Let me start by assuring you that I have nothing against using high-end technology in the courtroom. Like many who read this column, my colleagues and I make our livings designing state-of-the-art demonstrative evidence and other teaching tools for use in complex civil and criminal cases. Why is it so important for me to let you know this? Because I want you to fully appreciate where I am coming from when I state the major premise of this article: We need to help trial lawyers make better choices when it comes to how they display material in court. An increasing number of lawyers are relying on high-end technology as a crutch and using these display methods without thinking about whether it makes sense to do so or whether their cases are better as a result.
- February 24, 2005G. Christopher Ritter
Some traditions take a long time to die. Unfortunately, staff recruiting is one of them.
It's a highly competitive labor market for professionals, and one in which you can't always compete in dollars. What's to be done?February 24, 2005Bruce W. MarcusMovement and news among major law firms and corporations.
February 24, 2005Teri ZuckerAt last some hard data on what men want from life and work! The results of a study released in October 2004 titled "Generation & Gender in the Workplace" documents many things that change the equation regarding workplace attitudes. It was conducted by the Families and Work Institute and sponsored and funded by the American Business Collaboration (ABC), a group of eight major businesses, including two accounting/consulting firms, that believe collaboration can accomplish more than working alone.
February 24, 2005Phyllis Weiss HaserotIn-house training programs are an important part of any law firm's professional development curriculum. They allow for a level of customization that makes content more meaningful and immediately useful and they offer the greatest flexibility in how and when they can be delivered. Yet for all their benefits, planning an effective, substantive group of training offerings in-house presents numerous challenges.
February 24, 2005Susan G. Manch and Susan V. FriedAs anyone connected with the modern law firm can readily attest, lawyers come and lawyers go. As anyone connected with the ethics function at the modern law firm can attest, attorney arrivals and departures create conflict of interest and other issues that sometimes seem unsolvable.
To be sure, the dynamics are readily different when attorneys arrive at the firm, as compared to when they depart. On the front end of a new relationship, everyone is hopeful and excited ' in stark contrast to the mindset of departing attorneys, in many circumstances, toward their soon-to-be former firm, and vice versa. Regardless of the dynamics, however, important ethical rules and principles must be followed. Otherwise, serious economic and reputational harm ' as well as attorney grievance investigations ' can follow.February 24, 2005Jeffrey P. AyresThe Consortium of Anti-Spyware Technology vendors (COAST) has lost its founding members, putting the group's future into question.
February 24, 2005ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |Recent developments of note in the Internet industry. This month:
Hollywood Lines Up Support for Net Song-Swap Case
Ohio Spam Bill Signed into Law
Utah Reworking Nation's First Ban on Computer Spyware
House Panel Approves Spyware Bill but Doesn't Toss Cookies
Student Incarcerated for Possessing Illegally Copied Movies, Music
EarthLink Files More Spam SuitsFebruary 24, 2005ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |A $10,000 "side bet" wasn't enough to persuade a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals en banc panel to answer whether federal courts have jurisdiction over out-of-state Internet retailers.
February 24, 2005Jeff ChorneyIn a classic New Yorker cartoon, the caption reads: "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." Not so. Whether you're spouting off your views about the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives" on a fan Web site, complaining about your sinking stock portfolio on a Yahoo message board or, in the case of a Texas man recently, castigating your local politicians for misspending taxpayer dollars, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) knows you're not a dog. And it knows your name, address and telephone number.
February 24, 2005Fred von Lohmann