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Blog Glob: "New legal services provider proposal creates controversy in Washington state"

Excerpt from "New legal services provider proposal creates controversy in Washington state" (Puget Sound Business Journal - subscription required):

Many local attorneys are concerned about a proposal before the state Supreme Court that would allow nonlawyers to practice law in certain limited circumstances.

The proposed rule would create a new kind of legal-services provider called a “legal technician,” who could provide some assistance with family law issues, presumably at a lower cost than legal services from a lawyer.

The proposal pits the legal profession’s long-standing goal of making legal services more affordable and accessible against concerns about maintaining high professional standards. A number of small firms, solo practitioners and other family lawyers say the proposed rule may not only undermine their business, but leave clients in more serious legal trouble than if they’d hired an attorney in the first place.
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The proposal offered by the Practice of Law Board, a panel created by the state Supreme Court, would create a pilot program that would authorize legal technicians to practice in certain areas of family law. Legal technicians could help a client with the preparation of documents necessary for child support and

Blog Glob: "Narcissists Can Be Identified By Their Facebook Accounts"

Excerpt from "Narcissists Can Be Identified By Their Facebook Accounts" (Scientific Blogging):

Not everyone who uses Facebook is a narcissist. "We found that people who are narcissistic use Facebook in a self-promoting way that can be identified by others," said Buffardi.

They gave personality questionnaires to nearly 130 Facebook users, analyzed the content of the pages and had untrained strangers view the pages and rate their impression of the owner's narcissism.

The researchers found that the number of Facebook friends and wallposts that individuals have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism. Buffardi said this is consistent with how narcissists behave in the real-world, with numerous yet shallow relationships. Narcissists are also more likely to choose glamorous, self-promoting pictures for their main profile photos, she said, while others are more likely to use snapshots.

Untrained observers were able to detect the narcissists also. Observers used three characteristics – quantity of social interaction, attractiveness of the individual and the degree of self promotion in the main photo – to form an impression of the individual's personality. "People aren't perfect in their assessments," [Laura] Buffardi said, "but our results show they're somewhat accurate in their judgments."

Click to read the rest.

Online communities for lawyers, part 2: Legal OnRamp

Legal OnRamp was founded by lawyer Paul Lippe. The site has many resources, including articles, Ask an Expert, and legal blogs.  LOR also provides many opportunities for lawyer networking through topic groups, discussion forums, chat rooms, and more. Webinars are in the future. I have talked with Lippe and his colleague Sylvia Nessen and found them to be enthusiastic, committed, open to ideas, and excited about where they are taking this new venture. By the end of our long conversation, I too was feeling excited about LOR's potential.

Joining is by invitation only; you may request an invitation at the site. Look me up at LOR once you are a member.

Other links:

• Legal OnRamp's Wikipedia entry.
• Article by Lippe: "An opportunity waiting to happen" (Legal Week)
• "Paul Lippe to Present Keynote Session at Mitratech's Interact 2008 Conference" (Reuters)
• Post by Lippe: Welcome to the Future: Law After the Boom (The Am Law Daily)

Part 1 of Online communities for lawyers.

Having a problem with procrastination? Here are some ways out of the stall

Now this is a guy who seems to have a handle on procrastination. I first learned of Jurgen Wolff in this article "Beat the clock: How to overcome endless procrastination" (The Independent). Excerpt:

First of all, get up early and sit at your desk, giving the impression that you are organised. Answer some emails but make sure they are mostly to friends and could have waited until later. Facebook a couple of people who've Facebooked you overnight, and then get distracted by a status update about moths eating jumpers, which requires you to spend 10 minutes writing down everything you know about pest eradication. Don't keep an eye on the clock. Make a cup of tea. Feel depressed.

This isn't an excerpt from my soon-to-be published, deeply fascinating memoirs, it's an exercise from Jurgen Wolff's book about how to stop mucking about and get on with what's really important, Focus – the Power of Targeted Thinking. (I bought Focus back in April wandering around WH Smith while, you guessed it, I should have been working.) The assignment is to make a detailed list of instructions so even a stranger could learn how to wile away their working hours as I do.

I was very intrigued with this exercise. As anyone who has attended one of my Brains on Purpose™ seminars will recall, this is very similar to an exercise I created. The exercise enables you to look in a new and magnified way at a habit you want to, through the use of self-directed neuroplasticity, change or create. I have my students each teach another person exactly how to have that bad habit or how they resist forming a new one. There are questions each student asks him- or herself prior to the exercise to make it easier. The exercise is very effective because it catapults students' levels of self-awareness and attention which are critical components of mind and brain changing. And the exercise typically results in much laughter.

I plan to take a look at Focus to see what else Wolff presents. In the meanwhile, I signed up for his free e-course on eliminating procrastination. Speaking of laughter, this guy is funny. Well, at least the first lesson was amusing; I look forward to the coming five lessons to see if they are as much fun. You can sign up for the e-course on procrastination here.

Have any good recommendations for resources on overcoming procrastination?

Image credit: Alvimann.

First in a series of articles on starting your own law firm

Arizona lawyer Dan Jaffe kicked off a series of articles about "how I started my own law firm with no prior law firm experience ... ." The first installment is titled "Law Students: Why you should think about starting your own firm immediately." Excerpt:

If you are a law student in a race to get the "best" big firm jobs available out of law school, consider the following list of reasons why you might be better off shunning the competition, and instead focusing on gaining the tools necessary to succeed on your own, by your own terms.

1. If you think your time is not your own in law school, do you think it will be better or worse once you are tracking billable hour?
2. If you are tempted by the  100-150k starting salary that will allow you to stop living like a starving student, could your jump in lifestyle ultimately be a career jail you build for yourself?

Read the rest here.

Excellent news! Archives of ABA's Law Practice now available to everyone

No longer available to subscribers only, past editions of Law Practice are passworded no more. Thanks, ABA.

Studying and analyzing team dynamics: What factors result in an effective team?

BBC Radio 4 gave us five short (15-minute) programs with fascinating examples of teamwork. From the program's site:

In this five-part series, Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics. By visiting groups around the country and talking to leading academics, she'll find out what makes successful teams tick.

The teams Hammond studies are:

• London Air Ambulance Service
• Jockey Morris Team (dancers)
• Antarctic research team
• Girls’ football team
• Behind the scenes at a musical.

Do the analyses by the team experts yield some pointers for any teams of which you are a member?

Hat tip: Mind Hacks.

Online communities for lawyers, part 1: Legal Trends Network

A couple of new places for lawyers to congregate, learn, and communicate on the Web have appeared. First, let's look at Legal Trends Network. From the home page:

Legal Trends Network is an international information resource and collaborative exchange for lawyers and social justice professionals. This site is not intended for the general public and should in no way be considered legal advice.

The Network's purpose is to facilitate the building of communities and social networks of like-minded attorneys, judges, academics, law students, social justice professionals and coaches. Its further objective is to provide a forum for discussing and exchanging information relative to lawyer well-being, alternative modes of conflict resolution (such as collaborative law and transformational mediation), peacemaking practices, therapeutic jurisprudence and social and restorative justice ideas.

Content found here is intended for lawyers and is generally provided by the professionals the Network supports, even when the process is assisted by LTN staff. ...

The site is content-rich with many resources including an events calendar, videos, and articles. The site was developed by Legal Trend Network's Asheville-based CEO Gina Drew. Focus topics include practice management, legal education, alternative dispute resolution, and life balance. Registration is free.

In a post coming soon, I will introduce you to another social networking site for lawyers.

Cooperative Or Collaborative Family Law - Which Is Better?

Diana Skaggs has posted an excellent article on this topic at her Divorce Law Journal.

September edition of the ABA's Law Practice now online: Riding the Roller Coaster

The theme of this edition is Riding the Roller Coaster. Articles include:

• "Riding the Economic Roller Coaster: What NOT to Do in the Downsizing" by Ed Flitton
• "Personal Profitability in a Downturn: Tips for Protecting Your Practice in Turbulent Seas" by Erik Mazzone
• "Rethinking Your Marketing Budget" by Les Altenberg
• "Watching the Digital Radar With Google News Alerts" by Sharon Nelson and John Simek
• "Survival of the Nimblest: Tips to Help Your Firm Adapt to Financial Change" by David Bilinsky and Laura Calloway
• "Care and Feeding of Clients in a Down Economy"  by Sara Kraeski
• "Maneuvering in the Downturn" by Patrick J. McKenna

Many more articles here, including my "Reading Minds" column in which Joan Haratani, Patton Hyman, John Warnick, and Diane Levin recommend their favorite books on money. Take a look at what they recommended. As I wrote in my column:

In tune with the financial theme of this issue of Law Practice, four savvy contributors share with us their favorite books on the topic of money. The group of titles they recommend is both diverse and unexpected, making for an insightful blend.

The above links provide you with some weekend reading.