The American Bar Association’s 70th Midyear Meeting will bring more than 3,000 legal professionals and their families to Boston, Feb. 11 – 17.

“Speak no evil. Do not bad mouth competitors to prospective clients. Keep it classy,” advised Jessie Lee Harris of Williams Kastner, Seattle, Wash., during the “Top Practice Tips from TIPS” program at the ABA 2008 Annual Meeting in New York.

Using hypotheticals based on two solo lawyers who are developing a partnership, a panel of experts addressed issues of structure form, employee benefit issues and initial agreements to outline the opportunities and potential problems that may face lawyers in their practice.

The ABA is committed to diversity, but as Janice Brown of San Diego told lawyers in a forum on ABA leadership opportunities, “a commitment only means what it means as long as there’s action.” She challenged her audience to “pay your dues,” study the ABA structure, show up, be willing, follow up and tell the ABA “if you are going to deal with it, deal with it today.”

Since the late ’80s, many law firms have been outsourcing some of its basic administrative work, such as duplicating documents and messengering mail. Over time, outsourcing has increased in popularity, especially given client demands to reduce costs. Today, these services as well as more complex work are being outsourced to companies in developing countries like India and the Philippines.

Lawyers Offer Tips on Securing Business from Large Firms

“There are two ways for solos and small firms to secure business from large firms,” said Steven J. Weiss, partner with Cannon Heyman & Weiss in Buffalo, N.Y. “Solos and small firms can either develop niche practices or they can build networks of relationships for referrals.”

Six women lawyers–”teachers, mentors, champions, coaches and role models”–were honored as “exceptional women, superb lawyers, and tireless trail blazers for women in the profession” during the 18th annual Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards Luncheon on Sunday, Aug. 10 at the New York Sheraton Hotel during the 2008 American Bar Association Annual Meeting in New York City.

Patricia M. Wald, whose legal service has ranged from neighborhood legal aid programs in the United States to representing the U.S. on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, was awarded the American Bar Association Medal during the House of Delegates meeting in New York.

Young lawyers from New York and New Jersey came together on Saturday, Aug. 9 to draft free wills for U.S. Park Police officers as well as their spouses and domestic partners. With the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop, about 60 officers of all ages took care of a very important matter—their estates—as part of Wills for Heroes, the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s ’07-’08 public service project.

Does the outcome of prosecution of Salim Hamden, Osama Bin Laden’s former driver, prove that military commissions work? Emphatically not, according to panelists looking to the future of prosecutions and legal rights of Guantanamo detainees “After Boumediene v. Bush.”

A spirited discussion of the frustrations between lawyers of different generations began the session, “Harnessing the Winds of Change to Bring Balance and Meaning to the Workplace” at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York.
Both panelists and audience members shared personal experiences of clashes between Net Gen associates and their older Boomer colleagues. They discussed

Because all cases differ from one another, mediation can provide great flexibility that can be used by practitioners to take full advantage of opportunities that might present themselves. However, mediation can also present challenges because lawyers must size up the individual case without a standard playbook that lays things out in a step-by-step process.