@BlawgWhisperer

Web 100: Best law blogs

Our inaugural year of the Web 100 list honors 50 blogs (and adds five more to our Blawg 100 Hall of Fame.)

Dec 1, 2017 12:02 AM CST

What do GCs really want from law firms? | Flat fees can help ensure you get paid, blogger writes

Edge International’s Pamela Woldow and Doug Richardson recently went to a private meeting in Panama of the general counsel of 35 corporations. “Their responses were particularly telling—and particularly outspoken—when we propounded a broad meta-question: What do legal departments want from their law firms?” they wrote in their At the Intersection…

Oct 17, 2014 8:30 AM CDT

What things do you consider before taking a case? | Bloggers review novel by ATL’s David Lat

Do you actually have procedures in place for whether you should take a case? Minneapolis solo Randall Ryder does—a four-step process he shared at Lawyerist. Two of his steps: • Determine whether the case is one you can handle—particularly if it’s out of your practice area. Taking the “approach of…

Oct 3, 2014 8:30 AM CDT

Wearing a ‘smartwatch’ to court | Trademarking a hog call | Better Call Saul—and here’s the number

“I’ve wanted a Dick Tracy watch since I was 8 years old,” lawyer-blogger Rick Georges told MyCase’s Nicole Black in her “Today’s Tech” column at Above the Law. Now, Georges owns a Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch and wears it to court. In court, “everyone has their smartphone in their hand,…

Jul 25, 2014 1:31 PM CDT

Bill would regulate gun ads for kids | An NTSB for death penalty cases?

The Volokh Conspiracy takes note of a bill proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives this week called the Children’s Firearm Marketing Safety Act. Among the facets of the bill are prohibitions on using cartoons to promote firearms; using brand name merchandise marketed for children (hats, T-shirts, etc.) to promote…

Jul 18, 2014 1:28 PM CDT

People look to Yelp to find lawyers online, survey says | Fallout over Facebook mood study?

Larry Bodine noted a survey of 3,465 people finding that 58 percent of those seeking lawyers make their first stop at business review site Yelp. And this is significant considering three out of four consumers seeking lawyers use online resources at some point in the process, according to a 2012…

Jul 11, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Taking on SCOTUS’ own ‘buffer zone’ | Ability as a witness can outweigh top expert credentials

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Massachusetts law providing for a 35-foot buffer zone for protesters around abortion clinics violated the First Amendment. But the court has its own buffer zone, and it’s getting attention in light of the ruling, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. Protests…

Jun 27, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Redefine networking as ‘making friends,’ solo writes | The fine line between ‘wise’ and ‘cranky’

New York City solo Dwayne Allen Thomas writes at My Shingle that he prefers to define networking as “making friends” rather than cultivating advantageous contacts. “I like the ‘make friends’ approach because I think it’s easier—especially since people can spot both fake smiles and fake laughter,” Thomas wrote. “This was…

Jun 20, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Law firm websites need to step up their game for Google | Dodging spammers while using autoreply

Law firm websites that focus on keywords rather than quality content are now losing the SEO battle, the Colorado Bar Association’s SOLO in COLO writes. New Google algorithms mean that firms need to publish original, meaningful content on a regular basis. “Law-firm sites that regularly showed up on page one…

Jun 6, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Trust accounts hike law practice costs, blogger says | Are law firm homepage views really declining?

Using trust accounts to store advance fees from clients is a burden on practitioners and less of a protection for clients than if they had paid by credit card, Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant writes at My Shingle. “Credit cards and digital payments offer better protection against ne’er do well…

May 30, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Blogger: Law firm homepages are losing significance | Will SCOTUS ruling affect Spider-Man rights?

Kevin O’Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs notes an Atlantic article about sharply declining traffic to the New York Times’ homepage (based on the recently leaked internal review of Times digital strategy). Readers are increasingly reaching news sites by way of links from social media sites to individual stories rather…

May 23, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Becker-Posner Blog shutters after Gary Becker’s death | Ready for chip-and-pin credit cards?

Nobel Prize-winning economist and University of Chicago professor Gary Becker died last week at the age of 83, and over the weekend, The Becker-Posner Blog said “farewell” with no other commentary. Other law bloggers paid their respects. “Becker pioneered the application of economic analysis to questions that were previously considered…

May 16, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Will solo lawyers soon feel pressures that solo doctors do? | Tip on writing a 4th Circuit brief

My Shingle blogger and Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant took note of a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about a obstetrician and gynecologist who practiced independently, outside local physician networks. Many specialists feel pressure to join networks because “a typical physician employment contract includes a clause requiring the doctor to refer all…

May 9, 2014 1:29 PM CDT

Consulting the NBA’s constitution | Big lawsuit over gift cards | Experience and lawyer discipline

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was suspended for life from the NBA on Tuesday over recorded racist remarks that were made public. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that he would ask the NBA Board of Governors to force a sale of the Clippers. Tuesday was the…

May 2, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

NU football union vote today | How to turn down a client | Does it matter what car a lawyer drives?

Last month, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Northwestern University football players are employees and can unionize. The players’ vote is scheduled for today, and 76 active football players are eligible to cast their ballots. However, the ballots won’t be counted until the full NLRB deliberates on an appeal,…

Apr 25, 2014 1:45 PM CDT