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February 29, 2008
Leap year: one tradition, hurt clients, remedies.
In the English-speaking world, women may propose marriage on this day. One tale is that a 1288 law by girl-Queen Margaret of Scotland required that a penalty be imposed if a man refused the proposal: a kiss, £1 or a silk gown, to soften the blow of the rejection.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Duke: Coach K looks for 800th win.
DURHAM, NC (Duke Chronicle)--Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is already recognized as one of the premier coaches in college basketball. After tomorrow, his status among the all-time elite could be cemented. [more]
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
AP: 1 in 100 Americans is locked up.
Prison or jail. So now it's okay to ask that cute but austere candidate from Choate, Williams and Stanford Law: "So, and we gotta ask this, done any time? Well, let me rephrase that...anything over a year?"
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 02:10 AM | Comments (0)
Never completely drink your own Kool-Aid.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2008
Brussels to Microsoft: $1.3 billion.
From Canada's Law Day: The European Union fines Microsoft for delayed compliance with 2004 antitrust order.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)
Americans are fed up with bad service. This is news?
Hardly news to WAC? Lately, our biggest pet peeves are: (a) American retail banking services and (b) Gen-X clerks globally. Banks and younger store help are not just monuments to lameness and mediocrity in commerce--they actually seem to get off on doing bad work. Along with practicing law, we at WAC? live and breathe client service issues. We are the Watchers. And it's a miracle to WAC? that some employees can even feed their families. The problem: business knows what to do, but it can't get people to buy into Client Service. Business Week, in a good feature by Jena McGregor, hypes it as the "Customer Backlash Against Bad Service".
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
Mediating Internationally: Hungary's Eva Horvath
At the International Dispute Negotiation series of The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), hear the latest IDN interview, No. 15 "Prof. Eva Horvath, of Budapest, Hungary, on ADR in Eastern Europe". Hosted by Michael McIlwrath, Senior Litigation Counsel with General Electric based in Florence, Italy.
Posted by Brooke Powell at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2008
William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008)
No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, only the small-minded and single issue freaks would fail to acknowledge that Bill Buckley was a powerful intellect, one of the most influential writer-thinkers of the last century, and a true Renaissance Man. A class act on a level with Voltaire and Disraeli. Everyone has lost a mega-smart if patrician friend--and one who respected language and loved ideas.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)
UK: The Erudite, The Good, The Sultry, The Insane.
We--the habitually insular Yanks--are not alone. Some fancy Brit lawyers with blogs: Charon QC, Justin Patten, dearest Ruthie, and finally IP barrister GeekLawyer, who just caught the attention of Ed. at Blawg Review. And there's lots of notable non-US blogs of all manner on your left if you scroll down a bit--and lots of legal and business talent you can use across all those big ponds, friends.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Zimmerman: Start up your own muscle boutique.
Got credentials? Then leave Maggie's Farm--and join Big Moxie.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
The politics of being a righteous dude.
Or Guy-ness in America in the 2008 election. Male bonding. John and Obama being guys to have a beer with. Hillary-bashing. And "I'll show you something primary, wench..." From the liberal but way-manly Salon: "The Dude Vote".
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2008
More on good writing--for associates.
In the ABA's Law Practice Magazine, by Marcia Pennington Shannon: Helping Associates Improve Their Writing Skills.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:29 AM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2008
"Increase Income By $100k Per Partner In 1 Year"
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:26 PM | Comments (0)
More high notes and wisdom from Iowa: Blawg Review #148
For the second week in a row, Iowa--a Midwestern U.S. state known for French explorers, the great Sac and Fox tribes, solid people, fine writing and now nimble IP muscle boutiques--claims center stage in the world of legal weblogs. Brett Trout at BlawgIT hosts this week's Blawg Review, No. 148.
Posted by Brooke Powell at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
U.S. Election: The Return of Ralph Nader.
And bad news for U.S. Democrats--he will siphon off votes from Obama and HRC. See Telegraph.co.uk in London: "Ralph Nader Joins Presidential Race". Also: The Hill. Chicago Sun-Times. Washington Post. More coverage.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)
Originate!
Whether you're a senior partner in the NYC branch of a 3000+ lawyer firm, or a 27-year-old associate in a 10 lawyer shop in Moline, it's a new world out there. If you want to be a player, not to mention the proud owner of a little job security, you need good clients--which are hard to get and keep. Four months ago, and along with some like-minded friends, Larry Bodine, the highly respected lawyer-consultant, and a pioneer of blogs, started up Originate! - The Attorney Business Development Advisor. The February 2008 issue has loads of great materials and guest articles by some of the leading thinkers on client development out there--and it's practical stuff you can use. See, e.g., Larry's piece "Memo to Senior Partners: Motivate Younger Lawyers for Your Business's Sake" and Amy Spach's article re: an ACC initiative: "They Say They Want a Revolution: Reconnecting Legal Costs to Value Delivered". But you must subscribe, my friends--$35 this month is price of admission. That's a Deal. Thirty-five bucks to turn the key on maybe tens or hundreds of thousands or more in business? Are you nuts? Take it. (WAC? is a subscriber.) And do it before Larry and Co. raise their prices--because they can. If you don't believe us, see the September 2007 Issue--the first one--in its entirety.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2008
Maintenance: The Blue Book
See "Cite-checking, dudes". This is your document. This is your document on drugs.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2008
How to "market" at moments you don't "need" to market.
When "the cotton is high", you make a phone call today anyway. You do it even if you're uncomfortably busy with billable work. Yeah, it's hard to switch that gear and call when you are up to your ears in work. Hard to move into marketing mode even if you know the call will take only minutes. But make time four (4) times a week to make a call to a (a) sought-after client, (b) existing client or (c) "influential" person. Keep adding to the pipeline even though it seems like the work you have today will never end--because it will.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 10:22 AM | Comments (3)
February 21, 2008
U.S. economy: Stocks swing up on hope of new stats and rate cut; JC Penney circles the wagons.
AP: Investors bet. Reuters: But JC Penney reports that profits are down; optimism for 2008 retail is even lower.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)
The Wages of Consumerism
The crude commercialism of America, its materializing spirit, its indifference to the poetical side of things, and its lack of imagination and of high unattainable ideals....
--Oscar Wilde, who liked Americans, in "The Decay of Lying" (1889), featuring George Washington.
WAC? takes back what it said some time ago about Western lawyers having no capacity for original thought. Well, not really, but we do take note of the beloved 1% exception. See at his Simple Justice a thoughtful piece by NYC trial lawyer-pundit Scott Greenfield entitled "The Measure of Prosperity, And Why People Steal", inspired in part by a recent NYT op-ed piece by Michael Cox and Richard Alm called "You Are What You Spend". They ask: does measuring prosperity by spending--rather than by earnings--make more sense? Scott responds.
Posted by JD Hull at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
Article VI Fever: Got my judicial mojo workin'.
Four SCOTUS opinions with preemption threads yesterday. See at Legal Blog Watch "Preemption-Mania at the Supreme Court".
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2008
A truly American election: 2,025 or 1,191 "to win".
NBC: Delegate Count. Dems: HRC down by 50; Obama's got the 'mo. GOP: McCain has 884. It's all historic no matter who you bet on. Who the hell are we Yanks, anyway? And re: our egalitarian ideals, can we walk the walk?
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Eversheds: Your world in 2018.
From the alert Australia site Law Fuel: Magic Circle firm Eversheds heads up and completes study on what to expect in 2018. Dominance of the Magic Circle firms "set to erode" and partners believe work-life balance and excellent client service is a "contradiction in terms". More.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)
Colorado River System in trouble?
From Water & Wastewater News. There's a 50% chance that Lake Mead, a water source for millions in the Southwestern U.S., will be dry by 2021 at present usage levels, say researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:16 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2008
The Praise
Samuel Johnson had quite a compliment for John Dryden (1631-1700), the English poet, critic and dramatist known for his energy, range, heart and nearly musical style. Dryden's compositions, Johnson said, "are the effects of a vigorous genius operating upon large materials". From a book my grandfather, Dr. J. Dan Hull, gave me after retiring from Washington, D.C. life and moving back to Springfield, Missouri. The Best of Dryden, L. Bredvold, editor, xiii (Ronald Press 1933).
Posted by JD Hull at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
China Law 101 Plus.
Checking in with Dan Harris at China Law Blog, we find "How To Learn Chinese Law. Do Try This At Home". If you practice corporate law in this new world of ours, are busy, and have limited time to read legal weblogs/blawgs, please make CLB one of the four or five you religiously visit along with, say, SCOTUS, the WSJ's Law Blog and Blawg Review. Read CLB first--and WAC? way later. We can wait.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2008
And Huck stays the course--so we can keep posting this.
Have a Magnificent Quarter. Talk to you in April.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Just Say It: The War Against Legal-Speak.
Lawyer-Speak and Legalese. Of all lawyer-centric institutions, only "Professionalism" and "Work-Life Balance" are more embarrassing or more likely to undermine clients--and at least those two originally had a point. Catching up on Sunday morning, I noticed a clause from the unused draft of a 3-page IP agreement used during talks for an acquisition a few years ago and forwarded by one party's lawyer: "Effective on even date herewith, the parties hereto hereby agree to...". Whoa. How about just one date at the top or bottom of the Agreement and then say "The parties agree..."? And if the whole thing is an Agreement, hey, maybe you don't even need that? Either would save trees, ink and space, be more to the point--and would help diminish the image of the self-important "I'm-special" lawyer rocking back and forth in his chair and talking to himself like a mental patient.
Update: Thanks, as always, to our good twin and ally Ray Ward at his the (new) legal writer. WAC? feels less alone.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
Euphoric: Blawg Review #147
What a Rush. Sorry, at least one of WAC?'s writers is an aging hippie, and we couldn't resist. Rush Nigut hosts this week's Blawg Review #147 at Rush on Business. Creative, upbeat, informative, even euphoric.
Posted by Brooke Powell at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
U.S. economy: well, things could be worse.
AP: In Houston last week Alan Greenspan tells oil execs that we're not in a recession yet--but getting there. Pulitzer-winning fossil fuel guru Dan Yergin moderates Q&A and asks a wonky question or two. And Americans feel frustrated and shaky as gas and milk prices stay high and they worry about their jobs.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 07:17 AM | Comments (0)
Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
U.S. supports it, Russia loudly condemns it. Gobs of coverage, e.g., Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, International Herald Tribune.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2008
New French "American-esque" president sinking in polls.
From the February 7 edition of The Economist, here's one we missed: "The Unpopular President". Excerpt: "Mr Sarkozy ran for election last May on a promise to restore faith in politics, to rebuild French confidence and to get France back on track. Instead, nearly nine months into his presidency, a majority (55%) of the French have “a negative opinion” of him, according to LH2, a polling agency". Some of the complaints are policy-related; some are the "jet-set" thing.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2008
Mediating Internationally: Interview with Lord Woolf
At the International Dispute Negotiation series of The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), hear the latest IDN interview, No. 13, "A conversation with Lord Harry Woolf", England’s former Lord Chief Justice. Hosted by Michael McIlwrath, Senior Litigation Counsel with General Electric based in Florence, Italy and CPR President Kathy Bryan.
Posted by Brooke Powell at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Redux: Slick Answers to Lazy Interrogatories.
Color me silly, but I love and respect written discovery during the pretrial process in American federal courts. Years ago, a fed-up U.S. district court judge, throwing up his hands during arguments by lawyers on a motion to compel discovery responses, referred to answers to interrogatories as "slick lawyer answers to lazy lawyer questions".
I feel his pain.
Once a new second year associate who worked briefly for our firm (after one year at another firm) complained that we were putting too much thought into a set of interrogatories under Rule 33, Fed. R. Civ. P. Our new hire patiently explained to me that interrogatories and other written discovery were in fact "simply a way for lawyers to bill time so they could make money, and nothing more." He was adamant about it, too.
Nice guy, and I liked him--I always try to take his cab when I'm in Pittsburgh.
But complex and hard-fought civil cases really do turn about 90 per cent on the quality of the discovery questions and requests, including deposition questions, and the responses to them. And well-thought out and strategically-timed written discovery is the best way there is to prepare great depositions--and get ready for trial.
JDH
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:00 PM | Comments (2)
What if you only represented clients you actually "liked"?
Only a few books I can find on the subject of rendering services to customers in the business sections of Borders or Barnes & Noble ever mention it. In the context of lawyer services, it's simply this: except for some court appointments and pro bono engagements, what if we only chose to represent clients we liked?
By "like", I mean it loosely: to derive for whatever reason real pleasure and satisfaction while doing legal work for a individual or organization.
My firm shies away from individuals as clients, regardless of his or her resources. We usually represent businesses. So in the case of an organization, we "like" the client because overall we somehow feel comfortable with or maybe even admire the personality, business culture or goals of that client, personally like/admire the client reps and general counsel, or both.
My firm "likes" business clients which are experienced, sophisticated users of legal services. When we perform well, the client appreciates us and signals that appreciation. So then we like the client even more, and want to do an even better job or keep doing the good job we are doing so we can derive more real pleasure from the engagement, and obtain more work.
As simple and as annoyingly Mr. Rogers-esque as this all sounds, we have never, ever had good long-term relationships with any organization client which did not genuinely appreciate what we were doing for it and show it (good clients "get" lawyering, have used different lawyers frequently in the past and understand the vast differences in quality between lawyers out there in the international market), or which had disturbing corporate personalities (i.e., mean-spirited Rambo cultures, groups with employees given to blame-storming, or companies with disorganized, internally-uncommunicative or just plain lazy staffs).
Lots of such "broken" clients make money in spite of themselves--but they are never worth it for the long haul.
We rely on repeat business. For us, there's no substantial reason to accept a new engagement unless we think we might want to represent that client in the long term. For years, I often sensed before the first draft of the representation letter was done that the new client didn't fit us. Usually I couldn't articulate it--or maybe I just disliked the client rep. But because of the money or the prestige of the engagement, we took the project, and kept going after the repeat business anyway. A few years ago, we stopped doing that.
Does my attitude clash with some people's notions of real client service, duty to the profession or basic law firm economics? It sure does. And today I don't think I can practice law any other way. In the long term, having no client is better than a bad client--or one that I don't see courting down the road.
Posted by JD Hull at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2008
Redux: In Praise of Structure
Read it here.
Posted by Tom Welshonce at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)
Striking writers vote to go back to work
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 07:06 AM | Comments (0)
Marco Island, Florida
Naples, with a 25% reduction in pretense.
Posted by JD Hull at 07:02 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2008
Rule 11: Treat Each Co-Worker Like He or She is Your Best Client
Here.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 01:31 PM | Comments (0)
Naples, Collier County, Florida
Winter suburb of the American Midwestern cities.
Posted by JD Hull at 06:26 AM | Comments (0)
February 11, 2008
U.S. Democrats: Horserace!
Pardon my dripping schoolboy excitement. But even the most dreamy, idealistic American kid growing up in the 1960s--was there any better and more interesting time to grow up?--could not have imagined a "run-off" between two candidates like HRC and Obama. You need to stand back and look at this one, the 2008 election: the most spirited, surprising and genuinely defining (just who are Americans anyway?) U.S. election in WAC?'s lifetime. Still 8 months away from November. After Saturday's primaries and caucuses--in which Obama wins big in Nebraska, Louisiana, Washington state--HRC has 1,084 delegates to 1,057 for Obama. 2,025 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination. See The Washington Post.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)
Mardi Gras: we got sober and we missed it.
Forget about the economy, the 2008 elections, lack of cultural literacy and anything else that ails you. Dr. John and his satchel of gris-gris remedies can help. So can Ray Ward.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
"Do we really need a memo on that?"*
Go the mirror and practice saying that to yourself and to your GC.
Save money, time and relationships. Answer the question. Cut to the chase. Take a stand. Aside from necessary opinion letters, do not offer to write or write a cover-everyone's-ass and/or comprehensive "all-legal-theories-and-strategies" memorandum unless your in-house lawyer really wants it. And then try to talk her or him out of it. Part of your job as outside counsel is to guide and make the GC be and look good by saving money and time. Also: if you are in litigation, test out your brilliant ideas and research in a draft brief or another instrument or document the client can actually use later on. Skip the 10-, 20- and 35-page memo. Try to make memos you do write short, and reflect the group's cumulative thinking on that issue or project. Quit re-inventing. Make clients trust you.
*The actual question is borrowed, stolen or paraphrased from some other lawyer--likely a law firm management "great" like Patrick McKenna, Jim Durham or Patrick Lamb (I can't remember which)--and my firm loves it. So do pleasantly-surprised clients. We have had it in practice so long that it became "ours." Mea culpa for not disclosing the first time I posted it today.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)
Clients "want an attorney who blogs"?
We picked up this post from this week's fine Blawg Review #146: "Why Every Client Should Want an Attorney Who Blawgs" at Ohio Practical Business Law Counsel. This is well-written and well worth your time. However, we continue to think that most clients worth having--and certainly busy in-house counsel--have no time to read blogs, think about blogs or to blog themselves. And real clients want their real lawyers working their asses off solving problems--not blogging. Blogger-professionals need to get over themselves. A client's knowledge that you are blogging regularly is about as helpful--or harmful--as knowing that you go to the track a couple of times a week with your drunken philandering stoner high school friend Ernie from Glen Burnie. Colorful and interesting--but so what? And with the wrong client, it could even hurt. Moreover, blogging still has a geeky connotation with the over-45 crowd who control much of the work law firms get. Clients could care less if you blog and might even resent it. Still, read Teri Rasmussen's post for a counter-intuitive counter-view. We of course may be wrong--but we are not about to trumpet the fact to our best clients that "hey, we be blogging". They don't care--and we should not expect them to care.
Work first. Blog later. And keep it to yourself.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 01:35 PM | Comments (7)
February 10, 2008
Gates of Vienna
Home to "Counter-Jihad", and one of the most read blogs ever.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
Perfectionism: Great Destroyer of Great Young Lawyers.
Be more excellent without it. From our client service "12-step" program, which we never joke about: Rule 10: Be Accurate, Thorough and Timely--But Not Perfect.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2008
Ca' Paxatagore
Posted by JD Hull at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)
White House water budget is $2.5 billion
Here, at W&WW News. The budget is designed to help EPA improve the major coastal ecosystems, achieve a net increase of wetlands, increase populations served by systems meeting drinking water standards, and implement a total of five water security infrastructure pilots.
Posted by JD Hull at 08:59 PM | Comments (1)
Once in a blue Mississippi moon: U.S. EPA vetoes Army engineers project.
EPA Halts Corps' Yazoo Pump Project
VICKSBURG, MISS. (Feb. 8)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently blocked a $220-million Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project in the Mississippi Delta known as Yazoo Pump. Such "vetoes" of Corps projects are rare, having happened only 12 times in EPA's history and not since 1990. [more]
Posted by JD Hull at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2008
"Work-life balance" is still a red herring and a dumb-ass issue.
Here, there, everywhere, ya' big Gen-X babies.
But have a good weekend.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
A gem from Iowa: Rush on Business
Soon Des Moines-based Sullivan & Ward shareholder Rush Nigut and his Rush on Business will host Blawg Review--we look forward to it. His blog is subtitled "Information on Iowa Business Employment and Franchise Law". In ways his site is like ours: focused on corporate clients. But he has much better material than WAC? for medium-size and small business (he's also a hell of a lot nicer than us). And there's more going on here than Iowa HR, franchise law and even general business law. Rush covers a variety of topics, like the basic team to start a business, politics (affecting business), some litigation, and sports. We loved the reminder in one post which the most sophisticated clients ignore: "Prompt Investigation to Sexual Harassment is Critical". Short useful posts here, the kind a busy client would like to read. He writes well, like a human, too. Interesting and exemplary site business lawyers in any state should really watch.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)
George W. Bush: "Most American" U.S. President Ever?
Dan Hull, who has never voted for anyone named Bush, thinks the answer is a big Texas hell-yes. And he's convinced that 19th-century French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville, author of the prescient Democracy in America (1840), would agree with him in a heartbeat. See Dan's op-ed piece, "One of us", featured this past Sunday in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned and published by Richard Mellon Scaife who--along with the famous 2004 Teresa Heinz battler Editor Colin McNickle--was kind enough to put up with Dan and his take.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (2)
"Good call, Garth."
Restaurateur Armed with 200 Rounds Planned Super Bowl Gunfire--but Changed his Mind in Parking Lot.
PHOENIX (AP)--A would-be bar owner angry at being denied a liquor license threatened to shoot people at the Super Bowl and drove to within sight of the stadium with a rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition before changing his mind, federal authorities said. [more]
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2008
Romney out.
Mike Huckabee has done Mitt in. The Washington Post.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Duke University hires former DOJ boss/DC bar president Gorelick to defend in lacrosse civil suit.
No, it's not over--it just fell off the media's radar. From the Duke daily Chronicle:
DURHAM, NC--Duke has hired former U.S. deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick to assist in the defense against the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by three unindicted members of the 2005-2006 men's lacrosse team, University officials confirmed Wednesday. [more]
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
U.S. jobless claims slightly down; but retailers struggling; tech spending may slow.
AP: here (jobs) and here (retailers). And Cisco Systems report suggests that tech spending may slow down.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
It's a money thing.
Relationships are money. So teach associates the discipline of how to build and maintain them. See Jim Hassett's piece "Teaching Associates to Build Stronger Relationships".
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:29 AM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2008
UPDATE: McCain Rules Super Tuesday; Dems in a horse-race; yesterday's primary results...
...are here on this NBC interactive map. John McCain was the big dog of the day. HRC wins NY and California. Illinois to Obama. Obama (who does well in Midwest and South), Romney and The Huckster each win and excel in surprising states.
Updated 4:00 PM ET: Obama--838 delegates; HRC--834. Dang!
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
U.S. Senate to act on stimulus package.
AP. What's an extra $40 billion? Jeez-Louise.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Can you identify this Frenchman?
Alexis de Tocqueville
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (3)
U.S. expatriates a factor in 2008.
I know from my travels abroad since 1992 that Europeans in the major powers there--e.g., France, Germany, the UK--always have focused on our national elections more than we have focused on theirs. It's sad but true, likely due to our geographic isolation, and cultural insularity from non-U.S. themes. And the 2008 U.S. presidential election is being followed more closely abroad than any other election cycle ever--especially in western Europe, where business people and regulators really like to "watch" us. But just as interesting: American expats all over the world have developed into a voting block.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2008
WAC? loves Simple Justice.
No, it's not a horse at Del Mar, or a stock. This is one of our "real lawyer" alerts.
See Scott Greenfield's highly-respected site, Simple Justice--A New York Criminal Defense Blog. Lawyers with criminal defense practices. Hull McGuire stands in awe before them; we've "been there" a few times. Armed with fancy outside white collar crime help, we defended (and did well) in a few criminal matters, including three seemingly endless jury trials. All were in federal court, with classy clients, before sane judges in DC or Pennsylvania. Then we got this new white collar defense guy in California. Still, we stick to corporate defense and the occasional criminal investigation with Sarbanes-Oxley issues. Why? Day-to-day criminal defense work, especially in NYC, is a Wild West Show--one for studs and studess-es only. It's a marathon, and for the toughest lawyers on earth. We are ultra-corporate smart--but we are not worthy of these guys. See Scott's blog. "Yeah, Simple Justice--they be bad...."
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:22 PM | Comments (2)
Super Tuesday is today and this is history....
....and in play are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado (caucuses), Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (D), Illinois, Kansas (D), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico (D), New York, North Dakota (caucuses), Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah. NBC put together a primer for you. Fellow Yanks: This is your America. Don't screw around. Vote today if you are able to vote.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2008
Procter & Gamble to spin off Folgers.
Here at the New York Times. P&G will focus more on its other consumer products, like paper products Bounty and Pampers (which helped send one WAC? lawyer-writer to college), and razors. Procter, which has trained and hatched some of the smartest, most aggressive and proudest marketing and sales people on the planet, gave WAC? our Ease-of-Use idea. It came from the "new" plastic red Folgers coffee container and an assist from the Arthritis Foundation.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 04:35 AM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2008
Going home.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
So...what are you wearing?
See Carolyn Elefant's post "Must Lawyers Dress for Success?" at Legal Blog Watch. Our 2 humble cents. First, nearly all of our clients are out of town, and we can generally predict when we will see them. So we care more about your phone game. And your work and responsiveness to clients. Second, we love associates who love to work long hours so we can make money and they can learn. So wear what you want--but
look very presentable and by that we mean classy. We prefer suits in the East and at least blazers in the West--but you can always bend the rules. Finally, for you guys, who have less fashion sense: no Grateful Dead Ts or bolos during the week. And socks (two) are nice. If you are a straight up clothes horse, try bow-ties, and maybe spats. Such attire has this bonus: it makes senior lawyers who supervise you realize you don't give a damn about what they think. Red pocket squares are way studly, but only if they barely show. Also, avoid the FBI agent/Nazi youth cheap dark suit and crew-cut look, popular among insurance defense lawyers in Midwestern towns stuck in the 1950s. If you wear suits, buy good ones. Clients, juries and our moms all hate creepy-looking "cookie-cutter" males with law degrees and really close-cropped military haircuts in third-rate suits, white shirts and boring ties and shoes. Dudes, please shine your shoes. The ladies look there right away.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)
Tom Kane: "Is Your Firm Ready for a Leader from Outside?"
Here.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Nuclear proliferation: "Has Iran won"?
See The Economist, the world's new Time Magazine of the Entire West--just wittier and better written than Time or Newsweek (sorry, Howard). The piece begins: "Who would have thought that a friendless theocracy with a Holocaust-denying president, which hangs teenagers in public and stones women to death, could run diplomatic circles around America and its European allies? But Iran is doing just that."
Posted by JD Hull at 02:17 PM | Comments (0)