Not high school team spirit, but a Disaster Plan. Jonathan Stein reminds us of the importance of having and dispersing one, and gives some good tips to get you started if you don’t have one. If Katrina didn’t scare you into starting one, make it your number one priority for 2006!
Read full text of Jonathan’s blog at:
Source: The Practice, 29 December 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Here's another Web 2.0-ish tool, one that is pretty nifty for scheduling meetings. It's called MeetWithApproval, and it's a snap to use. Just create an event, list a few dates that you're considering for your meeting/party/reunion/whatever, and send out e-mail invites to everyone who's attending. After all the attendees choose their best dates, the meeting will be confirmed through an e-mail sent to everyone. A nice way to avoid the back and forth of e-mails trying to find out availability for a meeting."
Get active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 29 December 2005
From Wayne Schiess: "'Nominalization’ is the grammarian's way of saying that you took a perfectly good verb, turned it into a noun, and then you had to add helping verbs to get the same meaning across. Nominalizations appear regularly in legal writing and contribute to that stuffy, bureaucratic odor that floats around much legal writing.”
For examples of nomimalizations and excerpts from Better Legal Writing, go to:
Source: Legalwriting.net, 27 December 2005
Kevin O’Keefe posts: “Most blog publishers focus on online methods for building traffic. Ted Demopoulos, a corporate communications professional and co-author of Blogging for Business, has seven offline tips for increasing blog traffic.”
To view these seven tips and get active links, go to:
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 28 December 2005
Jim posts: “We're featuring dual Websites of the Week this week. Adobe's Rick Borstein publishes the blog Acrobat for Legal Professionals. Rick just needs to give us more content! His feature on redaction of PDF files is excellent. Granted he works for Adobe and when he examines alternatives to Adobe you don't expect he will conclude "buy this $20 knock-off" but his essay on alternatives is informative. Really. The blog PDF for Lawyers has been hitting its stride lately with lots of posts in December. It is by Ernie Svenson and Dave Fishel. (Yes, that Ernie.) There is a lot of information there. There are many good PDF websites, like PDF Zone, but I wanted to highlight these two weblogs focused on the legal profession.”
Active links and full text of the post are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 26 December 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Many businesses are finding that a wiki is a useful tool for collaborating in the workplace. Would a wiki be similarly useful for law firms? Likely not for solos, unless they are collaborating with lawyers in other firms. But it's definitely worth considering for larger firms. To determine whether a wiki's for you, read How to Use Wikis for Business from Information Week.”
Get active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 29 December 2005
Mary Ellen Bates on Kebberfegg, a kind of search engine for locating RSS feeds on a specific topic.
Read about it at:
Source: Bates, Mary Ellen. “Search Tip of the Month.” Copyright © 2005 Bates Information Services, Inc. December 2005. Subscribe <www.BatesInfo.com/subscribe.html>.
Sabrina posts this Press release: "A wide-ranging look at the way American women and men use the internet shows that men continue to pursue many internet activities more intensively than women, and that men are still first out of the blocks in trying the latest technologies. At the same time, there are trends showing that women are catching up in overall use and are framing their online experience with a greater emphasis on deepening connections with people."
· Report: How Women and Men Use the Internet (54 pages, PDF)
· See also this Pew Research Center Commentary, What Was and Wasn't on the Public's Mind...And How Opinions Changed During 2005
For active links to to the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
In the news: “Lawyer jokes aren't just good for a laugh -- they tell us about the state of the legal profession. And they're not just generic shark/bottom-feeder cracks anymore. They've become personal, passed along among associates who feel unappreciated. Marc Galanter, professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and author of "Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture," found that high tension between older partners and younger associates has resulted in a new, bitter brand of lawyer humor.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Jonathan Stein of The Practice blog offers lots of GREAT stress-reducing tips for a stress-laden time of year. Though they come from Men’s Health, they are equal opportunity tips!
Read his list at the source below.
Source: The Practice, 28 December 2005
From the blog: “The New York Times reports on one aspect that separated the recent New York City transit strike from previous ones–the ability of some workers to function remotely from the office…
The article underscores the challenges to lawyers who only interact with their clients by phone, fax or email. The good news is that it can be very efficient. The bad news is that it may not always be very effective…
In the law firm environment, it is common for some partners and very common for some associates to have never personally met a long-term client. I feel that if a lawyer ever wants to move up the trust food chain with a client, you have to supplement good service and high value with a personal relationship. With a personal relationship, you are less likely to be thrown into this year’s beauty contest with other commodity-type service providers.”
Read full text at the source site.
Source: The Wired GC, 27 December 2005
Dan Hull posts: “Rule Five: ‘Over-Communicate’: Bombard, Copy and Confirm
I am indebted to Jay Foonberg for the inspiration for Rule 5--both ‘bombarding’ and the idea of keeping clients continuously informed. Nearly all of my better thoughts about practice management are influenced by Jay Foonberg…
[T]his is a "can't miss" rule--and I am amazed that many good lawyers express surprise that my firm informs the client of everything at each step of the way, and copies our clients on everything.”
Full text and active links are available below.
Source: What About Clients, 27 December 2005
Posted by John Jantsch: “Think about this for a New Year's Marketing mantra: Tis better to get one generation tactic working reasonably well than to run off chasing the next cool thing…
Create one strategy, finish it, test it, improve it and use it without regret.”
Read full text at the source listed below.
Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 23 December 2005
Posted by Dennis Kennedy: "'Mining the Value of Metadata' is the new Thinking E-Discovery column from Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell and Evan Schaeffer over at DiscoveryResources.org. It's a wide-ranging discussion with quite a few practical pointers that may save you some future embarrassment.”
Get active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Between Lawyers, 27 December 2005
Bonnie Shucha points to two sources for finding documentation on a private business:
- “The Small Business Administration maintains database of companies to which they've made loans. The returns can include the gross receipts of the business, number of employees and owners.
- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) produces a monthly report of its litigation with companies . The online site doesn't have a database but you can quickly create one using Google.”
Read full text to learn how to create a database where once there was none!
Source: WisBlawg, 22 December 2005
Sabrina posts: “The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years - Here's PC World's official (and entirely idiosyncratic) list of the top tech gadgets of the last half century.”
Active link available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 27 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
I am honored to have been chosen for a “Best Site” and to share the honor with so many of the bloggers I read and respect tremendously! Tom Mighell, Kevin O'Keefe, Sabrina Pacifici, Evan Schaeffer, Marty Schwimmer, and Ernest Svenson, to name a few. Thank you Dennis!!
Read his complete list of great blogs at:
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 22 December 2005
Evan Schaeffer points to another legal blog awards site with even more categories and great blogs.
Visit his blog for the active link.
Source: Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground, 26 December 2005
From Jim’s post: “…Fred Faulkner asked the question "Are You Ready for Local Search?" He makes the point that as local search tools become more utilized by the public, it becomes an absolute necessity for a law firm to have a web site.
Let me be dogmatic. Every law firm of every practice setting and size needs to have a website.”
Visit the source site listed below for the above link and to read what you should incorporate into your site.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 23 December 2005
Evan Schaeffer adds further comments to last week’s post.
Be sure to also read the comments at the end of his post!
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 23 December 2005
If you are unhappy with your system be sure to read David Swanner’s Christmas Eve post at the South Carolina Trial Law Blog, which gives a great breakdown of what to look for and think about before you invest in a new system.
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 24 December 2005
In the news: “Burns & Levinson sixth-year associate Steve Brook knows that the best way to attain equity status at his firm is to drum up business for his corporate practice. A growing number of law firms want even their newest associates to learn how to develop business. And although firms are saying they have realistic expectations about a 20-something's ability to snag clients, more are requiring that young lawyers at least demonstrate an effort to bring in work if they want to rise above the associate ranks.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 27 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Bob Rankin asnswers the question with a link to “several excellent software packages that are truly free, high quality and useful.”
Go to: http://www.askbobrankin.com/the_best_free_software.html
Source: The Internet Tourbus. Volume 11, Number 32. 22 December 2005. Copyright 1995-2005, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved. Subscribe
My background as a former junior high school teacher and librarian is apparent in my choice of Ken Kozlowski’s post: “The opinions are dated in June and August of this year, but they were just posted to the Ethics Commission web site. The site does, however, offer the full texts of advisory opinions dating back to 1974.”
Full text and active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Ohio Law, 20 December 2005
Patrick Lamb posts: “I received this via email today. I know its a joke. But, its way too easy to see how many lawyers would do exactly this if required to write this for real. That said, its pretty darn funny.
The Night Before Christmas (An Attorney's Version)
Whereas, on or about the night prior to Christmas, there did occur at a certain improved piece of real property (hereinafter "the House") a general lack of stirring by all creatures therein, including, but not limited to a mouse….”
For a real treat, go to the source and continue reading!
Source: In Search of Perfect Client Service, 20 December 2005
Wayne Schiess posts: “I had to share this comment with all readers. I laughed until I stopped:
"Vel non" is especially hilarious, because even its English translation is useless.
Whether, vel non, plaintiff complied . . .
Whether, or not, plaintiff complied . . .
Whether plaintiff complied . . .
A few years ago, someone, with a devilish intent, took a word processor and analyzed all the opinions for a given period of years issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. They counted the frequency of words and phrases. There was one judge who was stuck on "vel non." He used it hundreds of times, and more often than all the other judges combined. The study was published in the New York Law Journal, a daily read by nearly every lawyer in the New York City legal world.
Whether, vel non, that judge continued to use the phrase, vel non, is not well known to me.”
Sorry about the reposting, but this one was WAY too good to cut!! Please visit Wayne’s site at:
Source: Legalwriting.net, 20 December 2005
Jim posts: “OK, I'm only currently using three of the top ten, but PC World's 100 Best Products of 2005 is clearly worth some examination. And if you really need one of these products, you could do a lot worse than taking a recommendation from those fine folks at PC World magazine.”
Like most people out there, I have to go to #16 to get a hit! Oh my, what’s passing us by!!
Active list available at source site below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 19 December 2005
In the news: “As occupational exemptions for jury duty become relics, litigators are split on whether there's a need for instructions to keep jurors from relying on their expertise in evidentiary matters. Some courts have found that the exemptions' demise has led to more representative jury pools -- and sharper, more practical jurors. One exception, says prosecutor Joshua Marquis: lawyers. "They're terrible jurors," he says. "I should hit myself in the face with a stick if I ever let a lawyer on a jury again."
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 2 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Tom Collins posts: “I recently read an article dealing with service and support written by two technology vendors that I thought set the bar too low. It spelled out what the authors suggested, “firms and law departments should expect” from their vendor.
My view is simple. When you need assistance you should get it….
One piece of advice I pass along to managing partners is “Do not accept ‘no’ for an answer!”
… if the answer from the vendor is usually “no”, then you probably have the wrong software from the wrong vendor--and that reduces per-partner income.”
Read full text of this interesting post at:
Source: Morepartnerincome, 22 December 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Not satisfied with del.icio.us or My Web to hold your bookmarks? Take a look at LookLater, an online bookmarking service that is, unlike del.icio.us, private. [Emphasis – NOT a link]
Active link available from the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 21 December 2005
Map Political Contributions in Your Zip Code
<http://www.researchbuzz.org/2005/12/map_political_contributions_in.shtml>
Tara writes: “Matthew Kane did a Google Mashup for a class at Indiana University and we all benefit! His project allows you to enter a zip code and get two pie charts and a Google map of campaign donators; you can check it out at http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~markane/i590/contributors.html.”
Source: ResearchBuzz #361. 22 December 2005. Copyright 2005. Tara Calishain. Subscribe <http://www.researchbuzz.com/>.
In the e-newsletter: “If you are thinking about selling your home, or if you have already placed your house on the market, the Homeownership section of FindLaw for the Public's Real Estate Center can provide you with information and resources at every step of the home-selling process -- setting the price, timing the sale, your legal disclosure obligations as a home-seller, and the property transfer procedure. Click on the link below to get started:
http://realestate.findlaw.com/homeownership/home-selling.html
State-by-State Property and Real Estate Laws”
Source: FindLaw’s PUBLIC ADVISOR. 22 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe
In the news: “With technology already providing much in the way of trial support, it seems only natural that virtual communication has begun filling the mock jury gap. When Sophie Woodworth of Sanders, Simpson & Fletcher used an online mock jury for the first time, "We wanted to see if we were on the right track with our intended argument," she says. "The feedback supported our positions. The process was quick, and the best part was it required a minimum of effort on our part." But some doubts about online juries remain.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 22 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Dennis posts: "Take a minute and try this exercise: add up the time you spend looking for files, looking for misfiled information, designing filing and calendaring systems and digging through the rubble on your desk in the average day. (As a starting point, the average person spends sixteen minutes a day just looking for lost items.) Multiply that by the number of days you work in a year. Multiply that times your hourly billing rate. Ponder that amount.
Lawyers spend an inordinate amount of time looking for information and attending to administrative details. And, if true is money, lawyers should be adopting ways to decrease the amount of unproductive time they spend….
Let's consider the reasons that lawyers give for not using case management software.
1. "I Don't Know What It Is."
2. "It Costs Too Much."
3. "It's Too Complicated."
4. "It Doesn't Match My Needs."
5. "I'm Too Busy."
6. "The Software Will Govern My Life."
7. "I'll Lose Money If I'm More Efficient."
Conclusion: There is a grain of truth in most of the common objections to case management software. On closer examination, however, the objections tend to dissolve.”
Read full text – there’s lots more interesting discussion.
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 20 December 2005-12-22
Jonathan Stein posts: “As the new year approaches, my friend, Allison Shields of LegalEase Consulting, has a great post about setting goals for the new year. (For the record, I think Allison is a great consultant and those of you looking for a consultant, especially those in New York, should talk to her.)
Allison's premise is that you should choose three goals and try to accomplish those during the next year. As Allison said, "After all, with practicing law, do you really need more than three projects or tasks to focus on in a year? " Which then leads to the obvious question, how do you choose three goals?”
Read how Jonathan arrives at his goals at:
Source: The Practice, 21 December 2005
Posted by John Jantsch: “As some of you may know I have started a marketing podcast site to compliment this blog. I feature interviews with marketing experts, thought leaders, authors and regular old small business owners with a hot marketing tip to share.
This week I am recording calls with
Robert Scoble - Scobleizer publisher and author of Naked Conversations (w/ Shel Israel)
Scott Allen - guide for About.com's entrepreneur channel and author of The Virtual Handshake
Jason Fried - one of the contributors to the Signal vs. Noise blog and maker of Basecamp project management software service
John Battelle - publisher of Searchblog and author of The Search
Each show lasts about 20 minutes with hosting and recording services provided by my good friends at Conference Calls Unlimited.
That list should keep some iPods humming. Speaking of iPods, I went to the Apple store to pick-up some accessories and they had a guy with a table full of iPods out on the sidewalk selling iPods and scanning credit cards with a hand held scanner as fast as he could. Maybe there's something to this podcasting thing."
Active links available at the source site listed below.
Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 19 December 2005
Grant Griffiths posts: “I moved my office to my house the beginning of the year and it has been wonderful. Reflecting back on this past year, I thought I would express some of the issues I have had. In the process, I may be able to answer some of the questions I have also had this year from others considering the home office.
Some of what I am going to discuss comes from an article at StartupJournal.com.
• Teaching the kids to respect the office and work time.
* Keeping office stuff in the office.
• Controlling the phone, Internet and Faxes.
• Maintaining a schedule.
• Managing client perceptions and client contact.
• Staff.
• Staying motivated.
Please read the full text, he makes a lot of good points
Source: Home Office Lawyer, 21 December 2005
Bonnie Shucha posts: “Thanks to PDF for Lawyers for the link to the Electronic Discovery Primer for Judges in the Federal Courts Law Review from February 2005.
From the abstract:
The law of electronic discovery is beginning to emerge, but most issues are so unexplored that judges must still develop much important law... This article is a practical guide for judges to the main electronic discovery issues likely to be presented in the foreseeable future, and a brief discussion of possible solutions.
The article is available in HTML, PDF and WordPerfect format.”
Active links available at the source site below.
Source: WisBlawg, 21 December 2005
Sue Altmeyer posts: “In the case of Tori D. Phelps v. Brian K. Johnson, Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division case no. 05-305642, the petitioner requested a domestic violence civil protection order. The respondent moved to dismiss the case, because the domestic violence statute is unconstitutional when applied to unmarried couples, based on the so-called "gay marriage" amendment to the Ohio Constitution. Judge Celebrezze denied the motion to dismiss, holding that the "gay marriage" amendment violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. To read the opinion Download phelps_john.doc. See Ruling in Cuyahoga Could Gut Ohio Ban on Same-Sex Nuptial by Jim Nichols, The Plain Dealer, Dec. 18, 2005.
See our previous post: Twelfth District Holds Domestic Violence Statute Applies to Unmarried Defendant.”
Active links available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, December 20, 2005
Posted by Anthony Cerminaro: "Chris Campbell has compiled an excellent nut & bolts guide to starting your business...He covers chosing a structure, finding an accountant, bookkeeping, taxes, deductions, lawyers, copyright, contracts, and invoices, among other things." For links to the guide, please see this post from Startup Fever.”
Go to the source site for the active link.
Source: BizzBangBuzz, 20 December 2005
Jonathan Stein posts: “Another one of my friends and mentors, Mark Millen (who also is a heck of an attorney), sent me a link to a speech from Abraham Lincoln about two years ago this week. I have kept it bookmarked ever since. For those who want the text, it is here.”
For the link and the condensed version of the ten things you can learn from Abraham Lincoln (which may sound outdated, but still applies today) go to the source site listed below.
Source: The Practice, 20 December 2005
Silvia Coulter has a great post today comparing the internal guiding principle at the Ritz Carlton, "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen" to a law firm. “… Everyone should be treated with respect. A happy law firm will always translate to good service to the firm's clients. Practice it today and reap the rewards of great service!”
Full text at Silvia’s website!
Source: The Legal Compass, 21 December 2005
From the blog: “Mr. Patrick McEvoy, President of RainMaker Best Practices, at the Rain Maker Best Practices website, had the pleasure of interviewing Dave Maister in connection with his new article "Do You Really Want Relationships?" I have posted about his article and other blogs that discuss it previously (here). The interview is available (here) online (simply provide your email address in order to log in)…”
Full text and active links at the below listed source site.
source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 15 December 2005
JD Hull posted: “At my previous firm I was on the Marketing Committee. We went through a phase where we talked about cross-selling by our partners of other partners in different specialities. The buzzword for this back then was "synergy." We conducted a written poll of partners and found out--to most people's embarrassment--that experienced lawyers who had been partners for years had no idea what their partners did other than "transactional," "tax," "commercial litigation," "IP," etc. Because more detailed knowledge of actual experience was seldom shared, no one could see client "fits" unless it hit them over the head….
Firms with more than one practice area need to develop simple but lasting education programs--which include and legitimize "dumb-question" sessions about what people do. Selling involves asking good questions, and seeing fits. You need a better question than: "Hey, like to meet our head intellectual property lawyer?! She's first-rate, and she loves hockey!" Learn what your co-workers do. Keep up with what they are doing."
Read full text at the source site below.
Source: What About Clients, 20 December 2005
Robert posts: “As part of its special section, Far East, Close to Home, Law.com features a free webcast of a panel discussion, Going Global: What Does It Take? I participated on the panel, along with fellow Law.com bloggers Rees Morrison, senior director of Hildebrandt International, and Bruce MacEwen, law firm consultant. Law.com editor Scott Martin moderates.
As the promo says:
"Find out what it takes for small and midsize firms to open offices overseas, and learn what in-house counsel need to know when working across borders."
Active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, 20 December 2005
Posted by Chris Sherman: “The final installment of my compilation of SearchDay book reviews, A Compilation How-To Search Book Reviews, is online as today's SearchDay.”
Active link at the source.
Source: SearchEngineWatch, 21 December 2005
Sabrina posts: “From the Yahoo Search Blog: Open Shortcuts (beta) are custom keywords that take you directly to a site, a search, or start a task right from the search box...To use an Open Shortcut, you type !(exclamation point) followed by the name of the shortcut in the Yahoo! Search box. For example, type: !ebay lamps. This takes you directly to www.ebay.com and searches for lamps.
· For more details, see the Yahoo! Open Shortcuts Help”
For active links, go to the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 20 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
“The International Legal Technology Association's 2005 Technology Survey was published this month. A summary of the findings, includes among other things, some very interesting feedback on the topic of outsourcing.”
Read Joy London’s synopsis with quotes at the source site below.
Source: Excited Utterances, 18 December 2005
Tom Collins posted: “Always keep in mind that the approach to raising per-partner income should be done with long-range considerations. First, determine how the firm stacks up against its peers. Use survey benchmarks like those available from Altman Weil, http://www.altmanweil.com. Take corrective steps where you fall short.
The list below is a reminder of steps that you can take, among others, to increase margin and improve per-partner income.”
Full text of the 15 steps available at the source site below.
Source: Morepartnerincome, 19 December 2005
From the e-newsletter: “Every year, new gadgets and technologies try to pry dollars from our wallets. But how many of us struggle with what we have already purchased? There's a cyber-saying that we all only use 10 percent of any software we own. How can we access the elusive 90 percent? Here's a month-by-month plan that will, in a year, increase your technology literacy and confidence. Free registration to the Law Technology News website is required for access to this article.”
Read full text
Source: Law Librarian Update from ALM - Issue #2. 19 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.
In the news: “When San Francisco law firm Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy moves across the street today, partners will have the same size offices as associates, a decision that initially disconcerted people. But a unanimous vote was ultimately reached on that point -- "a sign of reasonable egos in our firm," says managing partner Andrew Giacomini, and maybe an awareness of the cost to profit ratio. As the attorney who negotiated the lease agreement says: "The lower your costs, the more you take home."
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 19 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Kevin O’Keefe posted: “Scoble says David Newberger is onto something in that his blog has gotten much more interesting since he’s started doing interviews.”
Full text and active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 18 December 2005
Posted by Wayne Schiess: “I got started with my little ‘convert to plain English’ obsession several years ago, and I began re-writing almost any legal text I came across: credit card agreements, website disclaimers, government notices, waivers of liability, and more.
I've also been lucky enough to get some paid, hands-on experience, as I mentioned in yesterday's post.
If you're interested in doing this kind of work yourself, here are the two most helpful books you can read. Both are out of print, but both are available used from Amazon.com.
How to Write Plain English: A Book for Lawyers and Consumers
by Rudolf Flesch
Writing Contracts in Plain English
by Carl Felsenfeld & Alan Siegel”
Active links available at the source site.
Source: Legalwriting.net, 14 December 2005
From the e-newsletter update:
**A Selected Bibliography on "Sensitive But Unclassified" and Similarly Designated Information Held by the Federal Government
http://www.llrx.com/features/sbu.htm
**Wrongful Conviction and Innocence Resources on the Internet
http://www.llrx.com/features/wrongfulconviction.htm
**Foreign and Transnational Legal Forms
http://www.llrx.com/features/foreignlegalforms.htm
**2005 Holiday Gadget Gift Guides
http://www.llrx.com/features/gadgetgifts.htm
**Dennis Kennedy's Legal Technology Predictions for 2006: Small Steps for Most Firms, Giant Leaps for a Few Firms
http://www.llrx.com/features/giantleaps.htm
**Are You Ready for Local Search?
http://www.llrx.com/features/localsearch.htm
**The Tao of Law Librarianship: Invite Your Librarian to a Client Event
http://www.llrx.com/columns/tao1.htm
**The Government Domain: Another Redesign for THOMAS
http://www.llrx.com/columns/govdomain11.htm
**CongressLine by GalleryWatch.com: On the Floor, In Congress
http://www.llrx.com/congress/onthefloor.htm
**FOIA Facts: Recent FOIA Items in the News
http://www.llrx.com/columns/foia27.htm
**After Hours: My Wish List -The Shipping Charge Disclosure Campaign, and Ever-Widening Concentric Circles of Yum
http://www.llrx.com/columns/afterhours25.htm
**LLRX Bookstore
http://www.llrx.com/bookstore
**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/
**See also beSpacific.com, http://www.beSpacific.com - Daily updates on law and technology news (with a searchable database of over 8,000 entries from September 2002). Topics include FOIA, e-gov't, privacy, copyright, government documents, web research, legislation, KM, blogs, RSS, ID theft...
Source: Pacifici, Sabrina. “New on LLRX.com.” 17 December 2005. <http://www.llrx.com>.
Larry Bodine posted: “As I write this, my train is approaching Elmhurst, IL, on my way home from Chicago. I'm sitting on the upper deck of the train, which has no outlet and no connection to the Internet. However, I'm online using my Verizon Sky Card.
I've finally joined the 21st century. I can get online anywhere with my laptop now. I got sick and tired of searching around for wi-fi hotspots. I was completely annoyed with Starbucks that would not be hotspots. And I was frustrated with building my schedule around the hotspots I knew existed. Now I have canceled my $29/mo T-Mobile hotspot subscription. It was OK while it lasted.
The Sky Card pops into a slot in the side of my computer. It's a cell phone with its own number, but no one will every call it. And the beauty is that I can connect online at broadband speeds, not ridiculous 14.4K modem speeds. Of course, it isn’t cheap at $59/month, but for a guy like me, it's totally worth it….”
Full text and active links available at the source site listed below.
Source: Larry Bodine’s Professional Marketing Blog, 19 December 2005
Betsy McKenzie posted: “When I was a law student, lo many years ago, I looked for role models. I wanted to see from my professors, what I would looke like as a lawyer. I was totally shocked and taken aback when I, at a more traditional school, discovered that not one of my professors had ever practiced in a real sense, as a lawyer!
I think our students are still hungry for this. They want to know what it is like to be lawyers. They look for role models. If you are at a school, like Suffolk, that hires former practicing lawyers as full time faculty, your students are ahead of the game in this one way. If your school has practitioners as adjunct faculty, you may notice students clustering around those folks like bees around honey. They are so hungry for some image to help them shape themselves into lawyers. Unless they come from a family of lawyers, they NEED role models like these, as much as they need those first year courses…”
Read full text at the source site below.
Source: Out of the Jungle, 19 December 2005
Jonathan Stein posts: “At some point in time, you may decide that it makes sense to hire staff. When you do, you have to go through a hiring process, of course. But, that is another post. When you have a staff, how do you get them to help your practice?”
Read the full post at the source site listed below.
Source: The Practice, 18 December 2005
Dennis Kennedy’s 15 Internet Legal Research Tips, abbreviated:
1. Keep Adding Tools to Your Toolbox.
2. Subscribe to the Email Legal Research Email Newsletters.
3. Soup Up Your Knowledge of Google with Google Hacks.
4. Use Quotation Marks to Enhance Your Results.
5. Use Special Words to Locate Good Introductory Materials.
6. Use File Types to Find Presentations, Handout Materials and Articles.
7. Bring Information to You With News Aggregators.
8. Add Blawgs to Your Search Lists.
9. Create Google Alerts and Other Automatic Searches.
10. Make Use of Links Collections.
11. Look for Specialty Search Tools.
12. Use "News" Search for Current Issues.
13. Don't Overlook Law Professor Pages.
14. Keep Up-to-Date with Search Engine Developments.
15. Collect Tips, Tricks and New Techniques in a Way that You Can Use Them.
Full text and active links available at the source site listed below.
Source: Dennis Kennedy.com, 12 December 2005-12-19
Posted By William Hornsby: “Two vastly different professional associations are advancing policies on client development issues: The West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the Legal Marketing Association.”
Full text and active links are available below.
Source: William Hornsby on The Boundaries of Legal Marketing, 15 December 2005
Jonathan Zittrain writes: “The Internet is vulnerable to viruses so lethal that they could gravely damage the online world—unless we upgrade law and technology now.”
Read the article at: Legal Affairs, January/February 2006
Patrick Lamb posts: “Good writing is good writing. Or is it. Dan Hull had a terrific post on how we write for our clients. I posted a comment, suggesting good writing knew no venue, and it shouldn't matter whether the writing was a pleading or a letter. Or, as I just posted, an invoice. Communications are effective when they are clear, concise and direct…”
Full text and active link provided at the site listed below.
Source: In Search of Perfect Client Service, 17 December 2005
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Have a long message to send to someone, and just don't feel like typing it? Enter WaxMail, a program that records your message in MP3 format and then attaches it to an Outlook message. And it's free, too.”
Active link at the following site.
Source: Inter Alia, 19 December 2005
From the e-newsletter: “Okay, so I'm not done yet previewing useful Web 2.0 sites. The next is CalendarHub, another calendaring site. You can create your own calendars that you can share with others, subscribe to calendars created by other people, and receive your calendar information via RSS feed or SMS text message. It's really easy to use, so it's perfect for group collaborations.”
http://www.calendarhub/
Source: Internet Legal Research Weekly by Tom Mighell. Volume 6, Issue 43. 18 December 2005. Subscribe <http://www.inter-alia.net/subscribe.php>.
Holiday Gifts for Lawyers, Part II
Jim Calloway posts: “Shopping time grows short, but Jeffery Allen and Allen Pearlman have published The Technologists Guide to Holiday Shopping in the December GPSolo Magazine. Actually this whole magazine is a present as the ABA General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division continues to publish virtually all of its magazine content online for everyone. This issue's theme is "Privacy and Security" and it includes articles on spyware, indentity theft, personal information available online, and much more.
NPR also has several features on books for holiday gift giving.
I wouldn't want to leave out the New York Times 2005 Holiday Gift Guide. (Free registration may be required.)
Active links are available at the site below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 15 December 2005
Track Packages
Will your package arrive in time? Entering a UPS, USPS or Federal Express tracking number into a Google search box will give you an update on your shipment before you can say "overnight shipping."
Find Toll-Free Numbers
OK, here's a secret "the man" doesn't want you to know. Some companies have a toll-free number that's buried deep on their website -- but it would take like a thousand clicks to find it, and these days, who has the time? One way to get to it more quickly is to search Google for the company name and the phrase "customer support." Like this: TiVo Customer Support.
An even trickier way to get at hard-to-reach customer support phone numbers is to search for the company name and the standard toll-free prefixes. That'll dig up some real gems. For example, "[company name] 800 OR 877 OR 888 OR 866". Give it a whirl -- and here's to less holiday stress.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site below.
Source: Google Blog, 14 December 2005
JD Hull posts: “Many lawyers I know either have no time to read or are too burned out from reading to read outside the law. I have suffered from both. But this holiday season, I find myself giving clients, business people and other lawyers copies of The Tipping Point--How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell's 2000 bestseller. In a word, it's about "buzz"--how and why some ideas gather currency and speed and others don't. If you own or operate a business, and need to market either products or services, spend $10 for the paperback and find out whether you and your contacts are connectors, mavens or persuaders. You could build a marketing plan around this book.”
Full text and active links available at the source site listed below.
Source: What About Clients, 16 December 2005
From the e-newsletter: "'Futurists claim that law firms of tomorrow will consist of a computer, a lawyer and a dog,’ quips Carlin & Ward's marketing director, Susan L. Ward. 'The dog will run the computer and the lawyer will feed the dog.' Until tomorrow, make the most of your time and keep clients abreast of new developments by writing a blog. You don't need to know how to program -- just pick a platform and find the appropriate software. Ward can help you add ‘blogger’ to your list of accomplishments.”
Read full text
Source: Legal Technology Bulletin. 16 December 2005. Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
From the e-newsletter: “Paralegals are in the story business, according to Perry Brooks of Preston, Gates & Ellis in San Francisco. Through their work on legal cases, paralegals are introduced to the skeleton of an account and must try to reconstruct the truth using the discovery process. By using electronic discovery effectively and taking advantage of technology, they can bring clarity to a case. And with that clearer picture, the client has more data points to consider trial strategy and settlement negotiations.”
Read full text
Source: Legal Technology Bulletin. 16 December 2005. Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Joy London posts: “Legal Assistant Today has a very good article that describes how paralegals can play a role in their firm's KM projects.
In Managing Knowledge 101: How Paralegals Can Head Up KM Projects for their Firms, Linda A. Potter, says paralegals are uniquely situated to lend their expertise.”
Read Joys’s excerpts and get active links at the source site below.
Source: Excited Utterances, 16 December 2005
Forms and Contracts
From the e-newsletter: “FindLaw for the Public's Law Library includes sample forms, contracts, and resources arranged by legal issue -- including bankruptcy & debt, family law, employment, and small business. Click on the link below to browse this collection:
Read full text
Browse FindLaw for the Public's Law Library”
Source: FindLaw’s PUBLIC ADVISOR. 15 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the e-newsletter: “The disappearance of an American man during a honeymoon cruise is drawing congressional attention to a seamy side of the glitzy sea cruise industry. 'Like small cities, cruise ships experience crime - from petty to profoundly tragic,' said Rep. Christopher Shays, chairman of one of two congressional subcommittees hearing testimony Tuesday. The missing man was from Connecticut, Shays' state."
Read full text
Before You Buy a Tour”
Source: FindLaw’s PUBLIC ADVISOR. 15 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the e-newsletter: “The outspoken executive that drugmaker Pfizer Inc. fired this month because the government didn't pursue his whistleblower suit filed a wrongful dismissal suit against his former employer. Dr. Peter Rost, a former vice president of marketing, filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Pfizer violated the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act and the whistle-blowing prohibition of the federal False Claims Act. Rost claims such laws protect him from termination because he was a whistleblower.
Read full text
What is a Whistleblower?"
Source: FindLaw’s PUBLIC ADVISOR. 15 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Evan Schaeffer posts: “How do you give research assignments to junior lawyers? Probably in a way that leaves the junior lawyer wondering exactly what he's supposed to be doing. That was my experience anyway when I was a junior lawyer who used to get a lot of assignments. After awhile, I learned to stick around in the senior lawyer's office until I'd figured out exactly what my assignment was. Remembering to ask questions before I got started was a good lesson to learn.
These days, I'm often on the other end of the transaction. I'm sure I make the same mistake I once complained about: not providing enough information. Here are the basics I try to cover—
* The name of the case, the identity of the party we represent, and how to bill the time;
* T he issue that needs to be answered;
* The facts of the case I think are most pertinent to the issue;
* The procedural posture of the case and how the work product will be used--for a motion to compel, for a response to a motion for summary judgment, for an evaluation letter to the client, etc….”
The rest of his points, which are equally important to remember, are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 14 December 2005
David Swanner posts: “I recently learned of a website for defense trial consultants Trial Behavior Consulting. They have a number of articles and presentations they’ve given. Most of the information matches what I already know and shows how to exploit the information from the defense side. They have identified some concerns that jury members have in their article Strategies for Minimizing Damages:”
Read full text of the juries concerns with active links at:
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 14 December 2005
Jonathan Stein posts: “There are clearly some hard and fast rules in this area. Or, are there? I was taught that you wear a suit on an interview. But, what if you are interviewing with Google? Then, probably go without the suit. I think the only hard and fast rule left is that you wear a shirt and tie to court. Does anyone disagree with that one?
But the ABA Journal this month has a whole article devoted to defining business versus business casual dress. When is business casual appropriate and what exactly is it? I think business casual is easy: it is not quite business, but not quite casual. Doesn't that make sense?”
What to wear when (for men only) and full text of Jonathan’s post can be found at the source site below.
Source: The Practice, 14 December 2005
In the news: “As soon as they read the indictment, attorneys William B. Moffitt and Linda Moreno decided to present no witnesses, evidence or documents to refute the federal government's charges that their client, former professor Sami Al-Arian, financed terrorism. The two defense lawyers decided to simply rely on the First Amendment as their only argument in the case, which was the first real test of governmental powers under the Patriot Act. Their decision not to put on a case worked stunningly well.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 15 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Norm Pattis posts: “Just how much intelligence must a person have to be capable to waiving his Miranda rights? Not as much as you might think. A New York Appellate Court recently held that a man with an IQ of 55 was capable of waiving his rights…”
Read more about it at:
Source: Crime & Federalism, 14 December 2005
From the blog: “What do you do when you need a general counsel, but can’t justify a full-time one?
The Orange County Register reports (reg req’d) that Message Broadcast was in just this position.
Instead of continuing the use of outside firms, the company turned to The General Counsel, LLC to provide GC-type services on a per-diem basis.”
Full text with quotes and active links are available at the source site below.
Source: The Wired GC, 12 December 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Erik Marcus, publisher of Vegan.com and host of Erik's Diner podcast, explains how scammers hijacked his podcasting show and how podcasters may thwart such attempts. He cautions to be wary of link exchange offers and new finding tools that purport to spread the word about podcasts. He also suggests adding a copyright statement to the RSS feed that distributes the podcast, stating your ownership at the end of the program, registering with Creative Commons and regularly checking all major podcast search engines and directories for infringements.
RELATED: RSS Facilitates Hijacking Content
TVC Alert Research News, 5 December 2005”
Active links provided at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 15 December 2005, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=dec05/15dec05.xml
Why People Who Live Close to Restaurants Are More Likely To Have an Accident and Pay More for Auto Insurance
From Gary Price: "If you live within a mile of a church, you’re far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a church. But if you live within one mile of a restaurant, you face a significantly greater risk of an accident than most other drivers. Those are among the key findings of a study released...by a leading predictive analytics company -- Quality Planning Corporation -- a firm that helps insurance companies price insurance more accurately and fairly."
Active link available at the source site listed below.
Source: The ResourceShelf, 15 December 2005
Evan Schaeffer’s advice: “You're taking your mobile web-surfing device to the Christmas party, aren't you? Before you head out, set it to point to lawyer Scott Spindel's BAC Calculator and you'll be ready anything that might ensue--or, at least, that portion of the party in which the host tries to seize your car keys…”
Full text and active link at the source site below.
Source: Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground, 14 December 2005
Need inspiration to make a difference in 2006? Read Amie Ely's speech entitled In search of Truth and Justice - Without Becoming An Empty Suit."
Carolyn Elefant’s excerpts from the speech and a link to the speech itself can be found at the source site below.
Source: MyShingle, 8 December 2005
Posted by Suzanne Rose: “A question lawyers seem to be asking more and more frequently is, "How can I sustain the success I've had in my law practice?"
…There is never a better time than at the end of a year to step back and take a look at what you're doing as a person, lawyer and firm. Where are you? Are you in a different place than you were this time last year? If so, is it a better place - a place you intended to be at the beginning of last year? Were you actively deliberate in your decisions and actions or did you spend another year reacting? Did you envision what the end of this year would look like and use that vision to guide your decision-making throughout the year? If not, I challenge you to plan strategically for where you want to be at the end of 2006 and to act "intentionally" to be sure you get there. As a firm, look at these things:
1. Who are your best clients?
2. What are your best practice areas?
3. Ask your clients what you're doing right and what needs improvement.
4. Look at how you are staffing your most profitable matters and your least profitable matters and be intentional about how you staff your matters in 2006.
5. Review your firm's "model".
6. Look at your compensation system.
7. How well are you prepared for disaster?
8. How effective is the management of your firm?
9. Look at areas of exposure to malpractice and ethics violations.
10. Embrace technology that enables you to best serve your clients.
Full text at the source site below.
Source: Riskybiz, 12 December 2005
Gary Price posts: “I mentioned yesterday that the "Top Searches of 2005" season was underway with the release of a top terms from Lycos. Today, it's AOL's turn with their compilation of top searches on AOL Search.
Here's the Overall Top 10:
1. Lottery
2. Horoscopes
3. Tattoos
4. Lyrics
5. Ringtones
6. IRS
7. Jokes
8. American Idol
9. Hairstyles
10. NASCAR
Interesting to see lottery and IRS both in the Top 10. (-;”
Full text and active links at the source site below.
Source: SearchEngineWatch, 13 December 2005
Read about “The latest entry in the field of automated, online dispute resolution, The Courthouse Steps” on Robert Ambrogi’s blog.
Full text and active links at the source site below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, 13 December 2005-12-14
Kevin O’Keefe posts: “In addition to the video blogs feature in the Sunday's Arts Section, Video Podcasts were also featured in Yesterday's NYTimes Magazine's annual Year in Ideas issue.”
Full text and active links available at the source site below.
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 12 December 2005
Gary Price posts: “The New Oxford American Dictionary have selected "podcast" as the Word of the Year for 2005. Podcast, defined as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player," will be added to the next online update of the New Oxford American Dictionary, due in early 2006."
If you have even heard more than one of the runners-up for the 2005 Word of the Year, you’re ahead of me!!
Check them out at the source site.
Source: The ResourceShelf, 14 December 2005
In the news: What happens when two police officers with Tasers argue over whether they should stop for a soft drink.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/12/08/1344486-ap.html
Source: Strigberger, Daniel. “Legal Humour News.” Legal Humour.com. December 14, 2005. © 2001-2005 Daniel Strigberger. All rights reserved. <http://www.legalhumour.com/lhn_archivesdetail.asp?ArticleID=304>
Ed Poll posts: “One of the primary and most essential ingredients to disaster recovery is communication – communication with associate lawyers and with staff. Don’t forget vendors and clients and the courts, and others who make your business work.
But, setting up a good communications system must be in place before the disaster occurs...”
Full text and active links at the source site.
Source: LawBiz Blog, 12 December 2005
Evan Schaeffer posts: “It's what happens between the start and the finish of a deposition that really counts. Even so, since I've written about starting a deposition, it can't hurt to write about how to end one too…”
Full text and active links at the source site.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Blog, 12 December 2005
Sabrina posts: “This text will self-destruct in 40 seconds - Next year self-deleting emails and photo messages too..."
Full text and active links at the source site
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 12 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Wayne Schiess “Hereinbelow a list of archaic words and phrases we should banish forthwith:
know all men by these presents…
to wit…
wherefore premises considered…
witnesseth - Do you know what this means? If not, why are you putting it in your document? If you do look it up, you'll see that it's an "archaic formalism [that is] best forgotten." David Mellinkoff, Mellinkoff's Dictionary of American Legal Usage 691 (West 1992).
--Excerpted from Better Legal Writing by Wayne Schiess
Full text and active links available at the source site below.
Source: Legal writing.net, 12 Decembe 20005
Jim posts: “Everyone seems to like a "top ten" or "top one hundred" list. PubSub's Law List is a ranking of law-related weblogs (aka blawgs.) …You might discover a popular blog of particular interest to you on this week's Website of the Week.”
Full text and active link at the source site.
Spource: Jim Calloways’s Law Practice Tips Blog, December 13, 2005
Sabrina posts: “KMWorld & Intranets 2005 — Presentation Links. Topics include: Applying KM Strategies, Cultural Issues of KM, Collaborative Environments, Strategies & Practices, Strategies & Practices, Content Integration, Making Intranets Work, Building the Intranet, and Keeping Up with Intranet Trends.”
Active link available at the source site
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 12 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Sabrina posts: “Newsweek - Google: Ten Golden Rules - Getting the most out of knowledge workers will be the key to business success for the next quarter century. Here's how we do it at Google.”
Active link available at the source site
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 12 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Diane Murley posts: “You can link to all the posts about What RSS Feeds Can Do for You here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5. You may also be interested in What Is a Site or RSS Feed? and Subscribing to RSS Feeds.”
Full text, an excellent illustration and active links at the source site.
Source: Law Dawg Blawg, 10 December 2005
In the news: “It's a good time to be a lawyer. Billing rates for law firm attorneys jumped last year, with partners and associates raking in more dollars per hour than ever before. And at least one partner now charges $1,000, the first four-figure hourly rate reported to The National Law Journal for its annual surveys. This year, 116 law firms answered questions on their billing rates. Find out which racked up the highest -- and the lowest -- rates of the year.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 12 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Jonathan Stein posts: “The question is very simple: you get a law degree and now your family wants you to represent them. Should you?
I come down clearly on the side of NO!”
Read full text at the source site below
Source: The Practice, 11 December 2005
Jonathan Stein posts: “…after watching three BAD depositions in the last two weeks, I thought I would provide some tips. This list is not complete, nor is it intended to be. Rather, it is compiled based on what I have seen the last couple of weeks.
Prepare for the deposition…
Make an outline…
Be polite…
Have some ideas about the rules….
Relax...”
Read full text at the source site below
Source: The Practice, 11 December 2005
Tom Mighell blogs on two Web 2.0 spreadsheet sites. One is called Num Sum, the other is JotSpot Tracker, “a place where you can paste your Excel spreadsheets into an interactive web page. I've taken a quick look at it, and it looks interesting -- it doesn't have any calculation features, so it's really designed just to display information. Still, it's a good collaboration tool.”
Full text and active links at the source site.
Source Inter Alia, 8 December 2005
From the e-newsletter: “Long-time supporters of Mozilla’s Firefox browser will be glad to hear that a new version of this web-browser has recently been released to the general public. This latest version incorporates a number of new features, such as a new option to clear private browsing data, more robust pop-up blocking, and the option to quickly reorder browser tabs. This latest version is compatible with computers running Windows 95 and newer. [KMG]”
Link
Source: The Scout Report. Volume 11, Number 49. 9 December 2005. Copyright © 2004 Internet Scout Project. Subscribe <http://scout.wisc.edu/About/subscribe.php>.
From the e-newsletter: “CaseLogistix organizes and searches legal documents. Built on technologies from Microsoft and dtSearch, CaseLogistix is a document-indexing platform that integrates scanning, coding, storage and reference into one interface. CaseLogistix is compatible with Windows 98SE, Windows NT 4.0, Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.”
Source: Law Technology Bulletin. 9 December 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. To subscribe, end an e-mail to
Employees and the Web - A Brief Guide to Privacy
Sabrina’s post from “Wired: This brief, concise article, Worker Privacy: You Have None, clearly articulates relevant issues related to monitoring all aspects of employee web usage.”
Active link available at the source site.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 11 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Sabrina posts: “Too Much Information? Colleges Fear Student Postings On Popular 'Facebook' Site Could Pose Security Risks”
Active link available at the source site.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 10 December 2005. Copyright ©2002-2005 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Robert Ambrogi blogs about the Gallup poll asking Americans to rate the honesty and ethical standards of those in various professions. How far down are the lawyers?
Read Robert’s post and check the link for full results.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites, 7 December 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “ We've updated this presentation to include podcasting and additional resources.
Finding News Faster examines using RSS feeds, blogs and podcasts in research. It starts with the basics -- what they are, how to display them and how to find them. It continues with sources and strategies for selecting feeds, or for creating keyword-specific feeds.”
Active link at the source site
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 9 December 2005, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=dec05/9dec05.xml
Minimizing the Impact of eDiscovery with Proactive Compliance and Archiving Solutions
From the press release: “RenewData's free web seminar, Proactive e-Discovery Planning, presents an expert panel discussion focusing on proactive solutions you can use to minimize associated risks and costs of e-discovery.
This web seminar will address:
· Becoming Compliant: Balancing regulatory and policy requirements with organizational resources
· Establishing Policies: Implementing document retention policies as well as acceptable use policies
· Proactive Archiving: Determining the best way to collect, manage, and preserve data
· Defining Roles and Responsibilities: Corporate and outside counsel best practices
· Enforcing Compliance: Examples of success and failure in the compliance arena”
Date:
December 13th, 2005
December 20th, 2005
Time:
1:00 pm CST (2:00 pm OUR TIME)
Register at < https://renewdata.webex.com/renewdata/mywebex/epmainframe.php?rlink=https%3A%2F%2Frenewdata.webex.com%2Frenewdata%2Fonstage%2Fmainframe.php%3Fmainurl%3D%2Frenewdata%2Fonstage%2Ftool%2Fprogram%2Fprogram_detail.php%3FcProgramID%3D13%26Rnd%3D2062943759&Rnd3504=0.6430425650012878>
Source: Law Technology News. Copyright © 2005 Renew Data Corp. All rights reserved.
Joy London posts: “Connie Crosby does a superb job summarizing John S. Gillies' (McCarthy Tetrault's Knowledge Manager) Cultural Obstacles to a Successful KM Initiative in Large Law Firms presentation at the recent KM World 2005 conference.”
Full text and active links available at the source site.
Source: Excited Utterances, 7 December 2005
Genie Tyburski posts: “Blogger Shel Holtz expresses concern about what might be a trend -- the use of Wiki technology to replace the intranet. Wikis have entered the same phase blogs hit about 2 or 3 years ago. Back then, it was common to hear people recommend doing away with HTML editors in favor of blogging software….”
Full text and link available at the source site.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 9 December 2005, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=dec05/9dec05.xml
From the e-newsletter: “When McKenna Long & Aldridge Chairman Jeffrey K. Haidet told his wife he was speaking at a conference for in-house corporate counsel, she asked if he had lost his mind. The fears of his wife -- who is also a lawyer -- partially came true as Haidet and Kilpatrick Stockton managing partner William H. Brewster sat sandwiched between in-house attorneys and faced a room of 100 more. Haidet and Brewster bravely stood in for their law firm brethren, hearing out GCs' pet peeves concerning outside counsel.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 9 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
From the e-newsletter: “What is the difference between "burglary" and "robbery"? What does "disorderly conduct" mean? Are "assault" and "battery" really the same thing? The "Crimes A to Z" section of FindLaw's Criminal Law Center offers definitions for over 40 common criminal acts, and links to related criminal laws in your state.”
Learn more:
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z.html
Crime Prevention Resources
Source: FindLaw’s PUBLIC ADVISOR. 8 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the e-newsletter: “FindLaw for the Public's Law Library provides links and contact information for federal and state courts nationwide, grouped by legal jurisdiction and type of case heard -- including family courts, bankruptcy courts, small claims courts, and more. You will also find links and contact information for district attorneys, public defenders, bar associations, and more. Click on the link below to get started.”
http://public.findlaw.com/library/courts.html
Guide to the U.S. Legal System
Source: FindLaw’s PUBLIC ADVISOR. 8 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by David Whelan: “New advisory opinions on lawyer advertising and preserving client funds were issued on December 2, 2005, by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline.”
More on Opinion 2005-09 and Opinion 2005-10 with active links at the source site.
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 8 December 2005
Jonathan posts: “There are two types of closing letters: good and bad. Okay, the two types really are closing cases because the matter was resolved (good) and closing cases for another reason (bad).… Closing letters can help cement your relationship with your clients and work as a marketing tool. A good closing letter is vital to your practice.”
Learn what Jonathan Stein thinks should be included in each type of letter and why at the source below.
Source: The Practice, 7 December 2005
John Jantsch posts: “If you really want to make a hit with your A list clients and prospects, take the time to find out some background on them and personalize your marketing communications with them…. Google and Yahoo have both recently launched alert systems that will automatically notify you by email or even by way of your cell phone when any keyword or keyword phrase you select is in the news.”
Read on…
Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 4 December 2005
Evan Schaeffer posts: “After writing about wikis on Monday, I received word of a project to use a public wiki to create a library of legal know-how. It's called Wikilaw and bills itself as ‘an open-content legal resource.’"
Full text including quotes from the founders of Wikilaw, more legal wikis and active links at the source listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 7 December 2005
”Why Law Enforcement Should Have to Get a Warrant Before Tracking Us Via our Cell Phones”
Read full text by Anita Ramasastry
Source: FindLaw’s MODERN PRACTICE. 7 December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the e-newsletter: “Why Government-Sponsored Printer Identification Raises Serious Privacy Concerns”
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Source: FindLaw’s TOOLS OF THE TRADE. December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the e-newsletter: “In recent criminal cases, the prosecution has given the defense compact discs (CDs), supposed copies of audio recordings which the prosecution intends to use in evidence. In the instances when the original recordings were made on analog cassettes, an important legal question arises: Are the digital CDs true copies of original evidence?”
Read full text
Source: FindLaw’s TOOLS OF THE TRADE. December 2005. Copyright © 2005 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Anthony Cerminaro posts: “The Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business provides a comprehensive Private Equity Glossary featuring everything from "'A'-Round" to "Zombie."
Active link and definitions for A’-Round and Zombie at the source site.
Source: BizzBangBuzz, 7 December 2005
Barry gives lots of very good reasons and examples of why this bit of advise is SO important!
“Bottom line at the top: time and billing software is not best learned by trial and error. Your time spent studying the documentation will pay dividends down the road.”
Read full text at the source.
Source: The Practice, 6 December 2005
And now on the our theme of the day, virtual working and the wireless world!
Ron Friedmann sites two interesting articles on virtual work, one from Business Week, “The Easiest Commute Of All,” the other in Optimize Magazine, "Rethinking The Mobile Workforce.” His quotes are interesting, thought-provoking and worth your time, even if you don’t face an hour’s commute.
Full text and active links to articles available at the source site.
Source: Strategic Legal Technology, 7 December 2005
Evan Schaeffer chimes in on “Virtual Working.” His angle is the use of wikis as a means of collaborating between firms. He says, “[It] is a solution that's both inexpensive and within the technical reach of many lawyers.”
Full text of his post with active links are available at the source listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 5 December 2005
David Swanner posts: “I found a tip for a Wireless Pocket Router by D-Link. What it does is connect up to the hotel network point and allows you to be wireless. It has three different modes to work in almost any situation (Access Point (AP) mode to create a wireless connection; Router mode to share an Internet connection; and Wireless Client mode to connect to an existing wireless network). Not a bad deal for less than $55.”
Full text and active link available at the source site.
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 2 December 2005
Gary Price posts: "Bluetooth is a low-power-consumption and short-range wireless technology for personal area networks (PANs). It connects your personal electronic devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras, audio equipment, and printers, without the clutter of cables…. the Bluetooth technology was intended to unify and connect different personal electronic devices."
Read full text at the source site.
Source: The ResourceShelf, 5 December 2005
In the news: “These days, seemingly every tech product touts some kind of wireless functionality. Most of these are handy, but some devices and tools stand out for offering novel or downright offbeat wireless capabilities. Tech writer Alan Cohen rounded up some of the products that best combine innovation and practicality, and took them for a no-wires spin. Read on to learn which products impressed him the most.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 7 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Gary Price posts: “DMNews reports that about nine months after the NY Times purchased About.com, the site/service is about to relaunch. The news was made at SES yesterday by Scott B. Meyer, president/CEO of New York-based About.com. According to the article, the About.com database is home to about 57,000 topics and 1.2 million pieces of content…”
I was always able to find something to while away the time there!
Full text and active links available at the source site.
Source: Search Engine Watch, 6 December 2005
Ken Kozlowski posts: “Announcement from the Court:
On December 2, 2005, the Supreme Court issued orders suspending 13,800 attorneys for noncompliance with Gov.Bar R. VI, which requires attorneys to file a Certificate of Registration and pay applicable fees on or before September 1, 2005. The text of the entry imposing the suspension is reproduced below. This is followed by a list of the attorneys who were suspended. The list includes, by county, each attorney’s Attorney Registration Number."
The list is 128 pages long.
Link active at the source listed below.
Source: Ohio Law, 5 December 2005
In the news: “Many lawyers are afraid to go on part-time schedules, and when they do they often find themselves working longer than they planned. The result: unhappy attorneys, who leave the firms that invested in them. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, with 1,000 lawyers worldwide, says it didn't want that -- so it's unveiled a "balanced hours" program, allowing more leeway for personal responsibilities. But Chairman Peter Kalis notes that it's "not a charter to write the Great American Novel."
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 6 December 2005. Copyright 2005. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.