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How Companies Use Social Media to Hire Law Firms
May 7, 2013
A new survey from public relations firm Greentarget finds that in-house counsel are frequently using LinkedIn and lawyer...
May 7, 2013
A new survey from public relations firm Greentarget finds that in-house counsel are frequently using LinkedIn and lawyer...
Judge Holds Himself in Contempt When His Cellphone Rings During Hearing
May 6, 2013
When a cellphone rang Friday during a prosecutor's closing argument in a domestic violence trial, a Michigan judge didn't have to look far to find the culprit. It was Chief Ionia District Judge Raymond Voet himself who was to blame, MLive.com reports. He had recently gotten a new phone and apparently didn't lock it properly before court. He also had trouble turning it off, as it offered him suggestions about voice-dialing. “I got very embarrassed, and I’m sure my face turned red,” Voet...
May 6, 2013
When a cellphone rang Friday during a prosecutor's closing argument in a domestic violence trial, a Michigan judge didn't have to look far to find the culprit. It was Chief Ionia District Judge Raymond Voet himself who was to blame, MLive.com reports. He had recently gotten a new phone and apparently didn't lock it properly before court. He also had trouble turning it off, as it offered him suggestions about voice-dialing. “I got very embarrassed, and I’m sure my face turned red,” Voet...
Minimizing the E-Discovery Spend: Leveraging Technology with Better Lawyering
May 6, 2013
For the last several years, in-house counsel have been bombarded with a seemingly endless assault of ads, articles, seminars, webinars, emails, blogs, podcasts and tweets – all proclaiming to have effective technical solutions for quelling the rising costs of dealing with the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI). To be sure, certain technologies can have a dramatic positive impact on reducing the cost of handling ESI, often cutting the cost to review the data, the most expensive...
May 6, 2013
For the last several years, in-house counsel have been bombarded with a seemingly endless assault of ads, articles, seminars, webinars, emails, blogs, podcasts and tweets – all proclaiming to have effective technical solutions for quelling the rising costs of dealing with the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI). To be sure, certain technologies can have a dramatic positive impact on reducing the cost of handling ESI, often cutting the cost to review the data, the most expensive...
Just Arbitrate Already
May 6, 2013
Two recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit show how hard it is for parties to invalidate arbitration agreements. The decisions in M.A. Mortenson Co. v. Saunders Concrete Co., Inc. and Owen v. Bristol Care demonstrate that it will either take an obvious defect in an arbitration clause or a special command from Congress before courts will limit the enforceability of arbitration agreements.
May 6, 2013
Two recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit show how hard it is for parties to invalidate arbitration agreements. The decisions in M.A. Mortenson Co. v. Saunders Concrete Co., Inc. and Owen v. Bristol Care demonstrate that it will either take an obvious defect in an arbitration clause or a special command from Congress before courts will limit the enforceability of arbitration agreements.
Can We Trust Intuitive Jurors? Standards of Proof and the Probative Value of Evidence in Coherence-Based Reasoning
May 6, 2013
Jury members are confronted with highly complex, ill-defined problems. Coherence-based reasoning (Pennington & Hastie...
May 6, 2013
Jury members are confronted with highly complex, ill-defined problems. Coherence-based reasoning (Pennington & Hastie...
CPR Patent Mediation Task Force Report
May 6, 2013
I. Background In 2010, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) formed the Patent Mediation...
May 6, 2013
I. Background In 2010, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) formed the Patent Mediation...
Better Understanding of Human Brain Supports National Security
May 5, 2013
DARPA plans $50 million in 2014 investments to increase understanding of brain function and create new capabilities Today, at a White House event, the President unveiled a bold new researchinitiative designed to revolutionize the understanding of the human brain. As part of this initiative, DARPA intends to invest roughly $50 million in 2014 with the goal of understanding the dynamic functions of the brain and demonstrating breakthrough applications based on these insights. “The President’s...
May 5, 2013
DARPA plans $50 million in 2014 investments to increase understanding of brain function and create new capabilities Today, at a White House event, the President unveiled a bold new researchinitiative designed to revolutionize the understanding of the human brain. As part of this initiative, DARPA intends to invest roughly $50 million in 2014 with the goal of understanding the dynamic functions of the brain and demonstrating breakthrough applications based on these insights. “The President’s...
Embarrassing Emails Lead to Settlement of DLA Piper Billing Dispute
May 5, 2013
These are the documents law firm associates and contract lawyers dream of finding while sifting through tens of thousands of business communications - associate emails crowing churn that bill, baby to describe the work being done on behalf of the "deadbeat" client. As the New York Times reported last week, "on Tuesday, the parties resolved the matter" and declined to discuss the terms of the settlement agreement, "citing confidentiality provisions." The lesson here? Do not go gentle...
May 5, 2013
These are the documents law firm associates and contract lawyers dream of finding while sifting through tens of thousands of business communications - associate emails crowing churn that bill, baby to describe the work being done on behalf of the "deadbeat" client. As the New York Times reported last week, "on Tuesday, the parties resolved the matter" and declined to discuss the terms of the settlement agreement, "citing confidentiality provisions." The lesson here? Do not go gentle...
Survey: Strong Consensus Law Firms Need to Change. But Can They?
May 5, 2013
A survey of the readers of the Adam Smith, Esq. law firm management blog has found that there is widespread agreement that law firms have to change their fundamental business models, consultant Bruce MacEwen tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. But lawyers have real doubts that law firms will be willing to invest the money necessary to compete with legal process outsourcers, or even know how to compete in a changing legal profession, he says.
May 5, 2013
A survey of the readers of the Adam Smith, Esq. law firm management blog has found that there is widespread agreement that law firms have to change their fundamental business models, consultant Bruce MacEwen tells Bloomberg Law's Lee Pacchia. But lawyers have real doubts that law firms will be willing to invest the money necessary to compete with legal process outsourcers, or even know how to compete in a changing legal profession, he says.
Los Angeles Pro Bono Panel Replaced By New Mediator Registry
May 5, 2013
Not that many years ago, I drove through dozens of miles of charred forest in Yellowstone National Park. My travelling companion and I were horrified. Then the Park Ranger explained the forest's life cycle. Fires, we were told, consume dead, decaying vegetation accumulating on the forest floor, thereby clearing the way for new growth. Some species, such as the jack pine, rely on fire to spread their seeds. The jack pine produces durable resin-filled cones that remain dormant until a fire occurs...
May 5, 2013
Not that many years ago, I drove through dozens of miles of charred forest in Yellowstone National Park. My travelling companion and I were horrified. Then the Park Ranger explained the forest's life cycle. Fires, we were told, consume dead, decaying vegetation accumulating on the forest floor, thereby clearing the way for new growth. Some species, such as the jack pine, rely on fire to spread their seeds. The jack pine produces durable resin-filled cones that remain dormant until a fire occurs...
