Category «Legal Marketing»

Artificial Intelligence, ABA Formal Opinion 512 And Access To Justice

Jerry Lawson evaluates the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 512, “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools” as a mixed bag. Lawson states that the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility took a significant step in the right direction by legitimizing the idea that it is appropriate for lawyers to use AI. Equally important, it suggests guardrails necessary for the safe use of artificial intelligence. It also provides valuable guidance on other related topics, with client confidentiality significant. It should not be surprising that the ABA would face challenges regulating a complex new technology.

Subjects: AI, Ethics, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Privacy

When Should Presenters Apologize?

Referencing decades of experience as a presenter and an attendee at presentations, Jerry Lawson cautions us not to begin a presentation with an apology, which can be compelled by a tech glitch or some other reason not within our control. Lawson states that the habit of beginning with an apology is so old that it has a name in Medieval rhetoric, the captatio benevolentiae, meaning an attempt to capture the audience’s goodwill. Most importantly, It doesn’t work. Lawson highlights a range of scenarios for which an apology or no apology, are appropriate. His lesson applies to far more than presentations, as these reactions are common in a work environment where they may indeed not serve your objectives.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Continuing Legal Education, Education, Presentation Skills

2024 Link Guide to Employment Resources

This employment resources guide by Marcus P. Zillman spans multiple sectors, sources in the private and public sectors, on-site and remote work, job search engines, resume building resources, identifying job titles and respective skill requirements, and is inclusive of a focus on new job seekers and those with years of experience. Some of the sources such as LinkedIn will be familiar, but many will be new to you and will add capabilities to your efforts to develop and execute a successful job search process.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Economy, Education, Job Hunting

Slide Show Formatting Basics

Legal tech expert and frequent speaker Jerry Lawson affirms that the best substantive presentation material looks even better if packaged well. Formatting slide shows is an art. Compliance with some basic slide show formatting principles won’t make you Monet, but will put you on the road to being a passable PowerPoint artist. Lawson shares his presentation tips and techniques.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Presentation Skills

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 6, 2024

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Eight highlights from this week: US car dealerships are recovering from massive cyberattack: 3 things you should know; Deepfake attacks will cost $40 billion by 2027; FTC – Who’s who in scams: a spring roundup; Cloudflare is taking a stand against AI website scrapers; Microsoft tells more customers their emails have been stolen; Tips to Make Facebook and Instagram Fun Again; and How to Stop ChatGPT Training On Your Data.

Subjects: AI, Communication Skills, Cybersecurity, Economy, Email Security, Financial System, Healthcare, Privacy, Social Media, Travel

PowerPoint has Its Problems. It’s Worthy Anyway.

Jerry Lawson discusses how antipathy toward slide shows is understandable but misdirected. A slide show is a tool, an instrument like a hammer, airbrush or violin. Lawson advocates the position that good slide shows can help presenters better educate, persuade, and even inspire.

Subjects: Communication Skills, KM, Presentation Skills

Dissecting The Processes of Law Firm Strategic Planning

We have been informed that 49% of law firm leaders indicate “strategic planning is more important than ever.” Another 20% say it is tremendously important. Law firms have more money at risk than ever before. They have more attorneys in their firms to communicate with. And – they are looking at bigger markets along with a multitude of new ones. Meanwhile, the world is awash in geopolitical risk. Strategic planning brings all this together by evaluating risk and opportunity – the plan itself defines what a law firm will and won’t do. The strategic path brings about the most informed and thoughtful decisions – and with the amount of money at stake – no firm deserves less. Such is the world of law firms and their strategic planning efforts as identified in a survey we just distributed to over 200 large North American law firms. This survey defines where these law firms are in their strategic planning process and where they are headed. Patrick J. McKenna and Michael B. Rynowecer canvassed and received detailed feedback from firm leaders, all from firms of over 100 lawyers in size, on their specific approach to strategic planning and their responses to 16 sequential questions covering everything from who was involved in developing their current strategic plan and how long it took, to how satisfied they were and the one thing they would change with respect to their efforts going into the future.

Subjects: Leadership, Legal Marketing