From the artcile: “The internet is connecting people more than ever. Christy Burke discusses how you can use the internet to network with past, current, and future friends, colleagues and clients.
…The truth is that social networking is rapidly becoming a highly viable way for attorneys to expand their books of business. Social networking goes far beyond MySpace and Facebook — the options are constantly growing as the Internet increasingly takes on the roles of publisher, matchmaker, business developer and research library.
Social Networking Sites…
Business Networking Sites…
Blogs…
Find the Time for Social Networking
No attorney will argue that business development activities are vital to the health of any legal practice. However, networking and marketing efforts frequently end up on the back burner, especially when the legal workload gets heavier.
The beauty of social and business networking sites is that they don’t take up a lot of time to set up and use. Blogging can be more time-consuming, but if you are smart about it, you’ll either share the workload with others or pick a topic where you have a steady stream of potential blog topics coming your way.
One thing you can be sure about is that social networking is not going away — it is shaping the way that people do business. In some cases, these sites are actually determining which providers clients consider for legal services. Why not join Facebook, MySpace, ZoomInfo and LinkedIn and consider starting a blog? Who knows — you might actually have some fun in the process — and wouldn’t that be a welcome addition to your workday!”
Read full text of this article at the source site listed below.
Source: Law Practice Today, March 2008
Posted by allison Shields: "Aside from your jurisdiction's ethical rules, the single most important document that defines your relationship with your client is your retainer agreement or engagement letter. When was the last time you reviewed your agreement?
Here are some essential elements to include in your retainer agreement:
1. Scope of work…
2. A time limitation…
3. The fee…
4. The responsibilities of the parties…
5. Staffing considerations…
6. Grounds for withdrawal…
7. File retention policy…
8. Ethical considerations…
If you want help reviewing your retainer agreement and/or other forms or procedures in your office, feel free to contact me to see how I can help.”
Full text and the active link are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 28 March 2008
Posted by Brian J. Ritchey: “When some talk of strategic planning, they are talking about retreats and consultants, about mission statements and long term goal setting. Strategic planning can be all of this - however, it doesn't necessarily have to be a complex document that takes weeks or months to develop.
In a [] simpler form, strategic planning consists of reviewing the current environment, setting goals to improve it, and implementing them, measuring performance along the way. How you get from "review" to "do" is the focus of several posts this week.
There are several different "models" of strategic plans. Some listed on The Free Management Library include:
"Basic" Strategic Plan…
Goal-Based Model…
Alignment Model…
Scenario Model…
"Organic" Model …
74% of the respondents to the 2007 Law Firm Economic Survey from LexisNexis stated they did not have a written strategic plan. However, 89% of those who did plan said that there was a correlation between their plan and income. What is your firm's plan?
For a look at reasons why strategic planning has been a problem for law firms to implement, look at an earlier post on the subject: Law Firms With Strategic Plans More Profitable.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: More Partner Income, 31 March 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “The Judicial Conference's Committee on Court Administration and Case Management rejected the proposal to restrict online access to plea bargain agreements. "[I]nstead of recommending a national policy, the committee has referred the matter to each district court, noting that many have already come up with appropriate local solutions."
RELATED: Public Access to Plea Agreements Debated
TVC Alert Research News, 20 September 2007
RELATED: Federal Court Restricts Access to Plea Docs
TVC Alert Research News, 17 July 2007
RELATED: Judiciary May Pull Plea Filings from PACER
TVC Alert Research News, 22 May 2007”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 27 March 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=mar08/27mar08.xml
From the blog: “Authenticated Public and Private Laws
GPO is pleased to announce the release of Authenticated Public and Private Laws for the 110th Congress on GPO Access.
[Their] Source: GPO Access
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: ResourceShelf, 29 March 2008
In the news: “Carl Malamud and other digital activists are piling up case law in public archives, moving toward a vision of the Web in which words in a given judge's decision are hyperlinked to other decisions, or to academic analysis, through the efforts of Internet users organized in social networking collectives.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 31 March 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Tom Mighell: “At the beginning of March, Microsoft debuted its Office Live Workspace, thought by some to be a direct competitor to Google Docs and other online office products. ReadWriteWeb has a great feature by feature comparison of the two products, but here's what stands out to me about the new Microsoft product:
First, unlike Google Docs, you aren't actually working on documents inside the browser -- you are using the Microsoft Office products installed on your computer…
In one way, Office Live is simply a document storage repository with some collaboration features…
One other part of the process was problematic… [with] Internet Explorer on my Vista PC.... In contrast, Google Docs just works. You go to the site, click a button, and you're working on a document. Office Live offers lots of other bells and whistles, but for plain ease of use I'm still a Google Docs fan.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 31 March 2008
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: “News release: "...we're releasing YouTube Insight, a free tool that enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site. (You can see this...announcement on the Google blog and on the YouTube blog...) This tool will help anyone who uploads videos to YouTube better understand and serve their audiences. For example, users might use Insight to tailor upload strategies to increase their videos' view counts and improve their popularity on the site. And partners who increase their videos' popularity also increase the number of monetizable views their videos get, and as a result, generate more revenue."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 30 March 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Tom Kane: “Okay, every lawyer knows that, right?... Why then are clients unsatisfied even when the result is good? Because some lawyers don’t:
• Understand clients’ businesses and/or personal situation,
• Return phone calls or emails promptly,
• Keep client informed so as to avoid surprises,
• Meet deadlines
• Treat client with respect,
• Meet client expectations as to how matter will be handled,
• Respect clients’ time by keeping them waiting without explanation,
• Keep clients informed as to the process or status of their matter, and
• Keep a handle on costs and fees.
The point is obvious. There is a lot more to client satisfaction that just getting a favorable result. And remember that satisfied clients are the best source of new business – in terms of follow on work and word-of-mouth referrals. Pretty basic isn’t it.
On Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog … [h]e talked about client development in terms of satisfied clients. He boils it down to meeting client expectations, and his article has both good advice and refers to additional resources, such as:
• Careful screening of clients (with danger signals);
• Communicating with clients in the 21st Century;
• Taming the Beast: Managing Client Expectations in a 24/7 World; and
• “Dealing with the Difficult Client” by Carole Curtis over at PracticePro (which by the way has a bunch of articles on various topics of interest to law firms.
A lot of good stuff thanks to Jim.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Marketing Blog.com, 27 March 2008
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “Every month, the legal magazines keep piling up. Some might actually contain some useful information. But when are you going to find the time to read them? If you're like me, you're prone to simply glance at the new magazines and add them to the stack, where you hope to be able to get to them "someday."
There's a better system, which works reasonably well. It's sort of obvious, but on the other hand, I've never seen anyone use this system--although I've kept at it pretty well since I started stacking up legal magazines about eighteen years ago.
The system works like this:
• Set aside some time to tackle one of those stacks of magazines;
• Flip through each magazine quickly, and rip out only those articles you want to keep for future reference, judging from the title. There's no need to actually read the articles at this point--if you do, you'll never get through the stack;
• Take the articles you've saved, insert the edges in a 3-hole punch, and file each away in binders set up with descriptive dividers that approximate the issues you face in your own practice.
For me, this means notebooks containing articles about substantive law and notebooks with articles about procedure--most obviously, trial procedure. For example, I have a notebook that contains articles, separated by dividers, about written discovery, pre-trial motions, …voir dire, opening statement… and so on. When I want to find an article about a particular topic, or when I just want to read up on the latest ideas about a particular topic, I know where to look.
Another option is to scan the articles you want to save and store them in computer folders set up like notebooks…”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 27 March 2008
In the news: “Last year's decision by a Pennsylvania federal district court in a case involving the online virtual world, Bragg v. Linden Research Inc., reflects the growth of litigation over virtual world property. As participation in virtual worlds increases, lawsuits will likely grow in number.”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 March 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “Those who don't practice regularly in federal court might still be in the dark about e-filing. Some resources:
• The ABA's Electronic Filing Resource Page contains some basic information about state and federal e-filing systems, as well as a list of vendors and helpful links;
• The ABA's page of Electronic Filing Court Rules will be helpful to any lawyer with a national practice who needs quick links to e-filing instructions throughout the country;
• The Electronic Public Access page of the federal judiciary can help with new or forgotten PACER accounts or passwords.
Thanks to Celia C. Elwell, a paralegal in Oklahoma City, for these links. In Illinois, e-filing is underway in pilot programs in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties. Information here.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 20 March 2008
From the site: “What are the implications of a blogger writing about someone anonymously? Last month, the burning question on everyone’s mind in the patent world was finally answered when the identity of the author of the anonymous, Patent Troll Tracker Blog, was revealed as Rick Frenkel, an IP Director and in-house patent attorney at Cisco Systems. Law.com blogger and co-host, J. Craig Williams, gets two different perspectives from the experts. In the first segment, Craig welcomes Attorney Raymond Niro Sr., the attorney who was once a target of Frenkel’s blog. In our second segment, Craig speaks with the popular patent blogger, Dennis Crouch from Patently-O, to get his perspective on the Troll Tracker and the dangers of blogging anonymously.
Right Click and Download Play Windows Media”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Talk Network, 27 March 2008
Posted by Jim Calloway: “Last week I highlighted Ed Bott's Ten Favorite Windows Programs of All Time.
Well, lots of people read and responded to his story. So now he has compiled an additional set of Ten Favorite Windows Programs from his readers. And, again, there are some real jewels included here. Interestingly, while Ed orginally focused on mostly free programs, many of his readers' suggestions carry a modest price tag. Still, to have a total of 20 of the very best Windows software programs listed and explained is a very good thing. Enjoy!”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 26 March 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “LinkedIn, a social networking site for business professionals, recently enhanced its service with company profiles and related information. Now when you display an individual's profile, you may follow the link behind any company listed in the profile to find information about it. CapitalIQ and BusinessWeek supply the data. LinkedIn also incorporates information provided by its members.
The information provided on Ballard Spahr is dated and incomplete. But it includes information not typically found in traditional sources; for instance, the names of newly hired employees and their previous place of employment.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 27 March 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=mar08/27mar08.xml
From the e-newsletter: “FindLaw for the Public's Real Estate Center has been expanded and re-designed, with 12 new sections -- including "Trespassing," "Insuring Your Home," and "Eminent Domain" -- and expanded content coverage for homeowners, tenants, landlords, home buyers, and home sellers.”
Source: FindLaw’s Public Advisor. 27 March 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the blog: “… I think we constantly underestimate the importance of taking time off and unwinding from the daily grind. We owe it to ourselves, our families and our clients to be on top of our game. That can’t occur unless you unplug every once in a while.
The thing I have noticed most since returning to work is that I do not sweat the small stuff near as much as I was in the months leading up to my vacation. After grinding it out day after day for months on end, the little things start to catch up with you. You ability to reasonably prioritize and emotionally deal with those little things is compromised. In short, I am a better lawyer today than I was when I left on my vacation. When was the last time you unplugged?”
The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 20 March 2008
Posted by Michelle Golden: “An endless number of tools exist to help individuals and organizations become more productive. Like weight loss "solutions," most are a lot more hype than help.
There is, however, one thing that I have witnessed that really does begin driving individuals and groups to improve in their productivity:
Understood and applied facilitation skills.
We all despise poorly run meetings. We all see projects—or parts of projects—fall apart, slip through the cracks, or consume exorbitant time and resources beyond reasonableness. And we see groups come together to accomplish something and struggle to formulate an approach, much less execute it…
One can learn some of this through formal training (more on that below) but I've learned even more from working with volunteers who lead or participate in the various committees of the organization. These people KNOW how to plan and execute.
I joined IAF to get better at facilitating leadership groups. But in the four years that I've attended conferences and become involved in the organization, I've also been gleaning core methodologies for:
• time management
• task management
• project leadership
• maximizing participation from even the toughest of characters
• managing dysfunction in a group
… I cannot think of a single firm that couldn't benefit from some skill-building in all these facets of facilitation. In fact, I think these should be core competencies of all leaders in all organizations.
Consider joining IAF and attending conferences of IAF in North America or elsewhere in the world and join Project Management Institute, as well.
This isn't a magic pill. If you're serious about getting the most out of yourself and your team, you need these skills to do so.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Golden Practices, 22 March 2008
Posted by StephanieWestAllen:
“THE MEDICAL USES OF HOPE by William M. Buchholz, MD
Hope is the thing with Feathers
That perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
-Emily Dickinson
Too frequently patients will complain, "The doctor gave me no HOPE," as if it were a sample or prescription that should have been offered along with the rest of the treatment. If HOPE were a medicine and listed like other drugs in the PDR, the entree might look like this.
Clinical Pharmacology:
HOPE is a naturally occurring substance created by an individual’s ability to project himself into the future and imagine something better than what exists in the present. It serves as a co-factor for most purposeful behavior and is necessary for coping with fluctuating feelings of despair, depression, fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
HOPE has three components: The individual hoping; the projection into the future (expectation); and the object, event, or state desired.
Individuals experiencing HOPE vary with respect to the density and binding constants of HOPE Receptors. There is both up- and down- regulation of receptors depending on the danger of the circumstances , the individual's sense of vulnerability, and the support system available. Certain individuals have a pathological need for HOPE and are susceptible to False HOPE.
Expectation, comprised of the subunits Credibility and Attainability, is conveniently measured as a vector having units of distance and difficulty (X,Y). Even if there is a strong belief that a goal is possible (Credibility), if the individual perceives it to be too difficult to attain, or that it is impossible to project himself into the future, Expectation will be low. Both intellectual and emotional Expectancies must be above threshold levels for HOPE to be effective.
The Object Desired is the most visible aspect of HOPE and may be expressed concretely or implied, (e.g. "I hope the surgery will cure the cancer. I hope everything turns out all right.") The strength of HOPE often depends on the meaning or importance (Preciousness) of the Object.
Pharmacokinetics:…
Continue reading this long, but very interesting post at the source site listed below.
Source: idealawg, 26 March 2008
In the news: “Did the practice management software you purchased fail to revolutionize your law firm overnight? Don't be embarrassed, says consultant Storm Evans, you're not necessarily a Luddite just because you can't learn everything this powerful software can do in one day.”
Storm Evans offers “some tips to painlessly increase your practice management technology expertise:
• Review the list of features in the software and decide what you want to learn next…
• Once you have a list of features, think about the information management issues in your office now. See if a feature on the list could help you solve that problem…
• Keep yourself motivated…
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 27 March 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Justin Patten: “I have just conducted an interview with Cole Silver. His profile is here but as he writes "As a lawyer and certified career and marketing consultant, I head up The Silver Group, a company specializing in career and business development for lawyers and professional service organizations. The high performance training, products and consulting activities that I offer have turned personal, professional and organizational visions into reality. As a motivator and innovator, with more than 27+ years of successful Legal and Executive Management expertise, I thrive on sharing empowering business development strategies that help people succeed in their careers."
My interview which focused on mediation and marketing is available to download here. There were excellent questions from Cole.
Download justin_patten.mp3”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Human Law Mediation, 12 February 2008
In the news: “Until recently, the path from law firms to in-house departments was usually a one-way trip -- but lawyers are increasingly finding that careers can go full circle. The image of in-house jobs as less demanding intermediary roles has faded, partly because the roles have evolved to become full-service functions central to major business decisions. Smith, Gambrell & Russell aviation partner Donald Mitchell says that his seven years working in-house at Delta proved to be ‘invaluable.’"
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 27 March 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by John Heckman: “Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell’s new book on collaboration tools and technologies got me thinking. They talk about using Intranets for in-house collaboration. My first reaction was: “that’s way overkill except for the largest firms.” But then it occurred to me: wait a minute, Amicus Attorney features the equivalent of a built-in Intranet, even if almost nobody uses it.
When you open Amicus, at the left of the “Dailies” page, there are customizable links to web pages - you can use it to link to the firm’s web page, to have the administrator put up important information, or for almost any other purpose…
A related function is the “Library” (also underused)… it could serve as an organized repository for all the useful links. You can also use it to refer to firm documentation, HR manuals, practices and policies, or as a “brief bank” that lists links to the firm-standard forms, pleadings, contracts, retainers, etc.”
The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Does It Compute?, 27 March 2008
Posted by Grant Griffiths: “Ben Stevens, Finis Price, Victor Medina and myself recorded our first Macs in the Law Office (MILO) Podcast a few days ago. And let me tell you, it was a blast. The format is informal, thank god. And we discuss all kinds of stuff concerning Macs in the law office. We plan to make this a regular feature.
You can listen to the post cast by visiting Victor's blog Victor Medina's Small Business and Solo Law Practice Blog.
And, be watching for Macs in the Law Office coming soon."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Home Office Lawyer, 4 March 2008
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “The most important thing that I took away from the ABA Tech Show doesn't have anything to do with a gee-whiz gadget or gizmo that will increase productivity or help lawyers work less and earn more. Instead, what I want to share are some of the trends that have taken hold of the profession and are changing not just the form of how we do business, but the substance of how we relate to other lawyers and most importantly, our clients.
Consider social networking tools like Facebook and Linkedin. For solos, these tools help combat isolation, but they do more than that. Social networking sites help us get to know colleagues on a more personal level so we have a sense of their personality and whether they'll be compatible with a potential referral source. Even more significantly, networking sites, in combination with listserves or Google Groups give lawyers the ability to create our own associations without having to rely on bar associations. For example, the D.C. Bar won't even sponsor a listserve, but who cares? My co-panelist, Toby Brown, described that one associate at his firm created a Texas Lawyers Linked In group and attracted 50 members within a day or two.
The collaborative technologies championed by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell also took central stage at the Tech Show, mentioned at virtually every panel that I attended (including my own). Collaborative technologies change the substantive nature of how we deal with clients…
Continue reading this interesting post and access active links at the source site listed below.
Source: My Shingle, 18 March 2008 [Found via “Dennis Kennedy's Links of the Week - March 16 and March 23, 2008”]
Posted by Brian J. Ritchey: “…the March, 2008 issue [of the The Harvard Business Review contains] a short article related to Web Retailing that I believe is a good example of why attorneys need to be spending more time blogging. Andreas B. Eisingerich and Tobias Kretschmer surveyed online customers on what drives them to purchase from a retailer. What they found is that online customers do more research and are more likely to purchase from a retailer that engages them than one who simply tries to sell product. They found that "exploiting consumers' desire for engagement is the single dominant driver of superior shareholder value for e-commerce companies."
". . .[Providing informational content] helps customers search for solutions, invites them to think of all the ways the core products might add value to their lives, wins their loyalty, and entices them to buy."
How does this translate into an endorsement of blogging? It is no different than creating a brochure or newsletter - it helps clients understand the law of their particular interest or need. It drives them to seek you when they need someone to represent them regarding related subject matter. Blogging is a continual dialogue, with very little in the way of up front cost (other than the pain involved in updating content regularly). Not only does blogging display the expertise of your firms and lawyers, it is a mechanism to drive business development.
To determine how blogging increases revenue (ie, to measure performance), you must track how clients come to you. Make sure your business software can track source of business…
As clients become more web-savvy, it will be the law firms with a strong web presence that will dictate the standards by which other firms compare. Providing information for your clients is good - providing updated analytical content written by attorneys in their specialty places your firm in a position to engage current and potential clients and drive superior shareholder value.”
Full text and the active link are available at the source site listed below.
Source: More Partner Income, 26 March 2008
Posted By Tom Kane: “Lawyers are happier when they are doing the work they like for the clients they like working for. As my long time readers know, I have sung and preached that mantra many times (here, here, here, here, here, and here). Furthermore, your law firm marketing will be more efficient and cost effective, if you focus your business development efforts on narrow market niche(s) that set you apart from the competition.
But, if you are having trouble identifying the “ideal” clients for your law firm, think about this for a minute. Try using the reverse approach. By that I mean determine your ideal clients by deciding the clients you DON’T want. Some may say that is a negative approach, but what the heck if it works for you.
Continue reading this interesting post and access active links at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Marketing Blog.com, 25 March 2008
From the site: “In this edition of The ESI Report, host Michele Lange, Attorney and Director of Legal Technologies at Kroll Ontrack, jumpstarts the Buzz with Karen Andersen, a technical consultant in Kroll Ontrack’s ESI Consulting Group, as they discuss common IT issues facing in-house counsel. In the Bits & Bytes segment, Kelly Kubacki, Kroll Ontrack’s Legal Correspondent, takes a look at the discovery order issued in Diabetes Centers of America, Inc. v. Healthpia America, Inc. Want to know what goes on in a day in the life of a corporate electronic discovery counsel? On the Spotlight, Allison Brecher, senior litigation counsel and e-discovery coordinator, for Marsh & McLennan Companies, focuses on a corporation’s e-discovery legal team.
Right Click and Download Play Windows Media”
Source: Legal Talk Network, 25 March 2008
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “I have been testing the beta version of a new search site that delivers results visually, showing pages rather than descriptions of pages. Called Searchme, it is by no means the first search engine to include images of matching Web pages within search results, but I have never seen one do it so smoothly and seamlessly. The best comparison is to the way an iPod touch or iTunes displays album covers in what Apple calls Cover Flow. In Searchme, the flow is similar, only it is showing Web pages, not CD covers.
Searchme is still in beta. As the company emphasizes, it is not yet ready for public release. Use is by invitation only -- you can request an invitation at the site's main page. The company also cautions that its index of Web pages is still relatively small -- around one billion. And its indexing program is still growing, but getting smarter every day.
As soon as you begin to enter a search query, icons begin to appear under the search box representing topics by which you can narrow your search. As I type "antonin scalia," for example, icons appear for U.S. government, courts, politicians, U.S. news and history. I can click and arrow to see even more. I can select one of these icons or ignore them and enter the search. After I enter the search, the icons remain on the search page, so I can use them to narrow my search at any time….
(You can see two videos demonstrating Searchme at YouTube.)
Continue reading this interesting post and access active links at the source site listed below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites, 25 March 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “As promised, here are some more great tips from this year's ABA Techshow.
Adriana Linares and Larry Smith had some tips on using Outlook to manage client and case information. Since we're all overwhelmed with email, one of the best tips I picked up was that you can change the subject line in an email - even an email that was sent to you by someone else. Often, when going back and forth via email, the subject of the discussion changes, but the email subject remains the same. When you're searching later for a particular email, it will be much easier to find if you change the email subject line. Simply open the email, click on the subject line and type your changes.
Don't forget to file your emails to make them easier to find (rather than keeping them all in your inbox).
Can't remember an email address or name?
Can't find a message you're looking for?
For even more search options, try the Tools menu…
Want to get rid of large emails and free up some space on your computer?
Follow up: Use follow up flags to follow up on email messages. But don't just flag the email - create a reminder as well by right-clicking and choosing 'add reminder.'...”
Read the full text and find the solutions in this great post!
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 25 March 2008
Jane's Information Services Ranks 50 Most Stable and Pro[s]perous Countries in the World
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: “UK Times Online: ‘A one-year investigation and analysis of 235 countries by Jane's Information Services has put the UK joint seventh in the premier league of nations with the US at 22nd and Switzerland, normally associated with wealth and untouchable stability, is rated 17th. Here is the full list...’”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 25 March 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
From the site: “Fast Facts About April Fools Day
A history of the day and loads of fast facts, no foolin’.
[Their] Source: Infoplease.com"
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: ResourceShelf, 26 March 2008
Posted by Susan Cartier-Liebel: “Now that Solo Practice University E-zine has more than 750 subscribers, I thought I would give you another sampling of the newsletter so you can decide if you would benefit from signing up to receive it or know of others who may. This edition is called "How To Set and Discuss Fees and here is an excerpt."
Setting fees for your legal services is a two-fold proposition. It isn't just learning what the going rate for legal services is, developing a standard or creative pricing strategy and then positioning yourself based upon your experience. It is also confidently being able to convey to the client the value of your services. To be competitive in the legal services marketplace you must properly price those services based upon both your demographic area and the practice area. Your fees are basically pre-determined by what the market/clientele can comfortably sustain as well as the education you provide them as to the value of your services.
However, there are many schools of thought on pricing services which also includes value billing, a concept which is gaining traction in the legal world and taking on the billable hour as a viable alternative. Value billing is in essence creating a pricing strategy which reflects both the value you place on your services and the value the client places on your services as well as the outcome. Some claim there is more partnership and control passed on to the client through this type of fee structuring and some claim it is more freeing to the attorney because they are no longer tied to the clock. Regardless the debate, this is a more complex pricing structure (imagine a seasoned chef who's recipe is a 'pinch of this' a 'smidgeon of that.' The operative word is 'seasoned.') So, for purposes of this newsletter we will primarily discuss the traditional methods and models of setting fees.
If you ask a twenty-year family law veteran the going rate in in your state's major city and she replies "$450 per hour against a $20,000 retainer," will that fly for a two-year attorney in your state's smaller towns? Probably not.
The most efficient way to learn what the market can sustain is to talk to other attorneys about the going rate for services and to check statutory restrictions and limitations for services.
There are many reasons to charge market rates for your skills even if you are fresh out of law school….”
Continue reading this interesting post at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 17 March 2008
In the news: “Love her or hate her, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's tenacity is something to be admired, says Andrews Kurth partner Kathleen Wu. Whether she'll win the Democratic nomination for president remains unclear. But win or lose, Clinton's campaign offers women lawyers some valuable lessons as they fight their own battles in this still male-dominated profession. Being thick-skinned, taking pride in one's appearance and never underestimating an opponent are all things women lawyers can take from Clinton's campaign.”
Other advice includes:
Stereotypes are tough to shake, and they can help and hurt women lawyers.
Fear not the "B" word.
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 March 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: NIJ Journal Issue No. 259, March 2008: The 'CSI Effect': Does It Really Exist?
• "Many attorneys, judges, and journalists have claimed that watching television programs like CSI has caused jurors to wrongfully acquit guilty defendants when no scientific evidence has been presented. The mass media quickly picked up on these complaints. This so-called effect was promptly dubbed the "CSI effect," laying much of the blame on the popular television series and its progeny."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 24 March 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: “Attention stressed-out law students: Now you can profit from your angst. Access Group, a nonprofit student loan company, is sponsoring a contest that will award $10,000 to the best law student video depicting what worries you in law school. Up all night studying? Can't find a summer job? Getting picked on by a professor? No money left to buy food? Whatever your woe, film it, upload it to YouTube, and enter it by June 15 in the One Less Worry Contest. Access Group will select 10 finalists and then open voting to the public on July 1. The recipient of the most votes by July 31 gets a $10,000 scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year.
To enter, you must be enrolled as a law student as of Aug. 1, 2008. The 10 finalists will be selected based on creativity, humor, realism, quality and overall appeal. Videos can be no longer than four minutes. And then there's the fine print, like don't defame anyone or promote bigotry or racism. As the alleged law students in the video below caution, "Remember, this is a family show." Entries will be compiled at this YouTube page.
[Hat tip to Eagleionline.]
[A short webcast that explains the contest is available at the source site listed below.]
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 24 March 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “One of the best kept secrets of the online world is that books still have relevance in research. Searchers generally believe the information they seek is, or ought to be, available on the Web - easy to find and free. If they think about books at all, they perceive them as more troublesome to access because they have to trek to the library or purchase them.
Yet doing so may actually save you hours of research time. In an age when information overload seriously affects the productivity of many lawyers, the profession needs better research skills as well as specific strategies for discovering certain types of information. This article addresses part of this challenge: It examines resources and strategies for finding books and book content.
How to Find a Book
Prior to launching any search, a researcher should give thought to potential sources of information. If you seek explanatory information on a topic or step-by-step guidance about how to accomplish something, then your research should encompass books.
Searching for relevant books entails 2 different methods. Let's call them the online method for books whose content is available electronically (for a fee or for free) and the in-print method for books available only in the traditional format. The strategy or strategies you follow depend on what you know and what you want...”
Continue reading this interesting and informative post at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 24 March 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=mar08/24mar08.xml
L. Buechner writes in an e-newsletter: “Justice Talking is a weekly National Public Radio program about “law and American life.” It is produced by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Each one hour shows focuses on a legal issue “that capture[s] the headlines,” such as stem cell research, privacy and the war on terror, and immigration policy. Justice Talking explores the legal issues through interviews with experts (legal and otherwise), debates between issue advocates, and “reports from the field” that place the issues in context. Users can access shows online for free through the “Hear Past Shows” link; they can listen to shows online, download shows, or subscribe to the Justice Talking podcast. Users can search past programs with keyword search, or by guest name. The “Join the Debate” section of the site contains blogs for each show, where users can post comments; free registration is required. The Talking Justice blogs contain expert commentary legal issues; some of the commentary is by issue advocates, however, their affiliations are clearly indicated. Users can perform a basic search of the blogs. The “Find Out More” section of the site contains links to outside legal websites, grouped into three categories: blogs, legal information, and legal advocacy.”
Source: “InSite.” Vol. 13, No. 15. 24 March 2008. Cornell University Law Library. To subscribe send the following request to: listproc@cornell.edu: Subscribe InSITE-L [YourFirstName] [YourLastName]
Product Update: Now Encoding at 700 KBPS
From the site:
“…we’ve given our transcoders a major kick: we’re now transcoding user uploads to 700kpbs! That’s up from 300 kpbs in the past. Transcoders are those robots that diligently turn your video file into flash format. We also boosted the capacity of our uploader. This means better and faster uploads from start to finish. Of course, this doesn’t re-encode anything you’ve already uploaded; this is for new uploads only. As always, the final quality depends on the original video file. So keep your bitrate high, we’re ready for it.
So, here’s Yahoo! Video by the numbers: a 16:9 aspect ratio, 150 mb uploads, and 700 kpbs transcoding.“
[This will greatly speed up your webcast and podcast uploading!]
[Their] Source: Yahoo Video Blog
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: ResourceShelf, 25 March 2008
Posted by Nerino Petro: “I’m a big fan of backing up your data (as I’ve made clear in prior posts including this one). Using traditional email programs such as Outlook, Thunderbird, Outlook Express, you have copies of your emails on your computer and can make backups of them. With the increasing use of web based email such as Google’s Gmail email service, how do you create a local backup of all of your emails? While I can’t address every web based mail service, you can learn how to make a local backup of your Gmail account from this article on Wired’s How-To-Wiki.
(For Hotwire users, check out this article from Wired.)
Remember, don’t be an idiot: backup your data.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Nerino Perto’s Compujurist.com, 20 March 2008
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “Having children impacts lawyer productivity in different ways depending on gender, concludes a recent investigation by the British Psychological Society, reported here. After studying the schedules and billing records of 670 lawyers in Alberta, Canada, researchers Jean Wallace and Marisa Young found that when women lawyers have children, their productivity (or at least hours worked) decreases. The decrease occurs because female lawyers with children usually juggle professional and domestic responsibilities. By contrast, male lawyers with children were found to be more productive than their childless male counterparts, which according to the study " is consistent with the dominant cultural view of men as breadwinners, such that those with greater family responsibilities put in more hours to earn more money." At the same time, male lawyers with children were more likely to have a partner who did not work and could assume responsibility for household duties.
The study also examined the impact of "family friendly" work practices on productivity. Interestingly, the researchers concluded that flexible hours negatively impacted the productivity of male staff, but not female staff.
So which category of lawyers is most productive? That would be childless female lawyers, whose productivity exceeds that of their childless male counterparts and male and female lawyers with children.
My biggest gripe with the study is that it uses hours as a proxy for productivity. But as we all know, hours billed don't necessarily correlate to efficiency; indeed, longer hours may signal less productivity, not more. I'd be curious to see, for example, whether women lawyers manage to complete tasks more quickly precisely because they have less time. If that's the case (and I suspect it is), perhaps having children makes them productive, not less.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 21 March 2008
Posted by Bonnie Shucha: “Carol Bannen, Director of Information Resources at Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, has compiled a useful list of Tips for Monitoring Cases in the March edition of the Wisconsin Lawyer. She describes a range of publications and alert services which will notify legal practitioners of new cases in their practice areas.”
This article is NOT Wisconsin-specific and will provide useful tips for us!
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: WisBlawg, 19 March 2008
Posted by JD Hull: “Here's a fine post on an important subject: Clients or Team Members - Which Comes First? at Innovative Practice Management. Obviously, for WAC?, the client is first. Employees and "team members", while key, can't ever be put ahead of the client. And I get all the Stephen Covey peace-and-love stuff about employees... Lots of very intelligent staff people and associates in the market are very happy going through business life without a client-focus. The answer is to avoid them or get rid of them right away. My question: is the standard in our profession for client service and actual delivery of legal services high enough in the first place? And do we ever even meet it? …My take is that on CS, we're still in the dark ages, and mediocre is the best we can do. The key is employees. Are we asking ourselves and them to do enough--and policing it?”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: What About Clients? , 19 March 2008
Posted by Lori Herz: “This is the cautionary word from business communications expert Tom Sant, who’s interviewed in the March 2008 edition of Management Consulting News.
Sant’s latest book is The Language of Success. In the interview, he explains that it’s the business writer’s responsibility to “take the reader into account and modify the message to get through—even if your reader is dumb as a post.” Sant sees this obligation as a contract of sorts. If you breach that agreement, he says, readers have an absolute right to be put off.
…In his book, he identifies four common pseudo-languages:
• Fluff - Using vague generalizations and assertions
• Guff – Using big words, long sentences, lots of passive voice and convoluted constructions to convey superior intelligence or knowledge
• Geek – Using jargon-filled language instead of everyday terms
• Weasel – Using lots of subjunctive construction so that everything comes across as a hypothetical and nothing stands as an assertion
In addition to outing these pseudo-languages, Sant quotes a study finding that “comprehension drops dramatically when you substitute a longer synonym for just one out of every six short, everyday words.” Not only do big words make our writing harder to understand, they also make readers question our competence.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Write for Clients, 12 March 2008
Hosts Denise Howell, Bret Fausett, Cathy Kirkman, Collette Vogele, and Marty Schwimmer discuss: WikiLeaks, Julius Baer, Dynadot, registrars, domain tasting vs. front running, ICANN, Network Solutions, and more.
Talking points can be found at http://del.icio.us/thisweekinlaw/13.
The podcast runs for 58:06 and can be downloaded to an MP3 from the blog post.
Source:TwiT.TV, 17 March 2008
J. Jones writes in an e-newseltter: “CourTopics is one of many excellent sources of information provided by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). ‘Through original research, consulting services, publications, and national educational programs, NCSC offers solutions that enhance court operations with the latest technology; collects and interprets the latest data on court operations nationwide; and provides information on proven ‘best practices’ for improving court operations.’ CourTopics is a research-oriented database that provides cites to articles, books, websites, databases and other resources on over 130 court related topics. InfoCenters bring together all interrelated CourTopics on a single broad subject for easy browsing. The State Links Index provides links to available state websites on a multitude of subjects. The Alphabetical List of Topics allows quick access to the many individual CourTopics available. While CourTopics is not searchable by itself, the entire NCSC web site is. For researchers interested in any subject related to the state judiciary system, NCSC and CourTopics are excellent resources.”
Source: “InSite.” Vol. 13, No. 15. 24 March 2008. Cornell University Law Library. To subscribe send the following request to: listproc@cornell.edu: Subscribe InSITE-L [YourFirstName] [YourLastName]
Posted by Tom Mighell: “JD Supra is an innovative new website that aims to provide free access to all sorts of legal documents -- forms, articles, filings, etc. The companion blog, JD Scoop, …aim[s] to provide commentary on court filings and decisions, interviews with contributors, as well as postings on media coverage, marketing, legal knowledge management, and more.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 24 March 2008
Posted by Darren Rowse: “Thinking about quitting your blog? Dee Stewart examines some way to give it a new lease of life.
Thinking about cutting the plug on your blog?
I almost did last year after I found myself busy with other projects, my Adsense and Chitika checks were waining and especially after I noticed that many of my blog friends had shut down their blogs or were barely using them. At first I wondered was I kissing a dinosaur? Should I stop blogging and move onto something better?
But for some odd reason my blog would not go gentle into that goodnight.
Furthermore, as a host of niche book blog I still had tons of books to review, local and national book events planned, authors penned in my interview calendar and book news to get out. I couldn’t end things, if I wanted to.
So I went back through some of the blog comments to get another perspective on the matter. To my surprise, I discovered the blog, had ideas, plans and things to share with me about our future. We began to reconnect and slowly CFB has brought back that blogging feeling to me. Perhaps your blog wants to do that to you.
Here are 5 things your blog comments provide that can help breathe life back into your blog.
1. Go back and read your blogs comments…
2. Take Cues from Negative Comments…
3. Use Unique Comments for Blog Series…
4. Post Comments for Weekend Feedback…
5. Farm Guestbloggers…
Bonus: After I reconnected with my blog some wild things happened. My Amazon sales went up, CPCs rose, subscribers increased, I received more writing gigs and a new opportunity as Entertainment Editor for a national womens print magazine…the blog begin to pulse again.
Dee Stewart is a multimedia journalist, freelance editor, News Editor for Hope for Women Magazine, book critic and Gospel Diva Mama of a seven-year-old Georgia Peach. Visit her at Christian Fiction Blog.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: ProBlogger, 23 March 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “What can you do with 15 minutes? You might be surprised. Take the 15 minute challenge: try one of the techniques below to get organized and stop procrastinating today.
15 minute pick-up
Before you leave the office at the end of the week, take 15 minutes to do a quick pick up of your office – move out files or paperwork that doesn’t belon