Real Lawyers Have Blogs

Pam Garfield joins LexBlog as Director of Client Services

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:03:12 -0800

LexBlog is growing, perhaps more quickly than even I anticipated. Critical to our continued success is building out a senior executive team. An executive team which can provide strong visionary leadership, but also make certain we execute on our plans.

It's an honor to introduce Pam Garfield, as LexBlog's Director of Client Services, and a member of our executive team.

Pam's not only a lawyer of 15 years, but has a wealth of experience in publishing, educational programing, and online communities. With over 600 blogs (growing at 30 a month) and over 2,500 lawyer authors, Pam's experience and leadership is a God send.

She was formerly a practicing lawyer, like other members of the LexBlog executive team, earning her law degree from the University of Denver.
She spent 10 years in education publishing in a variety of roles, eventually becoming Executive Editor of the country's largest health education publisher.
More recently she developed online communities in which chronically ill patients could connect with one another to provide education, support, and information.

Pam signed on with LexBlog not just because of her background in the law and online communities but because she believes, like I do, that social media can enhance the personal and professional lives of lawyers and that lawyers want and need counsel and support in this arena.

Drop Pam an email, give her a call (206-204-3211), follow her on Twitter, or connect with her at LinkedIn. Pam's here for you and looking forward to meeting all of you.

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 7/9/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:59:44 -0800

There's a lot of current events and changes in law in today's update. We have a new burden of proof in age discrimination cases, more money for renewable energy projects, an expansion of nursing home patient rights, new e-discovery rules in California and the key findings from Obama's Food Safety Working Group. Lots of news, have a look.

The Attorney-Client Privilege and Relationship - Seattle lawyer Wendy Koch of Dickson Steinacker on the firm's Washington Real Estate Law Blog
Supreme Court Alters Burden of Proof Requirements in Federal Age Discrimination Cases - New Jersey attorney Randi Kochman of Cole Schotz on the firm's Employment Law Monitor
California Enacts New E-Discovery Rules - San Francisco lawyer Michael W. Scarborough of Sheppard Mullin on the firm's Antitrust Law Blog
Treasury, Energy Announce More than $3 Billion in Recovery Act Funds for Renewable Energy Projects - Seattle attorney Blair Carter of Stoel Rives on the firm's blog, Renewable + Law
Think First Before Getting Into an LLC - New Berlin lawyer Tom Schober of Schober Schober & Mitchell on the firm's Wisconsin Business Law Blog
Future of Food Litigation and Obama's Food Safety Working Group - Seattle attorney Ken Odza of Stoel Rives in the firm's Food Liability Law Blog
How to Produce More Revenue with Client Development Training and Coaching - Dallas lawyer Cordell Parvin on his Law Consulting Blog
You Can Count On This Case For A Good Discussion Of The Law Of Agency - Greensboro attorney Mack Sperling of Brooks Pierce in his blog, the North Carolina Business Litigation Report
Appellate Court Decision Expands Nursing Home Patient Rights - Chicago lawyer Jonathan Rosenfeld of Strellis & Field's on his Nursing Homes Abuse Blog
Overview of Boating While Intoxicated in Minnesota: BWI Offenses - Minneapolis attorney Jason Brown of Brown Law Offices on his Minnesota DUI Law Blog

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 7/8/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:06:46 -0800

Well, we are more than halfway through the workweek. Wednesday brings posts from some of our best bloggers as Steve Jakubowski has more insight on the GM bankruptcy filing and Daniel Schwartz has analysis on an interesting age and gender discrimination claim.

Medical Malpractice Accounts for Far less than 1% of Overall Healthcare Costs - Washington, DC lawyer Salvatore Zambri of Regan Zambri & Long on the firm's DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog
Collateral Source Rule - Unfair Tort Law? - The blogging lawyers and attorneys at Greenberg & Bederman on their Maryland Injury and Disability Law Blog
Why are So Many Email Collections Corrupted - David Rostov, CEO of Lighthouse Document Technologies, on his blog, Electronic Discovery Made Easy
Alabama Law Enforcement Seeks Drug Manufacturing Suspects Responsible for Colbert County Marijuana Garden - Alabama attorney Steven Eversole on his Birmingham Criminal Defense Blog
Out of the Fray ... Onto the "Slow Boat to China": Putting the Brakes on the GM Bankruptcy Appeal - Chicago lawyer Steve Jakubowski of The Coleman Law Firm on the The Bankruptcy Law Blog
Google to the (E-Discovery) Rescue? - Information specialist Anthony Chan of Quarles & Brady in the firm's blog E-Discovery Bytes
Fox 61 Reporter Files Age and Gender Discrimination Claim with CHRO; Is History Repeating Itself? - Hartford attorney Daniel Schwartz of Pullman & Comley in his Connecticut Employment Law Blog
Employment Lawyers Warn Against Glowing Reviews on LinkedIn - Orange County lawyer Aaron Morris on his Business Law Report
Massachusetts Finalizes Global Warming Solutions Act Reporting Regulations - Boston attorney Amy Boyd of Foley Hoag on the firm's blog, Law & The Environment
Show me the Money: $7.5 Million Available to Develop Commercial Energy Efficiency Training Programs - Seattle lawyer John Laney of Stoel Rives on the firm's blog Renewable + Law

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 7/7/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:17:51 -0800

Today we have multiple posts associated with the few recently deceased celebrties; two on Michael Jackson and his will along with an interesting post on what Billy Mays can teach legal marketers. On top of today's best posts, we have other news: Steve Jakubowski is a certified bankruptcy law rockstar.

Show me the Money: $7.5 Million Available to Develop Commercial Energy Efficiency Training Programs - Seattle attorney John Laney of Stoel Rives on the firm's blog Renewable + Law
Major Climate Change Court Decision: Georgia Appeal Court Well Reasoned Decision Overturns CO2 Ruling - Cleveland lawyer Joe Koncelik of Frantz Ward in his Ohio Environmental Law Blog
Garbage Dump in Ghana A Gold Mine For Sensitive Information - Boston attorney Aaron Wright of Foley Hoag on the firm's blog, Security, Privacy and The Law
Trial Judge Upholds $1,030,000 Pain and Suffering Verdict in New York Injury Case for 11 Year Old Boy's Ankle Fracture - New York lawyer John Hochfelder on his New York Injury Cases Blog
Michael Jackson: Fairy Tale or Law School Exam Question - Boston and Hingham based attorney Nancy Van Tine on her Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor
"Fight Club" Trial Starts - Texas lawyer Tom Crane on his San Antonio Employment Law Blog
Billy Mays "the pitchman" and Legal Marketing - Legal marketing specialist Tom Kane of Kane Consulting Inc. in his Legal Marketing Blog
Civil Remedies, The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and Stolen Trade Secrets - Philadelphia attorney Maxwell Kennerly of The Beasley Firm at his blog, Litigation & Trial
European Privacy Law And Social Networking - Paris lawyer Cecile Martin of Proskauer Rose in the firm's Privacy Law Blog
Michael Jackson's Will Makes Sense in California - San Francisco attorney Karen Meckstroth on her Bay Area Wills, Trusts & Probate Report

Also worth noting: A day after being referenced on the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and appearing on the Business News Network, Chicago bankruptcy lawyer Steve Jakubowski was on Glenn Beck's show this afternoon discussing the General Motors bankruptcy filing. This is his second appearance on a national news show in a little over a month as he was on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric in late May. Pay attention LexBloggers, it's amazing what great content can do for you.

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 7/6/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:12:19 -0800

Coming back to work after a long weekend is about as fun as getting poked in the eye but some of our bloggers managed to ease back into the workweek by putting up some interesting content. So for those of you who aren't quite ready to hit the grind and would rather enjoy some legal reading material, have a look at these posts.

Minnesota Court of Appeals Finds MySpace Posting Constitutes "Publicity Per Se" - Raleigh lawyer Elizabeth Spainhour of Brooks Pierce on the firm's Newsroom Law Blog
New Virginia Supreme Court Decision Could Mean More Insurance Coverage Available for You! - Roanoke attorney Paul Thomson on his blog, Virginia Injury Law Update
Sure Plastic Bags Are Better, But Is That The Real Question? - Des Moines lawyer Chuck Becker of Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn on Becker's Iowa Environmental Law Update
Former Government Bond Trader And 9-11 Survivor Receives More Than One Million Dollars In Long-Term Disability Benefits - Florida attorney Gregory Dell of Dell & Schaefer on the firm's Disability Benefit Claims Law Blog
Safer Highways Would Prevent More than Half of all Fatal Automobile Accidents - New Jersey lawyer Scott Grossman on his New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog
Court Denies Preliminary Injunction Sought by IBM Because Former Employee Signed Non-Compete Agreement in Wrong Place - New York attorney David Clark of EpsteinBeckerGreen on the firm's EBG Trade Secrets and Noncompete Blog
"Sophisticated Entities" May Bear Burden of Proving Coverage - Charleston lawyer Jeffrey Mehalic on his West Virginia Business Litigation Blog
Creating a "Marketing Habit" for your Practice in 21 Days - Charles Perez of Video Resources Inc. in his Trial Presentation Blog
Closing The Gap So LEED Can Lead The Way - St. Petersburg LEED AP Richard Cartlidge on his blog, Green Building & Environmental Trends
If Bloggers Must Disclose, Why Shouldn't the Bar Associations? - Washington, D.C. attorney Carolyn Elefant at her blog, My Shingle

Twitter Search for lawyers in plain english

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:55:29 -0800

Imagine being able to search conversation, as it happens or historical. Conversation on legal subjects, the news, current sporting events, or local business issues. Imagine then being able to join that conversation and meet people with similar interests.

You can via Twitter Search, perhaps one of the most underutilized resources by lawyers and other other professionals.

You can find out a few things about Twitter Search at Twitter's About Twitter Search Page. But far better is the below Common Craft video, 'Twitter Search in Plain English.'

Looking for educational training materials on social media, blogs, RSS, and the like? Check out Common Craft's Social Media Pack. An individual license, perfect for presenters and consultants to use in presentations or training sessions can be purchased for only $153.

Lane Powell Seattle and Portland social media programs next week

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:11:47 -0800

Pacific Northwest-based law firm Lane Powell, is hosting dual Social Media seminars I'll be speaking at next week.

Billed as 'Social Media: Expect the Unexpected,' we'll be in Seattle at the Washington Athletic Club on Tuesday, July 7, and in Portland at the Portland Hilton & Executive Tower on Wednesday July 8. Running from 8 to 10 AM with 1.5 hours of CLE, topics include:

Social Media - What is It and Why You Need to Consider Using It; Kevin O'Keefe, CEO, LexBlog Inc.
Technology and Intellectual Property Issues - How to Manage Risk; Craig Bachman, Intellectual Property and Technology Attorney, Lane Powell PC
Issues for Public Companies and First Amendment Rights; Mike Nesteroff, Chair of Lane Powell's Sustainability and Climate Change Team, Lane Powell PC, and Former KOMO-TV Journalist
Employment Issues that Follow Social Networking and Practical Guidance to Help Minimize Risk; D. Michael Reilly, Director of Lane Powell's Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, Lane Powell PC
Panel and Audience Discussion: Sea Change or Flash in the Pan; What is Really Going on Here and Why is it Important to You and Your Company

You may register for the Portland program here and the Seattle program here. I hope to see some of you there.

Hosting social media educational programs such as this offer law firms an excellent opportunity. Not only does the firm put itself at the forefront of innovation, but large corporate audiences starved for credible information on the topic provide excellent relationship building opportunities.

I participated in an event with a Manhattan firm that brought an excellent turnout. I'm honored that Lane Powell thought enough of what I could offer to invite me for their program.

Looking to host a similar event? I'd be honored to take part.

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 7/2/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:41:34 -0800

This week I'm saving the 'live blogs' post for last because it's really kind of incredible. There were a few lest posts than normal today, which makes sense, as I'm sure plenty of people were getting out early for the long weekend. For those still around, here's today's best posts.

Court Grants Motion for Sanctions, Precludes Defendants' Assertion of Affirmative Defense - David Bowerman of K&L Gates on the firm's Electronic Discovery Law blog
U.S. Steel Unionized Production and Maintenance Workers Not Entitled to Compensation for Time Spent Donning and Doffing - The blogging lawyers and attorneys at Littler Mendelson on the firm's blog, Wage & Hour Counsel
Obama Proposes New Agency to Regulate Consumer Financial Privacy - The blogging lawyers and attorneys at Hunton & Williams on their Privacy & Information Security Law Blog
Are high student loans equal to unfitness to be a lawyer? - Legal marketing expert Ed Poll in his LawBizBlog
A Mobile Marketer's Horror Story - New York lawyer Adam Snukal of Reed Smith on the firms blog, AdLaw By Request
Celebrate Independence Day The Right Way - Biddleford attorney Joe Bornstein on his Maine Injury, Accident, & Disability Law Blog
60 Day Notice Provision in Expanded Coverage was Enforceable; California's Notice-Prejudice Rule Did Not Apply - San Francisco lawyer Sara Thorpe of Gordon & Rees on the National Insurance Law Forum
Washington Supreme Court Decides Morgan v. Kingen - Bankruptcy is No Defense - Seattle attorney Dan Swedlow of Stoel Rives on the firm's blog, World of Work
Incident of the Week: FBI Arrests Hacker Posing as Security Guard Who Infiltrated Texas Hospital Days Before "Devil's Day" Attack - Boston lawyer Gabriel Helmer of Foley Hoag on the firm's blog, Security, Privacy and The Law
Why Fight a DUI in Pennsylvania: Occupational Licenses - Harrisburg attorney Justin McShane on his Pennsylvania DUI Blog

LexBlog law blogs for the week of 6/29 - 7/2

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:13:56 -0800

This was a great week: we got 9 blogs out the door in a period of 4 days, which is a new record in terms of output at LexBlog. Credit is due where it's owed -- this wouldn't have happened without the hard work of everyone involved in building and maintaining client excitement in a week that is traditionally quite slow as people gear up for a long weekend. Client services, client development, design/dev & IT all deserve a pat on the back for going the extra mile on these projects -- and others -- over the past few days. I hope everyone has an amazing holiday weekend.

One of the most unique law blogs there, the Mixed Martial Arts Law Blogs covers all the law surrounding this increasingly popular sport, including civil litigation, criminal proceedings and other musings from Des Moines lawyer David Nelmark.
Seattle lawyers Kevin Coluccio and Justin Walsh of Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Coluccio author the Elder Abuse & Neglect Law Blog. Both are experts on elder and nursing home abuse law, sharing their years of experience on the subject via this blog.
International law firm Barger & Wolen publishes the Insurance Litigation & Regulatory Law Blog, which provides coverage on insurance industry related case law, regulation and legislation at both the national and state level, with an emphasis on California law and federal cases applying California law.
K&L Gates, an AmLaw 200 law firm, launches another blog with LexBlog, this one on Bid Protest Law. This blog covers the legal issues, news and best practices related to bid protest law.
The Bankruptcy Law Update is updated by New Jersey attorneys Melinda Middlebrooks, Stuart Nachbar and Joseph Shapiro. The blog provides insight and commentary on bankruptcy litigation for individuals and businesses throughout the New York and New Jersey area.
Another AmLaw 200 firm with multiple law blogs, Reed Smith adds yet another blog. The Global Startup Blog offers perspectives on business and legal issues facing companies and investors doing business globally.
The New York Labor and Employment Law Report is published by attorneys at Bond, Schoeneck & King. They offer insight on employment and race discrimination as well as wage and hour related issues.
Yet another AmLaw 200 law firm with multiple blogs, Davis Wright Tremaine launches their Oregon Construction Law blog, which offers new developments, resources and commentary of interest to owners, builders and design professionals.
The Tax, Trusts & Estates Law Monitor is published by the experienced professionals at Cole Schotz. Their Tax, Trusts & Estates Department is one of the largest tax practices in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.

Seattle personal injury lawyer creates Facebook Fan Page for a pamphlet?

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:05:54 -0800

Just when you think you've seen it all from lawyers who have not a clue how to use social media or how to network through the Internet, I get this.

An email from someone apparently associated with a Seattle law firm inviting me to become a 'fan of The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Washington Accident Case on Facebook.' I'm not joking. Look at the below.

It gets crazier. Look at this Facebook 'fan page' the lawyer posts links to. Posts such as a car accident location where a teen was injured in a rollover.

Nice. Take text from a police report or news story referencing someone's child being seriously injured with the apparent goal of getting more face time on Google or Facebook. I wonder what law school or CLE program teaches you that.

Marketing like this is why I've decided not to handover LexBlog's social media marketing to the 7th grade class at Sakai Junior High on Bainbridge Island.

Fortunately, 90% of people will see this type of stunt for what it is. An over zealous lawyer who is in over their head when it comes to social media.

Unfortunately for our profession, this type of lawyer marketing is just feeding the public's perception of lawyers as the least trust worthy of any profession. That's a shame as it means injury victims and their family members are less likely to seek help from a good plaintiff's trial lawyer - they don't trust us.

I practiced as a plaintiff's trial lawyer for the better part of 20 years. Being a board member of my state's trial lawyers' association and active in ATLA I came to know trial lawyers as some of the finest and most caring people in the world.

When I got active on the Internet while still practicing I was blown away by the opportunity trial lawyers had to show what we were made of. I answered 4 to 7 questions a day posted on AOL legal message boards by injury victims and their family members. I hosted AOL legal chat rooms a couple nights a week answering more questions.

I saw the Internet as a great equalizer for plaintiff's lawyers. Without having powerful lobbying groups and PR campaigns we could influence public opinion. Good lawyers without huge advertising budgets could get the best work by word of mouth generated by helping people. Wow!

Seeing this lawyer use Facebook like this is terribly, terribly disappointing. Maybe he's a great lawyer. Maybe he has tremendous care for injury victims and their family members. But please learn how to use the Internet and social media.

Other lawyers doing things the right way deserve better. The people we seek to protect and serve deserve better.

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 7/1/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:34:47 -0800

Lots of good news today, a de facto Thursday for those of us who have a four day work week. For those of you who don't go to firework shows and chose to do their own, we have some tips on firework safety. We also have some analysis on what the Bernie Madoff means for the future, and not just the short term future, the next 150 years.

150 Years From Now (The Impact of Bernie Madoff) - Washington, DC lawyer Steven Berk on his blog, A Voice For Main Street
An Act Ensuring Less Privacy of Massachusetts Resident's Data, Part 2 of 5 - Boston attorney Kevin Whitaker on his blog, Privacy & Policy
Michael Jackson's "Petition for Probate" filed in California - Fort Lauderdale lawyer David Shulman on his South Florida Estate Planning Law Blog
July 4th: Common Sense Fireworks Safety Guidelines - The blogging lawyers & attorneys at Regan Zambri & Long in the firm's DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog
Law Firm Marketing: Is Your Marketing "on Target?" - Legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute in The Rainmaker Blog
Marketing Secret: Find Out What Your Clients Value and Give it to Them - Dallas attorney Cordell Parvin on his Law Consulting Blog
"Whale Wars": Just Another Fish Tale - Patrick Maines, president of The Media Institute, at the Institute's Media & Communications Policy Blog
Crowdsourcing Tedious Tasks for Fun and (Non)Profit - Public interest law and technology expert Kate Bladow on technola
Supreme Court Creates New Risk For Employers Who Use Tests or Other Screening Devices - Chicago lawyer James Burns, Jr. of Reed Smith on the firm's Employment Law Watch
Jury's Refusal to Award Any Future Pain and Suffering Damages Reversed on Appeal in New York Car Crash Lawsuit - New York attorney John Hochfelder on his New York Injury Cases Blog

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 6/30/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:42:54 -0800

Today brings more legal analysis on major news stories. We have multiple posts on Michael Jackson's estate as well a great post by Daniel Schwartz on what employers can learn from the Riccie v. DeStefano SCOTUS case.

Michael Jackson's Estate: Legal Implications - Legal marketer Adrian Lurssen on JD Supra's JD Scoop
Michael Jackson's Estate: Economic Stimulus Package for Lawyers - Miami lawyer Juan Antunez of Stokes McMillan Maracini & Antunez in his Florida Probate & Trust Litigation Blog
Congressional Insider Trading - Ohio attorney Jack J. Gravelle of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur in the firm's Federal Securities Law Blog
The New Divide: Big Law Firms Change But Clients Still Don't Believe Them - Philadelphia lawyer Maxwell Kennerly of The Beasley Firm at his blog, Litigation & Trial
Chief Legal Officers Don't Think Law Firms Are Serious About Change - Legal marketing specialist Larry Bodine at his Law Marketing Blog
Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against Chrysler and GM to be wiped out in face of bankruptcy - Dallas attorney Bryan Fears of Fears Nachawati on the firm's Texas Injury Law Blog
Five Things Employers Can Learn from the Ricci v. DeStefano Case - Hartford lawyer Daniel Schwartz of Pullman & Comley in his Connecticut Employment Law Blog
Arias v. Superior Court - Class Action Requirements Clarified By California Supreme Court - Los Angeles attorney Anthony Zaller of Van Vleck Turner & Zaller in the firm's California Workforce Resource Blog
SAP to take on SaaS - The Future is Now - Illinois lawyer Sam Conforti on his blog, Software Licensing & Master Service Agreements
FCC Adopts Rules Permitting AM Rebroadcasts on FM Translators - Washington, D.C. attorney Brendan Holland of Davis Wright Tremaine in the firm's Broadcast Law Blog

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 6/29/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:52:06 -0800

After a weekend of baseball games, rafting and extreme sunburn I'm back with another set of the day's best. I hope everyone else enjoyed their days off. Today, we have multiple posts on the Ricci v. DeStefano case in the Supreme Court. Have a look at what appears to be the most prominent legal story of the day.

Starbucks to Make All New Stores LEED Certified - Hartford attorney Brad N. Mondschein of Pullman & Comley on his Green Energy & Development Law Blog
Game Theory and the Environment: We All Want To Win - Des Moines lawyer Chuck Becker of Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn on Becker's Iowa Environmental Law Update
Ricci v. DeStefano -- Supreme Court Holds City Violated Title VII By Rejecting Racially Disparate Test Results - Portland attorney Marc Alifanz of Stoel Rives on the firm's blog, World of Work
If Wishes Were Horses - Or Patents - Or Something Like That - Massachusetts lawyer Stephen D. Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm in his Boston ERISA & Insurance Litigation Blog
BREAKING: Ricci v. DeStefano - Supreme Court Reverses Second Circuit And Finds New Haven Violated Title VII in 5-4 Decision - Hartford attorney Daniel Schwartz of Pullman & Comley in his Connecticut Employment Law Blog
State Bar of California Rainmaker Retreat Legal Marketing Boot camp: Round Up and Recap! - Small business coach Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute in The Rainmaker Blog
Accountant Who Prepared Financial Statements Didn't Need To Be Designated As An Expert Witness In Order To Testify - Greensboro lawyer Mack Sperling of Brooks Pierce in his blog, the North Carolina Business Litigation Report
More on Judge Posner and the Intersection of Copyright and the Internet - Illinois attorney R. David Donoghue of Holland & Knight on his Chicago IP Litigation Blog
Bank Failures Surge, D&O Claims Emerge - and Other Web Notes - Ohio lawyer Kevin LaCroix of OakBridge Insurance Services in his blog, The D & O Diary
Appellate Court Affirms Caplash Ruling Rejecting Authority of 50% LLC Member to Hire Company Counsel in Proceedings Against Other 50% Member - New York attorney Peter A. Mahler of Farrell Fritz in his New York Business Divorce Blog

Lawyers ill equipped to advise on intersection of social media and copyright laws

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:39:38 -0800

I ran across the same shocking legal commentary as American journalist, Jeff Jarvis, this morning. Legal commentary from a judge and a lawyer who look ill equipped to counsel anyone on the future of copyright laws.

I agree with Jarvis when he posts 'First, kill the lawyers - before they kill the news.'

Following the frighteningly dangerous thinking of Judge Richard Posner - proposing rewriting copyright law to outlaw linking to and summarizing (aka talking about) news stories - now we have two more lemming lawyers following him off the cliff in a column written by the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Connie Schultz.
First note well that Schultz is married to U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown as she calls on her newspapers and employer (my former employer, Advance Publications) and fellow columnists to influence Congress to remake copyright. She should be registered as a lobbyist. No joke.

Schultz says that David Marburger, an alleged First Amendment attorney for her paper, and his economics-professor brother, Daniel, have concocted their own dangerous thinking, proposing the copyright law be changed to insist that a newspaper's story should appear only on its own web site for the first 24 hours before it can be aggregated or retold.

Incredible. So if the Plain Dealer reported exclusively that, say, the governor had just returned from a tryst with a Argentine lady, no one else could so much as talk about that for 24 hours. A First Amendment lawyer said this.

Jarvis goes on to explain how nutty thinking like Marburger's is. The death of Michael Jacksoon spread like wild fire across social media (mostly Twitter) with people linking to TMZ' report. Marburger would give TMZ an exclusive on the report for 24 hours. But TMZ is not a newspaper so they don't get the Marburger/Plain Dealer protection?

I'm not a copyright law expert representing newspapers. I don't know how copyright law issues will play out. I don't know how social media and the Internet will continue to change everything.

But actively taking part in social interaction on the net for the last 14 years (first as a practicing lawyer), blogging for the last six, and Twittering for the last couple, I wonder if I have a far better view of what's going on than some lawyers who profess to be experts on the subject.

I'm not certain anything has changed in the way news spreads. It just spreads faster. Newspapers, Radio, and TV historically broke the news. We spread the word. We told people to turn on the radio, watch TV right now, and get a copy of the newspaper. Newspapers didn't complain then when we sent them traffic and new subscribers.

Because news spreads faster we're supposed to give newspapers a monopoly on the news? That's crazy.

Jarvis makes a compelling point which lawyers advising newspapers ought to think about when counseling newspaper clients.

Schultz and the Marburgers complain about what they call the 'free-riding' of aggregators, et al. But they simply don't understand the economics of the internet. It's the newspapers that are free-riding, getting the benefit of links.

The framers of our Constitution, including the First Amendment, intended it to endure and cope with the effects of the anticipated changes of our nation.

Things have changed - changed quickly. But let's be careful when thinking of following lawyers and Judges who may not understand the nature of the change.

Social media anonymity in the legal profession is a losing proposition

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:49:13 -0800

I run across a lot of 'people' in the legal profession who blog, publish websites, twitter, and the like who do so with anonymity.

The foundation of social media and social networking is trust. We share information from those we trust. We build relationships with people we trust. I have a heck of a hard time trusting people who will not tell anyone their name.

What are they trying to hide?
Are they a kid in the basement?
Did they do some bad stuff in their past life and are now trying to resurrect themselves by pseudonym?
Are they a competitor where it's only human nature to be 'on guard' when building a relationship?
If I cite or share their commentary and they're wrong, can't they just walk away with no damage to their name?

Those are the things that go through my mind when I see their stuff on the net. I think the average person feels the same way.

As I learned the art of blogging and blog design over the last 6 years, I found the most important link on each blog page to be the link to the 'About' page.

The most trafficked page on my blog is my About page. My 'About' page tells people who I am and why I do what I do. It's only polite when asking someone to read my content that I pay them the courtesy of telling them who I am. It allows readers to decide if I have enough 'street creds' to merit following. Readers can decide if they trust me enough to share what I have to say.

A habit of mine, going back to when I got on the net in 1996, is to first click on the 'About' section of any website. Who are these guys? What are their names? Where are their offices located? Do they have a phone number if I need to call them? What have they done in the past?

These days I go a step further, I Google individual names - whether they are the founder, principal, officer, employee, publisher, editor, reporter - whatever. I look at LinkedIn profiles. I look at who has cited them by name.

As much as any human can, I try not to be prejudiced by what I find. But in a few minutes I draw some conclusions that often stick with me for a long time. Conclusions formed by a gut decision that tells me whether I can trust this source or company.

Ask yourself who you can learn to trust more. An avatar with a company logo on Twitter? An avatar with a pseudonym for a lawyer on Twitter? Or an avatar with a person's picture accompanied by their real name?

The Internet for the legal profession is all about networking and building relationships. Relationships built through true engagement with others we grow to trust.

The law is a profession, not just any other business. Our profession is based on reliability and trust.

So while it may feel cute to be anonymous and you may get some short term buzz, it's a losing proposition in the long run. Trust me.

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 6/26/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:17:18 -0800

Another great week comes to a close. It's a gorgeous day in Missoula and I'm going to wrap this up so I can head to a ballgame, Opening Day for the Missoula Osprey. As could be expected, we have a few posts on the legal fallout from Michael Jackson's death. Have a look and enjoy the weekend everyone.

Budget Update: Ohio EPA Faces Potential Loss of 200 Staff - Cleveland attorney Joe Koncelik of Frantz Ward in his Ohio Environmental Law Blog
You Get What You Pay For: Court Allows Access to Defendant's Relevant Backup Tapes and Email Archives provided Plaintiff is Willing to Bear the Costs - David Bowerman of K&L Gates on the firm's Electronic Discovery Law blog
Make Progress, Not War: IP in the 21st Century - Lawyer-mediator Victoria Pynchon at the IP ADR Blog
Pop Icon Michael Jackson's Death Raises Custody Issues for Relatives and Birth Mothers - Birmingham lawyer Steve Eversole in his Alabama Divorce & Family Law Attorney Blog
Virtual Law Firm Collects 250 Clients with Fixed Fees - Legal marketing specialist Larry Bodine at his Law Marketing Blog
The King of Pop's Most Recognizable Trademark? - Minneapolis attorney Dan Kelly on the Duets Blog
Judge Posner Suggests Tighter Copyright Rules to Protect News Reporting - Illinois lawyer R. David Donoghue of Holland & Knight on his Chicago IP Litigation Blog
Google - Competing with Microsoft Apps and Using Wikipedia as a News Service - Dallas attorney Peter Vogel of Gardere Wynne Sewell on his Vogel Internet, Information Technology and e-Discovery Blog
The Dark Side: Putting a Stop to Workplace Rumors, Gossip and Innuendo - Hartford lawyer Daniel Schwartz of Pullman & Comley in his Connecticut Employment Law Blog
Sexual Harassment: Workplace Loaded with Pornography and Bad Language - Somerville attorney Frank Steinberg in his New Jersey Employment Law Blog

Live LexBlog blogs for the week of 6/22-6/26

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:26:28 -0800

With the number of blogs we've produced over the past six years it's somewhat rare now that we launch a blog in a completely new area of law. Well, we have one this week and it is awesome. Sheppard Mullin's Law of the Level, a blog on video game law, is one of four blogs to launch this week.

Law of the Level is published by the lawyers and attorneys at Sheppard Mullin. This is one of many blogs the AmLaw firm has done with LexBlog. This one covers the advertising, intellectual property, litigation and patents surrounding video games.
Chicago attorney John Steele of The Steele Law Firm authors the Family Law Lifeline, covering topics that include adultery, marriage, alimony, mediation and child custody and support.
The Energy & Environmental Law Blog is updated by professionals at Vorys, a law firm with offices all over the country. This blog provides news and breaking legal developments involving the crude oil and natural gas industries, alternative and renewable energy resources, and the latest environmental issues.
Myrtle Beach attorney Russell W. Hall III authors the South Carolina Adoption Law Blog. He has spent the past three years narrowing his law practice from a general practice to an adoption law practice. His practice is located in Horry County along the northern coast of South Carolina
On top of the four blogs, we also launched a site for Burgess Consulting, which offers services in strategic planning, organization structure, leadership and management development and team interactions.

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 6/25/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:59:58 -0800

This roundup comes in a little bit tardy due to the first round of the NBA Draft, as fellow LexBlogger Jared Sulzdorf and I watched his Timberwolves draft ~~two~~ three point guards. Wow. In other news, we have a post on the student strip-search case in the SCOTUS and a family law perspective on Jon and Kate.

An Act Ensuring Less Privacy of Massachusetts Residents' Data: Part One - Boston lawyer Kevin Whitaker on his blog, Privacy & Policy
Plaintiff's lawyer predicts "massive" climate change litigation; proving causation remains challenging - Washington, DC attorney Gilbert Keteltas of Howrey on the firm's Global Climate Law Blog
Obama Administration Denies Access to White House Visitor Logs - Raleigh lawyer Elizabeth Spainhour of Brooks Pierce on the firm's Newsroom Law Blog
Round-Up On Safford United School District v. Redding, The Ibuprofen Strip-search Case - Philadelphia attorney Maxwell Kennerly of The Beasley Firm at his blog, Litigation & Trial
Jon vs Kate: Two Years of Separation? - Yardley lawyer Joseph Visco of Stark & Stark on the firm's blog, the Pennsylvania Law Monitor
5 things to know if you are go trial - Chicago attorney Mike Helfland on his Illinois Workers' Compensation Law Blog
Allstate Insurance's "Good Hands" are Wrapped Around Your Throat! - Anderson lawyer Trey Mills of Trammell Law Firm on his South Carolina Injury Law Journal
Legal Marketing: The Big 3 Reasons Why Attorneys Fail to Grow Their Practices - Small business coach Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute in The Rainmaker Blog
Lawyers, Law Firms and Blogging - Wilmington attorney Francis G.X. Pileggi of Fox Rothschild in his Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog
Lawyers Victimizing Clients: Two Models - Chicago lawyer Patrick J. Lamb of Valorem Law Group at his blog, In Search of Perfect Client Service

Twitter client development success stories - lawyers and legal professionals chime in

kevin@lexblog.com (Kevin) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:00:30 -0800

In advance of today's talk on Twitter at LegalTech West Coast, I sent out a request on Twitter and also asked some LexBlog clients who use Twitter to share any client development and/or networking success stories.

The response has been pretty overwhelming — attorneys and legal professionals from firms large and small have shared their positive stories of what an active Twitter presence has done for them.

Here are some of their stories and anecdotes:

Connecticut employment attorney Daniel Schwartz (@danielschwartz) of Pullman & Comley. “Twitter story: Got invited to the ABA Diversity summit and speaking engagements bc of my use of Twitter.”
California defamation attorney Adrianos Facchetti (@adrianos), has gotten several speaking gigs and connections with local reporters, attorneys, and consultants (more details after the jump).
Washington DC LEED AP and construction attorney Chris Cheatham (@chrischeatham) of Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, LLP, a 200-attorney firm, has made connections with huge names in green building, including United States Green Building Council executive committee member Rob Watson (more details after the jump).
Cleveland health care and private equity attorney Jayne Juvan (@jaynejuvan) of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP, a large Ohio firm: "Even more so than my blog, I've used Twitter to demonstrate that I'm knowledgeable about business news and the economic crisis, as well as developments in corporate law" (more details after the jump).
Both California attorney-mediator Victoria Pynchon (@vpynchon) and California civil litigator H. Scott Leviant (@hsleviant) wrote: "I'm speaking at LegalTech b/c I met @heathermilligan on twitter."
New York Internet and intellectual property attorney Deena Burgess (@DeenaEsq): "Twitter has been great for my business. Developed many client relationships through it."
New York law professor and technology attorney Jonathan Ezor (@ProfJonathan): "I've had quite a bit of success with Twitter, in terms of meeting new folks, getting prospective clients and good PR...Beyond that, using Twitter has helped me counsel about the risks of using Twitter."
John Smith (@JohnKellenJames) VP/Partner at Kellen James, a National Performance Consulting firm: “Had several good meetings today as a result of connections made through Twitter at #LTWC”
Michigan estate planning attorney Howard Collens (@howardcollens): “Made a nice contact with a local title company through the power of Twitter.”
Patent and trademark attorney Erik J. Heels (@erikjheels) shared this summary of his successful Twitter campaign.
Texas appellate lawyer D. Todd Smith (@dtoddsmith) writes: "The TX AmLaw affiliate called and asked me to write another article about Twitter."

See more stories and details after the jump:

Adrianos Facchetti:

1. Got a speaking gig at the Los Angeles County Bar Association 6/25: "Social Media For Lawyers: A Roadmap to Success."

2. Got another potential speaking gig which is the planning stages and will be held in San Diego in October (can't share details on it yet).

3. Met an older attorney who is now my mentor and put me in contact with a writer at the ABA Journal (I actually spoke to the reporter today).

4. Same attorney above and I will probably be writing a piece in the Los Angeles Daily Journal later this summer.

5. Met a consultant who wants to speak with me regarding teaching young lawyers (like myself) how to get started with a practice when they get out of law school.

Chris Cheatham:

I have been on Twitter a fairly short time but I am completely convinced it is an extremely powerful networking tool.

I write about green building legal issues. My prospective clients are in the green building industry. Through twitter, I have met the following:

1. Elaine Lipman Barnes (@elbarneshouse). Elaine is one of the original green builders and now manages a $1 billion green schools fund in Ohio for the State. One Billion. I made direct contact and have since had conversations with someone who manages a one billion dollar green building fund. I even did an interview blog post on Elaine: http://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/tags/elaine-lipman-barnes/

2. Ron Sims. Ron Sims (@ronsims) was the King County Executive. As you all so nicely mentioned on your blog, Ron tweeted that he liked my blog and had shared it with all of his King County attorney's and staff. By the way, Ron is now serving in some executive role in the Obama White House. Not a bad connection to make through Twitter.

3. This one might be my favorite. When I first started my blog, I sat down with my fiancee, who knew more about green building than I and asked her who I would want to talk to if I could talk to anyone in the industry. She mentioned Rob Watson, the Father of LEED. Rob helped establish the United States Green Building Council, he is on the Council's executive committee and Rob is also in China as some sort of green building ambassador. Anyways, I quoted him in one of my blog posts from a previous interview he had done. I then realized he was on the twitter as @kilrwatt. So I asked him to take a look at the post. He had some criticisms, which resulted in an email exchange to clarify some points. All of a sudden, through Twitter, I was talking to the Father of LEED about one of my blog posts. Here is the string of posts I did from my interview with Rob.

Jayne Juvan:

I started using Twitter only weeks ago. The first week following my launch, a gentleman spoke at our firm about social networking and highlighted both my blog and the fact that I'm on twitter to all attorneys in our firm. Since then, I've been the twitter "go to" person, answering questions for many of my colleagues, even including our firm's executive chairman. Additionally, even more so than my blog, I've used twitter to demonstrate that I'm knowledgeable about business news and the economic crisis, as well as developments in corporate law. I work with private equity funds in health care, but also am very interested in financial regulation. I've since received several calls from acquaintances wishing to discuss the state of the economy. I've been stopped at the elevator and on the side walk to talk about my tweets. And today, I landed a new client because of my blog and my twitter page! I was linked up with an old high school friend who was on my speech and debate team, we found that we have a lot in common, and we've decided that we may collaborate in the future. Twitter and blogging are both very powerful, and I couldn't imagine my practice without them and without LexBlog!

LexBlog Law Network Roundup - 6/24/09

colin@lexblog.com (Colin O'Keefe) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:02:28 -0800

Very interesting posts today on a variety of topics that have been in the news lately. It's always good when I can compile a list that closely resembles the front page of a newspaper, but with every story being a legal take on what the mainstream media has. Today, J. Benjamin Stevens has news on Governor Mark Sanford's affair and the best iPhone apps for busy attorneys while Salvatore Zambri has some legal analysis on the Metrorail crash.

SC Governor Admits Adulterous Affair - Spartanburg attorney J. Benjamin Stevens of Steven MacPhail on his South Carolina Family Law Blog
Perverse Laws Make Location of Metrorail Crash Critical In Analyzing Relief - Washington, DC lawyer Salvatore Zambri of Regan Zambri & Long on the firm's DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog
Another Example of Why Court Access for All Federal Employees is Essential for Meaningful Whistleblower Protection - Lindsey Williams of the National Whistleblower Center on their Whistleblowers Protection Blog
Orca Distribution May Have Repacked Recalled Pistachios - Seattle attorney Bill Marler of Marler Clark on the firm's Food Poison Journal
Has The 9th Circuit Raised The Bar For Text-Message Affiliate Marketing? - Washington, DC lawyer Ronnie London of Davis Wright Tremaine on the firm's Privacy & Security Law Blog
Doesn't Alice Live Here Anymore? FACTA and the Address Discrepancy Rule - Los Angeles attorney Jennifer Roche of Proskauer Rose on the firm's Privacy Law Blog
Heads Up for a Ruling on the '"Remote DVR" Petition for Certiorari - New York lawyer Jeff Neuburger of Proskauer Rose in the firm's New Media & Technology Law Blog
City Says Job Applicants No Longer Asked To Provide Online Account User Names and Passwords - Boston attorney Kevin Whitaker on his blog, Privacy & Policy
Top 20 iPhone Apps for Busy Attorneys - Spartanburg, South Carolina lawyer Ben Stevens on his blog, The Mac Lawyer
When is a Preliminary Injunction Inappropriate? When the Judge Prejudges the Merits - Boston attorney Seth Jaffe of Foley Hoag on the firm's blog, Law & The Environment