Practice
July 2018 Multistate Bar Exam Scores Collapse To 34-Year Low
September 22, 2018
National Conference of Bar Examiners, July 2018 Average MBE Scores Decrease: The national average MBE score for July 2018 was 139.5, a decrease of about 2.2 points from the July 2017 average: This is the lowest score since 1984. 45,274 examinees sat for the Multistate Bar Examination in July 2018. This represents 2.9% fewer examinees than those who sat for the July 2017 exam, and is the smallest group of examinees to take the July MBE since 2001.
September 22, 2018
National Conference of Bar Examiners, July 2018 Average MBE Scores Decrease: The national average MBE score for July 2018 was 139.5, a decrease of about 2.2 points from the July 2017 average: This is the lowest score since 1984. 45,274 examinees sat for the Multistate Bar Examination in July 2018. This represents 2.9% fewer examinees than those who sat for the July 2017 exam, and is the smallest group of examinees to take the July MBE since 2001.
EY (With 2,200 Lawyers) Seeks To Disrupt BigLaw With Acquisition Of Alternative Legal Services Tech Company
September 22, 2018
American Lawyer, The Big Four’s Recent Acquisition in the Legal Market is a Big Deal: There has been much talk in the past year that the Big Four were sniffing around the alternative legal services (ALSP) market looking for an acquisition. Many legal market watchers, including your (humble) analyst, publicly stated that they expected at least one Big Four-led acquisition into the ALSP space in 2018. That wait is now over. EY announced on August 7th that they will acquire...
September 22, 2018
American Lawyer, The Big Four’s Recent Acquisition in the Legal Market is a Big Deal: There has been much talk in the past year that the Big Four were sniffing around the alternative legal services (ALSP) market looking for an acquisition. Many legal market watchers, including your (humble) analyst, publicly stated that they expected at least one Big Four-led acquisition into the ALSP space in 2018. That wait is now over. EY announced on August 7th that they will acquire...
Report: Amazon Could Tackle Claims Management Next
September 20, 2018
Amazon has become the go-to for online shopping, it’s foray into digital entertainment has been equally successful. Imagine if the online retailer were to offer insurance services. One company has – Altus Consulting, based in the UK – explored how the retail giant could disrupt the insurance industry. The report, released earlier this year, revealed the Seattle-based firm was recruiting for a product manager position and it had attempted to poach some employees from Lemonade. Signs that...
September 20, 2018
Amazon has become the go-to for online shopping, it’s foray into digital entertainment has been equally successful. Imagine if the online retailer were to offer insurance services. One company has – Altus Consulting, based in the UK – explored how the retail giant could disrupt the insurance industry. The report, released earlier this year, revealed the Seattle-based firm was recruiting for a product manager position and it had attempted to poach some employees from Lemonade. Signs that...
Million Dollar Arbitration Award For Attorneys Vacated Due To Ethical Violation
September 20, 2018
In today’s post I recount an epic battle between the Rules of Professional Conduct (tagline: saving clients from unscrupulous lawyers for over 100 years!) and the Uniform Arbitration Act (tagline: saving arbitration from hostile judges for 60 years!) in the Supreme Court of California. Spoiler alert: the Rules of Professional Conduct win. The story in Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP v. J-M Manufacturing Co.,2018 WL 4137103 (Cal. Aug. 30, 2018), begins with a “large law firm”...
September 20, 2018
In today’s post I recount an epic battle between the Rules of Professional Conduct (tagline: saving clients from unscrupulous lawyers for over 100 years!) and the Uniform Arbitration Act (tagline: saving arbitration from hostile judges for 60 years!) in the Supreme Court of California. Spoiler alert: the Rules of Professional Conduct win. The story in Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP v. J-M Manufacturing Co.,2018 WL 4137103 (Cal. Aug. 30, 2018), begins with a “large law firm”...
Oregon Lawyers Sue Over Mandatory Bar Dues in Wake of Supreme Court’s Union Dues Decision
September 15, 2018
Citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down earlier this year, two lawyers have sued the Oregon State Bar alleging that mandatory dues infringe on their constitutional rights. Diane Gruber and Mark Runnels argue in a suit filed last Wednesday in federal court that paying compulsory dues infringes on their First Amendment rights because it helps pay for political and ideological speech they disagree with. “This isn’t an attack on the state bar,” attorney Michael L. Spencer, who filed...
September 15, 2018
Citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down earlier this year, two lawyers have sued the Oregon State Bar alleging that mandatory dues infringe on their constitutional rights. Diane Gruber and Mark Runnels argue in a suit filed last Wednesday in federal court that paying compulsory dues infringes on their First Amendment rights because it helps pay for political and ideological speech they disagree with. “This isn’t an attack on the state bar,” attorney Michael L. Spencer, who filed...
SBOT Professional Ethics Committee Issues New Opinion Regarding Lawyer-Mediators
September 14, 2018
The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas recently issued a written opinion regarding whether it is permissible for a Texas attorney-mediator to prepare a post-mediation written agreement memorializing any agreed-upon terms and also offer guidance to the parties regarding the inclusion of additional terms that were not previously discussed during the mediation process. In Professional Ethics Committee Opinion Number 675, the Questions Presented state: May a Texas lawyer,...
September 14, 2018
The Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas recently issued a written opinion regarding whether it is permissible for a Texas attorney-mediator to prepare a post-mediation written agreement memorializing any agreed-upon terms and also offer guidance to the parties regarding the inclusion of additional terms that were not previously discussed during the mediation process. In Professional Ethics Committee Opinion Number 675, the Questions Presented state: May a Texas lawyer,...
Churchill on Rhetoric
September 14, 2018
Having just now seen Darkest Hour, the Academy Award-winning film about Churchill confronting Britain’s terrible military situation in May of 1940, I was inspired to update this blog’s page about legal writing with an essay written by Churchill as a young man called “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric.” It illustrates five simple ways to put words together to add power to the overall message they convey.
September 14, 2018
Having just now seen Darkest Hour, the Academy Award-winning film about Churchill confronting Britain’s terrible military situation in May of 1940, I was inspired to update this blog’s page about legal writing with an essay written by Churchill as a young man called “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric.” It illustrates five simple ways to put words together to add power to the overall message they convey.
Tautology and the Art of Listening
September 13, 2018
We only hear half of what we listen to. Perhaps that is why most people instinctively use tautology when they write or speak. Tautology is the use of different words to say the same thing or repeating the same thing twice, often in the same sentence, using different words. Most people don’t even know that they’re doing it. Tautology clutters otherwise simple communication. Mark Twain made entertaining and sarcastic use of tautology. His most famous example is “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose...
September 13, 2018
We only hear half of what we listen to. Perhaps that is why most people instinctively use tautology when they write or speak. Tautology is the use of different words to say the same thing or repeating the same thing twice, often in the same sentence, using different words. Most people don’t even know that they’re doing it. Tautology clutters otherwise simple communication. Mark Twain made entertaining and sarcastic use of tautology. His most famous example is “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose...
Citi Survey: Revenue, Demand Down at Texas Firms in First Half of 2018
September 10, 2018
Demand and revenue growth declined in Texas during the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2017, according to a Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group report. Through June 30, law firms turned in their best half since the recession, according to City Private Bank’s Law Firm Group 1H18 Flash Results, which includes data from 186 firms. That was not the case in Texas.
September 10, 2018
Demand and revenue growth declined in Texas during the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2017, according to a Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group report. Through June 30, law firms turned in their best half since the recession, according to City Private Bank’s Law Firm Group 1H18 Flash Results, which includes data from 186 firms. That was not the case in Texas.
Lola v. Skadden and the Automation of the Legal Profession
September 9, 2018
Technological innovation has accelerated at an exponential pace in the last few decades, ushering in an era of unprecedented advancements in algorithms and artificial intelligence technologies. Traditionally, the legal field has protected itself from technological disruptions by maintaining a professional monopoly over legal work and limiting the “practice of law” to only those who are licensed. This article analyzes the long-term impact of the Second Circuit’s opinion in Lola v. Skadden,...
September 9, 2018
Technological innovation has accelerated at an exponential pace in the last few decades, ushering in an era of unprecedented advancements in algorithms and artificial intelligence technologies. Traditionally, the legal field has protected itself from technological disruptions by maintaining a professional monopoly over legal work and limiting the “practice of law” to only those who are licensed. This article analyzes the long-term impact of the Second Circuit’s opinion in Lola v. Skadden,...
