ABA Journal

What practical office tasks can you do efficiently?

Last week, we did a post about how one corporate counsel, frustrated by big bills from law firms for routine matters, created and administered a test for potential law firm hires. Associates were tested on efficient use of basic software such as Microsoft Word and Excel. They didn’t do well…

May 29, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

Help pick the best legal novel of the year: Vote for one of three Harper Lee Prize finalists

Three clients—a homeless Iraq war veteran, an aging Cuban musician and the troubled son of an assistant district attorney—are the focal points of three novels selected as finalists for the 2013 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The three finalists were announced Tuesday by the ABA Journal and the University…

May 28, 2013 1:45 PM CDT

Hacker’s Hell: Many want to narrow the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Angered that the Internet site PayPal had ceased allowing its users to donate to the controversial online publisher WikiLeaks, 14 computer users allegedly fought back. They sent PayPal multiple communication requests, a program that hackers use to saturate networks with information and crash them. One of the programmers, Keith W.…

May 24, 2013 10:13 PM CDT

In-person networking the right move for every lawyer?; Summer reading recs from bloggers

Late last week, Philadelphia law partners Jordan Rushie and Leo Mulvihill at Philly Law Blog and Lawyerist, respectively, wrote about “the hustle” that goes along finding clients for their small law practice. Rushie wrote about his unpaid professional / networking activities, which includes heavy involvement in and legal work for…

May 24, 2013 1:29 PM CDT

Dewey’s bankruptcy lawyer: More large law firms will fail (video)

While failed law firms make for notoriously difficult bankrupty cases, Dewey & LeBoeuf’s time in bankruptcy court was quicker and easier than other notable law firms. Joe Samet, head of restructuring at Baker & McKenzie, and Al Togut, founding partner at Togut, Segal & Segal, talk with Bloomberg Law’s Lee…

May 23, 2013 3:40 PM CDT

Are you still in touch with any of your law school professors?

It’s graduation season, so you might find yourself attending one soon–or graduating yourself! So this week, we’d like to ask you: Are you still in touch with any of your law school professors? If so, have they continued to be of help to you as you advanced in your law…

May 22, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Question the quality of client leads from the Web; Should you link up with competitors on LinkedIn?

Last month, Arizona criminal defense attorney Matt Brown noted at Tempe Criminal Defense that he was taking a break from blogging to go on a 700-plus-mile hike. But he checked into the office periodically. “At some point after climbing onto the Colorado Plateau, however, the volume of voice messages increased,”…

May 17, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Do you have ‘professional telepathy’? It’s what Ernst & Young looks for from firms (video)

Trevor Faure, Global Leader of Legal Services for Ernst & Young, tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia that general counsels at large corporations are looking for four things from the law firms which represent them: professional telepathy, professional prescience, exceptional client service and cost efficiency. “But please note, [cost efficiency] will…

May 16, 2013 5:20 PM CDT

How long is your work commute, door to door?

The League of American Bicyclists has declared that this week is National Bike to Work Week—and Friday, May 17, is National Bike to Work Day. It’s feasible for some of us to bike to work, and for some of us, bicycling may even be the fastest way to get there.…

May 15, 2013 5:45 PM CDT

The life and lovers of legendary Hollywood lawyer (podcast)

“He was the only person I ever knew in Hollywood who was a star without being in a movie,” says Robert Wagner in the foreword of "The Man Who Seduced Hollywood: The Life and Loves of Greg Bautzer, Tinseltown's Most Powerful Lawyer." ABA Journal reporter Rachel Zahorsky speaks with Gladstone about Bautzer's life and legal achievements, including his representation of famous recluse Howard Hughes.

May 13, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Schools that are nailing law practice technology; Prof compares SLU to Pakistan; Tumblr drama

Legal services delivery entrepreneur Richard Granat wrote at eLawyering Blog about the efforts of the ABA’s eLawyering Task Force to identify the top law schools currently teaching legal practice technology. “We include within this category courses that train law students in document automation, legal expert systems, and other course work…

May 10, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Could this law school ranking unseat US News? (video)

Elie Mystal, editor at Above the Law, tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia that his blog’s new law school rankings sought to list the top 50 American law schools by relying on an “outcome-based” methodology. Mystal says that focusing on the costs and rewards of a legal education allows this ranking…

May 9, 2013 4:00 PM CDT

How long does it take you to get down to work after you arrive at your office?

It’s a situation familiar to many: Once you’ve sampled the baked goods brought in by a co-worker, jumped into a conversation with some other co-workers, sorted through dozens of worthless emails and perhaps (bless your heart) taken your first look of the day through ABAJournal.com, you look at the clock…

May 8, 2013 4:42 PM CDT

Building business as a new attorney (podcast with transcript)

Business development starts from the ground up, guests tell ABA Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward, and associates have opportunities to make good first impressions today with the decision makers of tomorrow.

May 6, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Who’s really driving the alternative fee arrangements movement; Blogger stands up for privacy

Jean P. O’Grady, a knowledge strategist at DLA Piper took on this year’s Alternative Fee Arrangements at Legal Departments and Law Firms report at Dewey B. Strategic. And she noticed some other things on top of all of the stats about the prevalence of AFAs. “A careful reading of the…

May 3, 2013 1:30 PM CDT