What does this news mean for paralegals? I'm guessing higher required billable hours & maybe higher salaries too: "Although law firm leaders at a recent conference publicly pooh-poohed predictions that industry profitability would stumble, in a new survey they say increasing expenses will cut into their bottom line this year. "Lawyers can expect to be pushed for more billable hours...
Well, this is good news for legal organizations & tech-oriented paralegals! "Gone are the days of pleading with law firm partners and in-house counsel about the efficiency and ease that computers bring to a legal practice. The 2007 Survey on Technology Budgeting and Spending , conducted at LegalTech New York, shows strong sustained support for technology in law firm and legal department...
It's certainly smart to face this possibility now, right? Even if the law biz doesn't cool: "Will the good times cease to roll for leading law firms? "With some gloom -- though not so much doom -- industry observers forecasted a cooling of the legal market over the next five years at the Law Firm Leaders Forum, held Thursday and continuing today in San Francisco. Ever-increasing...
Corporate lawyer hiring directly affects corporate paralegal hiring. Tighten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy ride! "It has been a bull market for corporate lawyers, with multimillion- and billion-dollar M&A deals galore. But the recent stock market plunge sent a little chill down the backs of some, a reminder that the high times won't last forever. A day after trouble in the...
Well, this is interesting. Think it will hurt paralegal advancement into these positions? "Ron Friedmann posts on a new trend at large firms: use of nonpracticing lawyers as managers. He writes that firms now hire nonpracticing lawyers for jobs such as marketing, e-discovery, knowledge management, professional development and practice support. There are some pitfalls, of course, as Friedmann...
Yeah, law firm breakups spawn messy news. Almost as bad as a divorce: "At one time, the breakup of a big, prestigious law firm was rare. But since the technology boom and bust, implosions of once highflying firms like Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison and Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault have occurred with more frequency. "Yet the bankruptcy of Coudert Brothers still stands out. Eighteen...
The 'good, bad, & ugly' of law firm mergers is described quite well in this article: "For top lawyers at big-name firms, a prestigious megamerger can look like the beginning of happily ever after. "But for professional staff like paralegals, legal secretaries, administrators and law librarians, merger news may prompt a serious case of wedding-night jitters. Largely left out of the...
I love how "trigger" reminders work: "Does your current time and billing software help you manage your law firm's workflow? Does it identify key 'events' that trigger paperwork? If not, it may be time to upgrade. "By simply defining certain conditions, or rules that must be met -- such as the payment of an invoice, the generation of a specific type of document or even...
As much as I like pie (really, who doesn't?), I did not realize there was an actual day to celebrate pies: "FREDERICK -- Attorneys, law clerks and paralegals flowed in and out of Conklyn & Associates' law office Tuesday with little mention of court cases or settlements. "A cheerier goal brought them to the West Patrick Street family law practice -- a pie party. "For the past...
This story about a paralegal masquerading as a lawyer gets even more snarky: "In a 2005 litigation case, Valery told a court in Stamford, Connecticut that he was a lawyer in good standing. Last week, Connecticut authorities arrested him, and he faces two month for the impersonating-a-lawyer charge and up to five years for perjury (the claim of being a lawyer in good standing)....