Real Lawyers Have Blogs : Law Blogs, Blawgs, Law Firm Marketing

Welcome back to the work week, readers...we trust you had a safe and happy Fourth of July, and that you're ready to immerse yourself in what our corner of the legal blogosphere has to offer on this fine afternoon. We've got a good batch of content today, some of which is highlighted below.

• Recent California decision addresses whether directors and officers can be liable for unpaid wages of a bankrupt company - San Francisco attorney Bob Eisenbach of Cooley Godward Kronish in the firm's In The (Red) Business Bankruptcy Blog
• New Connecticut law threatens $500,000 penalty for privacy violations - Los Angeles lawyer Joseph K. Wright of Proskauer Rose in the firm's Privacy Law Blog
• A case to watch re workplace monitoring: Sidell v. Structured Settlement Investments - San Diego attorney Justin A. Morello of Littler Mendelson in the firm's Workplace Privacy Counsel Blog
• Florida legislation moves toward renewable standards, cap-and-trade - San Francisco journalist Dennis Pfaff, blogging at Thelen's Climate Law Update
• Bits, bytes and potential pitfalls: e-discovery continued - Bakersfield attorney Terrence T. Egland of Klein Denatale Goldner in the firm's California Business Bankruptcy Blog
• Federal involvement - a good thing? - Waco lawyer Walter Reaves in his Texas Criminal Law Blog
• Clearly, a reason to avoid using intensifiers - Austin attorney D. Todd Smith in his Texas Appellate Law Blog
  
• Here's why you and your clients need an ESI policy - Johnette Hassell, founder and CEO of Electronic Evidence Retrieval LLC, in her Computer Forensics & E-Discovery Blog
• North Carolina Business Court decisions on appeal - Greensboro attorney Mack Sperling of Brooks Pierce LLP in his blog, the North Carolina Business Litigation Report
• ETUC passes resolution on nanotechnologies and nanomaterials - Washington, D.C. lawyer Lynn Bergeson of Bergeson & Campbell in the firm's Nanotechnology Law Blog

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As the long weekend comes to a close, it's time we reflect on a lot of things: what Independence Day means to us; what professional goals we're going to focus on now that the celebration is over; and, of course, what the state of the legal blogosphere may be on this fine Sunday. While LexBlog can't help you with the first two issues, the third certainly falls within our jurisdiction.

• Good time to review crisis management plans - Seattle attorney Ken Odza of Stoel Rives in the firm's Food Liability Law Blog
• A solo blast from the past: professor Stephen Gillers and "I'd Rather Do It Myself" - Washington, D.C. lawyer Carolyn Elefant at her blog, My Shingle
• Is Mr. Rogers really Dan Hull in disguise? - Chicago attorney Patrick J. Lamb of Valorem Law Group at his blog, In Search of Perfect Client Service
• The power of advisory boards - Columbus lawyer Teri Rasmussen of Lane Alton & Horst in her Ohio Practical Business Law Blog
• 10 reasons to outsource - Chicago attorney Sam Conforti in his Software Licensing & Master Service Agreements Blog

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Despite the fact that the holiday was yesterday, it seems like there were more folks blogging then than there are today...and interestingly enough, of the five posts we decided to showcase in the update below, three are from Texas-based attorneys.

• Plaintiff awarded $46 million dollar verdict in retaliation case - Texas attorney Christopher McKinney in his HR Lawyer's Blog
  
• Clients pay for lawyer's mistakes - Melbourne lawyer Nicholas Weston in his firm's Australian Trade Marks Law Blog
• When is "knowingly" bad conduct still an "occurence"? Apparently, more frequent than you thought in Texas - Texas lawyer Christopher Martin of Martin Disiere Jefferson & Wisdom, at the National Insurance Law Forum
• It ain't easy being a judge - Texas attorney Jeff Rambin in his Tyler Appeals Blog
• CSX battles hedge funds - a cautionary tale for pensions? - Financial risk manager Susan Mangiero of Pension Governance LLC in her blog, Pension Risk Matters

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Happy Fourth of July, folks. Since it's a holiday, today's update will be an abridged post...and, to get into the spirit of things, will focus on just blogs related to the nation's birthday. Read these, then go out and have some fun...but be safe, for crying out loud.

• Happy Fourth of July - and a bit of thanksgiving too - Aviva Cuyler of JD Supra at the legal resource site's accompanying blog, JD Scoop
• Celebrating the Fourth of July in the blogosphere - Attorney-mediator Victoria Pynchon in her Settle It Now Negotiation Blog
• Happy July 4th! - Hartford lawyer Daniel Schwartz of Pullman & Comley in his Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• Eating to live on the outside: the Fourth of July worst... - Nutrition blogger Gerald Pugliese at Dr. Joel Fuhrman's blog, Disease Proof
• Happy Fourth of July - Illinois attorney R. David Donoghue of DLA PIper in his Chicago IP Litigation Blog

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Despite the fact that this was only a four day week, LexBlog managed to break its own record in terms of blog launches: we've seen nine new projects go out the door since Monday.

The blogs debuted between June 30 and July 3 were:

• The Pennsylvania Fiduciary Litigation Blog, a trusts & estates law blog focusing on estate planning issues. All content is written by Lancaster attorney Patti Spencer.
• The Maine Injury, Accident & Disability Law Blog, from Portland lawyer Joe Bornstein. Joe's personal injury law blog aims at providing relevant news on injury and wrongful death issues to residents of the Pine Tree State.
• From Columbus attorney Teri Rasmussen of Lane Alton & Horst, we debuted the Ohio Practical Business Law Blog. Teri's business law blog offers guidance to professionals geared at helping them make legally informed business decisions.
• The Florida Special Needs Law Blog, from Miami lawyer David Lillesand. A disability law blog, it focuses on providing commentary on special needs trusts and related issues.
• An environmental law blog from Cleveland attorney Joe Koncelik of Frantz Ward, aptly titled the Ohio Environmental Law Blog and focusing on issues related to environmental regulation.
• The 13th blog to go live from the lawyers & attorneys at Sheppard Mullin: the China Law Blog, a business law blog focusing on the latest developments in Chinese law and authored by attorneys from the firm's Shanghai office.
• The Life Sciences Legal Update, a health care law blog (and the second LexBlog project to date) from the AmLaw 200 firm Reed Smith LLP.
  
• A workers' compensation law blog from Georgia attorney Seth Bader, called the Atlanta Workers' Compensation Law Blog and focusing on helping injured employees obtain their well-deserved medical treatment or compensation.
• The Technology Law Update, from the lawyers & attorneys at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP. This technology law blog highlights discussion on court decisions and legal developments impact technology and privacy law.

Quite a haul for just four days. Check back next week to see what else we've got coming up...and have a happy, safe Fourth of July.

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Today's post leads us into the long weekend, which should come as a welcome relief to many of the blogging attorneys who haven't had a break from the legal world since Memorial Day. But before you head out of town for the Fourth, why not take a glimpse at the ten fine posts we've collected below?

• Getting prior IME reports - Las Vegas attorney Tim Titolo in his Brain & Spine Injury Law Blog
• Fireworks more dangerous for children than adults - The blogging lawyers & attorneys at Regan Zambri & Long in the firm's DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog
• Texas franchise tax: updates since June 5th to the Comptroller's Frequently Asked Questions web page regarding the revised franchise tax - part 2 - Dallas lawyer Alan E. Sherman in his Texas State & Local Tax Law Blog
• DOJ backlog and ex DOJ honors applicant makes waves - Juliet Sallette at LaBovick & LaBovick in the firm's Whistleblower Law Blog
• A client's conduct may have far reaching implications - New Jersey attorney Sandra C. Fava of Fox Rothschild in the firm's NJ Family Legal Blog
• The Supreme Court strands beneficiaries of retirement and health benefits - Harper Jean Tobin & Simon Lazarus, attorneys with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, guest blogging at the American Constitution Society's ACS Blog
• Restraint of trade issue #1: restricting who can sell or provide preneed - Kansas attorney William Statler in his Death Care Compliance Law Blog
• Pennsylvania Superior Court: no need to afford contractor opportunity to cure breach - Philadelphia lawyer Max Kennerly of The Beasley Firm in his blog, Litigation + Trial
• Chamber of Commerce spends millions trying to take away citizen's right to a jury trial - Spartanburg attorney Ray Mullman of Poliakoff & Associates in the firm's South Carolina Nursing Home Blog
• FCC begins investigation of embedded advertising and sponsorship identification - Washington, D.C. lawyer David Oxenford of Davis Wright Tremaine in the firm's Broadcast Law Blog

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Okay, Francis Pileggi, a Delaware corporate litigation lawyer, didn't exactly rock the WSJ. But the Journal did pick up another one of his blog posts in it's 'Stories from the Web' in the Law Section of the online Journal.

As an influential law blogger on corporate issues, Pileggi's's blog posts keep popping up all around the net. Ranges from main stream publications like the journal to widely read law blogs published by corporate law professors or corporate lawyers. Great thing it's happening for free and with out any overt effort (except for effective blogging) to push the content on folks.

It's happening via the magic of RSS and the syndication of content. Just like the AP is syndicating general news to newspapers across the country, Pileggi is syndicating corporate law news to major publications and bloggers whose audiences are comprised of readers Pileggi wants to reach.

Here's a screen shot from today's WSJ referencing Pileggi's blog, the subject blog post, a link to his blog, and links to blog posts referencing Pileggi's blog post.

How the heck do you get your content syndicated like this? Effective blogging. Not throwing up content randomly in an attempt to get high search engine rankings, but by engaging in relevant discussion among thought leaders in your field.

And it's within the reach of any of you. You need not be the world's greater writer, know technology like the back of your hand, nor have achieved rock star status in your field already. Blogging with a passion for your niche and a desire to be recognized as a thought leader is all that's required.

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Tons of chatter in the legal blogs this morning on a wide range of issues: from Zach Scruggs' sentencing to hands free cell phone laws to DWI-related blood tests, the discussion is lively and worth reading for anyone who has a free minute.

• Zach Scruggs gets 14 months prison time - Portland attorney David Rossmiller of Dunn Carney in the firm's Insurance Coverage Law Blog
• Extension period shortened for forms 1065, 1041 and 8804 - Chapel Hill lawyer Greg Herman-Giddens of TrustCounsel PA in his North Carolina Estate Planning Blog
• Supreme Court - AGAIN - reverses Superior Court on power of attorney case - Attorney Kendra McGuire of Barley Snyder in the firm's Pennsylvania Litigation Blog
• How do you cross-examine an ostrich? - New York lawyer Angelo Tartaro of Rogers & Tartaro in the firm's Business Litigation Blog
• DWI blood draw debate continues - Texas attorney Hunter Biederman in his Frisco DWI Lawyer & Attorney Blog
• Hang up and drive! Washington and California ban cell phone use while driving - Portland lawyer Dennis Westlind of Stoel Rives in the firm's employment law blog, World of Work
• Ethical questions raised in brain mapping research - Las Vegas attorney Tim Titolo in his Brain & Spine Injury Law Blog
• Wal-Mart takes another hit - Des Moines lawyer Liz Overton of Sullivan & Ward in the firm's Iowa Law Blog
• Concealing assets by conveying them - New York attorney Fred Abrams in his Asset Search Blog
• How will the court determine what parenting rights and responsibilities will be? - Manchester lawyer Kysa Crusco in her New Hampshire Family Law Blog

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I heard last week that LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, a traditional lawyer directory, had entered into an agreement with LinkedIn, the leading online professional networking site, whereby LinkedIn would provide Martindale a social networking function to the martindale.com website. May well have been what Martindale would only show folks the last 6 months if you signed an NDA (I refused).

Turns out it's true. LinkedIn is now powering a social networking function at martindale.com. Smart move on Martindale's part as the LinkedIn technology is far more advanced than anything than LexisNexis could think of or develop on its own. Also may give Martindale's web pages for law firm customers and lawyer customers better search engine performance, something Martindale has been struggling with.

I don't have time to review the arrangement in depth (caveat that I stand to be corrected), but here's a couple screen shot examples with a quick description of what I believe is taking place.

When you go to a law firm listing at Martindale, you'll see the LinkedIn icon to the right of the firm's name.

Click on the icon and you'll be prompted to see employees in the law firm who may be in your LinkedIn network. You'll also be prompted to share with LexisNexis the names and relationships of people within your professional network at LinkedIn, something LinkedIn could not share with LexisNexis contractually or without violating privacy laws without your permission. If LexisNexis collects the names and relationships in the network of its lawyer and law firm customers so as to include them in LexisNexis' data base, that'll be a coup.

More to come once I get a chance to look at more closely and hear some feedback from you guys.

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Today a new month begins, and with it comes our usual dose of legal news. A few familiar faces, a few others who are less frequently seen around these parts...but all writing on legal issues that are of importance to their respective industries.

• Copyright Office announces electronic registration - Washington, D.C. attorney Brian Wm. Higgins of Blank Rome in his Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog
• Might the U.S. Justice Department blow a hole in Switzerland's centuries-old banking-secrecy rule? - Miami lawyer Juan Antunez of Stokes McMillan Maracini & Antunez in his Florida Probate & Trust Litigation Blog
• Trial court has no jurisdiction to "reconsider" denial of post-judgment motion; must hold hearing on motion for remittitur - Birmingham attorney Craig N. Rosler of Lightfoot Franklin White in the firm's Alabama Appellate Watch Blog
• Third District dismisses appeal from judgment as untimely - appellant should have appealed trial court's alternative decree - Walnut Creek lawyer Kimberly M. Amick of Archer Norris in the firm's California Appellate Law Blog
• Sixth Circuit applies balancing test in retaliation case involving an employee's disclosure of confidential documents - Ohio attorney Rob Statler of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur in the firm's Employer Law Report
• Four-day work week wave is coming - Lancaster lawyer Michael Moore of McNees Wallace & Nurick in the firm's Pennsylvania Labor & Employment Blog
• Nebraska beef recall associated with E. coli outbreak linked to Kroger ground beef - The blogging lawyers & attorneys at Pritzker Ruohonen in the firm's Food Poisoning Law Blog
• Texas sales & use tax: a reminder from the Comptroller's office regarding sales of taxable items to direct payment permit holders - Dallas attorney Alan E. Sherman in his Texas State & Local Tax Law Blog
• Using accordions as a law firm marketing technique - Legal marketing expert Larry Bodine in his Law Marketing Blog
• ERISA attorney blogger comments on Tullis v. UMB Bank - Financial risk manager Susan Mangiero of Pension Governance LLC at her blog, Pension Risk Matters
  

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Back to the work week this morning, and a busy start at that (which partially explains why this post is coming so late in the day). MySpace, shareholder activism, and the substantial change doctrine are just a few of the issues making news with these bloggers today.

• Delaware law on shareholder consents and removal of directors at heart of InBev bid for Anheuser-Busch - Wilmington attorney Francis G.X. Pileggi of Fox Rothschild in his Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog
• CDA protects MySpace from underage user's negligence claim - Washington, D.C. lawyer Scott J. Carpenter of Proskauer Rose in the firm's Privacy Law Blog
• Re-approval of expired entitlements can track prior CEQA documentation, subject to the substantial change doctrine - Sacramento attorney Katherine J. Hart of Abbott & Kindermann in the firm's Land Use Law Blog
• IRS standard mileage rate change - Lancaster lawyer Matthew Grosh of Russell Krafft & Gruber in the firm's Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog
• Establishing your credibility: nothing to do with lunch - Adrian Lurssen at JD Supra in the legal resource site's accompanying blog, JD Scoop
• From preemption to ERISA standing, and lots of things in-between - Massachusetts attorney Stephen D. Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm in his Boston ERISA & Insurance Litigation Blog
• The real problem with radio - The Media Institute's vice president Richard T. Kaplar in his organization's Media & Communications Policy Blog
• Changes for 2009 in Arizona - Gilbert lawyer Stephen Follett in his Arizona Estate Planning & Probate Blog
• Shareholder activism and the "eclipse of the public corporation" - Philadelphia attorney Max Kennerly of The Beasley Firm in his blog, Litigation & Trial
• 4G and the mobile web: WiMAX vs LTE - Chicago lawyer Sam Conforti in his Software Licensing & Master Service Agreements Blog

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