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Statistical Report Flaws: A Spotter's Guide
July 28, 2005
Statistical reports play an important role in management decisions, so it pays to hone your skills for spotting inaccuracies and distortions. Some flaws are so subtle that even professional statisticians debate their presence, but many errors are easy enough to detect if you just look for them.<br>This article describes some outright errors along with some suspect practices that often lead to error. After examining a few graph-drawing fiascos, the article examines ranking distortions and other problems that can result from either excess precision, ill-chosen scales, or a disconcerting quirk called Simpson's Paradox. Finally, the article discusses a common survey methodology error that leads not only to slanted results but also to the reporting of nonexistent trends.
Am Law 100's New Metric: Value Per Lawyer
July 28, 2005
For 20 years, The American Lawyer has measured the economics of law firms, first with The Am Law 50 and 75, more recently with The Am Law 200. Throughout, we've kept to the same metrics: gross, revenue per lawyer, profits per partner, and the Am Law Profitability Index (API). These lists helped inform and change the profession. (Note that we didn't say ruin.) We published them again this month with one significant addition that we think reflects the changed nature of the business of law: Value Per Lawyer (VPL).
Better Safe Than Sorry
July 28, 2005
Information technology has become an invaluable business tool around the world. With it, business ' the traditional kind and those that operate over wires (and wirelessly) ' including law firms are able to increase efficiency and lower costs. After all, information technology is the gateway to one of the e-commerce sector's most important assets: Information. <br>But what happens when information cannot be trusted? When it is vulnerable and exposed to Internet threats? When information is secure, it is trustworthy; anything less than that, and it simply loses its value.
Net News
July 28, 2005
Recent developments of note in the Internet industry. This month:<p>Google Sued Over 'Click Fraud' in Web Ads <br>Tech Firms Call for Approval of Cybercrime Treaty <br>Commission Proposes Single Online Rights System
Remedying <i>Grokster</i>
July 28, 2005
Don't you hate it when you ask someone a question and, rather than answering it, they choose to answer a different one? Then you understand the frustration…
States Move Forward on Internet Sales Tax
July 28, 2005
Tax officials, state lawmakers and industry representatives agreed last month to establish an 18-state network for collecting taxes on Internet sales, a compact they hope will encourage online retailers and Congress to endorse a mandatory national program.
Spyware: The Scourge Of The Internet?
July 28, 2005
The blight of spyware has struck tens of millions of computer users across the globe. In fact, according to a recent nationwide survey conducted by the Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project, 91% of Internet users have changed their online behavior for fear of becoming victims.
Prominent Trial Lawyer Loses Support Fight
July 28, 2005
Recently, a prominent Georgia trial lawyer was ordered to pay his former paramour $6 million in child support payments. Willie Gary, whose law practice is based in Florida, claimed in court papers to have a net worth of $60 million. <i>Gowins v. Gary</i>, No. 2004CV88406. (Fult. Super. Ct., July 15, 2004). Gary is known in Georgia law circles for his representation of race discrimination plaintiffs against The Coca-Cola Co., and Centennial Olympic Park bombing victims suing Atlanta Olympic organizers. His Web site boasts of winning a $240 million verdict against The Walt Disney Co. in 2001 in an intellectual property theft case; a $139.6 million verdict against brewer Anheuser-Busch; and a half-billion-dollar verdict against the Loewen Group, a large Canadian funeral-home chain.
False Allegations of Sexual Abuse in a Custody Case
July 28, 2005
In my experience as both a matrimonial and a criminal defense lawyer, the most difficult cases to handle are custody disputes involving false accusations of sexual abuse of a child. The overriding presumptions, that the child must be protected and that the alleged perpetrator is a source of danger to the child, coupled with multiple layers of civil and criminal litigation, require a unified theme with vastly different approaches to the various proceedings. This alone makes this type of case different from any other representation an attorney undertakes.
Litigation
July 28, 2005
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.

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