Do you have what it takes to be a rural lawyer? (podcast with transcript)

Many young law grads are being urged to move out of large cities and into rural areas, where there aren't as many attorneys competing for work. But what does it take to run a successful legal practice in a rural area? Asked and Answered moderator Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Lorelei Laird, the reporter who wrote our October cover story on the need for rural attorneys, and Bruce Cameron, who runs a sole practice in rural Minnesota.

Oct 6, 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

Armstrong Teasdale opens office in Denver

Armstrong Teasdale has opened a new office in Denver. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the firm’s new office, which includes a group of 10 attorneys from Steese, Evans & Frankel, officially opened its doors today. The move is the latest in a westward expansion by the Missouri-based Armstrong…

Oct 1, 2014 5:23 PM CDT

Fox Rothschild acquires Dallas boutique firm

Fox Rothschild now has a presence in Texas as a result of its acquisition of 18-lawyer Dallas law firm David & Goodman. According to a Tuesday story from the Legal Intelligencer, Fox Rothschild’s newest office will provide litigation, corporate and family law services. Fox Rothschild acquired every one of David…

Oct 1, 2014 12:21 PM CDT

Too Many Lawyers? Not Here. In rural America, lawyers are few and far between

Wishek, North Dakota, is 90 minutes southeast of Bismarck and roughly six hours from either Minneapolis-Saint Paul or Winnipeg, Manitoba. Settled by ethnic Germans fleeing Russia, it’s a farm community on the opposite end of the state from North Dakota’s oil boom. As a result, Wishek hasn’t seen the influx…

Oct 1, 2014 5:40 AM CDT

5-attorney family law firm is lead sponsor for NASCAR driver, hopes he will win race and new clients

A five-attorney family law firm in Richmond, Va., is taking an innovative approach to advertising for new clients. As lead sponsor for NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek, the Friedman Law firm will have its name emblazoned on the hood, roof, trunk and sides of his number 66 race car this weekend,…

Sep 5, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

Harper Lee, ABA Journal fiction prizes announced

John Grisham is a best-selling author who has seen many of his books become major Hollywood pictures. Jason Bailey is a first-time author who maintains a busy legal practice in western Colorado and only writes during his spare time. What do these two writers have in common? This year, they…

Sep 4, 2014 4:28 PM CDT

How Patrice Perkins creatively serves her creative clients

Photo of Patrice Perkins by Wayne Slezak. Some lawyers might shy away from associating themselves with the word hustle. Patrice Perkins is not one of them. Her Chicago solo practice focuses on contracts and intellectual property work for creative entrepreneurs. With a firm called Creative Genius Law and a clientele…

Sep 4, 2014 8:30 AM CDT

Defunct law firm must still pay for sublease in Manhattan, court rules

Corrected: An appellate court has ruled that defunct law firm Arkin Kaplan Rice cannot escape paying the sublease on its former office space in Manhattan. On Thursday, the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department, ruled that the defunct firm is on the hook for its sublease for…

Aug 22, 2014 6:15 PM CDT

Lawyer charged with murder solicitation targeted his former office manager, her lawyer says

A Texas lawyer charged with criminal solicitation of capital murder was seeking to kill his former office manager, an attorney for the claimed target says. Ex-employee Maryann Uribe has been litigating in civil court in Nueces County against attorney Paul Andrews, 57, for several years over claims she was fired…

Aug 21, 2014 2:45 PM CDT

Lawyers offer tips on how to adapt to the ongoing disruption in the legal market

It’s no secret that the legal industry has undergone a radical shift over the last few years as clients are demanding better, faster and cheaper legal service. It’s a shift that continues to develop and could yet take some unexpected twists and turns. While that can be scary for many…

Aug 7, 2014 11:54 PM CDT

Solo is censured for failing to detect paralegal’s participation in mortgage fraud scheme

A solo lawyer in East Orange, New Jersey, has been censured for failing to discover his paralegal’s wrongdoing. The New Jersey Supreme Court censured lawyer Stephen Brown on July 28 because he didn’t discover the paralegal was participating in a mortgage-fraud scheme, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. The disciplinary…

Aug 7, 2014 4:52 PM CDT

Ex-business partner of lawyer convicted in ‘kids for cash’ seeks freeze on incoming $150M legal fee

A Pittsburgh investment banker says his private juvenile detention companies lost more than $100 million because of theft and illegal kickbacks paid to juvenile court judges by a Pennsylvania attorney convicted in the “kids for cash” case in Luzerne County. So Greg Zappala is trying to freeze an award of…

Aug 6, 2014 10:00 PM CDT

Solos sometimes need help hiring help

Aug 1, 2014 7:20 AM 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