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Bringing the Disruption of the Legal Services Market into the Law School Classroom
December 15, 2013
Is it important to help law students understand the disruptions that are now occurring in the legal industry? Well, let me ask a more fundamental question. How can a law professor efficiently obtain better information on these complex and diffuse changes? None of us legal academics are experts in this area, and that's a problem in and of itself. In the process of struggling with these questions, I decided to carve out 15% of the grade in my Corporations class for team-based profiles of NewLaw companies....
December 15, 2013
Is it important to help law students understand the disruptions that are now occurring in the legal industry? Well, let me ask a more fundamental question. How can a law professor efficiently obtain better information on these complex and diffuse changes? None of us legal academics are experts in this area, and that's a problem in and of itself. In the process of struggling with these questions, I decided to carve out 15% of the grade in my Corporations class for team-based profiles of NewLaw companies....
An Update on Milbank’s Big Bet
December 15, 2013
Two years ago, when all other large law firms were slashing expenses to prop up partner profits, Milbank Tweed went in the opposite direction and invested heavily in an executive education program for midlevel associates. The program, called Milbank@Harvard, required all 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th year associates to spend one week per year at Harvard University taking course work from HLS and HBS professors along with Milbank partners. At the time, I wrote an in-depth analysis for the Am Law Daily....
December 15, 2013
Two years ago, when all other large law firms were slashing expenses to prop up partner profits, Milbank Tweed went in the opposite direction and invested heavily in an executive education program for midlevel associates. The program, called Milbank@Harvard, required all 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th year associates to spend one week per year at Harvard University taking course work from HLS and HBS professors along with Milbank partners. At the time, I wrote an in-depth analysis for the Am Law Daily....
Is There a Future for Solos and Small Firms?
December 14, 2013
“I do not see much of a future (beyond 2020) for most small firms ….” — Richard Susskind, Tomorrow’s Lawyers Will the next 5–10 years really see the end of solos and small law firms? I’ve heard Susskind talk before, but today, I sat down with him at the William Mitchell College of Law to find out more about his predictions as they pertain to small law firms. The future according to Susskind Susskind’s most-recent book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers, is short and worth a read, but I will...
December 14, 2013
“I do not see much of a future (beyond 2020) for most small firms ….” — Richard Susskind, Tomorrow’s Lawyers Will the next 5–10 years really see the end of solos and small law firms? I’ve heard Susskind talk before, but today, I sat down with him at the William Mitchell College of Law to find out more about his predictions as they pertain to small law firms. The future according to Susskind Susskind’s most-recent book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers, is short and worth a read, but I will...
Demand for Legal Work Is Down 5% This Year, 6.4% in BigLaw
December 14, 2013
[D]emand for hours dropped by 5 percent from about 6.1 million in 2012 to 5.8 million in the first nine months this year....
December 14, 2013
[D]emand for hours dropped by 5 percent from about 6.1 million in 2012 to 5.8 million in the first nine months this year....
Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law to provide $20K grant to Pennsylvanians
December 14, 2013
Pennsylvania residents applying to law school have a new reason to consider Penn State: a renewable annual grant of $20,000 available through the Commonwealth Scholars program. “We have a superb academic program with some of the nation’s finest classroom teachers and experiential learning opportunities. Yet our research shows that some individuals are unable to take advantage of it because of cost. This program will increase access to legal education for well-qualified Pennsylvania residents...
December 14, 2013
Pennsylvania residents applying to law school have a new reason to consider Penn State: a renewable annual grant of $20,000 available through the Commonwealth Scholars program. “We have a superb academic program with some of the nation’s finest classroom teachers and experiential learning opportunities. Yet our research shows that some individuals are unable to take advantage of it because of cost. This program will increase access to legal education for well-qualified Pennsylvania residents...
Facebook and Judges
December 14, 2013
In a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision, the court found that a mere Facebook friendship does not amount to a lack of impartiality by judge. The case is Youkers v. State, 2013 WL 2077196 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 15, 2013). In that case, the assault victim’s father was Facebook friends with the judge presiding over the trial.
December 14, 2013
In a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision, the court found that a mere Facebook friendship does not amount to a lack of impartiality by judge. The case is Youkers v. State, 2013 WL 2077196 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 15, 2013). In that case, the assault victim’s father was Facebook friends with the judge presiding over the trial.
Luddite Lawyers Are Ethical Violations Waiting To Happen
December 14, 2013
Lawyers cannot ignore technology The ABA made it abundantly clear that lawyers must keep up with technology when it amended comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 on competence. Comment 8 now reads: To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject. (Emphasis...
December 14, 2013
Lawyers cannot ignore technology The ABA made it abundantly clear that lawyers must keep up with technology when it amended comment 8 to Model Rule 1.1 on competence. Comment 8 now reads: To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education and comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject. (Emphasis...
Avoid “Discovery About Discovery” with Cooperation
December 13, 2013
Ruiz-Bueno, III v. Scott, No. 2:12-cv-0809, 2013 WL 6055402 (S.D. Ohio Nov. 15, 2013) In this case, Plaintiffs moved to compel answers to their questions about Defendants’ efforts to respond to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests, including what procedures were undertaken to search for responsive electronically stored information. Defendants objected, arguing that such information was not within the scope of discovery. Following its discussion of whether “discovery about discovery [is] ever...
December 13, 2013
Ruiz-Bueno, III v. Scott, No. 2:12-cv-0809, 2013 WL 6055402 (S.D. Ohio Nov. 15, 2013) In this case, Plaintiffs moved to compel answers to their questions about Defendants’ efforts to respond to Plaintiffs’ discovery requests, including what procedures were undertaken to search for responsive electronically stored information. Defendants objected, arguing that such information was not within the scope of discovery. Following its discussion of whether “discovery about discovery [is] ever...
Supreme Court Takes Up Patent Eligibility Case
December 13, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a deeply divided ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the standard for determining whether certain computed-related inventions deserve patent protection. In Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International, judges on the en banc Federal Circuit issued five separate opinions, none commanding a majority, on how to determine whether a computer-implemented innovation should be viewed as an "abstract idea" that is ineligible for a patent. In...
December 13, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a deeply divided ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the standard for determining whether certain computed-related inventions deserve patent protection. In Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International, judges on the en banc Federal Circuit issued five separate opinions, none commanding a majority, on how to determine whether a computer-implemented innovation should be viewed as an "abstract idea" that is ineligible for a patent. In...
CFPB Report on Consumer Arbitration Released
December 13, 2013
The Consumer Finance Protection Agency (CFPB) today released a report under its explicit Dodd-Frank authority. “Under...
December 13, 2013
The Consumer Finance Protection Agency (CFPB) today released a report under its explicit Dodd-Frank authority. “Under...
