White Papers

Ever since I first watched “EPIC 2014”, shortly after it was released (toward the end of 2004), I have pondered the future of journalism. I couldn’t imagine that it was as dire as the eight-minute movie made it out to be, with the diminution and almost extinction of the New York Times and the rest of mainstream journalism by the year 2014. This was, of course, before Twitter and LinkedIn became mainstream and only several months after Facebook was first launched and barely a blip on the social media scene. According to Wikipedia, launched just a little over a decade ago, “The movie is presented from the viewpoint of a fictional ‘Museum of Media History in the year 2014. It explores the effects that the convergence of popular News aggregators, such as Google News, with other Web 2.0 technologies like blogging, social networking and user participation may have on journalism and society at large in a hypothesized future. The film popularized the term Googlezon and touches on major privacy and copyright issues raised in this scenario.” That’s all very interesting, but what really captured my imagination was the concept that everyone – yes, everyone – becomes a contributor and a creator of news, as well as a consumer of news. Interesting theory, but, in 2004, it seemed so very far from reality. Yet, with today’s technology, it all appears to be coming true ... and almost right on schedule. I’ll let you watch the movie and draw your own conclusions, but there is no doubt that the predictions espoused in “EPIC 2014” are eerily on target. ... Read More

Do you have a social media policy for your firm? If not, here is one you can use. Today, social media encompasses a broad sweep of online activity, all of which is track-able and traceable. These networks include not only the blogs you write and those to which you comment, but social networks such as Facebook and MySpace; professional networks such as LinkedIn and Legal OnRamp; the live-blogging tool, Twitter; and social bookmarking such as Digg and Delicious. Every day, it seems, new online tools and new advances introduce new opportunities to build your virtual footprint. As a firm, we believe that social media can drive business and support your professional development efforts. We are also aware that social media use will not be used exclusively for business. ... Read More

At the heart of our newest White Paper is the idea that law firms have the opportunity to use alternative fee arrangements (“AFAs”) to redefine their value and become more closely aligned with their clients. The starting point for this transformation is a commitment to becoming more versatile. There are various AFA models, suitable to different client risks and objectives. As you consider how to bring an AFA culture to your firm, we hope this paper will be used as a helpful tool. ... Read More