Will Ethics Complaint Against Kellyanne Conway Be Successful?

Kellyanne Conway, one of President Trump's closest advisors, is facing an ethics complaint from 15 law professors. Conway is, of course, an attorney herself. After all, who could so deftly pull out a phrase like "alternative facts" and not...

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The Challenge of Lawyers Seeking Accommodations for Disabilities

Working from a wheelchair, trial lawyer Carol Steinberg strained to hear the judge as she met in a sidebar with opposing counsel. She could not see the judge because of the elevated bench, and instead sat face-to-face with a...

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Make Your Law Firm a Great Place to Work

If you can't wait to get to the office, you probably work at a great law firm. If you feel like your co-workers are trusted friends, you probably work at a great law firm. If you don't care about...

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Pros and Cons of Starting a Solo Practice Through a Legal Incubator

You have to have an independent streak to start your own solo practice. But that doesn't mean you have to be totally alone in the venture. More and more lawyers are taking advantage of legal incubators, programs that provide...

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How to Protect Your Law Firm's Reputation

"He who steals my purse, steals trash," William Shakespeare wrote, explaining that money doesn't last. "But he who filches my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed." The great writer bled...

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What Does Your Vehicle Say About Your Law Practice?

Most clients won't see your car until after they have hired you. So unless you are practicing law out of your car, your choice of vehicle probably does not really matter to clients at first. We're lawyers, not realtors....

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House Bill Seeks to Hamstring Class Action Lawsuits

House Republicans are considering a new bill that could drastically curtail class action litigation. The proposed law, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, was introduced earlier this month by Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, the current...

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5 Lessons From Failed Law Firms

They say if we don't learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them. So let's look at some of the biggest law firm fails to see what we can learn. Why did they fail?...

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To Protest Excessive Bail Requirements, Judge Sets $4 Billion Bond

A woman accused of shoplifting spends a week in jail because she can't post a $2,000 bond. A man is sent to Riker's Island for three weeks because he can't afford $1,500 in bail. His alleged crime? Possessing a...

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Stay on Top of Housing and Development Law With One Easy Reporter

When it comes to housing and development, there is plenty of uncertainty right now. Will mortgage rates continue to rise? What will happen to affordable housing tax credits? What's in store now that Dr. Ben Carson could be taking...

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The Great Supreme Court Debate: Apostrophe After 'S'?

As the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court changes, a serious question remains to be decided: Is there a possessive apostrophe after words ending in "s"? It hardly seems worth considering except that the Court actually considered the question...

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How to Put Your Creative Genius to Work in Your Law Practice

Everybody knows that Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent perspiration, ninety-nine percent inspiration." And everybody knows, or at least with a quick Google search can find out, that Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic in a dish...

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Litigation Boutiques Continue Spinning Out of BigLaw

When a piece of an iceberg breaks off, it's doesn't mean sea levels will rise around the world. But if a polar cap starts to fracture, scientists will certainly take measurements. Sedgwick LLP, which has lost 40 lawyers in...

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No More No Fault? Oklahoma Bill Could Make Divorce Harder

A bill in the Oklahoma legislature seeks to make it more difficult for some married Oklahomans to get divorced. House Bill 1277, introduced by Representative Travis Dunlap, would get rid of incompatibility as a reason for divorce in many...

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Airport Lawyer Website Connects Lawyers With Detainees

When you think of airport lawyers, if you ever think of airport lawyers, you might imagine some government attorneys with the FAA, or maybe a highly specialized land use attorney. But, given the hubbub caused by President Trump's recent...

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What's the Most Lucrative Practice Area for a New Solo Lawyer?

The most lucrative practice is not the one that makes the most dollars, grasshopper. It is rather the practice that makes the most sense. OK, so that's not a real Chinese proverb. But David Carradine wasn't a real Kung...

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Consider the Disabled in Your Practice Plans

When the Countess Carolina Fantoni da Fivizzano went blind, her admirer Pellegrino Turri invented a typing machine so that she could write letters. And thus began a story of innovation and romance that has left its mark for more...

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Lawyers Plan to Increase Their Marketing Spend in 2017, Survey Shows

If you're planning on cutting back your marketing budget in the year ahead, well, you're almost entirely alone. Nearly one out of every two lawyers is expecting to spend somewhat or significantly more on their marketing efforts in the...

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Tips for Hiring a Law Student for Your Firm

"I am not the source of knowledge. I am a guide to it." That's how I introduced myself to students when I taught law school. I was explaining my teaching philosophy: "In this laboratory of learning, we discover more...

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Are Solo Lawyers Entrepreneurs?

There is a debate raging among lawyers about whether solo practitioners are entrepreneurs. But come on now, in the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can we all just get along?" As Black History Month reminds us of the more...

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Top Small Firm and Solo Practitioner Tax Tips for 2017

'The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax,' Albert Einstein once said. We'd say, though, that any lawyer who can figure out the Rule Against Perpetuities or the proper use of Latin legalisms can probably...

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Highlights From Gorsuch's Private Practice Years

Neil Gorsuch could be our next Supreme Court justice. Gorsuch, who was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump last week, currently sits on the Tenth Circuit, where he's been for the past ten years. But before Gorsuch...

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Intentionally Terrible Attorney Advertising Is Definitely Now a Thing

Now that the Super Bowl commercials are over, it's time to sit back and enjoy something almost as funny at one-tenth the production quality -- bad lawyer commercials! Lawyer advertising is serious enough that the Professional Rules of Conduct...

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More Companies Are Turning to Alternative Legal Service Providers, Study Shows

Consider the traditional law firm service model officially disrupted. According to a new study, a sizable majority of companies are now using some sort of "alternative legal service provider," moving away from the classic model where a firm guides...

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5 Tips for Building Your Attorney Referral Network

Referrals can be an important source of business for your law firm, as other lawyers recommend your firm for clients they cannot take or cases they won't handle. John can't take a personal injury case because he has no...

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Tips to Starting a Family Law Practice

So you actually want to start a family law practice? And you did not come to this decision because a friend or family member asked you to help with a divorce? You actually want to spend your life in...

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From Solo Practice to Small Firm and Back Again, Successfully

If you're a solo practitioner, you might envy your colleagues who work with, well, colleagues. After all, working in a firm can mean more resources, more support staff, a larger reputation. But not everyone finds firm life fulfilling. Take...

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Resources for Lawyers Offering Pro Bono Services During the Immigration Ban

When President Trump issued his executive order barring visitors, immigrants, and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries, hundreds of lawyers rushed to major airports, where they set up camp and begin filing lawsuits and habeas petitions on behalf of those...

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Court OK's Class Action Over PACER Fees

Maybe sometime in e-history, a government worker thought the cost to access a court document electronically should be roughly the same as the cost to print a page. At least for Public Access to Court Electronic Records: PACER charged...

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