As corporate legal budgets continue to shrink, many general counsel are turning to midsize law firms in lieu of their more expensive, BigLaw counterparts. In fact, many midsize firms have reported significant success in the Great Recession.
ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward joins our guests to discuss the tactics these firms have used to better understand client needs in a down economy, avoid overstaffing large matters, boost revenue realization rates, and grow a national reputation for expertise while maintaining a regional presence.
Business of law reporter Rachel Zahorsky @LawScribbler tweeted their conversation live using the Twitter hashtag #ABAJchat.
Editor’s Note: ABA Journal legal affairs writer Stephanie Francis Ward covered the inaugural public hearing of the ABA’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities.
Below his her report on the hearing and a brief interview with one of the commission’s honorary co-chairs, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
Work-life balance is always a hot topic among our readers, but this month our podcast guests were the ones fired up in a heated discussion about the realities of practicing law, raising children and making it all work.
ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward led our guests through a frank debate examining whether reduced-hour workloads derail partner-track careers; how female attorneys can gain more power over their schedules; and whether computer software that simulates client interactions adequately prepares students and underutilized associates to practice law.
Business of law reporter Rachel Zahorsky (@LawScribbler) tweeted their conversation live using the Twitter hashtag #ABAJchat.
On this First Monday of the U.S. Supreme Court 2010-2011 term, ABA Journal editor Richard Brust talks with our guests about the cases, controversies, clerkships and foreseeable changes facing the high court in the coming days and months.
This newly configured court will for the first time feature three women justices, and a younger, Ivy League-educated bench meeting in a dynamic political climate.
Also see this month’s ABA Journal:
Grave Encounters
Al Snyder’s son died a Marine, but his funeral has become a First Amendment issue.
The Immune Response
The Supreme Court may tell families with autistic children whether they can sue vaccine makers.
A Changing Landscape
In first court with three women, all eyes are on Justice Kagan.
A few weeks ago, legal affairs writer Stephanie Francis Ward sat down at the high court with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to talk about the justice’s legal career and family life.
Ginsburg talked about her legal advocacy and her rise to the highest court in the land; about her marriage to her late husband, Martin; and about the changes that women have seen in law and parenthood.
In this recording, Ginsburg talks about how she balanced her career and family life when her children were young.
Also read the related feature, “Family Ties: The private and public lives of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
Last month, legal affairs writer Stephanie Francis Ward sat down at the high court with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to talk about the justice’s legal career and family life.
Ginsburg talked about her legal advocacy and her rise to the highest court in the land; about her marriage to her late husband, Martin; and about the changes that women have seen in law and parenthood.
In this recording, Ginsburg talks about the gender discrimination cases she handled as a lawyer and how the country’s views on equality have changed over the past 30 years.
Also read the related feature, “Family Ties: The private and public lives of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
Faced with the problem of having no job, some young lawyers are striking out on their own as solos.
In this month’s audio program, ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward talks to our guests about the hurdles and rewards for young lawyers starting their own law practices.
Clients are tired of paying top dollar for lawyer on-the-job training.
In this month’s audio program, ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward talks to our guests about where to start and what to charge for the work of lawyers-in-training.
Yesterday’s service partners can be today’s niche lawyers. So says a panel of business development experts, who discussed a variety of tools for the transition.
Yesterday afternoon, in the tradition of U.S Supreme Court confirmation hearings, witnesses came in to testify regarding Elena Kagan’s nomination. Among others, Democrats brought in thepresident of the Harvard Law Armed Forces Association; and Republicans brought in two retired officers and an Army National Guard captain to testify about Kagan’s military recruiting policies while dean of Harvard Law School.
To hear about these and other key witnesses from Thursday, Richard Brust, the ABA Journal’s U.S. Supreme Court editor, debriefs reporter Mark Walsh, who is covering the confirmation hearing for the Journal. Walsh is calling in from one of the Senate’s old-fashioned phone booths.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has finished questioning U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Still to come today is testimony from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary regarding its “well qualified” rating of Kagan.
To take a look at the testimony left for today and a look back at issues of interest in the first three days of the hearing, such as questions about Kagan’s curriculum calls as dean of Harvard Law School, Richard Brust, the ABA Journal’s U.S. Supreme Court editor, debriefs reporter Mark Walsh, who is covering the confirmation hearing for the Journal.
In day three of Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearing, Republican senators went back on the offensive, exhausting the military recruitment and “don’t ask, don’t tell” line of questioning. Was Kagan more polished today than the past few days? Well, there were fewer laughs.
To get a sense of the mood and learn about key news developments Wednesday, Richard Brust, the ABA Journal’s U.S. Supreme Court editor, debriefs reporter Mark Walsh, who is covering the confirmation hearing for the Journal.
In day two of Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearing, senators on the Judiciary Committee began questioning of the Supreme Court nominee. Republican senators took aim at Kagan’s record. And Kagan backed off a pre-law school paper that’s drawn some fire since her nomination.
To get a sense of the mood and learn about key news developments Tuesday, Richard Brust, the ABA Journal’s U.S. Supreme Court editor, debriefs reporter Mark Walsh, who is covering the confirmation hearing for the Journal. Walsh is calling in from one of the Senate’s old-fashioned phone booths.
Elena Kagan’s first day before the Senate Judiciary Committee came after a busy morning at the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued some of its biggest decisions of the term, and on the Hill, as lawmakers mourned the death Sunday of Sen. Robert Byrd.
To get a sense of the mood and learn about key news developments Monday, Richard Brust, the ABA Journal’s U.S. Supreme Court editor, debriefs reporter Mark Walsh, who was at the high court in the morning and wrapped up his day covering the confirmation hearing.
The U.S. Supreme Court today narrowed the honest-services fraud statute in rulings that favored Enron’s Jeff Skilling, former Alaska legislator Bruce Weyhrauch, newspaper mogul Conrad Black and Hollinger International general counsel Mark Kipnis.
This afternoon, ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward spoke with attorneys who participated in these cases about the future of fraud prosecutions. Business of Law reporter Rachel Zahorsky (@LawScribbler) tweeted their conversation live.
More and more, critics of ever-increasing law school tuition say enrolling only makes economic sense if students don’t have to pay tuition, or graduate from a top-tier school.
President Obama announced this morning that Solicitor General Elena Kagan is his pick to replace the retiring John Paul Stevens.
Kagan, if confirmed by the Senate, is expected to be a lasting legacy for Obama. Her relative youth—at age 50 she’d be the youngest justice on the court—could mean decades of progressive jurisprudence.
This morning ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward spoke with three individuals who’ve closely followed the Supreme Court and weighed in with their take on the president’s choice.
Using social media is as easy as sending an e-mail and is quickly becoming the preferred way for many to communicate.
But is it the right platform for managers looking for ways to keep their employees informed and engaged? Or are they risking too much by exposing themselves and their companies to unnecessary liabilities?
Long before Justice John Paul Stevens made it official, U.S. Supreme Court watchers were speculating about who would be named to fill his shoes.
The topic of alternative billing keeps coming up as the antidote to the oft-vilified billable hour. But when we’ve tried to pin down law firm leaders and chief legal officers to ask them if they’re using alternative billing and how, we get silence or lots of excuses and finger pointing to explain why they aren’t opting for billable hour alternatives.
This made us wonder who is actually using alternative billing. For those who are using it, how’s it working out? For those who aren’t, why not?
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