Ideas & Tips

Noted video-expert and medical malpractice attorney, Gerry Oginski criticizes a Jacoby & Meyers television commercial that concludes with the voiceover: You’re a nobody until you win your case. Gerry comments – and I agree – that the ad isn’t particularly effective marketing since calling potential clients “nobodies” may instill hard feelings at the outset. Though…

With so many different online products and services available for potential use in practice, I generally don’t investigate them until I have a need. Make that a pressing need. I have been known to sign up for and learn to use a service just a couple of hours before I need it, which can wreak…

I’m willing to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t intend to trivialize the accomplishments of small business with his controversial you didn’t build that  speech.  Still, for solo and start up lawyers, the President’s words sting. While there are plenty of solo lawyers who embraced the concept of hanging a…

Up until this month, if you were looking to hire or refer a woman lawyer, finding one wouldn’t have been as easy as you might think.  At one time, the ABA’s Litigation Section Woman’s Advocate Committee maintained a referral network but no longer does.  And as I posted here, NAMWOLF, an association for women and…

So, I’ve been thinking and teaching  about the 21st Century Retainer Agreement (for those who attended the last event, the ebook is coming soon; for those who missed it, we’re scheduling another webinar in August), specifically ways to streamline the drafting process.  Flat fee or one-off retainer agreements aren’t all that tough (my upcoming ebook…

Today’s NYT Obituary pays tribute to Maurice Sendak as the children’s author who “wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche.” Maybe so from a critical perspective, but not for those of us who listened…

When does educational marketing cross the line into legal advice? In an era of increased consumer hunger for information online and the rise of crowdsourced advice sites, understanding what types of communications constitute legal advice is a critical matter — and one which Brian Tannebaum addresses at My Law License. Brian’s post has also generated…

Last week, my older daughter attended her first Sweet Sixteen while my younger one prepared to audition for the school play. Our house was abuzz with giggles and shrieks of excitement and supportive encouragement as my older daughter tried on dresses for her friends and plotted about gifts and gossiped, while my younger one sang…