The buzzword in a lot of firms these days is “efficiency”. Firms are under pressures from client to demonstrate greater value in the services they provide. That often means achieving greater efficiency in how the firm manages cases.
The result is often higher productivity for the firm, and lower costs for the client, creating a win-win situation that strengthens the firm-client relationship and can result in more business for the firm.
In a recent post on the ABA’s Legal Rebels blog, Allison Guidette, senior vp and general manager, Large Law Firm Segment, discusses how technology can help firms achieve greater efficiency.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Industry trends | Law firm business | Technology and innovation |
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We’ve got a great episode for you this month, kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” segment that, believe it or not, is yet another story about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Since our March podcast, another person has fallen victim to the establishment’s trademark bypass burger.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” segment we feature a blog post on millennial jurors and how to hold their attention in the courtroom.
Our interview segment is with Ferd Mitchell, an author and healthcare expert who joins us to discuss President Obama’s healthcare law. A more detailed version of Ferd’s perspective on the law can be found in his new book, Legal Practice Implications of the New U.S. National Health Care Plan.
We also have our “In the News” segment, featuring a story from Thomson Reuters News & Insight on how to avoid the controversy surrounding social media policies in the workplace. To learn more about this topic, check-out our interview segment with Robert Brownstone from our April podcast.
You can listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).
If you have a suggestion for a future interview or episode theme, just leave a comment on this blog post or send an email to contact@legalcurrent.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at @legalcurrent.
Show notes for May 2012:
0:00-0:50 Open
0:55-2:20 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:20-3:45 “On the Blawgs”
3:45-26:55 Interview/Ferd Mitchell
26:55-28:55 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
29:00-29:30 Closing comments
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Audio | Audio / Video |
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Thomson Reuters has launched Westlaw NZ, the latest development in online research for legal professionals in New Zealand.
Westlaw NZ offers unrivaled content from case law and journals, legislation and commentary to precedents and news, as well as tax information. The technology behind the intuitive search capability within Westlaw NZ helps direct users to precise points of law and extends a new level of confidence that information is authoritative, current and the results are comprehensive.
Built upon state-of-the-art Westlaw technology, Westlaw NZ was developed specifically for New Zealand customers and modeled after Thomson Reuters online legal information services in the United Kingdom, United States, Asia, India and South America.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Products |
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How well prepared are courts and the judicial system for natural and manmade disasters?
Thomson Reuters and West LegalEdcenter support the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Initiative on Disaster Preparedness and Response.
As part of the initiative, in a podcast on Judicial Disaster Preparedness, Sharon Sayles Belton, vice president of Government Affairs and Community Relations, interviewed the Honorable Bernice Donald, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
They discussed the importance of disaster preparedness to ensure the continuity of the judicial system in the event of man-made or natural disasters.
Listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.
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Judge Donald will be participating in a panel discussion entitled, “Preparing for the Worst – Is the Nation Prepared for Natural Disasters” at the TIPS Spring Meeting in Charleston, SC on May 17, 2012.
West LegalEdcenter is also providing complimentary access through May 5 to a program entitled, “When the Levees Broke: Lessons Learned From Judicial and Governmental Response to Hurricane Katrina”.
A complete listing of the CLE programs available for the TIPS Disaster Preparedness & Response Initiative is also available.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Audio |
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The Hildebrandt Institute’s Peer Monitor Index (PMI) rebounded 6 points to 55 in the first quarter – reversing two consecutive quarterly declines. Demand growth was back on a positive track. However, the good news was dampened by expense growth, which continues to accelerate, reducing firm profitability.
After a weak finish to 2011, demand for legal services was up 1.5% in the first quarter. Litigation, IP-related practices, and labor and employment continue to be positive, while transactional practices were largely flat-to-slightly down.
The current outlook remains cautious. Demand and rate growth, while positive, are still weak. And although the balance between demand and capacity is showing signs of improving, at the moment it remains a drag on law firm market performance.
A copy of the report can be downloaded here.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Law firm business |
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Organizing and analyzing vital case information can now be done more efficiently than ever. Westlaw Case Notebook 3.0 provides greater integration with legal research and e-dsicovery.
The new version more efficiently builds strong cases by pulling essential case information together in one place, including e-discovery documents, briefs, transcripts, pleadings, key facts, legal research and more.
Westlaw Case Notebook is part of Westlaw Litigator, the most comprehensive set of integrated tools, services and content that help attorneys be more productive at each stage of a matter.
Kristin Nimsger, managing director and general manager, Litigation, discusses what’s new in Westlaw Case Notebook 3.0, and how its integration with other litigation tools improves workflow for litigators.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Products |
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While the words “project management” may make many of us cringe, legal project management is becoming an increasing buzzword in legal circles. With many firms still struggling to gain momentum amidst sluggish demand and client pricing pressures, firms are exploring many new avenues to re-examine, and if need be, re-invent some of their processes.
Firms are looking for any means they can to improve efficiency, boost productivity, and deliver greater value to their clients.
A recent post on the ABA’s “Legal Rebels” blog from Lydia Flocchini, director of WestlawNext Marketing, discusses how legal research can improve legal project management. In addition, Tom Scrivo, Managing Partner of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP’s Newark office offers some examples of how this applies at this firm.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Law firm business |
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Earlier this week, we released our 2011 Annual Report in an interactive format available online at thomsonreuters.com. Along with information on the company’s financial performance as well as business unit overviews, this year’s annual report contains a variety of dynamic content including interviews with our new business leaders as well as stories of how we are building the future with some of our key customers.
Check out the video below with Mike Suchsland, president of the Legal business:
Also, watch a the story of how we are helping Nike build connections across their complex global legal function with products such as Serengeti Tracker.
Visit thomsonreuters.com to read the full annual report.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Audio / Video | Company Current | In the News | Video |
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We’ve got an entertaining and informative episode for you this month kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” story highlighting the unique way a drug smuggler got nabbed just south of the Canadian border.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” segment we feature a blog post with advice for lawyers who are looking to purchase an iPad.
Our interview segment is once again with Robert Brownstone, technology and e-Discovery counsel for Fenwick & West LLP, this time Robert talks to us about how social media is blurring the line between our personal and professional lives and how this impacts workplace privacy.
We then wrap-up with our “In the News” segment featuring a story from Thomson Reuters News & Insight about what U.S. corporate governance challenges we might expect to see throughout the remainder of 2012.
Listen to the episode now by clicking the Play button on the built-in player below, or listen later.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
We’re also on iTunes (just enter “Legal Current” in the search box).
If you have a suggestion for a future interview or episode theme, just leave a comment on this blog post or send an email to contact@legalcurrent.com. You can also follow us on Twitter, it’s @legalcurrent.
Show notes for April 2012:
0:00-0:50 Open
0:55-2:10 “Chaos in the Courts”
2:10-4:35 “On the Blawgs”
4:35-32:35 Interview/Robert Brownstone
32:35-34:50 “In the News” with Thomson Reuters News & Insight
34:50-35:20 Closing comments
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Audio | Audio / Video |
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The trends towards industry consolidation continues.
The Hildebrandt Institute’s MergerWatch Report showed 20 completed law firm mergers that involved U.S. firms in the first quarter of 2012. That represents a 43 percent increase over the first quarter of 2011, which saw only 14 completed mergers and is in stark contrast to the four completed mergers in the first quarter of 2010.
Merger activity so far in 2012 appears to build off of the increased merger activity in 2011 when the Hildebrandt Institute tracked 45 completed mergers, a substantial jump from 2010, which saw only 27 mergers. It appears that law firm merger activity has been encouraged by signs of economic recovery.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Industry trends |
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The U.S. Constitution is one of the most powerful and impactful documents in existence. It literally touches every American’s life, and has since its creation in 1787. Recently, I had the opportunity to view the document first-hand as part of a new exhibit, “We the People: The First Official Printing of the U.S. Constitution,” sponsored [...]
Earlier this week, we released our 2011 Annual Report in an interactive format available online at thomsonreuters.com. Along with information on the company’s financial performance as well as business unit overviews, this year’s annual report contains a variety of dynamic content including interviews with our new business leaders as well as stories of how we [...]
We’ve got a great episode for you this month, kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” segment that, believe it or not, is yet another story about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Since our March podcast, another person has fallen victim to the establishment’s trademark bypass burger.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” [...]
