I am a maven. I’m not so sure that it’s true, but it’s very cool, nonetheless.
January 2005
A Sanction That’s Deserved
As many of my readers know, I often find that the sanctions meted out by bar disciplinary committees to be either redundant or heavy-handed, such as punishing an attorney where he’s already been ordered to pay monetary sanctions by the court or sactioning an attorney for failing to apologize for an overly harsh criticism of…
A Law Firm That’s Out of This World (at least, its fees are)
As lawyers, we all want our work to be regarded as “out of this world” – but just not in this way. According to this article, South Gate Chases Legal Firms, LA Times (1/23/05), a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, ruling that the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton had overcharged its…
Westlaw is Free in Some Places – But Why Not Everywhere?
AJ Levy of http://www.outoftheboxlawyering.com lists a bunch of libraries in several states (AK, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OH, TX and WA) where you can access Westlaw for free. I was happy to learn about this resource though clearly, it’s cheaper for me to sign up for Westlaw on a per-search basis than to travel to…
Ever Have A Case That Wouldn’t End? It’s Not Your Fault…
Imagine the joy of Maureen Graves, an Orange County attorney who works alone out of her garage when she learned this news. (Fresno Bee, 1/17/05). Seven years ago, Graves took a case on behalf of special education student Robert Moser for no fee because she thought it would
be easily won or settled. She was…
From Regulatory Biglaw Attorney to Cutting Edge Reproduction Specialist
What you may want to know upfront is that this article, Fatherhood by a New Formula, Sandra Boodman, Washington Post (1/18/05) isn’t really about small firm attorneys. Rather, it’s more about a growing trend of gay men who are becoming dads using egg donors and a gestational surrogate. But in the course of reading…
A2J Project
This article, Internet Attorney: More Than Pro Se, New Factor Network (1/17/05) reports on the Chicago-Ken College of Law’s Access to Justice (A2J) program that includes a sophisticated computer system for pro se litigants to file complaints and pleadings. But it also includes other toosl such as a “Logic Learner” that teaches litigants how…
How A Little Lawsuit Now Threatens A Lawyer’s Career – and How to Avoid this Mess
This article, He’s Sure He’s Right But He’s All Alone (1/9/05) describes the epic of Mark Adams, who finds himself on the brink of losing his law license all because of a case that he filed on behalf of a client back in 2001. How he went from one situation to the other reflects much…
Hot Practice Area Alert
This month’s issue of Law Practice Management (Jan/Feb 2005) contain’s Robert Denney’s annual Trends Report: What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession. Topping the list of hot practice areas are employment law, IP and contingency litigation (though not for personal injury, which is cool due to tort reform legislation). Also hot, but less…
Small Firm Effort for Tsunami Victims
Matt Homann has issued this challenge to solo and small firm lawyers to collectively raise $100,000 for tsunami victims. Visit the link and see how to help.