At Lawline.com, we are always looking for new ways to make the CLE process easier for attorneys across the country.  This holiday season, we were offering CLE Credits at discounted rates at www.lawline.com/cle/purchase-cle-credits.php. 

These credits work in a very interesting way.  Instead of purchasing a pre-packaged bundle of courses, this allows attorneys to add credit to their account which they can use at any time.  Since the credits don’t expire, you can use them on any course on the site, whenever you have time to take one.

This offer has become so popular that we are extending it an extra two days.  A deal that was supposed to end at midnight tonight, will now run until Friday afternoon.  So take advantage of this offer now, and use the credits whenever you need them.

In addition, we will continue to offer these credit packages through Friday and beyond.  Though the holiday rates will no longer be available, you can still take advantage of this convenient way to complete your CLE requirements.

Let us know what you think, and be sure to check out the offer here, www.lawline.com/cle/purchase-cle-credits.php.  Happy New Years from all of us here at Lawline.com.  We look forward to a 2009 filled with great new opportunities and programs for attorneys everywhere.

The only positive change consumers have seen since September was an extreme decline in gasoline prices.  It was just on October 3rd that I wrote a blog about bosses having employees work four days a week to alleviate gas spending.   Now it seems to be the least of everyone's worries.

The New York Times reports that gasoline prices have fell to a low of $1.66.  In July the high was $4.11.  The lessened demand for aircraft travel is largely responsible as well as a decline of industrial production.  Drivers also began to drive less as the economy fell since the summer.  The entire global demand for oil has lessened.

OPEC has called several meetings in attempt to stabilize a higher price, but so far it doesn't seem to be moving.  I'm sure consumers and retailers don't want it to.  Despite the recession, consumer spending rose 0.6 % in November.  Less cash at the pump means more cash in stores, at least for the holiday season.  Personal savings has also increased 1% in November.  Hopefully the gas prices stay down, who can imagine the economy if prices were back to over $4 a gallon?

Axiom Legal has gone against the grain of the traditional legal business model by creating a sort of virtual law firm.  Axiom provides the same high quality service as a large firm, except the lawyers are doing business from home offices or client offices rather than a physical main office.

The overhead most law firms deal with (assistants, maintenance, phone and internet services) is not part of the Axiom model which allows for them to bill by the day rather than by the hour.  The company's founders, Mark Harris and Alec Guttel, are not partners in the firm, but rather turned the firm into a corporation. 

By cutting the cost of high priced, downtown real estate and substituting the partner structure with a corporate one, Axiom can cut costs to be 50% lower than the country's top firms. 

The Axiom model not only makes clients happier with their lower costs, but also allows for their attorneys to work with freedoms they would not typically receive in a large firm.  The hours Axiom employees work are much more convenient and they get to enjoy a greater variety of work. 

While the traditional legal business model will likely never become extinct, more attorneys will be seeking the freedoms a company like Axiom Legal can provide.  Most of the legal industry laughed at the fact that a "virtual firm" could be successful, but in these hard economic times we are seeing more and more firms transition to the "work at home" style.

Welcome to the 4th installment of our series on social media for lawyers.  Last week we focused on using blogs as a source of information.  Hopefully many of you have started subscribing to those blogs that interest you, and find reading them both helpful and enjoyable.  This is a good place to start your journey into the social web.  But now it’s time to participate in the conversation.

The most logical place to go from here is to start blogging yourself.  Blogging is important for many reasons.  First, it helps you start to establish your personal brand in the online world.  It puts your name out there associated with whatever topic you start to blog about.  Second, tying your blog to your website helps your search engine optimization, meaning Google and other search engines will start to rank your website higher.  This will help you draw more people to the website that might have otherwise missed it.  And more people on the site means more attention, and more clients.

The truth is, blogging leads to many other things.  For example, we started The Legal Beat as a way to deliver news and information about Continuing Legal Education.  But it became an outlet to feature our prestigious faculty, deliver current legal news, and get in touch with some up and coming lawyers and legal services.  We have forged more potential partnerships from the blog than we ever anticipated.

So what do you blog about?  Well, that all depends.  Take a look at the other blogs that are out there.  Is there a certain need or area that is not being addressed?  Is there a topic that you know more about than anyone else?  It really does not matter what you decide to blog about, you can always refine it as you go.  But staying consistent and on point is important.  Know who your readers are, or who you want them to be, and give them the information that they need.

If you blog is to draw potential clients, write about important news and decisions in your practice.  If it is just a general blog about your area of practice, deliver some new information that people can’t get anywhere else.  And don’t be afraid to take a stand on certain issues, people like blogs that are opinionated.

So what are you waiting for?  Go get started.  You can go over to blogger.com, wordpress.com, or typepad.com and get a free blog.  If you want the blog to be hosted on your own website, talk to your developer.  It is a very easy process, and you can do it at a very low cost.  Most people shy away from blogging because they think it is a lot of work, but once you get started you will see that everything is easier and faster than you think.  Just commit yourself to writing a couple new posts a week, and you are well on your way.  Happy writing!

Past Editions of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks
Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source

We’re happy to announce that we have recently mailed our second issue of the Lawline.com Faculty Newsletter.  This time around, content is king.  We have added a section featuring our newest members, with a description on the CLE courses that they have added to our website.

In addition, we added a lawyer resource center, complete with articles about helpful services for anyone in the legal profession.  This includes an article on Clio, an online law practice management service, and an advisory piece with 5 tips for lawyers trying to go green.

And finally, we added a special “Faculty in the News” section to highlight some of our prestigious faculty members that have made headlines over the past three months.  This is our second newsletter, and we are happy to announce that we will be continuing the faculty newsletter into 2009, where our goal is produce and mail one every quarter.

You can view and download a copy of the Faculty Newsletter here. For more information on being featured in upcoming issues, please contact us by phone, or at press@lawline.com. We would love to hear your story or any feedback that you want to give us.

The American Dream has changed, especially for many urban professionals. Previously, getting married, having kids, moving to the suburbs and keeping up with the Joneses was the ultimate way to go, even for the lawyer billing 80+ hours per week. Now, many single and divorced people are savoring their unmarried lifestyles, and are leveraging the freedom of being unattached to creatively develop their business networks. There are unique strategies you can pursue when networking as a single attorney.

Free to be Networking

Hays Ellisen, a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, says that being single gives him the ability to plan casual, fun events in the evenings. According to Ellisen, accessibility is a benefit of being single. "Married people in some cases are less accessible than single people. I can do lunch, dinner, drinks and after-hours events." For instance, Ellisen recently organized a casual client dinner for about 25 bank employees at Pop Burger, a trendy but inexpensive New York restaurant. He also gathers people together for karaoke nights in New York’s Koreatown neighborhood.

Olivera Medenica, a partner at Wahab & Medenica LLC, agrees that having evenings free and attending networking events is a huge advantage of being single. Medenica is extremely prolific in attending, as well as organizing, networking events for attorneys. She chairs committees for both the NYC Bar and NYCLA (New York County Lawyers Association). Through NYCLA, she runs PartnerTrack, a lawyers’ networking group that has bimonthly cocktail events after work. Medenica notes, "I have the flexibility to network between 6:30-8p.m., and that is a time when many cocktail and bar association events are held."

Kaye Scholer counsel Mike Sapienza recommends taking the initiative in planning social events for current and prospective clients. He says, "When you’re single, it’s easier to go out after events and be spontaneous. I go out of my way to initiate social events and to cultivate social relationships with my clients. If they think of me as a friend, they are more likely to call me when they have questions or concerns, or deals they may want to bring me in on."

Walking the Line: Personal vs. Professional

Bob Perry is Managing Partner of King & Spalding’s New York office. He says that being single has never impacted his legal career, or his networking. "Clients have not questioned my being single. I do, however, gauge people’s comfort level and act accordingly. For example, if a client is bringing his wife and kids to an event, I’ll consider bringing another partner from the firm with me to balance out the situation." In terms of blurring the line between personal and professional, Perry is very adamant about keeping the two separate. "For me, the line between personal and professional is a very definite one that you just don’t cross. I choose one or the other — not both."
Kramer Levin associate Tamika Cushenberry has had first-hand experience with networking as a single female attorney, and she admits that it is difficult when men’s personal/professional intentions are unclear. She is very serious about keeping the relationship professional and not blurring the line. "As a woman," she says, "I want to be very clear to appear professional. With men, I find that my conversations are more formal than familiar, which could impact the natural development of a relationship. In general, I don’t feel that I am fully receptive to men reaching out to me in what appears to be a professional context, and I’m definitely more conservative than aggressive in pursuing business relationships with men."

Know Your Audience

Various types of networking events require a tailored approach. If you’re a single attorney, you may have to make adjustments for events that are specifically geared toward people with spouses and children, or for events that have more of a social tone.

Medenica says that when she attends off-site retreat events dominated by family activities, she makes sure to be inclusive of the contact’s family when she’s networking. "If the husband is a business prospect, sometimes I’ll end up networking with his wife instead, or talking with them both together. In this scenario, I make sure to include the wife in the conversation, and to explain legal terms to her if she’s not an attorney. Ignoring or excluding the spouse is never a smart move."

Conclusion

From a networking standpoint, being a single attorney has tremendous advantages in terms of flexibility and time to network. However, it is fraught with the challenge of keeping personal and professional contacts separate enough to ensure the integrity and longevity of relationships. Keeping in touch with people, single and married, as they change jobs and move up, is beneficial for all attorneys. By initiating and attending events that suit your personality and interests, and setting clear boundaries for yourself and others, you can enjoy networking and leverage your personal freedom as a single attorney into professional accomplishment. Fortunately today, whether you’re single, divorced or married, basically you can rewrite the American Dream to read any way you want!

(Reprinted with permission of ALM Law Journal Newsletters Marketing The Law Firm.)
_______________________________________
Christy Burke, a member of this newsletter’s Board of Editors, is President of Burke & Company LLC (http://www.burke-company.com/), a New York-based public relations and marketing firm. She can be reached at 917-623-5096 or cburke@burke-company.com.

Our series on Social Media has reached the third week, and we have yet to discuss a specific website or service in detail.  So now, it is time to dive in and get started.  The focus of this discussion will be using Blogs to gain and share knowledge within certain communities.
For this post, we do not have to assume that you currently write for or operate a blog of your own.  That will come later.  This is about taking advantage of the blogs that are already out there, and that other people are using to get information.

A blog, for those who are unfamiliar, is quite simply a webpage devoted to writing articles of interest in a particular area.  They can be owned and operated by one person or a group of people.  The most popular ones have many writers, with new articles (or posts) coming out very frequently (many times each day).

Reading blogs in your area of interest is a great way to get news and updates quickly and easily.  Whereas traditional media like newspapers and television are broad and slow to deliver, blogs offer current, easily accessible information on niche areas of interest.  If you think a specific topic that you find interesting, there are most likely a number of blogs devoted to that topic on the web. 

With well over 100 Million blogs out there, it is important that you can focus your readership to those blogs that will offer the most relevant, and interesting information for you.  You can do this in a number of ways, but the easiest is doing a search on Google.  If you go to google.com and look at the top left corner, there will be a link that says “More”.  Click that and find the link for “blogs”.  That will take you to Google’s blog search.  From there, simply search for anything you might want to read about.

From there, you can subscribe to the blogs that you find most interesting so that you can review updates automatically whenever you want.  Instead of going back to that blog every day, many blogs allow you to enter your email address and receive new articles via email.  However, too many emails can get annoying, so most people will subscribe in a blog reader.

A blog reader allows you to group all your subscriptions onto one page and lets you access all the blogs from your own account.  If you search Google for “google reader”, you can sign up for their blog reader account.  From there, simply type in the web address for each blog that you wish to follow and you are all set.

Blogs can be a great source of information, no matter what area you are in.  With opinionated, up to date information, they offer knowledge and ideas that you would not get anywhere else.  There is a great shift taking place in how people obtain their news, and the more we can gather information online through blogs and other sources, the easier it will be to stay current.

Here are some legal blogs that I would recommend taking a look at to start: Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Above the Law, Simple Justice, The Legal Beat, How Appealing, Overlawyered.  Also, take a look at Blawg.com to see hundreds of other legal blogs.

Past Editions of this Series:
Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys
Part Two – Signing up for the Networks

Gerald Shargel, one of Lawline.com's very own featured faculty members is the defense attorney in one of the most shocking cases of the year.  Shargel is representing attorney Marc Dreier as he is being charged by the federal government for duping hedge funds out of more than $100 million dollars. He is facing up to ten years in prison.

Dreier, who is the founder of the New York based law firm Dreier LLP, allegedly issued phony documents concerning real estate developer clients whom he claimed to represent in order to intrigue investors and have them believe they were buying real estate notes at incredibly discounted prices.  Dreier was first arrested in Canada last week after failing to impersonate attorney Michael Padfield at the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.   It was here that fraudulent activity was largely suspected and had brought on more attention to Dreier's dealings.  He was released on $100,000 bail and now faces legal problems in both Canada and the U.S.

The New York Times Blog reports that Dreier's firm is currently in "chaos". An associate of the firm expressed, "This has just been a complete lightning strike. The lawyers are completely gobsmacked."

Here is a fun fact…Venues, such as bars, concert halls, dance clubs, and lounges that broadcast are required to pay licensing fees to performing rights organizations.   That's right; the song can't be played simply because the DJ owns the album.  The venue needs licensing rights.  The performing rights organizations generally give a blanket license to venues which gives them the legal right to broadcast almost any relevant song. 

It's no surprise that the general public isn't aware of this, but it becomes a problem when a venue owner is unacquainted with this fact.  The blog from the Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark is reporting that a Providence bar is facing charges for failing to pay for any of the music it broadcast over the course of sixteen years.

The owner of the bar says he wasn't aware that he had to pay to license the recordings to avoid the copyright charges.  The organization bringing charges is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, otherwise known as ASCAP.  ASCAP provides the licensing to venues for a certain fee (decided depending upon particular venue) and then award the copyright holders (usually the writers or composers) based upon their statistics of how often their copyrighted material was played. 

THIS WEEK’S LEGAL MALPRACTICE CASES

Recusal, Political Donations and Legal Malpractice

During the campaign season, news reports ouline the amounts of money individuals donate to candidates, and there are websites which track donations by name.  Recently in West Virginia, a legal malpractice case involving the Massey Coal company there made news when the US Supreme Court decided to hear the question of whether campaign contributions required recusal of a State Supreme Court justice.

Here, different state, same issue. Debra Cassens Weiss reports in the ABA Journal. "A motion filed in a legal malpractice appeal contends that four of Illinois’ seven Supreme Court justices should recuse themselves because of campaign contributions by the defendant law firm, Corboy & Demetrio.

If the motion is granted, the court would not have enough votes to issue an official ruling, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Illinois Constitution has no provision for temporary judicial appointments.
The motion says Corboy & Demetrio has made donations ranging from $1,500 to $52,000 to campaigns of the four justices, according to the Sun-Times.""The underlying malpractice suit resulted in a $100,000 judgment against Corboy & Demetrio, the story says. The suit contends the well-known plaintiffs firm botched a suit filed on behalf of a Georgia woman killed in a 1995 car crash. The suit names former Corboy lawyer G. Grant Dixon III and managing partner Robert Bingle, the story says. The firm has admitted the suit was dismissed because it failed to follow a court order, but denies other allegations, according to the Sun-Times."

Plaintiff's Partial Success does not Rule out Legal Malpractice Case

Plaintiff claimed pay and benefits from the Board of Education.  Apparently there is a two part process for such claims.  The first thing to do is to request a hearing.  Later, one may bring an Article 78 proceeding.

In Leticia Abreu v Jose A. Quesada,4489, 6884/05; SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT; 2008 NY Slip Op 8420; 866 N.Y.S.2d 571; 2008 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8251  Defendant attorneys failed to serve notice for a hearing.  "The record contains no dispute that defendant failed to file a proper request for a hearing pursuant to Education Law 3020-a(2)(c) and that this failure resulted in the loss to plaintiff of pay and benefits to which she otherwise would have been entitled, pending a hearing, before termination"

Plaintiff then started an Article 78 proceeding, with some success.  This success did not rule out a legal malpractice case against the attorneys who did not notice the hearing.  "The partial grant of plaintiff's article 78 petition against the Board of Education does not collaterally estop plaintiff from asserting defendant's legal malpractice (see Weiss v Manfredi, 83 NY2d 974, 976-977, 639 N.E.2d 1122, 616 N.Y.S.2d 325 [1994]; Savattere v Subin Assocs., 261 AD2d 236, 236, 690 N.Y.S.2d 229 [1999])."
 
Appellate Legal Malpractice

In STEPHEN F. BRUMMER, , v THE BARNES FIRM, P.C., CELLINO & BARNES, P.C., STEPHEN E. BARNES, ROSS M. CELLINO, AND RICHARD J. BARNES, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FOURTH DEPARTMENT;2008 NY Slip Op 8831; 2008 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8924 we see a discussion of legal malpractice cases centering on a failed appeal.  The rules are fundamentally different for legal malpractice cases centering on appeals and those centering on the underlying case.  One thing that is not mentioned by the court is that it remains a question of law and not a question of fact whether an appeal would succeed. Experts may not opine and no jury will be asked to answer this question; only the judge will answer it.

Here, plaintiffs were defendants in the underlying case, and they sue their attorney for a failed appeal.  "Plaintiff commenced this action alleging that defendants committed legal malpractice by failing to take an appeal from an order granting the cross motion of the Town of Tonawanda (Town) for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against it in plaintiff's underlying Labor Law action. We conclude that Supreme Court properly granted defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint in this legal malpractice action. ""Plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact inasmuch as he "did not set forth the requisite factual allegations demonstrating that, but for defendants' alleged negligence, there would have been a more favorable outcome in the underlying action" (Ellsworth v Foley, 24 AD3d 1239, lv denied 6 NY3d 712; see generally Williams v Kublick, 302 AD2d 961), i.e., he failed to raise an issue of fact whether he would have prevailed on an appeal with respect to the dismissal of the complaint in the underlying action against the Town (see Lagana v Willner, 267 AD2d 210; see also Senise v Mackasek, 227 AD2d 184, 185). Indeed, the record establishes that the Town was not liable under the Labor Law because it was not the owner of the property where plaintiff was working, nor was it an agent of the owner because it did [**3] not have the authority to supervise and control the work.

In part one of our series on social media for attorneys last week, we discussed the very basics of social networking.  We introduced the idea of social media and explained the many forms of online knowledge sharing and communication that are growing in popularity.

There are four general categories of ways that you can use social media to grow professionally.  Each week, as I introduce a new aspect of social media, I will try to give you actionable steps in one or more of these four areas:

1. Networking – using information sharing and online interactions to develop relationships with people.

2. Brainstorming – creating and discussing ideas for new business projects with people in a forum type environment.

3. Learning – using the wealth of information available in the various social media outlets to educate yourself and stay ahead of the game.

4. Promotion – in a way, taking an active role in social media is always promotion, but there are specific ways to do this more efficiently.

Most attorneys that are starting out in the online world are doing it because someone has told them that it’s a great way to get free advertising.  And while that is true, I feel that the concept needs some explanation.

Online marketing is all about getting your name out there.  The more your name is associated with a particular area, the better the affect for you.  You will eventually be looked at as an expert in that area, and your “internet popularity” will increase.  This all leads to a better public awareness, and hopefully more business (or clients).

Think of your name, or your firm’s name as a brand.  And what we are trying to do is associate your brand with quality legal services in one or more areas.  And the fastest, and most times easiest way to do this is an active online marketing strategy.  But with social media, the word marketing can mean just taking part in the conversation.  And you will see how throughout the course of this series.

First thing is first.  Today’s actionable step is to sign up.  Join the networks.  After all, you have to do that before you can use them to your advantage.  Here is a list of networks I would recommend using: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Lawlink, YouTube.  Sign up for as many as you like, but in the world of the social web, more is better.

Past Editions of this series:
Part 1 – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys