Blogger Impressed with Free Legal Research iPhone App

A new iPhone app will make it possible to perform legal research just about anywhere—and both the app and the research are free. Journalist and lawyer Robert Ambrogi writes at Legal Blog Watch that he is impressed with the new app from Fastcase. “For legal research on the go, at…

Jan 27, 2010 2:18 PM CST

E-Mail vs. Face-to-Face: What Are Your Rules?

This week, Bryan Cave chairman Don Lents told the New York Times that e-mail has its place, but sometimes, face-to-face communication with clients and colleagues is necessary. “I tell our younger lawyers, if you think you are going to have a difficult interaction with a colleague or a client, if…

Jan 26, 2010 9:05 PM CST

That’s Not His Name in Our Name, Law Firm Says of Ex-Partner’s Suit

In an attempt to force a Detroit law firm to change its name, a former shareholder filed suit against Charfoos & Christensen last week. Now that he has moved to Charfoos Giovan & Birach, potential clients could be confused by the name duplication, he contends. But the suit by Lawrence…

Jan 26, 2010 6:18 PM CST

Law Firms Are Guilty of E-Snubs, Too, NYT Reader Says

Law firms are just as guilty of “e-snubs” as other employers, a reader tells the New York Times. Writing on Sunday in the newspaper’s City Room blog, journalist Neal Hirschfeld told of the e-snub he received when he was left hanging for three months by a New York magazine after…

Jan 26, 2010 5:34 PM CST

Florida Personal Injury Firm Sues Over Strangely Similar Website

Lawyers at the Florida personal injury law firm Gordon & Doner stumbled on a surprising online find: There were two versions of its website. The Florida law firm did something about it—they filed a trademark infringement suit against the Web host for the knockoff site and the still-unknown copier, the…

Jan 26, 2010 4:50 PM CST

Davis Polk Lawyers Were to Be Gatekeeper for AIG PR in Secrecy Effort

When American International Group used bailout money to pay $62 billion to its bank trading partners to retire bad bets on credit default swaps, lawyers scrambled to keep the arrangement under wraps. Their solution: Send all securities filings, press releases and significant communications to the Fed’s outside counsel, Davis Polk…

Jan 26, 2010 4:16 PM CST

Emoticons a Sign You Should Step Away from the Keyboard, Firm Chair Says

Bryan Cave chairman Don Lents travels so much that he is a member of American Airlines’ Concierge Key program, the invitation-only club highlighted in the movie Up in the Air. Lents advises younger lawyers who have grown up with electronic communications that some news—of the difficult variety—needs to be delivered…

Jan 26, 2010 3:15 PM CST

Consultant Expects 2009 Law Firm Profits to Be a ‘Mixed Bag’

Last year was difficult for associates and legal staffers who lost their jobs, but their law firms aren’t faring as badly. Profits at most law firms will change slightly—either up or down—according to a law firm consultant interviewed by the Am Law Daily. “I think 2009 will be a mixed…

Jan 26, 2010 2:49 PM CST

Are Flat-Fee Contracts Good for Law Firms? Lawyer Learns Tweaking Needed

A lawyer overseeing a fixed-fee contract with boating and sporting equipment maker Brunswick Corp. jumped to K&L Gates and tweaked the contract to make the arrangement more profitable. The flat-fee contract, now in its second year, covers national litigation, including product-liability and breach-of-warranty cases, the Chicago Tribune reports. Brunswick general…

Jan 26, 2010 1:13 PM CST

Two Decisions and Law Firm Volunteers Help with Transgender Name Changes

Transgender name changes are becoming more commonplace in New York courts, with help from around 200 law firm volunteers and two recent court decisions. The volunteers, from 19 law firms, have represented nearly 400 transgender clients, the New York Times reports. The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund keeps track…

Jan 25, 2010 7:08 PM CST

Ex-Partner Suit: Two Firms Using My Name Is One Too Many

Updated: It isn’t unusual for a law firm to leave a former partner’s name on its shingle after he has made a final exit from law practice into the grave. But Lawrence Charfoos is still alive and well, not to mention practicing at a competing new firm, Charfoos Giovan &…

Jan 25, 2010 7:02 PM CST

Exclusive: Inside the New Westlaw, Lexis & Bloomberg Platforms

The biggest changes in legal research in more than a decade are about to start showing up on lawyers’ computer screens nationwide.

Westlaw is debuting an entirely revamped online search service February 1. Lexis plans to follow with its own revamped platform later this year. Bloomberg plans a new version of its legal search tool for 2010. And Google has recently unveiled a free legal research service of its own. We have an exclusive look inside the new tools.

Jan 25, 2010 3:00 AM CST

New Law School LLM Programs Teach Attorneys to Be Entrepreneurial

After a year of unprecedented BigLaw layoffs and pay cuts, Duke University is offering a new law school program that could help point some attorneys in a different direction. Apparently starting this fall, the new Law and Entrepreneurship LLM Program will offer a two-semester post-Juris Doctor master’s degree to teach…

Jan 23, 2010 2:14 AM CST

Ex-Client Accused of Threats to Kill Attorney & Judge Is Arrested

A former client facing criminal charges for allegedly threatening to kill a Houston attorney and a local state-court judge after he lost a civil lawsuit has been located and arrested. Vincent Michael Glorioso, 52, was arrested after he was spotted by law enforcement officers at a Houston electronics business that…

Jan 22, 2010 8:25 PM CST

Is Your Offsite Data Safe? Microsoft GC Pushes New Security Law

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith is proposing a new law to help protect the privacy of digital data stored on remote servers rather than desktop computers. In a speech to the Brookings Institution, Smith unveiled Microsoft’s proposal for a Cloud Computing Advancement Act that addresses the issues of privacy, security…

Jan 22, 2010 7:55 PM CST