Feeling Unprepared

The results of the latest survey demonstrate that 85% of our respondents feel as though their law school education did not prepare them for private practice.

Navigating office politics, understanding the relevance of the billable hour, learning the cost and value of legal services -- none of these essential issues involved in private practice success were ever addressed in my law school education. Were they in yours?

Beyond practice skills, taught in clinics and legal writing, practical private practice skills need to be addressed in law schools. We can't pretend that the law is a purely academic endeavor.


On an unrelated note, we have been experiencing an uptick in readers and survey takers. (Take a look at the bottom left hand column, we are at nearly 13,000 page views!) I want to thank you all for taking the time to read and cast your votes. You can follow this blog and receive post updates by email by signing up on the NEW FEATURES in the bottom right column.

Law School Reform

On the subject of law school reform, a new suggestion taken from a practice of new/established technology-enhanced retail darling, Zappos. (So, for that reasom alone, I am biased towards it.)

http://slate.me/lawschoolarticle

"Paying students to quit law school.  An unorthodox solution to the problem of too many graduates unable to repay their loans."

Let me know your thoughts.

1/2 Mentored 1/2 Not

Our last poll surveyed NYCLA members to find out if they had a mentor who assisted them in their legal career. The results were curious: 50%  of respondents were lucky enough to have mentors guide their careers, while 50% were not so lucky and wished that they did have a mentor. 

Beyond the scarcity of mentoring, the poll doesn't say much.  It would be interesting to hear from both groups to compare where they are in their careers and development. Success is subjective.  I would be curious to know how those with mentors view their success in terms of the mentoring they received. Likewise, I would like to hear from those who wish they had mentors to know how they feel they would have advanced if mentored.


At least we hope to raise the statistics with NYCLA's mentoring program, now in its third year!

Fixing Law Schools

I recently read an interesting article on how legal education needs to change to be more useful to the graduating law students.  The article posits that law schools must "Prepar[e] student … for a lifetime of successful, ethical and personally rewarding practice." That's a tall order. See the article here:

http://chronicle.com/article/Theres-More-to-the-Law-Than/129493/

Criticism aside, I do agree that law schools need to be re-engineered. The following except taken from the article concerns stepping away from the Ivory Tower to  a more inclusive (and IMO relevant) way to view legal work:

It is necessity, not fashion, that causes lawyers to pay attention to the work of anthropologists, economists, historians, political scientists, psychologists, and sociologists. We look to those disciplines because their insights are useful—even indispensable—in understanding and solving legal problems in our complex and rapidly changing world.

Is There A Privacy Expert In The House

I recently attended an online privacy debate/discussion presented by Gotham Media at Frankfurt Kurnit.  I want to thank both of them for putting this type of program together: a mix of legal and non-legal and very cutting edge. Unfortunately, I left unsatisfied.

Each panel member was smart and specialized (government lawyer, Wired editor, journalism professor and ex-Microsoft lawyer) and the conversation was lively for the most part.  But, the panelists appeared to generally agree that (1) people want more privacy, (2) consumers need to be protected online (from advertisers? others, besides crooks? not sure who), and (3) the government is the entity that should police privacy.

I left the talk unsatisfied because I don't agree with any of those premises. (1) my public online presence is something I chose and am happy with, (2) I much prefer to get ads targeted to what I am looking for, especially if it includes a better price--I don't like to window shop, and (3) the discussion centered around privacy regulations that remain on the drafting boards since 2000. Social media and sharing sites (facebook, twitter, foursquare, flickr etc) were, of course, not even around in 2000. Which begs the question, who is writing the regs and do they have enough of an online presence to understand social media?

I prefer to be vigilant (not necessarily restrictive) about my own settings, so I can benefit from sharing and what is shared on my terms.


I am not a privacy lawyer, it is just an area of interest to me. If anyone can set my understanding straight, please comment, I would be grateful to hear why I am misinformed.

NYCLA thinking like a Techie

Our latest poll asked NYCLA members to think about the future of legal services and the extent that those services will become systematized in the future.  Surprisingly for a group of lawyers (since lawyers are notorious for resistance to technological changes) 87 percent of those surveyed said that more comprehensive legal services will be available online within the next 5 years.  The small minority disagreed saying that legal services need to be tailored, are too specialized and too complicated to be made available online.

I would love to hear more from those of you who predict more legal services will be available online in the future. What do you see: Skype consultations? form complaints? mutually agreed upon automated dispute resolution?

Musings on Mentoring

The next poll that I am going to post is about mentoring. I am truly curious as to the extent that successful lawyers have been mentored (sponsored, supported--whatever you want to call it) along their career path to their success.  A lot of discussion is currently being had on the need for more mentoring of young attorneys, but I don't recall any conversations in my ten years of talking with senior lawyers about their positive experiences with mentors. Is it just that my conversations with senior lawyers have been so narrow?

I wonder if lawyers will admit to each other (especially lawyers to their junior) that they receive help along the way.

Let's see if the poll reveals anything. Comments are welcome too. Both are anonymous.

Help Wanted: Blawg 100 Amici nominators

Dear Readers, for those of you who wish to express your gratitude for the opinions and insights provided during this blog's 3 and 3/4 years of existence (wow!) you now have a simple, painless way to do so. Just click on http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/blawg100_submit/ and fill out the form explaining why this blog should be on the ABA's list of 100 blogs.

Thanks for your support!

Standardizing legal services

Legal visionary Paul Lippe wrote a recent article about the lack of standardization in the legal profession and forecasts areas where he sees standardization is imminent:

• How clients assess and communicate about the performance of lawyers cries out for standardization, so clients can give consistent feedback, incent improvements in performance, and provide a consistent way for law firm leaders to interpret data.

• How firms charge for work on a “value” basis beyond simple time will be standardized, so firms and clients can compare like to like (products liability defense litigation in Arizona to civil litigation in Colorado).

• How firms share information with clients—now a crazy quilt of alerts, blogs, seminars, treatises, multistate surveys and podcasts—will migrate into a more consistent and integrated model.

• How firms and clients work together to construct documents, or make choices around contract terms will continue to simplify or we will all surely drown in complexity.

• The general way lawyers and clients communicate will standardize through “profile-centric” systems (not “social networks”), just as 15 years ago email became the standard communication tool displacing FedEx and the fax machine (remember that one?) and three generations ago the standard communication tool was “lunch at the club.”

Do you agree with him? Can you think of other ways?

I predict an upcoming poll out of this.

Full article here: http://legalonramp.com/index.php/What-Aspects-of-Legal-Services-Are-Most-Likely-to-Get-Standardized.html

NYCLA Tweeters Unite!

I am impressed by the tech savvy NYCLA members--33% of you use Twitter in your business development. I bet that is higher than the national average for lawyers, in fact, an ABA article from 2009, remarked that "Only 6 percent of lawyers in private practice and 4 percent of in-house lawyers use Twitter."  Who knew that NYCLA was on the cutting edge?

Rounding out the poll results 46%  of pollsters did not use Twitter; 13% use it, but not for business development; and a mere 6% never heard of it or thought it was a waste of time.

 

To see the ABA article, click here:

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/young_lawyer_home/young_lawyer_archive/yld_tyl_dec09_digital.html

More on Twitter

I came across this article in the law journal. It relates directly to our latest poll concerning Twitter.  As usual widely differing views from our lawyer colleagues: Differing Views of Lawyers on Twitter: Savvy Marketing Tool or ‘Nonsense’?

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/differing_views_of_lawyers_on_twitter_savvy_marketing_tool_or_nonsense/

"Remember, you are always a member of the Bar when you are at a bar"

I do hate cute, but I had to take that quote and showcase it in the title to this post. It was taken from  this article: http://www.fromthesidebar.com/attorney-client-privilege/cocktail-party-chatter/.

However, beyond the cheezy quote, the article provides useful guidance on what to say and what not to say in the heat of the summer social season--from refraining from legal advice to protecting confidentiality.

Survey results: Should lawyers be less business minded?

That is the question I asked myself after tallying the latest blog poll. It appears that 63% of respondents believe that lawyers today are too business-minded. I find that striking, especially in today’s economy when people are struggling to make a living. Is it unprofessional for lawyers to be concerned about your business objectives? I would think not, but I would love to hear from some of the respondents who think otherwise.

Rounding out the poll, 18% of respondents think that lawyers today are too academic with the remaining 18% responding that lawyers have a achieved a good balance of both business and academic concerns.

Take the time to vote on the latest poll too (on the left of the screen). Thanks.

Survey results: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF STORING DATA ON A CLOUD?

Our NYCLA community is a group at the extremes, as demonstrated by this last poll about cloud computing.  Multiple answers were allowed and many of you selected more than one answers.  Interestingly, I observed that while 50% of voters were thrilled at the prospect of the cost-savings of this (relatively) new technology. Another 50% of voters were not even sure what the poll was about! The results in percentages are below:

Fantastic! Cost-saver and the future of data storage.

(50%)

My concern is confidentiality and trade secret protection.

(33%)

My concern is the viability of fly-by-night vendors.

(0%)

My concern is ownership , location and what law governs.

(16%)

What is storing data on a cloud?

(50%)

Is Your LinkedIn Profile Violating the Rules of Professional Conduct?

Twice I heard warnings cautioning attorneys who use LinkedIn to be careful of how they describe themselves on their LinkedIn profiles.  The concern stems from possible violations of attorney advertising rules. The "Specialties" section of the profile was of most concern. One commentator suggested that you not include any specialty unless you have obtained special certification in that area. Have you considered the professional conduct rules prior to creating your LinkedIn profile?

Strengthening the Judicial System

I came across a recent article / interview of Ted Olson and David Boies concerning the work that they are doing with the ABA to combat the crisis in the judicial system resulting from underfunding.  I thought many in our NYCLA community would be interested:  http://ipwatchdog.com/2011/05/30/exclusive-interview-ted-olson-david-boies/id=17498/

What if your firm was a private equity portfolio company?

I enjoyed reading Arthur Ciampi's article in the Law Journal about the provocative law suit filed by Jacoby & Meyers to permit non-lawyer ownership of law firm partners.  View the full article here:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202495332432 

What do you think? I will give you the chance to vote on it in a future poll.  For now vote on the precursor poll to the left. 

Institutionalized Mentoring

A sure sign of a growing, sustainable trend is when an ethics opinion is written about that trend. So is the case with mentoring.  Oregon (which was preceded by Georgia and Utah, with other states in the works) has instituted a mandatory mentoring requirement for all attorneys who pass the Oregon state bar, starting this summer.  And just in time before any mentor-mentee partnerships break any rules, the Oregon bar issued a formal opinion on ethics issues arising in mentoring relationships and use of LISTSERVs. For the full text of that opinion, click here: http://www.osbar.org/_docs/ethics/2011-184.pdf

Where we see the legal market moving

In our last poll we asked readers to vote on "How long it will take for attorney demand to return to a comfortable level?" Your responses were split evenly among two extremes with a small percentage voting for the middle ground. Specifically, 41% of voters predicted that within a year or two attorney demand will return to "the good old days" and on the flip side, 41% of voters lament that the legal market will never recover, and that an abundance of unemployed lawyers in the new norm. The remaining voters (16%) expect a full recovery in five years (presumably they are expecting many of those treading water to bail out of the profession by then). Which leaves no one having voted that the legal market has returned to a healthy, stable state. An unsurprising consensus in that regard.


About a year ago, we asked our readers to vote on a similar survey "How long will the drop in attorney demand and association salaries/ billing rates last," you can jump to that post here: http://taskforceonprofessionalism.blogspot.com/2010/02/our-collective-crystal-ball-is-not.html
Interestingly, at that time, voters were split evenly among three choices: recovery in a year, 5 years, and never again.  Comparing that with this year's results, it appears that many who were middle of the road last year have become extremists at both ends of the spectrum. (And last year too, not surprisingly, no one voted for the most sunny of poll choices:  their rates increased and were earning more than ever.)

We are looking back into our collective crystal ball

71% of you love being lawyers.  The rest don't, split 50-50 between those who don't love being a lawyer generally, and those who didn't love being a lawyer on the day they voted. Take the time to vote on the latest poll too, more about that below. Thanks.


Last year, we polled our readers on their predictions regarding the economy and the legal employment market specifically.  Today, we are asking our readers to vote on a very similar poll .  When it is all over, we will compare the results and share with you.

New Year's Resolutions

No this post is not delayed because of technical difficulties and I know it is March and I know that my Valentine's Day themed survey has only a few days to expire. It so happens that I only now realized that I forgot to post the results of our January Survey--Readers New Year's Resolutions.  I know you are dying to hear the results, so here goes:

• 70% have resolved to find a new job! That is a whopping percentage and surprised me too.
• 40% have resolved to get new clients-- go get 'em.
• 20% have resolved to get out of debt.  A fine resolution.
• 40% have resolved to be more active in NYCLA.  An even finer resolution! I hope that means more hits on my blog too.
• No one has resolved to change professions. We do love being lawyers (don't forget to vote on the current survey)
• No one has resolved to make an investment (not even buy a new suit! the 70% looking for a new job, might want to rethink this one.)

These responses inform me that (1) we love being lawyers, but not necessarily our jobs; (2) we need to be more fashion savvy, especially since we practice in the fashion capital of the world; (3) maybe we will make some investments (maybe even in a new suit) after we find new clients and/or get out of debt.

NYCLA's Mentoring Program. lots of professionals, good advice and dare I say, swanky....

I am so excited about the 2011 Mentoring Program. NYCLA has put together the FIRST EVER bar association sponsored mentoring program for the second year.  We had the first meeting last night with a huge turn-out of mentors and mentees.  This year's group consists of 20 pairs! We had to whittle down the applicants (>150! we enthusiastically encourage reapplying) based on the success of last year's program.

The meeting featured an excellent introduction to career empowerment and mentoring from Elise Holtzman http://www.advocatesuccessgroup.com/blog/.  Following the meeting we met at our new monthly social gathering at the swanky, fabulously decorated back room of the Woolworth Tower Kitchen. http://www.thewoolworthtowerkitchen.com/photos.html  I love this place. I can't wait to come back. Thank you Shariff and Lou!

This program is really that good. In fact, we need to find a better name than just mentoring program to brand it. I am open to suggestions.

Big thanks to Bari, Zack, and the Advisory Board: Lew Tesser, Judge Laura Ward, Nancy Morisseau and my humble self.  This is going to be BIG!

NYCLA Recommendations Regarding Commission on Judicial Conduct Adopted by NYSBA

NYCLA announced on January 28 that the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates has adopted the major recommendations proposed by a report released by NYCLA’s Task Force on Judicial Conduct.

The NYCLA Report was prepared in response to concerns that the activities of the Commission on Judicial Conduct may unintentionally compromise the independence of the Judiciary and the widespread perception that many of the Commission’s procedures are at variance with the due process framework that is fundamental to our legal system. The new recommendations seek to promote judicial independence by bringing greater transparency to the way in which the Commission operates, and enhancing due process and the appearance of fairness in the Commission’s processes.

For NYCLA's submission to the to the NYSBA House of Delegates, click here http://www.nycla.org/siteFiles/News/News147_0.pdf

For NYCLA's Task Force on Judicial Conduct, click here http://www.nycla.org/siteFiles/News/News147_2.pdf