Dress is part of the Courtroom drama
Gretchen Neels, an etiquette and dress standards specialist (and friend), discusses in today's Wall Street Journal how important dress is both in the courtroom drama as well as in gaining the respect of clients.
Casual day (turned into casual all the time by many) really doesn't have a place in the minds of many traditional law firms. And we're seeing a move back to traditional dressing standards. Only in certain areas of practice is it appropriate to dress "down." Otherwise, what Mom told us, "dress for success," really is true.
Public Defenders Are Taken to Task - For Shame!
In the op-ed of the Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 29, 2008, R. Konrad Moore suggests that public defenders who choose to strike betray the constitutional rights and liberty of their clients.
Shame on you for thinking that public defenders owe more to society than other lawyers, public officials or average citizen. Mr. Moore seems to believe that becoming a government employee, a public defender, means that one's human and normal rights are checked at the door.
Yes, becoming a lawyer does mean that there are certain rights and responsibilities one takes on that are not required by others. However, I do not hear Mr. Moore suggesting that all lawyers owe a pro bono obligation to society, or that government officials are not entitled to seek increased compensation or that Corporate America has a social responsibility to its customers and a responsibility to its shareholders by keeping CEO compensation within reasonable boundaries or, for that matter, that the State Bar owes a duty to the public to require that all attorneys have malpractice insurance. And, I don't hear that the State Bar owes a duty of any kind to its members, let alone obtaining a program of low cost malpractice insurance so that attorneys could then better protect the public they serve. That would be spreading responsibilities too far. He's concerned only about limiting the compensation of public defenders.
Why then showed public defenders not be entitled to come together as any other group of employees in order to seek better conditions of work. Does Mr. Moore mean that the government can give any compensation, no matter how low, to public defenders and that the public defenders should be grateful to receive it? What about district attorneys? If they were to organize, as some have, does Mr. Moore likewise believe that there is a violation of the constitutional rights of citizens?
His argument is disingenuous and should be placed in its proper context. More to the point, why does Mr. Moore not argue that it is the responsibility of government and its citizens to make sure that defendants receive the best possible representation by compensating public defenders fairly and in accordance with compensation generally received in private law firms?
The Revolution is Coming -- Notes from the Corporate Side
Mike Roster, former chair of ACC, and Susan Hackett, current General Counsel of ACC, presented their thoughts at a recent meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter of Legal Marketing Association.
My earlier post summarized their comments and included a few of my challenges to their concepts.
Susan has given permission to include her notes from their Power Point presentation.
The discussion has been joined. Please email your thoughts to me. We all will have a hand in the shaping of the future of our profession.
The Book Stops Here!
Many professionals are urged to write as a method of marketing.
Publishing can be an important boost to one’s status and credibility. This is an outstanding method of demonstrating your expertise.
There are many examples of this in the legal profession. Today’s LA Daily Journal highlights one such example. In an article entitled “The Book Stops Here: Treatises Identify Firm,” the law firm of Miller Starr Regalia, a northern California real estate law firm, is featured. Their seminal work, the highly regarded Miller Starr California Real Estate Book, is known far and wide, even outside California boundaries. Since its first publication in 1965, the book has grown to 12 volumes and is highly regarded as an encyclopedia of California real estate law.
Not only does the firm receive a respectable revenue flow, more important benefits result. One is greater respect for all of its attorneys in the court room. After all, if your firm is the leading authority on the law and is cited by courts in making their decisions, you start with an advantage over your adversary. Also, clients want to be represented by the leading authority. Thus, their revenue is greater than it would otherwise be.
Think about what your expertise is, who your target market is and how you might best reach your market. Publishing is only one approach.
The Revolution is Coming - Where Will Your Firm Be When It Arrives?
This was the title of a program offered today by the Los Angeles chapter of Legal Marketing Association, with panelists Susan Hackett, General Counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel, and Michael Roster, former chairman of ACC, General Counsel of several major corporations, and managing partner of a major law firm.
ACC, at its annual meeting in Seattle, WA in October 2008 intends to roll out an effort to relate law firm billings to client perceptions of value. To some degree, the panelists suggest that they seek to roll back the clock 40 years, when there was a “professionalism” about billing, a stronger and more effective bridge of communication between the client and its relationship partner at t he law firm and less emphasis on increased profits per partner. ACC is not quite sure how they intend to get there nor what the “it” will look like. But, the discussions with stakeholders has begun. And the ride promises to be interesting, to say the least.
Quick Fix
Today's Wall Street Journal, section D, discusses several topics of interest for business success. One topic relates to technology. What do you do when your cell phone or laptop battery loses its charge while on the road?
Answer: Carry a lightweight charger that needs no electrical outlet. What a simple idea! I didn't know they made such things. Check out Duracell's PowerSource Mobile100, available at Amazon.com and elsewhere. There are other brands as well.
Interview with Alexis Martin Neely
Alexis Martin Neely is a graduate of a major university law school, first in her class, clerked for a judge in the 11th circuit and then joined a major, prestigious law firm. But, her real-life experiences in the law didn't match her original expectations. Our interview addresses what those expectations and experiences were. What should a lawyer do who no longer likes to practice law? Alexis has advice for lawyers in this position. Law is a loving, caring, and helping profession. Why don't some clients understand this? Listen to Alexis. As we start the new year, it is good to review these questions and answers.
17 minutes, 51 seconds
4.1MB
Ed Poll interviewed
Ed Poll was interviewed by Rob La Gatta of LexBlog.
LawBiz® Tips issued
See our current edition of LawBiz® Tips
Your Price is Too High
Many folks are complaining about the high price demanded by lawyers. It was reflected in an article in the Wall Street Journal a few months ago and, more recently, by a few corporate counsel in suggesting that they will “fire” their outside counsel because of their hourly rates.
In its December 6th edition, the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal highlighted California’s “Top Neutrals.” I read the supplement with great interest ... and was struck by the very high prices demanded/commanded by these triers of fact. From a low of $400 per hour to the upper reaches of $12,000 per day, I don’t hear the complaints against these rates!
Years ago, our system of independent neutrals developed because of changes in the judiciary’s retirement system causing economic pain to judges who remained on the bench, I lamented the separation of the rich and poor ... The poor folks had their matters heard by the judiciary, paid by taxpayers. The rich had their matters heard more quickly by independent neutrals, paid by the parties. Independent neutrals who work full-time earn far more than judges.
Our system of justice suffers when economics plays such a dominant role in the determination of disputes, when the poor receive different treatment than the rich. It’s bad enough when the rich can afford to gather a “dream team” for the assertion of their claims; but, it’s outrageous when economics can determine who will be the trier of the facts.
You must supervise your staff
As a follow up to our last posting, see item #2 therein, about the need to supervise both your staff and all attorneys in your firm. This is a requirement that is being studied with greater intensity by the Bar throughout the country.
In furtherance of this issue, you may want to see Carolyn Elefant's commentary about a contract attorney who is being prosecuted by the Illinois Bar for overcharging.
My question takes a slightly different perspective: Why wasn’t the large law firm charged with breach of rules of professional conduct that require adequate supervision? Why only the contract attorney who overbilled? If the contract lawyer overbilled, the "supervising" attorney in the larger law firm is equally responsible as though the contract lawyer were in the same law firm, on the same payroll. After all, it is this latter principle that allows the larger law firm to bill at their normal hourly rate rather than at its cost for engaging the contract lawyer.
