As the saying goes, bad facts make bad law. And there’s going to be some very bad law for lawyer blogs indeed if Virginia small firm lawyer Horace Hunter loses his First Amendment challenge to the Virginia Bar’s attempt to require the firm to include certain disclaimers on its blog.
Don’t get me wrong –…
I bought my first Mac in August 1987. Perhaps more than anything up until the birth of my daughters, my Mac changed my life by making me realize that with my words and a means of production, anything – becoming a writer, starting a business or effecting change – was possible. My Mac gave me…
Though I started with the best of intentions to track the activities of the ABA Commission on Ethics 2020, I’ve been having some trouble keeping up with the Commission’s relentless pace. This month brings another barrage of proposals on Outsourcing, Client Confidentiality and Technology and Technology and Lawyer Marketing, and Attorney Admissions.
I’ve already…
Currently, there’s a cross-blog debate raging over the sustainability of the virtual law practice, with Jay Fleishman, Susan Cartier Liebel, Richard Granat of Direct Law (a MyShingle sponsor) and David Bilinsky all weighing in. Take a look at all of the posts to see the wide array of opinions on virtual legal services.…
Both today and yesterday, I have been observing Rosh Hashanna, the Jewish New Year. When I was in college and law school, I abided the rituals, well, religiously, foregoing work and use of any electronics and spending my time in services. But back then, the prayers and rituals resonated with me in a way that…
Conventional wisdom recommends that lawyers involve themselves in organizations like bar or trade associations — either by joining the groups or offering to speak at events — to demonstrate legal and leadership skills and build relationships with colleagues and potential clients through regular contact. Trouble is that this advice is easier said than done. Most…
Legal excellence knows no color or gender, reads the tagline for the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF). Unfortunately, NAMWOLF’s egalitarian notion of legal excellence doesn’t extend to size: shockingly, NAMWOLF bars women and minority owned solo and two-attorney practices from even applying for membership .
For an organization that professes…
Ten days ago, in an effort to reply quickly to a struggling solo who’d contacted me for advice, I reached out to readers to crowdsource a response. The post touched off 40 comments, some offering sound advice to a solo in these circumstances, others not so much. The comments also spawned several sub-discussions on what’s…
Sometimes, a new concept emerges that’s never been done before because no one ever thought of it. That’s called innovation. But other times, there’s reason that the new concept hasn’t been done before: because it’s a downright stupid idea. Unfortunately, many lawyers can’t tell the difference between innovation and idiocy, which is the only explanation…
[Update 9/23–Readers – thank you for your response. We’ve collected an enormous amount of information, some very helpful, some of it obvious and some of it (diving in full force to cases by copying pleadings stood out to me as inadvisable and potential career killer but there are others). I’ve got to read through everything…
