Legal Current

Earlier this spring, the Trump Administration released its full 2018 budget proposal, which outlined deep cuts, and even outright eliminations, of some agencies. Among the 19 agencies on the chopping block is the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent nonprofit established by Congress to support low-income Americans with civil legal aid. While the budget for 2017 kept funding in place for LSC to the tune of $385 million, the expected budget showdown for 2018 has many legal aid organizations concerned for the future, including Legal Assistance Foundation (LAF) in Chicago. In the latest installment of our podcast series, For Public Consumption, host Sharon Sayles Belton, vice president, Government Affairs and Community Relations at Thomson Reuters, speaks with Diana White, former executive director of LAF, about the organization’s mission, funding challenges and what’s next should federal funds disappear.

Brexit and Cuba may be oceans apart, but they share one common issue: a potential disruption of trademarks in both markets. Jeffrey Greene, a trademark partner with Fenwick & West discusses what issues need to be aware of if they are doing business or plan on doing business there.

Karl Florida, managing director of the small law firm business of Thomson Reuters, talks with David Lat, founder of the Above the Law blog about his experience as a pre-eminent blogger on the legal industry

“Fake news” is nothing new, especially to corporations dealing with short sellers – investors who bet on falling stock prices, who have long been accused of deliberately spreading false information in order to drive bigger gains. But the Securities & Exchange Commission has been surprisingly powerless in dealing with short sellers. Mike Dicke of Fenwick & West, who formerly worked for the SEC, discusses what companies can – and can’t do – to combat fake news being spread by short sellers

Soaring athlete contracts, growing TV revenues and cheating and doping scandals. Nope. Not the NFL or World Cup Soccer. It’s the burgeoning world of e-Sports or spectator video games.  Video game live televised tournaments and leagues are fast becoming big business.  And with it comes legal issues that are all too familiar for those who follow more established, traditional “ball-and-stick” sports leagues. Aaron Swerdlow of Gerard Fox Law explores the new legal frontier of e-Sports. Coming soon to an Xbox near you.

A dicussion of the keynote at the 2017 VANTAGE Elite User Conference in Orlando.

Elite's Client Advisory Board is an important source of communications for Elite and its clients to develop innovative ways to improve law firm efficiency. Stuart Robinson, Financial Controller for Irwin Mitchell, the 11th largest law firm in the UK, discusses his role on the Elite Client Advisory Board with Patrick Hurly, VP of Customer Advocacy at Elite.

Millennials are now the largest demographic group in the U.S.  Much has been written and discussed about how millennials often have unique preferences for how they prefer to shop for and purchases goods and services.  How does this apply to law firms?  Christi Krautbauer of FindLaw discusses the findings of a white new paper, Reaching a New Generation: Tailoring Your Marketing Your Legal Marketing to Millennial Consumers, which break downs what makes millennial consumers unique, and how law firms can market more effectively to them. This is just one of many white papers and other helpful resources for firms on how to improve all aspects of their marketing.

New Podcast Series on Government: For Public Consumption   Legal Current is proud to present a new podcast series: For Public Consumption.   Hosted by Sharon Sayles Belton, vice president, Government Affairs and Community Relations at Thomson Reuters, this podcast series examines issues that impact government, its services and the people it serves.   In this first installment, Sharon interviews Sally Heyman, Miami-Dade County Commissioner for the 4th District, on the mental health crisis, its impact on our judicial and correctional systems, and an innovative new approach in Miami-Dade County that may reduce costs to taxpayers while improving care for the mentally ill who enter the judicial and correctional systems.   To listen, click on the built-in audio player below, or download and listen later by right click here. Or you can subscribe to Legal Current podcasts on iTunes.   And check back for future episodes of For Public Consumption on Legal Current.

The Ark Group recently held its conference on Best Practices & Management Strategies for Law Firm Library, Research & Information Services. In this episode of KM with Kim, we discuss a recap of the conference with Kim Stein, national KM manager for Thomson Reuters

With the passage of the America Invents Act in 2011 and a string of Supreme Court decisions in recent years, the landscape for intellectual property filings and dispute resolution was supposed to become clearer.  But they have also brought new issues and uncertainty. Jeremy Taylor with Baker Botts discusses some of the most important IP considerations that are commonly overlooked, or that companies fail to take into consideration and land them in hot water.

In November, Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., United States ex rel. Rigsby, a case involving the False Claims Act and misclassified claims after Hurricane Katrina.  This case is important as litigation under the False Claims Act has grown remarkably in recent years. It also is relevant that the False Claims Act, which dates back to the Civil War, and provides for treble damages, mandatory minimum penalties, and recovery of costs, including attorney¹s fees, making successful litigation quite lucrative. Government Contractors have complained bitterly about what they regard as unduly lax applications of the statute by the lower courts. Brian Markovitz of Joseph Greenwald & Laake discusses the intersection of Hurricane Katrina, Abraham Lincoln and the so-called “Lincoln Law”.

ABA TECHSHOW 2017 is this week in Chicago.  ABA President Linda Klein discusses some of the initiatives and priorities for the ABA.

There’s no such thing as a typical day for someone who runs knowledge management for a law firm, in the same way that there’s no such thing as a typical KM setup, or even a typical person who manages KM for a firm. The person in charge of KM can be anyone from a law librarian to a chief knowledge officer to a practice group leader, a IT manager, or even someone who does a little bit of all those things. Welcome to KM with Kim, where we share best practices and the latest in getting the most from your knowledge management systems with Kim Stein, national manager for knowledge management for Thomson Reuters. In this episode, Kim takes a look at “A Day in the Life of KM,” through the eyes of  David Hobbie, Litigation Knowledge Management Attorney at Goodwin Procter, LLP in Boston. at Goodwin Proctor. David talk about how his firm uses KM, and he manages his role to make the firm more efficient and productive through its use of KM. You can also visit David’s blog: http://caselines.blogspot.com/

On Jan. 26, 1997, many homes across America were tuned-in to Super Bowl XXXI. While much of the game itself may be a blur, most people who watched that night likely remember one image from that night: Hollywood legend Fred Astaire, who had died nearly a decade before, dancing with an electric broom in a vacuum commercial. While many people were fixated on how the ad was created, some – including members of Astaire’s family – took issue with bringing the legendary performer “back from the dead.” Now 20 years later, a new film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, puts a new spin on the debate in part because, unlike the brief appearance of Astaire in the vacuum ad, the new Star Wars film demonstrates that actors, can quite literally, return to the screen forever. But what are legal ramifications to these posthumous performances, and how are today’s actors prepping for this future? Join us for the latest Legal Current podcast, where we are joined by Brad Cohen, partner with Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell in L

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case this term that could have provided some clarity to the bewildering array on jurisdictions and taxes involved with online sales. Will the move lead to action by the states or Congress, or the potential for even greater confusion? Matthew Hunsaker of Baker Botts discusses.

Managing a successful solo or small law practice means overcoming many challenges. These days, running a small practice requires many skills in addition to being a good lawyer: one often also needs to be a project manager, technologist, marketer and small business expert. The State of the US Small Law Firms Study surveyed more than 300 solo and small law firm leaders to find out how they define success, their challenges and what the most successful firms are doing to develop and execute winning strategies. In this podcast, we discuss the survey findings and what it reveals about the world of today’s solo and small law firm with Karl Florida, managing director, small law firms, Thomson Reuters; and Bob Ambrogi, practicing solo attorney, ABA Journal columnist and creator of the LawSites blog. Here are some of Bob’s previous discussions of the Small Law Firms study http://abovethelaw.com/2016/07/this-week-in-legal-tech-exclusive-results-of-a-new-small-firm-survey/ http://www.lawsitesblog.com/2016/07/exclusive

Our nation’s roads are getting safer. Traffic fatalities and injuries have generally been declining for more than two decades. But law firms that have staked their futures on motor vehicle accident (MVA) injuries or fatalities may face significant business challenges on the horizon unless they prepare now. FindLaw has published a new white paper that analyzes traffic safety data and its implications for personal injury practices. Traffic Signals – What Safer Roads Could Mean for Your Personal Injury Practice

Companies in the U.S own an estimated $5 trillion in trade secerts  and about $3 billion is lost due to theft every year    The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 went into effect in May While it’s still early to interpret how it will affect trade  secret litigation, some things are clear, especially that federal court  dockets will see an increase in more private trade secrets cases. Chris Ryan, a partner in Baker Botts’ Intellectual Property Group, discusses.

Ark Group recently held its 12th Annual Knowledge Management in the Legal Profession.  The law firm KM toolkit has expanded to include enterprise search, experience location, expert systems, and other collaborative tools — while the remit for some KM practitioners today also includes support for  alternative fee arrangements, process improvement initiatives, and legal project  management. At the same time, automation, machine-learning and advanced analytics are coming of age. How can these forces be coordinated to mutually reinforce as opposed to combat or overcome one another?   In this edition of KM with Kim, Kim Stein discusses her takeaways from the conference.