Business of Law

Should you be trying to expand your small practice?

Lawyers running solo or small practices often come to a crossroads about whether they want to stay independent or become part of something larger.

Jul 1, 2015 6:44 AM CDT

Sea Shepherd law firm won’t make waves like the protest group

Expect to see a different kind of whale wars if a new Seattle environmental law firm, Sea Shepherd Legal, begins making headway.

Jul 1, 2015 6:10 AM CDT

Techshow 2015 tackles ethics, the skills gap and the latest gadgets

From paperless practice to glitter bombs, from testing lawyers’ tech skills to outfitting them in the latest wearable technology, ABA Techshow 2015 covered a lot of bases while highlighting the new. A good example came on the mid-April event’s last day, when attorneys’ technology know-how was brought to the forefront.…

Jul 1, 2015 2:50 AM CDT

New app aims to find you a sub in a second

A typical day for a criminal defense attorney often involves court appearances in several different courthouses spread across various parts of the jurisdiction. And until modern science can figure out how to allow someone to be in two (or more) different places at the same time, defense attorneys will have…

Jul 1, 2015 2:30 AM CDT

1 in 10 will click on attachments in phishing emails, study finds

Graphic by Stephen Ravenscraft This article originally appeared in the July 2015 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “Fooled by Phishing? 1 in 10 are netted in the data theft web.”

Jul 1, 2015 2:20 AM CDT

Lawyer-referral firm puts its emphasis on the human touch

Adda Birnir had more than her fair share of trouble finding a lawyer to help her start her New York City-based business Skillcrush, an online “learning community” for digital skills. She asked friends. She searched Google. She hired a big-name New York law firm only to quickly realize her little…

Jul 1, 2015 2:00 AM CDT

Temp services offer part-time lawyers for occasional needs

New Orleans attorney Andrew Legrand started his solo practice right after graduating in 2011, working mostly with small-business clients who needed various legal services. At first, he was able to handle most matters himself.

Jun 1, 2015 6:30 AM CDT

Team approach keeps pregnancy leave from stalling careers

For many female attorneys, maternity leave can be the equivalent of a poisoned chalice—offered as a benefit, but damaging to a career.

Federal law mandates that all public agencies and private companies of 50 or more employees must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Many states have enacted maternity leave policies that are more expansive than the federal statute. Moreover, antidiscrimination laws make it clear companies or agencies cannot retaliate against women or men who choose to take family leave.

Jun 1, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

‘Hackathon’ movement may jump-start a legal career

When Jonathan Askin’s students at Brooklyn Law School suggested organizing a “hackathon,” he thought it was a risky proposition. Would other legal professionals think he was promoting illicit or even criminal activity in a law school setting? “If this had backfired, my head would have been on the chopping block,”…

Jun 1, 2015 2:50 AM CDT

Speech recognition moves past the dream stage

For many years, the compelling drive toward speech recognition has dead-ended in unsatisfactory attempts to implement it. Gradually it dropped off the technology radar for most lawyers. Are there now reasons to think that the time for speech recognition has finally come? We were often told that when processors got…

Jun 1, 2015 2:40 AM CDT

‘Ransomware’ software attacks stymie law firms

In the annals of Internet crime, “ransomware”—software that freezes up a computer, encrypts all its data and demands a ransom for the system’s restoration—is especially malicious. And attorneys are among the targets. David J. Bilinsky, adviser and staff lawyer at the Law Society of British Columbia, says one of its…

Jun 1, 2015 2:30 AM CDT

3Ls and old pros differ on whether new grads are prepared for practice

Graphics by Stephen Ravenscraft This article originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of the ABA Journal with this headline: “rady or Not? 3Ls, old pros differ on whether new grads are prepared for practice.”

Jun 1, 2015 2:10 AM CDT

Low-cost e-discovery services target small firms, simpler cases

As e-discovery becomes more firmly embedded in the practice of law, inexpensive cloud service providers are springing up to bring it to law firms that don’t have the coin to buy and maintain such systems in-house. Entry level e-discovery—basic keyword searches through documents and files that use search engines—can be…

Jun 1, 2015 1:50 AM CDT

Feds go electronic on payments for indigent representation

Thanks to a federal clerk tired of a deluge of paperwork, lawyers for low-income federal defendants are beginning to use a new electronic payment system that allows them to be paid more quickly.

The Criminal Justice Act eVoucher system saves attorneys the headache of running down fees for service the old-fashioned way: using shoe leather, photocopies and an ancient system of document exchange known as the U.S. mail. Developed by a team headed by Cindy Jensen, chief deputy clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, CJA eVoucher resembles the shopping checkout system of Amazon.com.

May 1, 2015 6:50 AM CDT

Clearspire is dead, but its technology lives on

Before Clearspire closed its doors a year ago, its founders had hoped to disrupt the traditional law firm business model. Although the Clearspire law firm is now dead, that hope remains alive—embodied in an updated version of the Clearspire technology platform slated to be rolled out as a commercial product.

May 1, 2015 6:35 AM CDT