Here’s a New Year’s resolution for you: get your continuing legal education done early, instead of saving it until the last minute. In late December, wouldn’t you rather be out shopping for holiday gifts and drinking eggnog, instead of sitting in front of your computer in a zombie-like trance watching CLE videos?
Courtesy of our friends at Lawline (affiliate link), here’s a special deal for Above the Law readers. For $249, you will receive unlimited access to all 500+ Lawline online CLE programs, for one full year. This package, which normally sells for $499, provides exclusive access to:
- 500+ on-demand courses
- Weekly live webcasts
- Access to all mobile CLE courses (available as both streaming video and MP3 download)
Complying with CLE requirements can be a drag, but it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Thanks to Lawline for this special offer.
Unlimited CLE For One Full Year [Lawline (affiliate link)]
How do you build a practice for a law firm?
Everyone has a theory; I’ll provide a case study.
In 1997, Congress was about to pass a law that would have been great for America, but horrific for business at the law firm at which I then worked. The firm thus (intelligently) created several committees to try to create new practices that could keep lawyers busy if the promised bill became law. I was asked to chair the “drug and device product liability business development committee.”
At the time, my firm did essentially no pharmaceutical product liability work. I’d helped to defend a set of medical device cases, which was about as close as anyone had come to actual experience in the pharmaceutical products field, so I was the natural choice to lead this effort. When given that assignment, what do you do? How do you build a practice essentially from scratch?
Continue reading “Inside Straight: Building A Practice — A Case Study”
I’ve been outed. My jealousy about never having sat in the front row of a courtroom gallery to take notes and hand documents to partners trying cases has now been discovered by the crack anonymous commenters. No, I never worked in Biglaw. No, they would never hire me. I didn’t have the grades, or the personality… I will forever regret not spending the first 5-7 years of my career hoping that the timesheet would evidence my ability as a lawyer and that I could brag at judicial receptions I was sent to for the purpose of meeting judges I never practiced before, about my (document review) work on a big corporate case (sorry, “matter”).
And so it appears that I am not a big fan of Biglaw — but that’s not true. Actually, Biglaw has been very good to me, and it can be good to you as a solo or small firm lawyer. Just don’t steal any of the embossed coffee cups, and consider some of these ideas….
Continue reading “The Practice: Three Perfectly Good Uses For Biglaw Lawyers”
Courtesy of our friends at Lawline (affiliate link), here’s a special deal for Above the Law readers. For $249, you will receive unlimited access to all 500+ Lawline online continuing legal education programs, for one full year. This package, which normally sells for $499, provides exclusive access to:
- 500+ on-demand courses
- Weekly live webcasts
- Access to all mobile CLE courses (available as both streaming video and MP3 download)
Complying with CLE requirements can be a drag, but it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Thanks to Lawline for this special offer.
Unlimited CLE For One Full Year [Lawline (affiliate link)]
Last week was my company’s annual legal conference. This year, lawyers from around the world descended upon the cultural and historic haven called New Orleans. And we had lots of stuff planned. And I don’t mean just food. Although the week did feel kind of like this:
Food / Event / More Food / Event / AND More Food / Event / Full-on Food “Event”
We spent a part of the first day volunteering with a New Orleans-based organization called St. Bernard Project. SBP is an amazing non-profit that was formed 5 years ago by a lawyer (Zack Rosenburg) and a teacher (Liz McCartney). After a week’s visit to New Orleans, these two decided to give up their lives as they knew them and settle in New Orleans to help people whose homes and lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the Oil Spill. SBP has several programs and about 60 of us worked in the effort to rebuild houses — painting, removing siding, installing insulation, et cetera. SBP is all about quality when it comes to rebuilding homes; so if the air bubble in the level you’re using is even just touching one of the vertical lines on either side, you can expect an earful from your supervisor who won’t care that your “real” job doesn’t involve the use of power tools. Unless it’s April Fool’s Day at the office. (More on that at another time.)
Our legal conference also included a couple of training sessions. One of them was held by Second City. Yes, Second City — you know, the famous comedy club/school that has trained (among other comedy elites) the entire original cast of Saturday Night Live?
Continue reading “Moonlighting: Inside an Insider’s Legal Conference”
Courtesy of our friends at Lawline (affiliate link), here’s a special deal for Above the Law readers. For $249, you will receive unlimited access to all 500+ Lawline online continuing legal education programs, for one full year. This package, which normally sells for $499, provides exclusive access to:
- 500+ on-demand courses
- Weekly live webcasts
- Access to all mobile CLE courses (available as both streaming video and MP3 download)
Complying with CLE requirements can be a drag, but it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Thanks to Lawline for this special offer.
Unlimited CLE For One Full Year [Lawline (affiliate link)]
With the departure of Jay Shepherd, I am now (at least temporarily) filling the role of small firm chica (Val) and small firm expert (Jay). Let me tell you, it is exhausting.
So, I am going to do what any smart, small-firm partner would do in this situation, and I am going to delegate. And, by delegate, I mean push the work off on you.
I have a few new features that I would like to unveil (and I swear, it will be better than the new Facebook)…
Continue reading “Size Matters: Announcements and RFPs”
One of the lasting effects of the recession has been clients wising up on the value of first-year associates (or the lack thereof). Many at large law firms knew that junior associates contributed little more than manpower during their first couple of years at a firm. But only in the crucible of the recession did clients start asking why they were paying money to finish the training of junior Biglaw associates.
Of course, being able to bill out your new labor at high billing rates is a key part of the law firm business model. Firms are already in a bind: since American law schools insist on graduating students with little to no practical skills, the kids must be trained. Training them on the client’s dime (while the law firm partners pocket a profit) is just one of the ways it has always been done.
But those who do not innovate die. Today brings news that two major law firms are going to try something different with their first-years.
The first-years will get paid their usual $160K salary. But at least at the start, they’ll have to go through more training…
Continue reading “Making First-Year Associates Less Useless, One Class At A Time”
Courtesy of our friends at Lawline (affiliate link), here’s a special deal for Above the Law readers. For $249, you will receive unlimited access to all 500+ Lawline online continuing legal education programs, for one full year. This package, which normally sells for $499, provides exclusive access to:
- 500+ on-demand courses
- Weekly live webcasts
- Access to all mobile CLE courses (available as both streaming video and MP3 download)
Complying with CLE requirements can be a drag, but it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Thanks to Lawline for this special offer.
Unlimited CLE For One Full Year [Lawline (affiliate link)]
If you’re a golf fan, then you should seriously consider attending the 2011 Legal Technology Leadership Summit from September 6 – 8, at Amelia Island, Florida. Attendees will have the chance to go golfing with their legal colleagues shortly after noon on Tuesday, September 6.
Regardless of skill level, foursomes (comprised of 3 golfers and a cart driver/putter) will be able to hit the green and have some fun in the Florida sun. For more information on the courses that will be used for the golf outing, see the Ritz-Carlton website.
But a fun golf outing isn’t all that you’ll get when you attend the Summit. You can take a look at the full conference agenda here. Many experts in the legal technology field will be speaking at the Summit, and after working on your golf swing, you can earn some much-needed continuing legal education credits. We have been approved for CLE credits in the following states (and an accreditation request is pending in Florida):
- Alabama
- California
- Illinois
- New York
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Pennsylvania
Please sign up to attend. We hope to see you there!
It has been almost six years since the ESI parts of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure became effective on December 1, 2006. In this new age of technology, judges have a lot to say about the level of technical competence of the lawyers appearing before them.
The Legal Technology Leadership Summit at Amelia Island, Florida, from September 6 – 8, will feature a panel of distinguished judges who will offer thoughts on what steps can be taken to have technology-assisted review be deemed defensible. If you attend, you’ll have the chance to hear from these panelists:
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Lorenzo F. Garcia, D. New Mexico
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig M. Kellison, E.D. California
- U.S. Magistrate Judge G.R. Smith, M.D. Georgia
- U.S. Magistrate Judge David J. Waxse, D. Kansas
You can take a look at the full agenda here. Feedback from federal judges isn’t all that you will receive if you attend the Legal Technology Leadership Summit. We have been approved for CLE credits in the following states:
- Alabama
- Illinois
- New York
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Pennsylvania
Accreditation requests are pending in the following jurisdictions:
Please sign up to attend. We hope to see you there!
Just like Flannery O’Connor’s good man, ethics credits for Continuing Legal Education can be hard to find. Luckily, today’s highlighted CLE offering, handpicked by your ATL editors from the extensive CLE catalog of our friends at ALI-ABA, offers the opportunity to fulfill the requirement.
It’s a course called Lawyer Professionalism: Identifying the Fundamental Values of Law Practice, and it’s being offered as a video webcast tomorrow, December 14, from 12 noon to 2 p.m. (EST). It’s also one of ALI-ABA’s Daily Deals, so it has been marked down from $169.00 to $89.00 (until midnight tonight).
Speaking of discounts, we’ve arranged for a special discount on ALI-ABA offerings for Above the Law readers. Now through the end of the year, ATL readers will enjoy a 30% discount on (1) live webcasts and (2) telephone seminars. Just enter the coupon code MCLEATL in your shopping cart.
To check out the ethics course for tomorrow, please click here. To look through all of ALI-ABA’s offerings, including the live webcasts and telephone seminars that are subject to the 30 percent discount, please visit their website.
Happy Holidays!
Lawyer Professionalism: Identifying the Fundamental Values of Law Practice [ALI-ABA]
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann.
Business development: What works?
I was on the other side — the law firm side — of the business development coin for 25 years. And those 25 years taught me this about generating business: Raise your profile; stay in touch with people; and get lucky.
I was never once retained by dint of good looks or charm. (Anyone who’s seen or met me won’t find this to be surprising.)
And I don’t play golf.
So what’s a lawyer to do? What business development efforts worked for me, and what might work for you?
Continue reading “Inside Straight: Business Development (Part 1)”
We’ve repeatedly discussed the importance to lawyers of networking. It matters whether you’re at a small firm or at a large one. It’s a necessary skill, in terms of getting the best assignments, making partner, and remaining a partner — no longer a guaranteed outcome, in these challenging times.
But networking also raises some ethical issues. When does it cross the line in to unethical solicitation? What are the limits on entertaining clients? How can you ethically handle referral fees?
This week’s Continuing Legal Education offering, handpicked by your ATL editors from the extensive CLE catalog of our friends at ALI-ABA, is all about how to network effectively and ethically. It offers those elusive ethics credits (required in many MCLE states), it’s reasonably priced, and it’s a telephone seminar — so you can participate from the comfort of your own office or home.
Check it out, and sign up, via the link below. Happy networking!
Networking Professionally and Ethically [ALI-ABA]
As we mentioned last week, Above the Law, in cooperation with our friends at ALI-ABA, will be assisting you with your Continuing Legal Education needs. We regularly review the comprehensive CLE offerings of ALI-ABA and pick out selected courses that look particularly interesting to us. Here are the two for this week:
- Estate Planning 101: Practical Strategies for Estate and Gift Planning: Due to the demise of the estate tax in 2010 and the resulting complications, this area of law has gotten very tricky. Not every client has the impeccable estate planning sense of George Steinbrenner. If you’re new to estate planning, if you’re a seasoned attorney looking for a refresher, or if you just want a basic working knowledge of estate planning and related tax issues — perhaps you expect to come into an inheritance in the next few years? — you should check out this course.
- Public Speaking and Oral Advocacy: How To Do It Well: Effective public speaking is a skill that every lawyer, regardless of practice area, needs to possess. This reasonably priced course will teach you what you need to know. And really, knocking off some CLE hours while also learning how to speak nicely — in a bar or at the bar — is a no-brainer.
Both of these courses are taking place this week, so don’t delay on registering. You can take them live, in New York City (Estate Planning) or Philadelphia (Public Speaking), or you can access them as live video webcasts. To learn more, click on the links below.
Estate Planning 101: Practical Strategies for Estate and Gift Planning [ALI-ABA]
Public Speaking and Oral Advocacy: How To Do It Well! [ALI-ABA]
Earlier: The Financial Services Regulatory Revolution: Are You Ready?
Vive la Révolution!
In cooperation with our friends at ALI-ABA, Above the Law will be helping you out with your Continuing Legal Education needs. We’ve combed through the extensive CLE offerings of ALI-ABA and picked out a few courses that struck us as particularly interesting, even sexy (at least by the standards of CLE). Today we bring you the inaugural offering; others will follow in future posts.
The new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has been described as “the biggest expansion of government power over banking and markets since the Depression.” It overhauls rules and regulations “touching every corner of finance, from ATM cards to Wall Street traders.”
How will the new law affect your broker-dealer and investment adviser clients? If you’re free this Thursday and Friday, you should take advantage of this course, offered by ALI-ABA in partnership with Above the Law: The Financial Services Regulatory Revolution: Navigating the New World.
Even if you do not specialize in financial services, this is the kind of information that makes lawyers look intelligent and educated at cocktail parties. It’ll give you something to talk about when your crazy uncle (played by Michael Moore) starts rambling about the evils of Wall Street during Thanksgiving dinner. And it’s a much better way to fulfill your CLE requirement than 90 minutes on seafaring tax law in the post whaling age.
This is a course that you won’t want to miss. You can take it live, in Washington, D.C., or you can access it as a live video webcast. To learn more and to sign up, click here.
The Financial Services Regulatory Revolution: Navigating the New World of Broker-Dealer and Investment Adviser Regulation, Supervision, and Sales Practices [ALI-ABA]
Law Remakes U.S. Financial Landscape [Wall Street Journal]
* How would you react to a Biglaw intern walking around with a $9,000 handbag? [Corporette]
* A young attorney’s review of the new iPad app, iAnnotate PDF (Version 1.1.1). [Young Lawyers Blog]
* Personally, I like my bar exams with a full bust and nice curves, but I suppose it is time for a format-neutral exam. [Law Librarian Blog]
* What, the hell, is the crime of “affray”? [Underdog]
* If Wal-Mart had listened to their lawyers at Akin Gump, maybe they wouldn’t be in such hot water right now. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Short on CLE credits? Here are some events worth checking out. [Above the Law]
In lieu of Wednesday’s ATL / Lateral Link featured job survey post — lolcat lover Justin Bernold is on vacation — we bring you a questionnaire about a topic near and dear to your hearts: Continuing Legal Education (CLE).
If you’re at a firm that’s experiencing a slowdown due to the downturn, with many free (and non-billable) hours to kill, now is a good time to rack up CLE credits. In Notes from the Breadline, Roxana wondered: can CLE credits be rolled over, like cell phone minutes? In some jurisdictions, yes.
To take the survey, which serves both editorial and marketing purposes for us, please CLICK HERE. You can also share your thoughts on CLE in the comments.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
CLE survey for ATL [SurveyMonkey]
Lots of good stuff in the comments to our Lawsuit of the Day. It’s well on its way to becoming an official Comments Clusterf**k. This comment might be our favorite:
Wedding flowers: $27,000.
Damages sought for wrong color wedding flowers: $400,000.
Being delinquent in your attorney registration, while filing a public lawsuit on your own behalf: Priceless
It appears to be true. From the New York State Attorney Registration site:
Maybe Elana Glatt should spend more time attending CLE courses and less time suing florists. We recommend the City Bar class on Service, Therapy, & Emotional Support Animals (which we once sat through, even though it had nothing to do with our practice, ’cause we were desperate for CLE credits).
But Elana “Party Pants” Glatt, predictably dubbed “Bridezilla” by many of you, has her defenders. Read on, after the jump.
Continue reading “An Update on Hydrangea-gate and Little Miss Party Pants”
We’re not yet done talking about Biglaw perks and fringe benefits. Today’s topic: Continuing Legal Education, or CLE.
Let’s go back to Kirkland & Ellis (which pays a $50K clerkship bonus, in case you hadn’t heard, and gives you a $350 office decorating budget). From a tipster:
K&E associates get something like $5,000 a year to go on CLE. It covers everything: airfare, hotel, food, etc.
You can go on those boondoggles with Justice Scalia, at the Ritz-Carlton in Colorado. Or you can go to Amsterdam and party.
A CLE allowance of five grand sounds pretty great. Is our tipster correct about this? And is any other firm similarly generous?
P.S. CLE is on our mind because we just paid our New York bar dues (and filled out our CLE certification). We still keep up with our CLE requirements, ’cause you never know. And we’ll be scooping up some CLE credits on Friday and Saturday, when we’ll be covering the 2007 ACS National Convention here in DC. Marsha Marsha Marsha!!!
Update: Yeah, we know we aren’t required to stay current with our New York CLE. But doing so gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, that’s all.
