Futurelawyer

Are You A Success?

Link: Execupundit.com: Who Feels Successful?. Michael Wade is a smart man. In the eyes of the rest of us, he is a success. His blog, Execupundit, is a treasure trove of daily wisdom useful to those of us in the professional and business world. This post of his, that begins with a denial that he is a success, is instructive. As lawyers, we tend to measure success with case or matter success, financial success, or the fancy office or partnership, or the fancy car, or whatever material or professional measure you choose to use. Those of us interested in technology and gadgets are proud of our gadgets, and our innovative ways to use them to chase the other measures of success. In our heart of hearts, though, I suspect that we all ascribe to Michael's reference to the U.S. Army's motto: Be, Know, Do. We all need to concentrate more on being and knowing. It is nice to Do; but, it is not the only essential element of happiness.

Chuck Newton: Proof That You Can Practice Virtually From Anywhere

Link: Chuck Newton: Proof That You Can Practice Virtually From Anywhere. Chuck Newton has posted on the move in RV parks to provide free WiFi, and the possibility of practicing law from an RV. The FutureLawyer is already doing this, and there is a better way than waiting for RV parks to offer free WiFi. I take the family in our RV to Orlando a few times a year to visit Universal Studios. See our RV in the attached photo. Disney has priced themselves out of the ordinary family's price range. Also, many Florida Bar functions are held in the Orlando area. When I am traveling in the RV, I use my EvDO Internet cards to connect my computer, and the family's computers, to the Internet wherever we are. We get broadband speed, and, with the SlingMedia software, we can even watch the same TV programs that we do at home. So, Chuck, I am way ahead of you. I am ALREADY the RV lawyer.

Everything Old Is New Again

Link: Home Office Warrior � “What Goes Around, Comes Around” — Guest Post by Chuck Newton. This guest post by Chuck Newton for Home Office Warrior hits the nail on the head. Blogging is maturing as a venue for special interest discussion, and new blogs that claim to be the next big thing are proliferating. Some of them are just attempts to bring ad dollars to the new entrepreneurs; hopefully, they will add to the discussion, but, Chuck is right when he says that they should stick to a topic, and, like the rest of us, beat it to death. I suspect that Internet readers are sophisticated enough to stick with blogs that practice the mantra: "content, content, content". This isn't rocket science; you will read what interests you. You will pass on what does not. There, I have said it. If any of you are still here, I am a happy camper.

Fire The Bad Client

Link: South Carolina Trial Law Blog: A Good Case with a Bad Client is a Bad Case. This post contains some great advice for lawyers. David Swanner hits the nail on the head with this one. Bad clients are bad for your mood, bad for your digestion, and bad for your employees. My favorites are the ones that don't seem to hear what you say, and call back over and over to hear it again. The only thing I would add to this post is the Foonberg advice that I carry with me every day. Fire the bad client. Or, as David advises, don't hire them in the first place. Don't ever let economic stresses cause you to ignore the flashing lights and honking horns that your brain makes during that first conference. You know who they are. You know they will be a problem. Just don't.

Chuck Newton: The Ego Is Big

Link: Chuck Newton: The Ego Is Big. I love this post by my friend, Chuck Newton. He talks about lawyers who won't move their practice to their homes as having low opinions of lawyers who do. You know, the lawyers who have big offices, big overhead, big heads, and think of themselves as better than the run of the mill solo practitioner. He also talks about the lawyer who moved his practice home so he could care for his kids after his wife died, and stayed home after they grew up. I happen to think practicing at home (at least all or part of the time, as I do) is the selfish choice. It is in my self interest to be home when the kids are home. It is in my self interest to keep the overhead low, by not having a passel of employees with their hands out for salary and benefits. It is in my self interest to practice from a former house that is paid for, so that I have no rent. Maybe we solo lawyers know something the biglaw types don't?

Value of Second Life to law firms is over : Real Lawyers Have Blogs

Link: Value of Second Life to law firms is over : Real Lawyers Have Blogs. Kevin O'Keefe is right that Second Life isn't ready for prime time; at least, insofar as virtual law offices are concerned. I toyed with Second Life for a while; and, I found it difficult to use, very difficult to navigate, difficult to find property, and difficult to build in. Since it was so labor intensive, it stands to reason that serious hobbyists were the only denizens. In addition, the bandwidth and computer power necessary to support 3D online virtual worlds just doesn't fit with attorney client interaction. When the technology becomes easy to use, and virtual worlds are as easy to navigate in as the real world; then, virtual lawyering in 3D might become a reality. However, don't hold your breath.

The Trial of St. Mark

Link: The Trial of St. Mark. So, you want a cushy job as corporate counsel at a large corporation? You want to come to work at 9 and leave at 5? You want golf dates at the local country club? You want someone else figuring out how to pay the staff, the rent, the phone bill, the the electric bill, and the other expenses of law practice? You want health insurance, a pension, stock options and all that? Consider the cautionary tale of Mark Kipnis, who had the misfortune to follow the corporate lawyer lifestyle to Conrad Black, at Hollinger International. When the big bosses were doing big deals; which later turned out to be fraudulent, he didn't profit personally; however, when the police came calling, he was swept up and convicted with all of them. Every lawyer knows that the most innocent situation can be a complex conundrum. There, but for the grace of God, go you or I.

Stay Happily Married - Marriage Counseling, Marriage Counselors in Raleigh, NC and Charlotte, NC

Link: Stay Happily Married - Marriage Counseling, Marriage Counselors in Raleigh, NC and Charlotte, NC. It is really nice to see blogging lawyers like Lee Rosen and his firm concentrating on saving marriages. His family law site has some really important tips and wisdom, and is FutureLawyer recommended. The fact that he reads FutureLawyer every day makes him okay in my book. She Who Must Be Obeyed has approved this message.

Eight Legal Technology Trends for 2008 – Good Times, Bad Times or Hard Times in Legal Tech? | LLRX.com

Link: Eight Legal Technology Trends for 2008 – Good Times, Bad Times or Hard Times in Legal Tech? | LLRX.com. Dennis Kennedy's annual tech trends in law article is out, and he has some interesting things to say. I was not surprised to hear that lawyers are resisting electronic discovery. Lawyers are notorious for avoiding what they don't understand. EDD requires a degree in computer science to get a handle on, and lawyers are not comfortable putting their case in the hands of third party companies who "analyze" and "report" on the discovery for a case. Dennis is also right on about lawyers making the tech they already have work better. Lawyers don't like big change in the way they practice; they already have too many balls in the air. They particularly won't be spending big bucks on new tech when the economy is slow. Thanks, Dennis, for an always thoughtful and insightful, look at legal tech.

Guy Kawasaki’s Top Sixteen Lies of Lawyers � Technology and Business Law Blog

Link: Guy Kawasaki’s Top Sixteen Lies of Lawyers � Technology and Business Law Blog. Of course, I am preaching to the choir; however, there is wisdom in this rant by Guy Kawasaki about the lawyers he has met in his tech startup and investment world. A lot of these sound like problems he wouldn't have with a solo practitioner. In any event, if you are saying things like this to prospective clients, you have more problems than I can solve in one post.

Small Firm Business - Ugly Battle Over Ohio Law Firm

Link: Small Firm Business - Ugly Battle Over Ohio Law Firm. One of the benefits of solo practice is that these kinds of disputes don't happen. Of course, when I die, she who must be obeyed will have to liquidate my firm and assets, and hire someone to close out my files. Solos in Florida must appoint an attorney officially to perform this task. However, ugly litigation over the assets is not likely. If you are in a firm that contains more than one lawyer, take out the partnership or shareholders agreement RIGHT NOW, and read it carefully. Assume that one of you is dead. Now, what happens? Small businesses engage in this kind of planning all the time. Most agreements provide for a long term payout by the surviving partners or shareholders, or provide for some sort of insurance funded buy-sell. What does yours say?

Note to She Who Must Be Obeyed: Sorry, darling. There are no planes, mansions, or football teams in my asset portfolio.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Link: Build A Solo Practice, LLC: "You Ask....I Answer" - I Want to Fire A Pro Bono Client. What Say You?. As I said in a recent post, firing a client is sometimes necessary. In the case of this lawyer who wrote to Susan Cartier-Liebel for advice, firing is mandatory. Never expect a client to show gratitude, or to become a happy compliant client just because you are her lawyer. My worst client experiences have been with ungrateful pro bono clients who come to expect their lawyer to become emotionally invested in their cause, and who blame the lawyer for their own faults, and the delays inherent in the system. The psychologists call this transference, and you should run away from any client who exhibits the symptoms. Good luck, and get used to saying "You're Fired!":

Given Up Any Privileged Data Lately, Turkey?

Link: Legal Technology - The Art of Redacting Privileged Data. I love this article by Kenton Hutcherson. It certainly is a cautionary tale for lawyers who are responding to electronic discovery requests. If you are doing this by yourself, and not hiring a computer discovery company to help, you are nuts. The tech is just too complicated and too new. While, in Florida, the mis-directed fax or unintended discovery error cannot ethically be read and used by the recipient, it is still not a smart idea to risk sending privileged materials to the other side. So, if you are sending electronic files; make sure they are vetted by somebody who knows what they are doing.

Solo By Choice - The Book

Link: Chuck Newton: Solo By Choice. I haven't received my copy of Carolyn Elefant's excellent new book, Solo By Choice, yet. I was promised one; however, Chuck is either cooler than I am, or Texas is closer than Florida to the Northeast. But, we are both in the Sunbelt; which should be one of the reasons for becoming a solo down here in the warm. In any event, Carolyn had the discipline and talent to write this book, and every lawyer or soon to be lawyer should read it. Most of us never actually thought seriously about the type of law practice we chose. We got into it by accident, not by design. With this book, there are no more excuses. Even if you are already practicing, you need to read this book. It might just change your life.

The Specialized Lawyer

Link: Execupundit.com: Going Beyond Our Specialty. This excellent post by Michael Wade, at Execupundit, got me thinking about law practice and the trend to specialization. Like Doctors, the more complex the law becomes, the more we seem locked into small areas of practice. Solo law practice tends to work against this trend; the solo lawyer has to be part lawyer, part janitor, part manager, part accountant, part dishwasher, and many other things. We pride ourselves on being renaissance men and women; however, we still tend to gravitate towards specific areas of law. I really like the Heinlein quote in the piece, except for the ending. I really don't want to "die gallantly". I expect that I will be dragged from law practice, kicking and screaming. So, go ahead, stretch yourself. Try something new; you might like it.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda; a Discovery Nightmare

Link: Law.com - Qualcomm Lawyers Late to Search Laptop. Computers, and electronic storage, have changed the discovery paradigm; and large law firms, involved in large cases, make a large thud when they make a mistake. It is so easy to ignore the voices, isn't it? As Qualcomm lawyers who failed to look for discovery in emails of a Qualcomm engineer are finding out, it isn't just hiring an IT guy or gal to collect and communicate electronic evidence that satisfies the discovery gods. These lawyers were apparently intentionally blind about certain evidence in emails that proved relevant; they are now paying a huge price. This is a scary case, and a scary result. The bigger the case, and the bigger the discovery problems, the more difficult electronic discovery is making it. I am happy that I am a solo practitioner. We aren't involved in complex litigation for the most part. It is hard enough doing what we do. Every lawyer involved in complex litigation needs to take a look at the Qualcomm debacle. It is a cautionary tale.

Legal Technology - The Dangers of Virtual Cocktail Parties

Link: Legal Technology - The Dangers of Virtual Cocktail Parties. The Internet is changing everything. The wide proliferation of what is said on the Internet is greatly expanding the liability risks of the things attorneys do. For example, in the old days, the "innocent" legal question asked at an event, such as a banquet or cocktail party, could create an attorney-client relationship and that could create a liability risk for the attorney. Internet chat rooms, relationship sites like LinkedIn and others, and just ordinary email, must be handled with care when dealing with strangers. I always refused to give legal advice in a social setting; I handed the questioner my card, and advised them to call for an appointment. Only in the office setting will you be able to think clearly and solicit all the factual information you need to give legal advice. Oh, yes, and to get paid. If you are taking the legal risk of giving legal advice, please get paid for it. Actually, does anybody even go to cocktail parties anymore? I have been a designated driver for so long, I wouldn't know. I have a vision of millions of chat room denizens, with martini in hand, clicking away dangerous questions in front of a computer screen. Casual legal advice over the Internet?  Just don't.

What? No Xmas Bonus?

Link: Law.com - Williams & Connolly Raises First-Year Salaries to $180,000. Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. $180,000 for a kid right out of law school? How many hours are these first year associates billing? Who is paying? What are they doing? Williams and Connolly doesn't pay Xmas bonuses; of course not. Every day is Xmas in D.C.

Solo By Choice : Carolyn Elefant's new book : Real Lawyers Have Blogs

Link: Solo By Choice : Carolyn Elefant's new book : Real Lawyers Have Blogs. Here is a book that is must reading for anyone contemplating the move to solo practice. I haven't received a copy yet; however, I will buy one when they are available. I have been a solo for many years; however, Ms. Elefant's take will certainly be eye-opening and instructional. Congratulations, Carolyn.

Are They Lying? Seven Ways To Tell

Link: Yahoo! Personal Finance. Most lawyers I know pride themselves on being pretty good at recognizing deception. We don't know how we do it; subconsciously, we just know. This article quantifies some of the visual and sound cues that may indicate deception in another. Call it a human polygraph. Just as the polygraph measures changes in the body, the human brain is capable of sensing the kinds of changes that a person undergoes when he or she is not telling the truth. Lack of eye contact has always been my favorite. I immediately distrust someone who won't look me in the eyes. Of course, some liars are true sociopaths, and they are impossible to detect. And, as some of us know, other emotions can cloud our judgment when we measure another's sincerity; think love, sex. and fear. Lawyers know that people lie all the time. We need to know not to act based upon the lies.

YouTube - "What kind of Law do you practice?"

Link: YouTube - "What kind of Law do you practice?". If you looked at this clip on Friday, you noticed that Jay Foonberg didn't actually answer the question at the end. If I had to pick one single tip on building my practice that had been the most valuable, it would have been this one. I heard Mr. Foonberg many years ago,and he always asks this question. Okay, since you asked, the answer is: "What kind of lawyer do you need?". This answer keeps the conversation going, and gives you an opportunity to find out what the prospective client's problem is. You can then discover whether it is something you can handle, or refer the client to someone. In either case, you create a relationship.

Excite News - Lawyers Face Sanctions in Qualcomm Suit

Link: Excite News - Lawyers Face Sanctions in Qualcomm Suit. When a young lawyer is deciding what kind of law practice he or she wants to pursue, the Qualcomm litigation, (or any big complex case, for that matter) should be required reading. Big law, plus big case, plus big money, always translates into increased pressure to win, and that always pressures lawyers to do what the client wants, or to do more that they should. Is it me, or is there increasing pressure from all sides to get bigger, get richer, work longer hours, and get bigger cases and clients? Small law, and small aspirations are not for small men. They are for lawyers who have other goals, that don't necessarily involve more money. Think about it, young grasshopper.

E-Discovery Across The Pond

Link: The Orange Rag - from Legal Technology Insider :: Lawyers call for clarity on e-discovery - and training for judges. As this article indicates, electronic discovery is just as problematic in the U.K. as in the U.S. Lawyers and Judges are grappling with the complex practical, monetary and legal issues created by this new discovery trove that resides in bits and bytes on computers and other storage devices. How do you know you got it all? How do you evaluate what you get? Whom do you hire to analyze it? What are the rules for using it as evidence? Perhaps lawyers and judges in both countries need to take some C.L.E. courses that train them to find and use electronic evidence. Otherwise, we all will be flying blind.

Work Smarter - Not Harder

Link: Book Excerpt: Parkinson's Law and The 4-Hour Workweek - Lifehacker. Lawyers are notorious deadline junkies. We live and breathe our deadlines, and we let everything else go. Tim Ferriss has a great book that teaches tools for getting more done in less time. Best tips? The 80-20 rule. Do the most important things first, and let the least important go. Parkinson's Law. Shorter deadlines mean you will concentrate more, and get more done. Finally, batch stuff. Do all of your correspondence in a single time window, and then let it go for a while. Take your calls in a window of time, and let them wait til the next window. Of course, all of these rules have exceptions, but you will be amazed at the time and productivity gains you achieve by using them. I am a passionate list maker, and I keep my list handy in my Amicus Attorney case management program. You can also use Outlook or some other organizer. The chief thing is, just do it. Make a list, prioritize the list, and only do the important stuff. I am always amazed at how the least important stuff falls off the list after a while. Often, I never have to do these tasks at all.

Office Culture: Cover Your Butt At Work with Thorough Notes - Lifehacker

Link: Office Culture: Cover Your Butt At Work with Thorough Notes - Lifehacker. Lawyers, as a rule, take copious notes about everything. We have so many details to cover, and we must record everything to do a competent job for our clients. In a large organization, however, copious note taking is more of a cover your butt operation, as this author points out. People who record everything are poison to bad managers; they are a gold mine for lawyers. What lawyer wouldn't enjoy a subpoena for the notes of the employee described in this article? Now that note taking is being complemented by emails and long computer generated fact summaries, the litigator is tapping into a motherlode of discovery material. So, cover your butt if you must; but, don't cry to me when the discovery monster comes calling.

The Complete Lawyer - Where Do Your Referrals Come From?

Link: The Complete Lawyer - Volume 3 - Number 5. This is a great little article Stephen Fairley of the Rainmaker Institute, in the Complete Lawyer, which, by the way, is a great site for lawyers thinking about law practice. If you think that most of your referrals come from clients, think again. On second thought, it doesn't really matter where most of your referrals come from. What matters is that you think about it, and do something to cultivate the source. Do you regularly ask yourself where your business is coming from? Do you call the source, and do something simple, like say thank you?

Lies Lawyers Tell - This Isn't You, Is It?

Link: How to Change the World: The Top Ten (Sixteen) Lies of Lawyers. Guy Kawasaki has dealt with a lot of lawyers. I hope, after reading his article about the lies he has been told by lawyers, that you don't see yourself. If you do, you need to refocus your marketing. Of course, lawyers aren't the only professionals who sometimes lie to their clients. I have some stories about auto mechanics and plumbers myself. Never overpromise. Always overdeliver.

Learn To Say No

Link: Execupundit.com: Quote of the Day. Coming from a Catholic school background, in which I was required to take 4 years of high school Latin, I thought I had a leg up in law school. I had a good feel for the Latin phrases that make up many of the rules we lawyers live by. However, the hardest lesson I had to learn in becoming a practicing lawyer was how to say "NO". It is always difficult to tell a client that they need to look for alternative solutions to their chosen path. We all have to be strong and say "NO" often, even at the risk of losing the client. Believe me, you don't want that client anyway.

LegalTalkNetwork - Age Discrimination in the Legal Profession

Link: LegalTalkNetwork - Age Discrimination in the Legal Profession. At the cutting edge of legal blogging are the legal talk shows on the net. The best is Lawyer2Lawyer on LegalTalkNetwork, downloadable discussions and interviews about issues important to the legal profession. This one, about age discrimination in big law against older lawyers who are being forced out by their firms, touched a chord with me. I am one of the oldest lawyers you will ever meet. My age, a closely guarded secret, will not, however, result in my firing from my practice. That is, unless I choose to fire myself, which I consider regularly. If She Who Must Be Obeyed decides that it is time for me to hang up my spurs, I will naturally comply. However, I don't see that happening until the kids are out of college. If any of these lawyers want revenge, they should start a solo practice, and start suing the firms that are doing the discriminating. Now, THAT would be a pretty irony.

The Michael Corleone Principle

Link: Sox First: Three rules to successful negotiation. Many people think of lawyers as litigation machines, who go into battle in courtrooms, give opening and closing arguments, and destroy recalcitrant witnesses with withering cross-examinations. I call this the T.V. myth. We all watch too many lawyer shows on T.V. Practicing lawyers know that the bulk of our practices consist of negotiation, compromise, and persuasion, conducted in face to face meetings and telephone and email and written correspondence. The rise in mediated settlements has only increased the need for negotiating skills in the lawyer. This short article about the top three rules to successful negotiations is instructive, and valuable.  When the other guy  really tries to push a negotiating advantage, remember that "It is nothing personal. It's just business."

How To Write An Appellate Brief

Link: YL-27-Ward.pdf (application/pdf Object). Okay, Raymond P. Ward is an insurance defense lawyer who practices in big law; however, this 12 page Chapter of a Defense Research Institute book that he authored contains some gems about writing an Appellate brief. What I took from it is that you have to be detail oriented, and, if you didn't attend the trial, you need to immerse yourself in the record, learning the underlying facts better than the parties themselves. That is actually not as hard as it sounds, since you will be coming to the facts without preconceived notions and emotional prejudices. We all tend to go into denial when it is our own case at trial. The next most important tip is that the actual writing of the brief is often secondary to the preparation. In brief writing, the mantra is 90% preparation, 10% digitation. Now, go forth and wow those appellate robes.

Small Firm Business - Helping Lawyers Set Up Small Shops

Link: Small Firm Business - Helping Lawyers Set Up Small Shops. John Charnon is a "Have Gun, Will Travel" kind of law firm administrator.  For $120 an hour, he will come to a solo or small firm, and make all the business decisions, and recommend, buy and implement software, etc. Of course, if you are contemplating going solo, it isn't likely you have a spare $20,000 to hire Mr. Charnon. While I respect what law firm administrators do for medium to large firms, I think solo lawyers need to learn to make these decisions for themselves; even if mistakes are made. I have made plenty; but, I have control over my practice and my life. Learning to be your own law firm administrator requires after-hours learning. But, isn't that what we lawyers do?

AdamsDrafting � Blog Archive � Document Collaboration—Q&A with Deepak Massand, CEO of Litera Corp.

Link: AdamsDrafting � Blog Archive � Document Collaboration—Q&A with Deepak Massand, CEO of Litera Corp.. Thanks to Ken Adams, a legal document drafting specialist, for the heads up about Litera Corp. Follow the link for information about the Litera software, that organizes and makes truly easy, large scale, multi-person document drafting, and keeps copies of all drafts safe. It looks a little pricey for solo and small firms; but, if you draft complex documents, requiring input from a group, this might be the ticket. Now, do we all REALLY want there to be a roadmap to all that we do with documents? I suppose this would be the EDiscovery mother lode for a lawyer who sues the participants. Yes?

Forget Vulgar and Crude - How About "Stupid"?

Link: Law.com - Lawyer Reprimanded for 'Vulgar' Comments About Judges. Geoffrey Fieger, who has been reprimanded for calling several Judges names on a radio show, should know better. Apparently, vulgar and crude comments about Judges are "not Constitutionally protected" speech. My take on this, as a practicing lawyer who appears before Judges, is that the remarks were more than Constitutionally unprotected speech; they were STUPID. Every Judge I have ever appeared before was sage, intelligent, attentive, and totally impartial. That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

Don't Tell Me What's Up, Doc - Forbes.com

Link: Don't Tell Me What's Up, Doc - Forbes.com. In an interesting study of Doctor-Patient relationships, the conclusion that patients don't want to hear personal information from their Doctor got me thinking about law practice. I have always felt that lawyers' interactions with clients should be LESS formal and stilted, and have often gotten positive reaction from clients who tell me that my informal style is appreciated. The sharing of personal information and the disclosure of a sense of humor, in my view, has a place in creating a shared experience between lawyer and client. Does this not translate to Doctor and Patient? It may depend on the patient, and upon the level of sickness. Most people who come to lawyers with a problem certainly want the problem solved; however, in my experience, they want to feel comfortable with the lawyer, and small talk helps that process. What do you think?

Word Processor Review — DonationCoder.com

Link: Word Processor Review — DonationCoder.com. Lawyers, as a group, generate more documents with word processing software than any other professional group. Some of us collect word processing software like my wife collects shoes. In fact, I have posted about many of them in this space. DonationCoder, in the public interest, has published an excellent set of reviews of most of the currently popular word processors in one place. If you are a WordPerfect guy, like the FutureLawyer, or if you have been assimilated into Microsoft Word Hell, or if you are toying with the idea of going totally web with your documents, this review is for you.

Tampa DUI Lawyer / Drunk Driving Defense Attorney

Link: Tampa DUI Lawyer / Drunk Driving Defense Attorney. Good friend "Casey" Ebsary is a good example of a technically literate lawyer, using the Web for promotion of his practice and for education. Since I rarely imbibe, I should never need Casey's services; however, his website is the first place I would go if I had a DUI in Florida. The sparse, clean design is a model for lawyers who want to show their stuff on the Web.

Researching Companies on the Internet - A Tutorial

Link: Researching Companies on the Internet - A Tutorial. Lawyers often find themselves handling transactions or litigations involving companies and corporations about which they have little information. This free tutorial, with links to free websites, is a great starting point to find out what the Internet knows about any company. Whether you are researching a prospective client, or doing opposition research in litigation, the more you know, the more effective you will be. The web site is decidedly old school, but the information is golden.

Sololawyer: Cure For The Lazy Lawyer Syndrome

Link: Sololawyer: Cure For The Lazy Lawyer Syndrome. I love reading Chuck Newton. He reminds me of me. I have, for a long time, understood his prescription for avoiding burn-out. But, it took me a while, and not until I WAS burned out, back in the 80's. Since then, I have taken leave of my office for a few hours whenever I felt like it. I have lived life, not for the sake of clients; but, for the sake of my sanity and my family. Yesterday, my family and I spent the whole day with friends out by the pool, laughing and eating, and playing. I got too much sun, and today I am a lobster. But, it was what Saturdays are made for. I realize that, every now and then, trial preparation or last minute stuff intervenes. But, trials don't last forever, unless you let them. Time doesn't get away from you, unless you let it. Thanks for the reminder, Chuck. And, thanks for your wonderful contributions to SoloLawyer.

Home Office Lawyer: 10 Must-Have Apps for the Mac Using Solo Practitioner

Link: Home Office Lawyer: 10 Must-Have Apps for the Mac Using Solo Practitioner. My recent top ten columns have been getting some play around the net, and I have been remiss in not publishing my friend, Grant Griffith's, retort to my Ten Must Have Apps for the PC lawyer column. He, as my readers know, is a Mac guy, and this is his ten must have apps for the lawyer using a Mac. I suppose if you must use a Mac, these applications are worth a look. Thanks, Grant. Now, if both lawyers who use Macs will please pay attention, you might learn something.

The Humble Opinion: About Us

Link: The Humble Opinion: About Us. This great little website about patent law, and other law related stuff kindly linked to my recent Treo apps column for law.com. However, flattered as I am, I am highlighting it for another reason. This is just about the best disclaimer page I have seen at a legal blog site. It is written in plain English, and isn't filled with dense and unreadable diction. My favorite line: "...many of our friends are attorneys and if they found out we were practicing law for free they'd make us work for the government:". LOL

Tampa DUI Lawyer / Drunk Driving Defense Attorney

Link: Tampa DUI Lawyer / Drunk Driving Defense Attorney. My friend, Casey Ebsary, has created a blog that delves into the intricacies of DUI law and defense. While it is keyed to Florida law, any lawyer can benefit from the links, resources and articles. Since I seldom drink alcohol, it is highly unlikely I will need Casey's advice; however, one never says never? In any event, every lawyer should have some rudimentary knowledge of this area of law; we have friends, relatives, and acquaintances, don't we?

ProDoc - document assembly software, automated legal document for attorneys

Link: ProDoc - document assembly software, automated legal document for attorneys. I have posted about my favorite document assembly solution for Florida and Texas lawyers before. However, I just received a review upgrade to Small Office Suite, which gives me a simple, easy to use billing system, along with phone messaging, calendar, contacts, and case management. I want to keep my Amicus Attorney for calendaring, phone, and task management, so I wanted to keep both databases the same. Happily, SOS comes with conduits for linking to my Palm Treo. The Palm then syncs to Outlook and Amicus, so I can use whatever calendar I want at any time. I am going to try doing some simple time and billing with ProDoc SOS, and will let you know how it goes. It is really nice, however, to have time and billing connected to my stored documents created with ProDoc. If you are in Florida or Texas, you have GOT to try this system. You won't ever let go.

Linux, CrossOver, a Dell X1 and a Bottle of Wine - Nirvana

You may recall that I have been playing around with using Ubuntu Linux  and CrossOver Linux  from CodeWeavers to bypass the requirement for a Microsoft operating system. CrossOver Linux makes a graphical front-end for Wine, the open-source software that allows running many native Windows applications within Linux. I am making some progress in this area, and, while many of my legal applications are not supported by the Wine/CodeWeaver community, I can see the future, and it does NOT require a Windows operating system to run Windows apps. I have been using my old SATA hard drive in my Dell laptop to test; but, over the weekend, I installed Ubuntu Linux and CrossOver Linux on my ultralight Dell X1 computer, and it now is my carry around Linux box. Ubuntu Linux is easy to install and use, and takes no time at all to acclimate to. With CrossOver, I have successfully installed, and am now running, Microsoft Office XP (Word, Outlook, etc.), and I even got WordPerfect 11 to install. Some of my other legal-specific apps remain to be installed, such as ProDoc, Displaysoft real estate software, and HotDocs. Since Linux has versions of the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email , my Web activity is the same as always. And, using GoToMyPc, I have complete access to my Amicus Attorney case management system and Amicus Accounting. CrossOver Linux leverages the Wine system, so named because it works by creating "bottles" on the Linux computer that create a small virtual Windows environment for particular applications. Bottles can be XP, Windows 98, or Windows 2000 flavored, and, with some tweaking, just about any Windows app will run in them. Will I make a complete switch to Linux soon? Too early to tell, but you will be the first to know.

TechnoEsq

Link: TechnoEsq. Here  is another legal blog by a tech lawyer, Finis Price. Finis does product reviews, and such, and is also going solo. He has a great resource on his site, containing tutorials for everything from converting PDFs to text, to creating digital signatures. He probably has more technical expertise than I do, and I will be consulting his tutorial page often.

shortsale - Chuck Newton's New Blog

Link: shortsale. Chuck Newton has a new blog about his new practice area; representing investors who are seeing the opportunity in the coming mortgage foreclosure boom. Many homeowners are in unsuitable mortgages for amounts based upon property values that have dropped substantially. This is a sure prescription for disaster. There are risks for all involved in this process, however, as investors who take advantage of desperate homeowners are laying themselves open to charges of exploitation. Homeowners who find themselves in bad situations would do well to follow the common sense advice at Chuck's new websites. Chuck is right; there are sharks in the water. Be careful out there.

The Dreams of a Solo: New Postal Regulations: Traps for the Unwary

Link: The Dreams of a Solo: New Postal Regulations: Traps for the Unwary. Dreams of a Solo links to a great article/post by Ellen Freedman, at Pennsylvania-based Freedman Consulting's Law Office Management Blog. There are some great ideas and strategies for law firms to leverage the new Postal regs to limit postal expenses. In the early days of law practice, I didn't give a second thought to postage costs. In today's world, it doesn't take too many first class letters at 37 cents (soon to be 39 cents plus, depending on envelope size and thickness), to make a dent in a solo lawyer's budget. Learn the new regs, and take a look at your mail room. One more example of the power of the Internet, and your profit oriented Postal Service.

Next - Let's Convict Everybody Within a Two-mile Radius of the Crime!

Link: Law.com - Defense Lawyers Dismayed by 9th Circuit Ruling on Willful Ignorance. Far be it from the humble Futurelawyer to take issue with Federal Judges. And, I hate drugs of all kinds. I don't even drink alcohol. And, you have to be pretty bright to become a Federal Judge. However, now, in the Ninth Circuit, if you are in the car with a trunk full of marijuana, you are guilty of willful ignorance amounting to knowledge of criminal activity. So, if you deny knowledge that the contraband is in the trunk, the Judge can instruct the jury that you knew. No longer can you say: "But, Officer, somebody else must have put it there!" Okay, it is pretty suspicious if I am on my way to Mexico with 350 pounds of pot in the trunk. But, since when do we tell the jury what to believe? Once we start instructing the jury that willful ignorance equals knowledge of criminal activity, aren't we substituting the judgment of the Federal Judge for that of the jury? Isn't that what juries are for? I have great faith that ordinary people on the jury will be able to decide whether the Defendant is guilty without such an instruction. However, I will be more careful from now on in my use of fabric softener. That stuff is deadly.

Legal Technology - Ten Must-Have Apps for the Solo Practitioner

Link: Legal Technology - Ten Must-Have Apps for the Solo Practitioner. This month's column for InFocus focuses on application software for the solo practitioner, but the apps can be used by any lawyer. Since I use Windows, these are Windows applications; but, I invite the Mac lawyers to comment about Mac applications with the same functionality. There are certainly more legal specific applications written for Windows, since the vast majority of lawyers use Windows; however, that may be changing.

Lex Loci Linux

Link: Lex Loci Linux. It had to happen. Zale Dowlen, Tennessee law student cum lawyer, has begun a blog about the use of Linux by lawyers in the practice of law. The FutureLawyer is long entrenched in the Windows world; albeit against my better judgment, and Grant Griffiths and friends are Mac aficionados. Welcome to the fray, Zale. I look forward to ongoing comparisons between the three operating systems, as vehicles for lawyers practicing real law. I hope that, ultimately, you win.

Lie-Detection Software - Future E-Discovery Tool?

Link: Lie-Detection Software Could Scan E-Mail, Text Messages - Yahoo! News.