E-Invoicing: A Law Firm Perspective
As argued in the accompanying article on one corporate law department's initiatives, implementation of electronic invoicing software should ideally be a win-win improvement benefiting outside law firms as well.
Interstate Custody Determination
<b><i>The Quest for Uniformity in a Mobile Society</i></b>"The chancellor in exercising jurisdiction upon petition does not proceed upon the theory that the petitioner, whether the father or mother, has a cause of action against the other or indeed against anyone. He acts as parens patrioe to do what is best for the interest of the child. He is to put himself in the position of a 'wise, affectionate and careful parent' and make provision for the child accordingly." <i>Finlay v. Finlay</i>, 240 N.Y. 429 (1925), citing <i>Queen v. Gyngall</i>, 1893, 2 Q.B.D. 232, 238 (Judge Cardozo).
Neutralizing the So-Called Neutral
<b><i>How to Deal with Negative Custody Evaluations and Guardian Ad Litem Reports</i></b> In terms of the art world, a designer "tames the material to an application." That is exactly analogous to the lawyer's purpose when a Custody Evaluator or Guardian <i>Ad Litem</i> (CE/GAL) is brought into a case. Using certain practice and trial techniques, you can minimize the negative impact of a report from a "less-than-neutral" CE/GAL in a custody dispute.
Abused Children Benefit from Powerful Ruling
New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, threw a lifeline to abused and neglected children with a powerful ruling that streamlines the adoption process and makes it easier to terminate parental rights in the most severe cases.
A Case in Point
A look at <i>Bates v. Perez</i>, Nos. 2-02-0488, 2-02-0526, 2-02-0597, Ill.App.Ct., July 9, 2003.
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Litigation
Key cases of interest to you and your practice.
Ask The Coach
This month's questions:<p>Q: Like many law firms, to create access to new prospects we host seminars on a variety of topics. How can we differentiate our offerings in a virtual sea of seminars?<br>Q: How can we maximize the effectiveness of these investments?
On the Job
In law firms, it can be difficult ' sometimes impossible ' to get actionable feedback from responsible partners or administrative management on how well a marketing professional is doing his or her job. While nice, I'm not talking about the "attagirl"s or "you go boy"s that might come from many of lawyers and co-workers as support and encouragement or intermittent salary hikes. I'm referring to a regular, systematic process that lets you know whether your assignments and objectives are being achieved as the firm expects.
Client Intelligence: IT, Marketing and Library Services Unite
As a futurist to what law firms need to be thinking about, I am always excited about "out of the box" methodologies that can impact the marriage of technology, research and marketing. Over the last few years, as IT and marketing departments have played a more prominent role in law firms, IT departments have rolled out software programs to assist marketing with the capturing of basic client relationship information for mailings, law alerts, programs and the like while at the same time working in tandem with the library to upgrade their legal research tools. Happily, with the advent of solution-based client intelligence/relationship management products, a new method of delivering all of this information can now be aggregated in one interface.
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Your Firm In A Nutshell
Domestic and international corporations have long used slogans and tag lines as tools to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Think of Avis' "We try harder," Michelin's "Because so much is riding on your tires," and "Thank goodness for Kleenex." Consider as well Coca-Cola and McDonald's.<BR>Decades of research ' and corporate bottom lines ' support branding as a tool to help sell consumer goods. Can law firms use this technique, too?
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