Features
<b>Special Issue:</b> The Fifth-Anniversary MLF 50
At long last, marketing and communications can take center stage and become the key indicator by which law firms can measure their success ratio.
Features
The Sorcerer's Apprenticeship
Apprenticeships for new lawyers sound promising and the firms that are implementing them should be commended. However, under the current system of legal education and private practice, this model may not be realistic for most law firms.
Features
A New Leadership Model Is Needed
Before firms can address the changes they need to make in their management and leadership, they must identify and understand the trends and issues that have developed, and the challenges they are creating. The list is extensive.
THE RED ZONE PLAY OF THE WEEK - 6 Touchdowns in the Snow
THE RED ZONE PLAY OF THE WEEK - 6 Touchdowns in the Snow Scoring 6 touchdowns in the snow is a truly special accomplishment, even for the New England Patriots. They anticipate the positives and the obstacles to accomplishing their goals. So too must business development consultants insure that their attorney marketing training includes a heavy dose of understanding the in-house counsel selection process. Just like a football player learns where the oppornents' strengths are located, so…
Planning Realistically In a Time of Economic Distress
How to Avoid Destroying Your Firm's Future By Arbitrary Expense Cutting and Obsolete Planning Techniques There is a wonderful old Russian folk tale about the family in a sled being chased by ferocious wolves. To slow down the wolves, thinking to protect the remaining family members, they threw children overboard. That story comes to mind as we watch law firms, chased by the wolves of a depressing economy, decimate their firms by furloughing or firing staff, deferring'
Features
TextMap Version 5: New Uses for a Familiar Tool
A bunch of loose nails can be pounded with a shoe or a rock, but why not buy a hammer so you have the right tool for the job? Similarly, a load of transcripts can be tagged with sticky flags and painstakingly summarized on a yellow legal pad, but why not use software to help you comprehensively manage and annotate them? TextMap 5 from LexisNexis (formerly CaseSoft) is the right tool for the job.
Features
Law Firm Leadership: Leadership Isn't Management
Our marketplace is changing at a breakneck pace and on many fronts. Our firms are changing as well, from how we charge clients to how we compensate attorneys. A new kind of approach is required for effective management and leadership.
Features
Recommendation Marketing Through Evolving Social Media Channels
In one of its more insidious forms, recommendation marketing can involve a marketer paying Internet users to post disingenuous positive product reviews at online retailers' sites, also called astroturfing, in which advertisers or their agents pretend to be unaffiliated consumers, and spread misleading or false information to advance the advertiser's objectives.
Features
The Urge to Merge
In the midst of the current recession-induced pummeling of law firms and in-house legal departments, some positive changes are occurring that are setting the stage for a stronger industry. One is the quantity and quality of law firm mergers that are being consummated.
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MOST POPULAR STORIES
- The 'Sophisticated Insured' DefenseA majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.Read More ›
- A Lawyer's System for Active ReadingActive reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.Read More ›
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- Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric CodeIn an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.Read More ›
- Guidance on Distributions As 'Disbursements' and U.S. Trustee FeesIn a recent case from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, In re Paragon Offshore PLC, the bankruptcy court provided guidance on whether a post-plan effective date litigation trust's distributions constituted disbursements subject to the U.S. Trustee fee "tax."Read More ›