Read more from The Estrin Report

“Ten Must-Have Web Sites for Solo Practitioners”

Yeah, that "must have" (must bookmark, must login?), description is odd, but the list of 10 sites in this article does look helpful: "Picking the best of anything is difficult. However, I decided to take a stab this month at the Web sites I use most frequently during a typical day of practicing law. I'm not including the obvious ones: legal research and general search sites. I'm...

“Legal Departments Tell Firms: Get on the Tech Train”

Well, that sure sounds like a smart slap at not-so-tech-savvy firms, huh? "When Aon Corp. slashed its outside counsel roster from about 400 to 23 law firms in 2005, it quizzed the firms about their tech offerings. 'We asked them about extranets, e-billing and litigation management,' says David Cambria, director of legal operations at the Chicago-based insurance giant. "But Cambria says...

“Top Law Firms May Face Rough Future”

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...

“E-Discovery Survival Guide For Corporate Counsel”

Make sure you can do your part to help prevent "death by e-discovery." Here's the complete article by lawyers Jeanine Bermel & Art Smith: "While no one course of action is appropriate for all corporations, there are some basic steps to prepare for that first e-discovery challenge, none of which guarantee success. On the other hand, failure to recognize the challenges of...

“14 Killer Interview Questions”

Whether you're hiring -- or hoping to be hired -- knowing the key questions (suggested by CareerBuilder), has gotta help: "Interviewing can be a tedious and stressful time. Which questions should you ask, which ones are appropriate? Are you going to pick the right person for the position? Below is a list of the top 14 interview questions hiring managers find most effective. These inquiries...

“Leave It to Lawyers to Think of Beating the Clock Like This …”

I'm both surprised & not, really, after reading this post pointed to by Legal Blog Watch: "Every once in a while, we lawyers hear about conduct by our colleagues that's so deceptive that it makes us embarrassed to be part of the profession. David Lat offers an example of the type of activity that I'm describing in this post about a law firm that discovered a way to give itself a couple...

“Classify paralegals as professionals, not administrative staff”

So, is this a welcome statement from Altman Weil & the Law Department Management blog? I think so! "Classify paralegals as professionals, not administrative staff, so you can pay for appropriate quality "A good point made by a consultant, James Wilber of Altman Weil, appears in InsideCounsel, Feb. 2007 at 54. Wilber has observed that 'often corporations classify paralegals as...

“Six Hard-Learned Lessons About EDD”

New court opinion reminds both law firms & clients "to focus on e-discovery early in litigation": "With the long-anticipated revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure having only recently come into effect, the sense of uncertainty that has historically surrounded electronic discovery promises to linger. While the bar will watch with keen interest as the courts begin the...

“Word 2007 Review: A Ribbon Runs Through It”

Microsoft Word users rejoice! Getting the "biggest boosts to your daily productivity," as this author suggests, makes me want to give Word 2007 a try: "We love it, we hate it -- we can't work a day without it. "I've witnessed more people gnash their teeth over Microsoft Word than probably any other software application. But no matter how many times we cuss at the automatic...

“45 ways we torpedo our careers”

Very helpful, if sometimes painful, career guidance in a new book: "Read a few pages of Anita Bruzzese's book and you probably will see yourself. "And, you're almost guaranteed not to like the picture you see. "'We hear all the time that people aren't happy in their jobs because of the boss, or because of the company, or because of something else,' said Bruzzese, author of the book...