Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

For solos sharing office space with other attorneys, there are advantages, but also potential headaches. How do you navigate this arrangement?Guest Jared Correia is a podcaster, lawyer, and full-time business management consultant, sort of the lawyer you know who knows how to run a business. For clients, he digs into law firm management from the very high-level strategy to the nuts and bolts of tech and daily operations.Shared offices create issues with malpractice insurance, shared practice management software, and clearly communicating your solo status while working in what to a client may appear to be a firm.Plus, the important distinctions between website chat capability, automated chatbots, and the emergence of true artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT. Learn where each product can fill gaps in your practice and turn leads into clients. Tech that may make your solo practice work like a larger firm.Got questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at NewSolo@legaltalknetwork.comTopics: Practice management problems attorneys in a shared office space encounter. Incorporating online chat and chatbots on your website, capture more leads. And where does the latest – ChatGPT artificial intelligence – fit? Resources from This Episode:Nebraska BarFlorida BarSan Diego BarBook, “The Of Counsel Agreement” by Harold WrenABA, Of Counsel definedABA TechshowABA Legal Technology Resource CenterFormillaApex remote assistantsSmith remote assistantsRubyAbby ConnectBack Office BettiesChatGPTOpenAIGoogle A.I., “Bard” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s talk about the art, and science, of billing. We’ll go ahead and say it, billing isn’t fun, but it’s crucial to the success of your law firm. And tracking many of those billable hours often falls on paralegal professionals. Getting work done is important, getting paid for that work is crucial.You aren’t alone. Everybody hates billing. Tracking your time and entering it into your system isn’t natural, and maybe it’s not even taught. But you can get better at this, make it part of your daily routine.Guest Karen Tuschak is an experienced consultant who runs her own firm, Spider Silk Solutions. She provides not only coaching and practice management development to law firms worldwide, but she also encourages firms to adopt the latest technologies. She dedicates much of her time helping paralegals understand billable hours and the importance of time capture.Tuschak says a lot of paralegals “self-monitor” their work, they shave time from a task if they feel it could’ve been done faster. Don’t double check yourself, simply mark down the actual time you spend on a task. If you don’t, not only does it take money from the firm, it makes it hard for managers to spot areas of inefficiency where better tech could help.This is a great reminder and could change the way you think about your job. Your “time capture” tells your story and demonstrates your value.Resources from This Episode:San Diego Paralegal AssociationInternational Practice Management AssociationNALA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a world where AI is becoming more and more prevalent, how do we protect the rights of the original, human ideas? Today, Zack talks with author, designer, programmer and lawyer Matthew Butterick about his work in copyright infringement and artificial intelligence.Links from the episode: Typogrophy for LawyersStable Diffusion LitigationGitHub Copilot LitigationIf today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free!Thanks to Posh Virtual Receptionists, Clio, & Gavel for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Latest podcast also talks about ranking the best law schools the worst way possible.With March upon us, we created our our bracket-based challenge to rerank the top law schools based on... nothing. If the law schools don't want to provide data to ranking services, we'll show them what that looks like. It's pretty bad. Speaking of bad, a litigant got a bit of a lecture from a federal judge who cautioned for more civility in filings and let's just say he did not get it. Finally, we return to the hybrid work model with a study in contrasts. One firm announces that it's going to close up the office for the month of August while another puts bonuses in jeopardy if an associate prefers to work in the office on different days. One of these firms will have a happier roster before this is all said and done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan protected the civil rights movement, established the “actual malice” standard, and is the basis for modern American libel law. But in recent years, criticism of the case has grown among conservatives, with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas calling it “policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law” and suggesting that the decision should be reconsidered.In her new book Actual Malice: Freedom of the Press and Civil Rights in New York Times v. Sullivan, law professor Samantha Barbas uses archival documents to shine light on the history behind the case, and introduces readers to the pivotal figures involved. She outlines the path libel law jurisprudence had taken prior to 1964, and explains why the New York Times v. Sullivan case was such a departure.In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Barbas tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles about the curious journalistic spat that led to the litigation, as well as the legal tactics used by the pro-segregationists who brought the suit. Barbas also gives listeners a glimpse at the complex and sometimes counterintuitive characters involved in New York Times v. Sullivan, explains the stakes the case holds for the 21st century, and shares the story of perhaps the only lawyer who’s ever had to argue before the Supreme Court without wearing any socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preparing for trial can be a nerve-wracking experience for a young attorney. Today’s episode offers tried and true tips on when to request a pretrial conference and what matters to discuss, how to organize depos and evidence for quick reference, which hard copies you should and should not bring to the courtroom, how to prepare and use an exhibit checklist and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Orangeburg to Ahmaud, host Dave Scriven-Young welcomes Bakari Sellers to discuss civil rights in the United States, then and now. Later, Henry R. Chalmers joins to talk about what you can expect at the ABA Litigation Section’s Annual Conference. This year’s conference offers a unique opportunity to learn from and interact with other top litigators and judges, earn CLE credit, incredible networking to elevate your professional profile, and so much more.For more information or to register for the 2023 Litigation Section Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA, visit: https://web.cvent.com/event/8685e27b-ea2a-47fc-b24e-14d68677aa78/summary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where do expert witnesses come from, exactly? Jared welcomes guests Allison Muller, Nick Briscoe, and Nick Rishwain—an experienced and knowledgeable panel discussing the ins and outs of expert witnessing. They share how professionals come into this field and offer advice for attorneys looking to engage an expert witness for a case.Later on in the Rump Roast, guest Rachael Ziegler joins to talk about yet another of Jared’s favorite TV series—HBO’s reboot of the classic lawyer show, Perry Mason.And, lawyers of all ages and stages benefit from mentors in legal practice, but many don’t know how to tap into the expertise they need. Jared offers his tips for seeking out mentors and explains how multiple connections with differing knowledge bases can help attorneys thrive.Dr. Allison Muller is a board-certified toxicologist with expert witness experience in cases involving alcohol, drugs of abuse, carbon monoxide, medication errors, and postmortem toxicology.Nicholas Briscoe is Chief Economist at Briscoe Economics Group, Inc. and has provided consulting and expert witness testimony in a wide variety of economic and financial matters.Nick Rishwain is Vice President of business development and relations at Experts.com, assisting attorneys in locating a wide variety of expert witnesses and consultants for their litigation support needs.Rachel Ziegler is the founder of Ziegler Legal Services, where her practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration, trust administration, and health care advocacy.-----Since we talked about with no less than 4 experts, here are some songs about being smart. You'll listen, if you know whats good for you!-----Our opening track is Two Cigarettes by Major Label Interest.Our closing track is Lucky Day by SPARKZ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Experts from the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) discuss how and why states are using non-lawyer legal service providers on the latest episode of LSC’s “Talk Justice” podcast, released today. Talk Justice Co-host Cat Moon is joined by guests Michael Houlberg, director of special projects for IAALS, and Jim Sandman, president emeritus of LSC and IAALS board member. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Sandrene “Sandy” Ryan is the senior director of recruiting at Level Legal. She’s built a unique process that focuses on quality and creating “the right match” over putting bodies into slots. Culture fit can be more important than a specific skill. You can teach a skill, but you can’t make the wrong person fit your own culture.Production is the lynchpin of your firm. Acquiring new clients and ensuring profit are the bookends, but we must produce. To do that, we need to recruit.Finding the right people for your firm, whether it’s a contract hire or a full-time position is, at its heart, marketing. What’s your story? Do you know how to make your firm attractive to new hires. Do you understand what candidates are selling. It’s a two-way street. Learn how to create a process that makes candidates sign on with you, and also do their best work for you.A quick match can be more of a time waster than a longer, thoughtful process.You may be surprised at how the COVID pandemic’s shift to remote working created a wider pool of candidates. If someone doesn’t have to be in your office, you’ve got more to choose from. But it comes with new challenges as well. Nothing stays the same. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices