The Young Texas Lawyer

For the first time since 1991, profits-per-partner and revenue-per-lawyer were both down in 2008 for the AmLaw 100 firms. With the continued weakness these firms have seen through the first part of 2009, it looks like they will have another drop in both categories. The WSJ Law Blog sat down with AmLaw Editor-in-Chief Aric Press and went over the numbers. As we’ve been saying since this recession started, things are changing for large bloated law firms. The quick and nimble can survive and the larger they are the harder it’ll be.

Unlike surface web, deep web describes the portion of the World Wide Web that is not visible to the public or has not been indexed by search engines. Experts estimate that the deep web is about 500 times larger than the surface web. Some portions of the deep web consist of dynamic pages accessible only via a form or submitted query, web pages that are not linked to other pages, and private databases. Essentially, the deep web is parts of the Internet that you can’t Google.

The most common deep web use for attorneys is Lexis and Westlaw. Kim Walker at The Legal Intelligencer writes a great article, “Dive into Deep Web Research,” that outlines the most effective search techniques and how to use the deep web as efficiently as possible. Ms. Walker has been a paralegal for 27 years and her tips are very useful for anyone looking for information that is somewhere out there, but just can’t be found.

Some of her tips include:

1. use correct spelling;
2. use synonyms (if you are searching for an expert’s opinion on a topic also use the words “perspective,” “viewpoint” or “stance.” A thesaurus can help you);
3. use lower-case letters to find both uppercase and lowercase terms;
4. use quotation marks to find an exact string or phrase “The Rolling Stones” or “smallpox vaccine.” This is a good search technique when looking for names or titles;
5. use the Boolean search terms — AND to find both terms, OR to find either or both, NOT to find the first term but not the second;
6. use the wildcards (?) to replace one letter (m?n will search for man and men); (!) to replace any sequence of any number of letters; (politic* will search for politics, political or politicians;
7. take the time to formulate a search to get the best results in the most effective manner. The UC Berkeley Library provides a helpful form to assist in formulating your search in a logical way.

Google has committed to digitizing every book ever published and the next five years will see some major changes in online research. Young lawyers need to be aware of those changes if they wish to stay competitive and relevant.

As we pointed out in our earlier post, “Dallas County’s DNA DA,” the Dallas County District Attorney will be featured in a new Investigation Discovery channel mini series called “Dallas DNA.” The show premieres tonight at 9 pm CT and follows the work of the Conviction Integrity Unit of the DA’s office.

Regardless of your feelings on wrongful convictions, this series should provide a ton of insight into a realm of the law that most young attorneys only hear about. Below is a brief clip from tonight’s first episode.

Three months after passing the bar, young Texas lawyers Jennifer Regueiro and Sana Naeem have set off to start their own law firm, Naeem & Regueiro, PLLC. They’ve been operational for only a few months and have agreed to let YTL have a peak into their experiences while “flying solo.”

In starting out, we have relied heavily on our family members as both a source of referrals and as clients.  So, spurred on by the desire to help the ones we love (not to mention, the desperate need to pay bills), we have taken on quite a few family members as clients.  Some have been appreciative and respectful, others have been demanding and arrogant, but all of them have leveraged the family connection at least once during the course of the attorney-client relationship.

There are certain issues to be wary of when contracting with kin.  First, if you mess up, they will tell your mother.  Second, the concept of attorney-client confidentiality is usually the first thing to go.  It’s never fun to have Uncle Herb inquire as to the Notice of Seizure that his son received two weeks ago.  Thus, bringing us to point three: family brunches can quickly morph into impromptu legal question/answer sessions with you fielding inquiries from client-relatives, while non-client-relatives feel compelled to share their two cents (or lack thereof).  The fourth, and most uncomfortable, is the issue of billing.  Is it really, truly right to charge poor old Aunt Agnes, who never once forgot your birthday, $175.00 an hour for your work drafting a cease-and-desist letter to an evil creditor who called her twenty times a day after her post-hip replacement hospital stay?

With all these headaches, is it even worth it to take on client-relatives? After living through it, our answer is still a solid, but qualified, “Yes!” Assuming, of course, that there is a legal basis for their claims and they don’t suffer from the type of schizophrenia that will suck all of your energy and time, these are the people who will refer you to their friends if you do a good job.  In all likelihood, they are very proud of you and thrilled to have a lawyer on their side.  Moreover, most of the above concerns can be addressed with a little bit of forethought and aplomb.

First, don’t mess up.  Do your best and if you’re confused or unsure about something, ask a more experienced attorney.  And if you do mess up, call the client-relative ahead of time with an explanation and a possible solution.  Also, give your mom a heads-up (without blowing confidentiality) so she’ll be better prepared to handle the family drama about to ensue.  Second, when a prospective client-relative approaches you with their problem, spend some time explaining the confidential nature of the attorney-client relationship, and how easily it can be blown.  Reassure them that you are deeply honored that they are willing to trust you with their problem and that you are bound by that trust.  Also, clarify that when family is around you prefer not to discuss the details of their case.  If they have any questions, they can call you or visit your office.  This talk usually takes care of the third issue, as well.  If, however, a sticky situation arises at brunch, firmly, but politely, decline to entertain any questions regarding the case.  Stick to your guns, no matter how uncomfortable it may get.  Finally, with regards to charging Aunt Agnes, remember that your time is worth something.  But do give family discounts.  In your monthly fee bill, compute the hours you have worked at your usual hourly rate.  Clearly state that amount.  In the next row, write the amount that you are discounting.  Follow it up with the final charge.  This clearly signals to your client-relative that you appreciate that time they took you to the zoo in the third grade.

All in all, family can be an instant and rich source of referrals.  But remember Ethel Mumford’s words: “God gave us our relatives, thank God we can choose our friends.”

Written by YTL Contributing Author Sana Naeem

Facebook should be used for personal networking and LinkedIn should be used for professional networking. Do not add your co-workers as Facebook friends. If they get upset then tell them that you keep Facebook strictly for your personal life. It is too easy for you to be ruined via Facebook because of the nature of the site. LinkedIn is much more appropriate for professional networking and the site is specifically designed for that. You might think this is ridiculous, but take a look at what is being commonly referred to as “Facebook Ghosts.” YTL readers have given us all the excuses for adding anyone and everyone as a Facebook friend: what if I know them and can’t remember; I don’t want to hurt their feelings; the more the merrier; and he or she is hot. It simply isn’t worth it. You wouldn’t let just anyone come in your house and snoop around. Why let everyone and anyone view your personal information online? How long before the bar associations start using Facebook to scout out lawyers that drink too often or happen to be caught engaging in unethical behavior? Be smart, protect your privacy.

According to the New York Law Journal, “Job Anxiety Grips Graduating Law School Students.”

With layoffs looming, it’s only natural that those awaiting to become lawyers have more to worry about. Odds are the offers will dwindle and the paychecks will get smaller. There is little that any single person can do about the economy, so just buckle up and ride it out.

As Unfair Park points out, the proposed UNT Law School backers are “working overtime to get the entire state Legislature behind the idea” and today’s Austin American-Statesman has an op-ed piece by the new school’s biggest proponents. There are even whispers that there might be a mass exodus of SMU Law professors to the proposed downtown Dallas law school. Apparently, a few of the SMU Law professors have been waiting on the new UNT school as a viable exit strategy.

YTL first wrote about this topic in early March and got some interesting reader feedback. As more time passes, it appears as though this school is getting closer to becoming a reality.

As you’ve probably read everywhere else, U.S. News & World Report has released its annual law school rankings. Not much has changed and the rankings to mean much to most people, but nonetheless they’re linked to above.

According to a statement released today, ”The University of Texas School of Law (UT Law) is proud to announce the Long Career Launch Program, which is designed to make it financially possible for our recent graduates to obtain legal work experience in unpaid internships while they are awaiting bar results and looking for permanent employment. Graduates who are selected to participate in the Program, which is generously funded by a grant from the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Foundation, will receive a $6,000 stipend to support work in an unpaid legal internship with a government agency or a 501(c)(3) public interest organization.” Analysis on the statement from Above the Law.

Tex Parte has a great piece about volunteer attorneys in Houston that are allowed to prosecute municipal court cases once a week. It’s an interesting concept, especially in slow economic times. Both the lawyers and the taxpayer benefit, as the article points out:

It’s a win/win for everyone, except perhaps the people who decide to go to trial in municipal court in Houston. This week, five associates from Andrews Kurth in Houston started training with the city attorney’s office for a 20-week stint as volunteer prosecutors in muni court. The associates pick up rare trial experience before juries, the firm benefits from their training, and the city attorney’s office gets more lawyers to prosecute Class C misdemeanors, which include traffic tickets and city ordinance violations.

Check out the full article here.