Legal Business Marketing: Viral Videos and the Legal Advertising Paradigm
Legal advertising has a standard format that is problematically recognizable. Since the flood gates were open to attorney and law firm marketing in 1977, massive amounts of money and time have been invested into soliciting clients. Though the Court’s intent in allowing such advertising was for public good, many feel as though the law and legal profession as a whole has taken a black eye from this new found ability to advertised. This essay aims to examine the current form of legal business advertising, how it was developed, and how it might su…
Creating a Better Initial Client Interview
Initial client interviews are important for a lot of reasons. Here are two ways you can create a better initial interview no matter which side of the desk you are on. Understand the Purpose of the Interview Understanding the why of something can greatly influence the what and the how. As for initial client interviews, “[t]he purpose … is to obtain as much information in respect to the situation presented by the client … [and] to sell the attorney’s services.” By moving from an unstructured and reactive interview to one that is pointed …
Microsoft Word Hack: Auto Populating Repeated Words in a Document
Using document properties in Microsoft Word will allow you to set fields throughout the document that when you fill in one, they all will be filled in with the same word(s). Here is what you do: Step 1 If you haven’t already, turn on the Developer Tab . You can learn how to do that HERE . Step 2 Open a form pleading in Microsoft Word (or a pleading you would like to convert into a form). I’ve used this on petitions for the typical cases I take and discovery documents. Anything I can do to reduce the time spent on discovery …
Grandparent “Keys to the Courthouse” in Idaho
When assisting grandparents with concerns about the custody and wellbeing of their grandchildren, there are more options in Idaho other than seeking a guardianship. As explained by the Idaho Supreme Court in Overholser v. Overholser , 164 Idaho 503, 432 P.3d 52 (2018) , grandparents in Idaho hold several “keys to the courthouse” in such situations: "Magic Keys" by cogdogblog is licensed under CC0 1.0 The De Facto Custodian Act under Idaho Code § 32-1701 In certain situations, a grandparent can be deemed a de facto cus…
Leadership: Young and In Charge (for some reason)
I have been very fortunate in my legal career to have some big responsibilities at a relatively young age. Some of this has absolutely been due to being in the right place at the right time. So much of success seems to be timing and taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. But there are several things I can point to as being important to what I’ve been able to accomplish. "Head of Youth" is licensed under CC BY 3.0. Say yes (when it won't overload you) I was recently driving through Grand Teton National Park…
