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The Friday Five

Follow the Leaders

By The Editors

One of the nicest things about Attorney at Work, from our perspective, is getting to know so many smart and dedicated people. (Have you checked our Experts list lately? Wow!) Those who serve as our Advisors are among a select few who set and predict trends in the business of practicing law. We’ve known some of them for decades, and they always teach us something new. Once in a while, we like to share with you what they’ve been doing or writing. To that end, today’s Friday Five relates several intriguing articles from around the web. See if you don’t agree that we know the most interesting people.

1. Good design is really no different from good manners. Like it or not, a lot of our time is spent looking at screens, tablets, paper … all sorts of media. After consuming all those messages with their words, pictures, sounds and lots more, you start to feel you know good communication design from bad, right? Well, maybe. Maybe not. You can be dead sure on that front, though, after spending five minutes with Burkey Belser (@BurkeyBelser) and his instructions to art directors, “Quick, You’ve Got Three Seconds. What’s Your Takeaway?” Now, take a look at your own marketing materials and see if they hold up.

2. Step away from tagline debates and ad campaigns. Here’s more focus on design, and then some — this time from Jordan Furlong (@Jordan_Law21). Always interested in taking a new angle on an existing topic, Jordan turns law firm branding on its head in his post “UX and the Future of Law Firm Branding,” by examining it from the perspective of user experience. Jordan maintains that “every point of contact between the firm and its clients is another data point in the firm’s true brand.” Brands are not built through advertising slogans or marketing campaigns, he says. The consumers themselves identify and validate the brand through their own experience. And that brand may not necessarily be what the law firm expects.

3. Winners predict how each justice will vote. While we’re on the subject of the unexpected, on his LawSites blog, Bob Ambrogi (@BobAmbrogi) takes a look at a one of the more unusual impacts of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Not only has the Justice’s sudden death disrupted the courts and congress, it has put a spanner in the works over at FantasySCOTUS. In “Scalia’s Death Disrupts Not Only SCOTUS, but Also FantasySCOTUS,” Bob explores the inner workings of this “sports” league where players (usually lawyers and judges) attempt to predict how each justice will vote in a particular case. How will they handle the empty chair in the court?

4. I don’t remember a rules change! For a couple of decades, there has been talk of accounting firms and law firms joining forces. The hysteria produced by the first of the rumors, back in the early 1990s, has quieted down some. And while global accounting firms with in-house law practices do exist in other places, it has never materialized in North America. Until now. In “Deloitte Purchases Conduit Law,” on his Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices blog, Gerry Riskin (@Riskin) reports — with some surprise — the recent melding of a global accountancy and “new law” practice.

5. Hackers’ determination knows no bounds. Some surprises — like Gerry’s — may be good. But not this one. In Slaw: Canada’s Online Legal Magazine, Dan Pinnington (@DanPinnington) warns of yet another trap lurking on the Internet. Fortunately, in his post, “Danger: When a Hacker Emails You Instructions in the Name of Your Client,” he includes guidance on how to trip up the tricksters. Take notes! (While you’re there, take a browse around Slaw. Another of our Advisors, Steve Matthews (@SteveMatthews), is the publisher, and it is jammed with wonderful legal content. Even if you’re not Canadian.)

Categories: Daily Dispatch, Friday Five, Legal Technology, Managing a Law Firm
Originally published April 1, 2016
Last updated May 11, 2020
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