E-Mails Suggest Law Firm Considered ‘Dirty-Tricks’ Plan to Discredit Chamber Critics

The Hunton & Williams law and lobbying firm considered proposals from three data security contractors to undermine opponents of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, according to e-mail released by hackers angered by the CEO of one of the security firms. The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post have stories…

Feb 15, 2011 1:40 PM CST

Lawyer’s Sanction Hiked After Calling Ethics System a ‘Hideous Aberration of Justice’

Lawyer Patrick Rocchio didn’t mince words in writings and testimony contesting a disciplinary matter in Indiana, calling the discipline system “a hideous aberration of justice” and the ethics rules “frivolous and antiquated.” He failed to persuade the Indiana Supreme Court, which decided to increase Rocchio’s sanction because of his contempt…

Feb 14, 2011 3:23 PM CST

Recruiters ‘Attack Like Piranhas’ as Law Firms Start to Crumble

The first sign of trouble for a law firm often occurs when partners with a large portable practice become dissatisfied with management and jump to a new opportunity. Then the next tier of partners fears problems and they circulate their resumés, according to New York recruiter Jerome Kowalski of Kowalski…

Feb 8, 2011 1:42 PM CST

A Coach for Solos Sees Lessons in ‘Uppity White Trash’ Experience

A solo-practice coach learned how easy it is to misjudge people during a trip to the supermarket after oral surgery. Susan Carter Liebel, the founder of the Solo Practice University website and an ABA Journal Legal Rebel, says she looked like “a battered Walmart shopper” when she ventured out to…

Feb 7, 2011 12:00 PM CST

Legal Marketer Sees Lessons in Alleged Near-Assault by Airline Employee

Legal marketer Larry Bodine usually uses his blog to deliver advice and news about how law firms can attract more clients through good communications strategies and effective use of technology. After a clash with a United Airlines employee, Bodine was once again delivering marketing advice, although this time it was…

Feb 2, 2011 3:11 PM CST

PI Firm Seeks Tweets About Icy Walkways; Promises to Donate Sandbags to Slick Properties

A Milwaukee personal injury law firm is on the hunt for slick spots on the city’s sidewalks. The Warshafsky Law Firm is soliciting tips from city residents through Twitter, Facebook to identify slippery spots around the city and then posting them on a dedicated blog, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel blog Proof…

Feb 1, 2011 9:12 PM CST

Watch Your Social Media Posts Because Lawyer Regulators, FTC May Be

While social media marketing is still in its Wild West stage, devil-may-care attorneys recklessly exploiting the media could soon face grief, according to a panel that helped open LegalTech New York 2011 this week. Lawyers engaging in hyperbole on blogs, artificially inflating the number of followers they have on Twitter…

Feb 1, 2011 7:16 PM CST

Seduced: For Lawyers, the Appeal of Social Media Is Obvious. It’s Also Dangerous

Feb 1, 2011 10:20 AM CST

Blawg 100 Popular Vote: The Readers Have Spoken

Feb 1, 2011 9:30 AM CST

Law on the Open Road: One Man’s Avocation has Become His Niche

Feb 1, 2011 7:00 AM CST

Is Anybody Reading Law Firm Client Alerts? Not If the ‘Spray and Pray’ Method Is Used

If you believe the in-house lawyers at a recent marketing partner forum in Arizona, nobody is reading client alerts. One general counsel said he gets more than 50 client alerts in the e-mail with each legal development, according to Adrian Dayton, a social media consultant writing for the National Law…

Jan 31, 2011 12:00 PM CST

As Clients Shift Work, How Do We Deal with This Change Thing?

Editor’s note: The New Normal is an ongoing discussion between Paul Lippe, the CEO of Legal OnRamp, and Patrick Lamb, founding member of Valorem Law Group. Paul and Pat spend a lot of time thinking, writing and speaking about the changes occurring in the delivery of legal services. We hope…

Jan 24, 2011 2:02 PM CST

Crowdsourced Legal Answers Website Gets $600K from Investors, Including Google Ventures

A legal website that offers “crowdsourced” answers to legal questions posed by California companies, especially startups, is getting $600,000 in funding from Google Ventures and individual investors. The website is called LawPivot, and it could “disrupt some of the [legal] industry’s most basic business practices,” according to a November story…

Jan 21, 2011 5:16 PM CST

Self-Promotion and ABA Blawg 100 Listing Help Lawyer Playing Avvo’s Ratings ‘Game’

A listing in the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 had an added benefit for the author of a tort law blog. Writing at his New York Personal Injury Law Blog, lawyer Eric Turkewitz says the ABA listing helped improve his Avvo rating. So too, did other “faux awards,” Turkewitz says, such…

Jan 21, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Proposed NC Ethics Opinion Says Lawyers Can’t Ethically Offer Groupon Deals

Updated: Groupon is known for its great deals on everything from restaurant meals to oil changes, but can it ethically be used by law firms seeking new business? An ethics subcommittee of the North Carolina State Bar will be considering the issue, according to assistant ethics counsel Suzanne Lever. She…

Jan 19, 2011 4:18 PM CST