'Diversity' has been a buzzword in the legal profession for decades. However, a  recent article in GP Solo, published by the American Bar Association, asserts diversity efforts have largely been aimed at law schools, large law firms and corporate counsel, thereby ignoring small law firms and solo practitioners.

Many small firm attorneys and private practitioners often wonder why or how they play a role in the diversification of the legal profession, according to Sandra Y. Yamate,  the Executive Director of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, and the author of that article, 

"It is misguided, however, to think that sole practitioners and small firm lawyers cannot do as much to advance diversity as their colleagues in larger organizations. Nothing could be further from the truth," she writes.

In an attempt to get some answers, Above the Law recently released a Small Law Firm Diversity Survey. Respondents were asked to consider several general statements pertaining to diversity, then provide long-form answers.

An example of the statements includes "'Having attorneys or staff from diverse backgrounds is a competitive advantage for small law firms.'" Of the more than 300 respondents who participated in the survey, nearly half strongly agreed with the contention. Just over 21% indicated they agreed and 19% stated they had no opinion. The remaining responses were divided between 'disagree' and 'strongly disagree.'

One response in favor of the statement asserted that a diverse workforce encourages a range of attitudes and potential solutions. The author concluded that “can only help client service.” Conversely, a comment from a respondent against the proposition indicated there is no evidence to support the contention.

Ambrose Moses, III, an African-American solo practitioner in Columbus, expressed dismay with the survey. "Some of the attitudes and mindsets illustrated by some of the comments included in the report are disappointing because it appears that some trained and licensed lawyers are ignorant of American history or have no desire to remedy the societal and individual harm caused by bias, discrimination and injustice."

He labeled some of the comments as "troublesome hindrances to our nation achieving legal, social and economic justice for all." He also express dismay that some of the responses might have been made by judges, court personnel, government attorneys (such as county prosecutors and their assistants), attorneys general (and their assistants), U.S. attorneys and their aides, general special counsel and more.

"This is not to ignore the impact of such attitudes and mindsets held by private attorneys in large and small firms. Rather, it is essential to recognize that when such attitudes and mindsets infect the ranks of our judges, government attorneys, and court personnel, then the bias, discrimination, and injustice continues to be systemic and, I submit, both de facto and de jure,” sums Moses.

Steve Smith, President and Founder of Los Angeles-based GrowthSource Coaching, mentors business people from a myriad of professions, including law. He too dismissed much of what was highlighted in the survey, although for different reasons than Moses.

"Most of what I’ve experienced runs counter to these findings but that could be the legal crowd I’m running around with," says Smith. “Small firms and solo practitioners are usually only focused on a few things: can I find someone I can work with; can I afford the best person I can find; will they stay with me after I teach them all my secrets,” he says.

That’s not to say Smith dismisses the importance of diversity for small firms or solo practitioners. However, he says, "I’m not sure it leaks into the daily practice of running a law firm."

The general consensus in the business world is to be "considered inclusive," says Smith. However, "when it comes to running a business, diversity isn’t usually the first consideration when deciding who to employ. Most of the time, a law firm’s first consideration is whether the candidate fits with the brand and whether they will get along."

Another school of thought in the business world, he says, is that "unless a person has a degree from a name university, maybe (the employer) can pay them less. They won’t pay top dollar unless the (candidate) is bringing a big pedigree.”

According to Smith. "Diversity is fine unless it creates big inconveniences for me and my business." In expressing support for diversity, in general, Smith urges people to be honest when discussing the topic.

"I’m not down on diversity but I want the discussion to be real. It’s one thing to say it but another to live it," he says.

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.

There's nothing more annoying than a deadbeat client. But, there are steps you can take to make this situation less onerous or to even avoid such situations altogether.

Identifying Problematic Clients Before You Get Stiffed

“The best time not to represent a client is at the beginning,” says Terry Zimmerman, a collections attorney from Akron, Ohio, who recently retired after 39 years of practicing law. Although the adage of ‘not judging a book by its cover’ might be appropriate when selecting reading material, there are telltale indications a would-be client may not pay his or her bill, Zimmerman says.

“If a client tells you they went to an attorney who has a good reputation but that attorney did not take the case, consider there’s probably a good reason why," he says. "The client might not be a good risk.”

A client who admits to have spoken with other lawyers prior to coming to you is likely shopping for the best price. "That’s another red flag,” Zimmerman says. Another clue is “when they ask the cost of a ‘simple divorce’ or a ‘simple bankruptcy,’” he says. The general public doesn’t generally appreciate what truly constitutes a case as ‘simple’ or ‘complex,’ so asking for a price upfront without explaining the variables of the matter are a red flag they won’t pay, Zimmerman suggests.

Robert B. Walker, an estate planning, collections and creditor’s rights bankruptcy attorney in Reston, Virginia, says he “worries about the ones who have been paying regularly but suddenly become slow pay.” When that happens, the client is generally not happy with the representation they are receiving or perhaps believe they are being overcharged.

Another clue a client isn’t likely to pay their legal fees? “If a client nit-picks your bill, you probably have a problem,” Walker says. One way to minimize financial exposure, Zimmerman says, is to “get some money up front.” Besides, he says, that’s a great way to learn where the client banks, useful information in case the lawyer pursues a collection matter against the client in the future.

What to Do When a Client Doesn’t Pay

It might seem elementary, but before initiating any type of litigation, it’s imperative to know who the actual defendant is. If, for example, a lawyer represents Joe’s Autobody, but not Joe himself, it’s wrong to pursue an action against Joe rather than the business, Zimmerman says.

Therefore, when representing a company, Zimmerman says it’s imperative the lawyer obtain a personal guarantee in writing that Joe has the authority to hire the attorney on behalf of the business. Once a determination is made as to whom the defendant is, the next step is to review the fee agreement signed by the client and the attorney.

According to the Code of Professional Responsibility, written agreements are only required in contingency fee cases, “but it’s a good practice” to use them in all matters, Zimmerman says.

Walker says “he comes and goes” on the use of written fee agreements. On one hand, they spell out the terms governing the professional relationship between the lawyer and client. However, they can also lengthen the attorney’s malpractice exposure in states like Virginia, where the statute of limitations for collecting fees and pursuing legal malpractice matters differs depending on whether a written fee agreement was used or not.

Zimmerman also cautions lawyers contemplating legal action against deadbeat clients to consider whether it might also expose them to a malpractice claim initiated by a disgruntled client. Another matter to consider is whether the debt in question is consumer-oriented or not, Walker says.

“There should be a determination made as to whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and any state version, govern such collection by one attorney for a client attorney,” he says. When a lawyer tries to collect legal fees owed, such legislation does not apply. However, an outside collection agent might be deemed a ‘collector’ subject to Federal and state laws. Other rules govern the collection of past due legal fees, says Steve Smith, President and Founder of GrowthSource Coaching, a California company that educates business owners and other professionals about improving their companies.

For example, ABA Model Rule 1.5 governs fee types and fee arrangements. “One of the overriding principles is the concept of the reasonableness of fees. The overwhelming, number one reason why people avoid paying their bill is the client has decided the fees were unreasonable for the service they received,” he says.

Absent exigent circumstances, such as being up against a statute of limitations, Walker likes to send a demand letter to the client, now potential defendant, when legal fees are overdue. If nothing else, doing so helps determine whether the lawyer has the debtor’s correct address.

Smith’s approach is similar. First, he suggests sending a pleasant letter reminding or informing the client of their past due account. If a week passes with no response, he advises placing a personal call to the client to try to determine why they haven’t paid their bill or responded to the letter.

“Get them on the phone to discuss installments or even reduce the overall balance,” Smith says. No matter what is said during the conversation, he implores the lawyer to maintain a “good business decorum.” Follow up with one email a week for the next three weeks, imploring the client to pay their bill. Each missive should communicate the “increasing severity” of the matter so the client understands the gravity of the situation.

If, after 30 days, payments are still not forthcoming, it’s “time to make an assessment,” about whether to sue the client for the fees they owe, Smith says. Factors to consider include the size of the past due balance and the costs involved with hiring an outside agency or lawyer to collect the debt, assuming the case will be farmed out.

Walker cautions lawyers about handling their own collection matters. “The ability to be objective is not as great when you are representing yourself," he says. "When your professionalism is challenged, it’s hard to be objective.” 

What Not to Do

There are several steps to avoid when seeking to collect an overdue client balance. According to Smith, do not:

• Contact the client’s family members or friends to discuss
• Contact an employer to seek the garnishment of wages, since a judgment is needed to initiate a garnishment
• Allow the situation to impact your effectiveness in representing other clients

It’s also not wise to argue with the client over the past due account. Not only is that unprofessional, such behavior will likely infuriate the client and increase the likelihood he or she might file a malpractice claim. Lastly, if a lawyer seeks to hire you to collect his or her past due accounts, be sure to conduct a conflicts search before taking on the case. Do not pursue a collections case against a defendant if you represented him or her or a related entity in the past, Zimmerman advises.

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.

With three groups of attorneys leaving BigLaw to start their own boutique firms in January alone, legal industry experts are predicting that 2016 might be a year of major big firm-to-boutique migration. So reports Bloomberg BNA.

In the first month of the year, when there’s typically a flurry of lateral movement between big law firms, groups of lawyers from Arent Fox in California, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, and Schiff Hardin have all instead opted to form of new, small firms.

Legal industry experts note that while former BigLaw attorneys often do find that a small firm partnership is better suited to their personal needs, business development challenges and day-to day administration duties can make small firm life challenging.

Read the full article from Bloomberg BNA.

Bigger might be better in some things in life, but not necessarily when it comes to employment opportunities for attorneys.

Small law firms are coming up big as places for lawyers to find work, according to a recent article on Law Crossing. The article cited the National Association of Law Placement as saying small law firms are providing “the majority of law firm jobs taken by recent graduates.”

Economic uncertainties continue to inject volatility in the legal landscape, making large law firms wary of over-hiring. There is also tremendous fear the number of clients capable of affording or willing to pay big firm rates is dwindling.

Meanwhile, there continues to be an escalating need for legal services among the general population, who not only can’t afford huge hourly fees but who are also uncomfortable in the swanky downtown offices of The Bigs. So where do these clients turn? Small law firms or solo practitioners whose rates are usually lower than those charged by big law firms and whose lawyers are generally more accessible.

View from the Trenches

Joseph Dreitler didn’t always practice law in the small firm setting. In fact, he spent 17 years in-house at Procter & Gamble and Anheuser-Busch and another 14 toiling in various large, general practice firms. However, for the past four years, he has practiced law in a two-person trademark, copyright and patent law firm in Columbus, Ohio. The namesake of Dreitler True says his current situation is “the most fun” he’s had while practicing law, for a few reasons.

They include:

• Lack of bureaucracy
• No conflicts of interest
• Lower overhead
• The lower fees he can charge due to reduced overhead costs
• No need to try and ‘leverage’ associates to bring in revenue for the firm

Dreitler also relishes the fact he doesn’t feel pressured to bill an astronomical number of hours yearly like he did when he worked in a big firm. Something else he doesn’t miss about big firm life is partners who are supposed to behave like a team but who are really out for their own best interests.

“I don’t feel the disappointment in other partners not cross-selling my services to their client,” he says, adding that in every firm he worked, the consistent mantra was that everyone was on the same team. However, eventually Dreitler became dismayed when he finally realized that was not really the case in any of the firms where he worked. “Partners hoarded work. They did not want any other partner to even meet their clients for fear they would screw something up. Partners who had no idea of the difference between a trademark and a copyright would take on that kind of work and never call partners who specialized in that work because they wanted the hours and could care less about the clients getting the most qualified lawyers on the matter,” Dreitler laments.

Early in Evan Schwartz’s legal career, he was a small fish in a very large pond. In actuality, he was more like a guppy in a huge sea of the gigantic law firm where he worked for several years. In those days, he toiled in a firm with 300 to 500 lawyers nationwide. When he left, he was a solo practitioner for a time. His firm grew to ten lawyers, including a law partner, but today he is the namesake of Schwartz Law PC.

His firm, with offices in Manhattan and Garden City, NY, is comprised of six lawyers whose work focuses on disability law and other insurance-related matters. There are several aspects of practicing in the small firm setting that Schwartz finds appealing. He enjoys the collegiality of working in a small group, which also means attorneys have the opportunity to accept greater responsibility for their cases and clients than occurs in large firms.

“Large firms can also be collegial but are frequently more regimented and both pay and responsibility are typically more lockstep,” says Schwartz. Like Dreitler and Schwartz, Caroline Z. Worley didn’t always practice law in the small firm setting. After the namesake of Worley Law LLC, a small firm in Westerville, Ohio, graduated law school, she toiled as a staff attorney for a Common Pleas Judge.

Following that, she joined a large law firm in Columbus. Since then, everywhere she has practiced law has employed five or fewer lawyers. Worley cites the “team and family atmosphere” with all employees, both attorneys as staff, as what she enjoys most about the small firm setting.

She also relishes the lack of bureaucracy and the flexibility that working in a small group engenders. “Also, since our overhead is lower, an attorney can offer the same or better services for half the cost. There is also plenty of time to get out and serve on nonprofit boards and to give back by volunteering your time,” she says.

Those experiences differ greatly from what she underwent in the big firm setting. For example, “you usually have to run all ideas up a chain of command and change is harder and slower,” she laments. Working for a small firm, especially her own, offers Worley the flexibility to work different hours and at locations other than her brick-and-mortar location.

Pitfalls of Small-Firm-Life

While all three lawyers agree their professional lives are happier as small firm attorneys, they do admit there are pitfalls to working in such an environment. For Worley, working with a small “marketing and business development budget” is challenging. She would also like to hire additional support staff, but that is cost-prohibitive.

While he wouldn’t trade his current situation for a return to big-firm life, Schwartz says there are challenges working in a small firm. For example, the small firm scenario affords “less predictability of the business,” he says. In other words, says Schwartz, running a small firm is “more risky.”

Another pitfall of the solo and small firm environment is that, typically, attorneys receive less training before they are thrown into the fire. According to Schwartz, there is “typically less training and supervision, which can be exhilarating or disastrous, depending on the person you are and the particular circumstances of the matters you are handling.”

While certainly no one is saying Big Law is dead, there is no doubt small and solo law practices are gaining increasingly popularity among lawyers. At least that’s what Schwartz thinks. “In general, small firms help make the legal system more accessible to the general public by offering lower fees and more direct contact between attorneys and their clients. When I weighed the pros and cons of big firm life versus working in a small firm, I decided I wanted to own my own firm and control my own destiny. I have more autonomy and greater job security because I develop my own book of business,” Schwartz says.

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.

General Electric's general counsel's 2012 compensation package afforded him almost $11 million in cash, making him the highest paid general counsel on Corporate Counsel magazine's latest list of the nation's 100 highest paid GCs. So reports Law.com.

At $1,853,671, the average take-home pay enjoyed by the lawyers on the list this year is the highest it has ever been.

Read the full article from Law.com here.

After entering a guilty plea, John Farahi, founder of Newpoint Financial Services Inc., was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on March 20, according to a National Law Journal story. The Beverly Hills businessman admitted his role in a $20 million Ponzi scheme and the plea could have ramifications for former Nixon Peabody securities partner David Tamman, who was found guilty for his role in the scheme.

Tamman’s lawyer, though, insists the two instances are different and “suspect the judge will listen to what we have to say and make a decision accordingly."

Read the full article from the National Law Journal here.

A Los Angeles nutrition company is locked in a legal battle with billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has accused the company of perpetuating a pyramid scheme. Herbalife officials said the company will up their legal defense costs from $25 million to $40 million in the wake of Ackman’s accusations, according to a Los Angeles Times article.

Ackman, who reportedly bet $1 billion the company is a sham, has said most of the company’s sales people lose money and expects the company’s shares to fall to zero.

Read the full article from the Los Angeles Times here.

Food and Drug Administration logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When attorney F. Lee Bailey was indicted for mail fraud in 1973, he quoted a popular aphorism referencing the difference between how England and the U.S. treat their criminal defense lawyers.  “In England they are apt to be knighted; in the United States they are apt to be indicted.”  There is quite a bit of truth in the saying and the dangers inherent in practicing law in the U.S. are not only faced by defense lawyers.  Sensing an opportunity, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently set its sights on corporate in-house counsel.

In November, 2010, Lauren Stevens, a former vice president and general counsel for pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, was indicted on federal charges of making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation.  Stevens was accused of making false and misleading statements in a series of letters to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on behalf of her employer.  Despite it having been obvious from the beginning that Stevens was only relaying information furnished by her client and had no intent or motive to mislead federal investigators, she was enthusiastically pursued by the DOJ.  “Where facts and law allow, the Justice Department will pursue individuals responsible for illegal conduct just as vigorously as we pursue corporations,” Tony West, assistant attorney general for the civil division, said in a statement.  It should be noted that despite the DOJ’s stated commitment to pursue corporations, GlaxoSmithKline’s name was noticeably absent from the Stevens indictment.  West continued, “Criminal charges are appropriate when false statements such as those alleged here are made to the FDA.”

Read the full article here...

Established in 2011 with seven staff, California-based employment law firm LightGabler has always been a very “tech-forward” firm — in fact, it has operated entirely paperless since its first day in operation. Today, it has 17 attorneys and a total team of 26 providing day-to-day employment advice and complex litigation counsel (in both federal and state courts) to businesses of all sizes and in all sectors. Since the firm’s inception it has been using ProLaw®, the comprehensive business management solution from Thomson Reuters, hosting it in the cloud.

LightGabler’s founders were already familiar with ProLaw, having used it successfully at the large firm where they previously worked. Running on relatively lean staff numbers, it was important to implement one solution that LightGabler could use for all of its practice management and matter management needs, including billing, timekeeping, accounting, reporting, contacts management, conflicts checks, and document control.

"I wanted a practice management program that can do it all, and I think ProLaw is the leader in that regard"

Jody Toerner, Executive Director

“ProLaw is an all-inclusive option and that’s key for us,” says LightGabler’s Executive Director Jody Toerner, who is responsible for all of the firm’s IT and accounting as well as its general operations. “Whereas some firms are running several different programs at once for different things, we have everything in one place, making it easy to use and saving us time. We don’t need anything else.”

For example, LightGabler uses ProLaw to create a database of contacts that can be seamlessly linked into client matters. It uses it as a virtual filing cabinet for client documents and emails — which is fully searchable — and as a repository for master documents. All pre-bills are edited and invoices tracked through ProLaw. Timekeeping reports can be run, detailing billable time and expenses. Accounting reports are converted into PDF format for review or into Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets for data manipulation. The firm even cuts all of its checks through ProLaw.

The importance of interconnectivity

Toerner appreciates this wide scope of features and functionality, but just as importantly, she likes how interconnected the different parts of the system are and how they work together as a whole.

“ProLaw has a ton of bells and whistles, and even as an extensive ProLaw user myself, there’s still more to learn,” says Toerner. “That said, it’s so easy and efficient to maneuver around. One of the best things is the ability to “hot-key” directly into specific areas, without having to continually open new windows. So, if I’m in a matter and I want to know what a client owes us, I can just hit the ledger button and see the information instantly. Or a user can hit the timekeeping button and enter billable time from wherever they are in the system or in email. That’s genius.”

The integration between ProLaw and Microsoft Outlook® is one Toerner says is particularly valuable. She explains that attorneys like the ability to save emails into ProLaw, creating real-time visibility on matter status within the system, all the while enabling emails to stay “live” in Outlook so that those conversations with clients and contacts remain open.

With so much functionality available, it’s useful to be able to customize what options are available to users in ProLaw. For instance, LightGabler finds it helpful to minimize the list of fields that attorneys can choose from when managing their matters, so they are only viewing the ones they may need. The firm also implements customized settings around who can access its accounting data for security reasons. Toerner makes the point that it is possible to experiment with customization without fear of inadvertently causing problems that could impair the smooth running of the system.

"Being able to access such a comprehensive system from anywhere, on any device, is a huge benefit."

Jody Toerner

Talking in the cloud

Interconnectivity and integration also matter greatly when it comes to operating ProLaw in the cloud. Streamlined, remote accessibility allows attorneys to view documents and work on matters in ProLaw from anywhere, at any time, from any device. This “talking in the cloud,” as Toerner calls it, had always mattered to LightGabler, but it took on new meaning when the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing firms to shift to remote working. Having ProLaw in the cloud meant that LightGabler was well positioned when this happened: its attorneys were already working this way; now paralegals and support staff also started to access ProLaw remotely.

“We’ve been very busy since the start of COVID-19, but we’ve had no downtime at all in terms of our ability to provide services to clients, because we had ProLaw set up in the cloud,” says Toerner. “I know that some other firms that hadn’t taken the leap into the cloud have really struggled.”

When the firm moved its cloud hosting provision to LevelCloud, with whom ProLaw has partnered since 2019, Toerner describes this as a game-changing moment. Its seamless integration with ProLaw was the main motivation for LightGabler to move from its previous cloud-hosting provider to LevelCloud. “I was thrilled when ProLaw opened the gates to LevelCloud to enable their servers to work together. We switched to LevelCloud and haven’t looked back,” she says.

Another reason for LightGabler’s choice of LevelCloud was that it wanted a private cloud-hosting solution, rather than being on a shared server with other firms. Toerner feels totally secure with having all of the firm’s files in the cloud. She notes that other firms are likely to have to follow suit sooner or later, given that “this is the way the world is moving.”

As proof of the power of such a shift, Toerner points out that her firm comprises users aged between 25 and 81 — and that the eldest is one of the solution’s biggest proponents. “Younger staff are great at coming up with ideas and questions about what ProLaw can do, and our 81-year-old attorney raves about it,” says Toerner. She understands technology can sometimes be a source of frustration in law firms if it fails to help attorneys operate more efficiently and effectively, but Toerner has no such concerns here. Overall, users seem very satisfied with ProLaw being hosted in LevelCloud.

Cost-effective systems and support

Having ProLaw hosted in the cloud removes the need for costly in-house servers or IT support, saving the firm tens of thousands of dollars per year. “When you map out all the costs involved in having local servers and IT support — and in running a variety of programs for different needs, like timekeeping and contacts management — there are huge cost savings to be made from having one externally maintained, all-inclusive program and one vendor,” says Toerner. ProLaw does all the software updates and maintenance and Toerner has one direct contact at LevelCloud who liaises with ProLaw to troubleshoot any back-end issues that arise.

That takes a huge amount of pressure off Toerner personally in terms of ensuring the firm’s critical technologies are well supported. As well as saving on costs and complexity, using an external hosting provider means that, rather than just having one internal member of support staff available to help a large group of users, the firm can have several specialists advising individuals all at the same time.

Training is relatively straightforward and is conducted internally by Toerner herself, who estimates that most people become fully comfortable with using it within a month. “It’s easy to teach people how to use ProLaw, and once they get going, they’re fine,” she says. “Most people wouldn’t want to go back to a paper-based system, and I certainly wouldn’t. We want to move with the times, and ProLaw enables us to do that. I’d recommend it for sure.”

LightGabler’s future plans for using ProLaw even more extensively include increasing the amount of report customization it undertakes and using the document assembly tool, which is the only component of ProLaw that the firm does not currently deploy. “Being able to click on a couple of buttons in ProLaw to create a template letter, for example, that can just be filled in — that would be a major time saver for us,” says Toerner. “We do everything else in ProLaw, that’s all that’s left.” 

LightGabler

LightGabler advises businesses across California on employment issues, employment and business litigation (including complex class, collective, and representative actions), intellectual property, and unfair competition. Its offices are in Camarillo in Ventura County.

Business challenges

Operating a paperless office, LightGabler needed a holistic solution that could meet all of its practice management needs, but one that worked effectively and efficiently in the cloud, enabling anywhere, anytime accessibility.

Why ProLaw

ProLaw delivers a comprehensive array of features and functionality all in one place. Critically, everything works together smoothly, with users able to “hot-key” quickly to different areas of the system. Its seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook and LevelCloud was another major plus.

Benefits

• All-in-one solution with extensive features and functionality
• Fast, efficient maneuverability around the program
• Makes processes like timekeeping and billing easy
• Interconnects with Microsoft Outlook and cloud-based service providers
• Remote accessibility, with no need for internal servers or IT support

Civil litigation firm Case Linden PC has been making a name for itself representing businesses, executives, and professionals in U.S. state and federal courts since 2001. With a team of 22, including 10 attorneys covering a two-state area (Kansas and Missouri), the firm is a boutique with a big impact and counts top insurance companies among its clients. From its original focus on employment litigation, it has grown in size and scope to provide expertise on a range of other claims, from personal injury and wrongful death to toxic exposure.

Business challenges

The firm wanted to create efficiency gains and enhance client service in an area of law governed by strict deadlines and highly specific client requirements. It needed a holistic solution to stay ahead of the game and be nimbler in responding to clients’ needs. And, it needed a solution designed with the “firm of the future” in mind.

Why ProLaw

ProLaw offered the full range of functionality Case Linden required, with significant scope for customization to the firm’s and clients’ exact needs. The firm was confident in the Thomson Reuters brand and the level of investment and insight that had gone into developing the solution as well as the prospects for ongoing support and future enhancements.

Technology as a Team Player

This is a firm for whom technology is not merely a tool, but an integral part of the team. Rather than viewing tech investments purely in terms of cost, the value they can deliver is top of mind: Case Linden sees the role of well-designed tech solutions no less than that of professional staff members.

"We have clients that provide us accolades all the time, and I know those are directly linked back to some of the functionality of ProLaw."

John Travers, Case Linden

This is certainly the case when it comes to ProLaw®, the comprehensive business management solution from Thomson Reuters, which comprises case/matter management, time entry, billing, accounting capabilities, and more. The firm has been using it since 2007.

The rationale for selecting ProLaw was simple yet ambitious. The firm was looking for a solution that could increase efficiency and effectiveness while elevating the firm’s practice to exceed client expectations and compete with larger firms, as well as support its growth.

Working smarter

To John Travers, controller operations manager for Case Linden, who had been used to working via shared systems in his previous role at a leading global consultancy firm, efficiency and effectiveness in practice meant working smarter, with better oversight, consistency, and control. ProLaw has not disappointed and continues to impress. As Travers explains, “We chose ProLaw because it was best in breed at the time, and it still is.”

John Travers says that ProLaw has fundamentally changed the way the firm operates for the better—so much so that it has become a core feature in shaping the firm’s culture. Crucially, it has enabled teams to become more collaborative, which feeds directly into the efficiency and effectiveness agenda.

With ProLaw, having a central repository of real-time client and matter information that is easily accessible to everyone enables attorneys to do their jobs better and helps build a common language in how matters are dealt with.

This environment enables Case Linden to leverage its expertise. Thanks to the easy-to-search records, archives, and legal documents, attorneys can get up to speed quickly when taking on new cases. They can learn from past firm work instead of reinventing the wheel, and new staff can rapidly gain insight into the workings of the firm.

A major factor behind this cultural shift is that, like other solutions the firm uses from Thomson Reuters such as Westlaw® and eDiscoveryPoint™, ProLaw is built with a clear understanding of the market and the specific requirements of end users in mind. Travers comments, “That comes from a lot of investment and research, highlighting how important it is to work with a partner like Thomson Reuters that is well established, fully entrenched in that conversation, and forward thinking. That’s vital when selecting a product that is going to be the infrastructure for your organization.”

Critical infrastructure

The result of this deep legal sector knowledge is what Travers describes as the uniquely rich feature set in ProLaw. Having reviewed many other systems on the market, the firm has failed to find another solution that addresses all its various requirements like ProLaw does.

“We are still finding ways to extend and capitalize on that investment in ways we could never have imagined,” he says. “It has deep and robust functionality. Every single feature we looked at with ProLaw was important, be it docketing, document assembly, e-billing, contact integration, or record keeping. But the way it all works together in one place under one umbrella application is critical.”

ProLaw may be sophisticated enough to meet very complex needs, but it is not complicated to use. According to Travers: “Our end users rave about ProLaw. Former employees always report back and lament how much they miss it!” Case Linden found the initial implementation and data conversion very smooth, and that experience has been replicated with every upgrade since.

One example of how ProLaw makes attorney’s lives easier is the Full Text Indexing feature, which allows for powerful, intuitive content searching within documents. Another is its Pro Filing feature, which integrates with Microsoft® Outlook® to streamline email management. This allows users that receive (and send) large volumes of digital information to manage it effectively, such as by automatically saving copies of emails or attachments into appropriate folders. It even allows simultaneous automatic time entry.

Its mobile functionality also opens up new possibilities for delivering client service and managing professionals’ work/life balance alike. Enabling attorneys to access documents in court, at home, or even on vacation helps them do a better job in more flexible ways, which is essential as remote working takes off.

In fact, Case Linden has been using ProLaw remotely since its implementation. This meant that when staff went into lockdown due to Covid-19, the firm could seamlessly maintain business as usual. Travers is keenly aware of how vital that business continuity was to the firm.

"ProLaw is unique compared to other systems—its feature set is very rich. We are still finding ways to capitalize on that investment in ways we could never have imagined."

John Travers

Tailored tools

The extensive functionality of ProLaw has the added benefit of being customizable, and this was a major selling point. One standout example is the way in which Case Linden has been able to develop its own internal docketing system within its workflow using the ProLaw docketing feature.

Litigation is an area of law in which there are often strict, specific deadlines and reporting requirements that are ­­­imposed either by the court or by clients. Therefore, tailored tools that facilitate meeting those needs can make a big difference to both case management and client satisfaction.

Likewise, Travers adds that ProLaw can be molded to fit a firm’s specific data storage needs, creating custom tabs to determine how data should be stored and presented in the way that users want to see it. As he points out: “Most applications don’t allow you to add database fields like that. The ability to customize ProLaw is tremendous.”

The customization list goes on: Travers also cites the fact that the application is extremely versatile in allowing the creation of custom e-bills related to each client. This matters significantly, given that they do not all want billing information delivered in the same format, nor do they use the same billing codes.

The firm uses ProLaw to tailor how it reports its activity to clients while adhering to stringent billing guidelines. Making those routine—yet important—processes more accurate and streamlined truly creates efficiencies that improve client service and equates to savings for clients.

“When you have a client say to you: ‘How do you do this so quickly? How are you able to consistently provide me with the information I need so seamlessly?’ That’s an unquestionable return on investment in a professional services organization,” says Travers. “Clients are constantly evaluating the quality and efficiency of the service they are getting. The longer a legal file is open, the more expensive it is. So, if we can make them look good by managing their litigation more swiftly and successfully, they recognize and reward it in repeat work and referrals.”

He makes a direct correlation between ROI for ProLaw and the firm’s success. “We’ve tripled in size since implementation, and there’s no doubt in my mind that ProLaw has been instrumental in that growth. It helps us enhance service quality because our attorneys can focus on delivering excellent work without friction or distraction. We have clients that provide us accolades all the time, and I know those are directly linked back to some of the functionality of ProLaw.”

Achieving future goals

Now that ProLaw has enabled the firm to become more efficient and cohesive, helping it to expand, Travers is confident that it has what it takes to help Case Linden achieve its future goals, too. He envisions the ability to mine their own data­­­­­­­­­­­—accessing it, analyzing it, and taking action accordingly—will be key for firms in the years ahead. The architecture of ProLaw already allows firms to do this effectively, and it is a key focus area for ongoing expansion and enhancements.

He argues that, when investing in a solution that is going to play a major role in the firm’s future, it is important to choose a partner who is going to back that product for the long term. This means not only in terms of ongoing support so that it keeps working well, but how in touch they are with the market, continuously developing the product so it delivers the functionality firms need to serve clients.

“We chose ProLaw because it spoke to all aspects of our needs and because Thomson Reuters backs it. We love it, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it,” says Travers.

ProLaw has changed our firm by helping to create a common culture and raising the professionalism of our practice. It’s also perfectly positioned to help us meet our future goals.

John Travers

Lasting Benefits of ProLaw

• Practicality – delivers easy-to-access, real-time information all in one place
• Unique set of features with rich, robust functionality, including powerful search tools
• Significant scope for customization to meet wide-ranging needs
• Easy implementation and seamless upgrades
• Delivers major efficiency gains on routine tasks
• Freedom to access information anywhere, anytime via mobile devices

Founded 70 years ago, Howard Kennedy is a full-service firm that takes a very grounded yet agile approach to the business of law. While paying close attention to finding ways to improve its current operations, it also plays the long game in terms of anticipating future firm and client needs. Its use of 3E®, the comprehensive enterprise business management solution from Thomson Reuters, is central to both those imperatives.

The firm has more than 150 lawyers headquartered in the City of London with international reach across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the U.S., advising clients in a range of sectors from private wealth to media and sport. 

The firm needed a management solution that had equally wide horizons, enabling it to streamline its back-office functions before turning its focus to customer-facing client service enhancements and innovations. In the words of Paul Roberts, Chief Operating Officer at Howard Kennedy, “We wanted an IT solution that would be future proof.”

3E has been a game changer.

Paul Roberts

Chief Operating Officer

Clear project principles

Howard Kennedy had several clear objectives and project principles in mind when selecting that solution. One of the most immediate priorities was to improve and standardize many of the firm’s processes. It also wanted to help maximize lawyer productivity—the two aims of course being closely connected.

Therefore, the primary area of focus initially was on moving from manual, paper-based workflow systems to digital ones, in order to make billing, payments, and the management of trust accounts much more efficient and accurate. For example, by implementing a more streamlined, automated billing system overseen by the finance team, the need for fee earner input is dramatically reduced or, in many cases, eliminated, and bills can be processed faster.

The firm was looking for an out-of-the-box solution that would be relatively easy to “get right,” as Paul Roberts puts it, but one that was flexible, too. It needed to have scope to be customized where required to meet changing internal and external requirements—like regulatory changes—and to support future innovation in client service.

Howard Kennedy was concerned on the one hand with risk avoidance—in particular, that the product would continue to be developed and supported in step with (or ahead of) market needs over the long term—and with cost certainty, ensuring that it would remain within budget.

We wanted an IT solution that would be future proof.

Paul Roberts

A robust selection process

The firm has been a long-time customer of Thomson Reuters, having previously utilized Enterprise® as its business management solution. As part of the selection process for that product’s next-generation successor, Howard Kennedy considered both market-leading providers such as Thomson Reuters and its major rivals, as well as smaller market players.

From a risk mitigation point of view, it decided to narrow its search down to the bigger providers, with the theory that they would be better placed to maintain investment in their products over the years ahead.

It chose 3E because it had the more established, stable platform that offered the full range of functionality the firm needed. Some of the internal implementation team members had used 3E already and liked it, and initial testing worked well. Overall, when the firm deployed a wide-range scoring system to evaluate different options available on the market, 3E came out way ahead of the competition.

Increased efficiency and productivity is a big win for us.

Paul Roberts

Slicker operations and enhanced services

3E has certainly lived up to the firm’s high expectations. For example, the billing process is now centralized. Bills are routinely submitted to clients within 48 hours of month’s end (and before month end where appropriate), rather than up to two weeks later as was sometimes the case previously. Not only does this have a positive effect on cashflow and working capital as client payments are received more quickly; it also reduces the administrative burden on lawyers, enabling them to focus on fee earning and client relationship-building activities. 

“That increased efficiency and productivity is a big win for us,” says Roberts.

Howard Kennedy now uses 3E as its core reporting tool and finds the automated dashboards invaluable for providing easier access to real-time information to fee earners and heads of teams. Not only can they get a clearer overview of activity, but they also can drill down into areas of interest, such as how much is being billed and when, and teams’ and individuals’ levels of productivity, thus helping to manage capacity. This aspect is especially appreciated by lawyers and will be a continued area of focus for further enhancements going forward.

Bringing sophisticated budgeting and forecasting capabilities on board via implementing Advanced Financial Solutions from Thomson Reuters, is another planned next step. Now that lawyers are recognizing the advantages of 3E’s “business as usual” improvements in the back office, Roberts says the next stage is to look toward how the solution could provide more forward-facing, front-office benefits.

Further customizations, upgrades, and add ons such as financial reporting and time recording functionality are being considered. Moreover, the firm is looking at artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for document automation, which Roberts says the firm sees as the way forward. Enhancing data warehousing capability and exploring the possibilities around Big Data are on the agenda as well.

“You’re always going to get some initial pushback when introducing a new solution, but if you can show people that it works well and easily, you can convert them much more quickly,” he explains. “Now that we have 3E embedded across the organization, the next move is to focus on how we can use it to improve client service delivery—both in terms of further efficiencies and in terms of new ways we can help clients or innovative products that we can offer.”

A convincing deployment

The process of convincing lawyers of the benefits of 3E was accelerated by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing lockdown, which happened approximately six months after Howard Kennedy went live with the solution. “3E has been a game changer,” says Roberts.

“It meant we were already set up to work efficiently in a remote environment, and people have been using it all the time. We had zero complaints during lockdown because we had a system that works. But even under normal circumstances, being able to work seamlessly remotely was always going to bring huge gains.”

He adds:

Conversion and implementation were a big success—3E was delivered bang-on time and on budget, with very few glitches. You can’t underestimate how important that is for giving confidence to lawyers and credibility to the system.

Paul Roberts

Roberts attributes that success to a number of factors; preparedness on the part of the firm was one. The firm’s aims were clearly defined and its specific requirements in terms of functionality identified, involving a range of internal stakeholders and external experts in the process, including first-rate support from Thomson Reuters. It also went through a process of “cleansing” its data prior to conversion—ensuring it was all up to date, relevant, and well-organized—to create a smooth transition, and made sure it had a well-resourced project implementation team on board.

“We had an excellent project manager from Thomson Reuters who was very hands on, and we also had access to several more senior people within the business when issues arose that are inevitable on a project like this,” says Roberts. “It’s all very well choosing the right solution, but the people piece is important too, as you will be working together for quite some time. We also had a first-rate internal project team that worked 100% on the project whilst their day-to-day roles were back filled. This enabled key decisions to be made quickly and decisively throughout the project.”

I’m not sure how we’d operate without it! It’s a perfect solution for a firm of our size.

Paul Roberts

Training also played a major role in getting the solution embedded and accepted within the firm. Howard Kennedy made sure sufficient training resources were available both pre and post go-live, with experts on hand for three months afterwards to deal with any issues.

Ongoing consultation with user groups and the steering committee set up by the firm to oversee the project play an important part in ensuring the firm gets the most out of the solution. Fee earners and back-office users feel they are being listened to, and new ideas for future development can be brought forward for consideration.

“We see 3E as very much a long-term project,” says Roberts. “The security of having something that is future proof for the next 15 years that we can develop, upgrade, add to, and exploit in new ways over time cannot be underestimated. I’m not sure how we’d operate without it! It’s a perfect solution for a firm of our size.”

Firm overview

Business challenges

To rethink existing processes, moving away from manual, paper-based systems to create workflow efficiencies and foster greater productivity. To support change within the business over time by implementing a solution that could develop with the needs of the firm and external market drivers.

Why 3E?

3E is a market-leading solution offering all the functionality the firm needs now and additional features it will implement and customize in the future. It provides flexibility to adapt to change, certainty on costs, and confidence around the level of ongoing support and investment by Thomson Reuters.

Benefits

• Well-designed, out-of-the-box solution for seamless integration
• Scope for customization to firm’s specific needs
• Wide range of functionality
• Creates clear efficiency gains by streamlining processes
• Delivers greater visibility, enabling better decision making
• Excellent support from Thomson Reuters

HOWARD KENNEDY

Full-service law firm with 370 staff based in London’s financial district with international scope. It advises clients in sectors as diverse as energy, real estate, sport, retail and leisure, media and entertainment, investment funds, and private wealth.

Foley & Lardner LLP is a firm that maintains a clear focus on consolidating the strength of its current position while keeping one eye fixed firmly on the horizon. In that regard, it is continuously finding ways to improve its operations and service delivery to clients and adapt for the future.

A full-service firm whose practice can broadly be grouped into five main areas — intellectual property, commercial law, litigation, government advisory, and international work — it has 1,100 lawyers in offices across the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. It chose to implement 3E®, the market-leading enterprise business management solution that enables firms to drive operational efficiency and growth through its advanced architecture, industry-leading security, and customizable platform.

Part of the rationale was to support the firm’s growth ambitions as it planned to extend its U.S. presence and its cross-border reach. It also wanted a robust solution that could streamline and strengthen its finance and accounting function and, looking forward, that could allow for sophisticated data analytics in the future.

Having used Enterprise® from Thomson Reuters since the mid-1990s, familiarity with — and confidence in — the solution was one consideration in the decision to select 3E. Even more importantly, 3E had the specific functionality and the scalability the firm was looking for.

One of the key issues Foley & Lardner had hoped to solve via 3E was the ability to automatically convert multiple currencies, reconcile bank statements, and produce reports instead of having to do it all manually. This aspect has been everything the firm had hoped it would be. “It has really paid dividends in that respect,” says Lisa Jessup, Chief Financial Officer at Foley & Lardner.

But her perspective was far wider. “In the finance department, we are always looking for ways to support our firm better, whether that’s through finding ways to improve important day-to-day business practices or looking out for the bigger picture,”

She adds:

"We did investigate another industry-leading product, but we felt 3E could grow with us better than anything else on the market. We needed a solution with scope to expand."

Phasing in functionality

3E offers such an extensive list of features and functionality that Foley & Lardner decided to take a phased approach to rolling different aspects of it out across the firm. The first priority was accounting and billing, with particular attention on issues such as streamlining the invoicing, payments, and cash recording processes.

Foley & Lardner also wanted to make e-billing more efficient, improve maintenance of client details like keeping up with complex and highly specific outside counsel billing guidelines, and facilitate client budgeting.

“Previously, we spent a lot of time on the back end of the e-billing process dealing with rejections caused by lack of adherence to client guidelines,” says Jessup. “The more we can do on the front end to ensure the invoice complies with those guidelines (even at the point of time entry) will save a lot of time, and ultimately money, by reducing the risk that the invoice might be written down.  This is not just about efficiencies, it’s about real dollar costs to the firm.”

We strive for top-notch service both on the legal advice side and on the administrative side, so being better able to adhere to client guidelines also cements positive relationships with them.

The Financial Systems team uses it to respond quickly to data requests and is using 3E to develop a web interface to allow partners to enter the solution and access data directly. These kinds of “cool tools” as Jessup describes them are a precursor to some of the innovative possibilities that Foley & Lardner is planning to explore in the next phase of its 3E rollout.

Bells and whistles

Jessup explains, “As exciting as everything is that the new system can do for us, it was important to keep a tight focus to ensure a successful initial conversion. We put all the ‘bells and whistles’ on hold.”

Now that it has successfully completed its first phase, the firm has big plans for how it will develop its use of 3E. In the near term, it intends to integrate eBillingHub® from Thomson Reuters into 3E to eliminate an interim manual step that is currently required to transfer invoices from 3E to eBillingHub, making the process even more efficient and accurate.

Jessup also plans to incorporate time entry functionality, which she believes will have several major benefits. For example, it will streamline the process and minimize billing errors up front before they get as far as the billing stage by alerting fee earners to incorrect entries. Also, the firm plans to make more use of its mobile accessibility via the mobile capabilities in 3E to allow anywhere, anytime access.

Beyond that, data analytics is a key area of focus to help drive the business forward. According to Jessup, the firm is considering incorporating other tools such as 3E Workspace and data visualization tool 3E Data Insights to “unleash the power of the 3E system.”

Attractive features

From a systems perspective, the way data was laid out within the structure of 3E was very attractive to Jessup and her team. It allows them to “slice and dice” the data more easily and at a more granular level but also enables them to start thinking about how they could use different aspects for data analytics in the future.

One area the firm had struggled with previously was rates and exception rates. “We liked how 3E allowed us to organize these better so we could use them more effectively,” says Jessup.

They also like the flexibility of the general ledger structure. Now the team can break different segments down so that costs can be assigned to a specific practice group, office, lawyer, type of matter, or type of expense — such as sponsorship out of marketing spend. Jessup points out that this allows the firm to capture a lot of information around a particular expense item, giving better visibility on costs.

As CFO, Jessup doesn’t directly utilize the solution in the same level of detail as her team, but one piece of functionality that she personally finds very useful in her role is the general ledger dashboard which plugs into the 3E system via Thomson Reuters’ partner, Big Hand. Designed to the firm’s preferences, this tool can pull specific data out of 3E, presenting in-depth granularity of insight in a clear, well-designed way.

“It’s nice that Thomson Reuters has partners on board that specialize in extra tools to provide even more functionality,” says Jessup.

Exceeding expectations on implementation

Having planned the strategic implementation of 3E for several years, during which time it was put on hold as Foley & Lardner completed a merger, the firm decided not to delay its go-live any longer, despite the looming threat of lockdown in early 2020.

In the end, Jessup thinks that converting to 3E remotely actually worked to the firm’s advantage. It had all the advisers and consultants it wanted on board and ready to go. In addition, extensive training, validation, and testing had been carried out with both end users and the finance team. The team from Thomson Reuters was “100% focused and ready,” according to Jessup, and offered the firm open line access to advice.

“The conversion wildly exceeded my expectations, even without the lockdown dimension,” says Jessup. “We had regular touch points with our Thomson Reuters account team to ensure things were moving forward as expected and, if not, they jumped in and took action.”

“I didn’t think we would be able to get all our bills out to meet our billing deadline at the end of the month, given that we went live on the 20^th of the first full month of lockdown, but we did!”

Though it is still too soon to measure ROI, Jessup believes the firm would be at a competitive disadvantage without 3E.

I really appreciate the partnership with Thomson Reuters, she says. They listen to us and they help us find solutions.

“We’re already seeing the benefits of 3E and there’s a huge amount of untapped potential I’m excited to address once we’ve settled in after the initial conversion.”

Firm overview

Business challenges

The firm wanted a robust solution as it geared up for growth. The first priority was to streamline its accounting and finance function, starting with e-billing and automated multi-currency conversions. It also wanted a wide range of advanced functionality such as data analytics it could roll out in the future.

Why 3E

Foley & Lardner had a long-standing relationship with Thomson Reuters and, after scrutinizing other products, it realized that 3E had the scalability and the comprehensive set of features the firm required. Ultimately, it believes the solution will enable them to become a slicker, smarter operator.

Benefits

• Greater efficiency and accuracy of routine processes increases client satisfaction and impacts bottom line
• Reduces manual input in critical areas, such as currency conversions
• Enhanced visibility into costs and expenses
• Advanced tools such as data analytics open up huge potential for firm development and better decision making
• Mobile accessibility allows lawyers and users to use it on the go

FOLEY & LARDNER LLP

Foley & Lardner’s history stretches all the way back to 1842. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it has offices across the United States and in Brussels, Tokyo, and Mexico City. It advises a wide range of industry sectors, from life sciences and technology to aviation, auto, retail and leisure, and more.

The American Bar Association (ABA) is making a concerted effort to bolster legal services to those who might not be able to afford them during its second annual Giving Day.

This year, ABA Giving Day will take place Thursday, Oct. 28 during a week-long National Celebration of Pro Bono. According to the legal trade group, the day is aimed at raising awareness and support for 16 different public service, education and policy program areas.

“This second ABA Giving Day promotes even more different ways to help ensure a just society by giving lawyers an opportunity to donate charitable dollars to address the urgent social issues of today,” said ABA President Reginald Turner, in a statement. “A gift of money will greatly support these efforts. We also call upon lawyers across the United States to give 10 hours or more of pro bono work before the end of the year to ABA or other worthy causes.”

The initiative is being spearheaded by the ABA Fund for Justice and Education (FJE), notes the group. Some of the specific initiatives being promoted this year include:

• “Protect Children’s Rights and Family Integrity”
• “Legal Solutions to End Homelessness”
• “Strengthen Civics Education Among Students”
• “Advance Civil Rights and Social Justice for All”
• “Legal Service to Military Personnel”
• “Rebuild Lives and Communities with Free Legal Services”
• “Deliver Disaster Legal Services to Impacted Communities”
• “Ensure Survivors Have a Voice in the Justice System”
• “Inspire the Next Generation of Diverse Attorneys”
• “Foster a Judiciary That Better Reflects Society”
• “Offer Free Tax Assistance to the Underserved”
• “Provide Pro Bono Legal Assistance in Capital Cases”

From Twitter 

South Jersey Legal Services @SJLSTweets

"The Burlington County Bar Association Lawyer Referral/Pro Bono/Legal Services Committee has set its meeting dates on Wednesdays at 3:30 pm via Zoom - November 10th, February 23rd, and May 18th. If you want to be a part of this committee, please 856-964-2010 ext. 6229 #probono #nj" 

Other organizations have put an emphasis on charitable work in recent weeks as well. The California Lawyers Association announced it made a nearly $275,000 charitable contribution through its California Lawyers Foundation (CLF) to help support programs that provide pro bono services and support justice, diversity and inclusion in the legal field.

“The California Lawyers Foundation was founded to further access to justice and civics education initiatives, and to increase diversity and inclusion in the legal profession,” said Ellen Miller, CLF executive director. “Each organization is working diligently to make a meaningful difference in our state, and we know that our funding will advance their ability to serve even more individuals and make a greater impact.”

The CLF funding was dispersed to the Legal Access Alameda for Disaster Legal Services Cooperative, the California Project Directors Association and the Legal Education Access Pipeline. “This is a pivotal time for our state, and there are few organizations driving change as effectively as the three organizations receiving our support” said Heather Rosing, CLF president. “The work of each organization both aligns with our mission and helps serve the varied needs of California's citizens.”

Additionally, other pro bono opportunities can be found at https://www.probono.net/.

Energy advocates have taken issue with a default ruling from a divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that allows a new energy market to move forward without a clear consensus from the watchdog group.

As such, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), on behalf of groups like the Sierra Club, Energy Alabama and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, took issue with the ruling, which was made possible partially due to fact that FERC’s fifth, tie-breaking commissioner is pending congressional approval. With a two-two tie, the proposal for the market moves forward automatically, per federal law.

SELC Attorney Maia Hutt enumerated the environmental group’s contempt for the lack of consensus from the remaining four commissioners to approve the proposed Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM).

“The failure of some of the largest monopoly utilities in the country to convince a majority of commissioners that SEEM is legal is yet another reason why it cannot be the last step towards wholesale market reform in the Southeast,” Hutt said in a statement. According to the SEEM coalition, the initiative was born from a group of energy companies planning an “integrated, automated intra-hour energy exchange with goals of lowering costs to customers, optimizing renewable energy resources.” In practice, the SEEM is supposed to create a 15-minute energy exchange rooted in technology to match participants with reliable, clean energy.

“Benefits include cost savings for customers and better integration of diverse generation resources, including rapidly growing renewables and fewer solar curtailments,” according to SEEM promotional material. “Importantly, SEEM members would maintain existing control of generation and transmission assets, and participation is voluntary.”

From Twitter

Advanced Energy Economy @AEEnet

"'@FERC missed an opportunity to ensure that SEEM is a stepping stone to a competitive wholesale electricity market that delivers substantial benefits to consumers,' @EnergyLawJeff. See what’s next for broader wholesale market reforms. #EnergyTwitter https://t.co/5DRiQCJgdy?amp=1"

The SELC called into question how this market will work in practice, though, and as such has called on the commission to ensure customer interests are not sacrificed in lieu of the energy providers.

“The Commission must pave the way for meaningful reform that lowers customer bills, increases transparency, and helps our region transition away from dirty fossil fuels to cost-effective renewable generation. We look forward to conversations with stakeholders across the spectrum to ensure this happens,” Hutt added.

The law center challenged the SEEM based on questions related to price, transparency, oversight and market power, which were investigated by the regulatory commission.

Recently, FERC Chairman Richard Glick spoke before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding the agency’s role in U.S. energy markets.

Glick outlined the commission’s five main areas of priority, which include “building the transmission grid of the future; modernizing electricity market design; updating FERC’s natural gas certificate Policy Statement; safeguarding the reliability of the electric grid; and facilitating a more inclusive decision-making process.”

“The Commission’s job is not to pick winners and losers,” Glick said. “But we do have a role in eliminating barriers to a technology’s participation in wholesale markets."

Taking a cue from President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded more than $33 million in grants to overhaul and reform policing practices in the U.S.

Corresponding to the President’s recent proclamation that Sunday, Oct. 3 to Saturday, Oct. 9 will be designated as National Community Policing Week, the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced the funds will be distributed toward the goal of improving police procedures specifically related to building trust between law enforcement and the public.

“Keeping communities safe requires building relationships and increasing trust between law enforcement and those they serve,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a statement. “The wide range of programs these funds will support–from de-escalation training and anti-bias efforts to technical assistance and accreditation programs–are critical to achieving our public safety goals. It is particularly meaningful to announce these awards during National Community Policing Week, which recognizes the importance of community policing and the positive results we can achieve when law enforcement and community members work together.”

According to the National Police Foundation, community policing, also known as “problem-oriented policing” or “community-oriented policing” generally entails asking law enforcement to “cope with problems” rather than simply responding to called-in incidents. This is accomplished by identifying the concerns of the public and then seeking their help to alleviate those concerns.

The programs supported by the DOJ are meant to identify “promising practices” and innovative strategies to strengthen community-oriented police work. “I have long been an advocate for community policing, just as my late son Beau was when he served as Attorney General of Delaware—because he knew, as I know, that it works,” Biden’s proclamation reads. “It is especially important now, as State and local governments across the country continue to climb back from the once-in-a-century economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 last year.”

From Twitter

LAPD Hollenbeck @LAPDHollenbeck

"#Repost @lapdhq with @make_repost In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month we recognize Rudy De Leon, who joined the LAPD in 1947, later became the first Hispanic Commanding Officer (HOLLENBECK Division) in the LAPD, and is remembered for his pioneering efforts in community policing."

Recently, the ABA Legal Education Police Practices Consortium launched a podcast specifically aimed at examining legal issues pertaining to public safety and policing. Featured in the podcast are Dean Madeleine Landrieu of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and Dean Sudha Setty of Western New England University School of Law.

According to the DOJ announcement, the highlights of the 2021 funding round include:

• Crisis Intervention Teams: More than $9 million designated for use toward growing teams that will help to embed behavioral and mental health services in law enforcement work.
• Tolerance, Diversity, and Anti-Bias Training: More than $1.7 million set aside to create and promulgate “tolerance, diversity and anti-bias training” for officers.
• De-escalation Training: Close to $13 million will be used to support de-escalation training in addition to assisting local and state efforts to create and maintain officer proficiency in de-escalation.
• COPS Microgrants: More than $2.7 million is set aside to support pilot projects stemming from local agencies that offer “creative ideas to advance crime fighting, community engagement, problem solving or organizational changes to support community policing.”
• Accreditation: More than $3.8 million has been designated to grow accreditation programs and help agencies comply with both national and international standards pertaining to policy, procedure, practice and operation.

“At its core, community policing is about building trust and mutual respect between police and communities—important goals that can only be reached when we have accountability and faith in our justice system,” Biden added.

Here are some of the most high profile or notable verdicts from the month of September.  

Most Celebrity Verdict: R. Kelly Guilty on Sex-trafficking, Racketeering Charges

R&B star R. Kelly has been found guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering after a two-day jury deliberation, according to an article from Yahoo! Among some of the many disturbing accusations the musician faced were kidnapping, sexual exploitation of a minor and bribery. According to information in the article, 11 accusers— six were minors at the time of the accusations and two are male—testified against Kelly. He will be sentenced in May. 

Most Split Verdict: Ohio ‘Ethnic Intimidation’ Case Ends in Guilty Verdict for Assault, Exoneration for Hate Crime 

A Perry County jury found Joseph McCabe, who is white, guilty of assaulting his Black neighbor Leon Davis, although the former was exonerated of ethnic intimidation and aggravated menacing, according to an article from The Columbus Dispatch. Ethnic intimidation, notes the article, is the only hate crime statute in Ohio law. As a result of the conviction, McCabe could be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $1,000.

Most Murderous Verdict: Philly Man Guilty of Murdering Ex After Train Station Stabbing

Gilbert Newton III, of Philadelphia, was found guilty of first-degree murder after being accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death at a train station in Abington, according to an article from the Mainline Times & Suburban. Newton was said to have met Morgan Darlyn McCaffery at a secluded parking lot to “discuss their relationship” before brutally attacking her. Newton was immediately sentenced to life in prison, as is the mandatory term per state statute.

Most Gamer Verdict: Apple v Epic Case Finally Winding Down After Mixed-bag Verdict

The year-long legal battle between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games has reached a head as a judge ruled Apple acted anticompetitively, but not monopolistically, in its treatment of Epic Games’ hit game, according to an article from Mondaq. The case originated when Epic launched an in-app payment system that sought to circumvent Apple’s 30% cut for in-game purchases. As a result of the verdict, Apple will be disallowed from prohibiting developers from “providing communications or links which steers users away from in-app purchasing in the App Store.”

Most Technological Verdict: Man Admits to Hosting Cyber Attack Services Before Entering Not Guilty Plea

A California jury found Matthew Gatrel guilty of operating online services that allowed customers to launch “distributed denial-of-service” (DDoS) online attacks against websites and internet users, according to an article from Krebs on Security. Curiously, Gartrel admitted to running the services to the FBI prior to the trial but entered a not guilty plea in August anyway. The attacks stemming from the DDoS services targeted more than 200,000 banking, government, gaming and educational websites.