The Greatest American Lawyer

Denise Howell, Evan Brown, Enrico Schaefer and Ashley Packard on "This Week in Law"

A big thanks to Denise Howell who invited me to participate on her popular "This Week in Law" netcast televised on Twit.tv.  In this weeks episode titled "Little Orphan Schweddy Balls," the panel of internet and technology attorneys (and Ashley Packard,Ph.D., Professor of Communications and Digital Media Studies at University of Houston) discuss a cornucopia of legal issues from copyright trolling, social media law and a variety of other issues. 

Hosts:

Denise Howell: is an appellate, intellectual property, and technology lawyer, an internet blogger and columnist, and podcast host.

Evan Brown: is a technology and intellectual property law lawyer, as well as a blogger. on his blog "Internet Cases - a blog about law and technolgy," Evan shares his thoughts on internet issues related to copyright, trademarks, DMCA, open source, pivacy, and a host of other web related issues.

Guests:

Ashley Packard, Ph.D.: is a Professor of Communications and Digital Media Studies at University of Houston.  Her courses include Digital Media Law & Ethics Seminar, Media Law, Communication Ethics and Mass Media & Society.

Enrico Schaefer: is Founder of Traverse Legal, PLC. Enrico is a seasoned trial attorney practicing in areas such as internet and domain law, cybersquatting, technology and intellectual property, UDRP and IP licensing, trademark and related matters. 

 

Keyword Domain Name for Lawyers: Internet Lawyer Parking Page?

Many lawyers use the internet for marketing.  From Blogs to Facebook, Twitter and Google+, the debate over whether lawyers should market online ended long ago.  Virtually, every law firm now does so.  Many law firms register their firm name as the domain name.  But domain names which match the search query in Google still get a healthy bump. 

Check these Google search results for the phrase “internet lawyer.”  Note that the third result is www.internetlawyer.com, which is a parking page at Google.

Of course, if you are really looking for an internet lawyer, we recommend our own law firm, Traverse Legal, PLC.

The Email Inbox as a Communications Database

One of the challenges that every lawyer faces when they sit down at their desk in the morning is managing the various software applications running on their computer and the data and communications which run through their systems.  In order to survive the prospect of information overload, attorneys need to try and assemble their most important information, tasks and data in a single place.  While it is not likely possible to get everything under one application, the obvious storage area for everything an attorney needs day in and day out is the email inbox.

There are several challenges to manipulating information in the inbox, not the least of which is the fact that email now gets sent from a variety of different devices from the desktop, laptop, cell phone and iPad.  Whenever you’re away from your main computer, you should consider setting up your email to blindcopy yourself on every communication.  This means that everything that you send ends up in your inbox, even if it’s not in your primary “sent” folder.  

Don’t Focus Your Lawyer Marketing on the “Deal Hunter” Population

Law is a moving target.  So is legal marketing.  In an age of commoditized legal services, new business models for law, legal services on the internet, Legal Zoom, Trademarkia and so many others, lawyers sometimes may make the mistake of getting caught up in the “lowest price” game. 

There is a danger to focusing on the “deal hunter” niche of the market.  These are people who are always shopping around.  For them, price is the most important factor irrespective of quality.  These are not the prospective clients that any lawyer or their law firm should be trying to attract. 

Instead, focus on long-term relationships.  If a client is overly consumed by price, they may not be around for long anyway.  Even if you offer a lower price, they will push the next attorney to a slightly better discount.

Many Lawyers Hate Their Job. But How To Escape?

Alan Henry at Lifehacker.com provides 10 tips for escaping your crappy job in his article titled “Ten Things To Do While Planning Your Escape from an Awful Job.”  Here’s a summary of what Alan suggests you should do prior to leaving your horrible job:

Are Blogs Headed Towards the Graveyard?

Jeff Bullas over at the jeffbullas.com blog addresses the question of whether blogs are dying out and social media sites such as Facebook are taking over.  Bullas reports that blogs are not dying but instead evolving.  According to the “State of The blogosphere 2010" report published by Technorati, blogs are in a state of transition as the lines between blogs and social media sites disappear. As noted by Bullas, the Technorati report revealed several trends that are emerging in the blogosphere: