Today in In Lawline.com's Legal Tip of the Day, prominent criminal attorney, Benjamin Brafman talks about using humor when trying a case.  He particularly talks about how humor allowed him to successfully lighten the mood among the jury when working with Johnny Cochran to represent P Diddy a few years ago.  Watch the clip for more.

Benjamin Brafman is a well established attorney and Lawline.com faculty member.  He has represented and worked with many well known individuals including P Diddy, Michael Jackson, and most recently Plaxico Burress.

Click here for more information on Mr. Brafman's course "Summation: A Work In Progress"

     The king of pop may have passed away, but his legacies will continue to live on.  His music will forever keep people of all ages, from teenagers to great grandmothers, on the dance floor.  Young performers will always attempt to imitate the ground-breaking dance moves that caused Michael to revolutionize pop music.  He is the Elvis of our generation, and like Elvis, his legacy will resonate with generations to come.  It’s hard, however, to separate Michael from his second legacy, which will also continue to live on, his legal troubles.   In the past decade these troubles overshadowed his talent and tainted his image as an entertainer.
   
   From the molestation charges to his recent bankruptcy problems, Jackson made the news more often for legal issues than for anything else.  It is estimated that he died with a debt of $400 million dollars.  This is sure to raise issues for whoever actually inherits the assets that he did hold onto–such as publishing rights to over 250 songs from the Beatles catalog, and music compositions from his own catalog.  The Wall Street Journal reports that Michael also had outstanding litigation from former concert promoters, managers, and auction houses.

     The “Bitter Lawyer” has listed the Top Ten Lawyers that have represented Michael Jackson.  Third on the list is Lawline.com faculty member, Benjamin Brafman.  Brafman appeared on CNN the day after Michael’s death where he recounted his experience with Michael.   The AM Law Daily reports that, “The singer’s ‘naivete’ about the legal process shocked Brafman, who told Cooper he was even more surprised when Jackson collapsed onto his shoulder and began “sobbing hysterically” after the blunt New York lawyer informed him of the seriousness of the molestation charges. When Brafman put his hand on Jackson’s back to console him, all he felt was bones.”  

           Brafman also said that after interacting with Michael, he had a sense that “he was not going to live to be an old man.”  He later went on, “He was so thin that you had to believe that the pain was real and you could see in the -- in his speech pattern. Sometimes they were halting that there was a pain that enveloped him. Whether it was real, whether it was psychological, I don't know. I'm not trained in that regard but I worried about Michael Jackson a lot.”  To read a transcript of Brafman’s appearance go here.

       Since his unfortunate death last week, his image as a performer has been revitalized.  Radio playlists and charts are saturated with his songs, MTV and VH1 have been playing marathons of his music videos, and millions of people have been streaming his performances on YouTube.  It is clear that his legacy as an entertainer will survive.   His legal troubles, however, will also continue to surface, and will probably become even messier.

Plaintiff Continues with Legal Malpractice and Unjust Enrichment and Fiduciary Duty Claims

In a well-reasoned opinion from the SDNY, Judge Koeltl determined that plaintiff may continue with three claims against the attorneys.  In SMARTIX INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, a.k.a. SMARTIX INTERNATIONAL, LLC,  - against - GARRUBBO, ROMANKOW & CAPESE, P.C. AND ANTHONY RINALDO, 6 Civ. 1501 (JGK); UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK; 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29114;March 30, 2009, Decided
 
In this case, Smartix, a corporation with certain ticketing intellectual property, was in the business of selling and licensing that technology, and wanted to enter into a contract with Mastercard.  They retained the defendant law firm to advise them on the contract negotiation, to engage in corporate governance, and put one of the attorneys on the board.

Things went wrong with the MC contract and then Smartix was sued by plaintiffs named Metzger.  Plaintiffs retained defendants to defend that suit.  In this blog entry we'll look at the legal malpractice claims, and in tomorrow's we'll look at the unjust enrichment claim.

Plaintiffs complained that defendants failed to advise them correctly on the Mastercard contract negotiation and left them open to Mastercard's exploitation.  Beyond that, they claim malpractice when defendant attorney failed to attend a court ordered mediation session, [as well as the other attorneys] and was open to a sanctions hearing for which they billed plaintiffs.

Judge Koeltl denied summary judgment on both counts. "The plaintiff's first legal malpractice claim is based on the defendants' representation of the plaintiff in the course of the Metzger litigation. The plaintiff alleges that it was billed for the defendants' attendance at a sanctions hearing resulting from Mr. Rinaldo's failure to attend a court-ordered mediation. The defendants [*11] point out that both Metzger parties failed to attend the court-ordered mediation and that no sanctions were ultimately imposed.

The allegation regarding the sanctions hearing raises an issue of material fact with respect to the plaintiff's first legal malpractice claim. The plaintiff has provided evidence that it was billed in connection with a sanctions hearing resulting in part from Mr. Rinaldo's failure to attend a court-ordered mediation.  [T]he failure to follow direct orders from the court would fall below any standard of care. Cf. Logalbo v. Plishkin, Rubano & Baum, 163 A.D.2d 511, 558 N.Y.S.2d 185, 187-88 (App. Div. 1990) (finding in the absence of expert testimony or expert report that attorney who disregarded "clearly defined and firmly imbedded" obligation failed to meet any permissible standard of due care).

Moreover, although the defendants point out that the trial judge in the Metzger litigation did not ultimately [*12] impose sanctions on the defendants, they do not argue that this decision by the trial judge precludes a finding of legal malpractice against the defendants, and there is no reason that would be so. Plainly claims for legal malpractice may exist even where attorneys have not been sanctioned for their conduct."
 
"The plaintiff has produced evidence in the form of deposition testimony that the MasterCard Agreement was drafted to the disadvantage of the plaintiff and contained certain vagaries that MasterCard was able to exploit at the expense of the plaintiff. (Katz Dep. at 47-49 ("[The Agreement] was very vague . . . . It did not protect Smartix from MasterCard's efforts to secure [*19] use of the software outside the contract."), 101 ("The MasterCard Agreement was vague enough so that MasterCard felt that they would roll the dice and try to do these businesses without us, which they subsequently did . . . ."); Huber Dep. at 72 ("It sounds as if MasterCard can do pretty much anything they want with this in one part of the contract . . . . There's also penalty clauses in here that would cause Smartix enormous damages if they wanted to market this outside of MasterCard . . . “

What Creates an Attorney-Client Relationship for Legal Malpractice Purposes?

Privity of contract is an essential in legal malpractice litigation.  One may not sue the opponent's attorney; only one's own.  What makes for privity of contract?  As all know, no writing is necessary to create a contract.  So, can there be privity of contract without a retainer agreement.  Putting aside Rule 137 questions about the attorney's obligation to provide a writing, in Denise Terio,  v Lance Roger Spodek, Reich Reich & Reich, P.C., 2008-03594, 2008-04435;  SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, SECOND DEPARTMENT; 2009 NY Slip Op 4412; 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4411June 2, 2009, Decided we see a short answer:
 
"To recover damages for legal malpractice, a plaintiff [**4] must prove, inter alia, the existence of an attorney-client relationship (see Velasquez v Katz, 42 AD3d 566, 567, 840 N.Y.S.2d 410; Moran v Hurst, 32 AD3d 909, 822 N.Y.S.2d 564; Wei Cheng Chang v Pi, 288 AD2d 378, 380, 733 N.Y.S.2d 471; Volpe v Canfield, 237 AD2d 282, 283, 654 N.Y.S.2d 160). While a plaintiff's unilateral belief does not confer upon him or her the status of client (see Volpe v Canfield, 237 AD2d at 283), an attorney-client relationship may exist in the absence of a formal retainer agreement (see e.g. Swalg Dev. Corp. v Gaines, 274 AD2d 385, 386, 710 N.Y.S.2d 619). To establish an attorney-client relationship there must be an explicit undertaking to perform a specific task (see Wei Cheng Chang v Pi, 288 AD2d 378, 733 N.Y.S.2d 471; Volpe v Canfield, 237 AD2d at 283)."
 
Attorney and Client Battle over Fees and Legal Malpractice

So often, the practice of law seems to have devolved into an attorney v. client battle over the work and fees.  Here in Morelli & Gold  LLP v. Altman, NY Slip Op 31492(U) we see a large scale battle over a child support/custody case in which there has been litigation, fees, fee dispute, trial de novo, counterclaims and appeals. All this, and the case has not yet left the pleadings stage.

In her 32 page decision, Justice Edmead goes through a complete primer on:

a.  Rule 137 fee disputes, trial de novo, the pleading requirements for a trial de novo, and the forms used;
b.  Defenses and counterclaims after a fee dispute;
c.  Proper pleadings in legal malpractice counterclaims;
d.  The role of res judicata and collateral estoppel in legal malpractice fee disputes.

It's a long decision,,,look to the link and read through it for a good discussion on these issues.

Today in Lawline.com's Legal Tip of the Day, faculty member Jay Sullivan sheds some light on little tips to keep a client meeting organized and concise. He tells us how to not only keep the client's attention but how to appear prepared as well.

Watch the clip for more information.

Read more about Jay's course on "Building Dynamic Client Meetings" by going here.

In our continuing effort to recognize some of the most notable legal blogs on the web, we bring you this week’s Featured Blog.  As constant advocates of education, we recognize the importance legal blogs (or more appropriately named Blawgs) as they facilitate the exchange of information.  This week we will be featuring “That’s What She Said.”

For anyone who is a fan of the NBC show “The Office,” you will certainly find this blog both entertaining and revealing.  Most people who work in an office environment will agree that the television series can be very representative of reality.  This blog, however, takes it to a new level and views the episodes from an unconventional viewpoint by highlighting problematic legal situations that generally go unnoticed.  Like an analysis of literature that sheds new light upon the work, this blog similarly offers new insight and perspective upon, and often greater appreciation for the television show.

In one particular blog post, Foster identifies a potential liability claim after Michael (the main character of the Office) announced that there would be lay-offs at a company picnic in front of employees and their families.  In a real life situation this can potentially present a claim of “negligent or even intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

The blog is run by Troy Foster, an employment attorney from Arizona.   Foster started his career as an HR professional and recognized that when work is fun, learning is facilitated.  Using this concept, his blog provides the opportunity to teach something out of a fun and entertaining show.

To check out the blog go here:  http://employmentlawpost.com/thatswhatshesaid/

Employment attorney and Lawline.com faculty member Ardra O'Neal talks about ways of structuring the inevitable layoff. Performance and Seniority based evolution may be one way that the layoff structure is approached. Watch the clip for more information. Ms. O'Neal notes that employers often fail to adequately document the poor performance of their employees, which can potentially lead to legal liability if laid off.  Watch the clip for more. 

The clip is from Ardra O'Neal's course "Best Practices For Implementing Lay-Offs For Private Sector Employers" which can be accessed here.

Here at Lawline.com we are in the CLE business.  And around the legal community, we know that CLE stands for Continuing Legal Education.  But, just like any other acronym, it can be fun to think about what else CLE could stand for.

Inspired by a post to Twitter by a lawyer who clearly did not like his most recent CLE course, we decided to make the acronym the focus of this week’s Twitter contest.  Come up with the most unique, interesting, funny, etc. phrase that CLE could stand for.  Then, to enter the contest, post it to Twitter with the hash tag #Lawline.  You can only win if you use that hash tag.

Example: CLE is Critical Legal Endorsements #Lawline

At the end of the week, we will pick our favorite one and that person will win a free year of CLE with us.  Enter as many times as you want.

Good luck.

Today in Lawline.com;s tip of the day, faculty members Gina Rubel and Laura Powers talk about identifying your target audience when pursuing a social media campaign. Furthermore, you must decide what your key message will be to this audience and how it will influence your desired appearance.

Watch the clip for more information.

Our Unlimited CLE product has become so popular in the past month that we have decided to expand its reach.  We launched a Lawline.com Affiliate advertising campaign to allow anyone with a law related website to share in its growth.

Becoming an affiliate is quite simple.  We will give you an ad to place anywhere on your website.  The ad will promote our Unlimited CLE program to anyone who is visiting your site.  Since it is a special offer, it is something that will really relate to your readers.

Additionally, the ad will benefit you because it pays royalties based on conversions.  Through our tracking program, you can monitor how many sales you receive from the ad, and get paid a percentage of every sale.  So the more you promote the ad on your site, the more money you will make from the affiliate program.

If you currently operate a website that relates to the legal community and is seen by lawyers in general, please don’t hesitate to sign up.  Contact Frank Furbacher for more information or to register to become an affiliate advertiser today.

In today’s Lawline.com Legal Tip of the Day, faculty member Malcolm Taub discusses the significance of a condition report in the purchase and/or sale of artwork.  Condition reports are prepared by a curator or a restorer and should be obtained before the initial viewing of the artwork.  They refer to the mechanical characteristics of the art work, and have no relation to its visual appearance.  Mr. Taub further outlines the details of a condition report.  Watch the clip for more.

The clip is from Malcolm Taub's course "Legal Issues Relating to the Purchase & Sale of Art."  For more information click here.

Last Friday we discussed the importance of getting a vanity URL on Facebook over the weekend.  Our Friday Five focused on the top 5 reasons that lawyers can use Vanity URLs.  To show you how serious we were about it, we took our own advice and registered for one.

Our new profile can now be found at http://www.facebook.com/lawline.  Add us and join in the fun.

If you got a vanity URL, we want to hear about it.  Use the comments section below to show us what name you got.

Welcome to part nineteen of our blog series on Going Green, dedicated to helping attorneys practice law in a more environmentally friendly way.  Last week we discussed what to do when you want to remodel the office.  This week we will turn our focus towards the food that you eat when you are at work.

The work day for most of us starts in the morning and ends in the evening.  This unfortunately covers a long period of time, including the time when we like to eat lunch.  And how you eat can affect how “green” you are.

Ordering in or picking up from a local place is a sure fire way to increase trash and paper waste.  When going out to eat or picking something up, it can be best to look for a place that is environmentally conscious.  There are a number of ways you can learn how and where to eat in a more environmentally conscious way.  Here is a site (http://www.dinegreen.com/customers/) to find restaurants that have been deemed “green” by the Green Restaurant Association.

Ordering in can be made more efficient if you treat lunch orders by the group instead of individually.  Large group orders save additional waste by combining things like plastic eatery, bags, and containers.  It also limits travel of those that are delivering the food.

Of course the most environmentally friendly way to eat at work is to bring it with you in a reusable container.  In an earlier post in this series we discussed using coffee mugs and water bottles that can be reused instead of thrown out.  In this case, prepare a sandwich or some leftovers and bring it to work in some Tupperware each day.  This can drop your personal waste from lunch down to zero and help make the office even more green.

Past Installments in this Series
Part One – An Introduction to Going Green
Part Two – Cut Electricity Costs, Just Flip the Switch
Part Three – Forget Paper, Go Digital
Part Four – Travel Together, Travel Less
Part Five – We Recycle
Part Six – Natural Lighting
Part Seven – Know Your Gadgets
Part Eight – Setting Goals
Part Nine – Reusable Bottles and Mugs
Part Ten - Setting Employee Incentives
Part Eleven - Green Products for You
Part Twelve – Greening Your Mail
Part Thirteen – Representing Green Clients
Part Fourteen – Incentives to Work Remotely
Part Fifteen – Greener News Alternatives
Part Sixteen – Incentives to Travel Smarter
Part Seventeen – Reduce Marketing Waste
Part Eighteen – Offset Carbon Emissions
Part Nineteen – Recycling Your Office

This June, we have brought you a new Twitter contest every week.  This week, the contest comes in the form of a quiz.  The winner this week will receive 3 years of Free CLE.  To win, simply send us an @reply on Twitter with the answers to the questions below (ex. @Lawline C, B, D, C, B). 

Everyone who gets all 5 correct will be entered into a drawing for the prize.  If no one gets all 5 correct, the next highest number will win.  Answers are due by Thursday at 5pm, the winner will be announced Friday morning.  Clearly, you have to be a member of Twitter to win, so if you have not done so yet, sign up your free Twitter account and follow us at www.twitter.com/Lawline. Good luck.

1. What year did Lawline.com start offering CLE?

a. 1990
b. 1999
c. 2003
d. 2007

2. How many states does Lawline.com offer Online CLE in?

a. 12
b. 21
c. 29
d. 33

3. What city is Lawline.com located in?

a. Los Angeles
b. New York
c. Chicago
d. Miami

4. Lawline.com was developed from a popular cable TV show called LAWLINE, who was the host?

a. Mark Matthews
b. David Sanders
c. Alan Schnurman
d. Raymond Williams

5. When is the deadline for Illinois attorneys to complete their CLE Courses?

a. June 30
b. August 15
c. December 31
d. January 31

    The great thing about the internet is that it provides the opportunity to publicize any type of information.  Today in Lawline.com’s Video Tip of the Day, Richard Levick talks about how the internet sets the agenda for the media and also about how the internet can provide as a valuable resource for the traditional media outlets.

Watch the clip for more information.

The clip is from Richard Levick's course "A Lawyer's Guide to Litigation and Crisis Communications" which can be accessed here.

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 25 of our blog series on social media for attorneys…

That’s how I have started each blog post in this series, and it is how I wanted to start the last one too.  The social media series has reached the end of section 1, having covered the fundamentals of everything from Twitter and LinkedIn, to viral marketing and recruiting, to blog content.

This content has been so popular that we have decided to expand on it.  We are organizing the information from the first 24 blog posts into a book to be published and distributed by Lawline.com.  Look for that later this summer.

In addition, we will introduce the 2nd section of the blog series right here on the Legal Beat later this summer as well.  Section 2 will hopefully include some more dynamic features such as video and image sharing.  In addition, we will dive into more details regarding the specifics of interaction with others on the web.

For now, take a look back the first 24 parts of the series that have gotten so much attention around the internet.  Below is a link to each post with a basic description.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA SERIES as it stands today:

Part One – Intro to Social Media for Attorneys: This post introduces the purpose of the series and explains what we hope to accomplish with regard to educating attorneys about the social web.

Part Two – Signing up for the Networks: This post takes you through the networks that we think every attorney should at least look into and why.

Part Three – Using Blogs as an Information Source: This post introduces blogs, explains what they are, where they came from, and how you can take advantage of the ones that exist.

Part Four – Start Blogging Today: This post expands on the previous one, by explaining how and why you should start your own blog and get involved in social media.

Part Five – Introduction to Twitter: This post provides a basic understanding of Twitter, the most popular micro-blogging platform on the web.

Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn: This post gives you the fundamentals of LinkedIn, a network for professionals, and tells you how you can use it to your advantage.

Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool: This post introduces the idea that you can use all the various social networks to communicate with more people than was ever possible before social media.

Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs: This post explains how and why you should submit your blog to various catalogs for organizing and promoting your own blog posts.

Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work: This post explains how you can use social media in your public relations efforts, whether you take care of it in house or you outsource it.

Part Ten – Lend us your Comments: This is a call for feedback from those of you reading the posts and trying out social media for the first time.

Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing: This post lays out the concept of viral marketing and explains how the social web is responsible for the spread of ideas more so than anything else.

Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0: This post outlines some of the newer question and answer platforms that allow experts to answer the questions of anyone online.

Part Thirteen – The Big Picture: This post shows 5 different trends that go to prove that social media is more than just a fad.

Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs: This post is meant to outline how you should be interacting with readers of your blog as well as other bloggers in your area to add value and get noticed.

Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks: This post covers the basics of communicating back and forth with people anywhere on the social web.

Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks: In this post, we introduce the idea of social networks as great recruiting tools for you and your practice.

Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job: This post expands on the previous one by showing how you can use the social web to make yourself look good to future and potential employers.

Part Eighteen – Video Resumes: This post goes to supplement the one before it by laying out the basics of a movement towards online video resumes and their effect on job searches.

Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media: This post takes a look around the web to find what others are saying about social media trends and habits.

Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital: This post lays out some basic ideas for how to come up with unique and valuable content for your blog to get you noticed.

Part Twenty One – Law Students are Coming: This is a comment on another post that I read from a law student who writes about social media, and it theorizes that social media will only get more popular among lawyers as the next generation joins the field.

Part Twenty Two – NYSBA Journal Headline: This post comments on an article in the New York State Bar Association Journal on lawyers who use Twitter.

Part Twenty Three – Future Networks: This post presents the idea that social networks will continue to form and grow, and shows you why you never need to worry about being the first to join new communities.

Part Twenty Four – Using Social Media to Promote: This post goes through an example of someone selling a book, and covers an entire range of ways to use social media to help you do that.

Today in our Lawline.com Video Tip of the Day, faculty member Bart Basi talks about the difference between an acquisition, a merger and a consolidation in business transactions.

Watch the clip for more information.

Today in our Lawline.com Video Tip of the Day, faculty member Daniel Fish talks about the difference of custodial care and skilled care in the context of health care. Recently, due to health care issues, there has been an expansion of Elder Law Practice.  As Fish illustrates, the difference between the two types of care is an important distinction. 

Watch the clip for more information.

The clip is from Daniel Fish's course "Elder Law Fundamentals." For more information click here.

Welcome to part nineteen of our blog series on Going Green, dedicated to helping attorneys practice law in a more environmentally friendly way.  Last week we discussed offsetting carbon emissions by giving back to the environment.  This week we will turn our focus towards remodeling, retooling, and recycling the big stuff.

In any office, there is an assortment of “stuff”.  There are tables, chairs, desks, shelves, bookcases, pictures, posters, clocks, etc.  Most offices are filled with stuff, and eventually all of that stuff gets old.

Whenever you decide that it is time to update the look and feel of your office, you should think about how you plan on disposing of the old furniture and various décor that you are getting rid of.  There are ways to do it that can help you save some money, as well as reduce your overall waste.

Recycling is an option, and it can be done in a number of ways.  You can take advantage of eBay or Craigslist to sell old furniture, and whatever else you have, to some people who may be looking for cheap stuff.  It is an easy way to get the unwanted stuff off of your hands and make a little money to pay for the replacements at the same time.

There are also companies that will come collect your stuff and take care of the entire process for you.  Use groups like Freesharing and Freecycle to move out unwanted items. You can find some great deals through these organizations as well.

You can also donate everything that you plan on getting rid of to an organization that may be in need.  Maybe there is a local community center, lodge or library that is looking to add furniture and decoration but don’t have the funds to spend.  Donating to them is a great way to give back to your community, while eliminating unnecessary waste at the same time.

And always remember, when buying the new stuff for your office, there are companies that are more efficient and sustainable than others.  Search online for environmentally sound products and companies, or use directories and guides like this one.

Past Installments in this Series
Part One – An Introduction to Going Green
Part Two – Cut Electricity Costs, Just Flip the Switch
Part Three – Forget Paper, Go Digital
Part Four – Travel Together, Travel Less
Part Five – We Recycle
Part Six – Natural Lighting
Part Seven – Know Your Gadgets
Part Eight – Setting Goals
Part Nine – Reusable Bottles and Mugs
Part Ten - Setting Employee Incentives
Part Eleven - Green Products for You
Part Twelve – Greening Your Mail
Part Thirteen – Representing Green Clients
Part Fourteen – Incentives to Work Remotely
Part Fifteen – Greener News Alternatives
Part Sixteen – Incentives to Travel Smarter
Part Seventeen – Reduce Marketing Waste
Part Eighteen – Offset Carbon Emissions

Lawline.com was featured in yesterday’s issue of Crains New York.  The story focused on small businesses that were practicing innovative strategies to make it through the recession.  We are proud to share the article with you.  For the full text you can follow the link below.

Hard Times for Small Firms -- Recession for the Owners Devise Novel Survival Strategies
http://futurenyc.crainsnewyork.com/2009/06/02/hard-times-for-small-firms/

The following is the excerpt dealing specifically with Lawline.com.

Going For Volume

David Schnurman decided to lower prices at 10-year-old Lawline.com, which offers lawyers online classes to satisfy their continuing education requirements, after it became clear that thousands of attorneys were losing their jobs. He gambled that his Manhattan-based operation could keep revenue at about $5 million a year by increasing the number of classes sold, even if they were bought at a discount—in some cases up to 50% less.

So far, Mr. Schnurman says, the strategy is working.

He has cut his marketing budget by 25% and is investing less in online infrastructure and new course development, but hasn’t had to fire any of his 15 employees.

“I’d rather hunker down, lower my prices and spend less money—and not lay people off,” the entrepreneur says.

Today in our Lawline.com video tip of the day, faculty member Irwin Karp provides some tips on avoiding procrastination.  We all do it so this four minute clip is sure to be helpful to anyone.  He talks about the most efficient ways to get things done and how to beware of the tyranny of the urgent.  Watch the clip below for more.

The course is from Irwin Karp's course "Overcoming Procrastination." For more information click here.

Matthew Weiss graduated from Hofstra Law in 1984 and started his career as a clerk in the highest court in New York State.  After clerking for two years, he left the prestigious and highly coveted position in order to devote his time to fighting traffic tickets. The entrepreneurial side in him saw that there was a lot of opportunity in this practice area and he decided to build an entire brand around it.  From that 888 REDLIGHT, a turnkey operation and law firm that handles traffic tickets all across the state, was born.  Matt has treated his practice like a business from day one and when he is not in the office, it runs itself.  In addition to working with individuals, Matt represents corporate clients such as limo companies, taxi services, and truckers. 

Matt is also the President of the not-for-profit Entrepreneurs' Organization, the premier peer-to-peer business group in New York City and worldwide. Matt has been featured in Crains, WSJ, and interviewed on TrueNYC.  Lastly, Matt is one of our esteemed faculty members, teaching the online CLE program “How to Fight a NYC Traffic Ticket.”

Lawline.com would like to congratulate Matt for being a lawyer turned entrepreneur.

The second week of June has already arrived.  This means that it’s time for us to announce the second social media contest of the month.

For this contest, we will be randomly  selecting a Twitter user who completes two tasks…

1)    Follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/lawline)
2)    Post a Tweet that Links to the Following Page Giving 2 Free CLE Credits : http://www.lawline.com/register-free.php

The link is a sign-up for two free CLE credits from Lawline.com.   You do not have to be a Lawline.com member to post the link on Twitter.  If you like, however, you can sign up for the two free credits as well.  There is no purchase required.  To follow Lawline on Twitter click here

If you are not a Twitter user, you can sign up for free at http://www.twitter.com

A winner will be randomly selected Thursday at 5pm and will be annouced on Friday.  If you have any questions please contact support@lawline.com

This is a weekly post where we review some of our favorite User Feedback from attorneys who have completed Lawline.com CLE courses.  We decided to start this blog post because we thought it would be fun to share our favorites.

Faculty Member: Barry Temkin

Lawline.com CLE Courses:
Ethical Considerations in Client Perjury
Ethics: Deception in Undercover Investigations

Barry Temkin joined the Lawline.com faculty with his first course on undercover investigations, adding to our growing Ethics CLE subjects.  The response from that course was so good that he recently came back and presented a new ethics course on client perjury.  Take a look at some of the great comments that both courses have gotten below.

Favorite Comments about Barry Temkin
"Excellent speaker, with good exposition of the issues and use of hypotheticals."   - Michael (Matawan, NJ)

"Good subject matter by a speaker who has good analytical school and conducted good research."   - Judith (Lyons, IL)

Favorite Comments on his CLE programs
"Entertaining and informative, great examples and stories together with other jurisdictional interpretations to drive home subject matter. Best one yet, and there have been some very outstanding presentation."   - Glenn (Babylon, NY)

"Interesting examples showing the differing interpretations of various states on this topic."   - Paula (Alhambra, CA)

Today in our Lawline.com Video Tip of the Day, faculty member Ronald Coleman talks about the invasion of privacy clause as it relates to blogging.  He highlights the ability for an individual to take legal action if a photograph is posted of him or her on a blog and what types of claims may or may not be filed.   He also notes the the differing degrees of leniency from one state to the next with regard to privacy law.

The Clip is from Ronald Coleman's course entitled "Legal Aspects of Blogging."  To check it out go here.

Today in our Lawline.com Video Tip of the Day, faculty member Daniel Gershburg emphasizes the importance of paying your credit card bills on time.  Failure to pay your bills when they are due can severely hurt your credit score. Accordingly,  if you (or your client) has to raise your credit score, even over a short period of time, this is the most efficient way to do so.  Watch the clip below for more information.

We are happy to announce the winner of our Twittertest, Pamela G. from Pennslyvania.  Pamela was Lawline.com’s 1000th follower on Twitter and therefore won a free year of Unlimited CLE.

The contest was the first of several that Lawline.com will be holding during the month Of June through Social Media outlets.  Stay tuned for another chance to win.

To follow Lawline.com on Twitter go to: http://www.twitter.com/lawline

Another week has passed, and another group of people have started using new internet technology to connect with others and build business.  Hopefully, that group of people includes some lawyers.  Welcome to part 24 of our blog series on social media for attorneys.  This week we will talk about getting the word out on something you’ve done.

To start, I will use an example of something you may want to use social media to promote.  Let’s say you wrote a book that you self-published on a topic related to your practice.  In order for the book to mean anything, you have to get it in front of people.  The more people that see it, the more important the book will be to you and your career.  It can help you get speaking gigs, promote you as an expert in your field, and lead to new opportunities.

Social media is a great way to get the word out on your new book if you can do it in the right way.  The wrong way to do it is to simply blast messages like “Buy my book” to anyone and everyone who will read them.  This makes you sound annoying and desperate.  You have to be creative, be selective, and have a strategy involved.

The following are some things that can be done to help promote the book.  You can pick and choose what works for you from the list, but using multiple outlets with one succinct strategy is the best way to get more eyes on your prize.

1. Write an introduction to the book as a blog post.  Make it chapter 0.  It is the part of the book that is not part of the book.  Make it short and to the point, so those readers that see it will know that the topic is interesting and understandable.  Give a link to purchase the book from your site or from Amazon.com.

2. Release an E-book.  Create an E-book copy of the book that you can promote online.  There are two options here.  Either you can create an exact copy of the physical book and sell it online, or you can create a dumbed down version and give it away for free to entice people to buy the real thing.  If your goal is to make money directly from sales of the book you will probably want to charge for the e-book, though it may be a tough sell because most e-books are free today.

3. Run a contest to give away free copies of the book.  Leverage your blog readers and Twitter followers to announce a promotion for free copies of the book.  Make it creative; for example, you can ask trivia questions on the book’s topic via Twitter and give away copies to correct responders.

4. Contact bloggers who do book reviews.  Send them free copies of the book and tell them you would love them to review it.  In the package that you send them write a personalized letter thanking them.  The more people who review the book, the more people will hear about it.  All press is good press, so don’t worry about negative reviews too much.

5. Take some quick video of you at events with the book in hand.  Get people to give a quick review and post the videos to YouTube.  Then embed the videos back on your blog and ask for other people to send in their own video reviews.  This will make those people that do buy the book feel a part of a community of readers that you have created.

6. Finally, use your blog to announce that you are coming out with an extended version of the book in the near future, and ask for submissions.  Allow people that book the book to write a page or two that will be featured in the new book, at your discretion of course.  This type of collaborative effort will create new voices that will champion your work for you.  These evangelists can help spread the word and get others involved.

There are hundreds of things that you can do online to spread the word about something.  If you spend some time to think about how this news, or product, or service will benefit other people, then create a social media strategy based on that idea, the doors will fly open for you. 

Past Installments 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
Part Four – Start Blogging Today
Part Five – Introduction to Twitter
Part Six – Introduction to LinkedIn
Part Seven – Networks as a Communication Tool
Part Eight – Submit Yourself to Blog Catalogs
Part Nine – Put Your PR Department to Work
Part Ten – Lend us your Comments
Part Eleven – Intro to Viral Marketing
Part Twelve – Answer Questions 2.0
Part Thirteen – The Big Picture
Part Fourteen – Interactions on Blogs
Part Fifteen – Interactions on Networks
Part Sixteen – Recruiting on the Networks
Part Seventeen – Promote Yourself to Get a Job
Part Eighteen – Video Resumes
Part Nineteen – Social Media on Social Media
Part Twenty – Blog Content is Vital
Part Twenty One – Law Students are Coming
Part Twenty Two – NYSBA Journal Headline
Part Twenty Three – Future Networks

In Our Lawline.com Video Tip of the Day, David A. Kalow and Tal S. Benschar talk about how to copyright your produced work and the necessity of registering your copyright.

Most people don’t know that a work is copyrighted (in the United States) the moment it is put into tangible form.  Watch the clip for more information!

In our continuing effort to recognize some of the most notable legal blogs on the web, we bring you this week’s Featured Blog.  As constant advocators of education, we recognize the importance legal blogs (or more appropriately named Blawgs) as they facilitate the exchange of information.  This week we will be featuring “Taxgirl.”

Kelly Phillips established “Taxgirl” after recognizing that there existed a lack of taxing resources and information for the general public.   She doesn’t provide explicit legal advice, but she does seek to answer general questions that is probably already available to the public in some way (it’s just a matter of seeking it out—tax girl eliminates that problem).  Kelly says that, she "loved the idea of promoting a dialogue about tax that anyone could take part in." 

In her “Ask the tax girl” series she answers questions that “taxpayers” send in.  Questions range on topics from personal deductions to general questions such as what happens if you get caught cheating on your taxes.

The witty writing of the blog makes the tax information more enjoyable than it would otherwise be.  We are all, however, taxpayers, so a lot of the information is useful to us and quite interesting.   One Taxpayer asked if the President of the United States has to pay income tax.  Some people may be surprised to find out that the answer is yes.  You can read that entry here.

To check out the “Ask the Taxgirl” Series go here

Visit the Taxgirl blog at http://www.taxgirl.com

Watch the video below for a special announcement from Frank and Christie

To follow Lawline on Twitter go here: www.twitter.com/lawline

We are just twenty-two followers away!

Herald Price Fahringer says that cases are won or lost in an opening statement.  The Lawline.com faculty member, who has argued before the Supreme Court over fifteen times, adamantly stresses the importance of the opening statements attorneys give at trial.  Fahringer says that the opening line of a case, much like a book, is often what captivates the jury and strongly assists in their formation of an opinion.  In fact, studies show that 80% of jurists make their decision on a case at the close of the opening statements.

The opening line of a book by famous mystery writer P.D. James reads “The whistler’s fourth victim was his youngest…she died because she missed the 9:40 bus from East Haven…”   After reading a line like this, most readers would not put the book down.  And as Mr. Fahringer illustrates, attorneys must employ similar techniques when addressing the jury.   The words that an attorney uses are critical in making the jury intrigued, but furthermore, influenced by the argument he or she makes.

To receive some tips from Mr. Fahringer on how to deliver opening statements watch the video below. 

The mission of Lawline.com is to educate.  We focus on the legal community, but we aim to educate anyone who is eager to learn.  In accordance with this goal, over the next few months, we will be working our hardest to make available some of our best content via YouTube to anyone who is interested in watching it.  Areas of interest will range in all areas of law and will cater to a variety of topics. 

Welcome to part eighteen of our blog series on Going Green, dedicated to helping attorneys practice law in a more environmentally friendly way.  Last week we discussed greener options for marketing and communication with new and existing clients.  This week we will turn our focus towards what you can do to offset your carbon emissions.

No matter what you do to limit the amount of travel for members of your law firm, it is impossible to reduce carbon emissions to zero in the real world.  But there are things that you can do to give back to the environment in order to offset those harmful emissions.

You can participate in various “give back to the environment” activities in your community.  For example, you can sponsor a tree planting or a park cleanup once a month.  There are usually local groups that try to raise money for initiatives like this all the time.  You can take an active role by reaching out to them and offering a donation that will help them get the job done.

You can also donate or invest in local businesses who are working towards a cleaner environment.  For example, local wind farms or other clean energy organizations looking for funding to increase productivity. 

This type of venture not only helps you to offset the negative impact you may still have on the environment, but it is a strong PR move.  If more firms start to associate themselves with organizations who are cleaning up our environment, whether they are for profit or not, the trend will continue to spread across the country.

If you do not have the time to commit to reaching out to these events or organizations yourself, there are a number of websites that make it even easier.  One example is www.carbonfund.org, which lets you calculate your average carbon emissions and donate an equal amount by credit card right on the website.  The goal here is sustainability, and if you get to the point where you balance the negatives with the positives, you are doing your part to promote sustainability across the globe.  Offsetting carbon emissions is a great way to accomplish that.

Past Installments in this Series
Part One – An Introduction to Going Green
Part Two – Cut Electricity Costs, Just Flip the Switch
Part Three – Forget Paper, Go Digital
Part Four – Travel Together, Travel Less
Part Five – We Recycle
Part Six – Natural Lighting
Part Seven – Know Your Gadgets
Part Eight – Setting Goals
Part Nine – Reusable Bottles and Mugs
Part Ten - Setting Employee Incentives
Part Eleven - Green Products for You
Part Twelve – Greening Your Mail
Part Thirteen – Representing Green Clients
Part Fourteen – Incentives to Work Remotely
Part Fifteen – Greener News Alternatives
Part Sixteen – Incentives to Travel Smarter
Part Seventeen – Reduce Marketing Waste

This is a weekly post where we review some of our favorite User Feedback from attorneys who have completed Lawline.com CLE courses.  We decided to start this blog post because we thought it would be fun to share our favorites.

Faculty Member: Amy Goldsmith

Lawline.com CLE Courses:
Corporations and Trademarks
Overview of Patent and Trade Secrets
How to Protect Websites from Legal Liabilities

Amy Goldsmith recently joined the faculty at Lawline.com, and has already recorded three popular programs in the Intellectual Property area.  Her programs have received some excellent feedback from lawyers around the country, and we continue to work with Ms. Goldsmith to come up with ideas for future course topics.

Favorite Comments about Amy Goldsmith
"Presenter was excellent. She clearly knew the area very well."   - Nancy (Alexandria, VA)

"I think the presenter did a good job of making understandable the complicated field of patents."   - Lester (Colleyville, TX)

Favorite Comments on her CLE programs
"This is one of the better lawline seminars I've heard. Anyone who uses the Internet will find this presentation fascinating."   - Jared (Arlington, VA)

"This was one of the more useful CLE presentations I've seen."   - James (Irvine, CA)

"This was the best Lawline seminar I have viewed to date. It was well organized, the written materials were clear and useful, and the speaker was engaging. Having it be a video of a real seminar before a live audience--instead of a single speaker in front of a dark background--made it more pleasurable to watch as well. Well done!"   - Elizabeth (Annandale, VA)

In 1999 Jason Finger graduated law school at New York University’s School of Law, along with a joint degree at NYU’s Stern School of Business. After less than a year of working at a private equity-focused law firm, he left to start an online delivery website called Seamless Web. He was so reluctant to back out of the new venture that after passing the Bar Exam he never got sworn in. Jason figured he had two years to get sworn in, and if the company failed he could always go back to practicing law. Well, fail it did not! It quickly grew and according to the New York Enterprise Report, in 2006 it was sold for an undisclosed sum rumored to exceed $100,000,000.  Visit New York Enterprise Report to read a great interview with editor-in-chief Robert Levin.

Lawline.com would like to congratulate Jason for his hard work, passion and the guts to take the risk to succeed as an entrepreneur. 

If you know any ‘lawyer-turned-entrepreneur’ stories, please email support@lawline.com.