ABA Section of Business Law
ABA Section of Business Law
Business Law Today
May / June 2000
Snap judgments
Partner? No, thanks
Who wants to be a partner? Not associates, and that’s their final answer.
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin recently reported that associates aren’t as excited about the brass ring of partnership as they once were. According to a NALP Foundation study cited in the article, the big reason for associates’ lack of interest is the long hours they expect to put in if they make partner.
"What we’re seeing is that associates are really watching the lifestyles of partners, and in particular, the outrageous hours they work," said NALP Foundation Executive Director Paula A. Patton. "Associates see no end in sight to the grueling workload that they’re carrying ... and some of them are saying, ‘No.’"
Further, the study found that associates today are more interested in career-advancing skill development than in moving up with their current employer.
Perhaps it’s time the firm considered setting up some lifelines for those over-worked partners.
Keep in touch the e-way
You’ve got mail! While it may be disappointing to discover that the message is from your lawyer, not Tom Hanks, more and more lawyers and clients are turning on their computers to stay in touch.
According to a recent study by The Affiliates legal staffing service, 68 percent of lawyers e-mail clients daily and 56 percent say they even include sensitive information in their electronic messages. Those numbers are up from just two years ago when only 42 percent of those surveyed said they e-mailed clients daily and most would not send confidential information in an e-mail.
According to The Affiliates, improved technology is the basis for expanded use of e-mail. "Greater dependence by businesses on electronic communication, along with more reliable network security systems that protect privileged attorney-client information, are among several factors contributing to increased e-mail use."
Keeping track
For the sheer entertainment value of its name alone, "Who’s Suing Whom: Trademark Edition" is a must see. This cleverly titled resource is the latest addition to InterLingua.com’s free, searchable online databases, which chronicle cases in a variety of areas.
While we have not had the chance to log on to www.whossuingwhom
.com to check out it out for ourselves, we imagine being greeted by a recording of James
Earl Jones booming the title as white block letters rise from the bottom of the screen,
welcoming us to a database far, far away.
"Our database of patent cases has proven so popular that we’ve decided to add trademark cases," said InterLingua.com manager Jennifer Gilbert. "Attorneys will undoubtedly find this service helpful when conducting research on behalf of their clients."
We imagine that sending users free popcorn and ju-ju beans would result in "Who’s Suing Whom: The Trademark Edition" coming soon to more computer screens across the country.
Taking stock
Tired of billing hassles? Well, if your client is in one of the many new high-tech companies coming on the scene, you may be able to clear the account by getting paid shares of stock.
According to a recent article in Crain’s New York Business, many law firms are making use of the stock-option payment plan.
"If you have a very small company, the only currency you often have is your stock," said Anthony Huston, whose Internet Financial Services Inc. paid its legal fees with 112,500 shares in the company.
After the initial public offering, Internet Financial’s stock soared to $23 a share, yielding a hefty windfall for their outside counsel.
Of course there are some questions about conflicts of interest stemming from this stock-for-service plan. Stay tuned.
The real masters?
If you thought the unsolicited legal advice from your uncle was a bit tedious, brace yourself, because Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s master’s in jurisprudence program could add a few more armchair quarterbacks to the legal game.
According to university officials, Loyola currently offers M.J. degrees to nonlawyers — such as doctors and social workers — to help them learn the ins and outs of the law as it relates to their field. The two-year, part-time program in health law has already graduated 170 students. Degrees are also offered in child law and business law.
"We had many doctors, nurses and other health professionals who were enrolled in our four-year evening part-time program who did not intend to practice law," said law school Dean Nina Appel. "Some of these students had come to us to learn how the law affected medicine or health-related fields. We decided we could offer a more focused, shorter and better education."
While the program may be winning accolades in U.S. News and World Report’s national law school ratings, the real question remains: What do the M.J. students think it’s going to take to get the Forty-Niners on track next season?
What’s in a name?
Just as a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, a lawyer by any other name would, well, still be a lawyer.
Despite the high-falutin’ names that The Affiliates legal staffing service says are coming into vogue, it sounds to us like a way to put a legal professional in sheep’s clothing.
In its "2000 Salary Guide," The Affiliates lists "new positions within law firms and corporate legal departments" that "are expected to become more prevalent in coming years."
Among those listed are: contract manager, a person who "negotiates, drafts and reviews contracts"; patent agent, a person who "conduct[s] patent research and filing; and floating legal secretary, a person who can perform secretarial work for different departments."
Of course all these name changes may leave the new patent agent at the firm wondering whether she needs to see the floating legal secretary or the "hybrid" receptionist about getting her business cards printed.
—Heather Brewer
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