Posts on ‘February 9th, 2009’

The ABA’s new social network, LegallyMinded, attempts to combine the best features of the top social networking sites with substantive legal information from the ABA’s library. Its lack of user connectivity makes it fall short as a social network, but it does work well as a portal.

In the middle of giving a presentation, do you ever feel like you’ve suddenly morphed into Ben Stein’s character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” as far as the audience is concerned? It’s not a good sign if listeners look like they expect you to start saying, “Anyone? Anyone?” If you have had this experience, or dread the thought of having it in the future, then read consultant Joey Asher’s list of 10 challenges that listeners face during a presentation, to help you improve your skills as a speaker.

The number of newly minted partners at law firms has generally plummeted since last year — an obvious bow to economic reality. But then how to explain that some firms have increased their number of new partners over their numbers last year — even firms that have had layoffs, like Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft? Some firms may be acting on decisions or promises made long ago, when the economy was not such an issue. And it’s likely that there are more new income rather than equity partners among the batch.