Robert Ambrogi,
a lawyer
in Rockport, MA, is vice president for editorial services at Jaffe Associates and director of WritersForLawyers.

He is author of the book, The Essential Guide to the Best (and Worst) Legal Sites on the Web

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FindLaw adds lawyers' 'experience records'
More interesting news from FindLaw today -- the launch of the Thomson Legal Record, described as "a first-of-its-kind resource designed to help in-house corporate attorneys make more informed decisions when hiring outside counsel." The idea is a good one: enable users to research and verify an attorney's real-world litigation experience by combining a high-level view of an attorney's litigation history drawn from Westlaw with an attorney's West Legal Directory profile and published articles on FindLaw.com.

While the idea is good, the execution is selective. First, it displays litigation histories only for certain attorneys. As far as I can tell, whether a history displays for a given attorney appears to be tied to whether the attorney has a paid listing in the West Legal Directory. I don't, so in place of a litigation history next to my name appears a LawCrawler search field. Second, for those lawyers whose histories are displayed, you can read the cases only if you have a Westlaw account, so non-Westlaw subscribers are out of luck.

Try it yourself. You can go directly to the Thomson Legal Record or find it by going to either the FindLaw Corporate Counsel Center or the FindLaw for Legal Professionals Web site. FindLaw's announcement says that, in the coming months, it will expand the Thomson Legal Record to draw on additional information resources, including Thomson Financial. These resources will enable users to assess transactional data and additional dimensions of lawyer and law firm expertise and experience.

posted by Robert Ambrogi at 8:22 PM :: |

 
WisBlawg focuses on legal research and Internet news
The University of Wisconsin Law Library has launched WisBlawg, a blog offering legal research and Internet news and information with an emphasis on Wisconsin. According to reference and electronic services librarian Bonnie Shucha, the blog will report on new Web research resources and technologies, legal research news, announcements of local workshops and events, and more. WisBlawg offers an ATOM feed for those wishing to subscribe using a news reader, as well as updates via e-mail.

posted by Robert Ambrogi at 10:28 PM :: |

 
LW USA reports on ABA proposal to cut standing committee
Lawyers Weekly USA reports on the proposal to cut funding for the ABA's Standing Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners: ABA May Eliminate Funding for Small-Firm Committee. Reporter Reni Gertner writes:

"The ABA Standing Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners would no longer receive funding under a proposal that is pending before the ABA Board of Governors - which will decide the fate of the committee at the ABA's annual meeting in Atlanta next week."

posted by Robert Ambrogi at 10:08 PM :: |

 
More on lawyer bloggers at the DNC
Speaking of TalkLeft and Jeralyn Merritt, she made the lede of The New York Times story on DNC bloggers. (Thanks to Peter Nordbert at Blog 702 for the pointer.)

Meanwhile, Denise Howell IDs other lawyer bloggers at the DNC: DailyKos, Allen Larson and Tom Burka.

posted by Robert Ambrogi at 2:20 PM :: |

 
Lawyers among the bloggers at the DNC
One of the most thoughtful and provocative lawyer-written blogs is TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime, and TalkLeft blogger -- and criminal defense lawyer -- Jeralyn E. Merritt is among the roster of convention bloggers. I'm glad the bloggers are there to provide their unique perspectives on the convention. But as I read their reports, I am all the more aware of the extent to which these events are orchestrated to play best to the TV. Jeralyn's report, "Clinton ends with, Send Me. The crowd chants and cheers in response," reveals nothing of the emotion only a camera can convey. The DNC bloggers should avoid efforts at real-time reporting and spend their time digging behind the scenes, showing us what the cameras will not.

More revealing than bloggers at the DNC would be a cadre of guerilla videographers, taking their cameras behind the scenes, away from the scripted events and  celebrity politicians, and streaming what they find over the Internet.


posted by Robert Ambrogi at 8:40 AM :: |

 
FindLaw acquires Hubbard One
This just-released announcement from Thomson Corp. promises to reshape the field of law firm Web design, but the question is in what way:

FindLaw Acquires Hubbard One

EAGAN, Minn., July 26, 2004 - FindLaw®, a Thomson business (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), today announced the company has acquired Hubbard One, the legal profession's leading provider of marketing applications to large U.S. law firms. The combination of Hubbard One and FindLaw creates the legal industry's broadest, most comprehensive and first fully integrated suite of business and marketing applications, connected to the world's largest, best-qualified audiences and communities. The acquisition also accelerates FindLaw's strategy to be the legal profession's premier provider of business and client development products and services.

Hubbard One joins FindLaw on the heels of FindLaw's acquisition of Glasser LegalWorks and the launch of the Thomson Legal Record, an innovative service that enables in-house corporate counsel to do due diligence by researching the litigation track record of outside lawyers and law firms. The combined strength of these services enables large law firms to build profitable relationships with current and prospective clients by tapping into established and engaged audiences of corporate counsel, business professionals, consumers and legal professionals in person, in print and on the Web.

Through the acquisition, Hubbard One will become part of FindLaw, aligned with the Thomson Legal & Regulatory market group. Hubbard One's operations, employees and management will continue to be based in Chicago. Hubbard One President and CEO John Fish will join FindLaw as vice president and general manager, Hubbard One. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

(snip, snip)
posted by Robert Ambrogi at 10:08 AM :: |

 
Laughing at lawyers and the law
Law.com today published my survey of legal humor sites, Laughing at Lawyers and the Law.
posted by Robert Ambrogi at 9:09 AM :: |