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March 17, 2010
"Settlement Perspectives": Why not ask the GC?
Blog posts. Even when they come from the better law and business sites, most of them--about 99 percent, frankly--aren't going to change your work, your life, or even your day. We're all busy. We search quickly and expectantly for that 1 percent. When we find one, and digest it, we hope it sticks.
Here's a gem we would like to have worked up and written ourselves: "Toward Better Client Service: A Few Questions for Outside Counsel " at John DeGroote's Settlement Perspectives. The in-house counsel/GC questions come from P.H. Glatfelter's General Counsel Thom Jackson. Whether or not you agree with the dozen questions Jackson and DeGroote outlined, or whether they precisely fit your firm's business model, these, at a minimum, serve as a very fine first draft. Bravo.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (2)
March 16, 2010
Real Winter: He makes a blind man see.
Put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it out on Highway 61.--R. Zimmerman
John Dawson Winter III, b. Beaumont, Texas (1944- ). Note to "no guts no gospel" weenies born after 1965: Johnny Winter is a straight-up Boomer Hero. Listening to him could make you tougher. Make you ready to compete. Make you work harder. Make you stop whining. Make you stop settling for mediocre.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
Play Time on the Internet is over. Wanted: A few good rules.
Certainly, if he were real, Ned Beatty's character Bobby in the movie adaptation of the James Dickey novel Deliverance would be permitted to write in the blogosphere using a pseudonym. "Chattooga River Cutie", maybe. Those not in Club Ned? Real name, please. Time to man up. (Photo: Warner Bros.)
Life and Work are both supposed to be Fun and Meaningful. We can still get both. And if everyone wants to be a "junior journalist" on the World Wide Web, that's fine, too. Pretend away, Justin. Knock yourself out. But you need a few rules.
You need a few good, and intuitive, Internet rules for lawyers, non-lawyers, business people, academics, middle managers, CEOs, bloggers, commenters, students, sales people, Pulitzer winners, Fulbright scholars, store clerks, your Mom, Gen-this/Gen-that, your demented Uncle Seamus, and the 70-year-old guy across the street with strong views about Sarah Palin, Wall Street and the Cubs.
You can't, of course, legislate rules, and enforce them, for the Internet. You can, however, demand of yourself and others--in your own spheres and "virtual communities"--a bit of fair play, credibility and stepping-up:
1. Tell people who you are. Your real identity. Demand that others do the same. Virtual sandboxes are fun for everyone. Make them a separate zone(s), maybe. But anonymity should not be the norm. Exceptions, e.g.: CIA undercover operatives; Cuban, Iranian, Chinese dissidents; abused housewives; serious risk-takers, productive radicals and genuinely-deserving victims.*
2. Be accurate. You just gave us your name. So try to get it right. Work at your content. Don't waste our time--or yours--by lobbing one in there.
3. Be willing to take a hit. Again, you just gave us your name. You're without armor--we are proud of you. Now step up and take the pain, if you are challenged, criticized or even called a worthless cretin. That's the freight you pay. Respond if you want. But you have nothing to be ashamed of.
And, finally, our suggestion on anonymous "challengers". Ignore them. They are rarely worth your time or respect.
That's about all the rules you need.
*E.g., Not okay: Law students, associates or practicing senior lawyers with delusions that they were Federalist Papers authors in a previous life. Okay: Foul-mouthed mega-talented members of Lincoln's Inn with radical free-speech agendas; some residents of Utah; and certain men from Georgia or Tennessee writing about fishing, hunting or camping trips with their buds on the ill-fated weekends that have gone awry.
Anonymity: Keep The Club small.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:40 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2010
Big Moxie in Greensboro: Kyle Singler.
Want a job, Kyle? Call us. Let's talk. From The Chronicle, Duke's daily: "Singler’s dive into stands, solid shooting lead Duke to title".
Ian Soileau, Duke Chronicle
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)