Human Resources
ABA promises to slash lag time for publishing law schools’ jobs data
The American Bar Association hopes to get information about how well the law school class of 2011 did in the job market into the hands of prospective law students as early as next month — a full year earlier than in the past. via ABA promises to slash lag time for publishing law schools’ jobs [...]
InPractice Conference
Reports of PowerPoint’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated
It’s become a joke to get up after a boring presentation and tell someone you experienced “death by PowerPoint”. But don’t think PowerPoint is going away anytime soon as a presentation format, despite what you read or hear. via Reports of PowerPoint’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated | Presenting Yourself and more . . ..
Legal Marketing
Lawyer Photos: An Important Aspect of Law Firm Marketing
Say you are in a group photo. When the photo is posted, who is the first person you look at? You, of course. And it’s the same when you are trying to market your business: People almost always look at the photo before the text. A good-quality photo can make or break your desired goal [...]
Practice Management
Can Lawyers Learn From Best Buy?
Larry Downes in Forbes has an article on the decline and (they presume) fall of Best Buy. Consider BigLaw as it stands today as Best Buy. A lot has been written, deservedly, about whether BigLaw is at risk from overpricing itself. I think there’s certainly risk there, especially outside bet-the-company (or at least bet-the-department or [...]
Professional Services Marketing
Personal-Injury Lawyers Offer Lessons in Marketing
Need help devising a truly kick-ass digital marketing strategy? Looking for an expert to help give you an extra edge? Maybe you should just ask the nearest trial lawyer. Because the Institute for Legal Reform would like you to know that, man, do trial lawyers ever know their stuff when it comes to digital marketing. [...]
Technology
In the Tablet Age, Law Firms Face New IT Threats
Law firms across the country face an increasing number of online threats from entities that can range from shadowy American hackers to foreign governments. The advent of smartphones, tablets, and other remote work devices used by lawyers has only increased the risk of unwanted online exposure. via In the Tablet Age, Law Firms Face New [...]
More Articles
Lexis Debuts E-Book Software for Law Libraries
Legal research giant LexisNexis now has an e-book library application for law firms, based on a partnership with digital content distributor OverDrive. via Lexis Debuts E-Book Software for Law Libraries.
Why Conn. Lawyers Lost $8.7 Million Last Year
Rocky Hill-based title insurer CATIC sells its policies only through lawyers. And in Connecticut, only lawyers can be agents to sell title insurance. But the title companies are allowed to also sell insurance directly through lenders, without any agents at all. CATIC’s the only title company in the state that doesn’t do that. And last [...]
Married to the Firm: Partners Act Like My Kids
My name is Rachel, and I’m married to a Biglaw guy who’s married to his firm. (And when I say married to his firm, I mean it in the typing-on-his-Blackberry-as-his-wife-is-pushing-out-his-second-child kind of way.) Thus, for obvious reasons, my name is fake, my location is undisclosed, and this might not even be me writing these words [...]
ANALYSIS-Unusual debt may haunt a troubled Dewey & LeBoeuf
An unusual $125 million bond issuance by Dewey & LeBoeuf two years ago is likely a big reason the law firm is in serious financial trouble, five law-firm management experts said Monday. The bond, purchased by institutional investors in 2010, was one of only a handful of private placement bonds ever issued by a law [...]
NY bar vetoes outside investors in law firms
New York-based lawyers have been banned from joining a new breed of law firm that allows external investors in a move that could deal a blow to international firms considering third-party capital. The New York State Bar Association, the biggest of America’s lawyer groups with 77,000 members, said on Wednesday it had ruled that any [...]
From Biglaw to Boutique: A Moment of Truth
Over the last few years, the legal market has changed dramatically. We live in a buyer’s market in which the clients hold the upper hand and can demand financial concessions from their attorneys that go beyond lower hourly rates. This good news for clients might sound like bad news for lawyers. If lawyers can’t charge [...]
Law Society Survey Highlights Keys to Retaining Women
Flexible working and better performance assessment are key to retaining more women in law, according to a recent survey by the Law Society and LexisNexis. via Law Society Survey Highlights Keys to Retaining Women.
8 Ways to Freshen-Up Your Risk-Management Procedures
Most sole practitioners and lawyers in small firms to whom I talk think about risk management from time to time – usually in the context of a case they are working on or a sticky issue they are trying to resolve. Unfortunately, it is less common to find lawyers thinking about risk management in a [...]
Time to Explore New Approaches for Law Firm Management?
Law firms are facing some challenging headwinds. Demand for legal services has been sluggish at best recently (PDF) while rate pressure from clients and rising headcount and expenses are pressuring profitability. As a result, some firms have begun re-thinking their traditional models for delivering legal services and have launched innovative initiatives to better position themselves [...]
Thinking of Starting a Solo Practice? Avoid These Traps for the Unwary
Today we’ve got a fantastic interview with Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor at the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP). If you’re starting, or thinking of starting, your own practice, this is a must-read. Find out where you’re likely to run into ethical problems, so you can steer well clear! via Thinking of [...]
