practicehacker

There isn’t much about this infographic we didn’t know. After all, law school is becoming more expensive and riskier all the time. But as long as the number of applicants to law school continues to increase, young people continue to be gullible, school is easier to handle than real-life, and there is money to be made, law schools will continue to mass-produce graduates.

Ironically, lawyers are blame for this crater in the market. But which lawyers really brought on problem? I published my answer here in connection with the ABA’s Legal Rebels project. Enough said. You can make up your own minds, but I think I made my case.

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As Kevin Spacey noted, speaking as Kaiser Soze in The Usual Suspects, “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Couldn’t agree more. 2 years ago the ABA Journal rolled out its Legal Rebels Project in an effort to convince lawyers that the American Bar Association was more than an aging, superfluous institution or a lapdog to the AmLaw 100. The first Legal Rebels chosen in 2009 included

• a lawyer-turned-consultant (I guess those who can’t do, teach)
• a lawyer-mommy, who blogged about food and recipes too!, and
• a coffee-shop owner dispensing Espresso with advice on the side.

In fairness, that initial list of 50 honorees also included people who really had contributed to the national dialogue about the profession by blogging, starting an innovative company, or finding a better way to do things. But they were too few and far between to give the project credibility in my eyes. As far as I could see, the ABA was still trying to curry favor with BigLaw partners and associates by featuring bite-sized, cutesy profiles of lawyers doing their own breezy thing. Wee!

So how has the project fared in 2011? Let’s just say that the Journal has returned to what it does best – sucking up to BigLaw – by focusing on the unsung heroes trying to change the system from within: BigLaw rebels. Which makes total sense, because real change only comes from people who bill 3000 hours a year and are driven by an insatiable urge to make partner. Way to go ABA Journal. It takes guts to swallow what BigLaw is dishing out, then ask for seconds… but you pulled it off.

Look, just watch the Staff of the ABA Journal descirbe the Legal Rebels Project in their own words and feel the rebellion welling up in your throat.  I certainly did.

While I’ve tried to make Practicehacker the #1 place to find tools, tips, techniques, and technology for small firms and solo’s, how often do I feature a true practice hack? A better, smarter, faster, or cheaper way of getting things done? Not often enough. But this is the real deal. A genuine hack born out of the need to track contacts (i.e. CRM) using a free tool that doesn’t even seem suited for the task. Software Advice provides the full hack here.

Actually, I’ve used a hack like this one for years, but not in the CRM context. Instead I’ve used it to track the progress of cases and keep my staff informed by having the spreadsheet send automatic updates each time something changes. Simple, free, awesome. Now that’s practice hacking!

Ed. Note: If you have hacks of your own or know anyone that does, please encourage them to contact me at mhedayat@mha-law.com or just add their comment to this post. I’d love to be able to feature one of these hacks every week (or more often if I can). You’ll get full credit of course, and you’ll be helping your fellow lawyers and legal professionals to do things that much better.

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About a week and a half ago, I wrote a post defending Apple against the location FUD being spread. Due to some real, but minor issues (which have already been resolved) Apple was at the center of this. Then the focus seemed to shift towards Google. If Apple is “watching you” with the iPhone, Google must be as well with Android devices, right? Sure, if you’re a paranoid looney. Naturally, that group includes the US government. In an effort to attach their names to these highly publicized complaints and companies, certain legislators have called upon executives to testify before Congress. On Tuesday, those companies will deliver a Location 101 lesson to Congress. As I noted in the previous post, the press certainly isn’t helping with any of this FUD — and may actually be more than a bit to blame for it. After the Apple FUD started spreading, who else but The Wall Street Journal started digging into Google’s location approach as well. The shocking discovery? An email from a Google project manager to co-founder Larry Page stressing how important it is for Google to have their own location database for Android. … No. Shit.

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