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.

Don Giovanni, opera singers, lawyers and a civil suit ordinarily would have nothing in common, but on Aug.8 at the ABA Annual Meeting, the Section of Litigation hit a high note with Don Giovanni, the Class Action.

An array of individuals who have recreated themselves in their professional lives told their stories and presented suggestions for others who are considering changing careers during the Annual Meeting program, “Create a New Career out of Your Old Resume.”

Negotiating a settlement that will please your client often requires more than a persuasive argument. In “Mind Control: The Psychology of Settlement, How to Get What You Want” during the ABA Annual Meeting in New York, panelists introduced attendees to the psychological aspects of settlement decision making that can help lawyers gain an edge in negotiations.

With the Bear Stearns collapse and the instability facing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, it’s clear that commercial and investment banks are feeling the sting from the current state of the economy. “Banks in Crisis – Are the Government Safety Nets Working?” a program presented by the Section of Business Law Committee on Banking Law at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York, addressed the possible causes of the crisis and provided advice that federal regulators and banks should consider moving forward.

Months before the World Justice Forum was convened, the World Justice Project invited project participants from sub-Saharan Africa to propose projects that it would fund to strengthen the rule of law in their communities. These projects, which were conducted in the spring, forged cross-disciplinary collaborations that are considered vital to spread the rule of law. At the Forum this week, organizers of four pilot projects presented the outcomes of their efforts during “Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Rule of Law.”