April 04, 2019

Eminent Domain and Border Walls

Beyond the political, social and environmental issues confronting President Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, there is a significant real estate challenge to consider. After all, portions of the physical wall will be built on private U.S. citizen property. Enter Eminent Domain Eminent domain is a power that’s been around for centuries in various countries. In simple terms, eminent domain...

March 27, 2019

Fairchild Morgan Law: Big Law Expatriates Find Their Niche Catering to the Corporate Law Needs of Midsize Companies

In November 2018, two Big Law expatriates who left their top-tier law firms years ago to hang their own shingles joined forces to create Fairchild Morgan Law , an eight-lawyer boutique firm with offices in Chicago and Milwaukee. The firm was created by a merger between Fairchild Law Offices, LLC and Morgan Legal Group, LLC. Jessica Fairchild launched her eponymous law firm in 2010 after leaving her post as a corporate...

March 26, 2019

The Tax Ramifications of the Trump Tax Law on Personal Injury Settlements

Plaintiffs whose personal injury suits involve a major accident often expect a tax-free settlement. Settlements can be complex in any case, but the new Trump tax law further complicates the subject as it alters who, how and what is taxed in personal injury cases. Personal injury attorneys need to understand the nuances of the newly revised U.S. tax code to properly advise and prepare clients on the realities of settlement...

March 13, 2019

Law Firm Subscription Models: A Potential Solution to an Age-Old Problem

It’s no secret that hourly attorney fees can drive costs through the roof for any business, particularly for small businesses or startups. Unfortunately, no matter the size of the company or its wallet, running a successful business free of legal headaches will eventually require the use of formal legal expertise. The main issue for these small businesses is cost predictability and fees that often exceed budgetary...

March 13, 2019

Accounting 101 for Solo, Small and Midsize Firms

During those long days in law school, you may have kept yourself going by imagining yourself in action as a lawyer—negotiating deals, examining witnesses, perhaps even nabbing that corner office. It’s unlikely that at any point in the process you imagined the glamour of going over the accounting statements at your solo, small or midsize firm. It is not, in fact, a glamorous task. It’s not a subject they...

March 12, 2019

The “Baseball Rule” and Its Effect on Personal Injury Claims

Any true sports fan will tell you that being in the stadium is far better than watching the action on TV. But a trip to the ballpark does carry some hazards - and we're not talking about triple-decker jalapeno nacho plates. If you're a personal injury lawyer, you've probably heard about the so-called "baseball rule." The baseball rule is a maxim that can release stadium owners, teams, players...

March 11, 2019

University of Farmington sting shows that U.S, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is really, truly, not messing around

From practically the moment President Trump took his oath of office on January 20, 2017, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been in the spotlight. From large-scale immigration raids of convenience store franchises to separating immigrant families at the United States-Mexico border , ICE has employed a number of high-profile tactics to carry out its mission of promoting “homeland security...

March 07, 2019

Three Things That Caught Our Eyes (and Ears) at Legalweek New York 2019

Late January brought the latest installment of Legalweek—a legal technology conference in New York. Having evolved well beyond its humble trade show beginnings in the early 1980s, Legalweek New York today combines a legal technology trade show with five conferences featuring dozens of speakers from across the legal profession. Here are three things about the 2019 version of the show that caught our eyes (and ears...

March 06, 2019

Legal Analytics: Eight Terms You Should Know

If you remember the days of cassette tapes, floppy disks and flip phones, then we don't need to tell you how quickly technology is moving lately. Now it seems we're running headlong into the era of artificial intelligence. Yes, smart computers capable of learning and adapting to solve complex problems. And with these new technologies comes a new vocabulary. Phrases like big data, cognitive computing, machine...

February 28, 2019

Five Legal Trends to Watch in 2019

If a crystal ball could accurately predict the future, it might help attorneys like you better anticipate client demands, prepare meaningful advice and formulate firm strategy. But alas, no proven mechanism exists to divine the future. We can only look at current and recent legal trends as well as economic and political developments to get an outlook for the year ahead. Following are five industry trends that will likely...

February 25, 2019

Eight Factors That Affect Personal Injury Settlements

How much is a broken leg worth to you? Not exactly a comfortable question, is it? Nevertheless, attorneys who represent victims in personal injury cases have to grapple with those kinds of issues on a daily basis. Listen to this article: Click here to play this audio clip Calculating personal injury settlements is far from an exact science. Although there’s no foolproof formula, understanding the factors that...

February 15, 2019

Client Value: New Year Resolutions

If you are a regular at your local gym, you may have been annoyed on New Year’s Day when your workout sanctuary was suddenly filled with gung-ho exercisers determined to meet their newly-minted fitness goals. With physical fitness being one of the most popular new year’s resolutions, this comes as no surprise—but by March, when the newness of resolutions has died down, the gym head count will likely...

February 12, 2019

13 New Congressional Class Members with Small and Midsize Law Backgrounds

If this year’s congressional class has proven anything, it’s that people from all walks of life can occupy a congressional seat. The 2019 class is more diverse than ever before—and not only in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Political success can now be achieved by individuals from any number of professional tracks, not just those who have strong backgrounds in politics or those who...

February 11, 2019

Five of the Most Important Changes to Tax Filing in 2019

A popular quote from Benjamin Franklin reads, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Well, if recent years are any indication, that idiom should probably be tweaked to say, "The only thing certain is death, taxes...and changes in tax laws." Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, filing year 2018 is upholding that trend of fluctuation - a series of key...

February 05, 2019

Four Things Solo Practitioners and Small Law Firm Attorneys Need to Consider when Deciding Whether to Join a Law Firm Network

The power of the almighty attorney referral shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Even with the rise of digital marketing in the legal profession, referrals remain the most frequent source of new business for attorneys . Because referrals are so important, it is common practice for attorneys to create informal "referral networks" by connecting with other attorneys and business professionals with complementary...

February 01, 2019

Four Tax Trends to Keep an Eye On in 2019

With the first year of the new federal income tax scheme under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in the books, individuals, organizations, politicians and tax professionals are still sorting out the implications of the law and its impact on tax planning. As we peer into our 2019 tax crystal ball, we see four trends tax lawyers should keep their eyes on - two of which are directly related to the TCJA. STATE AND LOCAL...

February 01, 2019

High-Stakes Commercial & IP Litigation

In October 2018, former McKool Smith rainmakers, Courtland Reichman and Sarah Jorgensen, launched what they are confident represents "the law firm of the future." The 13-attorney elite national trial firm, Reichman Jorgensen , focuses on high-stakes commercial and intellectual property litigation, working from offices in California, Atlanta and New York. But size aside, a creative approach to law firm management...

January 23, 2019

7 Summary Judgment Survival Skills by Jim Wagstaffe

In federal and state court cases, the litigator’s survival kit frequently has as its principal tool motions for summary judgment. For defendants, the winning case strategy frequently involves executing the summary judgment escape plan to survive the costs and risks of litigation. Conversely, for plaintiffs, “staying alive” for settlement and trial is quite often all about surviving the inevitable defense...

January 15, 2019

Innovation - We Need You

Over the last decade, we have experienced some of the greatest technology innovations in history. Apple launched this technology phase with its all-in-one product, the iPhone ® , completely revolutionizing the way consumers think of mobile phones. They were the first to create and market a product as a necessity, catapulting the success of their brand. After the iPhone ® came applications (known as apps) hosted...

January 11, 2019

The Benefits of Being an Empathetic Lawyer

The idea of being an empathetic lawyer, or at least the idea that a lawyer should show empathy when he or she is practicing law, is not exactly a new idea. The idea of the empathetic lawyer has gained prominence over the last decade as the legal industry has taken a more introspective view of how lawyers should operate, the priorities they should have and what constitutes client value. In theory, lawyers showing empathy—defined...

January 10, 2019

How to Draft a Law Firm Business Plan

Law firms are something more than a business. Law firms and the lawyers within them are engaged in a profession, with obligations that go beyond purely commercial concerns. Listen to this article: Click here to play this audio clip This truth can obscure the need for lawyers to pay attention to the business management side of their practices: their finances, marketing plans, business development efforts, IT purchases...

January 09, 2019

How AI is Helping Small Law Firms Level the Discovery Playing Field

Only a few years ago, small law firms had legitimate cause for concern when faced with the prospect of having to review thousands—or even millions—of documents during the discovery phase of a lawsuit. How could a law firm of only a handful of attorneys and staff effectively review such a large number of documents that even an army of “Biglaw” associates would struggle with? For many small firms...

December 19, 2018

The Lawyer of the Future

You know that common New Year's expression, "new year, new me"? Imagine if that didn't have to be just a bunch of motivating self-talk but was actually a well-thought business strategy. As we begin the new year, think about what you can do to improve your career. Often, people will tell you to become more efficient, organize your schedule or take on a challenge to push your boundaries. While these are...

December 18, 2018

The Cannabis Industry’s Cash Problem

The latest attempt to address the ongoing banking issue for the recreational marijuana industry has failed in committee. A proposed amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019, 115 H.R. 6258 , was tabled by the Senate Appropriations Committee 21 - 10 on June 21. A week earlier, the House Appropriations Committee defeated their version of the amendment on a voice note . With this...

December 14, 2018

Creating Client Value: 15 Best Practices for Client Feedback Surveys

We all know client feedback surveys can offer valuable information. If you’ve been holding off—perhaps because you don’t want to bother your clients—don’t. The good news is that more than 70 percent of Fortune 500® GCs understand that such surveys are “important” or even “critical” to good lawyer-client relationships, according to a recent Altman Weil Pensa survey...