Articles Posted in Legal Profession

“Run-of-the-Mill Justice” by Stanford Law professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, published in a recent issue of Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, analyzes the practices of “settlement mill” law firms — those that “advertise aggressively, sign a higher percentage of callers to contract, delegate more duties to non-lawyers, file fewer lawsuits, and take far fewer cases to…

As an Atlanta attorney focused on serious personal injury cases, and as an early adopter of internet technology, I have been fascinated by the growing interaction between law, technology and new media. Robert Ambrogi at IMS Expert Services blog has posted 10 examples of bad things that can happen in court as a result of…

Lawyers who rely on traditional referrals and upon informed consumers researching experience and qualifications are at a distinct disadvantage these days. Many people just respond to a TV or billboard ad because they have no idea how to intelligently choose a lawyer. Recently I ran across an e-book which you can download — The Smart…

Lawyers who rely on traditional referrals and upon informed consumers researching experience and qualifications are at a distinct disadvantage these days. Too many potential clients simply go to firms that advertise on TV and billboards, without any disclosure of the experience or qualifications of who will actually handle the cases. Recently I ran across an…

This Tuesday, I had a mostly pleasant interview with the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission. Friends had submitted my name for a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia, and duly flattered I went through the process. However, I went into it expecting nothing, and was not disappointed when that’s exactly what I got. I now extend my…

There is widespread sentiment that the ratings game — whether it’s college rankings in US News or our “Super Lawyer” rankings — is a lot of hocum.  However, folks look at that stuff, so the game goes on. I just got word that my law school alma mater, Emory, has moved up in the U.S.…

Contingent fees, in which the attorney earns a fee based on a percentage of whatever is recovered for the client, are typical in personal injury cases both in Georgia and throughout the United States. We often explain the advantages in terms of making representation attainable for average people and giving the lawyer an incentive to…

A study by professors at  the University of California, Berkeley, has concluded that the Law School Admission Test is “not particularly useful” in predicting an aspiring lawyer’s effectiveness in the profession after law school.  The study included a survey that produced a list of  26 effectiveness factors with 8 umbrella categories.  They are not yet…

We’ve all heard the “Philadelphia lawyer” stereotype.  Now Molly Peckman at the Legal Intelligencer in Philly has interviewed an array of “lawyers’ lawyers” in the City of Brotherly Love to compile a list of traits that make a lawyer great.  And of course we have heard the cynical observation that “a good lawyer knows the…

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the problem of lawyers — most but not all of whom are fairly young — who have been laid off from big law firms or whose job offers have been rescinded at such firms. It’s an interesting whipsaw of fortune compared to the unsustainably high salaries…