LEGAL BLOG

LEGAL BLOG WATCH

The Most Taxing Podcast Ever

Jim Calloway calls it "great news for insomniacs and tax geeks alike," and it comes just in time for that most revered of days, April 15. The source of Calloway's excitement is Jack Bogdanski's announcement that he will podcast the complete Internal Revenue Code -- and he won't even charge people to listen! Home page for the project is right here, where you can already find seven IRC sections ready for downloading to your computer or MP3 player. Bogdanski should be familiar with the material, since he is a tax professor at Lewis & Clark Law School.

 

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on April 13, 2006 at 07:29 AM | Permalink

 

Murphy's Law of Lawyering

Indianapolis lawyer Stephen Terrell recently left a firm to open his own law office. In the process, he is learning some little-known lessons about starting a practice and sharing them on his blog, Hoosier Lawyer. This week, he learned that when only one thing won't work, it's something you need. He describes the lesson this way:

 

"If you have 20 outlets and jacks in your new office, but only two are absolutely crucial to your start-up operation, it is those two -- and only those two -- which won't work."

 

Maybe we should call it the Murphy's Law of lawyering.

 

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on April 13, 2006 at 07:15 AM | Permalink

 

Scalia's 'Proudest Thing'

Could a law blogger "have any finer friend than Justice Antonin Scalia?" asks Joseph Schuman at Law Blog. It sometimes seems that the brilliant-but-quirky jurist is to legal news what the talented-but-quirky Michael Jackson is to celebrity news -- an endless source of fodder. Speaking to law students at the University of Connecticut yesterday, Scalia said that his 2004 decision not to recuse himself from a case involving Vice President Cheney was the "proudest thing" he has done on the Court, as reported by Associated Press.

 

Given that Scalia has no doubt done many "things" of which he should be proud, his choice of this has Norm Pattis at Crime & Federalism wondering "if he's off his rocker, or if his meds need readjusting." But Pattis is even more disturbed about what he calls Scalia's "anachronistic crusade," his adherence to constitutional originalism. Says Pattis:

 

"It is difficult to take Scalia's commitment to originalist seriously. He blasts those favoring a living constitution, arguing that such folks are too free to impose their meaning on age-old terms of constitutional text. Yet the decision he makes to adhere to the words of those long-dead is just as much of a choice. Frankly, I'd choose even a bad doctor trained this century over Benjamin Rush, a famous colonial physician. So would Scalia."

 

Hmmm, maybe we should see what Michael Jackson thinks.

 

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on April 13, 2006 at 06:54 AM | Permalink

 

Mentioning the Unmentionable

In the annals of American jurisprudence, yesterday's decision by the Supreme Court to allow citation to unpublished opinions in federal courts may warrant little more than a footnote -- but at least it will be a citeable footnote. Among bloggers and legal commentators, however, the decision drew greater notice. Legal Times writer Tony Mauro wrote:

 

"The justices' vote represents a major milestone in the long-running debate over unpublished opinions, the sometimes-cursory dispositions that resolve upward of 80 percent of cases in federal appeals courts nationwide."

 

While many praised the decision, Nancy Soonpass of Legal Writing Prof Blog noted this concern:

 

"[F]ederal judges are concerned that they will now have to spend additional time polishing these opinions if they can be used as precedent and that such an expenditure of time will increase court backlogs."

 

Commenting from north of the border, Canadian legal researcher Elizabeth Ellis observed that the decision will add to the mountains of materials lawyers already have to sift through:

 

"Twenty five years ago, I recall spending most of my time 'researching' because the finding tools were not that helpful. .. Today, I think the 'research' time has been shortened -- but the analysis time lengthened because there is so much more material to consider and the material is often unorganized and confusing."

 

That adds up to higher legal bills for clients, she says.

 

To my mind, this is the right decision. You can judge for yourself. And feel welcome to publish your judgment as a comment here.

 

The text of the new Rule 32.1 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure is here. The court's order adopting the rule is here. For a "compendium of information" about nonpublication of judicial opinions, see NonPublication.com.

 

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on April 13, 2006 at 06:28 AM | Permalink

 

Sponsor Spotlight

 

The Future of Silicosis Suits

Will a federal judge's scathing order, tort-overhaul legislation and a congressional investigation mean the end of silicosis litigation? At 10 a.m. (CDT) April 18, go to www.texaslawyer.com and click on "The Future of Silicosis Suits" to join an online discussion with plaintiffs lawyer Brent W. Coon and defense counsel Steve L. Russell, who have extensive experience litigating silicosis cases.

 

 

A REASON FOR LAWYERS TO PODCAST THEIR ORAL ARGUMENTS?

An interesting post from Rees Morrison talks about clients who want to hear recordings of lawyers in action before deciding which lawyer to hire as a trial lawyer.

It does make sense. If you are hiring a lawyer for his or her advocacy skills, wouldn't you ideally like to hear (or see) some examples of the lawyer in action? Event planners routinely asks for samples from prospective speakers.

Might a podcast be a way to create that kind of "sample of work" for prospective clients?

posted by Dennis M. Kennedy

 

WHY DON'T LAW FIRMS INNOVATE?
There's a post by Ron Friedmann at Prism Legal on the lack of innovation in U.S. law firms.   Ron links to this post by David Maister that offers some explanation about why lawyers themselves deter change:

"In a room full of lawyers, any idea, no matter how brilliant, will be instantly attacked . most ideas, no matter who initiates them, will be destroyed, dismissed, or postponed for future examination . law firms have a remarkable propensity for half measure, launching poorly specified programs with minimal chance of success ..

"Lawyers also have a strange view of the concept of risk. In any other business, an idea that was likely to work much of the time would be eagerly explored. [But lawyers will look for a hypothetical where the idea will fail.] There is no greater condemnation in legal discourse than to describe something as risky."

Doesn't sound as if there's much hope.

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on April 9, 2006 at 05:40 PM | Permalink

TRIALS ONLINE?
Future Lawyer has this post on the possibility of trials by blog in Korea.  According to the article:

"The Seoul Administration Court recently designated one of its court units, which rules on labor-management relations and industrial accidents, to develop a prototype model for Internet-based trial models by the end of this month.

Although the court has not yet decided on a detailed framework, it plans to allow the parties in lawsuits to submit their list of evidence, legal documents and other data on Weblogs or Internet message boards to be operated by the court. The court decisions will also be announced online.

The court also plans to allow people to buy court documents and other requirements in preparing for their lawsuits through the Internet by credit card or mobile-phone payments. "

Future Lawyer says that he'd love to be able to try cases by blog.  That's probably one development that would get more lawyers blogging, for sure.

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on April 9, 2006 at 05:36 PM | Permalink

 

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR SPEAKING TIME HAS BEEN REDUCED

One time a partner at a BigLaw firm where I was in charge of the marketing department said it would be fine for me to talk to the corporate associates about marketing over lunch.  However, he said my talk was to be no longer than 30 minutes.  I’m sure he was concerned about lost billable hours.  Panic?  Yeah!  Normally, my “gee-you-need-to-get-excited-about-and-start-thinking-in-terms-of-
marketing-for-the-benefit-of-your-long-term-survival-etc.” speech takes 1.5 to 2 hours. (Gosh, why do these nightmare memories keep coming back to me when I am no longer in-house?  But I digress.)

So, what did I do?  I cut my speech to 30 minutes. Duh!  Was it as effective?  Heck no, but at least I got to plant the legal marketing seed…..I think.  Tom Antion on his Great Public Speaking  blog has a post about saying it in fewer works.  I wish I had the benefit of Tom’s advice back then.  He suggests the following to compress your talk without losing impact:

• Don’t apologize for having less time (apologetic beginnings are always a loser),
• Begin with an attention getter,
• Tell them that in the next X minutes, what you will accomplish (and how it will benefit them),
• Give visual examples of your points, and
• Divide your speech into three parts – “present a problem, a payoff, and your point of view” (including the No. 1 thing they should take away from your speech).

If you get into the situation where your scheduled speech has been shortened (for whatever reason), have a back up plan that cover the points above.  Your talk may just be more memorable for your saying it in fewer words.

 

A TAXONOMY OF LEGAL BLOGS

I. General Blogs

Advice for Lawyers and Law Firms

General Legal Blogs

General Blogs – Law and Culture, Economics, Politics, etc.

    

II. Blogs Categorized by Legal Specialty

Specialty Blogs

    

III. Blogs Categorized by Law or Legal Event

Case Blogs

Statute Blogs

Trial Blogs

    

IV. Blogs Categorized by Jurisdictional Scope

State Blogs

Federal Circuit Blogs 

U.S. Supreme Court Blogs

    

V. Blogs Categorized by Author/Publisher

Anonymous Blogs

Association Blogs

Blogs by Judges

Book Supplement Blogs

Class and Student Group Blogs

Institute Blogs

Law Firm Blogs – Listed by Blog

Law Firm Blogs – Listed by Firm

Law Journal Blogs

Law Library and Librarian Blogs

Law Professor Blogs

Lawyer Webjournals

Newspaper Blogs 

    

VI. Blogs Categorized by Number of Contributors

Group Blogs

    

VII. Miscellaneous Blogs Categorized by Topic

Blogs about Judges

Event Blogs

Fictional Blogs

Humor Blogs

    

VIII. Collections of Legal Blogs

Blog Post Collections

Legal Blog Collections

Legal Blog Networks

    

Note: Readers may leave comments, criticisms and suggestions about this taxonomy at the reader feedback page.

    

Update: A Spanish translation of this page is also available.

 

LAWYER ADVERTISING OPINION #A-0l01

ELECTRONIC MEDIA ADVERTISING: Actor Portraying Attorney

Disciplinary Rule 2-l0l(A) permits a lawyer to use or participate in the use of public communication, i.e., advertising, provided that such communication does not contain a false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement or claim. The Rule articulates several examples of communications which would be violative of the prohibition, including an advertisement which contains a portrayal of a client by a non-client without a disclosure that the depiction is a dramatization. DR 2-l0l(A)(5)

The Standing Committee on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation [Committee] has considered the issue of whether or not a television advertisement is misleading when a lawyer or law firm uses an actor to portray an attorney associated with the law firm without disclosing that fact in the advertisement.

The Committee has viewed numerous advertisements in which, either by direct statement or by implication, it appears that a person is an attorney associated with the advertised law firm, even though that person is not, in fact, an employee or member of the law firm. In particular, the Committee has noted that, when speaking, actors frequently include first person references to themselves as lawyers or as members of the law firm being advertised. The Committee is of the opinion that failing to disclose that the actor is not truly an employee or member of the law firm, when the language used implies otherwise, is misleading or deceptive.

For this reason, the Committee concludes that, in order to avoid being deceptive and violative of DR 2-l0l(A), such an advertisement either must clearly indicate that the person depicted as an attorney associated with the advertised firm is not, or must avoid giving the impression, either directly or indirectly, that the portrayed person is, in fact, an attorney at the firm.

This opinion is advisory only and not binding on any court or tribunal.

Opinion of VSB Standing Committee on

Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation

April 28, l993

 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM RECENT POSTS

	Turnover continues in Office of Bar Counsel
	"...There are presently seven attorney positions in Kentucky's Office of Bar Counsel. Only two individuals have been members of that team for more than three years, and only three have been part of the team for more than two years..."

 

	Making sense of metadata: a mega-list of links for lawyers
	"...I thought I would take a moment to pass along my own "working list" of links to on-line resources about metadata..."

 

	Oklahoma Bar puts solo practice resources online
	"...[T]he Oklahoma Bar Association [has] put up a new page on its web site called 'Starting a Law Practice - A Web Directory.' It's an excellent collection of links for solo practitioners...."

 

	Nevada ethics committee approves outsourcing of client data management
	"... The State Bar of Nevada has issued a formal ethics opinion holding that it is ethically permissible for a law firm to store electronic client records on a remote server under the control of a third party, without obtaining......"

 

	Kansas lawyer disciplined for 'rounding up' time entries
	"...Earlier this month the Supreme Court of Kansas held that a lawyer was guilty of professional misconduct when he rounded up his time entries on a client's matter, even though the lawyer claimed that he had rounded up by no......"

 

	Arkansas Bar rejects malpractice insurance disclosure rule
	"... On January 21 the Arkansas Bar Association rejected a proposed rule which would have required members of the Arkansas Bar to certify whether they carry professional liability insurance. The proposal had been drafted by the Bar's Professionalism Task Force......"

 

	Colorado holds that Consumer Protection Act applies to lawyer advertising
	"...Today’s e-mail brings me the most recent edition of “Alert from Lawyers for the Profession”, an e-mail newsletter published by the law firm of Hinshaw Culbertson. This issue calls attention to the recent decision in Crowe v. Tull, 126 P.3d......"

 

	Disciplinary lawyers discuss common concerns at mid-year meetings in Chicago
	"...Last week the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) and the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC) held their respective mid-year meetings in Chicago, along with other affiliate organizations of the ABA. I attended the APRL meeting, which (as usual)......"

 

	A few comments concerning case citations, competence and computers
	"...Recently I received a service copy of a brief from an attorney who was representing a member of the Bar in a show-cause hearing. I turned my attention to it immediately because I was working on a similar brief for......"

 

	How to find (and how not to find) Kentucky disciplinary decisions on-line
	"...Yesterday I was surprised to discover that the Kentucky Bar Association has not been keeping its on-line database of Kentucky disciplinary decisions current and up-to-date. In fact, it appears that the KBA has not added any disciplinary decisions to the......"

 

YOU MAY BE GOOD, BUT YOU CAN'T BE AN EXPERT

Posted By William Hornsby

Ohio Opinion 2005-6 advises lawyers that they cannot particiapte in a program entitles "Ask the Expert." The online program, which is advertised on television, enables people to email questions to lawyers. The opinion indicates that DR 5-102(A)(6) prohibits lawyers from claiming special competence or experience and states, "There is no leeway for lawyers to use the term 'expert' in advertising."

 

A LAWYER'S GOOD NAME -- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Posted By William Hornsby

The Connecticut Law Tribune reports on a lawyer suing his former firm because the firm didn’t remove his bio from the firm’s web site. Robert P. Murphy filed against Del Sole and Del Sole after opening a new practice and registering with various search engines. He learned that he was “widely listed as still being associated with the firm” and claims the firm misrepresented his status by not promptly removing his name. Murphy claims his information was not removed form the firm’s site for more than a year. It’s hard to tell how much time is reasonable to avoid creating a misrepresentation, but appears obvious that firms need to pay attention to their stale cyberspace information.

 

A LAWYER'S GOOD NAME -- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Posted By William Hornsby

The Connecticut Law Tribune reports on a lawyer suing his former firm because the firm didn’t remove his bio from the firm’s web site. Robert P. Murphy filed against Del Sole and Del Sole after opening a new practice and registering with various search engines. He learned that he was “widely listed as still being associated with the firm” and claims the firm misrepresented his status by not promptly removing his name. Murphy claims his information was not removed form the firm’s site for more than a year. It’s hard to tell how much time is reasonable to avoid creating a misrepresentation, but appears obvious that firms need to pay attention to their stale cyberspace information.

 

MARKETING IS ALWAYS AHEAD OF REGULATION – ALWAYS

Posted By William Hornsby

According to an article in the Guardian, a UK group called Nationwide Accident Services, which specializes in personal injury actions, has developed a word-search puzzle for children. The game involves circling words in a box of jumbled letters. The puzzles have been placed in hospitals and doctors’ offices so that kids have something to do while waiting for their appointments. Here’s the good part – The words include phrases such as “claim today,” “compensation” and “no win, no fee.” What’s next? Maybe fortune cookie messages.

Best regards, Rodrigo González Fernandez, consultajuridica.blogspot.com, lawyerschile.blogspot.com

 

MESSAGE

Thank you for reading this blog. All of our bloggers are busy at this time. A blogger will blog something as soon as possible. This blog appreciates the hell out of your business, so please remain on hold and "chill" to some Easy Listening Hold Music.

dispatches from the new world of work

from tom peters blog

Escaping the Cubicle

In the Boston Globe blog, March 13, 2006, there is an entry titled: “The Fidel Castro of office furniture” and it reads: "Reviled by workers, demonized by designers, disowned by its very creator, Robert Propst, who deemed it 'monolithic insanity,' the cubicle still claims the largest share of office furniture sales—$3 billion a year—and has continued to outlive every design meant to replace it. It is the Fidel Castro of office furniture. The only thing likely to slow the Borg-like cubiclization of our lives? Telecommuting."

The Globe writer was commenting on this article from Fortune. I am glad to say I've escaped the cubicle—how about you?

 

Coaching used to propel top performers

"... whereas coaching was once viewed by many as a tool to help correct underperformance, today it is becoming much more widely used in supporting top producers. In fact, in a 2004 survey by Right Management Consultants (Philadelphia), 86 percent of companies said they used coaching to sharpen the skills of individuals who have been identified as future organizational leaders."

The Harvard Business Review has an interesting article about "executive coaching." The principles apply to coaching lawyers as well.

 

Very important.

Business Competency for Lawyers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Business Competency for Lawyers: A LawBiz Special Report
Edward Poll, principal of LawBiz Management Co., announced the publication of Business Competency for Lawyers: A LawBiz Special Report.

Poll said this is an A to Z basics for managing and running a successful law business without getting into too many nitty-gritty details, numbers, and long examples. From managing your cash flow and collections process to weighing the ROI of your technology purchases, this 60-page Special Report will give you the essentials on how to make more profitable decisions concerning every part of your law business.

Alan Weiss, Ph.D., noted management consultant, said Ed Poll has “... done more to assist attorneys in building their legal practices than anyone I know. What impresses me most is his pragmatic, direct approach. From billing rates to generating consensus among partners, Ed tackles the problems most practices ignore as they rush from client to client, attempting so stave off one crisis after another.”

“I am very pleased to be able to offer these Special Reports to the legal community. More people are recognizing that The Business of Law® is a necessary component of the practice of law,” Poll says. One of the country’s top law business experts, Poll said that this is the inaugural Report, that more will follow in the next months. “Future Special Reports will address other areas of practical and significant importance to the effective and profitable management of The Business of Law®, Poll continued.”

Ed Poll is a leading authority in the field of law practice management and the Principal of Law Biz Management Co., a firm that consults with and coaches lawyers and law firms throughout the United States, Mexico, and England. Poll is a Board Approved (SAC®) Coach to the Legal Profession. For more information, contact Ed Poll at edpoll@lawbiz.com or call (800) 837-5880; also, please see http://www.lawbiz.com and http://www.lawbizblog.com. He is the author of several best-selling books on the topics of law practice management, including his new book, Selling Your Law Practice, just released in September (http://lawbiz.com).

Sincerely yours Rodrigo González Fernández, consultajuridica.blogspot.com