Features
CA Ordered to Reduce Prison Population
A special three-judge panel has held tentatively that overcrowding in California prisons presents an unconstitutional risk to inmate health and safety and that the prisoner population must be reduced. The panel has previously found that the prison system's mental health and medical care is so negligent that it is a direct cause of inmate deaths and suicides.
The Constitutionality of Tort Reform Damage Caps
Recently, there have been indications that plaintiffs in California medical malpractice actions may renew a constitutional attack on the provisions of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), the tort reform legislation that has governed medical malpractice litigation in California for nearly 25 years. The focus of these recent attacks is MICRA's $250,000 limit on noneconomic damages.
The Tweet 16
Twitter is the latest thing. Before you post to Twitter, consider the consequences. A casual tool such as this makes it easy to unwittingly create an attorney-client relationship or overstep an ethical rule. Even with only 140 characters, you can easily get yourself in hot water.
Features
Law Firms and Social Networking
Along with the viral popularity of social networking Web sites (one of these sites is the fourth most-trafficked Web site in the world), legal blogs, collaboration sites, and informal online education options comes the vulnerability of some risk.
Features
Giving 'Til It Hurts
There is no firm in business today that isn't inundated regularly by requests for contributions, whether for charitable, community, or political causes. For the community- minded firm, the requests can be overwhelming, as is the feeling that you do indeed want to help the organization requesting your help. But how can you serve your community ' and frequently, your firm ' without hurting your own firm's budget and community relations?
Features
Client Speak: The Do-or-Die Business Development Moment
For that one little question, "Would you like to hire us?" there is no approved wording to use or tone with which to ask it. Are we supposed to deferentially lower our voices when we pop the fateful question? How much confidence should we exude?
Practice Building Skills: Eight Recession-Busting Tactics
According to the 2008 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey, median spending on outside counsel last year fell 9.1% ' to the lowest level in 8 years. A growing amount of work is being kept in-house, and 40%-plus of corporations have fired some of their outside counsel during the prior year. Here's how to thrive.
Media & Communications Corner: Upgrade Your Communications Tools for Free
A host of free Web applications are surprisingly effective in helping law firms from solo practitioners to large firm in-house PR and marketing staff, stay on top of the game. The trick is knowing which tools out there are worth your time. Here are the applications that made our top 24 list.
Career Journal: Real Advice for the Real World
Suggestions can help guide you through a situation you have not previously found yourself in before ' looking for a job in a really bad economy.
Op Ed
Ms. Tursi: "It's time for you to seat your CMOs at the management table ' if they are not there already. It's time for partners to understand that these individuals are not just employees."
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