Blockbuster was held to violate the Online service providers may need to revise their service agreements. Harris v. Blockbuster, 2009 US Dist. Lexis 31531 (N.D. Tex. April 15, 2009)
http://spamnotes.com/2009/04/17/nd-tex-rejects-blockbuster-terms-and-conditions-as-illusory.aspx?ref=rss
http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=5f0c43ba-a5ba-4446-868c-d5b3564656f2
In today’s fast-paced legal world, it is easy for young lawyers to convince themselves that they don’t have time to worry about networking, raising their profile and creating a personal brand. Have you ever said anything like this to yourself?
“It already takes Herculean effort to meet the billable hour requirements around here. I’m not going to waste my time giving away free advice or hanging out with a bunch of schmoozers.”
“I went to a smaller firm so I wouldn’t have to put on a game face. The partners here like my work, and that’s enough.”
“The point of going in-house was so I wouldn’t have to play politics and could have time for a life. I only need to keep my boss happy.”
“I’m just an associate. Clients aren’t going to come to me anyway, so why bother?
Why That’s Foolhardy
Even before the “Great Recession,” […]
If you aren’t a real estate lawyer, you may feel a little boggled by the terms of the office lease proposed by your prospective landlord. Which provisions are fairly standard? Where are the minefields that could blow up later? Our Guest Blogger, Scot Dixon, is a real estate lawyer at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston, TX. He points out common misconceptions and traps for the unwary relating to commercial office leases in Texas.
Guest Blogger – E. Scot Dixon:
I. WHAT EXACTLY CONSTITUTES THE “PREMISES”
The base rent in an office lease is usually a “per square foot” figure rather than a fixed number. Base rent is determined upon something called the “leaseable area” of the premises. It is important to keep in mind that “leaseable area” is a specialized term of art and does NOT mean the actual area of the premises that Tenant occupies. The “leaseable area” is the actual area of the premises itself (often called “usable space”) plus what is commonly referred to as a “common area factor,” which is the Landlord’s estimate of the percentage of total building area taken up by common areas. […]
Back in 2005 I wrote Who Says Nice Guys Finish Last? The post recounted how attorneys have generated more business by putting their focus on helping others, even in ways that have nothing to do with the law. It also discussed the psychological underpinning of their success.
In the wake of the financial meltdown, there is growing evidence (cited by Time magazine, Fortune magazine and Harvard Business Review) that the “do well by doing good” philosophy is gaining a foothold in the corporate world. Maybe we are getting beyond the Gordon Gekko/ Ivan Boesky philosphy that “greed is good.” I hope more of our legal colleagues take note, too.
At least one Harvard Law grad is leading the way. Dov Seidman, author of the bestseller HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything … in Business (and in Life) opines that “winner-take-all” strategies are obsolete. He partially credits the increased difficulty in hiding unethical and greedy business behavior in this era of bloggers, YouTube, Twitter and other social media.
Fortune Magazine recently published Why Doing Good Is Good for Business about Seidman’s rise as a management guru from providing training in ethics and legal compliance. The Fortune article says he
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The March 2010 issue of the Texas Bar Journal is out, and it contains a number of excellent articles on “The Attorney and Social Media”. I have two articles in it. Social Media 101 for Lawyers and Ethically Navigating the Social Media Landscape. I had more to say than got pubished, but editors will edit, when space is limited. 😉
My Twitter friend, Adrian Dayton (@AdrianDayton) has an excellent article about 10 Steps to Becoming a Rainmaker through Social Media. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
John Browning explains how lawyers use social media to serve process in lawsuits. He also describes numerous cases of juror misconduct with social media in another article.
The entire issue is worth reading, even the review by Gerry Morris on the off-topic subject of online accounting in a law practice.
Way to go Texas Bar Journal!
Unless you live in a cave, you have probably been hearing about social media lately. Many lawyers dismiss social media as just something that kids do. Others recognize that many adults use social media, but claim that it’s a waste of time for lawyers. Some lawyers even concede that using some social media might benefit their practice, but assert that there are too many risks associated with it.
Lawyers made similar claims about the internet and email in the 1990’s. Today many attorneys can’t even practice, if their access to internet and email goes down. To help reduce the concern and confusion of newcomers to social media, this article provides an overview of the types of social media lawyers are most likely to use. […]
Debra Bruce, President of Lawyer-Coach, was quoted in the February 2010 issue of the ABA Journal. The article is titled “Virtual Escape: Lawyers Wrestle with 24/7 Technology.” Authors Becky Beaupre Gillespie and Hollee Schwartz Temple explore the impact on attorney productivity and stress levels resulting from being constantly tethered to smart phones.
The last time Debra was quoted in the ABA Journal, the article was “Midcareer Malaise:
How to find a new path for your 40s.”
How long do your New Year’s Resolutions usually last? If they rarely make it through January, you may be getting tripped up by some common snags that lawyers encounter. Do you set the bar unrealistically high or lack a way to measure interim progress? If so, you set yourself up for discouragement. On the other hand, perhaps the time frame, or the goal itself, is too fuzzy.
The benefits of achieving your goal may not be tangible enough to keep you motivated. You may need an accountability partner or someone to buoy you up when it gets tough. Perhaps you need to think about what has helped you succeed in the past, or how to make the process more fun. Maybe this resolution is just a “should,” rather than what you really care about. Maybe you need more meaningful consequences for the outcome, whether failure or success.
To improve the likelihood of keeping your resolutions, make sure you know: (1) why you really want to do this, (2) how to measure interim progress, (3) the specifics, including the deadline, for what constitutes success, (4) the resources available to help you, and (5) the reward for your triumph.
For more in-depth tips on how to keep those resolutions, read Secrets to Actually Accomplishing Your Goals in this blog.
December often brings added stress to many lawyers. Some associates worry whether they have billed enough hours, and whether they can possibly make up the shortfall in the remaining weeks in the year. Other attorneys work long hours, struggling to meet hard and fast deadlines, as multiple clients try to close transactions or settle cases before year end.
Holiday shopping, traffic jams, and commitments to friends and family create additional demands on our time, and fray our nerves in a season that should be filled with laughter and good will. This year’s financial woes in the legal industry just seem like piling on.
If you feel stress during the holidays or any other time, here are some reminders about how to keep it down to manageable levels.
1. Engage in self-care.
We all know that we get cranky when we are hungry or tired, and that exercise helps relieve stress. Nevertheless, self-care is often the first thing we sacrifice when time is in short supply. Shorting self-care may actually cost us more time, however. We need fuel and rest to think clearly and process efficiently, so without them, our work takes longer to complete, or we make mistakes that cost time to correct.
Lately I’ve been getting calls from laid off lawyers for help in augmenting their job search efforts. Contacting legal recruiters and submitting resumes online hasn’t been sufficient to land a new job. I also hear from attorneys whose business has dropped off.
One of my first questions is usually “What kind of networking do you do?” Frequently they confess that they aren’t very comfortable with networking, so they haven’t really done much. A recent caller lamented that he hadn’t tried to maintain a network when he was busy. He just focused on doing good work. When times got tough, he contacted the handful of people he had kept in touch with, but that fell short.
I wasn’t surprised at those responses. I read somewhere that 69% of lawyers are introverts. Introverts get drained by being around a lot of people and may find it stressful. Here are a few tips to make that essential networking activity more enjoyable, or at least less painful, for the reluctant networker. […]