Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

A little Broadway for this week's title. ----- Law firm productivity is down, but are we really worried about that? It's a traditional harbinger of layoffs, though something about this market feels a bit different. Meanwhile, a right-wing advocacy group has sued a pair of Biglaw firms for offering fellowship programs aimed at improving diversity -- offering a lesson in forum shopping along the way...

The corporate rep depo is a powerful tool to expand discovery and solidify facts in your case. Today’s discussion covers what information you should seek in a corporate rep depo, effective ways to organize comprehensive topics and questions, and how to address common objections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you apologize for moving a meeting or asking a legitimate question? Apologizing can be a knee jerk reaction that implies a weak position, or it can be a powerful tool to get what you want. We’ll discuss when it’s appropriate to apologize and how to do it without diminishing your self-worth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Matthew Stafford joins me to talk about SEO, and we dig deep to uncover how it works beyond traffic. Matthew Stafford is the CEO and Owner of Build Grow Scale and the mad scientist behind the data and development of BGS’s Revenue Optimization TM system.  He has a keen eye for impediments in the customer journey, is excellent at interpreting data to find diamonds in the rough, and...

After almost 40 years on the bench, Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sued her chief, two judge colleagues and the Federal Circuit Judicial Council, following a court committee interview and a medical records request, which she denied, and a suggestion that she should be suspended from work for one year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

Nearly every person has had the frustrating experience of being told that an appliance or piece of electronic equipment cannot be repaired. Why are we told that a laptop cannot be repaired when the battery dies or that our dishwasher needs to be replaced when the electronic control panel malfunctions? In this episode, hosts Trisha Rich and Jennifer Byrne chat with Gay Gordon-Byrne, founder of the...

Nick Rishwain joins the guys as another fresh voice on the current happenings in legal technology. Nick shares his approach to helping attorneys understand and make the most of legal tech and discusses areas where competence still has a long way to go. Later, Dennis & Tom pick his brain on AI, blockchain, collaboration, exciting new startups, social media, and much more.  As always, stay tuned for...

Guest Alexandra Graves tells her story, and it’s unreal. Bad things happen to good people. She was experiencing headaches and vision issues as a 2L and discovered she had a brain tumor. She needed neurosurgery and had to withdraw from classes. Then she started over.   If you hit obstacles, and you will, you can overcome them. Life can throw you for a loop. You can fight back. You are not alone.  ...

Kirk Simoneau joins Sara to explore client experience design and accessibility. Sharing his journey from trauma survivor to lawyer, Kirk emphasizes the importance of understanding the client's perspective and creating a personalized and empathetic client experience.  He advocates customizing spaces and communication to clients’ individual needs, but for taking on pro bono work and representing peo...

AI is capable of doing so many things in the legal tech world, not least of which are its uses in digital forensics. Sharon Nelson and John Simek welcome Shashi Angadi to discuss AI’s current applications in cybersecurity—including threat detection, analysis, evidence gathering, and more. Shashi offers real-world examples of AI at work and shares his thoughts on what we might expect in the future...

The Fifth Circuit judge made a bunch of headlines last week and we jump into all of them. Plus Texas's use of water saws and Ron De Santis isn't faring well in his battle with Disney. (Always bet on Mickey.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s time for the Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode, in which host Lee Rawles shares her pop culture picks with you, plus a re-airing of one of our older episodes with current relevance. This year, that episode is our 2018 interview with Kathryne M. Young about How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School. Young used her background in sociology to gather data from students, alumni, facu...

Your product liability case isn’t just about a single product. Design changes, comparable models, previous incidents and marketing materials should be carefully examined to find the potential flaw or “profit over people” claim for liability. We’ll offer more tips on where to look to find this information and how to use it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Humane Society, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the United States. Today we take a look at the laws regarding responsible pet ownership, including what constitutes vicious propensity and what your insurance may or may not cover if you or your dog is injured by another person’s pet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does SEO demand that you prune old content from your website? And, Gyi and Conrad pick The Face and The Guest during round 3 of the marketing dream team draft. ----- Improving your SEO performance is always a good idea, but there have been disagreements of late as to whether deleting underperforming content is a means to that end. So, what’s the deal? Should you, indeed, prune legacy content? As u...

Experts from Bay Area Legal Services and Florida Youth SHINE discuss developments in access to legal information for foster youth on LSC's “Talk Justice” podcast. A new website and app, FosterPower, enables Florida’s foster youth to easily access information on their rights, and the state of Florida has passed a bill requiring more information for foster youth. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Learn how MeanPug, a law firm marketing company, manages a multitude of projects, tasks, and workflows within their company. Listen-in as Zack talks with founding partner, Bobby Steinbach, about their project management software journey. And learn how you can use project management concepts to drive efficiency and productivity in your firm.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...

Is your marketing missing a key component, say, a way to reach Spanish speaking audiences? Many attorneys miss a large segment of their community that wants legal services, if only they would reach out.  Guest Hugo Gomez founded and leads Abogados Now, a digital marketing company that helps connect attorneys in the U.S. with the Spanish-speaking communities around them. This is about more than hir...

In this episode, Jessica Aries joins me to talk about social media growth hacks and how lawyers can leverage the digital space, master the right platform for them, and create massive impact with their clients. Jessica is a lawyer turned digital marketer who helps lawyers simplify their digital marketing to build consistent visibility and profitable practice.  A former in-house legal marketer at so...

Lawyers, you really actually do need to use KPIs—that’s Key Performance Indicators for those of you who *still* haven’t kept up with good business practices. Do it! And, Jared’s here to help with a breakdown of the 5 KPI categories you need to start keeping track of, like, yesterday. Next, software demos! If you’re paralyzed with indecision about what software to use, a demo could help, but only i...

While Craig is away on a well-deserved vacation, we wanted to do things a little bit differently, and share with you one of our favorite episodes from the Chicago Bar Association’s @the Bar podcast. This episode is Defending Against Domestic Violent Extremism: A Discussion with Brian Michael Jenkins. We hope you enjoy it! ----- In this episode, host Jonathan Amarilio speaks with one of the world’s...

Lawyers are often confused about the best and safest ways to share files with clients. Are standalone file sharing tools best? Should every lawyer have a client portal? Is email okay? Sharon Nelson and John Simek have an in-depth conversation with Roberta Tepper about everything you need to know about ethical, secure file sharing solutions.  Roberta Tepper is the Chief Member Services Officer at t...

You know the legal writing classes you took in law school? There’s a lot more to learn, and with a few steps, you can get better – and get better results. Guest Chris Schandevel is the “Brief-Writing Ninja” and passionate writing clear, simple, concise legal briefs that win over courts.  Courthouses are busy places. Judges and clerks deal with a lot of distractions and competing demands. Make your...

Stephanie talks with Eric Webber about the silent addiction of gambling. In this episode, we explore why you can’t go anywhere or watch a sporting event without hearing betting terms. Online gambling has become all the rage, but it is not without potential dangers.   Especially in a profession like law where attorneys have access to client’s money, problems can turn problematic quickly. Learn more...

And they're running out of a bunch of lawyers. A surprising level of jerk content this week as we discuss the value of real Jamaican jerk seasoning, Clarence Thomas getting his RV financed by a health care executive, Alan Dershowitz complaining about his neighbors, and Judge Aileen Cannon botching straightforward criminal law (more than once). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...