Tech geeks gather to reinvent the law

May 1, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

Lawyers may solicit clients by text messages if rules are followed, Ohio ethics opinion says

Text messages may be “a novel approach to client solicitation,” but they aren’t barred under traditional ethics rules, according to the Ohio Supreme Court’s ethics board. In an April 5 opinion (PDF), the board said lawyers may solicit clients by text messages as long as they follow telemarketing laws and…

Apr 29, 2013 10:55 AM CDT

This law firm really wants you to like it

Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella is a new law firm in suburban Chicago, but it already has 700 “likes” on its Facebook page. The firm’s founders are trying to raise its visibility with a social media campaign that includes “thank you Thursdays” offering prizes for “likes,” the Daily Herald reports.…

Apr 23, 2013 11:49 AM CDT

Senator’s query prompts law firm to quit ‘political intelligence’ work

Greenberg Traurig has said it will stop working with so-called political intelligence firms after a U.S. senator questioned whether one of the law firm’s lobbyists obtained and shared confidential information on Medicare. In a statement provided to Bloomberg, Greenberg Traurig said it “concluded that providing government relations services to an…

Apr 22, 2013 12:25 PM CDT

SCOTUSblog gets press credentials; eBay defamation case is dropped after bloggers turn up the heat

Last month, SCOTUSblog won a Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media–the first blog to ever do so. On Thursday, it announced that it had at long last, the Senate Press Gallery has granted its reporter Lyle Denniston a press credential. “The Supreme Court’s general practice, which we expect to…

Apr 19, 2013 1:29 PM CDT

Bloggers defend the brick-and-mortar law office; What if fathers had paid paternity leave?

At LexThink.1 at ABA Techshow last week, one memorable quip came from MyCase co-founder Matt Spiegel: “The office is dead,” he said. “If we can only advise clients by forcing them to come into our offices, we are destined to fail.” And in the last week, both Philadelphia lawyer Jordan…

Apr 12, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Started as a ‘marketing ploy,’ SCOTUSblog wins Peabody; do journalists see a threat?

SCOTUSblog has come a long way since its beginnings in 2002. In an interview with New York Magazine, lawyer Tom Goldstein explains why he started the blog. “I had decided that I was going to be a Supreme Court litigator, and yet I had no experience before the Supreme Court,”…

Apr 12, 2013 12:34 PM CDT

Survey: Strong consensus law firms need to change. But can they? (video)

A survey of the readers of the Adam Smith, Esq. law firm management blog has found that there is widespread agreement that law firms have to change their fundamental business models, consultant Bruce MacEwen tells Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia. But lawyers have real doubts that law firms will be willing…

Apr 11, 2013 4:35 PM CDT

Ethics opinion gives go-ahead to novelty license plate with law firm name

A lawyer who wants to promote her firm with a novelty license plate is exempt from a lawyer regulation requiring ads to include an office address, according to a North Carolina ethics opinion. The lawyer wanted to place the license plate, which was not issued by the state, on the…

Apr 10, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Social media helps Legal Rebel grow her practice

Photo of Carolyn Elefant by Arnold Adler. Carolyn Elefant Rebel Year: 2010 Home: Bethesda, Md. What she’s been up to: Carolyn Elefant, the woman behind My Shingle, continues to blog about sole-practice life and grow her legal practice. An energy lawyer who loves trains and travel, Elefant says that today…

Mar 26, 2013 1:46 PM CDT

Blogging gig: Comedy required, law degree optional; What data should law school rankings consider?

An item cross-posted at Lawyerist and the humor blog Bitter Lawyer announced this week that Bitter Lawyer is looking for a new editor. Lawyerist Media acquired the blog in 2011. “Since Bitter Lawyer is a humor website, you must either (1) be funny or (2) know funny when you see…

Mar 22, 2013 1:30 PM CDT

Attorney’s mug shot winds up next to his law firm’s ad, in marketing effort gone awry

Updated: A Florida lawyer who focuses his practice on drunken-driving cases and other criminal matters got hit with a double whammy over the weekend. First Thomas Lewis Edwards was criminally charged concerning an alleged Alachua County drunken-driving incident that involved a hit-and-run crash. Then his mug shot, showing him apparently…

Mar 11, 2013 5:59 PM CDT

Law firm’s hijacked keywords not a privacy violation, appeals court says

A Wisconsin law firm has failed to win reinstatement of a lawsuit that claims its right to privacy was violated by a competitor’s purchase of advertising-driven search-engine keywords. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld dismissal of the suit filed by personal injury law firm Habush Habush & Rottier,…

Feb 22, 2013 4:19 PM CST

You can brag in legal ad, but back it up, says state supreme court

Florida lawyers can now list their successes in advertising, a divided state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, but the information must be verifiable, the Associated Press reports. One still can’t describe oneself in advertising as “the best trial lawyer in Florida,” the opinion (PDF) notes. But one could advertise that he…

Feb 1, 2013 5:55 PM CST

Not Playing Games: Firm Takes Decision-Making Theory into Transactions

Jan 1, 2013 8:40 AM CST