Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from the blawgosphere and beyond

• “Some Small Firms Find Smooth Sailing Through Turbulent Times” from Thomas Adcock on law.com. Many good ideas come from this article, but my favorite quote is from Michael C. Rakower, the NY State Bar’s 2006 Outstanding Lawyer of the Year: “There's no magic bullet. All I know is that I worked my tail off for four years, and I think you reap what you sow.” Now where have I heard that before?
  
  
• The Layoff Tracker from Law Shucks. I am drawn to the Layoff Tracker charts, much like I am drawn to gawk at things I don’t want to see while driving. I know that I never ever wanted to see stats like this, but I can’t stop myself from looking. Again and again.
  
  
• “Do ‘Archaic’ Professional Ethics Hurt Consumers of Legal Services More Than They Help?” from Maxwell Kennerly on his Litigation & Trial blog. Yet another response to Larry Ribstein’s suggestion that ethics rules are hurting, not benefiting, clients. Kennerly asks a different question: how does the client gain from the profession’s consolidation into mega-firms? 
  
  
• “Why What I'm Doing With My Law Degree Matters” from Alexis Martin Neely doing a guest post on Carolyn Elefant’s MyShingle.com. Neely’s story is a positive one, and we certainly need positive stories right now. Did you see that her success is built on “real lifetime relationships with her clients.” How many of us could say the same?
  
  
• “Economy Pinches the Billable Hour at Law Firms” by Jonathan Glater on nytimes.com. Billable-hour bashing goes mainstream. Debra Cassens Weiss' report on the Times story, at the abajournal.com, is more cynical: "Big Law Turns to Alternative Billing; Is Greed a Reason?" Can someone tell me how all of this debate helps fix the true problem?
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from the blawgosphere and beyond

• “When No News Is Bad News” from James Warren in The Atlantic. Journalism is changing. Not in a good way. This post is a little out of scope, but as Warren puts it: “This matters because of the unique role journalism plays in a democracy.”
   
  
• “Watching the time go by” from Jay Shepherd at The Client Revolution. Shepherd is an important voice in the billable hour debate, but you’ve seen his name here a few times so you already knew that. Repeat after me: clients want value, not hours. 
  
  
• “Savvy Lawyers Value Their Human Capital” from Gini Nelson and Victoria Pynchon on The Complete Lawyer. Worth a read for the unnamed GC’s quote alone, this post offers great advice for lawyers and firms alike on getting through these tough economic times, not just in one piece, but ahead of the competition. 
  
  
• “Client Technology Surveys - A Powerful Little Tool” from Dennis Kennedy on DennisKennedy.blog. Although technology surveys are not my gig, client communications are. This post reminded me that there are many opportunities to talk to your clients about things that matter to them. When you say, “tell me what you do so I can do it too,” your client will like that. A powerful little tool indeed. 
  
  
• “How to Ask for an Outside Counsel Budget That Really Means Something” from Rees Morrison and Paul Morrison on Law.com. Improving the quality of outside legal budgets through better communication helps both lawyer and client better quantify the value of legal services. What’s not good about that? This article provides practical advice on doing it. 
  
  
• “Marketing Me: Why it’s worth it” from Heather Milligan at The Legal Watercooler.  Milligan really nails it on this one. Personal experience has taught me what she articulates so well: never ever forget that you alone are responsible for your career. The fact that she names me in the post only confirms how smart she is! Thanks, Heather.
  
  
• “10 Ways I Use Twitter and Why I Do It The Way I Do” from Susan Cartier Liebel’s Build a Solo Practice blog. There are a lot of posts, and by a lot of posts I mean A LOT OF POSTS, on how lawyers can use Twitter effectively. This one rises above the rest.
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from today's legal and other blogs 

• “Leadership After the Layoffs” from Jeffery Connor in Law Practice Today. Connor addresses some of the issues law firm leaders need to keep in mind as they keep their firms together. Not surprisingly, honest and timely communication is crucial.
  
  
• “How to - Step One” and “How To - Alternative Bill” from 3 Geeks and a Law Blog. Toby Brown uses these posts to move the billable hour v alternative billing debate from theory into practice in what promises to be a series of useful how-to posts. I still think the billable hour is being unfairly maligned (that’s a hint that I am working on a response post), but fully agree that lawyers need practical advice on changing the way they bill. 
  
  
• “You Have 500+ On LinkedIN? So What?” from Kyle Lacy’s blog, Sometimes it’s better to be socially creative. I like this because I’m a firm believer in “so what;” but I REALLY like it because he writes “that there is nothing valuable in the social media world that is easy.” Success takes work.
  
  
• “Is Biglaw Planning on Changing the Rules of The Game?” from Carolyn Elefant’s MyShingle blog. Responding to Professor Larry Ribstein’s Ideablog post on the death of BigLaw (mentioned here yesterday), Elefant emphatically refutes Ribstein’s suggestion that ethic rules are to blame for the fall of BigLaw. Still not convinced? See Elefant’s other post on the same topic, “Are Ethics Rules What's Killing Biglaw?,” from Legal Blog Watch.
  
  
• “Take The Plunge!” from Nicole Auerbach in In search of perfect client service. Another piece in the alternative billing conversation, this post argues that clients need to take responsibility for changing the rules by forcing their outside firms to adapt. I’ll have more to say on this soon, but in the meantime this is an important voice in the debate.
  
  
• “Corporate Blogging - Is it Worth the Effort?” from Pivotal Branding. Research shows that few readers trust corporate blogs. The post talks about getting beyond that mistrust to enhance your firm’s reputation. Do you think it would change the game if a law firm currently going through layoffs blogged about their layoffs like Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh did last year? What would it do to their reputation?
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from today's legal blogs 

• “Welcome to the Future: Would Henry V Have Used Web 2.0 at Agincourt?” from the AmLaw Daily. A post that reaches from Shakespeare’s Henry V to Twitter to provide a very useful overview of Web 2.0 in the context of the legal profession.
  
  
• “Riding the net’s second wave: how lawyers and their firms are applying web tools in game-changing ways” from the ABA’s Law Practice Magazine. Four stories about law firms using Web 2.0 to change the game.  What are you waiting for?
  
  
• “Elvis (and Big Law) are dead” from Ideablog. This look at Heller’s dissolution adds to the “profession” v “business” debate. The title might give away the conclusion….
  
  
• “Post from the Comments – Voices” from Chris Brogan’s blog. This piece addresses why businesses must communicate through individual voices in social media, not through old-school “official voice” communication. Ford is doing this, and Scott Monty has become the standard-bearer for the way businesses will succeed in SM communications.
  
  
• “MicroBlogging Within the Enterprise: The Missing Communications Tool” from 3 geeks and a Law blog. Companies need to adopt micro-blogging as an internal communications tool.  Here’s why (and how).
  
  
• “Advice on Weathering the Storm” from Mark Beese’s Leadership for Lawyers blog. Mark has pulled together a useful set of insightful posts and articles on what lawyers can do to remain successful in these difficult times. Thanks, Mark! 
  
  
• “Twitter Basics for Curious Lawyers” from Reid My Blog! If you’re thinking about taking the Twitter leap but not quite sure how to do it “right,” this post points you to some helpful resources. One item not on the list that should be is Bob Ambrogi’s “Sixteen Reasons to Tweet on Twitter.”
  

The Re Tweek

A selection of law week's notable tweets:

• Will Law Firm Technology Budgets Be Decimated in 2009? Discuss - http://bit.ly/plKG
  
  
• Recession Batters Law Firms http://tinyurl.com/dbqknr
  
  
• Hard Times Cut Into Free Labor by Convicts http://tinyurl.com/aoqwq2
  
  
• How Twitter Can Make You A Better (and Happier) Person (from Tony Hsieh - CEO, Zappos.com): http://bit.ly/twitterbetter
  
  
• Can We Lawyers Just Shut Up About Twitter And Tweet? http://mylawlicense.com
  
  
• Lawyrs Looking for Alternative Social Networks http://tinyurl.com/ctgzmn
  
  
• Are you reading these posts? Today's list appears in new blog tracking law biz dev and marketing posts: http://bit.ly/EXN4
  
  
• PowerPoint on Social Media for Lawyers from Doug Jasinski: http://is.gd/h59A
  
  
• UK law firm layoffs at Linklaters, Baker: http://tinyurl.com/bpsuga
  
  
• Nice bit of writing: "3 Ways Tech helps" http://is.gd/gUW7
  
  
• Philly Inquirer has been live-blogging every day of State Sen Fumo's trial... http://tinyurl.com/cscvt8
  
  
• "Now what are you going to do?" http://bit.ly/y2sn
  
  
• Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia, new officially on Twitter http://twitter.com/d_medvedev
  
  
• For updates/roundup of Am Law 100 law firm financial results, go to http://tinyurl.com/as8fxr
  
  
• Law Firms "Cutting pay, not workers" - http://is.gd/gPL6
  
  
• "Like going from Xbox to Atari": Staff Finds White House in the Tech Dark Ages http://tinyurl.com/akzwx8
  
  
• Obama starts keeping campaign promises on day one: http://bit.ly/B8Wh
  
  
• Executive Orders now posted on wh.gov: http://snipurl.com/aij34
  
  
• Cooley cuts 52 lawyers and 62 staff. Ouch. http://bit.ly/DN8r
  
  
• The 24/7 Wall St. Twenty-Five Best Financial Blogs. http://tinyurl.com/c8cyf8
  
  
• Is Twitter the future or is it a Predictor of the Future? http://is.gd/gLpd
  
  
• Most popular blog post on lawyer blogging of week: Six ways to make people follow your blog & Twitter feed http://is.gd/gh6n
  
  
• Note to Marketing: find prez candidate using our product, create national intrigue around use of said product, make $$$: http://bit.ly/vucq
  
  
• Cassels Brock & Blackwell cuts 38 staff, 7% of total workforce: http://tinyurl.com/a79r2y
  
  
• Good example of supplementing social media effort: http://tinyurl.com/6v7wby
  
  
• Question has changed from "does blog generate biz" to "does blog work"? Of course it "works" http://bit.ly/wm3
  
  
• Social media beats search engines for legal sites traffic: http://bit.ly/UMNU
  
  
• Skadden has joined the layoff clique: http://bit.ly/E2az
  
  
• New York Times Issues Social Networking Rules for Staffers http://tinyurl.com/8a5zxf
  
  
• Law layoffs continue: up to 80 jobs at risk in Denton Wilde Sapte UK offices: http://bit.ly/nsLu
  
  
• Tag Clouds of Obama's Inaugural Speech Compared to Bush's http://bit.ly/16J2W
  
  
• Another interesting anti-billable-hour post from Jay Shepherd. Not sure I agree w/all he says, but blog is a must read. http://bit.ly/12mAk
  
  
• Social Media allows direct communication http://is.gd/gt39
  
  
• Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen - "This Land is Your Land" - The Obama Inaugural Celebration Concert http://ff.im/-FVtk
  
  
• Singapore Lawyer Blogger Dissident Publishing Again (via Practice Source): http://bit.ly/CJRJ
  
  
• Human Rights Lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Russian Journalist Killed http://twurl.nl/8zsxt1
  
  
• USTR 2008 Report on China WTO Compliance via Chinese Law Prof Blog: http://bit.ly/1MVr
  
  
• "Will Facebook be the death of Twitter?" Must admit I never thought of it that way: http://bit.ly/UsyM
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from today's legal blogs

• “Going Solo - Confessions & Inspirations - Jeena Belil” from Susan Cartier Liebel’s Build a Solo Practice blog. Jeena Belil shares her positive story of finding solo success after being laid off, and provides practical advice for others in a similar spot.
  
  
• “Want To Catch The Next Big Idea? Use Your Hand As Bait” from Chris Brogan’s blog. Fascinating for the fishing video alone, but Seth Simonds (in a guest post) offers up some great ideas on, well, coming up with great ideas.
  
  
• “Re-tooling a Law Blog Example: Jonathan Rosenfeld” from Stem’s Law Firm Web Strategy blog. Steve Matthews describes the changes to his client’s blog, and why each was made. Useful approach when you’re looking at how your blog fits your message.
  
  
• “Are You Meeting Client Expectations? Do You Know What They Are?” from Legal Marketing Blog.com. Isn’t smart marketing all about communication?
  
  
• “Marketing Me: My 4 point 2.0 plan” from The Legal Watercooler. The fourth installment in Heather Milligan’s five-part “Marketing Me” series covers social media. Good overview of the main tools; great reminder that you need a plan and purpose before you launch into social media.
  
  
• “Doug Jasinski on Social Media for Lawyers” from slaw.ca. Doug Jasinski is smart AND generous. Here’s the ppt of the “Social Media for Lawyers” presentation he made last week to Vancouver LMA. Read it and you can be smart too.
  
  
• “So, tell me again, what do we do now?” from whataboutclients.com. Follow the links in this post to see what some really smart people have to say about service firms and the “way-down global economy.”

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from today's legal blogs

• “Venable Partner on US Air Flight 1549: 'The Water Was Up to My Neck'” from AmLaw Daily. Wow. 
  
• “The Am Law 100 -- A Work in Progress” from law.com. Watch this space to see the true impact of 2008 as it unfolds. 
  
• “Staffing Cuts Multiply, but Are Associate Cuts a Better Solution?” from law.com. “In December alone, major law firms have laid off at least 300 staffers.”  What more is there to say? 
  
• “Avalanche alert” from Law21.ca. I promise I won’t be recommending Jordan’s post every day. But this one starts out “we’re due for another round of bloodletting” in American law firms. How could I leave it off the list?   
  
• “New Survey Data: B2B Marketers’ Priorities and Pain Points for 2009” from Marketing Sherpa. Not strictly legal, but good insight into what B2B marketers will be doing in 2009. 
  
• “Adrianos M. Facchetti - California Defamation Law - 3 Key Ways Technology Helps Me Serve Clients” from myshingle.com. Great post that says more about how to be a successful lawyer than it does about technology. 
  
• “Legal Blogging - What Use/Good Is It Anyway?” from Ohio Business Practical Law. Teri Rasmussen adds valuable perspective to the debate in a comprehensive post. Who says ROI has to be financial? 
  
• “Living the New Plentiful in 2009” from slaw.ca. This is a great post that puts a positive spin on the prevailing negativity. Enough doom and gloom already indeed!

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from today's legal blogs

• “Lateral Moves May Begin to Boom” from Law.com.  2009 free agency begins. What will the lousy economy mean for the players?
  
• “Staff Layoff Watch: A Roundup” and “Staff Layoff Watch: Roundup Number 2” from Above the Law. Law firm staff are feeling the pain as firms shed staff to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. How many roundups will there be?
  
• “Social media more important than search engine optimization for lawyers” from Real Lawyers Have Blogs. Don’t have a social media marketing strategy at your firm?  Get one.
  
• “Deconstructing prestige” from Law21.ca. If I could only take one blog to my desert island, Law21 might be it. In this installment, Jordan Furlong looks at "prestige" as a qualifier in the legal hiring decision.
  
• “Wait! Blogging Works!” from Drug and Device Law. I thought that point was already settled here. Of course it works!
  
• “’We Hate Surprises’” from The Captain’s Log. Good advice for lawyers: don’t forget that clients are at the center of the equation. Always.
  
• “Top Legal Blogs” from Avvo Blog. Big list that changes daily, according to Avvo. Not quite sure what the ranking criteria mean, but great list of legal blogs.
  
• “Do the benefits of using Twitter include better writing for lawyers? No.” from The Complex Litigator. Interesting discussion. Brief = good. But not at the expense of clear communication. I love Twitter, but no need to get carried away.

The Re Tweek

The Re Tweek: a selection of last week's notable tweets

• "Twitter is the Cluephone, and it’s ringing off the hook.” http://bit.ly/15yM
  
• Don't be self conscious: http://is.gd/gbls
  
• "Ten New Rules of Legal Marketing" at [non]billable hour: http://is.gd/gamL
  
• Tom Peters on what a personal brand isn't: "3. It's NOT your presence in the social media": http://bit.ly/NlLH
  
• Longer work hours reduce mental function, cause dementia. http://is.gd/g4DA
  
• Part 3 in Marketing Me series. "Where do you find the time" http://tinyurl.com/82pgrq
  
• What one CEO looks for in resumes http://adjix.com/2hmf
  
• Pros & cons of Twitter for lawyers http://bit.ly/SJwe
  
• Law Firm newcomers confront changing reality in Asia http://tinyurl.com/8hbd8f
  
• Pogue's Twittering tips for beginners: http://bit.ly/rIBi
  
• Is your law blog generating business? Maybe that's not the right question:http://bit.ly/wm3
  
• Large Law Firms Begin Using LinkedIn Groups http://tinyurl.com/96brha
  
• Madoff destroys lives, saves legal industry: http://bit.ly/T8cY
  
• Are you figuring out the stories your business needs to tell?- http://is.gd/fOOP
  
• Why aren't you as journalist Twittering yet? http://is.gd/fg5J

The Re Tweek

The Re Tweek: A selection of last week’s notable tweets 

• Shared: Kill the Billable Hour? A British Response http://tinyurl.com/7sdqmg
  
• Twit Squatters Take Over Where Domain Squatters Left Off: Resolution Policy Needed?http://bit.ly/1R276n
  
• CC cash call raises 60 million pounds: http://bit.ly/mQZo
  
• Adam Smith, Esq on "The End of Lawyers" w/timely quote: lawyers "who embrace new technologies" will be successful: http://bit.ly/1Ijp71
  
• Web 2.0 in 2009: What's Out, What's In: http://bit.ly/l72n
  
• Transcending best practices http://tinyurl.com/8qgrap
  
• Legal aid societies need help to survive (CT)http://twurl.nl/fe287v
  
• CC lays off 80 assocs in LDN, makes $150K partner capital call; and they're the world's largest firm by revenue: http://bit.ly/MAwb
  
• A Short History of the Billable Hour and the Consequences of Its Tyranny -http://is.gd/eS4C
  
• What does Satyam mean for FDI into India? http://bit.ly/WgWj
  
• ACC Tips to GCs on Weathering Economic Storm: #1 "Don't ask for a discounted rate or a freeze on fees": http://bit.ly/Dn7AZ
  
• Do You Talk To Your Black Sheep? http://tinyurl.com/9nuf5u
  
• VP for new biz has top 10 mktg tips - smart stuff - http://tinyurl.com/8tf4ea
  
• More Twittering From the Courtroom http://twurl.nl/0qt65k
  
• Time to Kill the Billable Hour http://tinyurl.com/92yrho
  
• Evan Chesler “Kill the Billable Hour”: http://bit.ly/12squ
  
• Tweeting a child abuse trial: http://bit.ly/LaDX
  
• Law21 posts underscore key weaknesses of billable hours business modelhttp://bit.ly/v9Ta and http://bit.ly/zFBu
  
• Another Firm Increasing Rather Than Decreasing Marketing budgethttp://tinyurl.com/7mfjls      
  
• McKinsey Q's top 10 2008 interviews - focus is on innovation: http://bit.ly/RNt
  
• Lawyers read this. You'll thank Jay Shepherd: "A Coffee Parable": http://bit.ly/OclX
  
• Senior lawyers question law firm business model: http://bit.ly/dUjc
  
• Legal Tweets blog covers trending legal topics on Twitter: http://bit.ly/BRa0
  
• 100+ Resources to Boost Your Social Media Savvy in 2009 - http://twurl.nl/awiq3g
  
• High Law Firm Leverage a ‘Combustible Combination,’ Expert Sayshttp://tinyurl.com/8ezx35
  
• Same survey finds two-thirds of law firm PARTNERS admit job fears (85% of Associates):http://bit.ly/IIvk
  
• Client Revolution http://is.gd/euO3
  
• The first 2009 issue of the Internet Legal Research Weekly is up: http://bit.ly/ILRW324