Free CLE: “Bailout or Washout?”

A free webcast offered by West LegalEdcenter and West Legalworks regarding the Treasury Department’s proposal to buy assets of troubled financial institutions is now available on-demand on the West LegalEdcenter web site.

Participants in the discussion included:

• Chris Bell – Former U. S. Congressman (D-TX), of Counsel, Patton Boggs LLP, Dallas
• Talcott J. Franklin – Partner, Patton Boggs LLP, Dallas, TX; Co-Author, Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation, published by West
• Micah Green – Public Policy Partner, Patton Boggs LLP; former President and CEO, Bond Market Association
• Thomas F. Nealon, III – Group General Counsel, Real Estate Finance & Servicing Group, LNR Partners, Inc., Miami Beach; Co-Author, Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation, published by West
• Kevin Wodicka – Director of Investment Management, LNR Property Corporation

The webcast was recorded Monday while the vote on the bailout was taking place in the U.S. House. The proposal was defeated 225 to 208.

In the webcast, the group discusses why the Treasury Department proposal was met with skepticism from Congress and the American public. Critics said it represented a bailout of Wall Street, according to Green, not something “that would affect main street.”

Bell said, with anything, Americans wonder “what’s in it for them.”

The webcast participants analyze the impact of the political pressures, the proposed benefits of government ownership of the assets in the plan and the risks.

The webcast is available to listen to, for free, on the West LegalEdcenter Web site.

With registration, a free white paper also is available about the Treasury Department proposal, written and revised recently by Franklin.

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Westcast: Reuters journalists at conventions

As the presidential race enters its final weeks, our Thomson Reuters colleagues who help cover the campaigns will continue to be busy. We caught up with a few of them while they worked at the Republican convention in St. Paul – not far from West’s headquarters – to find out about their work here in Minnesota and at the Democratic convention in Denver.

Their video interviews are featured in this Westcast podcast , as well as some footage from both the RNC and DNC:

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Reference Attorney trainer marks 25 years at West

This month, Sue Barry is getting some extra attention as she works as a Reference Attorney trainer at West’s Eagan, Minnesota headquarters - she’s celebrating her 25th year with the company.

Barry teaches new Reference Attorneys on how best to help customers use Westlaw to do legal research. She also trains West’s customers, sales force and reference attorneys on patents, Delphion, and advanced Westlaw searching.

When asked what’s changed the most at West during her 25 years, Barry says “I suppose it is the size of the company and the impact of our Westlaw product.”

“When I started in Westlaw sales our large law firm customers were using about three hours of Westlaw per month,” Barry says. “The most interesting changes are the iterations of Westlaw – or really how we access Westlaw – from a customized terminal named WALT, to WestMate, to WestMate for Windows, to Westlaw.com. Yet, I recently told a group of new Reference Attorneys that even though Westlaw has changed so much, if you knew how to search it years ago you could still search it today.”

Barry says her work gives her an interesting perspective on the importance of her West colleagues to people working in the legal profession.

“It gives me great satisfaction that our customers understand how valuable the Reference Attorneys are to their legal research projects,” Barry says. “It is so rewarding to have customers say time and time again that they need help with their legal issue and together we research on Westlaw and solve that legal issue. I learn so much about so many different areas of law this way.”

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Bank bailout: Free white paper and webcast

 

As the attention in Washington, D.C. is on a Treasury Department proposal for a $700 billion bailout of major lenders, West LegalEdcenter and West Legalworks are providing some free resources for anyone involved in the mortgage and asset-related securities market to learn more about the bailout proposal.

First, a free white paper titled “The Impact of Securitization on the Legislative Proposal for Treasury Authority to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets” was just written by Talcott J. Franklin.

He is the co-author of the Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation Handbook from West, and is a partner and head of litigation in the Dallas office of Patton Boggs LLP.

“Everyone has questions and anger with respect to who caused this mess and why no one acted sooner,” Franklin writes.

“But the fact is, we have to act quickly to reduce the impact of this crisis. When Americans act together, we can overcome every challenge, and we will overcome this one. But if we fall into partisan bickering and the laying of blame, if we are motivated solely by self-interest and not the overall good, if we act rashly and without careful thought, the crisis will grow, as will the sacrifice required to remedy it.”

Franklin adds, “This paper takes no position on whether the Treasury Proposal should be adopted, only that it can be improved. Many excellent points have been raised during the course of the hearings on the Treasury Proposal. This paper points out some additional issues for consideration.”

In addition to the free white paper, a free live webcast titled “Bailout or Washout: An Analysis of the Treasury Proposal to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets,” will take place Monday, Sept. 29, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern.

The webcast will address a number of questions, including:

• What would the Treasury own if it bought mortgage-backed securities?
• How will the oversight mechanism of Treasury’s investments operate?
• What are the benefits of the proposal? The risks?
• What will determine the success or failure of this plan?
• How will the taxpayers be compensated for their investment?

The webcast will feature Franklin, the Hon. Chris Bell – a former member of Congress and member of the House Financial Services Committee – and Thomas F. Nealon, Franklin’s co-author of the Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities Litigation Handbook. Nealson is general counsel at LNR Partners, Inc.

Again, you can download the free white paper here and register for the free webcast here.

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Peer Monitor Index shows weakening law firm demand

How is the weakening economy impacting law firms?

The West Peer Monitor Index for Q2 2008 shows firms are booking fewer billable hours in 2008 compared to 2007, and are trying to adjust to softening market conditions by improving productivity and reducing expenses.

West Peer Monitor Index is a near real-time index that measures legal market conditions. The Index showed a slight rebound in the second quarter, although it’s not clear whether the law market has bottomed out, or this is just a temporary bounce as law firms continue to struggle against a weakening economy.

The West Peer Monitor Index shows that demand for law firms dropped by two percent in the second quarter vs. last year. Demand fell in most major markets, including New York, down 4.1%; London down 2.9%; Los Angeles down 2.9%; and Washington DC down 3.4%.

However, continued growth in rates and cuts in expenses are helping to offset falling demand, thereby sustaining profitability.

For rates, Regulatory practice areas are showing the strongest growth, along with Corporate and IP Litigation. Bankruptcy demand is up slightly while Labor & Employment is down and, not surprisingly, Real Estate is down sharply.

Firms are pulling back on both direct and indirect expenses under softening demand. Productivity improved slightly from the first quarter, suggesting a gradual balancing of headcount to hours.

2008 may be a year of transition as firms continue to moderate expenses in response to the lukewarm demand. West Peer Monitor Index will continue to track how the legal market is faring against the economic headwinds.

A full copy of the Q2 Peer Monitor Index can be found here. Also, listen to a Westcast podcast that discusses the details of the latest PMI results.

For more information, contact Mark Medice at (412) 203-2155 or mark.medice@thomsonreuters.com.

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FindLaw and Hubbard One win WebAwards

Among other things, developing Web Sites for law firms takes interesting design, innovation and good content. Web sites developed by FindLaw and Hubbard One both represented Thomson Reuters in the 2008 WebAwards from the Web Marketing Association.

Hubbard One was among a small handful of firms winning a dozen or more awards, including nearly one-third of the legal category awards. Additionally, Exponent, an engineering and scientific consulting firm and Hubbard One client, received the “Best Consulting Website” award (News release).

 

FindLaw received an “Outstanding Web site” WebAward in the legal category for developing Brent Coon & Associates  law firm Web site. FindLaw also received four other WebAwards (News release).

Now in its 12th year, the WebAwards are the premier annual Web site award competition that name the best sites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all Web site development.

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Developing Thomson Reuters employees

This is the first post to WestBlog from Becky Fillinger, manager of Knowledge Sharing at Thomson Reuters.

Does your business include global customers and employees? At Thomson Reuters, we have business operations in 93 countries.

In my role, I’m fortunate to get a chance to visit many of our locations. I help conduct management development programs. That means working with groups of high-potential employees who will be leaders in the company in the future. Our participants are engaged, inquisitive and fun! Employee development is a key priority for Thomson Reuters and one that must be addressed globally.

Recently, I held a training session for some of our employees in India. We were at the RMZ Infinity building in Bangalore. The architect, Manjula, showed me around. The building is quite innovative; there are no right angles in the building interiors. Workstations are designed around a ‘petal’ concept and all meeting rooms are also rounded.

What a week it was in India!

The country’s Olympic team won three medals: one gold and two bronze – the most ever! Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal for shooting – the country was ecstatic. It made me think of how in the United States we expect to win gold medals. Imagine, if you’re a U.S. citizen, if we had never had a Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolf, Carl Lewis, Peggy Fleming, Joan Benoit, Michael Phelps, etc. It gave me a much more expansive view of the Olympics and what a single gold medal can mean to a country.

It also reinforced that the goal of the games is not to rack up gold medals but to participate in a global effort. That’s what we’re doing too in our training activities – we participate with our global colleagues as we learn together.

I would be interested in your businesses global activities. How do you interact and bond with global customers or employees?

Becky Fillinger
Manager, Knowledge Sharing
Thomson Reuters

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West expands public records services

West is announcing the acquisition of ChoicePoint’s AutoTrack XP government business and CLEAR product line, in an agreement with Reed Elsevier.

The move also results in a newly created business – West Government Services – which will provide technology, analytic and public record information to government agencies and law enforcement organizations, and will bring an alternative solution for public records information to these important markets.

West Government Services will include a strong team of technology, product, marketing, sales and relationship management employees located in McLean, Va., and Atlanta, Ga.

For more information, read the news release about the acquisition and watch a video featuring Andrew Martens, West’s senior vice president of New Product Development:

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West responds to hurricanes

A letter from Peter Warwick, president and CEO of West and Thomson Reuters North American Legal.

To our customers:

Everyone at West is moved by the devastation and loss suffered by the communities and victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. It’s only now, as people begin to return to their homes and offices, that we’re hearing about the true extent of the damage in human terms. And though there are sure to be difficult times ahead, there is also hope that life will again return to normal for you – our customers, friends and colleagues along the Gulf Coast.

West is committed to helping customers affected by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike restore their practice and business as soon as possible. To assist in the rebuilding effort, we’ve set up a dedicated hotline.

If you have been displaced by the disaster, please contact West Customer Service at 1-800-328-4880, ext. 67281, to let us know that you’re safe and what your needs are. When you’re ready to get back on your feet, we’re ready to help.

West is proud of its heritage and longstanding partnership with attorneys and the courts, and we are proud to stand with you throughout your process of recovery and rebuilding. Please know that our thoughts are with you and that we are here to help.

Very best wishes,

Peter Warwick
President and CEO
West and Thomson Reuters North American Legal

Webcast: “The Basics of Bank Failure”

West LegalEdcenter is presenting a live webcast, “The Basics of Bank Failure,” at 12:30 p.m. EDT tomorrow, (Wednesday, Sept. 17).

If you can’t catch it live, the 90-minute audio program also will be available on demand following the live program.

The webcast, the first in a West LegalEdcenter series on bank insolvency, brings together a group of seasoned experts who will explore the details of bank failure and the role of regulatory agencies in cleaning up the mess once it’s happened.

The webcast will cover:

• Capital and liquidity failures
• The basics of bank receiverships
• Other grounds for receivership
• The role of the FDIC
• An introduction to the FDIC “superpowers”
• Deposit insurance
• Treatment of uninsured depositors
• Unsecured creditors and other interested parties
• The claims process

Speakers in the webcast include:

-Russell J. Bruemmer, partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Washington, D.C.
-John L. Douglas, partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP in Atlanta
-Mitchell L. Glassman, director of the Division of Resolutions and Receiverships at the FDIC in Washington, D.C.
-Thomas P. Vartanian, partner at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson in Washington, D.C.
-David Wall, special advisor to the deputy to the chairman of the FDIC, Washington, D.C.

The cost to purchase “The Basics of Bank Failure” is $165. For more information, go to the West LegalEdcenter website.

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RNC and Thomson Reuters

Last week, I gave you my impressions of the DNC in Denver. Now, as promised, some equal time for the RNC in St. Paul – held not far from the largest Thomson Reuters location, the headquarters of West, in Eagan, Minnesota.

Both conventions gave West and Thomson Reuters some great exposure. We were a sponsor for the non-partisan Host Committees. This makes total sense as the conventions are first and foremost civic events for the cities of Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Uniquely at the RNC, we hosted the Host Committee’s VIP Hospitality Suite last Tuesday night and the best party of the week, on Wednesday night at Seven in Minneapolis.

At the RNC, once again our own Thomson Reuters Media operation was most impressive. Above is the Reuters Media broadcast booth at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul where correspondents from Europe to Asia were reporting the story. I am so proud of the work the Reuters team does and I am so honored to have had dinner with the correspondent who broke the story of the pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s daughter.

I was on the convention floor at the RNC a few times on Thursday night, before John McCain’s acceptance speech. The floor was full of energy, just like the DNC. Both McCain and Palin energized the Republicans and turned a convention that started with a “canceled” day one due to Hurricane Gustav into a media winner, that showed increasing energy all week.

I also think both St. Paul and Minneapolis did a great job. Delegates constantly told me so as I spoke to them. They loved the friendliness of the Twin Cities, and the weather. The flow of people and traffic was much better in St. Paul than in Denver. Even with the arrests of more than 820 people protesting during the week at the RNC. That was four times the number in Denver. Sure, security was as tight but the lines to get to the metal detectors were much shorter making it a much more enjoyable experience.

For our employees, the RNC was terrific, too. Many were able to attend the events and social functions. They got to meet visiting dignitaries and local leaders. Some came to the Xcel Energy Center to see the actual floor sessions. Our facilities team also played a huge role with transportation, logistics, runners, and anything else the Reuters Media team needed to do their jobs.

During the two weeks of both conventions, we also met with hundreds of lawyers who are our customers and many elected and appointed politicians. In fact, we often were the ones inviting our customers and political types into convention events!

We also hosted a dinner in each city for the Reuters Media team covering the conventions. You should have heard the product ideas, use of news, and ideas of the incorporation of Westlaw fly around the tables.

We definitely enjoyed being a part of both conventions.

Remember to vote in November! 

Rick King
Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer
Thomson Reuters North American Legal

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Holland and Knight’s networking success

As Geoffrey Hyatt – the CEO of Contact Networks - puts it: “Large, multi-office law firms realize that tracking down your firm’s relationships by walking the halls or blasting out e-mails is outdated and inefficient in today’s market.”

So, more firms are turning to ContactNet – part of Thomson Reuters - for its corporate social networking tool that analyzes internal customer relationship management (CRM) systems, address books and e-mail patterns to uncover and continuously measure the strength of each valuable relationship held by members of a firm.

The latest to roll out ContactNet across its firm is Holland & Knight LLP, which has more than 1,150 attorneys in 17 offices. It is among the world’s 18 largest firms.

ContactNet requires no data entry. It’s an enterprise search engine used to instantly identify which colleagues have the strongest connections to a target client, for new business development, cross-selling and client service. 

For more information about Contact Networks, listen to this Westcast podcast with Geoffrey Hyatt.

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Tekne Award finalists announced

The Minnesota High Tech Association just announced the finalists for the ninth annual Tekne Awards, which recognize superior technological innovation and leadership in Minnesota.

Congratulations to Rick King, EVP and chief operations officer for West, for being named a finalist for the technology executive of the year award in the established company category.

Congratulations also to Lean Blanchfield, vice president of Product Development, Litigation; Kevin Appold, senior director of Dockets/Profiler; Jon Medin, director of Content Compliance; and Jeff Willhite, director of Product Development, and to Medical Litigator for being named a finalist in the technology services award category.

Good luck to you at the Oct. 30 awards ceremony.

More Web coverage for Ari Kaplan

West author Ari Kaplan continues to get coverage across the Web for his book, “The Opportunity Maker,” which provides practical advice and ideas for law students and lawyers on how to establish professional relationships to attract and build legal business.

He did an interview with Carolyn Elefant for her MyShingle blog. Her audio interview is at the end of her post.

Dan Janal named “The Opportunity Maker” his “Cool Book of the Day.” Douglas May at LawCrossing also highlighted Kaplan’s book. And, The New York Law Journal just ran an article about it, which is available by subscription.

We’ve pointed out some previous blog coverage here. We also wrote about Kaplan’s book on WestBlog after it was published, here, and produced this Westcast podcast interview.

Kaplan also has built a website, featuring audio interviews with people whose insight is offered in his book.

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“360″ view of hot legal topics

Anticipating what the other side will say and do is part of every litigator’s preparation.

West LegalEdcenter is making it easier to do that with some new webcasts on a few hot legal topics in a “360″ series of online programs, which allow participants to draw on the varied viewpoints of presenters who work at law firms, corporations and government agencies.

They also can fulfill continuing legal education (CLE) requirements at the same time.

Three series of 360 webcasts are underway: 

• A three-part series on records management provides an introduction to records management and compliance readiness.
• A series on mortgage foreclosure also debuted this month and addresses reverse mortgages, subprime litigation and regulatory compliance issues facing attorneys.
• A series on privacy law will feature three webcasts covering privacy enforcement, Internet privacy, and privacy issues and company branding.

For more information, go to the West LegalEdcenter website.

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