Wisconsin Law Journal – WI Legal News & Resources Wisconsin Legal News & Resources

What’s in a name? A nontraditional name can help a firm stand out Bio mechanics Balancing the amount of info in an online bio isn’t easy Put me in, coach A good coach can help push your team over the top Keep ‘em motivated Creative thinking — and some cold hard cash — can help keep spirits up A place ...

Joshua M. Koch is a real Boy Scout. The civil litigator at Arndt, Buswell & Thorn in Sparta highlights his Eagle Scout award in his online firm biography. Koch also advertises his love of hunting and fishing, personal tidbits which often prove useful in connecting with clients, especially in northern Wisconsin.

Organization is a skill, a task and a philosophy. As Gustave Flaubert urged, “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

Personal injury attorneys in California probably like to joke about the cheapness of lawyers at Bay-area insurance-defense firm Low, Ball & Lynch. It’s a real firm, with a really bad name. And is it any wonder that Argue & Phibbs, in Sligo, Ireland, is no longer a going concern?

As someone who defends attorneys against malpractice complaints, Daniel Schumack has noticed that solo lawyers are particularly prone to errors managing their client trust accounts. “In the District of Columbia and Mary-land, there are a disproportionate number of complaints filed against smaller law firms when it comes to the mishandling of trust money,” said Schumack, a managing partner of Schumack ...

Four practice niches — personal injury law; family law; real estate; and trusts and estates — generate the highest percentage of legal malpractice claims each year. Many of these claims stem from the emotionally charged nature of cases in these practice areas, from messy divorces and family feuds over inheritances to collapsed real estate deals and crippling auto accidents. But ...

Madison attorney Steven M. Cohen figured out that the walk-in prospective client wasn’t going to become a client when he explained the nature of his legal problem: The government was implanting thoughts in his head. Cohen, of Cohen Law Office, kindly explained that he doesn’t do that kind of law. He sent the man, whom he suspected suffers from schizophrenia, ...

The American Bar Association recently released “The 2010 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide: Critical Decisions Made Simple.” Authored by tech gurus Sharon D. Nelson, John W. Simek and Michael C. Maschke, the third edition of the guide urges solos and small-firm lawyers to find the best value for their money – not the fanciest, most expensive items on ...

For solos and small-firm lawyers, technology can be a great leveler. But does every practitioner need practice management software? Probably, according to Catherine Sanders Reach, the director of the Legal Technology Resource Center of the American Bar Association in Chicago. But first, the very basics. Practice and case management software provides attorneys with a convenient method of effectively managing client ...