Demonstrate legal current awareness through blogging

John Barker (@contentbarker), the VP of Strategy & Competitive Intelligence for Wolters Kluwer, blogged this morning on the increasing need for current awareness in the business of law.

Both law firms and in-house legal departments have obvious business development needs.

• Law firms want to maintain and/or increase revenues from existing clients by delivering more value as well as find new clients.
• Corporate legal departments must engage in business development by showing greater return on investment from the department’s budget, and  increase awareness about the importance of engaging legal department earlier in the product development process.

http://kevin.lexblog.com/2014/05/27/demonstrate-legal-current-awareness-through-blogging/

More Social Media in the Workplace, More Problems

Rebekah Mintzer, Corporate Counsel

May 5, 2014    |0 Comments

As the social media universe expands and more users join networks every day, the risks for businesses also appear to be on the rise. A new survey from Proskauer Rose indicates employers are disciplining workers more when it comes to employees’ use of social media.

In the survey, “Social Media in the Workplace Around the World 3.0,”Proskauer reports 71 percent of the more than 110 businesses that responded have had to take disciplinary action against an employee for misusing of social media. This is a tremendous jump from last year’s iteration of the survey, in which only 35 percent reported they had to take this kind of action. The jump in the numbers begs the questions—what are businesses doing, and what can they legally do to make sure social media in the workplace doesn’t become a disaster zone?

Read more: http://goo.gl/2ZWQaq
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Lawyers need to get techy whether they want to or not!

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin urged lawyers to become more tech-savvy to avoid being held ethically liable for losing confidential client data. AP Photo/Richard Drew

Federal judges are becoming much more sophisticated about technology—and they're growing increasingly impatient with attorneys who are failing to keep up.

Indeed, U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis of New York's Southern District—one of a panel of four "cyberstar" federal judges who spoke on the future of law and technology at LegalTech New York 2014—was among the most concerned regarding lawyers who are clueless about the latest in technology.

Francis said he sees technological advances like e-discovery as so critical to the courtroom that he views attorneys who are unaware of its nuances as essentially engaging in a slow career suicide.

"E-discovery is pervasive. It's like understanding civil procedure," Francis said. "You're not going to be a civil litigator without understanding the rules of civil procedure. Similarly, you're no longer going to be able to conduct litigation of any complexity without understanding e-discovery."

http://goo.gl/IcuZ2D

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Is the Internet now the most popular way to find a lawyer?

I’m not saying the Internet is not the leading way Americans find a lawyer today. I’m just wondering.

I don’t believe a recent FindLaw Survey found that the Internet is the the most popular way to “find and research a lawyer” as FindLaw reported in a press release last week.

The survey asked:

Before hiring an attorney, which of the following would you be MOST likely to use to research and compare the credentials of different attorneys? (emphasis added)

http://kevin.lexblog.com/2014/04/21/is-the-internet-now-the-most-popular-way-to-find-a-lawyer/ 

How many law blogs are there and where are we headed?

My friend and fellow entrepreneur, Deborah McMurray (@contentpilot), asked me last week for my estimate on the number of attorney blogs today and my prediction for the coming years. McMurray was speaking to the Dallas Legal Marketing Association regarding top trends in marketing and wanted to include an update on blogs.

I thought you’d be interested in the information I shared with her.

There are a approximately 3,500 law blogs. These numbers are based upon figures from LexBlog’s LXBN Network and the ABA Journal Blog Directory.

This number is markedly below the numbers from an ABA Tech Surveywhich estimated that 10% of attorneys and 27% of law firms have law blogs. I have no idea how the survey arrived at those numbers, I found them incredible.

Lawyers, Guns and Money

Posted on Mar 9, 2014 6:55am PDT

Today's topic is Gun Injuries and the gun industry.

Shooting is a powerful phenomenon. So little physical action brings about so much destruction. Pull the trigger for a loud bang, a strong kick, and the giddy feeling of causing destruction. Drive your car fast for a similar feeling or swing a wrecking ball into the side of a building. Guns have their place and their purpose, but not everywhere. Guns at a political rally amp up the demonstration's power. Just ask any Black Panther.

So if guns aren't going anywhere, who's going to pay when the gun goes off in a direction no one intended?

INHERENCY--Guns Kill a Lot of People

http://www.rmkinjurylaw.com/Personal-Injury-Blog/2014/March/Who-Pays-when-the-Guns-Go-Off-.aspx

Ten reasons lawyers ought to think of blogging

Blogging is not for every lawyer. Blogging takes time, a passion for what you do or want to do, a desire to give in a real and meaningful way, and the persistence to do what’s needed to change your station in life.

If you’re on the fence about blogging as a lawyer, here’s ten reasons to blog. I am sure there are many more.

1. Blogging is fun. Talk to any law blogger with a wide ranging reputation and they’ll tell you they really enjoy blogging. Sure, there will be occasional times when blogging seems to drag, but like any recreational or social activity blogging becomes part of the fabric of your life – an enjoyable part.

http://kevin.lexblog.com/2014/04/19/ten-reasons-lawyers-ought-to-think-of-blogging/

Make Crime Pay

Make crime pay. Become a lawyer.

Will Rogers

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_legal.html#GS7wmgYZatr46SKj.99

Are we seeing the end of lawyer profiles on websites?

The day is going to soon come when law firms do away with lawyer profiles on their websites. This from White & Case CMO, Michael Hertz (@MichaelHertz), during our LMA panel discussion last week.

The reason being, per Hertz, is that present traffic to the LinkedIn profiles of the firm’s lawyers is far exceeding the traffic to bio’s on the firm’s website.

This may not be music to the ears of website developers, but a world without website profiles is not without prescedent.

http://kevin.lexblog.com/2014/04/13/are-we-seeing-the-end-of-lawyer-profiles-on-websites/

Happy National Grammar Day! Lawyers’ Top Three Grammar Goof-ups

By Theda C. Snyder | Mar.04.14 | Communicating, Daily Dispatch, Get to the Point, Law Practice

It’s a fitting way to celebrate National Grammar Day: Today we are announcing that lawyer and author Teddy Snyder is taking over Attorney at Work’s monthly “Get to the Point” column. Teddy will be giving practical tips, picking at nits and — we’re certain — offering an occasional rant aimed at helping us all communicate more effectively and confidently. 

Yes, believe it or not, it is national Grammar Day, the day for us to celebrate the value of effective communication. A day to rejoice that lawyers especially are wordsmiths who delight in precise oral and written communication.

Okay, you’re right, I was just joking about that last part. But it’s true that it’s National Grammar Day. You can even sing along with the anthem on YouTube.

http://www.attorneyatwork.com/happy-national-grammar-day/