Part-Time Attorneys
One of the questions plagued by everyone in the legal sphere is the idea of having part-time attorneys. This issue seems to be getting more attention lately due to the number of working female attorneys who have children. It seems like most firms are willing to give maternity leave for their attorneys, but I wonder how many are willing to allow part-time arrangements thereafter.
As this article from Trial Ad Notes mentions, the Nassau County (New York) District Attorney’s Office now refuses to allow anyone to work part-time. It seems that the …
Flat Fees or Hourly Billing: What is More Efficient?
As usual in the law community, there is a discussion regarding whether attorneys should bill clients by the project or by time. My Shingle has a good point to add to the discussion: who bears the cost of overage if the project costs more than expected? I completely agree with the article’s main point:
When I give a flat fee estimate, I will eat the cost unless the extra work is caused by the client (e.g., client lies about material issues in the …
Blogging Interns Beware
I ran across this interesting article from the New York Times today [via LexBlog Blog]. It covers the sensitive subject of interns blogging about the internal workings of their companies. The difficult issue seems to be this:
Most experienced employees know: Thou Shalt Not Blab About the Company’s Internal Business. But the line between what is public and what is private is increasingly fuzzy for young people comfortable with broadcasting nearly every aspect of their lives on the Web, posting pictures of their grandmother at graduation next to one of them eating whipped cream off a woman’s …
Podcasts During Commutes
I personally think podcasts are one of the greatest things since sliced bread. For the past few weeks (since I got my iPod), I have been downloading audio news in the morning and afternoon for my commutes to and from law school. I found this to be a great way to use my time on the bus to catch up with news, thus killing two birds with one stone.
However, now that I am at my internship for the summer, I can’t download my news as easily. I am not supposed to install programs on my computer at the firm, so …
Paper or Digital: What’s Your Fancy?
In today’s digital age there is quite a bit of debate over the “paperless office.” On one hand, we have the people who want to digitize everything, leaving no scrap of paper piling up on desks and filling waste baskets. On the other side, people want to keep their paper files that they can touch, arrange, tab, and highlight.
In my opinion, paperless is the way to go. With document management systems, it is simple to have any document you need at your fingertips. Moreover, with the proper programs, you can re-arrange, edit, and annotate scans of paper documents.
For another viewpoint, …
Legal Blogs: One for All by 2010?
There is an interesting article over at Kevin's LexBlog about lawyers being slow to get onto the blogging bandwagon. I find the author's prediction about the future quite intriguing:
Same thing happened with law firms and websites in the mid to late '90's. Most firms saw no reason to have a website. By 2000, they all had firm websites. With blogs, it will not be all lawyers, but by 2010 the majority of lawyers will be publishing blogs. Those who begin now will be way …
Legal Networking Through Professional Orgs
There is a great post over at Lifehack.org about the virtues of "professional volunteering." This is a great introduction to the concept of networking by volunteering for professional organizations. Of note for people in the legal profession, this would probably include organizations like the local bar association and specialized groups depending upon your practice area.
From the article:
… [O]nce you’re safe and sound in a position you’re okay with, you can use volunteering to build a powerful network and increase your marketability. … My advice if you’d like to …
Law Libraries are Great, in Moderation
As finals approach, I imagine that many of my fellow students are spending an inordinate amount of time in their respective law libraries. Aside from the social benefits that some people seem to find in the library, they can help with productivity as well.
A great article on the subject was just posted on My Shingle, which illustrates eight reasons solo practitioners should use law libraries. My favorite two are numbers one and five: librarians and space. I think these apply to everyone in the legal profession from law …
Web Surfing at the Firm
It seems that a common topic in the news today is surfing the internet while at work. I am just thinking out loud how this might affect a lawyer's career and productivity.
First of all, many employers do not seem to mind their employees checking out a few web pages during down time, keeping up with the news, etc. In fact, I would bet that in many occupations, monitoring developments via the internet can be crucial to doing a good job. I suppose the question would be whether this applies to lawyers. Surely, keeping an eye on …
Should Law Firms Include Employee’s Blogs on Their Site?
I just ran across an interesting post on Real Lawyers Have Blogs that suggests law firms should use RSS to include content from their employee's blogs on the firm's main site. While this idea is interesting, I wonder what ramifications it might have.
I am an aspiring law student, hoping to make it into a big firm one day, but I'm not sure I would want the firm to include my blog on their site. In fact, I'm not sure that I want the firm to even know …
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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