Continuing Legal Education / CLE

The Practice: Three Perfectly Good Uses For Biglaw Lawyers

By

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….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The Practice: Three Perfectly Good Uses For Biglaw Lawyers”

151 Comments

A Special CLE Offer for Above the Law Readers

By

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)]

Moonlighting: Inside an Insider’s Legal Conference

By

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?

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Moonlighting: Inside an Insider’s Legal Conference”

11 Comments

A Special CLE Offer for Above the Law Readers

By

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)]

Size Matters: Announcements and RFPs

By

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)…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Size Matters: Announcements and RFPs”

15 Comments

Making First-Year Associates Less Useless, One Class At A Time

By

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…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Making First-Year Associates Less Useless, One Class At A Time”

37 Comments

A Special CLE Offer for Above the Law Readers

By

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)]

Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Fun in the Sun (and Some CLE Credits, Too)

By

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!

Legal Technology Leadership Summit: Getting Feedback from the Judges

By

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:

  • California
  • Florida

Please sign up to attend. We hope to see you there!

CLE Offering of the Week: Elusive Ethics Credit — and a Discount for ATL Readers

By

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]

Page 2 of 3123