Have You Ever Had to Deal with a Web Attack Against Yourself or a Client? If So, What Did You Do?

Last week, we noted a story about a dental patient unhappy with a bill totaling nearly $4,800 suing to overturn a contract he signed banning him from criticizing his dentist. According to his suit (PDF), to “stifle any public criticism,” Dr. Stacy Makhnevich requires her patients to waive any right…

Dec 7, 2011 5:54 PM CST

Santa or Scrooge: How Do BigLaw Firms Determine Associate Bonuses?

Podcast Transcript: This podcast is produced by the ABA Journal. We bring you the latest legal news every day from around the Web. Visit us online at ABAJournal.com. Stephanie Francis Ward: 2011 has been a crazy year, money-wise. Many big firms made substantial profits in the past 12 months, but…

Dec 5, 2011 2:30 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Journalists, Watch Your Language, Prof Says; ‘Groupons’ for Lawyers?

Reporting on Sex Abuse Cases At The Crime Report, ex-prosecutor and adjunct prof Wendy Murphy writes that the language used in media coverage of the Penn State child sex abuse case has been “universally inappropriate.” Murphy runs New England Law | Boston’s Judicial Language Project, which “aims to identify language…

Dec 2, 2011 2:44 PM CST

McElhaney Reveals the Real-Life Influences Behind Character of ‘Angus’

Jim McElhaney’s 25-year run as Litigation columnist for the ABA Journal will come to a close next fall. During those years, McElhaney’s straightforward advice on trial practice became one of the most popular features in the magazine. In this podcast, ABA Journal editor James Podgers talks with McElhaney about his popular column, and how he developed the character of Angus.

Dec 1, 2011 4:44 PM CST

We Honor the Fallen: Past Blawg 100 Entries Which Have Departed

Dec 1, 2011 11:10 AM CST

Inside Job: Allen Pusey Is Named Editor and Publisher of the ABA Journal

Dec 1, 2011 8:00 AM CST

Should SCOTUS Arguments Be Televised? If They Were, Would You Watch?

This week, we noted a New York Times column suggesting that despite the public’s tremendous interest in the U.S. Supreme Court case over President Obama’s health care reform law, the justices were unlikely to allow cameras in the courtroom. The justices “don’t like, in the modern age, that people can…

Nov 30, 2011 4:58 PM CST

Letter from the ABA Journal Board of Editors

In recent weeks, the ABA Journal published a blog summary and a follow-up to that blog summary for its website, ABAJournal.com, about a survey of legal secretaries. We have received feedback that caused us to conclude that the way the Journal reported some of the study’s assertions was hurtful to…

Nov 23, 2011 3:44 PM CST

How Soon Should Holiday Shopping Start?

The Hampton Roads, Va., Daily Press reports that this year, Target (as well as Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s) announced that it would open at midnight on “Black Friday” for shoppers. And a petition started by at Change.org by a Target employee is protesting this move on behalf of workers.…

Nov 22, 2011 4:43 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: BigLaw, Small-Firm Symbiosis; Living Wills for the Living Dead?

On Rejection and BigLaw’s Rejected Cases Matt Brown, who practices criminal defense at a two-lawyer firm in Tempe, Ariz., put up a post Monday at Tempe Criminal Defense about the experience of having a client leave him “before the real battle started” for another lawyer. While he thinks his now…

Nov 18, 2011 2:49 PM CST

If You Had Eight Months to Take a Trip by Yourself, Where Would You Go?

For the past eight months, we’ve been posting updates about former Sidley Austin associate George Tyler Coulson, who on March 11 began a walk from Delaware to San Diego. This week, we noted that he finally reached his destination last week, which was Ocean Beach Dog Beach in San Diego.…

Nov 16, 2011 6:20 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: New Bitter Lawyer Web Series About Document Reviewers

The Gunners, the Dreamers and Me Those who mourned the end of Living the Dream—a 12-episode Web series created by lawyer-turned-TV writer Rick Eid that focused on newbie associate Nick Conley that appeared in Bitter Lawyer’s first incarnation—have something to look forward to: Bitter Lawyer’s premiere of The Bottom Rung,…

Nov 11, 2011 2:30 PM CST

What Are Your Must-Have Gadgets, and Why?

Last month, Law Technology News wrote an article describing must-have software and gadgets for paralegals. Among the article’s suggestions: Google Docs, a Livescribe Pen and a list of six iPad apps. Practical Paralegalism blogger Lynne DeVenny saw the article and tweeted: “What are your must-have gadgets? Mine are my iPhone,…

Nov 9, 2011 7:14 PM CST

Sealing the Deal: How to Negotiate Fee Agreements

You’ve identified a target client, made a good connection, and they say they want to hire you. But no fee agreement has been signed yet. ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward discusses ways to ethically seal the deal, with lawyers from a variety of practice areas.

Nov 7, 2011 9:44 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Above the Law’s ‘Contrarian’ Writer; Blogging Under the Marketing Influence

Changing of the Guard This week, Above the Law introduced The Practice, a small-firms column by Miami criminal defense lawyer Brian Tannebaum—which presumably replaces Small Firms, Big Lawyers, which was written by Boston solo-turned-consultant Jay Shepherd and ran from February through September. What Tannebaum says he’ll be writing about, in…

Nov 4, 2011 1:49 PM CDT