Strategist

Your online reputation can be one of your most valuable assets. A significant amount of time and money is spent to ensure that prospective clients have a positive first impression. However, the internet is a fickle mistress and a single unhappy client can undo all your hard work. What should you do when someone is tarnishing your reputation? Should you sue? Fall From Grace That was the answer for one attorney according to a recent article by the ABA Journal.

In case you haven't learned, you are wrong. It's as universally true as the Earth is the center of the universe. By the way, everybody except Copernicus used to believe that. Of course, they were wrong. So unless you are Copernicus, it's a good idea to admit that you are wrong -- at least sometimes. In life and in law practice, it is the beginning of understanding.

One of the most amazing things about living in the world today is having a wealth of information right at your fingertips. This can be annoying for many professionals, who more and more often are encountering clients who think their Google search can replace a professional degree. However, despite the frustrations that come with the rise in legal self-help forms, there are ways attorneys can use them to leverage new business.

The defense is that the paperwork just got overlooked. But how does that happen if one defendant is a former MoFo partner with a Stanford / Ivy League education? The facts will no doubt unfold further as Jonathan Dickstein, and his wife, Barclay Lynn, are arraigned for charges they defrauded the San Francisco school district and the state of California in the amount of $400,000.

There are a thousand things lawyers should do in court. Always respect the judge, make eye contact with jurors, be civil to opposing counsel, etc. But there are at least three rules for in-chambers conferences, and the most important rule is about what NOT to do. Think of it like the moment the gate comes down at a railroad crossing. In-Chambers Conferences Generally, chambers conferences serve to help the judge and attorneys communicate about procedural matters.

Raj Tanden got some good news and some bad news from the California State Bar Court. The good news was that the court's review panel found no moral turpitude for his misdemeanor DUI's. That was huge because moral turpitude can mean disbarment. The bad news was that the court recommended he be suspended for a year, far more discipline than the disciplinary judge ordered. It just goes to show there's nothing good about driving under the influence or being in the crosshairs of the State Bar.