Free e-mail updates."
Source: LII Librarians' Index to the Internet
NEW THIS WEEK for 28 April 2005
Copyright 2005 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, LII.
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By Brian Livingston: "The days are long gone when we could just install Windows and never change it once we got everything working. Now, we're faced with a different reality.
Smoothly handling a continuous series of upgrades — for Windows and many other pieces of software — is the key to keeping our computers safe from hackers and compatible with the latest technologies.
Patch management has become a crucial and in-demand skill in today's world. So I'm excited that a new e-book has just been published that gives PC users and administrators a world-class education on the subject. Best of all, the company behind the e-book is giving it away for free.
Patch Management Best Practices is a 100-page, printable PDF file containing six chapters. The authors are Anne Stanton, president of the Norwich Group, a business-process consulting service, and Susan Bradley, a high-tech CPA and a contributing editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter, whose Windows Patch Watch Column appears in the paid version. (how to get the paid version)
The e-book is sponsored by and is being given away by Ecora Software Corp., the maker of Ecora Patch Manager, a serious upgrade-management solution. I was pleased to see, to the company's credit, that the e-book contains almost nothing about Ecora and its products. Stanton and Bradley have focused on the facts Windows admins need on patch management — they haven't written anything that could be considered an ad for the sponsor…
There's much more in the e-book itself, which you really should read for yourself. To get it, Ecora requires that you complete a short, free registration process, but the company is currently accepting any made-up e-mail address and phone number you may provide. If you wish to hear from the company, of course, you should enter valid information."
The work is available at Ecora's e-book download page.
Source: Windows Secrets Newsletter
Brian Livingston - Editor
28 April 2005
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From the e-newsletter: “Do spouses of U.S. citizens receive priority in the U.S. immigration system? How can a citizen bring a spouse to the U.S.? What do prospective parents need to know about adopting foreign-born children? Get answers to these questions and more in the "Family-Based Immigration" and "International Adoption" sections of FindLaw for the Public's Immigration Center. Click on the links below to get started.”
International Adoption
Source: FindLaw's PUBLIC ADVISOR
A Weekly FindLaw Newsletter Providing News and Resources for the Public
28 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “This month's issue (April 2005) of Law Practice Today is devoted to malpractice - or rather, how to avoid malpractice. All of the articles are pretty interesting; one in particular that stood out was Carole Curtis' Dealing With Difficult Clients. Tips include saving copies of all correspondence, being patient and clear about expectations. Carole doesn't quote any statistics. But I'm willing to bet that at a huge percentage of the malpractice actions brought against solo and small firm lawyers result not so much from lawyer incompetence as from demanding clients who either get less than what they thought was coming or who make life so difficult that lawyers begin to avoid them and let their cases slide, to the lawyers' eventual detriment.”
Source: MyShingle, 25 April 2005
In the news: “The consequences of poorly executed e-discovery can be dire. In cases such as Zubulake V, companies have been punished for failing, in the court's eyes, to preserve electronic evidence properly. The penalties range from the severe (attorney fees) to the extreme -- the entry of default judgment. There are, however, steps you can take before a lawsuit is filed that may improve a company's ability to preserve evidence without unduly burdening day-to-day operations.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
28 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Posted by the Greatest American Lawyer: "Larry Bodine's PROFESSIONAL MARKETING Blog reprints an article from the April 18 issue of the Chicago Tribune titled "Hourly legal fees under attack, Traditional billing by time spent is standard at most big law firms, but McGuireWoods is advertising alternatives."
One of the more interesting things about entering the blogosphere has been the realization that I am not the only person who (1) believes hourly billing is bad for clients and bad for the profession of law and (2) is trying to change the way law is practiced. In the above noted article, there are several references to large law firms which offer innovative and service-oriented billing alternatives to their clients. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
· Survey after survey of in-house law departments shows that their top priority is reducing the money they spend on outside law firms. Some of the growth in legal expenses is out of their control, as companies deal with more lawsuits and regulations and turn to outside lawyers to handle these matters.
· One Chicago firm has found that alternative arrangements work in handling large, complex lawsuits. Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, a boutique litigation firm, typically charges a flat fee, payable in monthly installments. The client retains a percentage that it pays only if the firm is successful. Otherwise, the client keeps the money.
· "We like to get paid for results rather than the hours," said Sidney "Skip" Herman, Bartlit Beck's managing partner.
· McGuireWoods has been offering alternatives to hourly bills for years. About 35 percent of the firm's annual revenue of about $300 million comes from alternative billing arrangements.
I have always believed that alternative billing offers a tremendous marketing advantage, since so few firms do it. Virtually every client hates paying by the hour. But most have no idea there are alternatives.
I am about to launch my own advertising campaign. I have selected the most upscale restaurants in my county, where business owners and managers are most likely to dine. My "Johnny Ads" displayed in restroom will play on client discontent with hourly bills by attorneys. It will then introduce them to the fact our firm bills for results, not hours. I have purchased a four-month run from June through September. I'll let you know how it goes.”
Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 26 April 2005
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “Perhaps the most interesting outcome of the Legal Affairs survey of the top 20 legal thinkers in America is its between-the-lines commentary on the power of blogging. Little surprise that Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas and circuit judges Alex Kozinski and Richard Posner made the list.
But, brilliant though he may be, would Glenn Reynolds have made the list were he not also the Instapundit? And Legal Affairs itself suggests that, for all his accomplishments, Eugene Volokh may have been nudged onto the list thanks to his blog, The Volokh Conspiracy. Undoubtedly, Richard Posner would have made the list even without his blog, but just as undoubtedly, blogging has contributed to the high profile of Lawrence Lessig.
My point is not to diminish the credentials of anyone on the list or to suggest they do not belong there. My point, quite simply, is that this list stands as further proof in the growing body of evidence that blogging is an important and influential publishing medium. It is point that relates to lawyers everywhere -- whether they aspire to be on the list of the nation's top legal thinkers or, more modestly, the short list of go-to lawyers in their state or practice area. Short of an appointment to the Supreme Court, blogging may be the quickest route to the top of the list.”
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, 27 April 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Not one to be left behind, Yahoo! has released its improved version of My Web Search, in response to Google's Search History Beta that was released last week. The Yahoo offering seems to be a lot more comprehensive; in addition to saving your search history, you can also e-mail or IM links to others, and you can share your bookmarks via a public folder or RSS feed. Yahoo! wants you to use this as your Bookmarks folder, so it gives you the ability to import your bookmarks. And saving pages is a cinch -- if you use the Yahoo! Toolbar there's a button built-in. Alternatively, you can use a bookmarklet to save the pages.
Read more about it at Yahoo Launches My Web Personal Search.
Source: Inter Alia, 28 April 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Paul Bunting, president and founder of Pretrieve, responds to yesterday's news summary, "Hidden Cost of Free Public Records." I removed the example he references for privacy reasons, but it did do as he describes.
Paul: It is true that some sites don't enable us to execute the search on behalf of users and take them directly to the decision. We are forced to drop them off at the query screen. But the majority of them -- to avoid using the now infamous "nationwide" term -- do allow us to take users directly to the search results.
The example I sent you earlier was for a decision level query on a common name in Akron, OH. This is a good example because there are both kinds of links represented in the results: top page and deep links.
We wish we could help people deep link directly to free records from all courts, but unfortunately it isn't possible right now. Going forward, we want to develop a service specifically targeted at legal researchers, and which helps them save time and money while providing more in-depth service to satisfy their information quest.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
28 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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In the news: “Although a long line of U.S. Supreme Court decisions forbids packing juries based on race or gender, lawyers admit they do it frequently. The topic recently attracted a new round of national attention when a former Alameda County, Calif., prosecutor claimed it was standard practice to exclude Jews and black women from capital juries because they would never vote for death. Yet all the litigators interviewed for this article say they consider race and gender when picking a jury.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
27 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “The greatest thing about blogs is that they give small lawyers like you and me access to resources that were once completely out of our grasp. The reason is that at least now, most bloggers still blog because they're completely enthusiastic about their field or enjoy sharing information.
Tom Lincoln at the Trial Prep blog has this great post about his positive experience in seeking help from a fellow blogger:
I can recall only last summer when I was working on an important Blakely issue, and had done an enormous amount of research, drafting and redrafting, but still felt somewhat uncertain on whether my planned approach was the best. I had seen a few comments posted by noted attorney Peter Goldberger over at Sentencing Law and Policy, as well as having seen a few postings to a listserv from him. Although I had never met Peter, I decided that he was the person I should ask for help, and had the nerve to send him an email one evening. A few minutes later I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Peter and after a few more exchanged emails, felt very much assured of what path to take. I grant you that not every lawyer approaches Peter in having both great knowledge and a willingness to share, but I can assure you that many more than you might think do have plenty of knowledge and that same willingness to help others. Moreover, at times the things we are uncertain of have nothing to do with substantive aspects, but "dumb" things such as (I recall these from my first oral argument before the First Circuit) where are the lights?, where do I sit? So, please, don't be afraid to ask for help.
I really hope that the free discussion of information continues in the blog world. And I hope that years from now, we don't look back at the nascent days of blogging and reminisce about how so many law bloggers used to answer questions, willingly and freely and wonder why they don't do it anymore.”
Source: MyShingle, 25 April 2005
David Giacalone posts “As we approach Law Day, bar associations across the nation will be heard congratulating themselves on all they do to promote justice and protect the public. (see our post) At this weblog, "we" think such self-aggrandizement should be avoided in favor of a bit of soul-searching. Most bar groups spend much of their time acting like guilds -- promoting the interests of their members, and "protecting" the public from competition, information, innovation and choice. Maybe Law Day 2005 (May 1st) can be an occasion to re-align our priorities and become public service organizations, improving the profession for the sake of our clients, the justice system and the entire public.”
Source: f/k/a, 26 April 2005
Posted by Denise Howell: “The NewPRWiki, a collaboration among some clueful PR professionals to share ideas and information, includes a list of resources aimed at legal issues related to business blogging.”
Source: Between Lawyers, 26 April 2005
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “I wrote in February about the free public-records search engine Pretrieve. Today, in a development of significance to the legal profession, Pretrieve announced that it has integrated searching of nationwide court records. It covers all state and local courts in the United States that offer Internet searches of case records. When court records are available, you'll find links to them on the "Court" tab of the search results.”
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, 26 April 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Pretrieve, a new public records meta search service, announced it expanded coverage of court records to include courts nationwide. "We now cover all state and local courts in the United States that offer internet searches of case records." The latter half of the sentence is worth reading again. Pretrieve's coverage extends only to courts with Web-based search engines for querying judicial opinions.
Why is it important legal professionals understand this limitation? Pretrieve represents that it provides "nationwide" coverage. It isn't alone in exaggerating its services. I can think of a few commercial vendors who have done the same regarding so-called national criminal records. But the truth is, the only courts available via Pretrieve are those that provide Web-based search services for opinions. Moreover, when you query a name (person or business), you retrieve links to the court search services, and not to matching court decisions.
Suppose an unsuspecting researcher uses Pretrieve to conduct a background check on an individual in Pennsylvania. She finds where the person lives and retrieves links to three state courts (under the Court tab). After searching the available opinions at each individual court site, she concludes there are no recent state cases involving the subject of the research.
Herein lies the hidden cost. Trial level courts in Pennsylvania are not available through Pretrieve even though several provide Web search access to recent opinions. Moreover, the queries do not yield any information about pending lawsuits or lawsuits that did not result in an opinion. If you want to hold down the cost of the research, you would do better to use a service, such as Legal Dockets Online, which is designed for legal professionals.
If you are conducting the research for a client, or for the purpose of making a business decision, you would do far better to consult with an experienced public records researcher. Public records research can be expensive. But it's probably not as costly as defending a malpractice claim or doing business with a crook."
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
27 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Dennis Kennedy posts: “Rick Borstein of Adobe was in St. Louis last week. Over lunch, we talked about Acrobat 7 and the ways lawyers use (and don't use) Acrobat in their work.
I've been thinking a lot about a couple of topics in that conversation. One topic that fascinates me relates to electronic discovery in small cases.
I'm still trying to think this through but I'm coming to the tentative conclusion that Acrobat 7 might be a single tool that can cover almost all of the bases for a litigator with a case that has a modest number of electronic files involved in electronic discovery. By that, I mean a few files, a few hundred files, a few thousand files, perhaps more, depending on your facility with Acrobat.
My hypothesis is this: Using Acrobat, you can collect, gather, scan, catalog, search, produce, manage and even display files in court. You will have to dig deeper into the feature set than most lawyers do, but the tools are definitely there. Of course, before people panic, I'm not suggesting that the use of Acrobat will or should take the place of needed computer forensics experts and tools where they are needed.
Think about it with me. It offers the attraction of using an existing (inexpensive program) in better ways, keeping your work in one program rather than in many programs, and keeps things simple when they can be kept simple. That has a lot of appeal.
DISCLOSURE: Rick did buy lunch last week and is sending me a copy of Acrobat 7 to experiment with. However, I own Acrobat 6 and bought it myself, and would have bought version 7 if Rick hadn't been so generous. I truly do not expect this to tempt me to call things in any other way than as I see them, and would be disappointed in you if you thought that it would.”
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 26 April 2005
In the news: “Never one of the DOJ in-crowd, departing Deputy AG James Comey is apt to be replaced by a very different sort of lawyer -- one with references from Judge J. Michael Luttig, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia or Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. The White House is systematically staffing key Justice Department posts with attorneys groomed by a tight circle of judges and ex-government officials seen as guiding lights in the conservative movement. The result: a narrower path to plum DOJ jobs.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
26 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Brandon Rash posts: “Dennis Fernandez, Managing Parner, Fernandez & Associates provides the Top-10 Most Common Intellectual Property Rights Mistakes During Venture Capital Due Diligence [pdf].
Source: The EEJD Blog, 23 April 2005
Larry Bodine posts: “McguireWoods rattled the Chicago legal market by running ads starting this week that markets its ability to tailor fees for its legal services that go beyond the traditional hourly rate. I obtained a copy of one of the ads in case you missed it. Click on the image to see the full size version. [Click on the “Source” link to reach the clip]
Here's the body copy:
"The longer lawyers take, the more they make. Does that align their interest with yours? McGuireWoods has been working in Chicago for over 100 years. We understand how to create alternative fee programs that aren’t based on time. Whether it be a fixed fee, success fee or some other alternative, we have learned that companies make better decisions when they know the cost up front. If your lawyers serve the clock more than your needs, we would like to discuss how we can help. Off the clock, of course."
Professional firm marketing could use more of this kind of edgy advertising. The beauty of the campaign is that most firms will already offer an alternative fee; but McGuireWoods is promoting the fact. It reminds me of the service guarantee that Ungaretti & Harris offered a few years ago. Basically, if you were unhappy with their work, they'd be willing to talk about a discount. Most firms would do the same, but the Ungaretti firm promoted the fact. I thought it was a fabulous tactic! The way it was reported in the press, including the New York Times, was that for the first time a law firm was offering a money-back guarantee!
The Chicago legal community huffed and puffed about it, but it was the novel marketer that will be forever remembered.
Source: Larry Bodine’s Professional Marketing Blog, 25 April 2005
From Sabrina Pacifici:
**Blogs...Got Content!
http://www.llrx.com/features/blogsgotcontent.ppt [Loads SLOWLY]
“The benefits of blogging across the corporate enterprise, as well as for the public, are the focus of this presentation by Sabrina I. Pacifici. She outlines how blogging is an effective tool to facilitate the delivery of marketing/branding strategies, for knowledge management, and fulfilling user services on behalf of a team, a department or a entire organization.
**Gumshoe Librarian 2 - More Sites and Services From Around the Corner and Around the World
http://www.llrx.com/features/gumshoe2.ppt [Loads SLOWLY]
Barbara Fullerton and Sabrina I. Pacifici take you on another virtual journey around the web to view a roster of dozens of reliable resources on finding people, corporate data, court rules, forms and dockets, open source journal content, international materials, government documents, health related publications, domain names, fact finders, security related content, and much more.
**So your firm's got a website. Great. But is it stuck in 1997? or 10 Things to help your site not...stink.
http://www.llrx.com/columns/marketing9.htm
Andy Havens offers his unique perspective on the need to keep your firm's website content fresh, interactive, diverse and client-centric. Read on!
**Notes from the Tech Trenches: More on Factiva; Summer Training Ideas
http://www.llrx.com/columns/notes78.htm
Cindy Carlson reviews proactive tools, techniques, programs and online services that librarians can leverage to enhance the value of, and objectives related to, legal research training programs for summer associates.
**FOIA Facts: The Lighter Side of FOIA
http://www.llrx.com/columns/foia20.htm
Scott A. Hodes reviews the latest stats on FOI related actions, news and commentary, with a tribute to the new hometown Nats!
**LLRX.com Bookstore
http://www.llrx.com/bookstore/
Review the new entries on topics that include: journalism, Enron, blogs, globalization, the future of libraries, innovative new technologies, the first amendment, and of course...food.
**LLRX.com Resource Center on State and Federal Legislation - revised and updated
http://www.llrx.com/resources7.htm
**LLRX.com LawPro Links - revised and updated
http://www.llrx.com/llrxlink.htm
**And don't forget LLRX Court Rules, Forms, and Dockets, the unique, free searchable database, maintained and continually updated by Margaret Berkland”
http://www.llrx.com/courtrules/
Source: LLRX Update, 24 April 2005
Copyright © LLRX TM, Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Kevin O’Keefe posts: “No legal marketing professional or lawyer looking to expand business, whether you are publishing a blog now or soon will be, should be without Susannah Gardner's new book Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies.
As part of writing the book, I was interviewed a couple times by Susannah on how blogs can be used by a vertical market like the legal profession and how a company such as LexBlog can provide turnkey solutions to companies in a vertical market.
One of LexBlog's client's blogs, Stark & Stark's Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog, was the third blog featured in the 320 page book. Used as a way to demonstrate how blogs establish expertise, this blog written by Bruce Stern, a former President of the New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association, is sandwiched between Mark Cuban's Blog Maverick, Fast Company Magazine blog and Nike's Art of Speed Blog. No question here that innovative marketing folks see the merit of blogs for law firm marketing.
Here's just a sample of the topics covered in the book.
· Getting started with business blogs
· Setting up a business blog
· Minding blog etiquette and culture
· Positioning your blog
· Making the most of your blog
I'll be bring you some highlights from the book in the coming weeks. I am also seeing if we can get Susannah for an interview on my blog and better yet, perhaps a day's seminar on blogs for lawyers & legal marketing professionals.”
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 25 April 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “I have been on a mobile kick lately -- the search engines have been pushing a lot of great new mobile features. The latest is MSN's real-time traffic alerts. Just specify the metro area and the times you want to receive alerts, and MSN will push traffic information to your mobile device via SMS. You have to have a .Net Passport to participate.
Read more about it at Real Time Traffic Alerts via SMS."
Source: Inter Alia, 26 April 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “The Internal Revenue Service announced the availability of a free educational CD, which helps small business owners set up and maintain IRA-based retirement plans for their employees.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
26 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Sabrina Pacifici posts:
· “First Look: Symantec's So-So Spyware Protection
· CNET editor's take, Norton Internet Security 2005 Antispyware Edition (beta)"
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
25 April 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by Ernest Svenson: “In the days of the Pony Express riders often died at the hands of wild Indians as they valiently attempted to deliver mail. When I look at some of the junk that makes its way into my E-mail in-box I wonder where the wild Indians are when you need them. The problem is that it's much easier to send E-mail than it ever was to send physical mail, and so it's much easier for people to blast out garage sale notices and other mundane trivia. But even beyond the silly emails and the stream of spam, most corporate in-boxes are also infused with poorly crafted emails that simply fail to provide crisp information. And, in many ways, that is the more insidious problem.
Is there any hope of remedying this situation? If so, what action steps can we take right now to improve the state of our E-mail communications?
One of the best articles I have ever seen on this subject was written by Stever Robbins: Tips for Mastering E-Mail Overload. One key idea is to 'use the subject line to summarize the purpose of E-mail.' I constantly marvel at how poorly most people use the subject line feature of their E-mail program. The article is notable for setting out specific examples of the 'bad way' to send E-mail with a tabular comparison of the 'good way.'
Mr. Robbins also offers tips on how to read and receive email. For example, he recommends checking E-mail only at certain defined times of the day:
We hate telemarketers during dinner, so why do we tolerate e-mail when we're trying to get something useful done? Turn off your e-mail "autocheck" and only check e-mail two or three times a day, by hand. Let people know that if they need to reach you instantly, e-mail isn't the way. When it's e-mail processing time, however, shut the office door, turn off the phone, and blast through the messages.
One of the most interesting suggestions is the idea of using a paper 'response list' to triage messages before doing follow up. And if the idea of using paper to keep track of your E-mail isn't provocative enough for you, consider his advice that you ignore some of your emails completely:
Yes, ignore e-mail. If something's important, you'll hear about it again. Trust me. And people will gradually be trained to pick up the phone or drop by if they have something to say. After all, if it's not important enough for them to tear their gaze away from the hypnotic world of Microsoft Windows, it's certainly not important enough for you to take the time to read.
The bottom line is you are the only one who can manage the onslaught of E-mails you receive. Mr. Robbins' article provides some sage advice on how to accomplish that objective. Read his article and then go out attack your in-box. Your sanity depends on it.”
Source: Tech Feng Shui
Genie Tyburski posts: “Thomson West introduced a new software application for drafting briefs. BriefTools appears as a toolbar within Microsoft Word. It checks citations and shows the status of cited cases.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
25 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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From the blog: “Just listened to the interesting Kevin O'Keefe interview via Blawgcast.com's aggregated feed. Yet another example, in my view, of how beneficial the addition of voice can be to one's blogging endeavours. Presumably hundreds if not thousands read Kevin's blog, but those who haven't met him may have little idea of how he comes across "live". Now, more or less, we know. Great stuff. An interesting interview well worth checking out if you're interested in legal blogging.”
Source: Feedmelegal, April 23, 2005
In the news: “Savvy law firms understand that keeping current clients and attracting new ones requires innovative technology. "If you want to provide a global service to a client whose business is global, it's mandatory to take advantage of the available technology," says Mike Scherpereel, Reed Smith's director of marketing. From business intelligence products to Web-based monitoring systems and blogging, blogging and more blogging -- you're about to be let in on industry visionaries' secrets.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
25 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Kevin O’Keefe blogs: “Need anymore evidence law firms need to learn about blogs and how to use them to market the firm's lawyers and practice groups? Well, the May 2 cover of BusinessWeek reads: "Blogs will change your business. Look past the yakkers, hobbyists and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Our advice: Catch up ...or catch you later."
Read the full article online. The article has been in the works for some time with input from some real movers and shakers in the blogosphere such as Steve Rubel and Dan Gillmore.
The article will make all the sense in the world to legal marketing professionals who understand the power of blogs. To those who are blowing blogs off read what BusinessWeek had to say and ask yourself if you feel lucky enough to stake your job against this warning in the article:
[...] Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours. It doesn't matter whether you're shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite.
Wake up guys, the lawyer and practice group blogs train is leaving the station. I wouldn't miss it.”
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 23 April 2005
Bruce Mac Ewen posts: “This post will be in the nature of "piling on," usually an indefensible tactic but, dear reader, as I hope you will agree in this case, justified as an exercise in overcoming what is for many practicing lawyers a nearly insurmountable allergic reaction to the notion that a personal or firm blog could benefit their practice. My aim? To invite, and then to welcome, more legal commentators to the blogosphere. After all, blogs live or die by the acuity of their analysis, the felicity of their writing, and the focus of their viewpoint. To all the practicing lawyers in the audience: Which of those capabilities do you lack?
Let us call the roll of members of the MSM ("mainstream media") who are now staunchly converted to this apostasy. I hope you recognize a few of the names.
The Wall Street Journal: “The blog as business tool has arrived.” (March 1, 2005)
The Financial Times: From a story published today about Jonathan Schwarz, president of Sun Microsystems, and why he has a blog:
"Any CEO who says a blog would take too much time is deluding himself because the number one imperative of any senior executive is communication. How much of our time will you spend on analysis? A very small amount. Decision-making is difficult but it tends not to be time-consuming."
And just what audience does he think he's reaching? Actually, he knows:
"I am much more interested in quality than quantity. When I go to a Wall Street analysts' event and ask, 'Which of you reads my blog?' half the room raises its hand."
Fortune: In December 2004 they officially declared the blog the technology story of the year, and in a January story, "Why There's No Escaping the Blog," they not-so-subtly underlined the core fundamental reality that blogs must speak in a genuine, unfiltered, sincere voice:
"If you fudge or lie on a blog, you are biting the karmic weenie," says Steve Hayden, vice chairman of advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather, which creates blogs for clients. "The negative reaction will be so great that, whatever your intention was, it will be overwhelmed and crushed like a bug. You're fighting with very powerful forces because it's real people's opinions."
Or, as Mazda learned when it launched a "cloaked" blog allegedly by a Gen. Y hipster to promote the Mazda 3, which was exposed as a fraud after all of 72 hours, trying to game the blogosphere doesn't work; it was a "learning experience," according to a Mazda flack.
Business Week: This week's cover story, "Blogs Will Change Your Business," starts with this simple piece of advice: "Catch up...or catch you later."
· "How big are blogs? Try Johannes Gutenberg out for size."
· They provide a primer about blogging for the corporate types (including the meaning of "dooced," which is not nearly as salacious as it sounds).
· A profile of a business that has jumped into blogging whole-hog (or perhaps we should say "whole-cow," since they sell yogurt—which you would think is far less reliant on critical analysis and commentary than, say, the law).
· "Six Tips for Corporate Bloggers" says "you can't afford to miss this wave," and tip #6 is the scary, but ever-so-true, "be transparent."
Still not convinced? Pretty sure none of the AmLaw 100 are toying with what still sounds to you like Kryptonite? Guess again: At least one AmLaw 50 firm has written an extensive article, "Blogging for Law Firms: Not Why, But When and How." If that doesn't convince you, welcome to the 19th Century.”
Source: Adam Smith, Esq., 22 April 2005
Jim blogs: “Law Professor Blogs is a still-expending network of web logs designed to assist law professors with information and daily news in their academic field. Right now the areas covered include antitrust, criminal law, health law, labor law, contracts, sentencing and more. This site is projected to grow and add new blogs. That's what makes it a "must bookmark" site for the practicing lawyer as well as law professors.”
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 25 April 2005
From the e-newsletter: "FindLaw guest columnist, attorney, and author Noah Leavitt parallels two key debates. One is the split between those who would prefer to see weaker international institutions (such as Ambassador to the U.N. nominee John Bolton) and those who counsel U.S. respect and support for such institutions (such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice). Another is the split between those who believe it is appropriate to cite foreign law and international law in U.S. courts -- and those who consider the practice anathema. Leavitt argues that it is not inherent to conservatism to oppose international institutions, nor to oppose the use of international and foreign law in U.S. courts. Indeed, he notes that conservatives, like liberals, might benefit from being able to cite international and foreign law sources."
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International Law Resources
Source: FindLaw's WRIT Legal Commentary
22 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved
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From the e-newsletter: “FindLaw columnist, Hofstra law professor, and visiting University of North Carolina law professor Joanna Grossman discusses the Supreme Court's recent Smith v. Jackson ruling. The decision recognizes "disparate impact" age discrimination claims -- that is, claims that a particular policy or practice of an employer disproportionately affects older workers. But, as Grossman explains, it also makes such claims harder to bring. Grossman contends that the decision fits into a recent trend of Supreme Court employment discrimination cases in which the Court recognizes a right to sue on a particular legal theory, but makes suits under that theory difficult to bring.”
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Employment Discrimination: Overview
Source: FindLaw's WRIT Legal Commentary
22 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved
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From the Law Librarian Blog: "With the Trial Advocacy Blog, the librarians at the Temple Law Library have come up with a great idea, an academic law library blog that focuses on one area of law, in this case, the literature and skills needed for trial advocacy. This must have come naturally to the blog editors because Temple University's Beasley School of Law has one of the best trial advocacy programs in the country.
Started at the beginning of this academic year (September 2004 to be exact), The Trail Advocacy Blog features current developments, recent books and law reviews on trial advocacy.
IMHO, Trial Advocacy Blog is a model for law library blogs that want to specialize on one of their institution's strengths. Instead of trying to be eveything for everyone, the blog focuses of aiding what their institute does best. And by doing so, the Trial Advocacy Blog make a unique contribution to the law library blog community.”
Source: Law Librarian Blog, 22 April 2005 [Via the Blawg Republic]
In the news: "A good trial attorney taking apart a star witness during cross-examination puts the "confront" in the confrontation clause. It's hard to imagine achieving the same wallop if the witness is ensconced in a foreign country thousands of miles away and beamed into the courtroom via two-way television videoconferencing. But the growing internationalization of prosecutions has the government trying to convince courts that videoconference testimony is practical, effective -- and constitutional."
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
22 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “Here are a couple of first hand accounts on going solo: The First Year, a short blog post by patent attorney Russ Kraject (4/17/05) and Hanging Out A Shingle: Following the Dream of Starting Your Own Firm, Jaime Levy Pessin reprinted from Law Bulletin at the Legal Match Weblog (3/16/05).”
Source: MyShingle, 21 April 2005
Edison Ellenberger posts: "Wired News (April 20) reports that Rapsheets, a company that ChoicePoint purchased last year, will implement a new policy on April 25 to ensure compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If a search of the Rapsheets database for employment or volunteer-screening purposes retrieves a criminal record for an individual, Rapsheets "will automatically notify the person and provide him or her with a copy of the background report and the name and address of the organization that requested it."
The article adds that ScreenNow and VolunteerSelect are two other divisions of ChoicePoint already in compliance with the notification policy."
Source: E-LawLibrary Weblog, 20 April 2005
Buying or Selling a Car
From the e-newsletter: “If you borrow money to buy a car, what should the lender tell you about your loan? What are "lemon laws" and how do they protect car buyers? If you sell your used car, do you need to give a warranty to the buyer? If you are buying or selling a car, FindLaw for the Public's "Car Ownership" topic has helpful tips, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. Click on the links below to learn more.”
Buying a New Car FAQ
http://public.findlaw.com/lemon/nolo/faq/6B260BDD-DB8C-410B-870A4AD0EAB68466.html
The New Car Contract
http://public.findlaw.com/lemon/newcontent/consumerlaw/chp9_b.html
Buying a Used Car FAQ
http://public.findlaw.com/lemon/nolo/faq/1E82C494-DE74-45AD-B74A7783CF0E9841.html
Buying or Selling a Used Car
http://public.findlaw.com/lemon/newcontent/consumerlaw/chp9_c.html
Lemon Laws and Other Special Protections
http://public.findlaw.com/lemon/newcontent/consumerlaw/chp9_d.html
Source: FindLaw's PUBLIC ADVISOR
A Weekly FindLaw Newsletter Providing News and Resources for the Public
21 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved.
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From the e-newsletter: "If you work as an independent contractor, or are self-employed, there are a number of things to keep in mind concerning the work you do, your legal rights, and your obligations. The "Independent Contractors and Self-Employment" topic in FindLaw for the Public's Employees' Rights Center can help you get the information you need -- from how to determine if you are an independent contractor or an employee, to tips for creating a written agreement with your client, and how to file income taxes as a self-employed taxpayer. Click on the link below to get started."
http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-more-
topics/employment-employee-independent-contractor-top.html
Source: FindLaw's PUBLIC ADVISOR
A Weekly FindLaw Newsletter Providing News and Resources for the Public
21 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Genie Tyburski posts: “Corporate Counsel's survey of in-house counsel is now available. Results indicate that corporate legal departments have begun to accept the necessity of catching up with the rest of the corporate world. "[M]ore than half of the businesses surveyed (55 percent) have requested that outside counsel obtain a specific technological product or capability. And a small but noteworthy number (8 percent) have fired a firm because of its lack of tech offerings."
SEE, 2005 In-House Tech Survey
Law.com, 21 April 2005
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
21 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Bonnie Shucha posts: "The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) has produced two useful sources for job seekers:
· The 2005-2006 Directory of Legal Employers (database) - Search or browse by employer (includes private practice firms and corporations and public interest organizations and government agencies). Contains contact info and employment statistics for each employer.
· The 2004-2005 Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide (pdf) - Includes job descriptions of many federal departments and agencies, as well as tips, employee profiles and links to additional resources.
Source: NESLReference
My Source: WisBlawg, 20 April 2005
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “For some time, I'm sure, some law firms large and small, have offered alternatives to the billable hour and probably more have started to do so or at least consider it since Matt Homann started blogging. But what's different about the alternative billing approach just announced by McGuire Woods (reported in Hourly Legal Fees Under Attack - Chicago Tribune 4/18/05) is that the firm plans to actively market fee flexibility:
In an advertising campaign to begin Monday, McGuireWoods LLP will market its ability to tailor fees for its legal services that go beyond the traditional hourly rate. The ads, to appear in Crain's Chicago Business, the Midwest edition of Fortune magazine and other local publications, is expected to create a stir in the Chicago legal community because the Richmond, Va.-based firm is taking shots at the competition.
In one ad, a pudgy, balding, middle-aged man in a business suit leans back in a chair and blows bubbles into the air. The caption reads, "Law firms that charge strictly by the hour are about to have their bubbles burst."
The reason that this concept interests me so much is that conventional wisdom suggests that solos shouldn't try to compete with large firms on price, but rather, should sell experience, personal service and expertise. (Personally, and perhaps to my detriment, I've never fully adopted that approach in my own firm marketing; as my firm website shows, I do sell my firm's lower cost and my commitment to stick to my fee estimates) Yet here, a large firm is now doing just that: using price as a way to distinguish itself. I'm curious to see whether this kind of strategy will reduce the cost of large firm services. But as a solo, I'm still not worried, because even with flexible pricing, bigfirms still carry way too much overhead to depress fees so that they can compete with me.
What role does pricing play in your marketing strategy? Send me your comments below.”
Source: MyShingle, 19 April 2005
Sabrina Pacifici posts: "From the free content section of the April 21 WSJ, A Cottage Industry Blooms To Help Victims of ID Theft examines the costs and range of services offered by companies who market assistance to victims of online or offline ID theft. In addition, potential red flags about, and the limitations to, these services are noted."
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
20 April 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by Tom Mighell: “The big news on Wednesday was that Google has rolled out a beta version of My Search History, which allows you to easily view and manage your search history from any computer on the Internet. It's free to use, but you have to be logged in for your search queries to be recorded. You can run your search from the main Google page or the Search History link mentioned above.
The Search History page displays a list of your searches, by date or relevance. As your search queries start to build, Google tries to group them together, to make it easier for you to find related concepts. As Chris Sherman says in Google Personalizes the Web, this is one seriously cool search tool.”
Source: Inter Alia, 21 April 2005
Bob Rankin and Patrick Crispen (I forgot which!): "On a slightly less somber note, those of you who use wireless Internet access in public places should take some simple precautions to make sure you're not broadcasting your passwords and other personal info to others in the vicinity.
Recently I met with a group of Internet professionals, all of us sporting laptops with wireless connections to the hotel's access point. On the second day of the conference, one of the attendees put up a slide on the overhead showing logins and passwords from a dozen of the attendees. Needless to say, many jaws dropped open.
He was running a "sniffer" program that anyone can download to spy on the internet traffic floating around in the air. Fortunately, he was a trusted colleague, and was nice enough to tell us that we were caught with our virtual pants down.
---> So here are a few tips to help you surf safely in Starbucks.
First, be aware that (almost) ANYTHING that you type or any info that appears on your screen while you're using a wireless connection can be seen by others nearby.
If you are accessing a page that requires a login & password, or if you are entering ANY personal data (credit card, SSN, etc) make sure that you are on a secure site. That's easy enough -- just check that the web address begins with HTTPS instead of the usual HTTP -- and your information will be safely encrypted before transmission. As long as you're on a page with an address that begins with https, the data you send and receive is protected from sniffers and snoopers.
But be on your guard, some web-based email providers have a secure login page, but after you're logged in the access reverts to normal non-encrypted mode. So any email you send or receive while on a wireless connection is out in the clear. Google's GMail and Yahoo Mail are examples of webmail services that work this way. (Hotmail doesn't even offer a secure login option. Thanks, Microsoft!)
Oh, and there are the "shoulder surfers" to watch out for. Just like when you're entering your PIN code at an ATM, you need to keep an eye open for anyone who might be glancing over your shoulder while you hunt and peck in the airport or coffeeshop.
And finally, Beware of the Evil Twins! Aunty Spam's Net Patrol warns of a scam where a hacker may put up a bogus copy of the wi-fi hotspot's login page. Learn how to stay safe from this attack by reading this helpful article:
http://www.aunty-spam.com/wifi-hotspot-evil-twins-mimic-wi-fi-hotspots-and-
steal-your-data/
Source: TOURBUS
Volume 10, Number 57
19 April 2004
Copyright 1995-2005, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved
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Jim Calloway posts: “We've all sat through lots of PowerPoint presentations─some good and some not-so-good. Many "experts" are saying you shouldn't use PowerPoint now. Well, they are wrong IMHO. There is a lot of research that concludes that people remember information better when they receive it through both their eyes and ears. However, if you use the standard templates bundled with PowerPoint, you run the risk that someone in the audience (or jury) will have seen the color scheme before and be less attentive or distracted by thoughts of the prior programs. Enter Brainy Betty with many unusual free fonts and PowerPoint templates for you to download and use. These are not just primary colors rearranged, but very professional designs. She also provides tutorials and lots of advanced information about preparing presentations. Great site.
Please do not misunderstand me. A bad PowerPoint is still bad. Speakers should look at the audience, not their own PowerPoint. And excessively clinging to a PowerPoint may suck all of the life and poetry out of a speech. See, e.g. The Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint.”
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 21 April 2004
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “Even if you own your own practice, don't forget, you can still lose your job: according to this article, Law Firms Learn to Measure Client Satisfaction, San Jose Biz Journal (4/8/05), almost 60 percent of companies have fired or are considering firing at least one of their outside law firms, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Counsel based in Washington, DC. To avoid this fate, some firms are starting to pay closer attention to client needs, including conducting client surveys. Although the article reports that some larger firms are hiring professional consultants to perform surveys, seems to me that the best start is the personal touch; to just pick up the phone and ask how your clients are doing and if there's anything you can do for them.”
Source: MyShingle.com, 19 April 2005
Sabrina Pacifici posts: "From the Federal Judiciary Newsroom today: "Implementation of the federal judiciary's Case Management and Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system continues in appellate, district and bankruptcy courts across the country. The new system provides courts with the option to have case file documents in electronic form, and to accept filings over the Internet. Details.
Source: beSpacific- Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
19 April 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Kevin O'Keefe posts: "An interesting discussion over at Between Lawyers about LexisNexis recent sponsorship of the The Law Professor Blogs Network.
My take is if all they are getting is the cost of running and hosting a blog, that's too little. Sponsorship of blogs when the blog has good content is a good value for the sponsor - all depending on the size of the readership of course.
Gawker Media, which hosts a number of blogs drawing a very large audience gets sponsors of their content paying significant sums. The day is going to come (probably very soon) when a law firm sponsors a blog on a niche topic on which they practice for which the firm may write very little, if any, content.
Plaintiff's trial law firms spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in marketing. In many cases their Internet presences suck. Sponsoring a blog for $75,000 a year focused on a particular product and the injuries & lives it has cost people is peanuts for a firm handling cases on behalf of injured victims and their families. Such a blog could be written, edited and produced by anyone other than the firm and still offer valuable content to people. By sponsoring the blog, the firm reaches their target audience.
I was on a panel with Gabby Darbyshire, director of business development for Gawker Media, a few weeks ago in New York City. She pointed out that some bloggers are too concerned with who is writing the content, who is the sponsor and what you call the thing - a blog or a Web site. If the content is good and draws people, it can be a great marketing buy for a sponsor. I agree. The end user only cares about the information provided, not who is writing the content."
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 19 April 2005
In the news: “Companies that regulate their workers' appearance -- from banning tattoos to mandating makeup -- are facing a growing number of appearance-based discrimination lawsuits, involving everything from eyebrow rings to sexy clothing. "It's not the IBM loose white shirt world anymore," said employment attorney Henry Perlowski, who predicted that as more and more "different" looking people enter the work force, "the tensions between culture and policy are going to escalate."
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
20 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In the news: “Though the gains are modest, law firms are seeking more associates for their upcoming summer programs and making more offers for full-time employment to last summer's participants, according to a recent survey tracking job placement. In addition, the rate of full-time job offers that law firms made to their summer associates in 2004 increased to levels close to those in 2000. Says a recruiter, "Law firms are cautiously optimistic, but they're not going back to explosive hiring."
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire
20 April 2005
Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Sabrina Pacifici posts: "From the WSJ free content, Where to Find Diversity-Minded Employers
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici
19 April 2005
Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “Gee, what should this advice seeker and recent grad (at NY Lawyer) do here? Work for $19 an hour doing document review at a large firm in hopes of getting some experience? Or continue to look for a more challenging permanent position? Uh, what about the most obvious option: working for yourself. Even if you have doubts about finding clients, court appointed cases pay $60 or more in New York. And you could also find lawyers to pay a bar admitted attorney at least $30/hr to perform legal research or writing or make a court appearance. Plus, what better way to find a permanent position than to involve yourself with all of the networking needed to start a law practice?”
Source: MyShingle, 19 April 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: "In yesterday's news summary about the official release of Onfolio 2.0, I said it worked only with Internet Explorer. I'm happy to say I'm wrong. The new version also works with Firefox, as noted in the "new features" list.
EARLIER, Onfolio 2.0 Packs Power
TVC Alert, 19 April 2005
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
20 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Kevin O’Keefe posts: “Gary Stein publishing a blog as part of the Jupiter Research Analyst Weblog group, has surprisingly found blogs to be powerful company marketing vehicles. He says exposing our analysts' insight helps establish us as thought leaders.
In an excellent post, Gary covers what can a blog do to promote a company and some best practices gleaned from his experiences. Here's the highlights.
· Enhance the conversation. Determine if the information you're writing about is already widely known. If it is, there's little value in simply pointing to it. If something significant happens, post about it only if add clear value. The best way to do this is to provide commentary.
· Link to and comment on others. A great practice is to blog specifically about something another blogger said or did. Your post isn't about a particular event but what the other blogger wrote about that event. This is core blogging practice, but be careful not to let it lead to a tight loop in which you blog about someone else blogging, then she blogs about your blogging. No one wants to read intimate conversations between a few friends.
· Include topic-related keywords in titles. If you blog about duct tape, use 'duct tape' in your posts' titles. This is pure SEO (search engine optimization). Though someone may do a search on your name and blog, but it's more likely someone will search a general term relevant to the topic on which you blog. It's a great opportunity to acquire new customers.
· Unearth interesting things to share. Use an RSS aggregator to search for particular terms related to the topi on which you blog. You will find tidbits the community at large has missed. Bringing these up can catalyze conversations, and you'll often get links back to you.
· Let your personality out. Blogs are about topics, but they also have a very strong personality element. Find ways to occasionally break the barrier and demonstrate you're a in real person. It helps build a relationship between you and your audience and humanizes the blog's overall feel.
Great stuff Gary. For law firms and legal marketing professionals unfamiliar with JupiterResearch, they are part of Jupitermedia and a leading international research advisory organization specializing in business and technology market research in 18 business areas and 14 vertical markets.
As evidence of how well their blogs work, I come across the company and their analysts a lot more today, via their blogs, than I did when they hosted large education functions here in a Seattle in the late 90's. Those cost a lot of money and required follow up emails etc to get us to rsvp and come to the event. Now I drop by on the net all the time when I run across what they are writing on their blogs.
Law firms still spending big dollars on seminars ought to take notice.”
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 18 April 2005
Sue Altmeyer [I think] posts: "The Northern District of Ohio has made changes to its local rules, effective May 1, 2005. To see the new rules, go to: Northern District of Ohio, http://www.ohnd.uscourts.gov/Clerk_s_Office/Local_Rules/local_rules.html and look under "Latest Civil Revisions" and "Latest Criminal Revisions".
Source: The Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 15 April 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: "Should the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure be updated to address electronic discovery, or should the rules for electronic documents be the same as those for paper? After holding hearings and reviewing more than 250 comments, the Discovery Subcommittee of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee "is expected to announce this week its decision of whether to go forward with the proposed amendments." A key case spotlighting the controversy is Coleman Parent Holdings, Inc. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., which is currently before Judge Elizabeth Maass in Palm Beach County Circuit.
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
18 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Ernest Svenson: “Technology is everywhere, a necessary part of our already too-complicated lives. Every day a new device enters our life, promising to make us more productive. But these new devices are more like needy infants, demanding that we set them up properly and pay them proper attention. The more sophisticated devices require periodic rebooting. Few of these devices talk to one another, so we have to learn to translate. We have become bewildered shephards tending to a restless battery-powered flock.
Let's consider the origins of the problem.
It all starts when we enter one of those brightly lit stores, filled with colorful techno-wizardry. Thousands of gadgets and thousands of software programs line the shelves. Each type of gadget or software has several brands. Each brand of software has several versions. And, of course, all of the gadgets are powered by software. When you buy a new gadget you can be fairly certain that it will not have the latest software, so when you take it home the first thing you have to do is connect to the Internet to download it. Then you have to figure out how to install the software. If you need help you can’t telephone the manufacturer; you have visit their website. Good luck finding the right webpage.
A simpler way is needed, one in which we can accomplish great things with less technology. We need a set of principles that will help us better control the technology tools that we encounter in our lives. Here is a set of principles to consider:
1. Tools that are easiest to use are best
2. Tools that work reliably are best
3. Tools that do several things at once are best
Simple principles like these bring to mind the ancient art of Feng Shui, which seeks to introduce harmony into an environment by proper placement of objects in that space. A simple, well-arranged work space enhances the productivity of those who labor there. Likewise, proper management of technology can enhance productivity and lower our stress, while haphazard use of technology quickly brings about mayhem and anxiety. How can we have order in our lives when there is so much technology strewn about, incessantly demanding our feeble attention?
We need principles, but we need more than mere principles. We need specific advice on how to create order out of chaos. We need the equivalent of a Feng Shui guide who will help us arrange and manage the technology in our lives. In that spirit this site was created.
Simplifying anything is not an easy task, and this is especially true of technology. We can’t promise that the effort will be easy, only that it will be worthwhile.”
Source: Tech Feng Shui
Genie Tyburski posts: “Gary Price provides an overview of several tools for conducting searches with a cell phone or handheld device.”
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
19 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Genie Tyburski: “Onfolio, Inc. announces the official release of version 2.0. I have worked with the software for about two months and find it tremendously helpful, especially when conducting investigative research. It enables capturing (making a copy of) Web pages or other documents and sharing them as well as your research notes. It supports publishing the research results to a secure Web site or extranet. You may even keep clients up to date with the research via an RSS feed. If you prefer, you may also e-mail or blog what you capture. The only limitation is, it works with Internet Explorer 5.5 and higher, and not with any other browser.”
SEE, Onfolio
Source: TVC Alert, The Virtual Chase
19 April 2005
Copyright: 1999 - 2005 Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP. All rights reserved.
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Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “A recent study by the Knight Foundation found that high school students know little about the First Amendment -- 49 percent say newspapers should not be able to publish stories without government approval, 75 percent think flag burning is illegal, and nearly 50 percent believe the government can censor the Internet. In response, the Knight Foundation has launched a Web site, Future of the First Amendment, [Loved the jokes!] to promote First Amendment awareness and journalism teaching among students.”
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Law Sites, 15 April 2005
From the e-newsletter: "Former member of Congress Bob Barr discusses recent technological developments relating to the perennial tradeoff between privacy and security -- and explains why, in his view, it is crucial to favor privacy in the balance. He also discusses the strategy of regulating the dissemination of private information -- arguing that it is better to allow some information databases and regulate them, than to drive them from our shores."
Read full text
Source: FindLaw's WRIT Legal Commentary
15 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved
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Posted by Larry Bodine: “Joan Stewart, affectionately known as The Publicity Hound, has spotted 4 new trends in public relations. They are reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," a free ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. You can subscribe at www.PublicityHound.com and receive free by email the handy list "89 Reaons to Send a News Release." Here are the trends:
Trend #1: Blogging
By far, this is the most important development in the last year, and not just for PR people. Even though blogs have been around for several years, they're growing at the rate of at least 30,000 new blogs a day. Yes, a DAY. You no longer have to rely only on the media to get your message to the masses. You can create your own blog (short for web log) in an hour or two, and communicate directly with your customers and the public. Blog expert Peter Blackshaw of Inteliseek said blogs are like "megaphones on steroids." He told a group of about 130 PR people: "Whether you think bloggers are crackpots or not, many consumers trust them more than they trust you." (Stay tuned next week as I introduce The Publicity Hound's blog.)
Trend #2: RSS Feeds
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It means you automatically send your blog posts or new content at your website to those who ask for it. That might include everybody from your customers and shareholders to journalists who cover your topic. You, too, can use RSS feeds as a valuable research tool, and a great way to check up on what your competitors are doing if you subscribe to RSS feeds from their sites and from blogs that keep you up to date on industry trends.
Trend #3: Online Media Rooms
Surveys show an increasing number of journalists are doing research online. Yet they're frustrated by the inability of companies to post up-to-date, relevant information at their websites. Reporters are bothered by things such as flash sites, poor navigation, no immediate contact information, forms they're asked to fill out, no print-quality images, and things they must download. Remember that many of them are still on slow dial-up connections.
Trend #4: PR Measurement
Gone are the days when people measured the success of their PR campaigns by a bucket full of clippings. These days, smart promoters are measuring business outcomes. They're asking questions like: Did our publicity change minds? Move markets? Influence people's decisions? Did we sell more? Did we increase market share? In other words, before you begin a PR campaign, carefully define your goals. Then launch the campaign. Then judge the success of the campaign by whether or not the publicity helped you reach your goals."
Source: Larry Bodine’s Professional Marketing Blog, 16 April 2005
From the e-newsletter: "Tens of thousands of Americans who want to wipe out their debts in bankruptcy court would have to schedule repayment plans instead under legislation Congress approved on Thursday. . . The measure would require people with incomes above a certain level to pay credit-card charges, medical bills and other obligations under court-ordered bankruptcy plans."
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Bankruptcy & Debt: Get Help Now
Source: FindLaw's PUBLIC ADVISOR
A Weekly FindLaw Newsletter Providing News and Resources for the Public
15 March 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 FindLaw, Inc. All rights reserved.
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From the Between Lawyers blogsite: "Today brings news that a group of bloggers has submitted an amicus brief in the writ proceedings concerning Apple's efforts to discover the sources of certain rumor site stories. As far as I know this is the first time bloggers have banded together to use the legal process to weigh in on a pending legal issue — in addition to blogging about it, of course.
[Update] Thanks to xrlq for pointing out this may be the first case, but (by a few days) not the first time: Bloggers speak up in Apple case
Source: Between Lawyers, 15 April 2005
From Feedmelegal: "In her interesting article "Blogger in the house: The rise of 'blawging' as a knowledge-sharing tool", published recently in Managing Partner magazine, Joy London, a knowledge and training manager at an international law firm, discusses the nature of blogging and its utility for knowledge management. The article's many insightful comments include this one:
"A well-designed blawg can serve as a critical document-management tool for organising and archiving legal information. The very act of trading relevant links and useful ideas electronically, via blog posts and reader response, captures crucial matter-related content automatically, rendering it searchable and browsable. ... the firm acquires a valuable, annotated repository, user-friendly and equally accessible to individual lawyers, internal practice groups ... and organisational departments ... . Not incidentally, both productivity and information exchange increase through better time management and resource allocation."
Joy's closing paragraph includes the observation that blogging has demonstrated its viability as an adaptable online force and that, as the blogosphere continues to mature, more lawyers will implement blawgs in unexpected ways. I wholeheartedly agree.
I don't know Joy, but in this observer's humble opinion, her firm is fortunate to have a knowledge and training manager on board who completely gets this technology (and who evidently "got it" a long time ago) and the efficiencies it can bring to the capture and utilisation of intellectual capital to the benefit of internal and external clients alike. (For the avoidance of doubt, my own firm is equally fortunate for the quality of its KM and training staff but it would be imprundent to name them here.)
Source: Feedmelegal, 16 April 2005
From Fred Langa: "For an industry built on logic--- at their deepest level, computers are logic circuits--- blatant illogic somehow manages to cloud many issues.
Take FireFox, for example, a very nice browser from Mozilla.Org. It's free, Open Source, and the result of literally years of development. It's also a cross-platform application, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux--- a huge plus in computationally diverse environments because the configuration and training/learning curve is basically the same, no matter what platform the browser's installed on. Its human language support also is extensive, with versions in everything from Afrikaans to Welsh. No question: it's impressive software.
Some also like it simply because it's not from Microsoft. I think this approach has some merit: Whenever Microsoft loses serious competition in any software category, it grows complacent, and the pace of innovation slackens. IE6, for example, came out in 2001; an eternity ago, in computing terms. Except for a boatload of security updates and patches, it's still basically the same browser it was then.
But, US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team), a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the public and private sectors that impartially tracks all manner of security issues in operating systems and major applications, shows that the list of IE's current vulnerabilities is shorter than those for FireFox, Mozilla, and the other alternate browsers. Likewise, it also lists fewer Windows' vulnerabilities than for the other OSes.
The last time I mentioned a similar US-CERT finding, by the way, Linux partisans leapt up to tell me that US-CERT didn't know what it was doing. Linux *couldn't* have more security flaws than Windows! Everyone *knows* that Open Source software is so much better than anything from Microsoft --- right?
Well, to the dismay the more rabid anti-Microsoft partisans, reports from other independent observers corroborated CERT's findings. For example, between July 1 and December 31, 2004, Symantec documented 13 serious vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Internet Explorer, but found 21 vulnerabilities affecting each of the Mozilla-based browsers. But don't take my word for it--- read the reports for yourself, see the methodologies for yourself, and decide for yourself: The article posted now (free!) at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=160900911 has all the details and links you'll need.
I wrote that article to try to help readers interested in FireFox in particular and Open Source in general to make an informed decision. There are many, many excellent, proven, objective benefits to switching to Open Source software--- but there's also a lot of misinformation, and some very, very *bad* reasons to switch.
For example, the "common knowledge" that FireFox is "more secure than IE" simply is false. Switching to FireFox for that particular reason--- in the belief that you'll magically and automatically be more secure--- is just plain wrong.
But again, don't trust me, or any third party: Come see the source material for yourself, and make up your own mind. It'll only take a few minutes, and one way or the other--- whether you agree or disagree with me --- you'll have the facts at hand, and so can make an informed judgment, rather than one based on "common knowledge."
Click on over to http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=160900911!
Source: The LangaList Standard Edition
18 April 2005
Copyright (c) 2005 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved.
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Arnie Herz posts: “The experts culled for this article on law firm design advise that our work space should reflect our “firm’s identity.” In cultivating our physical plant, they say, we need to consider how we want others to perceive our business and incorporate “specific materials to create the desired impression.” For example, firms looking “to project an established, old-school image should focus on materials that depict antiquity,” like solid woods and leather upholstery. Those wanting to draw “high-tech markets and younger, progressive clients” should employ “[c]ontemporary colors and bright materials like chrome and metal.” This guidance presumes that we fashion our office space largely to affect clients and other office guests. That’s a fair presumption. But, it misses the more important point that our workplace’s design affects and reflects our own state. The article obliquely addresses this point in its discussion of Feng Shui, the “Chinese art or practice of positioning objects [ ] and furniture based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.”
My wife and I have used Feng Shui at home and at work with the help of our good friend, the very talented Reiko Gomez of Reiko Feng Shui Interior Design. Upon walking into my office, people often comment on how calm, inviting and energizing it is. And my mediation clients tell me that the environment is conducive to resolution. I’m thrilled for them, but even happier for me. Absent this design synergy, I wouldn’t be as content or efficient during my long work day.”
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