Recent Comments

Greg H on Nominate the Best Law Firm Websites (2013 Edition) [UPDATED]

Ok, my favorite is this one: http://www.morrisandersonlaw.com/ I didn't design it! What gets me chuckling every time is the pinstripe background, like some sleazy lawyer suit. [Reply]

Christopher G. Hill on The Mental Fortitude Necessary to Practice Law

Great insight Sam. As one who graduated "cum diploma" from law school and never had the "pleasure" of being in the to 5% and working at a large firm, I believe that my practical skills have been honed by necessity. That said, there are the few, the proud, those that are both practical thinkers and did well in law school. I do agree however, that a thick skin (or even skull) is a job requirement. [Reply]

Pammy Spammy on Google+ Pages for Law Firms

So that's your big strategy to draw traffic? Spam other people's blog? And they say lawyers are smart. Go figure. [Reply]

Jeff Vail on Do Your Clients Care if You Use Dropbox?

I get the concern over cloud based storage, but you need to put it in a larger security context. If someone wants your data, and they're sophisticated and willing to break the law, they're going to get it unless you take extraordinary security measures. In 99% of cases, your physical security is more vulnerable than your cyber security. It's just that you're more likely to lose data online as part of some larger-scale theft that didn't target you than you are to physical intrusion--but these massive data losses are far less likely to result in exploitation of your client's data specifically. Turn on two factor security, encrypt stuff that is actually important, but thinking you can really stop a pro is not much different than a non-lawyer thinking they can handle sophisticated legal work on their own. [Reply]

Andy Mergendahl on Legal Writing in Plain English as Culture War

It looks to me like you have a pecuniary interest in keeping as much legalese in use as possible. (I hope I used that legal term correctly.) [Reply]

Marilyn on The Mental Fortitude Necessary to Practice Law

Great post. I always heard "As are professors, Bs are judges, and Cs are fees." :) [Reply]

Felix on Yodle Online Marketing & Local Advertising Reviews and Complaints

I got a call from Yodle today said they were from the "Legal Department" to make themselves sound important. Sales person would not admit they were making a sales call. So I asked "What the hell you want" and salesman said I will not be good fit for them. hahahaha. It gets them off the phone, especially when I said he had thirty seconds to tell me what he was selling. [Reply]

Chris Bradley on Our Favorite Books About Lawyering (and Other Stuff)

This end of the post cited below expresses perfectly what I was trying to say about writing to learn (though the post is more about reading, and reading voraciously): http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/05/the-buffett-formula-how-to-get-smarter Pertinent quote: "Can you explain what you know to someone else? Try it. Pick an idea you think you have a grasp of and write it out on a sheet of paper as if you were explaining it to someone else." [Reply]

William L. Messervy on Nominate the Best Law Firm Websites (2013 Edition) [UPDATED]

I recommend www.divorcelawyerhsv.com. The site is modern, informative and easy to navigate while maintaining a level of competency and professionalism second only to the lawyer whose page it is. The site is a breath of fresh air compared to the traditionally stuffy firm pages that lawyers have grown accustomed to but for which the public hasn't forgiven us for (and rightfully so). We can all learn something from Mari Irwin on this one. [Reply]

LearningLawyerLisa on Undertaking a Task for the First Time

I felt like this a million times as a new attorney, and still have this happen sometimes even now. I started a website to give clear, practical guidance, such as walkthroughs and case flow guidance that are not available at traditional sources. It's not going to replace legal research, but getting a clear overview is so helpful. [Reply]

Sam Glover on Do Your Clients Care if You Use Dropbox?

Unfortunately, I haven't heard many good things about the service itself. SpiderOak seems to have security, but little in the way of reliability or usability. [Reply]

Joel Smith on Do Your Clients Care if You Use Dropbox?

If your clients have a problem with Dropbox and its security issues, you might consider switching to a service with client-side encryption such as SpiderOak. Because the encryption is client-side (vs. server-side as with Dropbox, SugarSync, Box, SkyDrive, etc.) it will only get decrypted locally. SpiderOak servers cannot see what is stored. This has the added bonus of effectively making your data SUBPOENA PROOF! [Reply]

robert houser on Legal Writing in Plain English as Culture War

As I understand your reasoning (although I might have some difficulty being a lawyer), if you apply your logic to its fullest extent, everything that physicians, nuclear physicist and other professionals write should be easily understandable to the general public. Which, of course, is ridiculous. Why do people single out lawyers for legalese and fail to see that lawyers communicate using their own language just like other professions? The important point is to whom the lawyer is communicating. If the lawyer is speaking to a client of course legalese is inappropriate. However, the fact is that neither you nor I get to see or hear these communications because they are subject to attorney-client privilege. You get it?? [Reply]

Vivian Rodriguez on DSM 5 Being an Attorney is Now Officially a Psychological Disorder

As a family lawyer with zero mental health training, I am constantly amazed at the range of "illnesses" that I hear about, either from other lawyers or clients. I may get the digital version. These all-encompassing definitions do a real disservice to those who really have an illness. [Reply]

Irina Licandro on Our Favorite Books About Lawyering (and Other Stuff)

I loved 'How Can You Defend Those People: The Making of a Criminal Lawyer' by James S. Kunen. [Reply]

Ryan Swindall on Q: Is File Sync (Dropbox, et al.) Safe?

Could not of said it better Jes! [Reply]

The Cubicle Chick Demo Site | Dress for Success: 5 Tips For Selecting the Right Career Wear on Three Rules for Women’s Pant Lengths

[...] the same pair of dress pants should not be able to be worn with both flats and heels. Check out this article for suggested lengths and more examples. 2. Check your sleeve length. Having your suit [...] [Reply]

bob d. on Nominate the Best Law Firm Websites (2013 Edition) [UPDATED]

I nominate Mighty Marks for best website. https://mightymarks.com/ I like that this trademark practice has chosen to brand itself as a company. It’s very approachable and friendly. It’s also one of the only legal websites I’m aware of that is formatted for smartphone and tablet. The illustrations are fun and clients get a digital high five after they sign up for the service. Very unique and small business friendly. [Reply]

Greg on Nominate the Best Law Firm Websites (2013 Edition) [UPDATED]

www.dexterlaw.com [Reply]

Mark Lyon on Do Your Clients Care if You Use Dropbox?

The appropriate question is not "Do your clients care if you use Dropbox?" but is instead "Should your clients care if you use Dropbox?" or, even better, "Should you use third party services to store client data?" Clients should absolutely be concerned about the security of their information, but many don't even know to ask the question. That's why we have an ethical duty to protect their information (whether in a digital file or a hanging folder in your left-hand-drawer). Not all needs require you to avoid using third party storage services (and not all self-operated solutions are better than trusting a third party), but if you're storing data you should take reasonable steps to protect it from disclosure while retaining usefulness. Encryption - under your control - can make using a third party quite attractive. I use TrueCrypt quite often, but other tools like SecretSync might work better for certain workflows. Trusting Dropbox (or anyone else) to maintain the security of your data is foolish. In Dropbox's case, they have already proven that they can't protect data stored with them 100%. For instance, there was a period where anyone could access anyone else's account. Further, they're quite clear that their internal people can access your data. [Reply]

Keith Lee on Don’t Be Facebook Friends with Clients — the Ethical Perspective

Or, people could trust two things in social media: Jack and shit. And Jack left town. http://associatesmind.com/2013/05/23/and-the-most-trusted-type-of-advertisingpromotion-is/ [Reply]

Teri on Searching Microsoft Outlook with Lookeen

Hi there. We too have used Lookeen in the past and LOVED it, but find that there is something broken about it now that are using Windows 7 & Office 2010. Our firm uses Autonomy's FileSite for document management which integrates with Outlook. Since this is a legal forum, I was wondering if anyone else had reported this issue to you after reading your post. I downloaded it again just now to test and found it still does the same thing. It seems to try and index FileSite which it will never be able to do and somehow makes Outlook hang endlessly. Such a bummer as we really need a good searching solution. Would love to hear back from you. Thank you! [Reply]

Martin on Do Your Clients Care if You Use Dropbox?

Using Dropbox for client data without any encryption is IMHO a no-go. Using Dropbox in agreement with clients, for example for the exchange of large attachments or to share some documents, is of course fine – many clients ask me for specific ways of communication, sharing etc. and Dropbox is often mentioned. [Reply]

Jeff Taylor on Do Your Clients Care if You Use Dropbox?

I don't think any of my clients know I use Dropbox to store files. If they did though, I'd hope they're not going to dictate what and how I operate. I should, barring some problems with confidentiality, be able to use the services I want that will help my practice be more efficient and productive. [Reply]

Andy Mergendahl on Our Favorite Books About Lawyering (and Other Stuff)

That looks good. I'm putting it on my list. Thanks. [Reply]