Marketing Partner Forum 2009

The Hildebrandt Institute and West Legalworks are taking registrations for the 16th Annual Marketing Partner Forum 2009. The conference will be held Jan. 28-30, 2009 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif.

Considered the legal industry’s leading conference on client development, the 2009 event’s theme is ”Lighting the Way: Strategies for Influencing Change.” Sessions will cover issues and opportunities driven by the crisis economy and how firms can capitalize on them.

The conference attracts senior-level law-firm marketers and managing partners, as well as senior leaders in marketing and business development within law firms, other professional service firms and client corporations.

To register, or for additional information on West Legalworks, go to WestLegalworks.com/events or call (800) 308-1700.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Westcast: Business advice for law firms

Law firm leaders are no doubt getting a lot of advice for setting a strategy to manage, survive and thrive within the current economic times.

Many turn to Hildebrandt International for counsel in good times and bad. The firm’s expertise is spotlighted in a Special Client Advisory: Fall 2008.

James Jones, the Chairman of the Hildebrandt Institute and managing director of Hildebrandt International, co-wrote the advisory with the company’s founder, Brad Hildebrandt.

It is organized into an assessment of the current legal market, the immediate steps that firm leaders should be taking to help their organizations and the significant longer-term impacts including a re-thinking of basic law firm economic models.

As Hildebrandt and Jones state in their advisory, “…it is important to remember that the present downturn in the legal market is caused primarily by reduced demand and that demand will return in time. Although there may be some restructuring in the way that legal services are delivered, the long-term prospects for the legal industry remain very good.”

In an interview for a Westcast podcast, Jones said billing rate increases were the one key factor that drove the unprecedented growth in profitability in law firms in the last six or seven years. Other factors such as the number of lawyers, their productivity and expenses have not generally contributed to profitability growth in the same time.

“But it is our guess, and I think there’s mounting evidence about this, that in 2009 firms are not going to be able to impose the same kind of across-the-board rate increases that they have routinely done,” Jones says. “What that means is firms are going to begin looking at structural ways to do their work more efficiently and in a more cost-effective way.”

Jones expects many firms to re-think their economic model, including the billable hour.

“I think you’re going to see some really tough thinking about alternatives to the traditional way of pricing legal work,” Jones says. “Perhaps a move toward more value-based approaches and maybe finally, after years and years, a little bit away from the traditional billable hour approach.”

For more insight from Jones about law firms and the current legal market, listen to his interview in the newest episode of Westcast and read Hildebrandt’s Special Client Advisory: Fall 2008.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Westcast: A day in the life of a case

When the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller in June, striking down a ban on gun possession in D.C., a team at West went to work to get this landmark case loaded to Westlaw, complete with the insight and analysis that is critical to legal researchers.

The West editorial process involves specific steps, including fact-checking, headnoting and classification. This Westcast video podcast highlights that process. The result is a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the skills and trusted editorial experience involved in the daily work here at West.

Please take a few minutes to watch this Westcast and let us know what you think:

Incidentally, West’s Tom Trenkner, who you saw at the end of the podcast, had a unique interest in the Heller case. He was among several colleagues from West and Thomson Reuters who were invited to attend the oral arguments in the Heller case when it was before the Supreme Court.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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On the job race, age and gender discrimination

A new survey from FindLaw.com found that one out of four American workers has encountered employment discrimination. The most frequently cited forms of discrimination involved race, age and gender.

The survey asked 1,000 American adults if they believe they have ever experienced discrimination by an employer in job interviews, hiring, pay or promotions. And, 27 percent said they have.

Here are some more of the survey’s findings:

• 42% of African Americans have experienced racial discrimination in the workplace.
• One out of ten women (10%) claim they have experienced gender discrimination in the workplace.
• One out of seven people age 45 and older (15%) claim they have experienced age discrimination in the workplace.
• One out of eight people age 18 to 24 (13%) say they have also experienced age discrimination.
• While racial discrimination was highest in the South, age, gender and religious discrimination were most likely to occur in the Midwest.

Of those who said they have experienced discrimination in the workplace, the most commonly cited types of discrimination were:

• Race 39%
• Age 34%
• Gender 30%
• Religion 7%
• Sexual orientation 7%
• Other 26%

Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney and editor at FindLaw.com says it’s important to note that “not all discrimination is prohibited by law. Only discrimination based upon a classification that is considered ‘protected’- race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or union activity under the federal anti-discrimination laws – is illegal. For example, paying an employee lower wages than other employees because of differing work duties, experience or even attitude is not discriminatory.”

Rahlfs also notes that policies and actions that do not appear discriminatory on their face may nonetheless be prohibited under the law if those practices have the effect of discriminating against people in a protected class.

For example, refusing to hire any applicant who has a child under the age of five is not discriminatory on its face, but may still be considered prohibited discrimination since that kind of policy would have the effect of discriminating against women.

Go to FindLaw.com’s Employee Rights Center for more resources.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Westlaw China goes global

China’s booming economy, the expansion of western business operations into the country and China’s developing legal system offer great opportunities to law firms and in-house legal staff who understand China’s importance to the future of their businesses.

With the global launch of Westlaw China, legal practitioners in the U.S. and U.K. now have access to Chinese legal information and accurate translation on a familiar and effective legal research platform.

Westlaw China is up-to-date, practical and conveniently organized into digests, giving attorneys a more complete view of the issues affecting their clients and their business.

“Westlaw China’s successful launch – and its potential as an important resource for global law firms, corporations doing business in China and law schools – is an important step in the growth of Westlaw as a truly global resource,”said Peter Warwick, president and chief executive officer, Thomson Reuters Legal.

In this short video interview, Stephen Yao, president and chief executive officer of Westlaw China, talks about the demand for information on Chinese law in the United States:

You can learn more about Westlaw China and its familiar user interface, intuitive search tools and editorial enhancements on the Westlaw China Web page. 

In addition to all the resources above, you also can watch a video interview about China’s legal landscape with Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson, who recently traveled to China to learn more about the country’s legal and education systems.

Justice Anderson also discusses the interest in American law among the people he met, including judges, government officials, and students and law professors at the top five national law schools in China:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Rick King named Technology Executive of the Year

Rick King was honored as technology Executive of the Year at the Ninth Annual Minnesota Tekne Awards, held Thursday Oct. 30.

Rick is currently executive vice president and chief operations officer for West, and was recognized for his leadership and innovation as chief technology officer at Thomson Reuters and West.

In addition, Rick is a longtime advocate of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, and was recently asked by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to chair the Minnesota Broadband Task Force.

The Tekne Awards acknowledged companies and individuals who have demonstrated superior technology advancement and leadership in Minnesota. This was the first year Tekne presented the Technology Executive of the Year Award, which honors individual members of executive teams who are responsible for the advancement of technology and technology strategy within a company or organization.

Rick accepted the award from Charles M. Denny, Jr., former chief executive officer and chairman for ADC, and one of the inaugural inductees into the Science and Technology Hall of Fame.

Posted by Angelique Schaffer, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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