In the Face of Economic Hardship, Bay Area Partner Classes Fluctuate. Although the faltering economy has been taking its toll on partner classes at many of the San Francisco Bay firms for 2002-2003, some were nonetheless able to award partner status to litigators. The majority of firms polled by The Recorder, an affiliate of this publication, either increased their class size or stayed the same. Most of the firms' elevations were in the areas of business and litigation.

Professional development. Bright-eyed law school graduates who need finely crafted orientation programs; seasoned practitioners who require CLE credits; law firm CFOs who need strategies to control the costs of outside CLE courses. Is this all it is? Absolutely not! Professional efforts and opportunities can be used to pursue many of your firm's most important strategic objectives. You simply need to remember to tap into professional development in order to use it to its full advantage.

Features

Savvy law firms smile as clients cut their roster of law firms, chuckle as others feel rate pressure and delight in offering new services and advice to their clients. Client research lies at the core of their success.

Part 1 of 2. It has become common in the legal field for law firms to rely upon the so-called 'contingent workforce,' but even law firms need to be aware of the potential problems that can arise in utilizing 'contingent workers.' The contingent workforce provides a convenient mechanism for employers to fill essential personnel needs quickly, while not (they assume) increasing the ranks of the regular employee population or placing themselves at legal risk under employment laws.

I recently had a discussion with a client about the issue of firms backing away from supporting practices that were hot and now are in the doldrums but are likely to bounce back. He had been vigorously sought after as an information technology and corporate lawyer just a few years ago. Since technology is not bound to disappear from or be less important in our lives, these areas of practice can be predicted to have a sunny future.

'Creative' accounting practices ' bigwigs who duplicitously line their own pockets at the expense of workers ' financial mismanagement that leads to reams of bad publicity. If this list sounds like snippets from news stories about corporate scandals a la Enron, think again. It actually refers to public impressions of the charity scandals that have sprung up like dandelions in the past couple of years. And yet, the wave of skepticism that now faces nonprofits feels an awful lot like that generated by their for-profit brethren. So if you're a law firm wishing to institute a workplace giving or volunteering program, what's the solution?

Features

The Department of Health and Human Services issued final regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protecting the privacy of individually identifiable health records. The regulations are intended to ensure the security of medical records and other personal health information maintained by health care providers, hospitals, health plans, health insurers, and health care clearinghouses. Most health plans are required to be in compliance with the new rules as of April 14, 2003 (small plans have an extra year).

Former Attorney Cannot Sue Counsel Who Takes Over a Case. US District Judge Berle M. Schiller of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania presented a seven-page opinion declaring that because a lawyer's withdrawal from a case severs the attorney-client relationship, an attorney who then assumes the case and obtains a settlement cannot be subjected to a lawsuit for part of the fee; nor can the new attorney be sued for intervention in the former lawyer's relationship. Frederick v. Davitt, No. 02-8263. Also, after discovering their contingent fee agreement's ubiquitously worded arbitration clause, which called for any fee debate's mediation, Judge Schiller dismissed the former attorneys' claims against the client.