Like many other bloggers, I too am a frequent recipient of offers of dubious gifts like guest posts, info-graphics or paid back-links. Usually, I simply hit delete. But this most recent proposal that came through my inbox merits a shout out because it involves a company called SpeakeasyMarketingInc.com that works for lawyers –
Crazy Little Thing Called Speech
Above the Law columnist Elie Mystal asks: should nasty commenting trigger an ethics probe? Absolutely not. Moreover, as a vocal blogger often critical of ethics regulators and a practicing attorney dependent upon my law license for my livelihood, the fact that a law professor, of all people, would pursue this kind of action against
Legal Ethics and Outsourcing: Just Because It’s Outsourced, Doesn’t Mean You Can Bill for It
At some time or another, law firms of all sizes have outsourced legal support services such as legal research and writing, e-discovery or document review. There’s no question that law firms can bill clients for legal support services and even charge a markup, at least under ABA Ethics Opinion 08-451 and the majority of jurisdictions
Will Legal Ethics Rules Hobble Lawyers From Educating Clients on the Meaning of Data-driven Legal Marketing?
Call it the fantasy lawyering league.
Just as sports aficionados rely on past seasons’ statistics to put together a fantasy football team, soon, consumers now have ready access to lawyers’ track records at their fingertips courtesy of big data — and can draft a dream team lawyer based on objective facts rather than subjective
Lawyer Marketing and Ethics Meets the Real World
Be careful what you wish for. Lawyers have long argued that law is a business, not a profession – and if these recent events are any indication, lawyers may have gotten their wish. Only turns out, the real world has even less tolerance for deceptive marketing practice than ye old bar association.
Gregory Turza, a
Why New York’s Recent Ethics Opinion on LinkedIn Shows the Folly of Regulating the Minutia of Social Media
Lawyers’ ethical obligations when using social media may be summarized in a single graphic:
Yet rather than invoke the simple litmus test of whether a communication is deceptive to a reasonable viewer to evaluate lawyer advertising, disciplinary committees feel compelled to spill thousands of words analyzing the ethics of each and every feature of each
Does Your Law Firm Have a Compliance Program – and How Ethics Rules Discourage Them
Although many law firms advise corporate clients on compliance, few firms have compliance programs in place observe Compliance strategists Donna Boehme and Joseph Murphy in this terrific piece, Inconvenient Truths About Law Firm Compliance. That law firms are subject to ethics rules is no excuse, contend Boehme and Murphy. Legal ethics rules didn’t deter
Real Life Legal: Opposing Counsel Throw Up Barriers to Unbundled Services
(Note – I spoke too soon in my earlier post – but I had to get this off my chest!)
This past February 2013, the ABA passed this Resolution to encourage practitioners (presumably solos and pre-paid providers, since those committees co-sponsored the resolution) to provide unbundled legal services. No doubt, most ardent proponents
New Practice Area for Lawyers: Be A Privilege Shield
The ABA Journal reports on a new practice trend for lawyers: acting as privilege shield. As hacker attacks increase, companies are turning to lawyers to assist with initial investigations. While presumably lawyers bring substantive knowledge to the table and can help companies assess potential liability, they offer an even more valuable benefit: privilege. Many companies
Techno-powered Ethical Oversight for Lawyers – What Do You Think?
Last month, Docracy , a slick form-sharing platform launched a Terms of Service (TOS) tracker that monitors the TOS at over 900 social media sites. Docracy’s new tool (which you can subscribe via RSS feed ) is indispensable whether you’re a lawyer reliant on sites like Facebook or Twitter to market your practice or who