Blawgs

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I know, I know, you’re busy! Who isn’t these days? So, unless you’re a techy, you probably aren’t into this whole blogging craze.

Fact is, there’s a lot to be learned by checking out the “blawgs,” or law-related blogs. Perhaps earmarking a half-hour or hour on a Friday afternoon for it, as a way to wind down into the weekend, might actually be a productive use oaf your time.

It didn’t take me long to mine (what I think are) some choice blawg nuggets, as listed below.

Calling all Supreme Court Junkies!

A visit to SCOTUSBlog, at www.scotusblog.com/movabletype, published by mega-law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP, is definitely in order.

This blog posts tons of info about the court, including “Petitions to watch,” “Statpack,” discussing who’s written what decision, the number of 5-4 splits and unanimous decisions, etc., not to mention all kinds of background and follow-up information about recent high cour decisions, analysis and loads of commentary.

I think it’s fair to say that it rivals the High Court’s own site with regard to the volume of available information. The blog relies upon eight contributors — usually a blog is a solo venture — which probably accounts for the depth of info.

Bad with Names — or No Names

Attorney Matt Homann likes to put tips he calls the “Idea Garage Sale” on his blog, the [non]billable hour, at http://thenonbillablehour.typepad.com/nonbillable_hour. Among my favorites was: “If you are unable to remember someone’s first name, simply ask them: ‘What’s your name?’ When they reply with their first name, laugh and say, ‘Oh no, I knew that, of course. I meant your last name.’ This is a much more acceptable thing to forget — and you still get their full name.”

On the topic of names, here’s his tip for you judges who might want to make a cell phone call or a call from chambers, and don’t want a call-back: “With your cell, just start the number you are calling with the *67, as if the phone number begins with those three digits. The important thing to remember is that you will need to put the 1 in before the area code, as cells don’t normally need the 1.

“For example, enter *6714145551212 before hitting the talk button will lead the receiver’s caller ID to read ‘restricted.’”

Sorry, Gotta Go!

Jim Calloway, the director of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Management Assistance Program, hosts “Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog” at http://jimcalloway.typepad.com/lawpracticetips.

OK, Jim, the title of your blog is a tad boring, but your content isn’t. He pointed me to www.sorrygottago.com, where you can cue up sound effects to get off the phone, such as street or construction noise. Very humorous. On the more practical side, he discusses the importance of “whitelisting” spam filters so that electronically-generated court notices get through, and some of the best legal technology magazines. He likes Law Technology News at www.lawtechnews. com/r5/home.asp. It’s free.

Free Legal Tech Tips

Speaking of free stuff, Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, at www.legaline.com/lawsites .html, is one of my favorite tech-related blogs because he writes … in English, rather than tech-speak.

Moreover, a recent visit offered a boatload of ideas for lawyers who are conservative with their cash.

Namely, in an article he posted on Web 2.0, he mentions Webhuddle at www.webhuddle.com/ for free virtual meetings — as opposed to using Webex, at 33 cents per minute per user, and Thumbstacks at www.thumbstacks.com/, a free site for making and sharing presentations on the Web.

For you estate planners, he directs you to Mystatewill.com, which offers an intestacy calculator, as well as a federal estate tax calculator and an interactive summary of state laws. It’s at www.mystatewill.com/ specific_states.htm.

Finally, he introduced me to www. rememberthemilk.com/, so I won’t forget my daughter’s favorite beverage ever again. This site sends reminders of what you need to do via e-mail, text message or IM. Plus, you have to love its very cute cow logo.

Are You on Wikipedia or in Google Images?

On Larry Bodine’s LawMarketing Blog, at http://blog.larrybodine.com/, he writes that he knows he’s “arrived” because there’s a description of him on Wikipedia. He suggests checking out if you’re there, too.

(FYI, I checked Wikipedia to see if our former State Bar of Wisconsin president is on there. Here’s what came up for Steve Levine: “Steve worked with many now classic punk acts The Clash, The Jags, The Vibrators, as well as many of CBS records pop acts, including Sailor.” Rock on, Steve! OK, so Wikipedia has its flaws and there’s more than one Steve Levine out there.)

Bodine also suggests Googling yourself, and checking for Google images as well. There are multiple images of Steve, and his successor, Tom Basting Sr. Ann Richmond, publisher of Wisconsin Law Journal, is there as well. Looks like she’s arrived, too!

Wisconsinites in the Blogosphere

Are the producers of The View discriminating by looking for a woman to replace Rosie O’Donnell? And what about John Travolta? Since Divine first created the character of Edna in Hairspray, must all successors be male as well? What about this whole BFOQ thing? These and other questions are probed on Althouse at http://althouse.blogspot.com/, hosted by University of Wisconsin Law Professor Ann Althouse.

For liberal politics, check out Madison attorney Ed Garvey’s GarveyBlog at www.fightingbob.com/weblog.cfm. On the other side of the political spectrum, there’s Shark and Shepherd at http://sharkandshepherd.blogspot.com/, by Milwaukee lawyer and Marquette adjunct law professor Rick Esenberg.

Or, for a little of both, there’s Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyers Blog, by Brookfield lawyer Frank Pasternak, at http://wisconsinpersonalinjurylawyers.blogspot.com. Pasternak, mostly a Democrat, recently praised Fred Thompson as a potential Republican presidential candidate who is opposed to tort reform.

By Now, You’ve Gotten the Idea

What has appealed to me, might or might not be useful or of interest to you. Moreover, as this was written over a month before it went to press, this is all ancient news — frequent updates are what make good law blogs great — as is a sense of humor, something you usually don’t find on traditional law firm sites.

Happy surfing!