Posts

Where do real lawyers practice the law? It’s not exclusively in BigLaw high-rises, managing a team of dozens of associates. It’s not in corporate conference rooms or cocktail parties, schmoozing with high-paying clients. And it’s not just grinding away at clients’ legal issues, either. Real lawyers do all of it – the managing, the marketing, the lawyering. And one place offers the opportunity to play all roles: small law. Here’s why practice in a small law is as real as it gets....

There are a lot of attorneys out there these days – clients have a lot of options. A brief consultation isn’t just a chance to decide if you want to take that client. It’s also an opportunity for the client to decide if they like you. You’ve already got that person in the door but that’s not the same as signing the client. That first contact will be when they decide if your service is worth it....

There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether iPads, smartphones, and other devices will ever play an active role in the practice of law. While most attorneys may own these devices, many are unsure how to actually use them to help their practice. However, as apps for lawyers continue to be developed (and improved upon), we may be entering a time of transition as these devices and their apps go from novelty to practicality....

In a suit filed by a railroad operator (B&M) seeking to enjoin the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) from making its Chapter 21E contribution claims against B&M for 95 percent of $15,340,810 for past costs and 95 percent of all future costs, as contribution for certain cleanup activities MBTA undertook at the railroad terminal operated by B&M some twenty-one years ago, district court’s judgment is reversed and the appeals court directs entry of judgment for B&M as the MBTA’s contribution claims under Chapter 21E for contamination prior to a 1983 discharge from bankruptcy were barred as a matter of law by a Consummation Oder....

With the speed at which technology hurtles forward, it’s amazing if tech companies can keep up. However, recent initiatives have sought to bring the courtroom into the 21st century, hopefully before the robot lawyers of the 21st century show up. A recent white paper from Thomson Reuters, Bringing the Courthouse into the 21st Century, goes into detail on how some courts are trying to catch up, and how far off we are from the dream of online courts....

Sadly, lawyers across the country can’t just shout out in unison: ‘Alexa! Make me a thousand dollars a week!’ Well, while we can say the words, neither Alexa nor Siri are likely to comply. However, one day, we could very well live in that world as legal technology doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. An AI legal assistant could, in theory, perform intake, file setup, task management, legal research, and more....

With a new session of Congress comes new legislation, and here at FindLaw’s Technologist, we’re obviously concerned with how the proposed laws will regulate technology. Things look good so far, with a minimum of “cyber”-titled bills, which reflects the fact that maybe people who know what they’re talking about are writing this new legislation. Unfortunately, many of these bills were introduced in the last Congress, but sat in committees for months or years, all dying when the new Congress took over....

Videoconferencing programs like Skype or FaceTime are becoming increasingly common in today’s courtrooms. Defendants detained in other jurisdictions can Skype in to the court house. More rarely, witnesses may present testimony via teleconference. Even attorneys have been known to appear in court through the magic of online video streaming. But a new ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court should give videoconferencing attorneys and courts some pause. The highest court in the Land of Enchantment recently tossed a murder conviction, ruling that the use of Skyped testimony violated the Constitution’s Confrontation Clause....

Blueseed, a Silicon Valley startup, is raising funds to construct a floating incubator that they hope will become the “Googleplex of the Sea.” Their plan is to purchase and renovate a large boat that they will anchor around 12 miles off the coast of San Francisco. There, tech workers can sleep, work, and dodge immigration visa issues. Does this sound legally tenuous – or is it simply a clever approach to a common problem?...

Marketing: It’s what more of my friends, who run their own shops, have the most trouble with (besides troublesome clients). Some choose to go it alone, relying on their own know-how and cheap online service providers to handle their own marketing strategy. Others hand it off to an intern, a clerk, or a recent graduate, while the biggest of the big firms are hiring full-time staff members. What’s your best move?...

In Fed. Trade Comm’n v. Leshin, No. 09-11679, the Federal Trade Commission’s suit against defendants for providing debt consolidation services in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, the court affirmed the district court’s judgment holding defendants in contempt for violating a stipulated injunction and ordering defendants to disgorge all fees collected in violation of the injunction, holding that 1) district court did not abuse its discretion by holding the defendants in contempt; 2) district court did not err by holding the counseling center in contempt, by holding defendants individually liable, or by holding the contempt defendants jointly and severally liable; 3) district court did not abuse its discretion by ordering disgorgement as the sanction for contempt or in calculating the amount to be disgorged; 4) district court issued civil contempt sanctions and did not violate the contempt defendants’ right to due process; and 5) the provision of the final order of disgorgement that allows the Commission to convert unpaid balance into a money judgment is not ripe for review....

Hey, everyone! Above the Law is sponsoring an e-discovery quiz! You can enter your email address at the end to be entered to win a Fitbit. Which got us wondering: It’s kind of odd (or maybe it’s by design) that a Fitbit is the prize for an e-discovery quiz. The e-discovery revolution begun in the late ’90s continues unabated, but wearable data-collecting devices like the Fitbit present a new and interesting problem for electronic discovery....

In an action seeking a declaration that defendant was not obligated to defend plaintiff in a personal injury suit involving an accident at sea, summary judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) Louisiana law applied because the parties’ contract contemplated that a majority of the contractor’s work would be performed on stationary platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), and thus the OCS was the relevant “situs” for the purposes of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; and 2) the Louisiana Oilfield Indemnity Act rendered the indemnity agreement at issue unenforceable....

The Beatles were not known as motivational speakers, but they did say all you need is love. And that works in law firms, in one form or another. It comes down to praising people more than condemning them. It’s also the key to unlocking a lawyer’s best work. That’s because people do their best when they love what they do. Authentic Praise Basically, motivation is most compelling when it comes from within....

You make sure contractors in your global supply chain keep private data secure. You take pains to ensure third party corruption compliance. You may even require suppliers to adopt social and environmental standards. But have you addressed slavery? There are more slaves today than at the height of the transatlantic slave trade over 300 years ago and they could be working in your supply chain. Here’s how you can root it out....

In US v. McCann, No. 09-30550, the court of appeals affirmed defendant’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, on the grounds that 1) the factual contents of the prosecutor’s closing comments were limited to evidence that was in the record; 2) defendant’s substantial rights were not prejudiced by an improper prosecutorial vouching for the credibility of the officers at issue; and 3) the district court did not err by refusing to exclude the evidence that defendant made a death threat against a witness....

A little more than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down a Massachusetts abortion buffer-zone law, Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed a new law limiting protests outside of abortion clinics. No sooner than the law was signed, opponents and Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley spoke out against it. In McCullen, the U.S. Supreme Court had to determine whether a Massachusetts law providing for a 35-foot buffer zone around entrances, exits, and driveways of reproductive health care facilities was constitutional, or a violation of protesters’ First Amendment right to free speech....

Sometime after Al Gore invented the internet, judges started including internet sources in their decisions. That was then. Now the American Bar Association has invented guidelines for how judges should use the internet for legal research. More Like Guidelines The ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 478 to provide “the nation’s judicial branch guidance related to the ethical boundaries of independent factual research on the internet....

The lawyers at Bellah Perez are getting a head start in their case against Uber for a fatal accident involving a self-driving car. Their client, the daughter of Elaine Herzberg, wasted no time in retaining the Arizona firm. In the first-ever case, her mother was killed by an Uber car two weeks ago. The attorneys will have plenty to work with as the media has jumped all over it, publishing videos, statements and other potential evidence in the case....

It seems like only yesterday that the best legal opportunities were in the Big City, places like New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. So how did Atlanta and Austin end up leading the way for legal jobs? According to a new survey, Atlanta brought in 16.3 percent more lawyers last year. That growth is about 13 percent above the national average! So what are they feeding the lawyers in Georgia?...