Saturday, November 28, 2009

Qualities of Successful Women Part III

Judge Diane Welsh Details Qualities That Distinguish Successful Women—Part III #law #lawyers (The Legal Intelligencer) http://htxt.it/nWIY

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Philadelphia-Area December Events for Lawyers, Judges, Accountants and Business Owners

Here are a few of the things happening in the Philadelphia region next month that are sure to have great attendance. These are all fabulous events for networking, business development, and relationship development. We hope to see you there.

The Philadelphia Bar Association will host “A Year in Review: Big Cases - What Was Hot, What Was Not. -- It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle” on December 1, 2009. This event is sponsored by the Bar-News Media Committee, which is chaired by The PR Lawyer (a.k.a. @ginarubel on Twitter) Gina Rubel. Emmy-award winning journalist Lynn Doyle, will lead a discussion with Bar Chancellor Sayde Ladov, Tariq El-Shabazz, Rhonda Hill Wilson and Chuck A. Peruto, Jr. from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm at the Bar Association. To register, go to http://www.philadelphiabar.org/.

Also on December 1, 2009, is the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Women of Distinction Awards Banquet to be held from 5:15 pm - 8:15 pm at the Sheraton City Center Hotel 17 & Race Streets, Philadelphia. To register, go to http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/.

Banker’s Shootout™Kimberle Levin and The Philadelphia 100 Alumni Association bring us The Banker’s Shootout™ which will take place on December 4 from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM at the Philadelphia Country Club, 1601 Spring Mill Road, Gladwyne, PA. Five of the Philadelphia region’s bank CEOs will come together and answer questions about bank financing for businesses. Furia Rubel will be at this exclusive event on December 4, 2009 from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. Speakers include: Bill Aichele, Chairman, President & CEO of Univest Corporation, Gerry Cuddy, President & CEO of Beneficial Bank, Ted Peters, Chairman & CEO of Bryn Mawr Trust, Tom Petro, President & CEO of Fox Chase Bank, Walt Tillman, Chairman & CEO of Vantage Point Bank, Pamela Strisofsky, Managing Director & CFO of TL Ventures, Moderator. Register at http://www.bankersshootout.eventbrite.com/.

The Justinian Society of Philadelphia, made up of Italian-American attorneys, judges and law students, will host their annual Christmas party on December 15, 2009 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at The Grand Ballroom at The Ben Franklin, 9th & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia. This is a fantastic event drawing several hundred attendees every year. To register, go to http://www.justinian.org/events.php?action=view&id=132.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

On Facebook? Help Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts

Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (PMC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to fair and impartial judges and juries in Pennsylvania. Public confidence in our state’s courts is distressingly low, in large part because of the perception that money and special interests erode judicial independence. By working to change the judicial selection process, improve the jury system and court administration, and combat bias in the courts, PMC is fighting to make sure that our goal is not just an aspiration, but a reality for all Pennsylvanians.

We have the opportunity to help PMC win a significant grant through the Chase Community Giving challenge on Facebook. Facebook users who participate in the challenge by becoming fans of the Chase Community Giving site get to vote for small nonprofits they believe are worthy of philanthropic support. The top 100 vote getters will receive $25,000 grants and the opportunity to earn more through a second round of voting. First-round voting continues until December 11.

This is a great opportunity for PMC. Please join me in voting for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. Check out http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/781338

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Judge Diane Welsh Details Qualities That Distinguish Successful Women—Part II

Judge Diane Welsh Details Qualities That Distinguish Successful Women—Part II #law #lawyers (The Legal Intelligencer) http://htxt.it/4oP6

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Employee Use of Facebook and Twitter, Social Media for Lawyers

What Have You Done About Employee Use of Facebook and Twitter? asks Eric B. Meyer in his Legal Intelligencer Blog. This is a must read article for all employers and employment lawyers.

I had the opportunity to meet Eric yesterday at a Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) CLE: “Facebook, Twitter & Blogging…Oh MySpace!” The six-credit CLE was offered simultaneously in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I presented the introduction to Social Media and then discuss the ethics of social media, public relations and marketing with Kim Jessum, Esq., (@kimjessum on Twitter) an intellectual property attorney with Stradley Ronon and Kelly Phillips Erb, Esq. (@taxgirl on Twitter) who is a tech-savvy tax attorney in Philadelphia.

Eric Meyer (@Eric_B_Meyer on Twitter) is a member of the Labor and Employment Group at Dilworth Paxson LLP. In an one-on-one conversation, he and I shared thoughts about the implications of social media in the workplace. In fact, he writes social media policies for clients -- which -- judging by the informal survey of raised hands yesterday of more than 150 attendees, most law firms are in desperate need of implementing.

When I arrived, I met Melissa Sachs, Esq., who immediately set up a hashtag on Twitter: #pbism - so some of us were reporting and sharing information and thoughts with an even larger audience. If you are not yet on Twitter and just want to see how a hashtag is used and some of the valuable information that came out of the session, go to http://search.twitter.com/ and type in #pbism (even folks from PBI were tweeting).

There were many excellent tips shared by the Philadelphia program participants some of which included Nicole D. Galli, Esq. and Peter Wakiyama, Esq. from Pepper Hamilton LLP, Stephanie "Tess" Blair, Esq., from Morgan Lewis, J. Christopher Erb, Esq., from the Erb Law Firm , PC, Abbe Fletman, Esq., from Flaster Greenberg, Harold Goldner, Esq., (@humanracehorses on Twitter) an employment attorney who blogs at www.humanracehorses.com and Alexander Plache, Esq. who is Sr. Intellectual Property Counsel with Saint-Gobain Corporation.

From what I heard yesterday, PBI's goal is to offer an encore presentation in a few months so if you couldn't make it yesterday, there will be another opportunity.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Philadelphia-Area CLE Programs to Check Out

Here are just a few great CLE programs happening in the Philadelphia-area between now and the end of the year. If you are looking to fulfill some CLE credits, feel free to check out the following events:

• The Pennsylvania Association for Justice will host a continuing legal education seminar on Nov. 20, 2009. The program, “Insurance Bad Faith Litigation” is slated for 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Top of the Tower on Arch Street in Philadelphia. Attorney Mark W. Tanner of the Philadelphia personal injury law firm Feldman, Shepherd, Wohlgelernter, Tanner, Weinstock & Dodig will serve as a faculty member. Those attending the CLE will receive four substantive CLE credits. Visit www.pajustice.org to learn more about the event.

• The Pennsylvania Bar Institute will host a continuing legal education event titled, “Practical Aspects of Personal Injury Depositions” on December 8, 2009. Attorney John M. Dodig of Feldman Shepherd will serve as faculty for the event. Course participants will learn new techniques and best practices from Dodig and others to test and improve their deposition skills. The event will take place at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) Conference Center in the Wanamaker Building, Suite 1010, in Philadelphia from 12:45pm – 5pm. Go to www.pbi.org for more information.

• The Pennsylvania Bar Institute will offer a six-credit CLE, “Trial of a Medical Malpractice Case” on December 9, 2009. Feldman, Shepherd, Wohlgelernter, Tanner, Weinstock & Dodig attorney’s Carol Nelson Shepherd and Evan Y. Liu, M.D., J.D. will participate in the event as educators. The course will be held at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) Conference Center, on 10th Floor of the Wanamaker Building, Suite 1010, in Philadelphia from 9am – 4:45pm.

• Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association (PTLA) will host a continuing legal education seminar titled, “Ethics: Doing the Right Thing” on December 16, 2009. The program, which will be held at the Radisson Plaza – Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia from 12:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., is part of PTLA’s Anniversary Luncheon Lecture Series. The lecture series celebrates 50 years of PTLA legal education. Attorney Mark W. Tanner of Feldman Shepherd will serve as a faculty member. Go to www.philatla.org/PHL to learn more.

Google Users Now Able to View Stored Data in One Place

Posted by Amanda Walsh

After being here in Spain for nearly two months, it has been quite a change from my experiences last year. I want to update our PR Lawyer blog readers on some interesting happenings here in Spain.

Today, I read a post written by Miguel Helft on the Technology blog titled, “Bits” on NYTimes.com about a European privacy conference that was held last week in Spain. I found the post to be very interesting as it talks about a new service from Google, Google Dashboard. This new service brings together privacy information that Google holds for each user and puts it into one space.

User information was available before the release of Dashboard, but now Dashboard brings all of the information together in one easy-to-use place. Dashboard only holds information about services that require a log-in from users. For example, Google’s free email service, Gmail, account users can view the number of conversations in their inbox and see archived conversations. According to Shuman Ghosemajumder, business product manager for trust and safety for Google, he notes that this service brings “more transparency and control” to its users.

Some praise the new service, siting it as a large step for Google, who may be following in the footsteps of Facebook in an effort to be more transparent with user information.

Others are not so convinced of the benefits of Dashboard. John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog, a frequent critic of Google said, “Dashboard gives users the appearance of control over privacy, but does not really prevent Google from tracking users across the Web.”

I viewed my personal www.Google.com/dashboard account just a few minutes ago and I thought it was pretty neat to see all my accounts in one spot. However, I can understand the security risks this does present. If a hacker were to get their hands on someone’s account password they would automatically have access to their YouTube, their Picasa and Google Reader account information as well.

Let me explain a little about YouTube, Picasa and Google Reader. According to the Web site, “Picasa is free photo editing software from Google that makes your pictures look great.” You can post photos and share them with friends and family through the site. Another well-known Google subsidiary is YouTube. YouTube allows users to post and view videos for free. It’s a helpful video resource for just about anything from watching music videos to viewing how-to guides. Google Reader “is a tool for gathering, reading, and sharing all the interesting blogs and Web sites you read on the Web,” according to the Google.com/reader page. After you sign up, you are able to subscribe to an RSS feed or “Really Simple Syndication” feed on your favorite blogs. These feeds are the way Web sites and blogs are able to issue new content. The updated posts are sent to your Google Reader where they are kept all together in one space. Sometimes sites like this are called aggregators. It is a convenient and easy place to view all of the most up-to-date posts on your favorite blogs. I prefer the blog aggregator, Bloglines.
All of the services I described above and more will now be accessible by inputting your personal log-in information through Google Dashboard. After reading some comments on the post I can understand why people may be worried or unhappy about the new service.

On the other hand, I believe that anything that you put on the Internet can and will be viewed by others. From a PR standpoint, your public image shared on the Internet should always be maintained and presented in the utmost professional light.

I do not see Dashboard as a huge change from any other service Google offers. After all, the same information was available to be viewed online before and now the only difference is that it is all kept in one place for users. What are some of your opinions about this new service from Google?

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Facebook, Twitter & Blogging…Oh MySpace! 6-Credit CLE in PA

The ethics of social media for lawyers and judges is a hot topic and continues to evolve. On November 10, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute will host, “Facebook, Twitter & Blogging…Oh MySpace!” The six-credit CLE is being offered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Gina Rubel will set the stage with an introduction to Social Media and will discuss social media marketing with Kim Jessum, Esq., and Kelly Phillips Erb, Esq. To register, visit www.pbi.org.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Free Legal Clinic for Small Businesses in Philly

Philadelphia VIP Sponsors Free Legal Clinic for Small Businesses Provided by Volunteer Corporate Counsel: http://htxt.it/b96b

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

20 Must-Read Articles on Social Media Ethics for Lawyers and Judges - The Legal Intelligencer Blog

In my latest post for The Legal Intelligencer Blog, I share 20 Must-Read Articles on Social Media Ethics for Lawyers and Judges. I encourage reading all of them. They are well worth the time. http://thelegalintelligencer.typepad.com/tli/2009/11/20-mustread-articles-on-social-media-ethics-for-lawyers-and-judges.html

The articles come from the ABA Journal, Staten Island Live, The Wall Street Journal, LLRX.com, Lexology.com, MediaPost News, New York Law Journal, Phoenix Business Journal, New York Times, Lawprofessors.com, New Jersey Law Journal, ISBA.org, Robert J. Ambrogi Legal Blog Watch, MSNBC, Lawyerist.com, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania – Attorney Newsletter, and Law.com.

I added #21 as a comment after speaking with Kelly Phillips Erb (a.k.a. Tax Girl http://www.taxgirl.com)/ Want to Update Your Avvo Listing? If So, Start Policing Client Comments, Opinion Says by Debra Cassens Weiss.

Please let us know if you know of any articles that should be added to the list.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Cooking Up Justice: Philly Lawyers Share Their Favorite Recipes

Carol Nelson Shepherd of the Philadelphia personal injury law firm, Feldman Shepherd, is not only a great attorney - but she's a winner in The Legal Intelligencer's Cooking Up Justice Best Chef's Competition. For the slideshow, go to http://www.palegalpubs.com/coj2009/