The Young Texas Lawyer

Kudos to Online University Lowdown for putting together an expansive list of “100 Essential Tools and Resources” for doing well in legal job interviews. According to the article, “whether you are a law student or a seasoned professional, you are sure to find something useful for that next interview with these 100 sites, guides, eBooks, articles, and blogs.” The full list is available after the jump or by clicking the link above to the article. Preparation is nine tenths of the battle.

Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter is a microblogging site that has garnered a fair amount of attention lately by the media and to a certain extent, the legal industry. The site’s entire concept is based on asking a user “what are you doing” and allowing them update their answer to this question throughout the day from a computer or cell phone. According to The Legal Intelligencer, here are 20 Twitterers that lawyers should follow:

1. @22twts: Helping lawyers tell their stories, one tweet at a time.
2. @ABAjournal: Continuous news updates from the United States’ most-read and most-respected legal affairs magazine and Web site.
3. @amlawdaily: The source for daily legal business news and analysis of leading law firms.
4. @aricpress: Aric Press is editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer, an Incisive Media publication.
5. @barrettdavid: The LinkedIn Lawyer; solid content and links in all tweets mostly about social media with a few potential client referrals.
6. @dougcornelius: Chief compliance officer for a real estate private equity company trying to stay in touch and up-to-date with the world. GeekDad.
7. @jdtwitt: JD Supra. Ex-Yahoo writer. Editor. Poet. All-around word guy.
8. @justiacom: Justia Web site and lawyer directory announcements.
9. @kevinokeefe: Lawyer, dad to 5, husband to saint, Cubs-Packer fan. CEO of LexBlog, provider of professional blogs to law firms; operator of LexTweet;LexMonitor.
10. @lancegodard : International legal business development and marketing consultant. I help law firms grow and prosper.
11. @legalblogwatch: Blawgers Robert Ambrogi and Carolyn Elefant track, discuss and parse the latest developments in the legal blogosphere.
12. @mashable: The hottest Twitter news, Twitter tips and Twitter help. Plus, the best social media links around!
13. @mbeese: Leadership, biz dev and marketing consultant that works with lawyers and other professionals.
14. @michaelport: Bio father, friend, lover, revolutionary, big thinker … and best selling author.
15. @nancyfox: Business development; networking specialist and connector.
16. @nancymyrland: Professional marketing adviser: Are you ready to grow?
17. @neenjames: International productivity expert.
18. @philacourts: Philadelphia court news.
19. @taxgirl: Mom, tax lawyer, coffee drinker, manic blogger, iPod addict — not a sleeper.
20. @thelegalintel: The Legal Intelligencer is the nation’s oldest daily legal newspaper.

According to the Associated Press, President Obama will announce federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court today. If confirmed, she would be the first Hispanic to serve on the high court.

She is a self-described “Newyorkrican” who grew up in a Bronx housing project after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She has dealt with diabetes since age 8 and lost her father at age 9, growing up under the care of her mother in humble surroundings. As a girl, inspired by the Perry Mason television show, she knew she wanted to be a judge.

UPDATE: From the AP… President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as “an inspiring woman” with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.

Obama said Sotomayor has more experience as a judge than any current member of the high court had when nominated, adding she has earned the “respect of colleagues on the bench,” the admiration of lawyers who appear in her court and “the adoration of her clerks.”

“My heart today is bursting with gratitude,” Sotomayor said from the White House podium moments after being introduced by Obama.

From Texas Lawyer… A former assistant attorney general alleges in a whistleblower suit filed May 18 that the Texas Office of the Attorney General fired her in 2008 for reporting that two OAG attorneys in the Dallas child support office tried “to suborn perjured testimony” from her about a Dallas judge.

Ginger Weatherspoon, who worked in the OAG’s child support division from July 2006 until November 2008, alleges in her original petition in Weatherspoon v. Office of the Attorney General of Texas that in February 2008, James Jones and Harry Monck, then-senior regional attorneys in the Dallas child support office, tried to coerce her to sign an affidavit containing “numerous misrepresentations” about a conversation she had had with 254th District Judge David Hanschen. Weatherspoon further alleges in the petition, filed in the 44th District Court in Dallas, that Jones and Monck “confined her in a room against her will” after she refused to sign the affidavit.

The growing trend among private and public enterprise has been to reduce the number of controversies created by their employees’ behavior on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Not only are they embarrassing to those involved, but they’re simply bad for business.

In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Guidance Committee has issued a recent opinion regarding an attorney’s proposed investigation of a witness’s Facebook page. The lawyer tried to use a third party to send a friend request to the witness with the hopes that the witness would accept it and the lawyer could use the third party to gather information about the witness for impeachment. The Philadelphia Bar essentially shot down the idea and labeled it deceptive. Taking the behavior outside the context of the internet should help get the answer to any ethics questions regarding social networking sites. If you trick a witness into befriending a third party in real life then you’ve definitely crossed the line and therefore to do so on Facebook is essentially the same.

Just last week, The Wall Street Journal released a list of rules for “professional conduct” amongst its staff members. The list included a host of policies regarding the use of online activities on social networking sites. Also last week, the Fort Lauderdale City Attorney issued a memorandum warning the mayor and other elected officials to stay off of Facebook and avoid having any type of website if possible. In his memo he wrote:

It is a simple fact that the state of the law is lagging woefully behind the state of the art in communications technology. This presents unique challenges in following the intent and the letter of these laws regulating public meetings and communications of local government.

It’s only a matter of time before law firms begin the same practice, if they haven’t already done so. As we’ve stated before, keep a close watch on your behavior on such sites. Make sure you aren’t the one for which a new rule will be written. If you wouldn’t do it in person, don’t do it on the web.

From the State Bar of Texas Blog and Arturo Errisuriz, Assistant Dean for Career Services at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law:

1. Find a mentor, either within your firm or in the legal community; your mentor should be someone with professional experience who is willing to share it.
2. Join your local bar association and sister bars or affinity bar groups.
3. Attend professional development CLEs and courses in the practice areas that interest you.
4. Schedule informational lunches with attorneys to gain insight into the profession and your practice area.
5. Be considerate of your mentor’s time.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
7. Network and create visibility for yourself.
8. Go to the courthouse and sit-in on hearings and trials.
9. Always project a professional demeanor in and out of the legal community.
10. Establish a reputation for being competent and ethical.
11. Be patient.

A partner in Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s London office sent an e-mail to the firm’s London-based attorneys informing them that ”out-of-office” replies are unacceptable and they should always be available to answer e-mails or at least arrange for a colleague to answer messages when they are truly unreachable. He went on to write that the only time an “out-of-office” reply might be acceptable is when a lawyer is on a long flight.

One would think that most clients are aware of the practical uses of an “out-of-office” reply, but as usual, law firms are on the outside looking in when it comes to using technology efficiently.

In a recent article for Texas Lawyer, Nelia Robbi writes that “new associates can go far by being themselves.” This probably doesn’t hold true for some young attorneys that are just bad people in general. But regardless of whether you agree with her assessment, she has some good practical advice on how you should treat those in your office.

Although this is common sense for most people, you would be surprised how many young attorneys quickly create a reputation as being socially awkward. Below is only a portion of Nelia’s article:

• Partners: As an associate, keeping partners happy is — or at least should be — the No. 1 priority. Without their approval, new lawyers might well be out of a job. Until associates develop to the point that they have their own clients, the partners fill that role.

• Legal assistants: A little respect makes a big difference in office relationships.

• Opposing counsel: Dealing with opposing counsel can be an intimidating task for a new associate. But no matter how many years he has been practicing, no matter how daunting her reputation, opposing counsel is an attorney and a human being.

• Clients: Clients are the bread and butter of any firm, and it doesn’t take a genius to know that they should be treated with respect. Associates entrusted by partners with client contact need to please the client and the partner. When contacting the client, communicate clearly and succinctly, and keep the partner in the loop.

Last month, YTL contributing author Sana Naeem explored the notion of family members as clients. This month, K&L Gates, named for Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates’ father, has lost its status as one of Microsoft’s preferred legal providers. Although the process by which Microsoft hires legal counsel is probably very different from that of Sana’s Aunt Agnes, the lesson here is that firms of all sizes operate roughly using the same business model.

The widely known business school notion that any business model can be boiled down to that of a lemonade stand runs true in the legal world too. Any law firm, no matter the size, can be boiled down to a solo practice. Just as our friends at Naeem & Regueiro have to tap the shoulders of family members to stay afloat, so do the likes of mega firms such as K&L Gates. And just like Microsoft, Aunt Agnes will look elsewhere if she feels like she isn’t getting the best possible representation, family or not. Look at the competition and take their ideas, borrow them, and tailor them to fit your needs. Learn from the best and you’ll always stay ahead of the rest.

On May 11, 2009, the Texas Bar interviewed new lawyers at the induction ceremony at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin to determine what their plans were for their new careers. The responses are below.