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Legal Profession Trends

ABA’s Issue Paper on Admission by Motion: Impact on Women Lawyers

January 28, 2011 by Carolyn Elefant

I’ve been so busy covering the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 initiatives on ethics of lawyer use of social media for marketing and confidentiality concerns regarding lawyer use of technology that I just about overlooked the other initiatives that continue to emerge. For example, on December 2, 2010, the ABA’s released an issues paper on [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 7 comments

Guest Post by Roy Ginsburg: Working with an Attorney Coach

December 8, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

This summer, I had the privilege of meeting lawyer coach Roy Ginsburg at the Minnesota Solo & Small Firm Conference, then seeing him a few days later at the Nebraska Solo & Small Firm Conference. Roy is well known on the CLE speaking circuit; he is a lawyer himself and in as a former in-house [...]

Read more Law Practice Management 3 comments

Lawyers Want to Be Good, So Why Does the ABA Make It So Darn Hard?

September 29, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Tomorrow, the ABA will post its ethic Opinion 10-457 (August 5, 2010) on ethics issues related to lawyers use of websites.  OK, so the decision comes a good fifteen years after lawyers, myself included, first started using the web, but better late than never, I suppose.  In any event, the opinion was circulated this afternoon [...]

Read more Ethics & Malpractice Issues 18 comments

Let’s Pay New Lawyers To Do CLE

September 15, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Let me start by saying that I don’t like mandatory CLE (I’m not alone in this view either). Frankly, CLE doesn’t improve our profession and worse, gives the public a false sense of security that lawyers are competent. Let’s face it: those lawyers who take their obligations seriously will always take classes, follow relevant blogs [...]

Read more Gaining Competence 1 comment

The ABA Makes A Play for Solos, but Should Solos Play With the ABA?

July 21, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

Update [7/22/2010] – I’ve spoken with some people about this post and I want to clarify that I was speaking about the ABA as an organization, and not about the staff, the section leaders or the people in the publications department.  The folks who edited the Social Media for Lawyers book did amazing work, Jennifer [...]

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The More Things Change….

April 5, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

A half decade ago, I posted about the then- historic lawsuit by the EEOC against biglaw firm Sidley Austin for engaging in age discrimination by demoting or forcing the retirement of 32 partners in their late fifties and early sixties because of their age.  Of course, because federal discrimination laws apply only to employees, not owners, [...]

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Sorry, But I’m Not Contrite About Ignite Law (Just a Little Late to Respond)

April 1, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

The night before ABATech Show, I participated in Ignite Law 2010:  The Future of Law in Six Minute Increments.  I’ll admit — the Ignite event excited me – and I submitted a proposal  because I think and write about the future of law and also because the Ignite format – 20 slides in 20 seconds [...]

Read more Encouragement 21 comments

NJ’s Bonafide Office Rule Would Have Me Doubled Over With Laughter Except That It Will Double the Cost of Legal Services

March 31, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

I wish that I hadn’t chosen April Fools’ Day to post about ACPE 718/CAA 41, the joint opinion by two New Jersey judicial advisory committees ruling that virtual office arrangements, outsourced or shared receptionist services and even working outside of the office for more than a few hours violate New Jersey’s “bonafide office requirement.”  Because [...]

Read more Client Service 25 comments

To Win the Hearts and Minds of Consumers, Lawyers Need to Sell, Not Sue

March 4, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

To date, we lawyers haven’t been able to effectively sell the public on the idea that document preparation services like Legal Zoom are a poor substitute for the services of a lawyer.  So, being lawyers, we’ve done the next best thing to selling:  suing.  Last month, a Missouri law firm filed a class action lawsuit against [...]

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A Million Dollar Website

February 28, 2010 by Carolyn Elefant

California mega law firm, Morrison Foerster is MoFo, and this (above) is its website. Understandably, the site might confuse you since mofo has more widely recognized, colloquial meanings.  But Morrison Foerster ranks first in search for “mofo.” The Mofo website cost one million to build, claims Above the Law.  Was it worth it?  Above the [...]

Read more Legal Profession Trends 16 comments

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