Personal Injury and Social Security Disability Blog

Has Your Lawyer Been Disciplined?

Courtesy of FindLaw, there is a list of appropriate agencies in each state that can tell you, usually online, whether a lawyer has been disciplined in that state. In Texas you just visit the State Bar site. Here is an explanation from FindLaw:

An important step in evaluating whether an attorney is right for you is investigating whether he or she has ever been disciplined.

All states have a disciplinary organization that closely monitors attorneys. If a complaint is made against an attorney, the state's organization will investigate the claim and determine whether or not the attorney has violated any ethical rules. If so, the organization will discipline the attorney as appropriate.

Attorneys can be disciplined for various reasons - from failing to pay their bar dues to misappropriating client funds to gross ethical violations. Some attorneys who have been disciplined are no longer eligible to practice law. You should never hire an attorney who is not currently eligible to practice law.

It is to your benefit to thoroughly research an attorney's disciplinary history. You should take into account any previous discipline taken and the circumstances surrounding the discipline.

The following state links will help you learn whether an attorney is currently eligible to practice law or has been disciplined in the past. If you need additional information regarding an attorney, follow up with the appropriate disciplinary committee.

PILMMA - Personal Injury Marketing and Management Association

Today is the first day of the Spring 2010 meeting of the Personal Injury Marketing and Management Association, one of my favorite legal organizations. This is the first PILMMA conference I've had to miss since its beginning in 2005. If you're not a member, you should contact PILMMA and sign up for the Fall meeting. PILMMA meets twice a year, with a third conference thrown in for the Platinum level members. It's terrific, and you should join.

These are seven things PILMMA will show you how to do:

1. Explode your caseload.
2. Increase the response and your return to all of your marketing.
3. Turn ALL of your employees into SUPERSTAR employees.
4. Develop and implement a strategic plan for your law firm’s growth.
5. Show you WHAT NOT to do when attempting to build a successful law firm.
6. Create systems that constantly generate new cases and referrals.
7. INCREASE YOUR BOTTOM LINE!

Please Attend TECHSHOW - April in Chicago

I've been attending TECHSHOW, presented by the American Bar Association almost since the beginning, many years ago. It's always a highlight of my year. The enormous amount of technical information presented is only one reason to attend. Equally important to me is the opportunity to meet in person with many of the friends I correspond with online.

This is one event that lawyers can't afford NOT to attend. Now is the time to learn about new technologies and new methods of doing business.

I  think TECHSHOW is absolutely wonderful, and I recommend it very highly. It's aimed more toward the solo and small firm lawyer, but there are seminar tracks for IT specialists and Big Law members as well. The exhibit area is fascinating and the hallway conversations are always fun. Check it out at TECHSHOW.com.

Here are some details, provided by the ABA:

•    ABA TECHSHOW is the world's premier legal technology CLE conference & expo. The three-day CLE conference is attended by more than 1,500 professionals each year and produces more than 50 legal technology CLE programs and training sessions in fifteen topical tracks.

•    The ABA TECHSHOW 2009 is presented by the ABA Law Practice Management Section, April 2-4, 2009, once again at the Hilton Chicago, in the magnificent Windy City!

•    TECHSHOW offers something for everyone—from new solos to large firm partners, from tech beginners to advanced IT directors—there are educational sessions for all. With plenty of “networking” time to talk with other lawyers and experts on the technology issues facing your firm.

•    The social networking and marketing with technology sessions, alone, are well worth the price of admission.  These seminars will help you generate new clients and new business from existing clients.

•    The growth of eDiscovery is not stopping due to recession, so lawyers must continue to learn and update their knowledge.

•    The sessions feature the best of the best in legal technology. Practicing lawyers and nationally-known legal technologists sharing practical strategies and ideas to build new business and make your firm or offices more efficient and cost-effective.

•    Expand your referral network by meeting other lawyers from around the country. Build relationships at organized activities such as TECHSHOW After Dark for entertainment, food and drinks. Participate in the Taste of ABA TECHSHOW and dine with speakers and other attendees at one of several Chicago restaurants.

•    Friday, April 3 is Solo & Small Firm Day, offering lawyers in these firms a special one-day admission with two all-day tracks of seminars especially for small firms.

•    ABA TECHSHOW also features a two-day expo. Learn about the latest products and services in the Expo Hall, featuring more than 100 companies providing the latest hardware, software, and technology services to attorneys and law firms.

•    Meet product and service vendors who may have more knowledge and experience than your local representative. No one wants to make a mistake buying the wrong software for the entire office. Make sure you are getting the right information before you buy!

•    One-day passes are available at discounted registration fees. Super passes are also available for groups up to 10 persons from the same firm or for ANY group of 10 people (submitting their registrations together and one 1 check) for one flat rate!

•    Attendance to the Expo Hall only is free with an Expo Hall Pass.

•    Take advantage of the world's premier legal technology CLE conference and expo at a substantial discount by registering before the February 28, early-bird deadline.

•    This year's featured keynote is Richard Susskind, author of The Future of Law, and his new sequel, The End of Lawyers?, who has 25 years of legal technology experience, and serves as Chair of the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information and has been IT Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England.

ATLAS Marketing And Management Conference

I want to thank Pennsylvania attorney Chris Munley for inviting me to be a speaker at the ATLAS conference last week in Phoenix. The conference was a tremendous success (in spite of the fact that I was a speaker), and I think all the participants enjoyed it greatly.

The next conference will be in March 2009 in Orlando.

ABA Techshow Is Finally Here!

It's Wednesday night before Techshow begins Thursday morning with a welcome from this year's Chair, my friend Tom Mighell. Having Tom as Chair of ABA Techshow surely means the 2008 conference will be even bigger and better than the other dozen or more that I've attended.

We've moved from the Sheraton to the Hilton Chicago, and my first impression is that this is a grand old hotel — very elegant. And the best news is that the exhibit area and the individual conferences will be on the same level of the hotel. This is unlike the Sheraton, where it seemed that a third of my time was spent on the escalators.

Tonight I had an excellent visit with online friends over dinner at Tamarind restaurant (highly recommended). My fascinating friends were Lisa Solomon, Allison Shields, Carolyn Elefant, Aviva Cuyler, Ed Poll, and Andy Simpson. To say we had a wide-ranging conversation would be a huge understatement...

The big show starts at 8:00 Thursday morning, and runs until at least 8:00 Thursday evening, at the ABA Techshow After Dark extravaganza.

if there are any Chicago area lawyers who haven't yet committed to attend ABA Techshow, it's not too late. Come on down to Michigan Avenue and join the fun!

Another Lawyer Joke - Alberto Gonzalez Named Lawyer Of The Year

The Journal of the American Bar Association has named disgraced former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez as their Lawyer of the Year for 2007. How disgusting. At a time when the reputation of lawyers is at an all-time low, do we really need the premier legal association in the United States calling attention to a lawyer who acted so shamelessly for so many years?

I understand that this award is similar to Time magazine's Person of the Year award, and that Time has named Adolf Hitler as Person of the Year because he was the most newsworthy person that year. Still, there are hundreds of thousands of good, honest lawyers in this country, and I think any one of them would be a better choice than Alberto Gonzalez.

For the first time in more than 30 years, I am seriously questioning why I continue to be a member of the American Bar Association.

Link of the Day - National Native American Bar Association

One highly-focused legal group is the National Native American Bar Association. Here is information from the Web site:

The National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) serves as the national association for Native American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. Founded in 1973 as the American Indian Lawyers Association, NNABA works to promote issues important to the Native American community and works to improve professional opportunities for Native American lawyers. NNABA strives to be a leader on social, cultural, political and legal issues affecting American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. NNABA encourages all attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students who share an interest in our mission to join NNABA as a regular member, associate member, or special member.

Link of the Day - Free Legal Help For Non-Profit Organizations

An important service of the Texas Bar Association is free legal help for non-profit organizations. Texas Community Building with Attorney Resources ("Texas C-BAR") is the only project of its kind in Texas, providing free business law services across the state to community-based nonprofits developing affordable housing and other much-needed services in low-income communities. Texas C-BAR was founded in 2000 with the support of the Texas Bar Foundation and continues as a successful program today due to the support we receive from more than 45 law firms, hundreds of volunteer attorneys, the State Bar, and numerous other funders and participants.

Texas C-BAR provides free legal assistance to Texas nonprofits working to improve the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods. We recruit experienced transactional attorneys, who volunteer to help these organizations with their real estate, tax, corporate, and employment law needs. From the Web site:

Texas C-BAR's Mission

Our mission is to improve the quality of life for low-income populations in Texas by providing pro bono business law resources to nonprofits and microentrepreneurs.

We fulfill this mission by:

1. providing pro bono referrals and direct services for nonprofits and microentrepreneurs on non-litigation legal matters, in addition to supporting our volunteer attorneys to help ensure the referrals are successful;
2. offering legal workshops, on-line resources, and publications on important legal issues affecting nonprofits; and
3. collaborating to address systemic legal barriers to community development in low-income communities.

Link of the Day - The J. L. Turner Legal Association

The J. L. Turner Legal Association is a long-time Dallas bar association for African-American lawyers. Over the years, this organization has done much good work for the African-American community and for the Dallas population as a whole. Here is information from their Web site:

Founded in 1952, J.L. Turner Legal Association ("JLTLA"), is the African-American bar association in Dallas, Texas. JLTLA is an organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life in our community through education, service and scholarship. The members of JLTLA provide scholarships to law students demonstrating financial or other needs, provide attorney mentors for law students, perform educational and other community outreach projects for North Texas area residents, and assist our members and the community to become more aware of  African-American attorneys who practice in various areas of the law.

Link of the Day - Journal Of The American Bar Association

I've been a member of the American bar Association pretty much since I began practicing, and I recommend it to all lawyers, even though the emphasis of the organization is definitely not on personal injury clients and Social Security disability claimants.

The Web site of the Journal of the American Bar Association provides a wealth of information on many legal topics, including law office management.