SERA NA ELECCION MUY AJUSTADA...PERO RIVEROS SE VE EN LA DELANTERA...

EL PROFESOR LUIS RIVEROS DIALOGA CON ACADÉMICOS
DEL INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS BIOMÉDICAS:
“Mi equipo estará formado
por los mejores, con un manejo
pormenorizado en gestión financiera,
desarrollo académico e investigación” 
      

En su segundo encuentro con parte de los 200 académicos que componen en el Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas (ICBM), y luego de subrayar su intención de mantenerse en el cargo de Rector por no menos de los cuatro años que éste estipula –ello “porque mi meta es completar la instalación de la nueva institucionalidad y después trabajar en el nuevo proyecto estratégico  de la universidad de cara al 2010”–, el académico y candidato, Prof Luis Riveros, reiteró que lo que debe primar dentro de la campaña electoral universitaria es el debate sobre ideas y no las descalificaciones.
ver completo>>

Muchos academicos de la Universidad de Chile llaman a votar por el porfesor Luis Riveros y ya se anuncian  signos de triunfo, pero la elección va a ser muy estrecha.

Saludos Rodrigo González  Fernández, bidet.blogspot.com

QUE ES EL ESTADO DE DERECHO

A PROPOSITO DE COLUMNA DE  HERMOGENES PEREZ DE ARCE HOY 17 DE MAYO 2006 EN ELMERCURIO.COM

Hermógenes : Como hijo del Rigor jurídico, me voy a mi “palm” , porque a golpe de  un lapicito, logro una definición  o cientos de ellas como todos también decenas de  los códigos más empleados , todas las doctrinas y todos los fallos en una materia determinada. Porque la memoria suele fallar.  Veo Estado de derecho ya que un ciudadano me pregunta que es esto que tanto se habla y al parecer hoy ya no se practica: veamos

El Estado de Derecho es un tipo de Estado. El Estado de Derecho es un concepto de teoría política, jurídica y moral y dice que la autoridad del gobierno sólo puede ser llevada a cabo siguiendo leyes escritas, las cuales deben haber sido adoptadas mediante un procedimiento establecido. No cualquier Estado ni cualquier Derecho conforman un Estado de Derecho; únicamente, aquel Estado controlado por el Derecho y aquel Derecho legitimo (democrático). El principal rasgo del Estado de Derecho es el principio de legalidad también conocido como Imperio de la ley.

El Estado de Derecho, además, es un Estado cuyo Derecho protege y garantiza determinados derechos y libertades que históricamente se consideran fundamentales. Otro rasgo característico habitual en un Estado de Derecho es que dentro de sí, el Estado de Derecho mantiene una separación de las funciones legislativa, ejecutiva y judicial.

El Estado de Derecho, Saludos Rodrigo González Fernández, consultajuridica.blogspot.com

 

RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL, CONFERENCIA INTERAMERICANA

CHILE SEDE DE FORO SOBRE RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL
(EXAMINARÁ PAPEL DE EMPRESAS POR  BIEN COMÚN) (620)

Por Eric Green
Redactor del Servicio Noticioso desde Washington

Washington -- Entre el 25 y 27 de septiembre se realizará en Santiago de
Chile una conferencia interamericana sobre la responsabilidad social
empresarial, para examinar la premisa de que las personas que se involucran
directamente con una compañía (ya sea en su calidad de empleados,
accionistas o consumidores) tienen el deber de asegurarse de que las
empresas contribuyan al bien común de la sociedad.

En una declaración difundida el 29 de agosto el Banco Interamericano de
Desarrollo (BID), uno de los patrocinadores del encuentro, dijo que entre
los oradores en la conferencia participarán representantes de las grandes
empresas, conocidas por sus esfuerzos para promover la responsabilidad
social empresarial. También participarán en el encuentro representantes de
organizaciones de la sociedad civil, de organismos internacionales y del
mundo académico.

Entre los oradores cabe mencionar a Larry Palmer, presidente de la
Fundación Interamericana, una agencia independiente del gobierno de Estados
Unidos. La Fundación concede ayudas a organizaciones no gubernamentales y
asociaciones comunitarias en América Latina y el Caribe, para programas
innovadores de iniciativa personal, cuya finalidad es mejorar la calidad de
vida de la gente pobre en la región. Palmer hablará sobre el papel del
gobierno en lo que se refiere a proporcionar incentivos de responsabilidad
social empresarial.

El principio rector de la responsabilidad social empresarial, que ha
alcanzado amplia aceptación en los últimos años, sostiene que las compañías
tienen la obligación de administrar sus prácticas comerciales de manera que
produzcan un impacto positivo general en la sociedad. Según el BID "las
empresas socialmente responsables tienen un propósito que va más allá de
las ganancias. Su meta es lograr resultados netos con triple objetivo, o
sea: resultados financieros, crecimiento económico sostenible con más y
mejores puestos de trabajo y mayor igualdad social".

Bajo el lema de "¿Quién es responsable de la responsabilidad?" la
conferencia examinará cómo una compañía debe asegurar su responsabilidad
social -- ya sea a través de la regulación y la legislación nacional o bien
a través de prácticas voluntarias o una mezcla de ambas.

Antonio Vives, funcionario del BID que coordina el encuentro en Santiago,
dijo que la "idea tradicional de que la empresa es la responsable de su
responsabilidad y de que el resto de las partes interesadas sólo exigen, ha
pasado de moda". Agregó que "las partes interesadas tienen también deberes,
no sólo derechos, y entre ellos, el más importante es contribuir,
responsablemente, a que la empresa sea responsable".

Vives, subgerente de Empresa Privada y Mercados Financieros en el BID, dijo
que buena parte del colapso financiero de la compañía Enron en el 2001 --
en el que accionistas de la empresa con sede en Houston sufrieron inmensas
pérdidas monetarias -- y de "la irresponsabilidad de otras empresas se debe
a la falta de acción de las partes interesadas".

El BID dijo que la conferencia en Santiago estudiará también la experiencia
pertinente de las industrias de la minería y los hidrocarburos en América
Latina y el Caribe, y se establecerá cuáles son las obligaciones de estas
compañías y qué esferas escapan a su alcance.

Para más información sobre la responsabilidad social empresarial véase el
ejemplar de febrero de 2005 del periódico electrónico del Departamento de
Estado, titulado: Promover el crecimiento con la gobernabilidad
corporativa, en
:http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0205/ijes/ijes0205.htm

Estados Unidos fue uno de los copatrocinadores de la primera conferencia en
el Hemisferio Occidental sobre la responsabilidad social empresarial, que
tuvo lugar en Miami en septiembre del 2002. Para más información sobre esa
conferencia véase la página web de la Cumbre de las Américas:
http://www.summit-americas.org/defaults.htm

Estados Unidos ayudó también a organizar otras conferencias sobre el tema
en Haití, Trinidad y Tobago y Panamá.

(El Servicio Noticioso desde Washington es un producto de la Oficina de
Programas de Información Internacional del Departamento de Estado de
Estados Unidos. Sitio en la Web: http://usinfo.state.gov/esp)

Entonces veremos como conseguimos una entrada para esa conferencia.

Saludos Rodrigo González Fernández, respsoem.blogspot.com; consultajuridica.blogspot.com

Fw: New Post from Global Voices

----- Original Message ----- From: "Global Voices Online" <globalvoices.online@gmail.com> To: <globalvoices.online@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2006 2:36 PM Subject: New Post from Global Voices

> 'Vegetarian or Carnivorian, it is up to you!' > by Melissa De Leòn Douglass > > #1: Apuntes de Cocina desde Venezuela on Salmon Gravalax!Learn to prepare it the easy way and enjoy it for the rest of your life! Head over to her blog to get the step by step recipes and great photos. > > #2: Directo al Paladar from Spain, visits the famous Restaurante Escuela Hofmann in Barcelona, a unique restaurant with Hotel Management School. It is owned by Chef May Hofmann, and it is one of the best exponents in food and service. So, next time you are in the area, do not miss the opportunity to enjoy their excellent food, and perhaps take a class or two! > > #3: Le Blog des Produits Laitiers, from France, is one of the best exponents and worshipers of the perfect food: &quot;milk,&quot; which, by the way, is best when consumed raw. Take a moment to visit this tasty healthy blog; to surrender is the only choice before the beautiful cattle-art. Apparently there is an international art movement, focusing on decorating cities with the eye-catching pieces. So far the cattle-art has reached Mexico, Buenos Aires-Argentina, and Paris-France. The cows will move next to Lisbon-Portugal, and Barcelona-Spain. > > #4: Cocinalia, from Spain, writes a thoughtful post on the &quot;Eat Local Challenge&quot; event that has been spreading through the blogosphere.&nbsp; Although Sao Mai agrees with the principle:&quot;EatLocalChallenge.com is a group blog written by authors who are interested in the benefits of eating food grown and produced in their local foodshed.&quot;She backs up what Too Many Chefs has started as a complaint about the extremist behavior that some people would adopt, maybe &quot;fanaticism?&quot; I am totally with them, you know why? Because how about if I live in a city that only produces bell peppers, would I only eat bell peppers for the rest of my life? No way. What do you think? > > > #5: World on a Plate, shares a historical reflexion on Mother's Day celebration and a delicious recipe to prepare Mother's Cake!The earliest Mother's Day celebration is often traced back to the spring day celebrations in ancient Greece to honor Rhea, the mythical mother of the gods. However in the 1600s, England celebrated a day called &quot;Mothering Sunday&quot; on the fourth Sunday of Lent. At that time, many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. Since most jobs were far from their homes, the servants live in the homes of their employers. > > On Mothering Sunday, servants were given the day off and many went to spend the day with who else but mom.&nbsp; Many would bring along a special cake called the Mothering Cake. > > As Christianity spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the celebration changed to honor the &quot;Mother Church,&quot; the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time, the church festival blended with Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers and the church...Get the recipe now!#6: What the hell does a vegan eat anyways? creates a finger-licking menu: &quot;Raw Food Wednesday: Tomato and Cheese tart, Greek salad, Zucchini Noodles and Coconut Balls.&quot; Simply delicious! > > #7: Sam, from Becks &amp; Posh, presents a priceless pictorial guide on &quot;How to trim an artichoke, and prepare artichoke hearts.&quot; > > When I say priceless, I really mean it. This is the perfect occasion to bring to an end that &quot;artichoke aversion&quot; you have brought up with you since childhood :) > > #8: Felicia, from Madre Mexico, takes a trip to The Pasadena Farmer's Market. I want to go there! Everything looks so fresh and delicious!I specially would like to put my hands on some of those good looking cherries, onions, hmmm and the freshly made corn tortillas...Take a look at those photos and you will see what I am talking about. > > #9: Spitton Extra: &quot;Still Life with: My First Tuna Tartare&quot;A little less Tabasco in the vinaigrette perhaps, a sprinkling more Shiso over the tuna and maybe a little more cucumber to increase that crisp refreshingness... but for 'my first tuna tartare' not half bad. And not a bad reproduction from the original recipe either - a near perfect hunk of tuna from Machins, my first encounter with Ume-Shiso (found in Selfridges) replacing the recipes shiso leaves and a rather drinkable bottle of Menetou-Salon to accompany. The request from Still Life With... to produce a better photo than the NYT is perhaps not that good but, in my opinion, an improvement over the original...To tell you the truth, it looks FABULOUS! > > #10: Seattlest, on Cruelty to Vegetables...Now, read ahead and you will see why.Pity the parsnip. Artificially germinated, forced to sprout in a furrow, nurtured (if you can call it that) in a bed of manure, raised with indifference, virtually ignored until it reaches market weight. Then it's thoughtlessly deracinated, mechanically decapitated, mercilessly skinned, and, in a final act of stultifying callousness, boiled alive. > > Fruit and veg of other species fare no better. Corn is stripped from its parental cob. Parsley is hacked to death. Spinach is chopped and creamed, potatoes routinely whipped, pumpkins eviscerated, grain thrashed and flailed. Who's there to coddle and console a carrot? Provide foster-care for an orphaned banana? Instead, there's jubilation when cherries are doused in alcohol and set afire. > > Think about this: by &quot;harvesting&quot; a string bean, we're kidnapping the plant's children. What does it do to our humanity, when, three times a day, we kill vegetables just to feed our voracious animal appetites?&nbsp; Continue reading this controversial post...Have a tasty, safe week! > > You may view the latest post at > http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2006/05/14/vegetarian-or-carnivorian-it-is -up-to-you/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ > You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are posted. > If you no longer wish to receive notifications of new posts then please visit: > http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/subscribe.php > > > Best regards, > The Global Voices Team > globalvoices.online@gmail.com >

Fw: Law.com blog: Forecasting the Next New Lawsuit Wave

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Legal Blog Watch

To: blog-html@majordomo.law.com

Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 9:05 PM

Subject: Law.com blog: Forecasting the Next New Lawsuit Wave

Law.com Home Legal Blog Watch Home About The Bloggers

Legal Blog Watch ABA Judical Ratings: Love 'em or Hate 'em As a lawyer who serves as a neutral arbitrator, it sometimes seems to me that if both parties come out of a case unhappy with my decision, I probably came down right about near the middle ground. So it may be with the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which evaluates the qualifications of all federal judicial nominees. Yesterday, the committee gave its lowest rating of "not qualified" to Michael Wallace, President Bush's nominee for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this week, the committee downgraded its evaluation of Brett M. Kavanaugh, the president's nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Liberals responded to these evaluations by calling for the withdrawal of both nominations, while conservatives responded by attacking the ABA committee as biased. At the conservative blog PointofLaw.com, for example, Ted Frank said that Kavanaugh's downgrading proved the position Bush took early in his administration that the ABA's ratings were biased. At ProfessorBainbridge.com, Stephen Bainbridge dug into campaign finance data for evidence of political leanings among any of the ABA committee members. Nine of the 15 committee members had made federal campaign contributions, he found, six primarily to Democrats and three primarily to Republicans. From this, he speculates: "If the political leanings of the non-givers track those of the givers, Democrats may hold a 10-5 advantage on the committee." Of course, all this data really shows is that fewer than half the committee's members supported Democrats. As might be expected from the name, Club Lefty takes a contrary view. He visited the official White House Judicial Nominations page to find multiple instances when the president cited the ABA ratings as affirmative evidence of a nominee's qualifications. He says: "A quick scan of previous reactions to ABA ratings of high profile judges demonstrates what can only be considered a long standing track record of support from the administration for the findings of the ABA." Among recent Bush nominees, the ABA committee gave its "well qualified" ratings to both Samuel Alito and John Roberts. When you walk a middle line, how others see you depends on their perspectives. Some see you veering to the right, others see you veering to the left. In truth, if the committee had been veering one way or the other, it wouldn't have stayed on track all these years. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 11, 2006 at 08:26 AM | Permalink Must-Have Skills for Corporate Counsel A survey of 780 Canadian corporate counsel asked them to select the most important skill for the job. At the top of the list, as Rees Morrison reports at Law Department Management, was "effective leadership," ranked first by 21 percent of respondents. Other key skills they listed were: Business sector knowledge (19 percent). Accounting/financial (14 percent). Management (11 percent). Project management (8 percent). Technology (7 percent). Negotiating (7 percent). Presentations/speaking (5 percent). Skills assessment/mentoring (4 percent). Notably absent from the list, Morrison says, were emotional intelligence and ability to write clearly.  Further, concludes Morrison: "If 'Skills assessment/mentoring' is the stand-in for what I would refer to much more broadly as 'talent management,' then the list misses many of the skills needed to get the most from people." Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 11, 2006 at 08:24 AM | Permalink Forecasting the Next New Lawsuit Law firms use business and competitive intelligence to help them better understand the business environment. But while BI and CI focus on what has been, it is also possible to try forecasting what will be, observes Ron Friedmann at Prism Legal. He cites a recent BusinessWeek article, Is That A Lawsuit Blowing In?, that describes work by Risk Management Solutions and Rand to forecast class action lawsuits using techniques similar to ones used to forecast natural disasters. Friedmann notes: "Plaintiffs' lawyers are likely to be the first to read the results. BigLaw, which defends both corporations and insurers, should keep up with this research as well." And given that forecasting involves math and technology, lawyers are sure to get their CFOs and CIOs involved as well, Friedmann adds. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 11, 2006 at 08:11 AM | Permalink U.K. Firm's 'Crowning' Achievement Justin Patten at Human Law extends congratulations to One Crown Office Row Chambers, which Internet reviewer Delia Venables recently singled out as one of the three most interesting chambers sites on the Web. Patten notes that the site includes a Human Rights Database of reports and commentaries dating back to 1998. He gives particular credit to associate Rosalind English, who edits and writes much of the Human Rights material. Still to come to the site, Patten suggests: podcasting. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 11, 2006 at 07:54 AM | Permalink Net Videos: Legal Programming Aplenty If you haven't checked out Google Video, you need to, urges Rick Georges at Future Lawyer.  Type "law" in the search box, he says, and up come 1,715 videos. "This is a great way to kill some time, and see what is out there as well. There are full length videos of law seminars and law conferences, how-to videos, all free for the watching and downloading." And some, notes Georges, "are even interesting." Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 11, 2006 at 07:37 AM | Permalink

Sponsor Spotlight Records Management Webcast Does your company understand the difference between responsible records management and when the potential destruction of records could result in spoliation? In FileNet's free, CLE-accredited on-line seminar, learn more about the Spoliation of Evidence Doctrine, recent spoliation cases, proposed federal rules amendments on e-discovery and more on how to create best records management practices for your company. Inside Opinions: Legal Blogs How Appealing Legal Sanity Robert Ambrogi's LawSites Blawg Review Adam Smith, Esq. I/P Updates Silicon Valley Media Blog InhouseBlog My Shingle Prism Legal Human Law May It Please The Court Law Department Management Insurance Scrawl Crime & Federalism The Wired GC The Common Scold Jottings by an Employer's Lawyer Future Lawyer The Professional Marketing Blog From the Law.com Newswire [about RSS] Law.com Privacy Policy

This Legal Blog Watch Alert is brought you by ALM's Law.com (http://www.law.com/service/aboutlaw.shtml). To unsubscribe from the Legal Blog Watch Alert, go to http://store.law.com/registration/unsubscribe.asp?p=lbw&f=html . Questions? Comments? Complaints? Send us an email at subscription@corp.law.com. By using Law.com's Legal Blog Watch Alert, you are agreeing to abide by our Terms of Service at http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.html. Copyright © 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.

Very Important....

 

WILL DEFENSE LAWYERS ACCEPT HELP ON HIGH COURT CRIMINAL CASES?

LEGAL TIMES

 

The Supreme Court is generally viewed as a place where novices fear to tread. But in the criminal defense bar, where individuality and swagger reign, some hold onto the romantic notion that if they can conquer a hometown jury, they can work the same charm on the nine justices. That can be a mistake. And anyone looking to upgrade criminal defense advocacy before the high court faces cultural and institutional obstacles. Says one attorney, "There's a lone-wolf quality" to criminal defense lawyers.

Sincerely yours : Rodrigo González fernández, consultajuridica.blogspot.com ; lawyerschile.blogspot.com

Fw: Law.com blog: Court Protects Law Firm's Work Product

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Legal Blog Watch

To: blog-html@majordomo.law.com

Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 9:35 PM

Subject: Law.com blog: Court Protects Law Firm's Work Product

Law.com Home Legal Blog Watch Home About The Bloggers

Legal Blog Watch Court Protects Law Firm's Work Product Bill Heinze reports today on an important opinion from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, In re EchoStar Communications Corp., protecting a law firm in a patent dispute from disclosing work product it has never provided to its client. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 9, 2006 at 08:08 AM | Permalink Sex, Weddings and Baseball With a headline like that, we could be referring to only one thing: Blawg Review #56, from the legal pundits at PointofLaw.com. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 9, 2006 at 07:58 AM | Permalink On Trial in Chicago: Nigeria's Legal System The 1998 death of a prominent Nigerian politician is playing out in a Chicago courtroom, and with it, the legitimacy of Nigeria's justice system. That is the premise of an article today by Funke Aboyade in the African newspaper This Day. The politician, Chief MKO Abiola, died in government detention five years after claiming victory in the presidential election. His daughter, relying on the Alien Tort Claims Act, is seeking damages in federal court in Chicago for his death. Defense lawyers claim the suit should be heard by Nigerian courts, and, as the article explains, that is the issue now to be decided by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. Meanwhile, in a side article, Aboyade, the reporter covering the case, shares his views on how the U.S. legal system differs from Nigeria's. One major difference: Court stenography. "What I found incredible was the fact that the gadget had been around since the turn of the 20th century! More, it had undergone little or no changes or modifications, save that it was now electronic. It didn't look to me to be expensive, so innocuous looking and portable is it. Is there a reason we can't get this wonderful little device for all our courts?" Another difference Aboyade observed: Unlike in Nigeria, he was not required to bow every time he left or entered the courtroom. His observations provide a fresh perspective on a process that, to most of us, seems all too familiar. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 9, 2006 at 07:52 AM | Permalink Tales of Two Judicial Nominees Headlines this morning carried the news that the American Bar Association downgraded its rating of Brett Kavanaugh, President Bush's nominee for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. But on the op-ed page of the Hartford Courant, Norm Pattis urges an end to the whispering campaign about another federal judicial nominee, Vanessa Bryant to the U.S. district court in Connecticut, who received a "not qualified" rating from the ABA earlier this week. Pattis, who co-authors the blog Crime & Federalism, argues that the debate over Bryant's qualifications has been characterized by "plenty of horse whisperers afraid to speak publicly." He writes: "We have a very clubby federal bar in Connecticut. Vanessa Bryant may not be a member of that club, but that's not a reason to hide behind 'off the record' comments and seek to derail her candidacy. If we're going to debate her candidacy, let's name names. This cloak and dagger whispering campaign is juvenile and petty." On his blog, Pattis notes that Bryant is the second judicial nominee tapped by Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell to suffer setbacks. He calls it Jodi's Jinx. Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 9, 2006 at 07:17 AM | Permalink Webcasts Safe From WIPO, for Now Bloggers breathed a collective sigh of relief this week when the United States dropped its insistence that an international broadcast treaty extend to webcasts and podcasts. But the World International Property Organization is not abandoning the proposal. Instead, it will take it up as a separate proposal on a slower discussion track. To say the proposal has been controversial would be an understatement. Michael Geist says the treaty is "a solution in search of a problem." James Love at The Huffington Post put it this way: "No one who is pushing these treaties can explain why anyone who would get the right actually needs it in the first place, and there is no assessment of how this will impact copyright owners, consumers or creative communities and innovative businesses." Thus, "slowtracking" the webcasting proposal is welcome news for the Internet community, says the Electronic Frontier Foundation: "Extending the draft treaty's 50 year intellectual property-based rights to webcasters ... was expressly opposed by the clear majority of countries this week, and has consistently been rejected by WIPO member states in the last two meetings of the Committee in 2004 and 2005." But while webcasting is out of the treaty talks for now, the EFF notes, the bigger question is for how long. "The U.S. ... was not happy about the outcome." Cory Doctorow likewise suggests that the issue will come up again: "The US was put up to this by Yahoo and Microsoft, who have giant databases of webcasts that other people have entrusted to them, which they wanted to get an ownership interest over. Over and over again, the world's nations have told the US that this wasn't an option, and over and over again, the Chairman of the committee snuck away between meetings and stuck it back into the treaty." For Doctorow, the question now is: When WIPO does again take up the discussion, will podcasters get a seat at the table? Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on May 9, 2006 at 06:36 AM | Permalink

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This Legal Blog Watch Alert is brought you by ALM's Law.com (http://www.law.com/service/aboutlaw.shtml). To unsubscribe from the Legal Blog Watch Alert, go to http://store.law.com/registration/unsubscribe.asp?p=lbw&f=html . Questions? Comments? Complaints? Send us an email at subscription@corp.law.com. By using Law.com's Legal Blog Watch Alert, you are agreeing to abide by our Terms of Service at http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.html. Copyright © 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.

More Stupid Lawyer Tricks
A silly action by the Cleveland Bar to bring charges of unauthorized practice of law against a dad who successfully sued the school board on behalf of his son to secure special education services is now making all of us lawyers look like fools.  According to this New York Times article,  when Brian Woods couldn't afford an attorney to sue the school board for services for his autistic son, he took on the board himself, soundly defeating the board's team of attorneys and recovering $160,000 and other concessions.  But here's how the bar reacted:

"When the Cleveland Bar Association got wind of Mr. Woods' victory recently, it also went to court -- to sue Mr. Woods. The bar association said he had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. It sought a $10,000 fine, lawyers' fees and a promise that he would not continue to assist other parents seeking to represent their own children in court."

Fortunately, sounder minds on the Ohio Supreme Court saw the light and ordered the bar association to produce additional evidence to support its UPL claims.  At that point, the bar dropped the complaint.  But apparently, a Supreme Court case is pending over a similar issue of
the circumstances in which non-attorney parents can represent their children under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  As a result, the Cleveland Bar has suggested that depending upon the outcome of this case, it still might re-file charges against Mr. Woods.

The case has lead to a discussion round the blogosphere on the narrow issue of whether parents can represent their kids under the IDEA to whether we should dispense with lawyer licensing requirements entirely.  Norm Pattis of Crime & Federalism takes this  position that a family that "has neither the funds for a lawyer nor the charm to seduce a public interest group" should not be barred from the courthouse door by a rule prohibiting non-lawyer parents from representing their own children in these types of cases. 

Meanwhile, Larry Ribstein and Jonathan Wilson use the Woods case as a springboard for a debate on whether lawyer licensing is necessary.  Ribstein argues that licensing is no longer necessary since lay people can adequately represent themselves, and that the market can take care of consumer protection issues.  Wilson, however, believes that regulation is required, not because he seeks to preserve the status quo but because the market is an inefficient regulator of legal services and many consumers lack the skills to differentiate between competing price proposals.

On the larger questions of the day, I fall between Ribstein and Wilson.  I believe that some consumers may lack the ability to distinguish between legal services, but at the same time, blogging and the Internet and the "flattening of the world" is fast changing that deficiency.   But I leave that question for another day.  On the matter of Brian Woods, I'll end with this question:  Would the Cleveland Bar have pursued Woods if he had lost?  I'm almost certain the answer is no, and if I'm right, it shows you where the bar's interests really lie. 

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on May 8, 2006 at 12:47 PM | Permalink                                                                        

A Happy Lawyer?
Bob Ambrogi unearths  what apparently has become an endangered species:   A Happy Lawyer.  If you think that this creature made gazillions at a big firm or on a huge class action and retired to Tahiti at the age of 30 for a life of leisure, you'd be wrong.  This lawyer, Ray Brescia, is actually practicing law.  And while Brescia doesn't make much money as director of a nonprofit legal clinic at the Urban Justice Center, he makes something more rewarding:  justice.   

Maybe representing the poor isn't your calling, but that's not really the lesson of the article to my mind.  Instead, it's about finding that passion, that "je ne sais quois" that inspires you to get up in the morning and to make the most of every day at your job.  If only all of us lawyers could find that sense of fit between our work and our skills and our passions that Brescia has managed to achieve.

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on May 8, 2006 at 12:08 PM | Permalink

How Appealing Still Appeals Four Years Later
This weekend, Howard Bashman's How Appealing celebrated its fourth blogoversary.   And to celebrate, Bashman is giving a present to us:  the revival of the extremely popular and exceptionally well executed Twenty Questions for the Appellate Judge.    All appellate judges interested in participating can indicate interest over at the How Appealing site.

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on May 8, 2006 at 12:03 PM | Permalink

 

NEW BLOG

LEGAL BLOG WATCH 

Welcome Legal Sanity

There's a new blog participating in Legal Blog Watch, Arnie Herz's Legal Sanity.  Today, Arnie posts a roundup of articles on the importance of storytelling in law and business in a way that eliminates all but the essentials:

 

"In other words, how can we pare down our language and messages so that they're 'simple yet not watered down, trivialized, or compromised? this knowledge to make their organizations great' are the leaders 'we admire and wish others would emulate.'"

 

Since lawyers are usually regarded as (a) verbose and (b) boring, the advice that you'll find through Arnie's links are essential for lawyers.   And we are sure that Legal Sanity will become an essential blog for our readers as well.

 

Posted by Carolyn Elefant           

 

 

 

EN CHILE AUN ES INSIPIENTE EL MARKETING JURÍDICO(MARJURIDICO.BLOGSPOT.COM)

FROM LEGAL BLOG WATCH 

EVEN MARKETING CAN BE OUTSOURCED

 

Practiquemos un poco de Inglés  que en este mundo globalizado es muy importante, a propósito de la ley de outsourcing que se ve hoy en Chile  :

 

Is law firm marketing guru Larry Bodine in danger of losing his day job?  Probably not, though other marketers may be at risk, as Larry warns in this post,  Offshoring Threatens Marketing Jobs.  Larry reports on his recent discovery that law firms are sending not just word processing and research work to India and other countries; they are sending marketing projects there as well. Larry summarizes a recent talk by Erica Tamblyn at Milbank Tweed who recounted:

 

"How the firm managing partner had an idea for an advertisement, and the firm turned to their offshoring company, Office Tiger, to have the ad created. The following day they had 6 prototypes, created with computers and stock photography. 'Some varied in style and font,' she said. 'Some were very different. We selected one that was terrific.'"

 

Not all marketing jobs are at risk, of course, but Larry lists those that he perceives are vulnerable to offshoring:

 

    * Advertising

    * Desktop Publishing

    * Web site design and coding

    * Graphics creation and photo retouching

    * Brochure creation

    * Writing

    * Invitations to events

    * Market research

    * Competitive Intelligence

    * PowerPoint templates and charts

 

Larry summarizes:

 

"The lesson is clear: if the marketing work you do can be done by someone else with a computer -- your job is at risk.  It's not good enough to say that what you do requires creativity.  That's no safety net.  There are English-speaking creative people with MBAs who will be thrilled to do your job for a fraction of your salary.  If there is no reason for you to be at your office in person, there's no reason your job can't be sent overseas to be done by cheap foreign labor.

 

Looks like alot of marketers are going to have to get even more creative to hold onto their accounts and give law firms and other large institutions reasons to hire locally rather than go overseas.

 

Posted by Carolyn Elefant , from legal blog watch, sincerely yours Rodrigo González Fernández, consultajuridica.blogspot.com