Posted by Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: “Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends did all the heavy-lifting when she asked one simple question of famous marketing superstars:
"Please share just one of your best kept marketing secrets."
Here are a few excerpts:
◊ Seth Godin, SethGodin.com – “Make promises and keep them. So obvious, it’s become a secret.”
◊ Jackie Huba, Church of the Customer – “Attracting is the new selling. It is the least-visible, and least-examined principle behind most companies today that are growing quickly through word of mouth.”
◊ Jonathan Fields, Awake at the Wheel – “Decide whether you want to feed your ego or your family. Sexy, expensive image-building campaigns might win your ad-firm a Clio, but, with rare exceptions they don’t put money in your bank or food on your table … at least at the level small businesses can afford. So, drive your branding efforts with free PR in the early days and spend your money on measurable direct-response marketing that delivers X dollars of revenue for every dollar spent on marketing.”
◊ Toby Bloomberg, Diva Marketing – “Forget what your mama or your preacher taught you. The Golden Rule does NOT work for developing marketing strategy. Your customers do not want to be treated “as you would like to be treated.” In understanding your customers you might discover that their values, needs and expectations differ from yours. New Golden Rule For Marketers: Do Unto Your Customers As THEY Would Like To Be Treated.”
This original post is filled with great "secrets" as are the 137 comments which follow. There are also numerous links to some great websites.
Learn from: "Top Experts Dish with Their Best Kept Marketing Secrets"
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC., 29 June 2008
Posted by Erik Mazzone: “According to Steve Matthews, the blogging brain behind Law Firm Web Strategy, the number of lawyers on LinkedIn (the professional social networking site) is up to 216,000. That number belies the incredible rate at which lawyers are jumping on board very recently. By Steve’s measure (piggybacking on a search done in April by Kevin O’Keefe), 98,000 lawyers have joined LinkedIn in the last two months!
Are you on LinkedIn yet? It’s easy and free. Here’s a link to my profile. When you join, add me to your network and you will be on your way to building your list of contacts.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Law Practice Matters, 13 June 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “Most (if not all) email programs include a feature which will allow you to customize your email 'signature' - the information at the bottom of your outgoing emails.
Your email signature can be a great marketing tool.
Is your email signature pulling its weight? Here are some things to consider incorporating into your email signature on business-related emails:
Your full name...
Your firm name...
Your logo...
Your firm's tagline...
Your contact information...
Your complete website url…
So far, these suggestions have been pretty basic. But countless lawyers who send business emails or participate in list serves or other email activities that are intended to create or foster business relationships forget to include these basic items. Does your email signature include them?
If you're with me so far, stay tuned for next week's "Do Something!" post for some more 'advanced' suggestions that can really make a big difference.
Want more information like this? There's lots of articles and information at the Lawyer Meltdown website. You can even get information in your email inbox, including the Lawyer Meltdown Newsletter.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 27 June 2008
Posted by Mister Thorne: “A common error many attorneys make when writing client alerts is this: they use exactly the same style of writing that they use in their daily work.
But that doesn’t work very well. When you write a brief, someone else has to read it. But when you write a client alert, no one has to read it.
If you want your alert to attract an audience, write it so it’s as easy to read as can be. The easier you make it for readers to read what you wrote, the more likely they are to do just that (and recommend what you wrote to others).
Read the rest of this entry »”
The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below
Source: Set in Style, 18 June 2008
Posted by David Swanner: “I did a very difficult thing yesterday. I turned down a case of a friend’s son. The facts aren’t important, other than it wasn’t a good case. Liability and causation of injuries were not there. There was a significant gap in treatment and even pain symptoms and the young man worked in construction.
In days gone by, I would have ordered the accident report, got the initial meds and seen what we could do with it. But in the long run, we really wouldn’t be able to do much of anything with it. The insurance company might have settled it for nuisance value, but that’s about it. So, I talked to the man and told him that we could not help him and why.
It was difficult, I had done a significant case for his father. I had done a number of cases for the family. I took a second, third and fourth look at the case trying to convince myself that I would be able to do something with the case, but in the long run, I knew that I couldn’t, so I turned the case down.
Continue Reading”
The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below
Source: South Carolina Trial Law Blog, 21 June 2008
Posted by Derek Shutz: “Most law firms understand intuitively that the value of inventory (both WIP and A/R) degrades over time, but by how much and how quickly? The ability to understand and answer these two questions is the first step in preparing a realistic, forward looking valuation model; one that can identify opportunities and drive action, rather than simply report on past performance.
To begin to answer the question of the future value of current inventory, it is important to realize there are two different forces diminishing a firm’s return on work performed, and both have the same basis: time. In essence the old adage “Time is Money” is true; as time passes, your inventory becomes less valuable.
The first and most basic of the two forces is widely known and easily calculated. For our purposes, we will call it the Time Value of Money effect, or TVM. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow... However, many law firms simply disregard this as a cost against their inventory, or use such a low discount rate, as to make it negligible. When considering a firm’s discount rate, too often factors such as reasonable market expectations of returns and inflation are swept aside. In the model below we use a simple method (with two different Discount Rates) to determine the cost of time on a firm’s inventory: Amount X Daily Discount Rate X Open Days; where the Daily Discount Rate = Yearly Discount Rate/365 days.
[The chart is available from the source link below]
The second, and in most cases much larger charge to your inventory, is what we will call the risk of default (this refers to both defaulting on receivables and not billing work in progress). This is the risk that a firm will not realize a portion, or the entirety, of the value of work performed...
In the example below, such a curve is constructed for a client based on a set period of time and then applied to four matters with outstanding A/R (a similar model can be built for the WIP side). A total of $200,000 has been billed over the life of this client, with $175,000 eventually being realized (or 87.5% seen at day 0). As might be expected, the majority of the collections (> 50%) have historically taken place within the first 90 days. The Fwd A/R Expectation Curve helps quantify the expectation of collection (or non-collection) as current A/R ages based on prior practices (i.e. at 240 days, $50,000 has been available to collect, but only $25,000 has been collected, giving us a historical realization expectation of 50%; therefore, if current A/R now ages to 240 days, we would expect to realize 50% and lose 50%). Of course, like any forecast, our model will not be 100% correct at each level of granularity, but it does provide a logical, and historically proven, method to value inventory, particularly at the firm level.
[The chart is available from the source link below]
While simplified, the models above allow us a better understanding of a) how much of the work we have currently performed we expect to realize and b) the actual value of that work once we do realize it. Any questions, concerns, or comments on the above can be directed to Dschutz@redwoodanalytics.com.
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: More Partner Income, 27 June 2008
From the e-newsletter: “Think only celebrities, high-ranking professionals and the wealthy can enjoy having personal assistants at their beck and call? Not necessarily.”
Source: FindLaw’s Modern Practice: Law & Technology. 27 June 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by Darren Rowse: “Over the last two weeks I’ve been running a 10 part series here at ProBlogger on 10 ways that you can let your blog go and what you should do about them. The series is now complete with the following 10 methods to let your blog go.
1. Lack of Posting
2. Getting Off Topic
3. Becoming a Self Centered Blogger
4. Great Content… Bad Titles
5. Letting Comment Spam Take Over Your Blog
6. Excuse Posts
7. Becoming a Negative Blogger
8. Having a Lack of Original Content
9. Becoming Obsessed with Any One Aspect of Your Blog
10. Stretching Yourself Too Thinly
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: ProBlogger, 30 June 2008
From the blog: “For better or worse, Ohio law currently only requires prosecutors to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense in a criminal case. Although there are strenuous opponents, the law does not require prosecutors to turn over all police reports, witness statements and evidence. However, in a case that begs the question of what is exculpatory and/or should be disclosed, local Common Pleas Judge Eileen Gallagher has ordered the prosecution in the Holliman case (Case No. CR-07-503030-C on the Cuyahoga County CP docket) to turn over clothing and a bloody plastic bat allegedly used in the murder of a 15-year old girl and the stabbing of a boy who tried to help her. In a case of he said/she said, the prosecution is claiming that there was nothing to turn over because they had the defendants 'dead to rights' and thus did not need to order DNA testing, while the defense is presumably arguing that the items contained DNA that could or should have been tested to absolve them of criminal liability. Cases that discuss prosecutorial duties in reviewing and disclosing exculpatory evidence include State v. Lawson, 64 Ohio St.3d 336 (1992) and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). For a discussion of privileged, confidential, law enforcement, investigatory records under Ohio's public records laws, see the 2008 Ohio Sunshine Laws Book from the Ohio Attorney General.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 26 June 200
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: "The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. The Statutes at Large is prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Every public and private law passed by Congress is published in the Statutes at Large, in order of the date it was enacted into law. 109th Congress, 2nd Session (2006), Volume 120 Only."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 26 June 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Stewart Weltman: “Today it is tougher than ever for young aspiring litigators to get hands on in court experience. More and more young litigators are becoming litigation partners having never tried a case let alone first chair it.
Litigator used to mean trial lawyer, now it means litigator. The Catch-22 of today's litigation environment - cases are so big the clients and the situations demand that senior lawyers handle the critical in court aspects of big cases, few cases are tried and little cases are even less likely to be tried.
It even afflicted my generation. While my firm - a mid-size firm - took on smaller matters just so that we could get trial experience and I volunteered for any case that was likely to go to trial ( I tried a defective wood deck case, a defective kitchen linoleum case etc.), most private litigation associates - particularly those in large firms - got no trial experience. Most of them didn't even get to take depositions until they were senior associates "let alone try cases. As a result, many became "litigation" partners without ever trying a case.
It is even worse today. Why? Because now it is accepted in most firms that "litigation" partners may never try a case. But this is a real deficit for anyone who is serious about being a litigator. If you don't know how it is to actually try a case, you are at a distinct disadvantage as a litigator.
The best litigators prepare every case - even if they think that they are going to get it dismissed - with the assumption that it is going to be tried. This approach causes one to shed the unnecessary and focus on the necessary.
But if you haven't tried cases then you don't have a clue about how to prepare a case for trial. The two go hand in hand.
Those who have trial experience are going to be a rare breed and under the law of supply and demand, those of you who want to have a leg up on your competition should get thee to a courtroom.
If your current firm won't provide you with this experience, start looking for some place that will. Those who do - who take the risk of forging their own career path - will achieve personal and professional autonomy while at the same time will have the confidence of knowing that they know the score when it comes to this thing called litigation.”
Source: Lean and Mean Litigation Blog, 27 June 2008
Posted by Julie Fleming-Brown: “A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Cole Silver, attorney and certified marketing consultant. He interviewed me as a part of his Expert Audio Series, and we had a marvelous conversation about leadership development in law firms. (That interview will be coming soon on the blog, but if you would like to receive it now, please send an email to latbinterview AT aweber.com.) I decided to turn the table and interview Cole, because the more I talked with him, the more intrigued I became about his work and his point of view on client development and client service. Here’s an excerpt from the transcript:
Cole: You know what? It’s really in a sense not fair in a way that things have changed. I’m in my 50s so I’ve lived through it. When I graduated law school you just had to be a good lawyer. If you stayed at one firm you made partner. Everything was pretty good. You were going to stay there and life was going to be pretty good.
But somewhere along the line the rules completely changed. Now we are completely measured
(Read the rest of the entry…)”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Life at the Bar, 24 June 2008
Posted by Raymond Ward: “Briefwriters are told to state the issue first, before the statement of facts. Why? Because knowing the issue the issue enables the reader to give meaning to the facts.
This isn’t a legal-writing thing; it’s a writing-for-humans thing. For elaboration, read this post by Roy Jacobsen, commenting on John Medina’s book, Brain Rules. Roy says that “there’s plenty in [this book] for writers to learn.” That grabs my interest.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The (New) Legal Writer, 21 June 2008
Posted by Wayne Schiess: “This needs a hyphen:
excessive fee litigation
Does this mean that fee litigation is excessive? Or does it mean that the litigation is about excessive fees? As written, it means the first, but the writer intended it to mean the second. Here's how it should have been punctuated:
excessive-fee litigation
Lawyers don't hyphenate their phrasal adjectives enough.
For more guidance, see Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage at page 657.
Hat tip to the (new) legal writer.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legalwriting.net, 18 June 2008
Posted by Darren Rowse: “Amrit Hallan from Content Blog writes today about how improving your writing can improve the performance of your blog - Image by The Trial.
Why are writers banned and persecuted in undemocratic countries? Because the written word is stronger than the entire governments and the ruthless forces they wield upon their masses. Effective writing can awaken civilizations and trigger unprecedented upheavals. If you’re not using writing as a potent tool for the success of your blog you are missing a big opportunity.
Although people do many things with their blogs like posting pictures and videos, they mostly write on their blogs. Writing is the primary mode of articulation when it comes to blogging; everything happens through writing if you publish written content on your blog. Since the promotion of your blog is as important as the regular updates here too the strength of you writing ability plays a crucial part — we will come to that later on.
By being a “better writer” I don’t mean that you have to give Stephen King, Salman Rushdie and Garcia a run for their money. It also doesn’t mean having good presentation but no substance. Relevance is a factor that is quintessential to the success of your blog but how you present the relevant topic also matters a lot.
You simply need to know how to convey your message compellingly and convincingly. This involves a certain comfort level with the words and the language you use. The comfort level helps you write fast especially when you have to write multiple blog posts or when you have to interact on various forums and comment sections. If you spend hours writing/editing/proofreading just one blog post it is going to be a very laborious task and soon you will run out of steam unless the passion is indefatigable.
Writing is a skill that can be acquired without even having formal training — most best-seller authors never received formal training in writing. I myself have a math background but earn my living writing for others (hope to do it solely for myself in the near future).
How you can learn to write well would be a topic for another blog post, but here I’m briefly discussing the benefits of this quality.
Writing well gives you a unique personality as a blogger…
The ability to write well saves you lots of time and consequently makes you more productive as a blogger…
Writing well keeps your readers coming to your blog again and again…
Writing well helps you promote your blog…
Amrit Hallan blogs at Content Blog. He writes about blogging, content trends and online copywriting.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: ProBlogger, 27 June 2008
Posted by Frank Watson: “Set the date aside, July 8th, if you want to get the inside scoop on Google's website tools. As announced today over at the Official Google Blog, they will be holding a webinar about Google Analytics, Website Optimizer and Webmaster Tools.
These Google products have become an invaluable set of tools for most serious web owners and marketers and it will be a great opportunity to see if there are any methods one is not using at the moment.
It will be interesting to see what numbers sign up for this and if Google can handle the potentially huge crowd signing up for this event.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: SearchEngineWatch.com, 26 June 2008
By Bob Weiss: “How do you graciously decline solicitations for local charities, including those made by clients and referral sources, which unexpectedly contact your firm for support?
A best practice is to have an annual budget designating what your firm will spend and which groups you’ll support each year. Budgeting in advance makes it easy to decline unexpected donation requests. You can decline by letter, email, or voice mail, whichever is most appropriate in light of your relationship to the group or person making the request. A number of marketing directors and consultants from around the country contributed to the language and messages below. Consider using these points when declining to make a donation:…
The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below
Source: Law Practice Today, June 2008
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “One of the products to be introduced this week at Legal Tech West Coast is Clio, a Web-based practice management suite designed for solo and smaller-firm lawyers. It is still in beta and pricing is not yet available, but anyone interested can sign up to participate for free in the beta testing of this software as a service. I have not yet tried it. According to an announcement, its features include:
• Time tracking: Track time by client, matter, and task.
• Billing and reporting: Includes integrated tracking for trust funds and retainers and generates customized invoices and outstanding bill reminders.
• Client/contact management: A contact management system that links to information on clients, matters and billings.
• Task scheduling: A calendaring and reminder system that allows tracking of appointments by day, week or month.
• Document management: Securely access documents online and track document versions.
• Trust management: Maintain and track trust transaction records.
• Practice performance metrics: Track current, expected and target billing figures daily, weekly or monthly.
As for security, Clio is said to use password protection with bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption. Data is backed up daily to a secure, offsite data center, and frequent third-party audits ensure data security.
A core advantage of a SaaS such as this is that it avoids the need to purchase, install and maintain software. Pricing, of course, will be an all-important determinant of its popularity. Clio was developed by Themis Solutions Inc., Vancouver, B.C. “
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Law Sites, 25 June 2008
Posted by Ed Poll: “Mike Downey is an attorney with Hinshaw and Culbertson LLP in St. Louis, MO. He recently spoke to several members of the Finance Core Group, Law Practice Management Section, American Bar Association, about the reasons for and some ethical considerations of alternative legal fees. His comments were well-spoken and directly on target for lawyers who have client responsibilities in negotiating fees before the inception of legal work.
27 minutes, 24 seconds
6.4MB
Click here to listen.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Law Biz Blog, 24 June 2008
Posted by Tom Kane: “Anyone who has been developing business for awhile pretty much knows that certain things are not true, and can adversely impact their marketing efforts. But it doesn’t hurt to occasionally be reminded what some of them are.
Trey Ryder does just that in his current newsletter in an article he calls “11 Deadly Assumptions That Kill Your Marketing Program.” In summary his assumption no-no’s include:
1. Clients and prospects know what services I provide;
2. Referral sources will send me all the clients I need;
3. When clients or potential clients have a question, they’ll call;
4. My marketing materials don’t need my photo;
5. Interacting often with prospects is a waste of time;
6. Prospects will remember what I tell them, so I shouldn’t repeat myself;
7. Business clients and prospects understand legal jargon;
8. Certain marketing methods don’t work like they use to;
9. The more complicated my message, the more clients will feel they need my services;
10. Graphics in ads are less important than the message; and
11. People understand that I’m busy when I don’t return phone calls promptly.
Most lawyers know that such statements are false on their face. Ya think! Then, how come some lawyers act as if some of the assumptions are true?”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 26 June 2008
From the e-newsletter: “In the crowded online marketplace for legal services, where Web sites struggle to attract attention, video is a terrific tool for communicating your unique message in a format consumers enjoy. A well crafted online video can help you connect with more prospects, and promote your firm in a way that's both personal and highly professional.”
Related Resources
• More Legal Marketing
Source: FindLaw’s The Practice Paper: For Solo & Small Firm Lawyers. 25 June 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by Allison Shields: “Erin Ferree, author of the blog, not just pretty, reminds us in two posts, Marketing when you're more than a freelancer but not quite a brand Part I and II that even if you're small, it's important to create a brand, and that you can do so without breaking the bank.
Here are Erin's 6 steps to brand creation:
1. Be honest in your "About Us" pages and biographical information in your printed materials (look the right size);
2. Don't be afraid to use "I" instead of "we" if you're a solo;
3. Be honest about the use of subcontractors;
4. Create a brand to act as the face of your business;
5. Always act professionally;and
6. Be organized about your brand and your marketing.
When Erin talks about being organized about your brand, she talks about knowing:
• Who you are (your personality, values, and mission - as a business)
• What you do (the products/services you provide, and how you deliver them)
• What makes you different from your competitors (what makes you stand out?)
• Who you can best help (what customers do you enjoy working with?)
These four elements are truly the foundation of your marketing and business development - efforts, but they can often be overlooked, especially if they don't put the appropriate focus and emphasis on the client. If you want help defining those four elements, and creating a marketing or brand message around them, the audio series, "How to Grow Your Law Practice on a Shoestring Budget" might be a good place to start. Find out more here.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 26 June 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “Christine Hamilton-Pennell, whose company provides training, consulting and research to communities developing local entrepreneurship support initiatives, outlines the competitive research needs of small business owners. She discusses strategies and resources for finding competitors, conducting market research and discovering industry trends.
RELATED: How To Find Out Who Owns a Small Business
The Virtual Chase, 5 May 2008
RELATED: Company Information Guide
The Virtual Chase, updated 11 June 2008”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 24 June 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=jun08/24jun08.xml
In the news: “Microsoft's Sharepoint, extranets and e-mail are well-known collaborative platforms. But there are innovative, new collaboration technologies "in the cloud" -- Internet-based sites and services that aren't necessarily designed for the legal community, but that lawyers can use.”
Topics include:
SHARING LARGE FILES
MIND-MAPPING
SCHEDULING MEETINGS
SCREEN SHARING
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 26 June 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by StephanieWestAllen: “What is one essential ingredient in an exciting, energizing, engrossing legal career? Or in any satisfying career? You have to be engaged in something that really grabs your interest, that really catches your attention—everyday. If you are toiling away at some job that does not match your interests, I am betting you will not be happy. In evaluating your career, knowing your strengths (aptitudes) is important as is knowing your values. But so is discovering your interests. Here's a five-step process for going on the interests hunt. The steps are adapted from Don't Waste Your Talent: The 8 Critical Steps to Discovering What You Do Best.
1) Start an Interest File…
2) Keep Your File for at Least Three Weeks…
3) Don’t Try to Make Sense of It Right Away…
4) After A Few Weeks, Open up Your Interest File…
5) Name Your Groupings…
And there you go! You have discovered the invigorating fuel and pull you will need if your career is going to be one that calls to you each and every day. A career without interests is like a day without sunshine.”
The full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: idealawg, 24 June 2008
From the blog: “There is an interesting discussion going on over at the LinkedIn Intellectual Property Message Board concerning legal process outsourcing (LPO).
There are some who argue that legal process outsourcing - essentially using virtual worker - could save up to fifty percent of costs. There’s also an indication that law firms such as Clifford Chance, Smith Dornan, Dean, LLP have already set up captive outsourcing operations in India and that other large law firms will be following the trend.
One commenter indicates that outsourcing creates the potential for a loss and control over the project, difficulty in enforcing outsourcing agreements in countries where legal recourse is unreliable, confidentiality concerns and taking away legal services from American attorneys.
I always find the commentary concerning the use of virtual workers to be somewhat strained. First off, it has always been unclear to me why anyone would send outsource services to India when there are thousands of virtual law clerks and paralegals right here in the United States at virtually the same rates (or less) as being charged offshore. I would much rather have a Harvard law student performing law clerk tasks, than someone in India. Chances are the United States-based law student will work harder for less.
One comment is worth exploring a little further. There is a risk of losing control over the tasks being performed unless there are active management systems in place. We use an extranet system in order to manage projects. Every project is defined as a small task in the extranet. The background information is provided into the extranet. Most of the content is dictated into the extranet, making it extremely easy for any attorney to impart their thoughts on a virtual worker. If a task isn’t being done properly, the cause most of the time will be inappropriate management by the attorney involved. An extranet can help you break up the project into small enough pieces that they become essentially “idiot proof” and manage the tasks effectively towards defined deliverables.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 24 June 2008
Posted by Tom Kane: "Humberto Cruz, the author of “The Savings Game,” a financial column that appears in a number of newspapers, had an article last week in my local paper entitled “That advice for bad times? It’s not just for bad times.” (at least that was its title in my local paper) “Continue Reading” below if you want to read about Cruz’s financial suggestions.
The point is that the article got me thinking about how the principle works just as well for lawyers. Simply put, what works best for lawyers in a down economy, works just as well in good times – albeit less urgently
.
Effective marketing and business developments works any time. That brings me back to my top 10 best marketing tips, which are:
No. 10 – Be Active In Organizations
No. 9 – Networking With Super-Connectors
No. 8 – Take A Reporter To Lunch
No. 7 – Write Articles of Interest
No. 6 – Talk It Up With More Speeches
No. 5 – Communicate Often
No. 4 – Offer To Make Proposal
No. 3 – Seek Client Feedback Often
No. 2 – Entertain Your Client
No. 1 – Visit Your Clients
Whether or not the current down economy is adversely impacting your law practice, these tips will help you develop more business.
Continue Reading”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 24 June 2008
Posted by Jim Calloway: “At our 2008 OBA Solo and Small Firm Conference, Judge Gary Dean of Prior, OK (who was chair of the 1st OBA Solo and Small Firm Conference before rising to the bench) stumped our panel of experts with this inquiry: " I am seeking a reasonably simple (and inexpensive) device to be able to download and print cell phone messages and call logs. Hopefully something simple enough for a law enforcement officer with reasonable computer skills to use. In domestic violence and protective order cases which I handle, I am seeing an ever increasing volume of threats and harassment by cell text messages. In domestic protective order cases the messages have been kept and are frequently shown to me. The problem is preservation for possible later court use."
…
The problem with using Internet research for such a query is that many products promise but do not deliver and, generally speaking, the terms "inexpensive" and "electronic evidence preservation" don't even go on the same piece of paper, much less in the same sentence.
…
I queried my friend John Simek, figuring he could give me a list of devices costing five figures that would get the judge off my back. John, as many readers know, is the vice-president of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., a computer forensics firm. He has a list of credentials a mile long.
With his permission, I am passing along his response to my readers.
"There is really only one 'sure fire' way to document text messages, call logs, etc. from ALL cell phones," John says. "That way is to take pictures of the actual screen of the phone while the user accesses the various functions. We use a device called Project-a-Phone that is available from Paraben. It only costs $295, which is a bargain for documenting cell phone contents. We also have several multi-thousand dollar software/hardware combinations to get the cell phone data. However, no single solution gets all of the data from EVERY cell phone."
"To compound the problem, we have several hardware kits that contain hundreds of data cables to connect to the cell phone. Sometimes a particular model phone is not supported by one vendor so we have to try another one of our kits to see if we have the data cable and ability to extract information. The beauty of the Project-a-Phone is that you don’t need any data cables, which means it works with every phone. You are just taking a picture of the screen. This means that you are only capturing (documenting) the logical data and cannot retrieve any deleted information that may exist. As with anybody taking crime scene photos, there needs to be a chain of custody and, perhaps, a statement from the examiner that they are the ones who retrieved the data on a particular date while observing cell phone model XXX and serial number YYY-ZZZ. I think you get the picture! (bad pun)."
That was all probably elementary to a computer forensics professional, but I found it fascinating! I hope you found it interesting.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 24 June 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “Karen Blakeman shares the top search tips of attendees at her advanced workshop, Google and Beyond.
RELATED: Web Searching with Advanced Commands
The Virtual Chase, 15 May 2008
(Seeking out facts, and even basic information on a topic, is relatively easy. Enter 2 or 3 relevant keywords at your favorite search engine. But going beyond the basic, or conducting investigative research, often means using advanced search commands, not to mention additional or more targeted finding tools. This article examines the first issue - using advanced search commands to manipulate or improve search results.)”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 24 June 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=jun08/24jun08.xml
In the news: “Board software promises to revolutionize communications with members. The software hosts meeting information on secure servers and board members can access it from anywhere. While electronic delivery sounds good when it works, making an orderly transition from paper can take time.”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 June 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “I wrote here in March about Searchme, a new search site, still in beta, that delivers results visually, showing pages rather than descriptions of pages. I learned today of two new features added to Searchme, one of which could be of particular use for research, presentations or any number of uses.
This new feature is called Stacks. It lets you collect groups of Web pages and then save them to a unique URL or share them via e-mail, blogs, Web pages or social-networking sites such as Facebook. Searchme has also added Media Search, which lets you search for images and videos from Flickr and YouTube. Images and videos can also be added to a stack, to create a collection of Web pages, images and videos around a particular subject.
All of this is easy to do. After you perform a search, you can click the "stack" button to create a new stack and give it a name. As you browse the Web pages shown in your search results, simply drag any you want to keep onto your stack. The same goes for images and videos -- drag them onto your stack and they are saved there. When you display your stack, it displays in the same flowing manner as the Searchme search results, which I compare to the way in which iTunes displays album covers. As you flow through videos in your stack, they begin to play automatically.
Here is a stack I created for the search "antonin scalia," including Web pages, images and videos:
[See the link below to view the stack]
You can learn more about Stacks through this demo video or see an assortment of sample stacks at this page. “
The video and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites, 24 June 2008
Posted by Jim Heckman: “I've been using the Firefox 3 beta for a couple of months now and am constantly learning new tricks. Here's one that existed in Firefox 2 but has been refined in 3. With larger monitors and higher resolutions, some web sites display in really tiny type. With Firefox, pressing Ctrl + (that’s Ctrl and the “plus” key) will increase the size of the text. Ctrl and the scroll button on a mouse will do the same thing. In Firefox 2, this setting is for all sites. In Firefox 3, it is site specific. Ctrl-0 returns to the default
By default, this zooms both text and images. If you just want to zoom text, select View | Zoom | Zoom Text Only. This gives you more space for the text.
There used to be a neat trick that works for both IE and Firefox: if you simply type in the name of the site (e.g., heckmanco) and then hit Ctrl-Enter, it fills out the rest of the address. Shift-Enter fills in the rest for .net sites and Ctrl-Shift-Enter for .org sites. With Firefox 3, you no longer have to do even this. Just hit Enter and the rest is filled out.
Another great addition to Firefox 3 is the change to the “remember this login” screen. It used to be you were asked to remember BEFORE the login was successful. How many times did you (as I did) click “remember” only to have it be the wrong password or whatever? Now, Firefox only prompts to remember AFTER you have successfully logged in. One of those small changes that makes a big difference in useability.”
Source: Does it Compute?, 23 June 2008
Posted by Nerino Petro: “There was an old joke among horse cavalry troopers after long rides which was they had gone 40 miles in the saddle with Major Assburns. I feel the same way when I have to sit for long periods of time in a cheap desk chair or one that was built for looks rather than function. In my old office I used a Steelcase Managers chair and still have it in one of my home offices. I've talked to people that love their Herman Miller Aeron chairs, but whenever I tried one, I couldn't seem to ever get comfortable. A good chair is important since you spend so much of your day sitting in it. Another truth about good task seating - it isn't cheap. Good quality seating for your desk will set you back hundreds of dollars (you can easily spend a $1,000.00 or more), but think about it: aren't you worth it? And if you've bought a mattress lately, what did you pay? And you may actually spend more time in your chair then your bed).
Here is an interesting post on Choosing a Home Office Task Chair from Apartment Therapy describing the author's search for a new task chair for long period use. While the article is about the search for a home office chair, the underlying thoughts are just as applicable to the office as well.
The bottom line to this is that if you are comfortable, you will get more work done and be less stressed at the end of the day compared to sitting in an uncomfortable chair.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Nerino Petro’s Compujurist.com, 11 June 2008
Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: “With all the discussion about Millenials and Slackeoisie, we may have discovered the ultimate highly motivated, ethical "un-consumer' in this generation as well, the YAWNs (Young And Wealthy but Normal). And it's no wonder we don't hear about them. The majority deliberately stay under the radar. They do not fall victim to competitive consumption. And given the greatest number of bankruptcies are now Baby Boomers, well, maybe you can learn something important from the YAWNs about how to run your solo practice.
Since I've started doing one-on-one focus group sessions with new solos to help guide the education at Solo Practice University, I am finding much of what is being stated in this Kiplinger article quite true about those who are aspiring towards the 'W' in the Yawn. (When you read this article you will see Bill Gates is their unofficial leader...yes, he's absurdly wealthy....but the new generation of aspiring YAWN's are creating a lifestyle along the way to earning their version of "W" which can only be achieved with a solid work ethic.)
So, how does a solo practitioner live a 'YAWN' ing lifestyle?
• Extremely low overhead(personal and professional) including serious consideration for the home office option;
• Smart low-cost operational office purchases which keep them untethered to a phsycial location or traditional office hours;
• Paperless office - addresses efficiency, low overhead, being untethered AND environmental concerns;
• Taking on those clients or legal issues which fire up their passion reminding them why they went to law school and also gives them the freedom to serve the indigent or new business owner without putting themself out of business;
• NOT feeling compelled to network in conventional ways or ways which go against their 'lifestyle' choices;
• Using social media for both business and pleasure;
• Understanding there is no 'work' life and 'personal' life...but just 'life.' I'm finding aspiring YAWNs in their 20's don't have traditional Monday through Friday mindsets. Each day plays out as a combination of the two and can no longer be so cleanly divided. Nor can the hours in a day thanks to technology.
I'm sure this post will raise somebody's hackles. Anything I write which doesn't pay full homage to the old guard while eschewing the new usually does. But you see, I can respect what was, is and will be equally and with full appreciation of all.
But the fact is, aspiring YAWN's aren't swimming against the tide loaded down with baggage everyone else thinks they ought to carry. They are going with the flow consciously unencumbered....and, in my opinion, in a much more interesting river.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC., 23 June 2008
In the news: “It doesn't matter whether you support presidential candidate Barack Obama, says Andrews Kurth partner Kathleen Wu, but his campaign offers wisdom for lawyers who've walked into a room and realized nobody there looks like they do. While Wu spent much of her early career painfully aware of her race, she learned that success hinges on the ability to convince clients that she's the best lawyer for the job. Young lawyers can learn a lot from Obama about professionalism, tenacity and courage, Wu says.”
Suggestions include:
“Don't let lowered expectations equal lowered performance…
Don't make it about race…
Being a person of color in a predominantly white profession is difficult, no doubt...
Dress better than you have to...
Thick skin is the best kind of skin...”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 24 June 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Matt Steinke: “National Law Journal's 2008 Winning special report identifies the top "winning" lawyers in the country. Nominees for the honor had to "have at least one significant win within the past 18 months, and a history of noteworthy wins during the past several years."
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Moritz Legal Information Blog, 23 June 2008
Posted by Tom Mighell: “The Green Patent Blog occupies a nifty niche -- it covers intellectual property issues in clean technology. Your blogger-in-residence is Eric Lane, a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego. He's discussing patent issues as they might apply to biofuels, energy storage, hybrid vechicles, solar power, and other clean technology issues.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 24 June 2008
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “With nearly 2,000 law related blogs -- and counting -- how can lawyers track them all? Up until recently, news aggregators or readers such as Bloglines or Google Reader, offered the most effective tool to efficiently monitor blog postings by gathering the feeds all in one place. But many lawyers still don't use newsreaders either because they don't know how or don't have the time to load the feeds from their favorite blogs into the reader.
Two recent sites address these news reader deficiencies by taking an alternative approach to law blog tracking. One site that launched a few weeks back, Alltop - Law, pulls headlines from a diverse collection of popular law blogs (including Legal Blog Watch) listed on one page. With Alltop, readers can scroll through the postings at one Web site without opening an aggregator, just as they might peruse headlines at a newsstand.
A second site, LexMonitor, described as a "free daily review of law blogs and journals," went live this past weekend. To my mind, the different topical channels -- such as family law, personal injury law or even AmLaw 200 are the stand-out feature of the site because they enable readers to follow postings from blogs on certain subject matters in one streaming, Web-based feed. The channels will help lawyers keep abreast of new developments in specific practice areas and foster robust conversation between bloggers who cover the same subject, since they now have an easy way to follow each others' postings. In addition to aggregating feeds, LexMonitor promises to "make content from the legal blogosphere more accessible, meaningful, and valuable by highlighting discussion, blogs, tags, and authors you may wish to follow."
Have you tried either of these tools yet? What's your favorite way to track law blogs?”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 23 June 2008
From the site: “Having tried cases since 1983, Attorney Kazarosian has developed a wide range of expertise in the areas of discrimination and harassment, divorce and family law, and criminal and civil litigation. Although she is admitted in both MA and NH, she has litigated cases in West Virginia and Maine on Motion Pro Hac Vice. She is an experienced mediator and conciliator in the Superior and District Courts dealing with contract disputes, medical malpractice, personal injury, lender liability, and other related cases.”
The title is the active link to the video. Visit the source site listed below to access this link.
Source: Legal Channels, 1 May 2008
From the site: “Medicare set-asides and the new CMS rules regarding the liability side of the house will take effect in July 2009. Ringler Radio host, Larry Cohen and co-host, Joan Pagnano, head of the Braintree, Massachusetts Ringler offices, revisit this hot topic with Peter Foley, Vice President of Claims Administration for the American Insurance Association, to explore next steps after the new rules take effect. They will discuss Peter’s role as liason to CMS, how these new rules may affect settlements and the insurance industry and get a structured settlement perspective on how to educate plaintiff attorneys about these new rules.
Right Click and Download
Play Windows Media”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Talk Network, 23 June 2008
Posted By Patrick J. Lamb: “Life without email? Probably not happening. But what about a day without email? Just imagine--an entire day where you actually had to ... speak with people. Gulp!
As I was driving in this morning, I was, as always, listening to NPR. The story that caught my attention was one on email-free Fridays at U.S. Cellular. You can listen to the story here. As I was listening to how a technology company copes without email on Fridays, I was taken with the idea of how much less frequently I speak with people now. And I suspect I'm not that unusual (at least in this regard!).
Seriously, what do we miss out on when we email a client rather than speaking on the phone? The human connection that occurs through voice communication (which is less than face-to-face dialog) generally cannot be replicated through the keyboard. Certainly not every communication need be or even should be by phone or in person. But be honest, aren't there times where it would be better to pick up the phone and instead we just let our fingers do the talking? Those are the opportunities we should keep track of and evaluate--honestly.
Maybe we should adopt our personal email free Friday (or Tuesday) and use that day each week to talk to the people with whom we want strong and lasting relationships.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: In Search of Perfect Client Service, 20 June 2008
Posted by Rob Millard: “Ever since I first became aware of strategy as a discipline, I have been a Tom Peters fan. (Disciple may be a better word.) I firmly believe that those who do the most good are not those who develop the most intellectually impressive theories and algorithms to solve the most complex business problems, but those who get the most important messages across in ways that the common [business] man can understand. Peter Drucker was one. So too Jim Collins. Love him or hate him, Tom is also right up there at the top.
This is taken off his blog today from a post by Richard King titled A Personal Top Ten Tom Quotes from London, translated ever so slightly into "professional-serve-firm-speak":
1. Excellence comes from human beings doing things of value that clients find memorable.
2. Remember. You are the only human being in the world who can help this particular client at this particular moment in time.
3. The thing that keeps a firm ahead of the competition is excellence in execution.
4. Brand inside is more important than brand outside for sustained success.
5. Leaders' careers will usually be determined by their handling of one or two critical events that no one could possibly anticipate or plan for.
6. Make sure that you spend your time on the things you say are your priorities.
7. Tuck the shower curtain in and give away two-cent candy!
8. It's remarkable how quickly an excellent culture can be torn apart by poor management.
9. Irrelevance comes from always doing the things you know how to do in the way you've always done them.
10. If you love your firm and love what you do, you will serve your clients better—period!
Enjoy!”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Adventure in Strategy, 1 May 2008
Posted by Jim Calloway: “If you were to try to boil down into three words the most important thing for a law firm to focus on to succeed, you couldn't go wrong with "superior client service." Leo Bottery did a post listing numerous Client Service blogs, which revisits a list Dan Hull published in early 2007. I'm happy my blog was on the list and inspired to do more client services postings the remainer of the year. But, the main reason I point this out to my readers is the great chance to do a little client service improvement in your own law firm. Here's one idea. Take 90 or so uninterrupted minutes with this list of blogs and a legal pad and pen. (See, I'm really an old fashioned guy at heart who still likes a pen.) Visit several of these blogs. Read the most recent posts and click on some of the categories or past month's archives. There are 30. So if one doesn't speak to you, move quickly on. Make some notes. After some time for reflection, try to come up with three simple ways you can improve your client services. E-mail the other decision makers and set a quick meeting to discuss implementation. (Hat tip to Larry Bodine.)”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 29 May 2008
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “There's a new book about cross-examination that's easy to recommend: "Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers," edited by Steven F. Molo and James R. Figliulo.
With a dedication "to all those who enjoy a good courtroom story," the book contains fifty articles about cross-examination, each by a different Chicago trial lawyer.
The book's forward is by Scott Turow, who writes that the book's authors "represent the crème de la crème of Chicago's trial bar." Turow continues: "Their combined wisdom probably means that if you read this book, you will never need to peruse another text about cross-examination."
It's a big claim, but based on the time I've spent with the book, Turow is probably right. As he adds, "[T]hese lessons are taught by the most effective educational means ever devised, a technique at which all great trial lawyers excel--story telling."…
Full text and the active link are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 17 June 2008
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday held that defendants found mentally competent enough to stand trial are not necessarily likewise competent enough to represent themselves at that trial. (Case)
Coming out of the state of Indiana, the trial court had relied on a lengthy amassing of psychiatric reports, noting that the defendant had been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia, and concluding that, while he was competent to stand trial, he was not competent to represent himself.
He appealed that two years ago, the court there agreeing that the trial court’s refusal of self-representation deprived him of his constitutional right of self-representation under the Sixth Amendment and case precedent (Farretta v. California, 1975), and remanded the case.
Last year the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed that on the grounds that Faretta and Godinez v. Moran (1993) both required the defendant be allowed to defend himself.
The Supreme Court had “several considerations” in concluding that the Constitution in fact allows a state to limit a defendant’s right to self-representation:
Federal precedent, while not answering the question at hand, points in that direction. Dusky v. U.S. (1960) and Drope v. Missouri (1975) set forth the Constitution’s “mental competence” standard forbidding the trial of an individual lacking a rational & factual understanding of the proceedings and sufficient ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, but did not consider the relation of that “mental competence” standard with the right of self-representation. Faretta (supra), rested its self-representation conclusion in part on pre-existing state cases that are consistent with , and at least two of which expressly adopt, a competency limitation on the self-representation right.
The nature of mental illness cautions against a single competency standard to decide both whether a defendant who is represented can proceed to trial, and whether a defendant who goes to trial must be permitted to represent himself.
A self-representation right at trial will not “affirm the dignity” of a defendant who lacks the mental capacity to conduct his own defense without the assistance of counsel , and may undercut the most basic of the Constitution’s criminal law objectives, that of providing a fair trial.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 20 June 2008