Restaurant Week Extended

Restaurant Week is now Jan. 25 – 30 AND Feb. 1 – 6.  Participating restaurants can be found on the Center City Philadelphia website.

Even Lawyers Can Be Scammed

I have this handy ABA application on my iPhone, which provides legal news as well as entertaining stories about the legal profession.  Last night I read a story about an attorney who had been the recent victim of a variation on the Nigerian scam.  Actually, I get these emails all the time, but I just delete them because they, of course, sound too good to be true.

The emails always appear to be from a legitimate business seeking to collect money owed by a U.S. company.  I have never gone so far as to check the existence of the U.S. companies, but the attorney featured in the ABA article did.  The attorney found both a website for the “client” and websites for the debtor companies.  Satisfied that the offer was legitimate, the attorney agreed to try to collect $3.6 million.  The attorney received a $367,500 check, which should have been the first sign that something was not right.  People just don’t pay up!  Okay, back to the scam.  Once the check cleared, the attorney sent $182,500 to the “client” in Hong Kong.  Unfortunately, the check bounced and the attorney, who has called himself “a capital D Dumbass,” had to take out a home equity loan to repay his firm for the $182,500 loss.

The attorney’s firm has sued Citibank because the check appeared to be a “Citibank Official Check” and was actually verified by a Citibank employee.

Apparently other attorneys have become victims of similar scams.  Sometimes the companies identified in the emails are legitimate companies, but have no connection to the emails.  I know it may be tempting to take the risk, especially if you are a young attorney trying to make it on your own, but please be careful.  Always remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Playing “Nice” With Your Adversary

The other day, I had a deposition in a case in another Pennsylvania county that is a couple of hours from Philly. while the case has been in litigation for awhile, I only inherited the case in the past year and had only conversed with opposing counsel a couple of times on the phone.

After the deposition concluded, opposing counsel offered to take me out to lunch to the restaurant downstairs from his office building. Even better, lunch conversation consisted of talk of sports, Philadelphia and everything else not related to the case.

In my 9 or so years of practice, I do not recall any other opposing counsel offering to buy lunch. It was a nice and pleasant gesture, particularly when opposing counsel and I had never previously met, and no business was discussed. Certainly, I don’t believe it’s a common practice here on Philadelphia. Perhaps, it should be.

Oftentimes, when we are pitted in litigation, we take on adversarial relationships with opposing counsel. While it’s one thing to aggressively and passionately represent your client’s interests, keeping social or being friendly with opposing counsel is not mutually exclusive of that purpose. In fact, you may be more likely to resolve your case or receive “breaks” (deadline extensions, discovery limitations, etc.) because you play “nice.”

There are still many attorneys who don’t believe in this approach and will look to be hostile in dealings. Good for them. I for one believe you can get further with the “nice” approach.

Becoming Involved with YLD

The Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Philadelphia Bar Association is, well, all of us – the 2,000 or so members of the Bar Association who are less than 37 and/or have been practicing for less than three years.  The Executive Committee of the YLD oversees and coordinates the YLD’s activities, projects and events.  Sure, there are social networking events, but there are also fundraisers and many community outreach activities.  

You don’t have to be a member of the Executive Committee, though, to help out with planning and organizing YLD events.  There are several opportunities for young lawyers to volunteer and become involved:  

·        Law Week – Each year around May, the YLD commemorates national Law Day by having an entire week of activities throughout the community.  There’s Law Fair at the Gallery (providing free legal advice to shoppers), Lawyer in the Classroom (talking to students in schools about law careers) and Lawyer for a Day (having a student spend part of a day with the attorney to see what it’s like). 

·        Mock Trial – During the spring, about 50 area public and parochial high schools take part in the Philadelphia High School Mock Trial Competition.  The winner of this competition takes part in the state-wide competition, and the winner of that competition advances to the National High School Mock Trial Championship.  The YLD is always looking for volunteers to serve as volunteers (as an advisor, coach or judge) for the Philadelphia competition or for the mock trial law camp.  Last year, a Philadelphia high school (Overbrook High) advanced all the way to the national competition. 

·        Attorney Mentoring Program – For those who are looking for advice or for those who are looking to pass on what they have learned, the YLD’s mentoring program matches up newer attorneys with more experienced ones. 

These activities are only a sampling of the many opportunities to help out with the YLD.  If you are interested in becoming involved with YLD events, feel free to contact the new Chair of the Executive Committee, Brian Chacker (over a million people, give or take a million, attended his inauguration), at bchacker@gaychackermittin.net.   

The Value of Law Blogs

So your practice area includes representing clients in data security issues and you want to know the latest trends?  Or perhaps you are interested in issues involving going “green” in the building and construction world?  You may want to stay up to date on relevant blogs in those practice areas or maybe start one yourself.

More and more, young lawyers are maintaining their own blogs in their various practice areas or other areas of interest.  These blogs serve not only to provide valuable content and reports of the latest trends but also to help with networking.  They allow young lawyers to get their names out there as practitioners in the field. 

So, if you get a chance, check out some legal practice area blogs, or even start one yourself.  You may find them to be a key component to your practice and networking.

More Hard Times for the Legal Community

In addition to law firm layoffs, the legal services community and law schools are getting pinched by the economy. 

According to Above the Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law is cutting its budget by approximately 2% for the current academic year because Temple’s overall budget will be cut by 4%.  The post also indicates that private law schools are going to have to make even more drastic cuts, ultimately leading to less financial aid for students, which will make it harder for those from middle class and low income backgrounds to attend law school.

According to the New York Times, legal services agencies are being forced to cut their budgets as the interest rates drop and donors are not able to give as much money.  As requests for services have risen approximately 30%, the NYT article estimates that many agencies will have to cut 20% or more of their staff. 

Locally, I have heard that IOLTA donations to legal services organizations are down from what they were a  year ago.  Please remember our local legal services organizations when considering making donations this year.

Martin Luther King Day of Service

Martin Luther King Day is this coming Monday.  As you may know, it is traditionally a day of service in Philadelphia. 

Villanova Law School is organizing a service project at the Face to Face Legal Center at St. Vincent’s Church in Germantown.  For more information contact Elizabeth Dunn or click here.

You can also volunteer at the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service website.

Getting Used to Mandatory E-Filing

Like it or not, this week marks the first week of mandatory e-filing in Philadelphia County. The period of optional e-filing for people to get used to the system has ended. Filing everything from a complaint to a praecipe to settle, discontinue and end can now only be accomplished online.

Admittedly, I haven’t had the opportunity to personally file something through the system yet (although my clerk and secretary have).  I know many other Philadelphia court practitioners who have yet to use it as well.  I did, however, have the opportunity to take a training class provided by the court system at my firm’s location.  It will take some getting used to, but it does appear relatively straightforward.  If nothing else, it obviates the need for civil cover sheets.  Another interesting nuance is how it affects the Arbitration Center, as eventually, the arbitration panel must refer to the computer, instead of a paper file to look at the dockets and read the pleadings. 

Training classes from the court are still available.  It would probably be worth your time to learn to be familiar with the system. 

A New Year’s Resolution: You were there for us. For this I am grateful.

As we start a new year, I encourage you to include taking a pro bono case on your list of resolutions for 2009.  We are all struggling in these uncertain economic times, but those even less fortunate than us are struggling on a level that most of us are unable to imagine.

I specificially encourage you to consider taking a family law case from Philadelphia VIP, an agency that matches low income Philadelphians with much needed volunteer attorneys who provide civil legal representation to those who would otherwise go unrepresented.  I received the following letter from a couple of hard working VIP paralegals and was compelled to share it with you:

 

 

Dear Abbie,

 

Over the last year, Philadelphia VIP has received an increased number of requests for pro bono representation with the greatest number of cases in the area of family law. 

Every time we read through the file of a new family law case, we are moved by the client’s compelling story.  After all, a client’s divorce, custody, support, adoption or guardianship matter affects the most personal aspect of his or her life.  Taking such a case on a pro bono basis will certainly make a positive difference in any volunteer attorney’s life as well. 

According to Matthew Olesh, a litigation associate at Dechert LLP and a first-year volunteer with VIP who has already helped 4 clients with family law matters, “we always work as hard as we can for our clients, and it is especially rewarding to help someone who truly needs and deserves legal assistance.”  When opposing counsel challenged a VIP client’s attempts to visit her child who was living almost two hours outside of Philadelphia in a remote area of the state that was inaccessible by public transportation, Olesh helped the client obtain physical custody of her child.  Olesh noted, ”from the first time I met my client, I could tell that she had nothing but the purest intentions in wanting to be reunited with her child.  Not only was she genuinely upset at being cut off from all contact, but she was legitimately concerned for the child’s well-being.” Through Olesh’s dedication to the case, the client’s year long struggle to see her child was rejuvenated and ultimately validated.  At the conclusion of the case, Olesh’s client noted, “I consider myself very fortunate and appreciate everything that VIP and my attorney did for my family and me.  You were there for us.  For this I am grateful.” 

Unfortunately, even though there are many dedicated attorneys who represent family law clients diligently and consistently, there are not enough volunteers to meet the demand of VIP’s case load – in 2008, VIP was forced to turn away over 50% of Philadelphians who sought representation on family law matters.

Many attorneys have told us that they feel uncomfortable accepting family law cases through VIP because they have no prior experience in family law.  If you are not a family law practitioner, there are several reasons why you are still an ideal fit to represent a pro bono client in the area of family law, including:

 

• VIP provides a group of experienced family law practitioners who mentor volunteer attorneys new to family law representation; 
• VIP provides an online library of training materials, which volunteers can access from their own desks;
• volunteers gain invaluable client counseling, negotiation and trial advocacy skills;
• volunteers can help counsel clients to make good legal decisions and single-handedly afford give clients a much needed voice in an otherwise intimidating legal process; and
• volunteers will find the benefits of their representation reciprocal. 

 

VIP is offering substantive preparation for family law cases to all interested volunteer attorneys through a CLE on custody scheduled for February 13th and a CLE on divorce scheduled for April 3rd.  The CLE credits are free in exchange for pro bono services.

 

To become a Philadelphia VIP volunteer or to learn more about upcoming trainings, visit the Philadelphia VIP website or call 215-523-9550.  We hope to hear from you soon!

 

 

Janine LaBletta & Dana Barnett

                 Philadelphia VIP Paralegals

 

Please consider using your legal prowess to help a fellow Philadelphian deal with a family law matter this year.  You will be amazed at your ability to impact a local family.

Looking Forward to 2009

Happy 2009!

For many folks, 2008 wasn’t exactly the best of years. But we’re not here to talk about the past. Instead, let’s consider what we have to look forward to in 2009.

New Years Resolutions (to make and brake)
With a new year, it’s a new start, and it’s as good a time as any to set goals like exercising, losing weight, reading more, getting a new job, etc. You’ll probably never keep them up, of course. Resolutions are made to be broken. Still, go ahead and make them as they’re things to aspire to do.

More affordable travel
Gas prices have decreased so much from what they were (remember the old days of $4 a gallon?) that the mileage reimbursement rate for work travel has actually been been lowered. A year ago, the average rate was $2.76 a gallon, and people thought twice about driving. Today, it’s $1.61 a gallon, and it’s only $1.44 across the river in New Jersey. That’s a pretty remarkable dip. So hey, not all is bad with a struggling economy. You can now easily afford those summer trips down the shore or day trips to New York or D.C.

New seasons for sports teams
The old adage for perennial also-rans in sports is “Wait till next year,” because, well, with a new year, everyone starts over at 0-0 again. This year, of course, it’s a little different because locals actually have a defending world (actually, North America, or more accurately, United States and Ontario, Canada) champion in the Phillies. Repeating as a champion is even harder to do than winning the first time. So we’ll see how they do. The Eagles continue to hang on, agonizing fans with stretches of dominance and fits of ineptitude, often in back to back weeks. I know some folks would rather the season have ended already so they wouldn’t have to invest so much into what appears to be a flawed team and to just “wait till next year.”

A better economy and job market?
There’s nowhere to go but up (right?). Firms and companies have made corrections for the current environment through some layoffs and job hiring freezes. After employers reassess where they stand through these measures, it’s likely that they’ll find that they’re not in as bad a shape as they originally thought, and they’ll start hiring again as they previously did. At least that’s the hope.

So let’s say farewell to 2008 and welcome in 2009. In the Chinese calendar, 2009 is the “Year of the Ox.” Maybe for our purposes, the motto for this year can be “2009: Can’t Be Worse Than 2008, Can It?”