ATTORNEY MARKETING IN THE CURRENT ECONOMY
ATTORNEY MARKETING IN THE CURRENT ECONOMY - There's a big theme underlying current legal business headlines. And the underlying question is can large firms ever again support the notorious salary structures and leverage strategies of the past? My own experience confirms that mid-and smaller law firms clearly sense a chance to really thrive in this environment. For corporate and agency clients meeting with legal sales teams, the big firm "safety sell" may be neutralized as clients…
Knock, Knock: Surprise, Opportunity's Here
Opportunity knocks when you least expect it ' but will it knock when the economy is in freefall and the legal profession is seeing some of its worst layoffs ever? Whether you're an e-commerce attorney, or engage in general practice, the economy can visit your firm ' whether a large partnership or a one-person shop ' and deal a blow. The answer: maybe, if you network!
Boom, Boom, Boom
While it is helpful to be able to research issues online and communicate with key employees while sitting at the board table, I find that the level of distraction from the board's deliberations has diminished the value of these meetings, for me and for the company. While this problem is certainly not limited to e-commerce or technology firms, I think that the great reliance on such technology by their executives and directors makes the legal duty to "pay attention" even more of a pressing issue for such firms.
Who Should Monitor Online Counterfeiters?
Oral arguments will soon be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the highly watched dispute between renowned jeweler Tiffany & Co. and eBay, the popular online auction site, over who bears the burden of "policing" online counterfeit activity. Evidencing the tension between e-commerce and brand owners, eBay, Tiffany and several amici curiae have advanced their positions to the circuit. This article summarizes some of the arguments.
e-Commerce and Canada
With a recession taking a chunk from some e-retailers' sales, U.S. entrepreneurs are looking to expand their e-sales base north of the border, onto Canadian consumers' computer screens. But reaching that wider shopper base can present problems, particularly when a Web retailer attempts cross-border transactions into Canada. Many retailers may be surprised to learn that a number of legal differences exist that can present thorny issues to even the smallest boutique U.S.-based Web site selling to customers who make their purchases online in Canada.
e-Discovery of Structured Data
At the outset of an investigation, timelines and custodian-created information assets can all be garnered from extracts of accounting data, e-mails and documents through traditional discovery and disclosure. None of this tells you how, specifically, an event or series of events occurred. Were the alleged claims the result of system control errors, malicious employee action, fraud or simple misrepresentations by management as a means of covering up systemic losses by cooking the books to avoid audit concerns?
Social Media Policies: Your Firm Needs One
Being engaged in social networks has enormous value for your firm. Through them, you can establish thought leadership, find new recruits, provide a more efficient way for potential clients to find you online, and participate in and monitor discussions about the issues that impact your clients and your firm. The first thing you must do is create a social media policy ' or modify an existing policy that is free and available for you to borrow.
TTAB Fraud Standard
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("Board") of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") has routinely invalidated trademark registrations based on findings of fraud following its decision in 2003 in <i>Medinol v. Neuro Vasx, Inc.</i> The Board's fraud standard does not require proof of scienter or intent to defraud, but rather a mere showing that the applicant knew, or should have known, that certain statements made in trademark applications or renewal declarations were inaccurate.
