The Red Velvet Lawyer

Being a Thankful Lawyer, No Matter the Firm Size The Attorney at Work blog this week reminds us to "bloom where we are planted."  Each firm practice setting -- solo, small firm, and big firm -- offers practitioners many opportunities to be thankful. Blogger Merrilyn Astin Tarlton reminds us that: In a Solo Practice You can dress and decorate how you please. No one is going to question your choice of socks or hair color (what purple streak?) or office accessory — even if it’s a Pomeranian. It’s a simple matter to change your mind and do things differently for a while. You don’t have to be a systems engineer to know what’s going on. It’s all happening within arm’s reach. A person can get a little peace and quiet around there. You don’t have to wait for other people to make up their minds about how much money you can take home. Firm name? A no-brainer. You can run like the wind and stop on a dime. In a Small Firm You can say “Good morning” to every pers

Distinguished Alumni  of the  Appalachian School of Law: Chris Fortier As the press release describes:  In less than a decade, ASL alumnus Chris Fortier earned one of the highest honors bestowed on a young lawyer by the Virginia State Bar . The Bar's Young Lawyers Conference awarded Chris its 2013 R. Edwin Burnette Jr. Young Lawyer of the Year Award. The award recognizes young lawyers who demonstrate dedicated service to the conference, the legal profession, and the community. It is named in honor of Lynchburg Judge R. Edwin Burnette Jr., past president of the VSB (1993-1994) and the YLC (1985-1986), with whom Fortier is pictured. Fortier served as chair of the Young Lawyers Conference (YLC) annual Professional Development Conference for two years and then expanded that program from Richmond to a second location in Northern Virginia. The Professional Development Conference provides courses in basic substantive legal skill training to Virginia lawyers.

" Toxic" Press Environment  for Law Schools? At the October 2013 conference of the Midwest Association of Prelaw Advisors, Washington University School of Law Dean, Kent Syverud, gave a speech on the Future of Legal Education .  I have discussed different aspects of the speech in several postings . At one point, he identified the current press environment surrounding law schools as "toxic."  I recently had my own experience with this press environment. Yesterday, Brian Leiter discussed this toxic environment in his own blog , which I highly recommend. A Complex Set of Factors This week-end, I finished reading Brian Tamanaha's 2012 book,  Failing Law Schools . I found his discussion of the ABA regulatory environment of law schools especially interesting.  While it created high quality law schools, it also drove up the price of a legal education by requiring additional "inputs," including higher salaries for faculty members; more tim

Appreciate the Recognition for ASL's Mission! I got back from some restorative massage to find a nice email from ADR colleague, Art Hinshaw, a blogger on ADR Prof Blog . He congratulated me for getting recognition from Brian Leiter's ABA Top 100 Blawg for my recent posting on job prospects for future graduates. Here's Prof. Leiter's posting: Thursday, November 21, 2013  We are on track for there to be more new jobs for lawyers than there are new law school graduates... By Brian Leiter ... by 2016 or 2017 . Hopefully this will help some of those currently unemployed, but it is also probably quite good news for those starting law school now or next year. (I commend Professor Young for taking the time to run the numbers, which in the current toxic cyber-environment where facts are never welcome [recall the irrational reception in cyberspace of the Simkovic & McIntyre study , even though it completely altered the terms of debate in the real world]

The Tide Turns Again? New Jobs Exceed the Number of Law Graduates in 2016? At the conference of the Midwest Association of Prelaw Advisors held at the end of October 2013, Professor Jerry Organ predicted that jobs would exceed the number of law school graduates in 2016 (as I recall). He suggested that the market would turn because applicants to law school would continue to decline while the trend in new law jobs would hold at least steady. So, here is my attempt at supporting this prediction.  I am using data provided by LSAC at the MAPLA conference, which I have discussed in earlier postings.  I am also relying on data provided by NALP . I make the following assumptions: Enrollment of first-year law students will decline by 8.0% from the previous year through the 2015 entering class. Each entering class experiences an attrition rate of 12 percent. So, only 88 percent of each first-year class graduates three years later. New full-time jobs in three categories -- bar

Branding:  The Event Branding, as in a consistent brand identity. It is all about the perception you create about yourself in others. I have spent the last three days in a lovely hotel in Del Mar outside San Diego getting an intense exposure to the rules, concepts, and goals of branding.   The event sponsor,  Re Perez , brings years of expertise to his business of helping entrepreneurs become more successful.   The program has helped me identify my core values and clearly define my purpose.  I'm excited about the potential. He has also partnered with other entrepreneurs who have taught sessions on Facebook marketing and a "touch" management system called Infusionsof t. I wish our students and alumni could get this training and this service.  The results of these systems and approaches are nothing short of impressive. Today, I plan to win a $20,000 consulting package for the law school in a raffle. Please send your well wishes my w

Appalachian School of Law Distinguished Alumni: General Sessions Court Judge  J. Todd Ross J. Todd Ross graduated from the Appalachian School of Law in 2002, and like many of his ASL colleagues, rose quickly to a position of service, responsibility, and power.  A decade after graduation, Hawkins County, Tennessee voters elected him to the position of General Sessions Court Judge .  Ross, a Republican, handily defeated Democrat Terry Risner by 2,819 votes, 4,064 to 1,245.   Ross will serve the remainder of an eight-year term that began in 2006.   Ross intends to run for re-election in 2014. "I hope to be Hawkins County's General Sessions judge for a long time."   The jurisdiction of  General Sessions Court s varies from county to county based on state laws and private acts. This court of limited jurisdiction hears both civil and criminal cases and one serves every county. Legal requirements limit the court's civil jurisdiction to specific monetar