Cleveland Law Library Weblog

U.S. News Creates New Lawyer Directory

There is a new online lawyer directory that may soon give Martindale-Hubbell on martindale.com some competition. U.S. News has just released a preliminary version of a directory of lawyers in private practice in the United States. The ABA reports that:

"The directory initially includes tens of thousands of lawyers, but eventually will cover more than 1.3 million private-practice lawyers in the United States, according to a press release. The initial selection is based on law firm directories and bar association lists. Law firms also can supply information.

Currently client reviews are not included, but the feature will be added this summer for lawyers who pay for a premium profile, according to Best Lawyers public relations manager Katie Morgan. Lawyers who pay $30 a month for the upgrade “will have the ability to review client comments and decide which ones, if any, to publish on their profile,” she tells the ABA Journal in an email.

Lawyers do not need to be ranked by U.S. News or Best Lawyers to appear in the directory. Searches can be done by name, legal issue and location. Consumers limit the legal specialty search based on distance from their homes. Lawyers are allowed to link to their directory profile from other websites and social media platforms, including LinkedIn.

There is no charge for a basic listing. Lawyers who pay $30 a month for premium features can display rankings and awards, according to a frequent questions page. Those who pay the premium price will have a profile “with an ad-free experience,” according to a web page describing premium features."

All 10 Articles from the ABA's 2016 Trends in Legal Technology Worth Reading

Last week on 12/13/16, the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center released its 4th Annual ABA TechReport. The TechReport is composed of the following 10 sections, all of which can be downloaded for free:

• Planning and Budgeting
• Technology Training
• Security
• Cloud Computing
• Mobile Technology
• Practice Management
• Blogging and Social Media
• Virtual Law Practice
• Litigation and T.A.R.
• Solo and Small Firm Technology

I took a look at all of the reports, and here are a few takeaways that will make you want to read more. The key thread in all of the articles is that lawyers need to embrace technology to enhance their practices while protecting sensitive client information. In addition, the data from the surveys underlying the reports indicate which software and cloud-based services lawyers are using most in case you are looking for some ideas.

Only 5% of lawyers claim that they have a virtual law practice, but many do not realize that using email and cloud-based services for exchanging documents with clients are forms of a virtual law practice (VLP), although document-sharing with clients is not "mainstream" yet. Most lawyers do not use a single product but instead use a "patchwork" of practice management tools to keep track of clients, calendars, billing, etc. Most solos and small firms are not blogging, a time-consuming job that is mostly in the domain of large firms. Despite an inundation of marketing aimed at TAR, or Technology Assisted Review for e-discovery, it has not been widely adopted by many lawyers. Finally, while larger firms have ample in-house and vendor-provided training opportunities to keep them abreast of new online legal research techniques, solos and small firms often claim that they are not aware of training. My advice to them is check with their bar associations and local law libraries for CLE opportunities and CLE booklets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UnitedLex Creates a "Legal Residency" for Lawyers Like a Residency for a Doctor

A company called UnitedLex has reinvented the job market for new lawyers with the creation of a brand new employment concept called a "legal residency." Although UnitedLex is not itself a practicing law firm, in collaboration with law schools at Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Emory, and the University of Miami, UnitedLex provides the following opportunities for new graduates:

"Graduates work with UnitedLex as a resident for up to two years (not foreclosing the possibility of longer-term employment), compiling genuine hands-on experience. It’s not uncommon for a resident to manage their own team of reviewers and interface directly with the client and its outside counsel to develop strategy. Additionally, about 10 percent of the residency is devoted to training programs that UnitedLex and the schools developed to keep the grads learning the practical skills needed for a developing practice." Quoted from Above the Law.

About 100 graduates have already accepted jobs with United Lex at salaries between $55,000-$70,000 per year. The law schools also receive 50% of the profits that UnitedLex generates from the law schools' alumni contacts.

 

The Economy Appears to Be Turning Around for Law Firms: Profits Should Rise 5% in 2015

According to a post by the Wall Street Journal's blog, law firm profits rose in 2014, and they are expected to rise again in 2015 by 5%. Gains will come in transactional work, while litigation, which has traditionally been the money maker for law firms, will continue to be flat. A few more trends could include a lot of lateral moves and law firm usage of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, although the article suggests that AI will not replace lawyers.

Law Firm Mergers in the United States Were Up 47% in 2013

According to a survey by Altman Weil MergerLine, law firm mergers in the United States were up 47% in 2013. Apparently, this is the highest in 7 years, with 88 reported law firm mergers and acquisitions. "The surge in 2013 numbers was driven by a boom in acquisitions of small law firms," said Altman Weil principal Ward Bower. "These kinds of deals are smart, low-risk moves to enter new markets and acquire new clients, and we expect the trend to continue in 2014."

Law Firm Sustainability Network Strives to Help Firms Work Greener

About 50 law firms have created a nationwide Law Firm Sustainability Network to help lawyers and firms work greener. Although it was formally incorporated in November, law.com reports that the Network has been working hard since 2011 by "holding webinars, developing best practices and partnering with sister groups in other countries to share ideas, network and develop guidelines and industry standards." Big ticket items the Network focuses on include travel, office practices, and the use of paper and energy. Examples of its recommendations and practices include: "using recycled paper and making sure it gets recycled again; buying carbon offsets against their air travel; replacing travel with video-conferencing; replacing light fixtures and setting thermostats higher or lower, depending on the season." Read more.

No Surprise, Summer Associate Hiring Was Down This Summer

A recent survey conducted by the American Lawyer shows that summer associate hiring was down 3.4% this summer. However, there was a wide disparity in reporting by firms that participated in the survey. For instance, one firm's hiring was up 92.3%, while another firm's hiring was down 45.6%.  Skadden Arps hired the largest class of summers at 190 law students, and 2 other firms tied for second by hiring 149 summer associates. For more information on this study, read a recent article from the AmLaw Daily.

Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline Issues Opinion That Lawyers Can Solicit Clients via Text

The Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline has issued a new ethics Opinion (No. 2013-2) that permits lawyers to solict potential clients via text messaing. The Syllabus of the Opinion specifically states that:  

"Prof.Cond.R. 7.2 allows lawyers to use text messages to solicit professional employment from prospective clients. However, text message 
solicitations must also comply with Prof.Cond.R. 7.1 and 7.3 and all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations."

The full text of this Opinion can be found at the following link.

If you have not already read it, the Board's 1st Opinion of the year (2013-001) indicated that a lawyer may practice law at more than one firm at the same time as long as he or she complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Women Now Hold 33.4% of the Legal Jobs in the Country as Lawyers, Judges, Magistrates and Other Judicial Workers, But They Are Still Paid Less, and Many Are Leaving the Profession

According to the latest 2010 census figures, women now hold 33.4% of the legal jobs in the country as lawyers, judges, magistrates and other judicial workers. These stats are encouraging compared to the 2000 and 1970 figures of 29.2% and 4.9%, respectively. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that there are still disparities between what men and women in the legal field are paid, which the article indicates may be due to individual choices, discrimination or other unknown facors. In addition, although as many women as men are graduating from law schools, many women are apparently leaving the profession for jobs that offer greater flexibility in hours and location. Another discrepancy to which the article refers occurs in law firm management:

"While women have made strides in the legal profession, at law firms few are taking management positions. Some leave for jobs as counsel to corporations, where hours can be more predictable. At large law firms, women make up just 15% of equity partners, according to a survey released in October by the National Association of Women Lawyers. Of the 200 firms surveyed, just 4% had a woman at the helm in the role of firm-wide managing partner."

Some Cleveland Law Firms Are Bucking the Nationwide Hiring Freeze

Cleveland lawyers and law graduates have had it tough the last few years, just as have lawyers throughout the country. However, the Cleveland Plain Dealer just reported that some local law firms are bucking the nationwide trend. According to cleveland.com:

"Cleveland-based Tucker Ellis has brought on 21 lawyers this year, 16 of them at its downtown Cleveland office.Thompson Hine added eight attorneys at its Cleveland headquarters and 16 firmwide in the past year. Walter & Haverfield grew 20 percent in the first nine months of 2012, adding seven partners and five associates since January...The Cleveland office of Jones Day reports a net gain of 17 lawyers since January, bringing the total to 227."

In contrast, the article indicates that the numbers at the local offices of Calfee Halter and Benesch Friedlander are down.  Reductions like these firms have experienced, or flat hiring freezes, seem to be the local norm.