Lawyer 2 Lawyer

For about 50 years the ‘billable hour’ has been a dominant feature of the legal profession. Coined by some as the “cockroach of the legal world,” many argue that it’s all about the ‘quality’ of time spent on a client, not ‘quantity’. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi, as they welcome Attorney Stewart Weltman from the Weltman Law Firm to discuss the status of the ‘billable hour’. They talk about the shift in legal billing practices and reaction from the legal community.

You may have heard about the Gardasil vaccine for teenage girls, but you may not have heard about the serious side effects, allegedly affecting some young women. Merck, the company that manufactures the vaccine, the CDC and the FDA all say Gardasil is safe, effective, and important. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, who will discuss this controversy and the litigation swirling around Gardasil with experts, Attorney Tom Girardi, nationally known plaintiff lawyer from the California firm, Girardi & Keese and Erin Brockovich, (yes the real Erin Brockovich from the movie by the same name), President of Brockovich Research & Consulting. They will take a look at the side effects in some cases, Gardasil litigation and focus in on the efforts to educate young women about this controversial vaccine.

People are making a difference in the legal community. The American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession recently announced their selection of judges, lawyers, a legislator and a law professor to receive the 2009 Spirit of Excellence Awards, honoring efforts to promote a more diverse legal profession. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Fred Alvarez, chair of the ABA Commission on Opportunities for Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession and award recipients Attorney Richard A. Soden, of counsel to the Boston office of the national law firm of Goodwin Procter LLP and Justice Dan Sosa Jr., retired Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, to talk about diversity in the legal profession. They will discuss the progress over the years, how they have overcome barriers and made opportunities available to others and how they encourage young people to pursue law as a career.

The failing economy is having an impact on law firms and not just in the U.S. Firms are cutting staff, scrapping bonuses and some law firms are even collapsing. Across the pond in the UK, law firms are facing similar troubles. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, welcome Ronnie Fox, Principal of the UK law firm Fox and Jonathan Fagan, Solicitor and Managing Director of Ten Percent Legal Recruitment, also in the UK, to talk about how the present economic crisis is affecting not only law firms here, but firms in the UK. They will discuss the obstacles that UK law firms face and what needs to be done to get through these hard times.

It was only six years ago that Sarbanes-Oxley was passed by Congress with the intent on restoring public confidence after corporate scandals affected companies like Enron. However in light of recent bailout requests from AIG, Citigroup and now GM, the focus is once again on more stringent corporate governance. Join Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi with special guests Mary Mack, Corporate Technology Counsel at Fios, Inc and Professor Nancy Rapoport, Gordon & Silver, Ltd. Professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Together they look at this important new phase of corporate governance.

Bailout or bankruptcy for the U.S. automakers to the tune of 25-Billion? Law. com blogger and co-host Bob Ambrogi welcomes experts, Professor Eugene F. Fama, the Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Attorney Andrew Z. Schwartz,head of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group, at Foley Hoag LLP and Attorney Lisa C. Wood, Partner and Co-Chair of Securities and Corporate Disputes Practice,at Foley Hoag LLP, to discuss the economic and legal options and consequences.

It takes a special kind of lawyer to be a public defender today. Case overload is just one issue causing seven Public Defender's offices across the country to refuse to take on new cases or sue to limit their workload. Law.com bloggers J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida in Miami-Dade County and David Carroll, Director of Research for the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) to take a look at the state of the public defender system. They will discuss the common issues that public defenders are struggling with, the effect on defendants and what is being done to faciliate the process and put the quality back into public representation.

This week, the highly publicized case of Wyeth V. Levine came before the Supreme Court. The case involves Diana Levine, who lost her arm to gangrene due to an IV push with the drug, Phenergen. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, welcome Attorney Michael A. Ferrara, Jr. from the Ferrara Law firm and Attorney James Beck from the firm Dechert LLP and blogger for Drug and Device Law Blog, to discuss this big case. They will will look at Wyeth v. Levine, discuss the power of the FDA, federal pre-emption and what the upcoming ruling means for the future of Pharmaceutical companies and the FDA.

Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook-social networking has hit the mainstream. How about in the legal community? Some firms look at social networking as a great PR tool for business, where others fear it. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome experts, Brian Carter, keynote speaker and Director of Search Engine Marketing (PPC), SEO, and Social Media at Fuel Interactive and Heather M. Milligan, Director of Marketing at Barger & Wolen LLP. They will explore Twitter, discuss why some lawyers are skeptical of Web 2.0. and take a look at how networking sites can be a marketing and business tool.

Voter fraud, faulty equipment, voter purges, 3rd party registration problems-These are just some of the issues plaguing elections past and present. Law.com blogger and host, J. Craig Williams welcome experts, Attorney Brenda Wright, Legal Director of Demos, and Attorney Edward Still a Birmingham lawyer who specializes in voting law and founder of the blog, Votelaw.com. They will discuss legal issues surrounding voter’s rights, voter fraud, election litigation and what can and can't be done to recruit voters.