Chuck Newton

5 Things You Do Not Know About Me

1.  The older I have gotten the more liberal I have become and the older my music tastes have become.  I do not follow anybody, but I presently like Hillary, Obama and Edwards.  I now trend toward the old crooners like Frank, Sammie, Dean, Nat and Tony.

2.  When I was very young I started a movement to save the presidency of the United States that grew unbelievably large.  I failed.  The President resigned.  I cried in the West Wing.  I relived my angst, sorrows and insecurities during the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

3.  I am a devote and practicing Catholic who has a healthy distrust of organized religion and fundamentalism.

4.  As a young inexperienced lawyer I took on the State Bar of Texas in the Texas Supreme Court and the United States District Court for depriving lawyers of their civil rights and First Amendment rights to advertise freely..and mostly won.

5.  I am married to Jane Williams Newton, my wife of 25 years.  We have four wonderful children together.  She was not my high school sweetheart, but she was close to it.  We went to college together (St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas), we applied to law school together, went to the same law school together (South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas), we attended every law school class together, took every test together, took the bar exam together, started a law practice together 20 years ago, and have worked every day of our adult lives together.  We have failed together, won together, waned together and thrived together.

Talk About Setting The Language Blog Police On Fire

There was so much consternation and the gnashing of teeth this past year by many legal bloggers over lawyers calling their law or legal blogs "blawgs" (although I will note that when the Dennis Kennedy's "Blawgies" came out many of these same bloggers were jumping for joy).  Therefore, I cannot imagine what the law blogosphere (or should I tempt fate and call it the "blawgosphere") is going to think about Victoria Pynchon using the term "BLARG" instead of blog as short for "alternate resolution" blog. 

Duck!  Take cover!  Incoming!  Incoming!

I say good for you Vickie.  I have found that naming a blog, much like naming a child, is such a personal thing -- hated by most, but loved by you.

Lawyers Appreciate...

Cases that are a thrill.

Clients that are real.

A purpose to fulfill.

Judges that are not shrill.

Opposing counsels that are not pills.

Verdicts that do not kill.

Thank You Ernie!

I truly like enjoy reading Ernie Svenson's blog Ernie The Attorney.  It is insightful and inspiring.  Cogent is probably the word.  He recently defined, for me anyway, What Lawyers Appreciate.  How appropriate for the New Year.  I hope he does not mind me stealing it and republishing it here, but he states:

We enjoy representing clients who have genuine problems, clients who value thoughtful advice, and who understand the risks of going to court and are willing to compromise when that makes sense  ---but who are willing to prepare fully for going to court, if necessary. 

Lawyers appreciate judges who have keen instincts and are able to find the equitable center of gravity in a case quickly.  We appreciate judges who are impatient but polite, who know the legal principles and apply them in most cases ---but who are willing to do justice, without guidance from precedent, if that's what makes the most sense.

Lawyers appreciate other lawyers who fight hard, but are fair and straightforward.  Lawyers appreciate colleagues who can see when common ground is possible and practical, and when it is not.  Lawyers live in a world of conflict, and the best ones know how to minimize conflict, not just how to augment it.

Lawyers appreciate a legal system that allows differences to be resolved efficiently and sensibly.  They appreciate this even when they wind up losing a case.  The best lawyers appreciate that which helps the system as a whole, and they put the system's interests ahead of their own personal and parochial interests.  Of course, they do this only when it is consistent with their obligation to zealously represent their client. 

What I strive to appreciate is how difficult it is for clients, lawyers, and judges to balance their own views against the views of a larger group. I hope that somehow we find a way to do this better than we are now, although we do it much better here in this country than in most other nations.  And that's what I appreciate most of all.

How To Stay Competitive In The New Year

In the past year or so we have seen a significant increase in the number of new Internet businesses targeting the legal business and its constituencies.  Some examples would be LegalZoom or the increasing services of Internet companies like LegalMatch.  However, on closer inspection, the services being launched related to the legal biz almost all seem to fall into three categories: lead generation; data aggregation; and specialized services to and for lawyers.

So how do Third Wavers and hopefuls deal with these Internet offerings and what is the future direction we may be headed in? Here are a few opinions and comments to consider:

1. Lawyers should be very aware of their online presence. Do you have a blog in addition to or in lieu of a website?  How does your site look and feel? Is it just a Typepad or Blogger template?  Is your site easy for the law customer to navigate? Are you answering the client's needs and the potential client's needs through the information you are offering? What services are missing from your site that would cause the law customer to search elsewhere? How is the law consumer finding your site or from what data aggregator are they being referred?

2. Before any agreement is signed with an Internet service provider, lawyers must be aware of and understand where and how the data may be utilized by the Web master/Web site. Many contracts between brokers and dotcom companies allow the dotcom to do almost anything they want with the data. There have been instances where a lawyers signed an agreement for Web site hosting only to find that the agreement allowed the provider to utilize the data being provided in their other products.

3. Lawyers must take control of their postings and web lawyout. Law customers typically go to three or four Web sites in their search for a lawyer. The site that provides the most information and is the easiest to use is where the potential client will go and where the client will stay. Placing yourself on every Web site possible is not a strategy that provides you with useable feedback and may result in further fractioning real efforts related to data control.  In short, centralize your efforts and become more engaged with your site.  Design, layout and content of a blog just takes the time and concentration of the attorney involved.  Just stare at it and play with it and think about your subject matter.  Listen to your readers.  A web-designer cannot help you with these aspects.

5. The impact Google and YouTube and other large search engines may have on the industry could affect lawyers dramatically in the not to distant future. These sites, which are evolving, today are not aggregating data to refer clients out. These sites are designed to be destinations, to which is a tremendous distinction that we are not paying enough attention.

6. We have been too slow in terms of internal issues of structuring and managing a law practice to adopt the changes necessary in governance to keep pace with the external challenges. For example, we all have been too slow in going paperless, moving our offices home, disposing of staff, converting to blogs, and identifying YouTube as the type of search engine to which consumers will turn to first in the future.  As to external challenges, sometimes we move too quickly, sometimes not quickly enough, to meet and address the issues. A clear goal is being able to identify the issues that need immediate attention while also clearly looking at future permutations or unintended effects that may result from proposed action.

I Opened My Eyes, And Saw Before Me, To My Surprise...

I connect with Typepad, my blogging vehicle of choice, hoping that inspiration would hit me (which would be a miracle in itself) when I see that TypePad's feature blog is none other than Home Office Lawyer brought to you by that blogosphere superstar Grant D. Griffiths.  As stated by Typepad:  "Grant D. Griffiths is a WiFi-loving, Mac-toting, comfy sweats-wearing, family law attorney who works from home and encourages other lawyers to do the same".

You had me at "WiFi-loving".

You lost me at "comfy sweats-wearing".  Grant, is your home office a Rocky movie set?  Putting on  exhibition bout and playing  Bill Conti's rousing Gonna Fly Now score on your Ipod?  Jumping up and down when you reach the top of the stairs from your basement office?  I just hope you fill out the entire theme by wearing Converse tennis shoes.  As for me, I prefer old, paint-stained Dockers and pocket tees.  The joke around my house is that "Dad has on his office clothes".  (No respect...I am the Rodney Dangerfield of home office lawyers).

Well, let me just say that I am just proud of Grant and the fact that his blog is getting the recognition it deserves.

Goodby Jerry, We'll Miss You

We are going to miss Jerry Ford.  A Long time ago, in the 70s, in another life, I worked for the man.  I loved the man.  On Tuesday night when I heard of his passing I felt melancholy.  My youngest son and I went for a drive.  We landed at Whataburger and sipped on iced tea for a couple of hours.  I reminisced about Jerry Ford, his history, his good nature, the fight in 1976, the Kansas City Convention, how my political philosophy has changed since then, how I thought Jerry Ford's political philosophy had changed, and how I settled on being a lawyer because of Jerry Ford.  Interspersed with this my son talked about school, his plans for next year, what he might want to do in college, and what part time job he might like.  It dawned on me that he and I were talking but we were having two different conversations.  He cared enough to hang with me until my spirits picked up, but he was not connecting with Jerry Ford or the 70s.  I was reminiscing about the past and he was thinking of the future.  After all, my son was not born until 1990.  He just now started driving.  Apart from what he thinks is my strange fascination with disco music, he has absolutely no connection with the 70s.  His only other interest in the 70s is to ask me about Ben Stein.  It is funny in a way.  In his attitude my son is saying pay your respects and move on.  The World is moving forward.  So here's to you Jerry.  A simple man.  An honest man.  A humble man.  We'll miss you.

Attorneys Suck At Fixed Pricing?

Christopher Marston has a great post on his Inside The Firm Of The Future blog in which he concludes:

...if you believe you can add value, most attorneys are TERRIBLE pricers. First of all, I have sat in a room with hundreds of attorneys in the past 2 years and watched them try to price a hypothetical case. They always go back to time and effort, or they discount their own value and try to argue why the client would never pay more than a certain amount. If that is what you think, you certainly will never command a premium for your services. Again, the profitability problem is not in the model, IT'S IN YOUR HEAD! At Exemplar, we get together and talk about how many different ways we can add value to the client and make great things happen that no one else can! After that, we realize just how much better and unique our value added services are compared to everyone else. Then, we think of all of the reasons why the customer would be crazy to chooses anyone but us . . . because we are that confident in the value we deliver. We back it up with a guarantee, and then ask for a tip if we do a great job! (Keep in mind, we select our clients. . .and we are prepared to walk away from clients who are satisfied with "average" legal counsel. We let them know up front that Exemplar is not for clients who want to shop at Wal-Mart for legal counsel.  This is the Ritz.  It's not cheap, but people love it here!)

The real problem here with attorneys and fixed pricing is that most of them suck at it. You see, inventory in a store does not feel unappreciated if it sits on a shelf for a year. Attorneys, on the other hand, have fragile egos. There is nothing worse for those egos than to be sitting in your office with no clients who want you. The way that most of them deal with this problem is lower the price so that they can feel "wanted." Then, they very carefully raise prices as they get busy, but never very far. Why? Because lawyers hate being rejected. It is much easier to charge a price that no one will argue with than to have to explain yourself and actually justify the value of their services to a customer. All other businesses have to make this value proposition to clients, but lawyers HATE explaining their value. They think they are too good for that, or that it is somehow beneath them to do so.  Consequently, most attorneys who try fixed pricing are more interested in protecting their delicate psychology than actually being profitable. If you cannot GET OVER IT you certainly cannot be profitable on this model. A great family law attorney I know who uses fixed pricing put it right: Be confident and be expensive. The best things in life are expensive. Exemplar wants to be on of the best things in your life. We are not a cheap firm, but we are good, we can provide services that you cannot find anywhere else, and we can each customer attention and a true experience that cannot be acquired at any price at an "average" firm. Average prices are for average lawyers and average customers. There are plenty of those in this country and we don't need any more. Hopefully, some of my colleagues will find the courage and creativity to add more value, be different and better, and charge what they are worth. Then, you will unlock the secret to profitability in a fixed-price model.

Although I tend to agree with this statement my practice is stuck on an hourly fee basis.  Because we litigate what are known as federal fee-shifting cases or private attorney general cases, the Court has to award are fees based upon what is known as "Lodestar" or in Texas as the "Johnson Factors".  The appropriate hourly rate times the number of hours expended, with certain discounts for less productive work.  As much as I wish this were different, if the process became more subjective, we would find ourselves at the arbitrary discretion of federal judges as to what we would be paid.  And, whereas there are few judges that might award us a small fortune, most of these judges would leave you working from a soup kitchen.  You do get the feeling sometimes that many of these judges, although extremely bright and knowledgeable, were not all that successful at pricing and collecting fees off the bench.  The ones that were seem to be a little regretful of their career choice.

Google Patent Search! When Legal Research?

Although not relating directly to what I do, Google continues to amaze in what it is wanting and willing to do and the information that it is willing to provide for free to people over the Internet. 

I have got to admit that I have begun, for example, to research my legal issues on Google before resorting to my legal research sites.  How does this help?  Google is better at helping to broadly understand the issue so I can narrow the search using legal phraseology on the case law sites.  You can often and easily find the key cases that need to be reviewed, legal papers that discuss the subject in depth, DOJ papers to staff attorneys, and even lawyer websites and blogs that discuss particular issues.

How long until Google takes on the legal research sites? After all, Google already has the technology and the search capability.  It only needs to access the cases just like all of the pay for view providers.

Now Google has introduced Google Patent Search.  It is in beta presently, but when you think that you can research patents online -- FOR FREE -- it is pretty amazing.

Getting In The Hot Tub

Continuing the tribute to James Brown for a moment, there really is no greater tribute than imitation or comedians like Eddie Murphy poking good nature fun.  James Brown's uplifting way was infectious.  Most everybody remembers the skit that made Eddie famous on SNL of James Brown getting in the hot tub.