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February 28, 2006
Lisa Stone goes to BlogHer; Carolyn Elefant, Robert Ambrogi take on Legal Blog Watch
I think this legal blogging thing might catch on -- how about you? So I've made a decision to hand over the reins of this blog, Legal Blog Watch, to two brilliant blawggers: Carolyn Elefant and Robert Ambrogi. I'm resigning to work full-time on this little project.
More on that in a minute. First I want to say a few words about Law.com's blogging experiment to date. On Nov. 19, 2004, after three months of working with my old friends, Editorial Director Jennifer Collins and VP Stacey Artandi, I recruited most of the bloggers you see in the blogroll on the left, plus The Volokh Conspiracy and Matt Homann, and launched this blog.
The blog hit the Internet about the same time a few of my mainstream media colleagues had worked their panties into a serious wad over blogs. (Let's just say we took the plunge waaaaaay before The Wall Street Journal 's law blog was a line-item in anyone's projected editorial budget.) I rolled my eyes in response. "Why blogs?" I snarked. "Didn't ALM get the memo? And why should you carve out precious billable minutes to read blogs?"
Why indeed. Turns out that we were right: You really are on to something editorially exceptional. In the past 15 months, Law.com blog affiliates have earned awards, recognition of their peers, new writing gigs and new billable hours, too. Meanwhile, the Law.com blog network has driven hundreds of thousands of page views and thousands in revenue. No, we haven't bought anyone a new car. But we haven't pulled the plug, embarrassed ourselves or fronted a cost-center either. Just ask BusinessWeek and BtoB.
I'm no attorney, but I've known all along why I was here: As a journalist and a media strategist, I considered the Law.com Blog Network an important next step in sponsored journalism. Why? Because of the role bloggers were already playing in providing news, information and cutting-edge analysis, as I wrote on my personal blog, Surfette. In other words, legal journalism could be enhanced by having the same people who argue in front of the Supreme Court and advocate for civil rights and settle corporate cases and build solo practices share their experiences here at one of America's leading legal presses.
Rocket science? No. Brave? Yes. Courage is the other reason I joined the effort. ALM and Law.com got it journalistically: Bill, Stacey and Jennifer were willing to affiliate with blogs in a way that preserved the bloggers' editorial integrity.
What I didn't anticipate was how much enjoyment I'd get out my place in this courtside catbird seat, watching the legal blogosphere explode as some of the best new voices in media -- blawggers -- took on everything from wiretapping, medical marijuana and Harriet Miers to the bugaboos of legal practice management and the grind of everyday criminal defense and sentencing. I have had terrific colleagues on this trip: Every single blogger you see in the blogroll on this page. Even when we agree to disagree, they are great bunch of brains and friends. I need to reserve special thanks for Scott Martin, the ALM editor who suffered through my blog every day and who is responsible for the Law.com home page. Beware, Scott: Your fabulously snappy writing is going to keep you sucked into this project, if I know Jennifer!
I'm particularly gratified to be handing over the reins of this baby to Carolyn and Bob, whose exceptional writing is known to many of you. I can hardly wait to watch the Web's leading solo blawgger, Elefant, mix it up with the blogosphere's ultimate blend of journalist and lawyer, Ambrogi. That tension should lead to some fun repartee about the future of lawyering and the law. But they won't be alone: Law.com has some exciting things planned for this spring, so stay tuned.
You can find me at BlogHer, another little experiment I launched a year ago with Elisa Camahort and Jory Des Jardins: A conference for women who blog. BlogHer Con '05 was made possible by four landmark sponsors: Google, Yahoo, Omidyar and Law.com. Since then, BlogHer has ballooned into a media network: On January 30, 2006, we beta-launched a site where 60+ editors write about what's hot on blogs by women across 20+ popular topics. On July 28-29, BlogHer will hold a second annual conference with national press and sponsors for an estimated 750 women bloggers. I'm excited. You're invited.
That is, if and when you can tear your eyes away from this space.
February 28, 2006 | Permalink
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February 27, 2006
NOLA update: Mother Nature bats last
Law Technology News Editor Monica Bay wrote a beautiful post Saturday about her own experience discovering the city of New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina:
"It occurred to me today that it took more than a year to clean up one skyscraper in NYC -- how are they ever going to clean up miles and miles and miles of debris???
"
Everybody here tends to compare it to Berlin -- west v. east. I think that's a good analogy. One minute, you're in downtown which feels fairly intact, despite a lot of still-broken windows. Five minutes later, over a bridge, and you are in complete, utter, flat. Piles and piles and piles of broken wood. And so many houses sitting on top of cars it becomes a routine sight after 10 minutes. (click to enlarge photo)
"My friend Richard Peck said something to me last week that has haunted and resonated with me -- 'Stay vulnerable, Monica.' If anything is hitting me, it's that we are ALL vulnerable no matter how we fool ourselves to get thru everyday life.
"This is not just about New Orleans, this is about the power of Mother Nature, and no one is immune: Not San Francisco, Florida, Oklahoma, Wyoming. Water, wind, fire. As someone said yesterday at lunch: Mother Nature bats last. "
More here. I encourage you to comment on on Monica's blog, rather than here.
February 27, 2006 | Permalink
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TO: Boalt Law School FR: Applicant #6598's mom
Last week, my talented step-daughter was accepted to two colleges in the same day. Since I've only known her for three years, I cannot take any of the credit. But you can imagine that we're all walking on air.
Which is why I hope that Boalt Law School's dean and public relations department think hard about the real people and real lives they have stepped on with this weekend's e-mail error. Wonder what I'm on about? Check out The Wired GC today:
"The UC Berkeley law school apparently learned this lesson the hard way when it recently sent an email to all 7, 000 applicants welcoming them to the law school.
The problem: they only typically admit 800 to get an entering class of 260 ..."
Ouch. More here.
February 27, 2006 | Permalink
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New cartoon blawg
Who among you remembers a comic strip in the ABA Journal called "Fenwilder & Jones," which ran from the late 1970s to the early 1980s?
He's ba-a-ack. That's right, illustrator Charles Fincher is drawing Scribble-in-law, a new cartoon blawg. He writes me, "Its subject matter is topical legal and
the frequency will be about three times a week. I draw it on real legal pads in my favorite style which is very loose and spontaneous." Check it out. Kudos to Fincher for starting his own site, start-up style.
February 27, 2006 | Permalink
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Blawg Review #46: nudity, IP and pessimism
Frank talk from the Web's "premier student blog" in the words of blogger Sean Sirrine of Objective Justice. And I agree with him. De Novo flinches from nothing in Blawg Review #46, from pessimism to Top IP Cases of 2005 to (yay!) nudity. All this and more, delivered in the kind of tone that could dramatically improve the reputation lawyers have in this world:
"Ben Cowgill's On Legal Ethics informs us that lawyers had better start getting better at math. You think I'm kidding? Read this quote about the Supreme Court of Kansas: 'In that way, the Court effectively held as a matter of law that it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to "round up" a time entry, and thereby charge the client for more time than the lawyer actually devoted to the particular task, regardless of whether the dollar amount of the resulting charge (or the total fee) is reasonable or unreasonable.'"
February 27, 2006 | Permalink
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February 24, 2006
Bad e-mail? Might make a great lawyer
Geoffrey Gussis of InhouseBlog points out a good follow-up to the latest embarrassing lawyer e-mail exchange circulated around the world to the sound of laughter. Get this, e-mails such as this might not be as much of a career-destroying move as some might think -- especially if you're a lawyer or someone admired for cutthroat business behavior.
February 24, 2006 | Permalink
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Lawyers in 'that e-mail' go on CNN
OK, so if you were like me when you read the sour yet funny e-mail exchange between the Boston law firm and the female job seeker, you wondered who are these people?!?! Now you can see the people involved, in a CNN interview. Bob Ambrogi has it here.
February 24, 2006 | Permalink
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Entertainment for lawyers: Interactive high court bobbleheads
Bob Ambrogi, resident expert at coming up with good finds across legal blogs, has come across The Green Bag and can't help but mention it (for those already Green Bag regulars, excuse all the enthusiasm here). Ambrogi writes:
"No ordinary law journal this, it is as eclectic as it is entertaining. In fact, it devotes a section to "eclectica," where you will find animated -- and annotated -- bobbleheads of Justices Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Paul Stevens and William H. Rehnquist."
OK, the interactive bobbleheads are worth it alone.
February 24, 2006 | Permalink
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Workplace violence at NLRB -- you joking? I'm not.
A meeting at the National Labor Relations Board was interrupted when a gunman -- he had earlier filed a complaint with the agency that had been dismissed -- took hostages, according to reports. Mike Fox has the story here.
February 24, 2006 | Permalink
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February 23, 2006
Quasi-legal work can be an hours-sucking 'leach'
Rees Morrison shares the results of a consulting project that involved data mining from surveys and interviews to determine where lawyers were spending some of their hours.
"Our quarry was quasi-legal work, the kinds of tasks that lawyers can do but should not do ... leaches," he writes.
To find out how many hours in a week "counsel level" lawyers on average spent doing quasi-legal work, read on.
February 23, 2006 | Permalink
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BlackBerry news: USPTO rejects one of NTP's claims
Rick Georges, whose blog is a must-read for those keeping tabs on BlackBerry news, has the latest on the USPTO's final rejection of one of NTP's patent claims against device maker RIM. Linking to a story from CNET News.com, Georges writes:
"One down, four to go. The USPTO rejected one of the five patents NTP claims have been violated by RIM in its BlackBerry devices. This final rejection will be met by years of appeals by NTP. Unfortunately for RIM, the hearing that could result in an injunction occurs tomorrow, and the decision could come early next week. In the event an injunction issues, RIM, of course, will play the 'work-around software' hand ..."
Read on to get his take on how this will all play out.
Related news stories:
What Happens If BlackBerry Loses Its Juice?
BlackBerry Maker RIM Develops Software 'Workaround' in Event of Injunction
NTP slams RIM on eve of crucial hearing
Bye-bye, BlackBerry?
February 23, 2006 | Permalink
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Still haven't had enough BlackBerry news?
OK, if you're still reading this, it's perhaps with one hand free -- while the other clutches your BlackBerry!! Right? How Appealing's Howard Bashman, ever a news hound, has a roundup of links to stories on RIM's BlackBerry.
BlackBerry decision nears - Richmond Times-Dispatch
The fate of BlackBerry service rests in this man's hands - Toronto Globe
BlackBerry dispute showdown nears - CNNMoney.com
NTP Accuses RIM of Using Political Clout - The Associated Press
February 23, 2006 | Permalink
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Law school admissions: Hitting "send" and turning white
You're waiting and waiting for that letter of acceptance from the admissions office. All the while the suspense builds as you beat yourself up over how your LSAT scores and grades might have been just a little higher and what the likelihood is of going to your top pick. Then, out of the blue, comes an e-mail inviting you to a reception to celebrate your acceptance to the law school of your dreams. But it turns out the law school admissions director has goofed. Bob Ambrogi has the story here.
February 23, 2006 | Permalink
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Reflections on a blawg anniversary
Rees Morrison humorously reflects on the enjoyment that he's had in the one year since he began his Law Department Management blog. He categorizes his thoughts by movie comparisons and touches on the very real story of how his blog has been a natural fit for him. He writes:
"This blawg gives me a medium for my doing exactly what I am good at: collecting interesting items, distilling them with a touch of panache, and helping in-house lawyers improve their management skills."
Congrats. Keep it up.
February 23, 2006 | Permalink
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February 22, 2006
A new trick for old dogs in the firm: CRM
Ron Friedmann has a great post about how lawyers are reluctant to adopt new technologies unless there's something clearly in it for them. As an example, he uses the slow the uptake of CRM (customer relationship management) software in law firms to show how resistant lawyers can be to a technology's use. He writes:
"Many law firm managers say 'CRM is the most widely licensed but least used software in large firms.'"
However, he notes, there is a law firm worth studying for its clever implementation of CRM.
February 22, 2006 | Permalink
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Google behind the Great Firewall of China
Rick Georges of Future Lawyer says that Google shouldn't be a bit surprised that it's being accused of acting unlawfully in China, for once it made a deal to do business there and work with censorship of its search results, it should expect the Chinese government to chip away further at the company.
He links to a story from Reuters:
February 22, 2006 | Permalink
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Hells Angels riding with settlement
J. Craig Williams of May It Please The Court poses the question, "Where Is the Lesson in $990,000 Award to Hells Angels?" Regarding the high-profile case involving the shooting of the motorcycle gang members' dogs and other offenses, Williams writes:
"Sometimes it pays to settle early (which also means the converse is also true: sometimes it doesn't pay to settle early). In the case of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club, however, it did."
See the full post here.
February 22, 2006 | Permalink
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Roberts/Alito Court: Employees 1, Employers 0
Mike Fox is tallying the score on the new Court's outcome in cases involving employee-employer situations. Fox writes:
"In an unusual summary opinion, without hearing oral argument, the Court today sent back to the 11th Circuit for further review its holding that a jury verdict in favor of two employees was appropriately set aside. Ash v. Tyson Foods, Inc. (S.Ct. 2/21/06) [pdf]. The Court felt compelled to do so because of two separate statements in the underlying opinion*":
See the entire post here.
February 22, 2006 | Permalink
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Confused by the latest blargon (blog jargon)?
Readers of blogs, don't despair. Bob Ambrogi has a good find to share: William Safire's piece on Web log jargon.
February 22, 2006 | Permalink
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February 21, 2006
OK to trip in church
Michael Cernovich over at Crime & Federalism takes note of the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the use of hallucinogenic tea known as hoasca in a New Mexico church.
"The good guys won, which is another way of saying Bush's Justice [sic] Department has lost," writes Cernovich.
February 21, 2006 | Permalink
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MIPTC takes a bow for award
J. Craig Williams take a bow for an award from Small Firm Business, which awarded his May It Please The Court and WLF its Best Practices 2006 award for best Web site.
Full disclosure: Small Firm Business is owned by ALM, parent of Law.com.
February 21, 2006 | Permalink
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When blawgging has a productive tone of whining
Carolyn Elefant writes a response to a post from a blogger who criticizes those that complain in Web logs about the practice of law. While not one to complain, she says, complaining in the form of Web logs opens a new window into the never-before-seen view of large law firms. Elefant writes:
"I graduated from law school in 1988. Back then, I'd say that 90 percent of my classmates assumed that they'd go on to work at a challenging, intellectually stimulating biglaw job, make partner in seven years and be set for life. Back then, no one ever really complained about the drawbacks of large firm practice, the drudgery for young associates, the sacrifices you make for your family, the lack of experience and training that you actually receive at a large firm, and the seeming randomness, and sometimes even inequities of partnership decisions. Blogging is changing all of that. Blogging, even that of a whiny, complaining nature, exposes the dark underside of biglaw practice that so many lawyers were ashamed to talk about."
February 21, 2006 | Permalink
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Radio Shack -- lessons learned the hard way
The Wired GC has the story on the departure of Radio Shack's CEO, Dave Edmondson, who padded his resume and on Monday resigned from the president and CEO posts. Wired GC says the company was slow to act and appears to have been lacking in all of its background checks of senior execs from the looks of a note on the Radio Shack Web site.
February 21, 2006 | Permalink
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February 17, 2006
Spring break
Happy President's Day to everyone. I'll be out for the week on the kids' spring break. See you on Feb. 27. Try and be nice to Scott Martin while I'm gone.
February 17, 2006 | Permalink
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Perhaps you too can agree with Ken Starr for the first time in your life
Mike Cernovich writes "I never thought that, after reading Ken Starr's opinion on something, I would say: "That's exactly right!" But, well, that's exactly right! (Via How Appealing.)" Get your hot links here.
February 17, 2006 | Permalink
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You want to show your clients you got into Blawg Review #45
... because it's written by Patrick Lamb, blogger of Perfect Client Service. Even attempting perfection is valuable to your paying customers. For more information, check out Blawg Review's submission guidelines.
February 17, 2006 | Permalink
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Time to be getting a Skype account?
The Future Lawyer writes that just as "lawyers are gearing up for a legal and political fight about the Government's use of warrantless wiretaps, technology again may have outpaced the slow-moving legal and political system. Apparently, the encryption used by Skype to send telephone calls over the Internet to any phone in the world, is pretty much unbreakable without thousands of hours of effort aimed at a particular Internet user. Skype says that it 'cooperates' when asked by Government officials, whatever that means ..." Go here to read his link to the St. Petersburg paper. Can anyone else confirm?
February 17, 2006 | Permalink
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February 16, 2006
Lawyers: Tech Soothsaysers?
Future Lawyer's Rick Georges, pointing to FBI chief Robert Mueller's remarks at the RSA confab, notes that the Internet continues to generate new concerns about privacy, data security and client confidentiality among other issues.
Georges raises an important question:
"What is the lawyer's role in these disputes?"
He continues on, issuing a challenge:
"Should we as lawyers sit on the fence, or just represent a particular client's point of view?"
More here.
February 16, 2006 | Permalink
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The real estate of interviews: Context, context, context
Attention, C-level legal execs and their handlers: Blawgger Bruce MacEwen has a very informative write up on "The verbatim text of a letter to the editor of the International Herald Tribune which I e-mailed last night ..."
February 16, 2006 | Permalink
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Should she copyright the "Flirt" or the "Peek-A-Boo"?
To say I did a double-take on J. Craig Williams' post is a massive understatement. Check out "Copyright Issued To Pole Dancer Teaching Exercise Class."
February 16, 2006 | Permalink
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C-level blogging: Is less more?
The Wired GC recommends MarketingSherpa's take on c-level blogging, in particular the new blog by founder and EVP David Hitz here.
I'm very glad to see that quality wins out over quality as far as frequency of posting goes. I wonder how realistic that is, however ...
February 16, 2006 | Permalink
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I work for Wilson erm, Morgan!
Legal Pad has the scoop:
"Morgan obtained its license to practice in Beijing three weeks ago, according to Philip Werner, managing partner of the firm's practice. The new office will open in two weeks.
"Heading the office in Beijing will be K. Karen Loewenstein, a Morgan Lewis partner who previously worked in the firm's Washington, D.C., office and has also been working in China.
"The firm's strategy in China will be to build on the ties it already has with Silicon Valley companies and develop IP relationships with major Chinese companies."
More here.
February 16, 2006 | Permalink
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February 15, 2006
Required coursepack reading: copyright infringement 101
J. Craig Williams notes that publishers have been filing copyright infringement suits over the college reading material known as "student coursepacks" that gets copied from texts and various articles.
Such class reading supplements represent 2 percent of textbook sales, a "total just less than a quarter of a billion dollars. That's a big market chunk not to regulate," Williams writes.
Read the entire piece here.
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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Q: When will the legal profession see gender equality in its ranks?
A: "my answer would be -- today, if you know where to look for it," writes Carolyn Elefant, adding later, "... the Committee on Women in the Profession is right about one thing: equality is lacking in at least one place in the legal profession -- and that is on the Committee on Women in the Profession itself."
In a blistering post on an event focused myopically on how hard it is for women to play the partner game at male-dominated BigLaw firms, Elefant recommends the industry open their eyes to find out where the women lawyers are. Here's a taster:
"The trouble is that at the so-called Committee on Women in the Profession ultimately defines success by stereotypical male standards, such as making partnership at a large law firm, ironically at a time when even men are beginning to question whether biglaw is all that it was cracked up to be. And the Committee discounts the achievements of solo women lawyers by omitting women lawyers from its speakers' panel and not discussing the achievements of women solos and small firm lawyers in its report."
Listen to and learn from the whole post here.
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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"It doesn't get much worse than this"
Michael Cernovich has posted the latest news from Abu Ghraib. Ignore it at your own risk.
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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Speaking of idiocy: "The e-mail that roared"
Picture, if you will, the scenario in which you would write the following e-mail to a person from whom you had just accepted -- and then unaccepted -- a new job:
"Bla, bla, bla."
No, I am not kidding. Now check out Bob Ambrogi's post.
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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Supreme commentary: Scalia on the "idiots" among us
Reporter Jonathan Ewing of The Associated Press has the following:
"People who believe the Constitution would break if it didn't change with society are 'idiots,' U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says."
To read more of Mr. Scalia's commentary to Puerto Rico's Federalist Society, read this story on the Law.com newswire. Funny how the High Court's justices always seem to drink truth serum when they're allowed outside the Beltway ...
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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President Bush reaches beyond fed bench again
Justin Scheck, writing for Legal Pad, notes that "[Milan] Smith's nomination continues a trend noted on this blog: Bush skipping the federal bench in filling slots on the Ninth Circuit Court." More here.
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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E-discovery -- a multiheaded monster?
Blawg Review #44 writer Bob Coffield, a lawyer practicing health care law at Flaherty, Sensabaugh & Bonasso, in Charleston, W.Va., takes note of the multitude of communications that could be cause for concern for companies that might be involved with e-discovery requests. It makes a good point about the communications we use so freely in the workplace.
"Mail, instant messaging, wikis, blogs, social networking, online news aggregators, social bookmarking and other hosted means of communication and knowledge management are being used more and more by professionals and business employees," notes Coffield.
He refers to a piece by Denise Howell, who raises some interesting questions about the effect increased use of hosted communication and KM systems could have on businesses faced with litigation and e-discovery.
February 15, 2006 | Permalink
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February 14, 2006
Reed Smith's Boom: Strategy
Bruce MacEwen looks at what's been rocketing Reed Smith revenue to a five-year climb that has profits per equity partner numbers up 154 percent. This is no accident, MacEwen says.
Rather, it has to do with designing a "consistent and sustained campaign of moves" and "appointing a Director of Strategic Planning," he notes.
It's a great read, as earnings season kicks in, for those considering the value of a chief strategy officer and follows a string of excellent posts from MacEwen to catch up on:
Do You Have a Chief Strategy Officer?
Does Italy Recognize a Right of Privacy?
Can't I Trade Some of this Money for a Week Off?
Who Will Be Your Successor?
February 14, 2006 | Permalink
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Proof there's still power in organized labor
Mike Fox may be an employer's lawyer, but the man's true claim to fame in my book is his ability to look at his industry from the 40,000-foot level. I offer up, as Exhibit A, his post "Stirring the Pot - the Center for Union Facts," his take on the new anti-labor Center for Union Facts. In the post, Fox notes that Executive Director Richard Berman hasn't copped to which foundation is helping to back the center and links pro-labor blogger Nathan Newman's response rant. Good stuff all.
But the real gold is Fox's insight:
"... beneath it all, organized labor has to be thrilled that they have proven themselves worthy of a response. That may well be the most significant aspect of this matter."
February 14, 2006 | Permalink
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Open source: Next skirmish scheduled for Feb. 16
Cathy Kirkman reports that "The open source community is thus taking pragmatic steps in its war on software patents." Find out how here.
February 14, 2006 | Permalink
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Gallup's black rose to blawgosphere contains jewel
I'm not a Gallup subscriber, so I cannot read the full report by Gallup that Bob Ambrogi recommends. In his overview and the short description on the Gallup site, I see that the esteemed research company has accused the blogosphere of anemic growth.
Before you despair of the time, energy and personal or even firm resources you're pouring into your legal blog(s), I would point out a couple of things:
- If bloggers are the cream of the crop of Internet users, lawyers are arguably the creme de la creme -- a deep industry vertical of professionals whose business is exchanging breaking news and information, who were arguably the second largest industry to flock online (right after tech) to meet the information gap created by the long publishing cycles of law reviews and other publications
- Don't miss Ambrogi's point, that "No surprise, the survey shows a generation gap in blog readership. " Hmm. Wonder which way that will trend ...
- Note Gallup author Lydia Saad's opener, that "Gallup's latest examination of Americans' online habits finds that one in five Web users read Web-logs, or "blogs," either frequently or occasionally." That's even more people than comScore estimated(PDF).
More here.
February 14, 2006 | Permalink
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Happy Valentine's Day! I want a divorce.
V-day is D-day for many couples, reports The Wired GC. Wait'll you read the Forbes.com article he found in which one lawyer referral service says requests for divorce shoot up in the two weeks before and after Valentine's Day.
For an antidote to this depressing news, check out The Common Scold's sweet paean to her parents' 57-year tradition.
Um, off to the florist ...
February 14, 2006 | Permalink
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Enter the Manchurian Employees
Don't get me wrong, I love William Gibson. I spent a good portion of my late teens trying to be as elusively cool and deadly as Molly, who voluntarily implanted digital lenses with computer readouts, blocking her eyes forever from the rest of the world.
But it turns out I'm all talk, no walk. Because I'm not ready to have the chip implanted, like these guys did.
Hat-tip and a shudder to The FutureLawyer.
February 14, 2006 | Permalink
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February 13, 2006
Wilson Sonsini 2.0
Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq. lauds Larry Sonsini's recent move to hand the keys of the kingdom to John Roos over at Wilson Sonsini. By giving up the CEO role, Sonsini puts the firm on a solid succession track as "he has self-consciously moved to 'institutionalize' (his word) management," says MacEwen.
MacEwen calls it Management 101 of succession planning, saying that too many leaders have waited until it's too late.
February 13, 2006 | Permalink
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I respectfully beg to -- agree
Prism Legal's Ron Friedmann recently disagreed with Rees Morrison's post "Keep your lawyers on the same floor!" that examined legal department seating arrangements. Now, Law Department Management's Rees Morrison is responding, politely if I might add, to Ron Friedmann. Morrison writes in response:
"Ron Friedmann, the thoughtful author of Prism Legal, took issue with my post ... Ron is right. Closeness to the client matters most. But I actually never recommended ghettoizing lawyers on their own floor. What I meant to point out ..."
February 13, 2006 | Permalink
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How you can avoid a starring role in Lawyer v. Lawyer
How do you avoid a starring role in a lawsuit where you're on the stand? Carolyn Elefant has been reading about a growing trend I'm going to call Lawyer v. Lawyer. She -- as usual -- has great advice:
"I think that like doctors who lack a 'good bedside manner' are more vulnerable to lawsuits, so are attorneys. For attorneys lack of good bedside manner means poor client service -- a problem that is significant enough to have spawned several blogs on that topic (see, e.g., In Search of Perfect Client Service, What About Clients, Non-billable Hour and others) Lawyers need to realize that there's a greater cost to poor service than simply loss of the client. It can mean increased exposure for malpractice suits as well ..."
February 13, 2006 | Permalink
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"Go directly to jail..."
Mike Cernovich writes that "The Federalist Society has finally gotten around to uploading the most recent issues of Engage onto its website. Among other interesting articles is this book review (warning: it's a large pdf) of Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Amost Everything (which I previously discussed here). " But I won't rip Mike off -- For his links, go here.
February 13, 2006 | Permalink
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Blawg Review #44: Health Care Law Bobs [sic]
A fantastic job by Bob Coffield, who manages to inject a healthy dose of West Virginia humor to topics that are among the most dire in the legal world. Here's a taster:
"Nick Jacobs, the CEO at Windber Medical Center and regular blogger at Nick's Blog, guest posts at Hospital Impact. His End-of-Life Care Healthcare will end the life of healthcare indicates why we all need to discuss with each other, our families and our nation end of life care issues and the impact on the health care system. Nick's Blog, the first known hospital CEO blog, is an excellent example of how blogs can be used by a CEO to communicate to staff, employees, customers (or in this case patients) and the community.
"While mentioning end of life care issues, Dennis Kennedy points out the importance of end of life IT planning in What Happens to Blogs, Email and the Rest of Your Online Presence When You Die?"
But a taste will not cure you. To really learn what mattered from last week (and why he's calling his review the "Bobs") you should read the whole thing.
February 13, 2006 | Permalink
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