LJN Newsletters

Let me try to explain the rules governing Advance Conflict Waivers by asking, and then answering, five questions.

Despite mounting client discontent, most law firms so far have been either unwilling or unable to change the way in which they price their services. This article argues that this is because most law firms continue to sell their partners and associates rather than selling legal services. It also provides some perspectives on the issue and summarizes small improvements that firms can make to better manage their pricing.

The conclusion of this two-part article addresses: 1) whether the Program qualifies for AFTAP valuation as an asset; 2) whether the Program complies with COLI Best Practices of 2006 and IRC ' 101(j) and Notice 2009-48; and 3) whether the Program is a prohibited transaction.

If your firm has a number of legal departments, how does one determine the profitability (or economic contribution) of each? Delving further into a specific department, how do you measure the profitability of a practice area?

With the help of Alteva, an enterprise-hosted VoIP provider, our firm has added new capabilities and reduced the operating costs of telephone services by over 50% while still providing the same level of service our clients have come to expect.

The Practice Support Department has long recognized the importance of project management to promote cost-containment strategies and to ensure compliance with discovery requirements during the discovery phase of a litigation case. While the firm developed its own sophisticated project management database, the newly implemented iFramework software takes project management to a higher level.

There are two ideas I would like to emphasize with this article. First, cloud computing will drastically change the legal industry. Second, as an IT person in your firm, your most important mission is to get your firm to move to the cloud.

Cloud computing, the process of storing and processing data on remote, outsourced third-party-owned servers, is growing in popularity, largely because it provides users with access to state-of-the-art and constantly updated software and fast infrastructure ' without the overwhelming costs.