RSS FeedBilling By The Hour
There has been a great deal of discussion among legal commentators about the failure of hourly billing for legal services and the need for alternatives. The most recent article I’ve seen is in the CBA’s Jan/Feb issue of National. Although I’m a law student and have never billed a single hour as a lawyer, I have worked for more than a decade as an entrepreneur and I wonder … what are the alternatives, really, but masked versions of hourly billing? Given the limited amount of hours available to work in any day/week/year/lifetime, billing by the job MUST reflect the time that the task requires.
Flat fee services must have caps on the input of resources to succeed as business models and, as a result, will tend to put a floor rather than a ceiling on the cost of any given service. At best, a flat fee will reflect the average amount of time required to perform a service. Innovators can find ways of doing things more quickly through economies of scale, computer processing, outsourcing and so forth, but price reductions that service providers choose to pass on to the clients can be built into an hourly billing model just as easily as any alternative. Innovations might put pressure on hourly rates through competition, but this has nothing to do with the method of billing.
Frankly, I fail to see how alternatives to billing by the hour will change the cost of legal services. The real pressures on cost come from the the well-known forces of the marketplace … the rest is just packaging. And if clients are becoming more sophisticated, will they really be impressed by a fancy one-size-fits-all (unless you want more) gift bag?
The real issue is value. Lawyers that provide it will gain clients and those that do not will lose clients. Those who insist on talking about how the billing is done, please explain (and be nice about it): What am I missing?
Law is Cool wins a 2009 CLawBie
The Canadian Law Blog Awards, or CLawBies, highlight great blogs by the Canadian legal industry.
This site has been fortunate enough to receive recognition from the awards in 2008 and 2007.
Once again, Law is Cool has made a strong showing in the awards. Thanks to everyone, and we do mean everyone, who helped make this possible.
3) Legal Culture Award – Law is Cool – Two of the fastest rising stars in Canadian legal blogging just happen to be law students. Lawrence Gridin and Omar Ha-Redeye lead an impressive group of contributors at Law is Cool, and are seeding the queue with more law student bloggers for the future. Bravo! Culture doesn’t happen without a little sweat equity. Runner ups: Precedent, Dynamic Lawyers Parody Videos
As always, we’re still looking for more 1Ls to join the team to keep moving the site forward in future years.
Sponsored Post: Can You Supersize That!
The claims management market in the U.K. has seen a significant growth with an estimated fifteen hundred companies engaging in personal injury referral work. The total size of the market is approaching £300 million, which is small in comparison to the number of firms which engage in personal injury referrals.
These figures suggest that there are a few major players in the market but that there is sufficient room for other smaller players who can still make significant returns.
There are a number of reasons for the growth in the number of claims management companies:
1. Consumer awareness:
Since the introduction of the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) the pioneering claims management companies went to considerable lengths to advertise people’s ability to claim compensation for personal injury. Over this period other companies have matched entered and bolstered their share of the marketing, contributing to the total marketing spend and increasing consumer awareness. Claims Management Company, Accidents Direct, was founded in 2002 and is now one of the biggest online spenders referring over one thousand personal injury enquires each month. Because of this year on year increase in marketing spend, consumers are more aware of their rights which has meant more work for claims management companies.
2. The Recession:
The Credit Crunch and subsequent recession has meant many entrepreneurs have seen personal injury referral work as a stable income in a volatile economic market. Personal injury work is largely unaffected by the activities of the banking sector, not relying on consumer purchases to bolster income. The service is, on a whole, completely free to the consumer and accidents will always occur despite the economy. There is therefore a constant stream of work for existing and new businesses to take advantage of.
3. The Compensation Act 2006
Official regulation has helped improve the reputation of the industry. Firms engaged in referral work are able to operate within clear guidelines, providing a structure to the business model while ensuring the consumer is protected form companies operating in unscrupulous activities.
This was a sponsored post by:
Personal injury claims, Accident Claim, Medical negligence
Words of Wisdom in Exam Time
We’ll be slowing down now for the exam period.
Here are a couple quotes by Henri Nouwen from Laura Bergus to get you through these exams and keep things in perspective:
When we start being too impressed by the results of our work, we slowly come to the erroneous conviction that life is one large scoreboard where someone is listing the points to measure our worth. And before we are fully aware of it, we have sold our soul to the many grade-givers.
We are important because someone considers us indispensable.
…When we cling to the results of our actions as our only way of self-identification, then we become possessive and defensive and tend to look at our fellow human beings more as enemies to be kept at a distance than as friends with whom we share the gifts of life.
Precedent Magazine is Cool
Melissa Kluger of Precedent Magazine stopped by the University of Western Ontario to say hi to a few of the Law is Cool team:
Law is Cool contributors (From Left): John Magyar, Joel Welch, Meagan Williams, Omar Ha-Redeye, Lawrence Gridin, Logan Rathbone (Front): Precedent Magazine's Melissa Kluger
Melissa did a podcast with us last year, and Joel contributed to the last edition of the magazine.
Calgary MP Under Fire for Inflammatory Political Pamphlet
(Source story at Calgary Herald)
A political pamphlet from Calgary West Conservative MP Rob Anders that urges changes to federal human rights legislation has raised the ire of Calgary’s largest Muslim organization, which views the dispatch to residents as inflammatory and divisive.
Still Top 25 in Canada
Top 25 in Canada? That’s us again.
Blawg Review #228
If you’re just starting law school, law blawgs can be your best friend. In addition to this site, here are 99 other blog posts that you should read to help prepare for your adventure. It won’t help you though if you’re a judge about to be tested.
Most law students want to be in the top 10-15% of their class, and there are career opportunities that depend on that. Ken DeLeon of Top-law-schools.com provides some tips for success in law school, including a handy flowchart on how to prepare for your law school exams. But keep in mind that the end of the billable hour might result in some changes to your legal education, and law students have different learning styles than the rest of the population.
Still applying to law school? An undergraduate degree in physics or math might be your best option to get a solid LSAT score. Remember that these days a law career is considered a risky option, and there are lawyers in Jersey actually working for free. Where else is success defined by more work (even for less pay), and not more recreational or family time? Larry Ribstein still thinks law school is the cool choice. But is it really worth it?
On the other hand you could elect to skip your classes, get intoxicated regularly, sleep with all the members of the opposite sex, gain a reputation as being a total douche bag, and then score a book and movie deal.
Introducing Tucker Max – asshole extraordinaire – a graduate of Duke Law that claims assholes finish first.
An inspiring personality, certainly, and an approach that John Infante of Fearfully Optimistic would definitely disagree with. It does make you wonder how many Dukes are faking the Daisy to hazard “celebrity bias.” The Bitter Lawyer has an exclusive interview with Tucker that is, at the very least, amusing.
Then again, “skipping classes, playing basketball, doing cocaine and getting drunk” might help you become President of the United States – but eventually someone might start asking for your law school transcripts. None of this is likely to come up during the President’s special advice to students tomorrow (Sept. 8). An open and transparent government, perhaps, but not that open. Reality check: the last refuge of the persecuted crack smoker may not be in law school.
Hey, “Some people snort cocaine, others snort religion,” and the latter is not necessarily better. The Exit at My Legal Fiction suggests wearing lipstick as a law school study aid, for some very compelling reasons. If you’re a missionary in Kenya, please don’t vow to go to law school out of religious convictions, unless you’re going to a low-ranking religious-affiliated law school. Happy Belated Todd, but I won’t be paying $25,000 for dinner any time soon.
Still, your biggest youthful indiscretion might be going to law school itself (and graduating at the bottom of your class hardly precludes success). If your indiscretions precede law school and include a criminal record, there are some disclosure issues you should consider. Using stolen Social Security Numbers to steal student loans for partying, with Tucker, Todd, or otherwise, probably isn’t a great idea. Assistant Deans at law schools? Not a good idea either.
Robert J. Ambrogi also tells us about Branigan Robertson of Chapman University School of Law, who won $10,000 for this video in the My Inspiration video contest:
These law students are doing better than a lot of lawyers these days. When life gives you lemons (or a recession), you should just make lemonade. Dan Markel is asking, what kind of juice are you making?
On the other hand, if you’re looking to avoid personalities like Tucker Max at all costs, you might be interested in Above the Law’s Douchiest Law School Contest.
No surprise that Harvard and Duke are currently heading the pack as finalists. Also check out Paul Caron’s review of U.S. News Law School Rankings for Judicial Clerkships, which includes data from Brian Leiter’s rankings. If douchiness turns you off of Yale and clerkships are really important to you, the University of North Dakota might be a good alternative. However, great credentials don’t always make more satisfied lawyers, because these guys tend to be plagued by that green-eyed monster.
Charon QC’s musings might be useful in determining if a “douchy law school” is worse than a “McDonalds of law schools,” while Dan Slater of the NYTimes suggests just locking the doors to all law schools because there are too few hiring positions. Still having a hard time picking a law school? The iPhone app Law School 100 is free until midnight tonight (Sept. 7). Study aids are becoming more interactive, with West’s new Interactive Case Series now linking to directly to law review articles cited in the case series.
Keep in mind that law school is different than undergrad, and you should probably clean up those social networks you’re on. After all, you wouldn’t want your mom witnessing you pulling a Tucker Max, and some employers might require you to submit your social media for a background check. Social media is also being increasingly being used in the courtroom, and no, the judge doesn’t really want to be your “friend.” Don’t get rid of that social media entirely though, because “People don’t find lawyers in the phone book… They find them through TV ads or friends or by searching the Internet, including blogs and social networking tools.”
Apparently what clients really want from their lawyer is to “feel the love,” so if someone comes to your office complaining they hurt their “tushy bone,” try not to laugh too hard. Be forewarned though – that volenti non fit injuria doctrine you learn in Torts class also applies to contracting Herpes Simplex I from wrestling, also known as Herpes Gladiatorium.
That’s probably not what Lauren in Law School had in mind when she suggested gladiator games as an alternative to On Campus Interviews (OCIs). You can get a list of the guys in your university with herpes from the new Campus Gossip site just to be on the safe side.
Although the number of followers you have on Twitter is no sign of of expertise or influence, it might land you a job (or lose it) with a firm or get you published, even if Perz Hilton decides to sue you for defamation. No “love” (or wrestling) for him, sorry. Some people do take Twitter seriously, perhaps too seriously.
Eric Goldman’s interview with David Lat highlights the importance of students networking during a crisis. Dennis Jansen also thinks that networking with your peers might be useful, but consists of more than “beaming your peers with business cards or mass-adding people on Facebook and LinkedIn.” As popular as Wordpress may be for blogs, it just might not be for your law firm, and you even might be held liable for content on your site to a tune of $32.4 million.
The Law Society or State Bar is probably not going to like it if you steal other people’s Twitter content and pass it off as your own, like Melina Beninghoff did . Stealing content doesn’t take brilliance, and it barely takes effort. What is clever is coming up with this CraigsList listing from Los Angeles. But is stolen content any worse than fake content?
Today is also Labour (sic) Day in Canada and the U.S. That’s the Canadian spelling, because Labour Day did originate in Canada in 1872 with the Trade Unions Act, which legalized unions. The United States followed in 1882 with informal observance in New York City, and by 1894 it was observed by 23 states through legislation. Still, it was the American President Lincoln, not a Canadian, who said in December 1881,
It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor…
Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not existed.
Although most Canadian law schools start the day after Labour Day, many Americans start a week or two earlier. According to Blawg Review 122 it seems that in Dublin they start as late as October, but it might just be that everyone (students and profs) are recovering from prolonged hang-overs.
Labour relations are highly relevant for this edition of Blawg Review, since law professors at the University of California are considering a walk-out despite having the “best public education in the world.” Perhaps they could use this list of 24 alternative mediation dispute resolution sites to read.
Maybe they should just settle this all over a beer. Then again, those Canadian brewers are at it again with their trade-mark litigation! Next time someone tells you “I Am Canadian,” you might want to do your due diligence.
The big thing up here in Canada right now is Copyright Consultation Reform. Although over-reaching legislation is great for the lawyers, it does little for end-users of copyright material. If you’re one of those folks with a keen attention for cyberspace cases, this new blog following the 10 most important U.S. cases will probably be of interest.
But the big thing about Canada in the U.S. right now seems to be our healthcare system, which we’re rather partial to, despite what they mights say (Ignore those pesky suits). Send us your gladiators with herpes, and your perdurable impetus. All that talk over at Volokh about a “lottery system” can only be described as nonsense.
(At 1:53 Glenn Beck repeats lottery libel, and at 3:21 yells at a caller to get off his phone, “you little pinhead,” for not listening to the “facts.” The remix is even funnier.)
Although she acknowledges that healthcare reform is needed, Althouse has 10 things she hates about it. Change is always hard due to “status quo bias.” Madeleine Begun Kane has a limerick she wrote just for the spats over healthcare in the U.S. (watch your pinkies!):
“Majority rule is just great,”
Said Gregg in the drilling debate.
“You’ve got 51 votes,
Then you win.” Check his quotes.
Yet 51 Dem votes don’t rate.
Seeking medical treatment is probably the first thing you should do after a car accident, irrespective of whether it occurs in Canada or the U.S. Passen Law provides 9 other things you should do, including, of course, getting an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Another thing we have in Canada absent in the U.S. is a prohibition against the death penalty. Perhaps the fact that 45% of wrongful convictions in capital cases are based on jailhouse snitches has something to do with it. Mark Bennett of Defending People points out the interesting observation that a Texan executioner appears to be committing murder by that state’s law,
…would you participate in a death penalty trial, knowing that, for the rest of your life, with the turn of a tide of public opinion you could be prosecuted for making what you believed to be the right decision? You may be betting your life.
Do you think that employment contract with the State would protect you? Don’t count on it, as Jeffery I. Gordon mentions that most contracts are too brittle to withstand scrutiny, even if those FirstDrafter clauses look like they can do the job.
On the other hand, if your employment contract follows an affirmative action plan that is not remedial and narrowly tailored for past discrimination, it may constitute unlawful discrimination. We’re still not sure if a stripper constitutes an employee or an independent contractor in Employment Law class.
More guys in that class would probably express their anticipation for seeing Jessica Alba as the stripper-law student Nancy Callahan in the upcoming Sin City 2 if they weren’t concerned about objectifying women.
Don’t lose any sleep over it, unless you’ve sexually assaulted employees and are settling for $1.72 million. Be careful though – the risk of contracting gladiator herpes (and sins) rises exponentially when wrestling with strippers. You could also get robbed or raped.
Personally, I would be okay with any affirmative action that sought to get everyone but Tucker Max and any potential douches into my law school. Nancy Callahan might get a pass, as long as she doesn’t hook up with Tucker while she’s there.
Special thanks to David Shulman for editing on this piece.
That’s it for this week’s edition! Remember: Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.
Law is Cool Listed in Top 100 Best Blogs for Law School Students
The Online Schools blog listed Law is Cool as one of the Top 100 blogs internationally for law students:
Blogs from Law School Students
Peer experience is an important resource for any student. Law students rely on classmates for notes, projects and advice. Here are the best blogs for law students by law students.
- Life of a Law Student: This blog follows the efforts of a student trying to earn his law degree.
- Law Student: An amazing resource for law students, this blog has outlines and tips to help ease the burden excess studies cause.
- Reason and Liberty: A third year student at the University of Michigan, this law student blogs about topics relating to students.
- Full Metal Attorney: The posts offered by this Nebraska law student, range from clever article to adorable doodles.
- Lunching With Lions: A blog from a law student based in Austin, Texas, the posts on this site are funny and insightful.
- Law School for Dummies: This bloggers is a student at a southern law school writing about the obstacles trying to become a lawyer.
- Starting to Melt: A blog from a mom, this law school students must juggle family and studies.
- Legal Geekery: This bloggers is a third year law student at Penn State and writes about topics effecting the legal community.
- This Way Up: From a student at the University of Washington, Seattle, this blogger writers about being an advocate while still in school.
- So The Bear Says: This blog from a Baylor Law student muses on the value and future of his education.
- Butterfly: A blog from a law student juggling marriage, work and law school. Most posts deal with legal studies but many offer advice for dealing with life stress.
- Divine Angst: An entire career in law school is documented on this blog written by a clever, graduating student.
- Legan Numbness: This well-written blog details the pitfalls of first year law student.
- Lawschoolblogger: The posts on this blog aim to distract its author from the stress of being a law student. Check out his hilarious writing.
- Wish I Would Have Known: With advice and information from current and past law students, this blogs gives students all the advice they need to know.
- Law Is Cool: A fun, interesting blog for Canadian law students, this site has forums for discussion in addition to excellent articles.
- Catholic Student-at-Law: This blogger uses his articles to reconcile the differences between the legal practice and religious faith.
- Brown Boy Blog: A blogger based in Texas, this student writes about being a minority in law school.
- Eagleionline: A blog from Boston College law students, the posts on this site provide students an outlet for frustration.
- Legal Lane: A law student blogs the details of her life, follow the fun and excitement at this site.
- Law Ingenue: Follow the tales of this on-traditional law student as she rises through the legal ranks.
- Law School Funk: The chronicles of this law student are hilarious and fun to read. His musings on tests, class competition and summer internships have a lot of information in addition to being entertaining.
2009 Student Blawger of the Year
We’re pleased to announce the 2008 Student Blawger of the Year.
The LawIsCool team selects an individual who has made a unique contribution for the past academic year worthy of recognition.
This year’s award goes to Devin Johnston, political blogger and director of the LawIsCool podcast.
A short biography of Devin Johnston is included in the end of this post.
The LawIsCool Podcast
Despite tremendous growth in popularity since their humble beginnings in 2004, podcasts remain on the leading edge of online communication. There are currently over 100,000 podcasts available for download through iTunes; however, most of these shows are the online versions of radio and television programs. For most bloggers, podcasting remains a time- resource- and technology-prohibitive activity.
Devin Johnston broadcast his first podcast, a panel discussion concerning Stephane Dion’s Green Shift policy proposal, on 5 July 2008. Within two months, he had joined the LawIsCool team as the director of the LawIsCool Podcast.
Without having access to the same resources as radio stations or other traditional broadcasters, directing the LawIs CoolPodcast takes a wide range of skills. Once the material for a show has been recorded, the director’s job involves mixing, editing, selecting music, and compiling the show. A typical 20-minute episode involves several hours of post-production, all of which is done using free and open-source software. Once the episode is ready to be published, the director will write a summary of the show for the website and upload the MP3 files to the web server. The behind-the-scenes labour required to compile a podcast is far more intensive than that of researching and writing a blog post of similar content.
The LawIsCool Podcast has featured a range of topics as diverse as the blog itself over the past year. From a detailed examination of the constitutionality of Canada’s polygamy laws to fixed federal election dates to copyright reform, the podcast reflects both legal and political issues of general interest to law students. With its emphasis on topical (and sometimes controversial) issues, the podcast has sparked several lively discussions in the comment threads.
In addition to directing the LawIsCool Podcast, Devin has his own blog where we writes primarily about politics, technology, and Blue Jays baseball. In the past year, his most notable blog contributions include his coverage of the 2008 federal election (and subsequent constitutional crisis), a detailed critique of Stephane Dion’s “Green Shift” carbon tax proposal, and his prediction of the death of Facebook’s popularity by 2012. In January 2009, Devin’s blog was listed as one of the Top 25 Political Blogs in Canada.
Devin is also an active “micro-blogger” on Twitter, Facebook, and several other social networks. Posting links to law- and politics-related websites as well as offering commentary on current events, Devin has posted over 2,500 updates to Twitter since joining the site last year.
Biography
Devin Johnston is a third year law student at Robson Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His law school studies have focused on human rights, poverty, and administrative law. Last year, he won the Yude M. Henteleff Award for Human Rights and Civil Liberties.
Prior to entering law school, Devin studied at York University and the University of Western Ontario. He received an Honours Specialization degree in Philosophy from the latter where his courses emphasized ethics and political philosophy.
During his time as an undergraduate student at Western, Devin became involved in both federal and provincial politics. As President of the UWO NDP, he helped guide one of the most active student political groups in the country. During that time, the group took on an active and vocal role in such issues as tuition fees, the security certificate program, and climate change. Devin also served as Director of Communications for the Ontario New Democratic Youth and worked on the campaign to elect Irene Mathyssen, the first ever woman to represent the federal riding of London-Fanshawe.
A political blogger since 2004, Devin appeared on CBC’s “The National” during the 2008 election to discuss the emerging role of blogs and social media in Canadian politics. It is around this time that he began audio and video podcasts on his website as well as for LawIsCool.com. Devin was nominated for a 2008 Canadian Blog Award in the “Best Podcaster/Vlogger” category.
Currently, Devin resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba where he will begin articling in the public sector in summer 2010.
Law is Cool – Internationally
Here are some of the newest additions to our team.
Daisy McCabe-Lokos is entering her second year at Windsor, and has a strong interest in international law.
Navraj Pannu is also a Canadian entering his third year at Thomas M Cooley Law school in Michigan. He completed a political science degree prior to this at McMaster University.
We also have a veteran Canadian blogger joining us.
Justin Teterault is going into his third year of law school at UofT. He has an extensive background in political blogging prior to law school, including the now-defunct Northern Ontario Liberal.
Law is Cool Named Top 25 Political Blogs in Canada
The A dime a dozen political blog just announced the Top 25 Political Blogs in Canada.
Somehow we got ranked, despite our main focus of law. But who said there was a difference between politics and law anyways?
Here are the rankings:
1. Michael Geist.ca – pr7 – 226086
2. The Hook - pr6 – 141889
3. Small Dead Animals.com – pr6 – 179209
4. Western Standard Shotgun Blog – pr6 – 318564
5. Eaves.ca – pr6 – 416174
6. SteynOnLine – pr5 – 125051
7. GhostofaFlea.com – pr5 – 238884
8. Ezra Levant.com – pr5 – 269320
9. Five Feet of Fury – pr5 – 309254
10. Marginalized Action Dinosaur – pr5 – 318601
11. Calgary Grit – pr5 – 337609
12. Warren Kinsella.com – pr5 – 350603
13. GenXat40 – pr5 – 464021
14. Mitchieville – pr5 – 465699
15. Slap Upside the Head – pr5 – 479510
16. Quebec Politique.com – pr5 – 601125
17. Abandoned Stuff.com – pr5 – 616313
18. David Akin’s On The Hill – pr5 – 619074
19. Stephen Taylor.com – pr5 – 760713
20. Law is Cool – pr5 – 903533
21. Jay Currie – pr5 – 910380
22. Bene Diction Blogs On – pr5 – 915627
23. Vive Le Canada – pr5 – 980962
24. Blazing Cat Fur – pr5 – 996009
25. Chinese in Vancouver – pr4 – 524005
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