Archive for the Insider Tips Category
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July 8, 2011
Do I Need a Lawyer to Get a Divorce?
By Jordan Gerber, Esq.
In a world where “c.r.e.a.m.” is as recognizable an acronym as “bankruptcy” is a buzzword, it’s only logical that many people have found themselves having to cut corners anywhere they can. You know, magnums instead of jeroboams, Maybachs over Bugattis, downsizing from summering in the French Riviera to a quick jaunt to Bali. And if it just so happens your name isn’t Carlos Slim or you don’t sit on the board of Goldman Sachs, tightening the budget most often means restructuring the way you categorize expenses. For example, when you have trained your eight year old son to answer the phone “Gee, I don’t know when a good time to call back would be Mister (credit card/bank/lending representative). Since Mama ran off with Uncle Charley, Pop’s just been sitting on the front porch drinking moonshine and cleaning his gun,”… Somehow scoring a ticket to the Oasis reunion tour you had been waiting a decade for moves from the –I don’t care if I have to feed my family Taco Bell for a month I’m buying it- category to the –no matter how… Keep reading
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July 4, 2011
The treacherous course of due diligence, as part of the buying process, is fraught with booby traps. As a former corporate legal counsel, I can tell you that more business decisions are made from the gut than from an informed and calculated business perspective. Even the best of deals involve some level of emotion (“Listen, I really want this deal to work!”). But having a road map on which to execute your due diligence can help you navigate through the buying process and arrive safely at a wise business decision.
Authors Andrew Sherman and William M. Crilly provide a great road map in The AMA Handbook of Due Diligence: Revised and Updated Edition — filled with nearly 400 customizable forms and templates for recording and analyzing every possible operation or financial activity at any organization.
The Law Insider featured article from author Andrew Sherman
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Common Mistakes Made by Buyers During Due Diligence
By Andrew J. Sherman,
Author of The AMA Handbook of Due Diligence
1. Mismatch between the documents provided by the seller and the skills of the buyer’s review team. It may be the case that the seller has particularly complex financial… Keep reading
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July 3, 2011
Check out this great video from our partners at Trial Skills Live demonstrating some effective methods for delivering an opening statement. We can all debate the finer points of trial advocacy, but having a strong video to draw from and critique definitely makes the dialogue more productive. We encourage our lawyers and mock trial veterans to offer feedback. Join the conversation!
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June 12, 2011
1. Look and Feel – If you aren’t too familiar with website design, you are certainly familiar with two of the most popular websites in the world: Google and Facebook. What do these two pages have in common — aside from millions of users? Lots and lots of white space. For whatever reason, when we start to think about designing a website, we tend to want to paint the background– as if we were painting the walls of our office. Resist it! White space is your friend. Do some firms disagree with this model? Absolutely. Here’s a well designed criminal law website in Las Vegas that uses black as the primary color – Pariente Law. But for a good example of sites using lots of white space, check out the websites for two of the largest firms in the country, K&L | Gates and Greenberg Traurig.
2. Home Page Information – The information on your homepage should not only give a good impression of your firm but should always present some basic information to encourage new client… Keep reading
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May 19, 2011
By Preston Clark
In Kendall Coffey’s new book, Spinning the Law, we are offered both an historical and modern day look at how the court of public opinion is shaped, tweaked and manipulated from the perspective of a legendary attorney who has been involved in some of the most high profile cases of our time. From the politcal scandal surrounding Elian Gonzalez to the sensationalized trial of OJ Simpson, Coffey shows us what is behind the curtain and how attorneys can influence not only the outcome of a trial but the opinion of the masses. The Law Insider recommends this book to anyone fascinated by America’s obsession with high profile cases and the soap opera like plots that surround them.
As Don Marquis once wrote, “…we know that human affairs are always about the narrative, and whoever spins the narrative controls the story.” Spinning the Law is as much an historical account of famous cases as a personal narrative of Coffey’s own education in mastering public opinion. Through Coffey’s involvment with the Elian Gonzalez trial to its surprising connection to Bush v. Gore, we get a new… Keep reading
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May 5, 2011
In May, 2011 TheLawInsider.com wrote this article about the emerging website LegalAce.com. Since that time, it’s been RocketLawyer.com, more than any other LegalZoom competitor that’s made a strong push to gain market share. Thanks in large part to an $18.5 million injection by Google Ventures in 2011, RocketLawyer has experienced tremendous growth in the first quarter of 2012– and with a strong executive team guiding the ship they are showing no signs of slowing down.
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Do a Google search for Wills, Trusts, or Power of Attorney– and you’re likely to find LegalZoom.com at the top of the list. LegalZoom.com, with its backing from the iconic Robert Shapiro, and strong print and television campaigns, has controlled the lion’s share of the legal document services market for the past several years. Competitors like RocketLawyer.com and Nolo.com have shared the trimmings left over by LegalZoom’s dominance– but none have made any real challenge to the giant. LegalAce.com with strong financial backing and an aggressive media campaign set to launch next week, may be… Keep reading
Josh Jones
April 1, 2011
As graduation approaches, those 3L law students not already committed to a bar review service should start shopping around. The typical BarBri and PMBR combination are hardly the only options, and graduates should not feel trapped by the peer pressure and marketing of these traditional review courses. Just because these, and maybe Kaplan or MicroMash, are the only companies that show up on campus does not mean they are the only bar review systems.
In the last ten years, the variety of bar review companies has exploded. The internet has changed the bar review market in significant ways. Courses like MicroMash and Themis offer home-study programs for almost every state. A student can study at his own pace and submit writing assignments online, getting feedback via email. Lectures are available via online video, ready for rewind, fastforward and replay. Outlines and flow charts can be downloaded in pdf or even Word format, allowing edits. Such features come in handy as the bar approaches and problem areas are pinpointed for further review. However, like the traditional classroom systems, these are also very expensive.
There are also… Keep reading
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March 9, 2011
By H. Birdman, Esq.
The cynics among us would say “counselor at law” is little more than a marketing term. Yet it’s almost certain that every attorney has been turned to for legal advice by their friends or family, even before we sat for the bar. I don’t think these questions are usually motivated solely by the opportunity to get free legal advice (unless it’s time for new friends). For most people these questions arise from anxiety and apprehension over very real concerns; allaying these fears is exactly why we are counselors at law. A marriage counselor can help you with a communication breakdown at home (in truth you really should help with the dishes more – and pick up your socks, I mean the hamper is right there) and an accountant will tell you that all those singles you have been giving to Charity during her night shift at the club are not actually charitable donations, but only a lawyer can explain to someone whether its time to sue that bastard with the leaf-blower on Sundays during the playoffs. Remember this when listening to the details of your Aunt Bea’s slip and fall in the yarn… Keep reading
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February 25, 2011
By Claire Zovko, Esq.
As a 7th grader I told anyone who would listen, “I’m going to be the first woman in the NBA!” A couple of years later, the WNBA began so I changed to, “I’m going to play in the WNBA!” After playing collegiate basketball and realizing it would be the end of my playing career, I knew I wanted to work in sports. I obtained degrees in business and law so I could become a sports lawyer. Below are my top five suggestions to become a sports lawyer in no particular order.
1. Network, Network, Network
Anyone can become a sports lawyer but you MUST be passionate about it. A lot of people think they want to work in sports because it is glamorous but only few put in the time and effort. You have to meet others in the industry. Start meeting sports attorneys locally, talk with them, hold informational interviews. Learn what various sports lawyers do on a daily basis. I held an informational interview with the legal counsel of a professional team prior to law school and ended up leveraging that relationship to my summer internship.
2. Prepare and… Keep reading
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February 23, 2011
By Donald Wine II, Esq.
When I graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 2007, the market for contract legal work (e-discovery) was sound and stable. It was a growing industry that was always in need of attorneys, and law firms were at the height of their success. That success showed up in the paychecks of temp attorneys like myself, with the market rate in Washington, DC at $35-40 per hour. Projects were steady and lengthy and had regular overtime available, and contract attorneys were in a stable environment. It was right around 2007 that the legal market began to enter the downward spiral it’s currently experiencing today, and that downward spiral then began to affect the e-discovery market.
At the time I worked for a nonprofit, but then the down economy led me to be laid off. Looking for work, I discovered the e-discovery field as a temporary solution to my unemployment. Like my first job search, I thought I would be able to work a couple steady projects while I searched for a new permanent job. Over 18 months later, I am still in the e-discovery field. Yet, I’m not the only… Keep reading
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