Stat Of The Week: A Lawyer’s Olympic Win 

The landlocked country of San Marino recently secured some historic Olympic wins, taking home its first-ever medals this year with a major boost from its legal community. 

As Cosmos noted, San Marino’s pair of shooting medals ranked it first in the world in medals per capita for these games, with 66.6 medals per 1 million people as of Aug. 3. (The U.S., by contrast, had about 25 medals per 100 million people as of this date.)

Wrestler Myles Amine upped San Marino’s per-capita count even further on Thursday, taking bronze in men’s freestyle.

The country’s inaugural medal was also a bronze, won by the trap shooter Alessandra Perilli. She was then joined by Gian Marco Berti — a lawyer who is not a professional shooter — for the first-ever mixed-team version of the event, and that pair took home a silver.

After his big win, Berti laid out a familiar scenario, according to Reuters.  

“Being a professional shooter would not allow me to earn money to live a good life,” he said. “So first of all I’m a lawyer, and then in the spare time I am a professional shooter.”

He also isn’t expecting a hero’s welcome — at least from his peers. 

“Lawyers are jealous people,” he quipped to reporters, “so they will probably not say anything about it.” 

The Cosmos Big Olympic Quiz [Cosmos]
San Marino shooter to remain full-time lawyer despite Tokyo silver [Reuters]


Jeremy Barker is the director of content marketing for Breaking Media. Feel free to email him with questions or comments and to connect on LinkedIn

A Good Night’s Rest Is The Answer

(Image via Getty)

Over the past few months, I have tried to convince you of many things: hire staff, set up systems, and manage a sales pipeline. If you are one of those who have done everything to build your business — but those things aren’t always working — take a break; this may be counterintuitive to someone who has bills, deliverables, obligations, and a whole business to run. However, the answer to the chaos may be time away from the stress of running a firm. Consider embracing more ease and letting some hard things go.

Here are three things to ponder:

Are You Giving Your Best Effort?

If you are anything like me, you can always find room for improvement in client services, a workflow, following up with prospective clients, and, of course, substantive legal work. You may be doing all the things, giving your best effort, losing tons of sleep, and try, try, trying again. If you show up and do your best, even when things aren’t going well, know that these are great investments for your future success. You may not see any fruit today, but trust that consistent, directed action is better than jumping from task to task and hoping something sticks. I want to acknowledge your hard work and say, ugh, I have been there too. It is part of the entrepreneurial process. [BONUS: It’s also OK to stop even if you haven’t given your best effort.]

Let It Go — For Today

There is an old Donnie McClurkin gospel song that says, “Yes, after you’ve done all you can, you just stand.” (In this case, it’s more like stop.) If you prefer, “Let it Go” from “Frozen” may resonate. The hardest part of trying and getting nowhere is knowing that your endless effort is not immediately fruitful. While doubling down may seem like the next natural step, the opposite is true. By letting go, taking a break, or sleeping on a decision (rather than forging ahead), you allow your mind and body to rest and release a tight grip on a situation. If you have a deadline, figure out how to get support for your workload or hand it off to someone who can step in for you — or postpone the deadline; many are negotiable. Learn to outsource and delegate to free your mind space and your time. Living with palms open allows you to let go of whatever is in your hand to receive what is next. That gift may be peace of mind or a great night of sleep; I know that is easier said than done.

Go To Sleep!

Many lawyers balk at the idea of taking a break. I am not talking about Hawaii or the U.S. Virgin Islands in this section, though that would be welcome and fantastic! Rest can start with getting a whole night’s sleep every night. (If your sleep is disturbed due to mental health issues, trauma, or other factors, please consult a professional for help. I do not want to trivialize the genuine issues some of us face that affect our ability to sleep.)

Spending time cultivating a peaceful sleep environment is the goal. I am talking about a luxurious bedtime routine with a bath (optional), sumptuous bedding, low temperatures, black-out curtains, no cellphone or TV, aromatherapy, a sound machine, and an old-school alarm clock. Most people need six to nine hours of quality sleep to reduce stress levels, lower cortisol, and allow the body to heal. Sleep may be challenging if you have an infant or kids who are in your bed. I am a huge fan of hiring a sleep consultant rather than muscling through the unfortunate occurrence of a 2-year-old sprawled across your neck (ask me how I know) like an unwelcome scarf. The best part about good sleep is that your body shuts down so you can take a break.

If you don’t have the luxury of a holiday or time away, cultivate a sleep routine a that allows you to prioritize yourself every night. You and your business are worth the investment.

Do you feel resistant to getting rest and embracing ease? Let me know at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com. Want to keep up with what I have going on? Find me at www.iffyibekwe.com.


Iffy Ibekwe is the principal attorney and founder of Ibekwe Law, PLLC. She is an estate planning attorney evangelist for intergenerational wealth transfer with effective wills and trusts. Iffy is writing her first book on culturally competent estate planning, available in 2022 (prayers up!). She graduated from The University of Texas School of Law and has practiced law for over 14 years. Iffy can be reached by email at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com, on her website, and on Instagram @thejustincaselawyer.

Britney’s Daddy Knows Who Is To Blame For This Mess, And It Is Everybody But Him

Here is an actual line from the latest filing by Britney Spears’ father Jamie, who has spent the last thirteen years hoovering up cash as conservator of her estate.

For over thirteen years, Mr. Spears has dutifully and faithfully served as the Conservator of his daughter’s Estate without any blemishes on his record. This is not an opinion; he has taken the Estate from being in debt and facing tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits to a current value of well over $60 million. Mr. Spears’ record as Conservator speaks for itself.

That’s nice.

Mr. Spears left out the part where he got paid $16,000 a month, plus another $2,000 for expenses, plus a percentage of everything she earned. Neither does Mr. Spears, who is reported to have referred to his daughter as a “racehorse,” make any reference to his daughter’s mental health or personal wishes — his sole criterion for success being to maximize his daughter’s earning potential.

There is a four letter word for a person who forces a woman to dance on stage in her underwear every night, as the singer has alleged. Hint: It starts with “P,” and it isn’t “Papa.”

Yesterday, Britney’s new lawyer Matthew Rosengart of Greenberg Traurig requested an ex parte order immediately removing her father as conservator of her estate and replacing him with CPA Jason Rubin.

According to People magazine, Spears’ hopes that Rubin, who has significant experience as a forensic accountant unwinding fraud and elder abuse claims, will be able to figure out if she was ripped off during the conservatorship.

“Basically he’s going to go back and look at all of the expenses and money that has been spent over the years,” the source told People. “Britney’s determined to find out if her funds have been misused.”

A hearing on Britney’s motion to remove her father was already scheduled for September 29, moved up from its original December 13 date.

But Rosengart requested that it be expedited even further, writing that “Every day that passes is another day of avoidable harm and prejudice to Ms. Spears and the Estate.”

“Although a two-month wait for a hearing on the Petition may not seem significant in the context of 13 years, Ms. Spears should not be forced to continue to feel traumatized, lose sleep, and suffer further,” he argued. “Every day matters.”

Jamie Spears’s counsel at Holland & Knight, which have already billed the singer $1.3 million since October of 2020 much of it for a PR campaign which included trashing the singer’s own mother, swung into action.

Characterizing Rosengart’s declaration as “comprised of unsubstantiated, vague accusations and a false statement about Mr. Spears opposing a trip to Hawaii” the motion claims the conservatee’s counsel posted no new facts and “no urgency justifying ex parte relief and no requisite showing of good cause has been shown.”

And while Mr. Spears has no objection to expediting the hearing, he’s certainly not going out without a fight. In addition to bragging about turning his own child into a cash cow, he characterizes her harrowing personal account to the court of being a virtual prisoner barred from even removing her own IUD as “untested testimony” and claims that Britney’s care manager Jody Montgomery contacted him after the June 23 hearing about having the singer involuntarily committed.

I explained to Ms. Montgomery that I would do anything I could do to help my daughter but was limited in this ability since I do not have access or insight into any of my daughter’s medical information. After Ms. Montgomery shared her detailed concerns about my daughter’s recent behavior, safety, and overall health, she raised potential options including a 5150 psychiatric hold, which raised my concerns. The conversation ended shortly thereafter when Ms. Montgomery said she would update me on my daughter’s condition and would follow up on what I can do to help.

Because nothing says love like calling your own child crazy and airing her medical history in a public document.

Mr. Spears would also like the world to know that he had nothing to do with his daughter’s hospitalization in 2019.

It was Jodi Montgomery, along with the Conservatee’s former attorney Sam Ingham, who admitted Ms. Spears to a facility in early 2019, including but not limited to signing the admittance documents,” he wrote. And, yes, sic on the bold underlining.

Above all, Mr. Spears wants to make clear that he’s a devoted father.

“Throughout his service as Conservator, Mr. Spears’ sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her,” he insisted. “The Conservatorship continues to exist, and Mr. Spears continues to do the job that he was appointed to do.”

As if the second sentence, attesting to a 13-year arrangement where his child’s health did not improve enough for her to take control of her own life, even as she was able to maintain a grueling performance schedule, did not directly contradict the first.

But she made a lot of money, so … father of the year!

Britney Spears’ Lawyer Requests the ‘Immediate Suspension’ of Dad Jamie as Estate Conservator [People]


Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

How To Squeeze More Value From Your Legal Tech

For law firms, buying software is only half the battle.

The fact of the matter is that most law firms get less than 50% of the potential value out of their software, because they don’t utilize (or even know about) all the features available. This problem is exacerbated when attorneys don’t spend enough time vetting the software they ultimately purchase.

In the latest Non-Eventcast, Jared Correa sits down with Tyler Smith, a solo attorney, to talk this all over. 

Listen in for tips on getting way more out of the software you’re already paying for.

And visit the Non-Event here to seek out a system upgrade.

Highlights

  • Adopting the right legal tech for you – 2:03
  • How great it is being in Iowa – 2:47
  • How much time do you need to sell – 6:14
  • Planning is everything – 7:57
  • How to set revenue goals in this context – 8:56
  • One of Tyler’s favorite pieces of legal technology – 11:20
  • Using technology to manage staff – 16:00

Episode Resources


Jared Correia, a consultant and legal technology expert, is the host of the Non-Eventcast, the featured podcast of the Above the Law Non-Event for Tech-Perplexed Lawyers. 

The Best Times Lawyers Should Call Or Email Other Lawyers

(Image via Getty)

The legal profession is a lot like other industries in that most law firms abide by a standard workday, observe standard holidays, and otherwise have a traditional corporate culture. This means that attorneys and staff are usually at their desks during certain times of day and may be out of the office during some periods more than others. Of course, lawyers are usually far more responsive to emails and phone calls they receive when they are most likely to be at the grind handling legal matters, but counterparts often email or call outside these time periods. This can lead to some inefficient outcomes as some lawyers may miss emails and phone calls that they receive at inopportune times. Because I run my own practice, I am responsive pretty much each day and every time of day, but lawyers should keep a few things in mind when emailing and calling most other lawyers to have the best chance at receiving a prompt response.

Avoid Mondays

Anyone who has seen “Office Space,” or has worked in corporate America for some time, should know what a case of the “Mondays” is. Essentially, this describes a malaise that people feel when they return to work following the weekend and need to get back to the grind. Some lawyers just don’t like dealing with certain issues on Mondays since they have not quite gotten into work mode and are still somewhat stuck in the weekend, and this can keep people from getting a lawyer’s full attention.

Moreover, Mondays are usually the busiest day in a lawyer’s week. Lawyers usually get tons of emails and calls on Monday since people who waited all weekend to call or email a lawyer may try to get their message across as soon as possible. Indeed, the first two hours of a Monday are usually packed with calls and emails as people who really cannot wait to get hold of a lawyer try to call or email the first chance they get. As such, lawyers should try to avoid contacting other lawyers on Mondays and especially in the first few hours of the day if a matter can wait for a later time.

Avoid Fridays

Fridays are also a tough day for counterparts to get a hold of a lawyer. Many attorneys leave the office early on Friday, so the later in a day you try to call or email a lawyer, the less likely it is that they will respond, and the message might get lost in the weekend shuffle. In addition, many lawyers leave work early on Fridays, and the malaise that comes with looking forward to the weekend could lead to some inefficient outcomes. Of course, it would be nuts to say that counterparts should never contact lawyers on Fridays since Mondays are also tough, and counterparts cannot be expected to avoid contacting lawyers for four days. Nevertheless, if counterparts can try to contact a lawyer earlier in the week than Friday, this is advisable, and the earlier an email or phone call is made on Friday, the more likely it is that a lawyer will receive and respond to the call.

Avoid Holidays

It might seem obvious that lawyers should try not to communicate with other lawyers during holidays, but many people violate this commonsense rule. Sometimes, this is because lawyers may not know that another lawyer celebrates a given holiday. Indeed, it can be difficult to keep track of the religious holidays that people may celebrate that can keep them indisposed for a period of time. In addition, many state courts close for a number of state holidays, and accordingly, law firms in those states also generally close their offices on said days because less work might be performed when courts are closed. It is usually a good idea for lawyers to check if a counterpart might be observing a holiday before communicating with them on that day to minimize the risk that the message will be lost over the holiday.

Around Holidays

Lawyers should also avoid communicating with other lawyers in the days leading up to holidays. Of course, it is usually not necessary to avoid communicating in the days leading up to less significant holidays. However, there are certain significant holidays in which lawyers may be out of pocket in the days following up on the holiday. For instance, lawyers may be less likely to be fully responsive around New Year’s, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day simply because people make bigger plans around those dates and might be indisposed. Moreover, sometimes law firms observe holidays during the week if a set holiday occurs on a weekend, and lawyers should be careful not to communicate around these days as well.

In the end, I am the type of lawyer who is responsive 24 hours a day, 7 days a week because I run my own practice and need to be reachable all the time. However, from my experience communicating with other lawyers, there are some guidelines attorneys should use when communicating with counterparts. These suggestions may seem obvious, but it is surprising how often people fail to follow this advice, and this can lead to inefficiencies in a representation.


Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

Biglaw Associate Shares Frustrations About The Unvaccinated And Their ‘Selfish Choices’

I have two kids, ages 6 years and 18 months. Obviously they are not vaccinated, which is a big concern. My firm will be mandating all employees be vaccinated as a condition of employment (subject to religious and medical accommodations), which significantly decreases my concern.

I have a great deal of frustration towards those who are unvaccinated and therefore perpetuating the pandemic—and all of its effects on me, my family and the rest of my community—due to their selfish choices.

— an unnamed associate at an Am Law 200 firm, commenting on their firm’s vaccination requirement and their feelings about those who remain unvaccinated during a time when COVID-19 cases continue to rise and vaccination rates continue to fall. Law firm employees may still be working remotely, but the tension between those who are vaccinated and those who are not is thick.


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

The Problem With Identity Capitalists

In the latest episode of The Jabot, I speak with Nancy Leong, law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. We chat about her decision to go to law school in the first place, as well as her path to academia. We also delve into her new book, Identity Capitalists: The Powerful Insiders Who Exploit Diversity to Maintain Inequality. Nancy reveals how she came up with the term “identity capitalist,” and the personal anecdotes she decided to include in her book. We also talk about hidden in-group agendas and strategies she recommends for those in out-groups.

The Jabot podcast is an offshoot of the Above the Law brand focused on the challenges women, people of color, LGBTQIA, and other diverse populations face in the legal industry. Our name comes from none other than the Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the jabot (decorative collar) she wore when delivering dissents from the bench. It’s a reminder that even when we aren’t winning, we’re still a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Happy listening!


Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Biglaw Firm Finally Joins The $205K Party

More compensation news from the good folks at the newly merged Troutman Pepper: fresh off the news that counsel would be seeing bonuses comes good news for associate salaries.

The firm previously announced special bonuses (and raises) for associates, but that predated the Milbank/Davis Polk set of raises which put them behind the market standard. But fear not, they’ve now moved to the new Biglaw standard in associate compensation — at least for major markets.

The firm’s salary grid now looks like this:

The firm’s full memo is available on the next page.

Please help us help you when it comes to bonus news at other firms. As soon as your firm’s bonus memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus”) or text us (646-820-8477). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish.


Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL’s Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.

Interim Counsel Placements: A Cost-Effective, Flexible Solution

If you lead an in-house legal department, you know that some periods are busier than others and your needs for certain types of expertise will vary over time. That reality creates a staffing conundrum. If you expand your in-house counsel ranks to handle the busiest seasons and every legal specialty, your team’s workflow will be inconsistent. Conversely, if you run a lean department, you may end up paying high fees to outside counsel for work that could have been done at more reasonable cost in-house.

Happily, there is another option: interim counsel placements. Instead of sending more work to outside law firms or hiring a permanent in-house counsel whom you may not need in six months, you may wish to explore the on-demand counsel model.

In this article, we explain some of the primary advantages of interim counsel placements and bust some myths about this talent model. We will delve into some of the advantages more deeply in future installments.

At the outset, it’s important to understand the level of talent available for interim placements. The typical Cadence Counsel candidate graduated from a Top 20 law school, has Am Law firm experience, and has spent an average of ten years within Fortune 500 law departments. In other words, seasoned talent is interested in short-term legal work.

From the perspective of an in-house legal leader, interim counsel placements have three main advantages: cost containment, customization, and scalability.

Cost containment

The cost advantage is usually what first entices law department leaders to explore interim counsel placements. In short, this model is a way to hire talented counsel for variable engagements at lower rates than you would pay external counsel. Consider a situation in which one of your in-house counsel is temporarily out on FMLA leave. If you send that person’s workload entirely to outside law firms, the bill will add up quickly. An interim counsel placement is both more affordable and a more complete solution. It allows you to bring in a lawyer who has in-house experience and can seamlessly pick up the portfolio of the colleague on leave, at reasonable cost.

In-house leaders who are new to the notion of interim counsel placements often worry that cheaper must mean less talented. If a lawyer is so good, why can’t she secure permanent employment? The reality is that not every highly qualified lawyer wants to work full-time. Many talented counsel value the flexibility that interim placements afford them, either because this model better enables them to balance family responsibilities or because it facilitates their pursuit of other projects outside of the law. This was already true before the pandemic, but in an era when many professionals are reevaluating their priorities, we expect the pool of high-quality interim talent to continue to grow.

Customization

Law departments routinely seek access to a rigorously screened bench of specialized lawyers who are interested in legal work that spans, on average, from 3-18 months. Perhaps the company requires a seasoned counsel with IP expertise. One option would be to call up the external law firms on the company’s panel and ask for a secondment from the IP practice. There’s a good chance that one of the firms will be able to second someone, but there is no guarantee that the lawyer they send will be the best person for the job.

Alternative Legal Services Providers (ALSPs) such as Cadence Counsel are more likely to identify that best person because we draw from a larger pool of potential candidates. The head of the law firm’s IP department will look only at members of her practice group and will send the lawyer who happens to be available for secondment. In contrast, the ALSP will conduct a customized search of the market as a whole.

Scalability

Not every project can be scoped precisely at the outset, especially if it is an unusual one for your department. You may think you need one counsel for a six-month assignment, only to realize you actually need five more on short notice. Or you may bring in ten interim counsel, only to discover that ten was too many and you need to ramp down quickly to seven. A major benefit of interim counsel placements is that you have total flexibility to scale up or down as needs change. If you find that there is less work than you initially expected, you won’t be stuck with a financial burden. 

* * *

If you would like to explore the suitability of interim counsel placements for your organization, we welcome you to contact us to discuss your potential needs. Sometimes companies that have not yet worked with Cadence Counsel fear that the experience will be arduous and worry about the hassle of on-boarding yet another vendor. We are sensitive to that concern, and we have optimized our process to clear away the clutter. If you tell us what you need, we will find the talent, and the talent will start work for you. It really is that simple. 


Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Cadence Counsel’s team of expert contributors. Monique Burt Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Counsel, a certified Women’s Business Enterprise and sister corporation to both Lateral Link and Bridgeline Solutions. She is deeply committed to helping corporations and other organizations diversify their in-house legal divisions as they strive to reflect a global economy.


Cadence Counsel is a boutique search firm that focuses exclusively on the placement of in-house counsel. We specialize in Retained Executive Search, Ad Hoc Counsel Placement, and Diversity & Development Consulting. A certified Women’s Business Enterprise, Cadence Counsel is a leading diversity supplier of in-house legal professionals within the Fortune 500.

Biglaw Firm Raises Salaries For The THIRD Time This Year… Still Doesn’t Hit The Market Standard

With salaries in Biglaw climbing higher and higher, the only way to compete when it comes to attracting and retaining talent is to keep offering raises for associates. One firm knows this all too well, because it’s just sent word out about its third round of salary increases. Yes, you read that correctly. This firm has bumped associate salaries three times thus far in 2021… but it still hasn’t quite reached the $205K starting salary that associates have long been dreaming of. Which firm could it be?

It’s none other than Taft Law (the firm formerly known as Taft Stettinius & Hollister prior to its merger with Briggs and Morgan), a firm where salaries have been on the rise since April. As we noted previously, the firm’s first set of raises weren’t effective until July 1, and their second set of raises won’t come into play until October 1. Associates won’t have to wait a moment longer for their third set of raises, as those will be enacted on October 1 as well. This time around, each of the firm’s Ohio offices got another salary bump.

The firm will not be increasing its 1,850 billable hours requirement in light of these raises, which is even more good news for associates. Congratulations to all. Maybe before the year is out, the firm will finally meet the market.

We depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish.


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL’s Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.