Practice Management

Banking On The Good Old Days

Posted on October 21, 2008
I saw this spot some time back on CBS News and I just cannot seem to get it out of my mind. It is not that a 100 year old bank in Orwell, Vermont is not a quaint little story, it is that a small bank founded in 1832 really demonstrates what the Third Wave practice could be and should be -- even with banks...

Imba

Posted on October 15, 2008
Is the Third Wave practice of law imba? Oh yeah, I have thought about it. It is pronounced phonetically as if it is a full word. Imba means imbalanced. It is mostly used in online games that have patches or different versions. It is used by newbies in WarCraft III who are not acquainted with armor and attack types...

The Problems We Face, Why We Are Now Facing Them, And What You As An Attorney Need To Do To Survive It

Posted on October 12, 2008
I think it has begun to dawn on people that we are in for a hard patch ahead, and most people are worried. Attorneys should be worried. Many ordinary people have been worried for some time because the issue of the economy has been impacting them longer...

Investing Basics

Posted on October 07, 2008

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Avoid The FUD

Posted on October 05, 2008
It is an acronym that stands for "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt". Originally, it was created to refer to the smear campaigns used by IBM against it's competitors. The tag line went, "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM". From a personal standpoint I can tell you this is not true...

A Game Of Chicken

Posted on October 02, 2008
Do you like the iPod? I like the iPod. But, will it be around here much longer? According to Wired, Apple is playing a game of chicken with music publishers about the royalties paid for their tunes in which Apple is threatening to just close the popular site down...

Client Financing

Posted on October 01, 2008
I have spoken to, read posts from, and have shared emails with lawyers all over the country that are vitally concerned about the so-called liquidity crises. My advice is do not be. Want a new car, want to sell your house, or want to make other changes in your life? Wait...

Are Lawyers Tag Hags

Posted on September 28, 2008
Well, maybe tag hag is not the right term. That is a person who is obsessed with brand name clothing, but I think it gets the point across. Certainly there are lawyers that concern themselves with wearing the right suit, the right shoes, the right shirt, and the right tie...

Is It Time To Look For Office Space?

Posted on September 27, 2008
Everybody knows that I am not a big fan of commercial office space. I tend to look at it as a long term debt with the build up of zero equity -- no benefit. That is not always a good investment. Also, rent (debt) takes money out of your pocket that broadband and a home office can allow you to keep...

Interesting - Fox News Focus Group Went For Obama

Posted on September 27, 2008
Let's watch this video of Fox News undecided focus group that watched the debate. Obama moved more people.

Containter Housing - Ultra Low Cost - Maybe an Office Too?

Posted on September 25, 2008
Here is a video of the prototype container home to provide ultra low housing. Could they also be used for small home or away from home offices? I think so.

Quark

Posted on September 23, 2008
No, I am not talking about the character in Star Trek Deep Space who ran the bar. Quarks are the smallest known building blocks of matter. Protons and neutrons are each made of 3 quarks. Quarks are never found alone, and are only found in groups of two or more...

Nothing Wrong With Where I Am

Posted on September 22, 2008

Tommy Dorsey : Opus One

Posted on September 22, 2008
Listening to a lot of Tommy Dorsey today, with various singers. Here is Opus One, which is pretty darn good. Enjoy.

Oh, Burn !!!

Posted on September 22, 2008
Burn is an exclamatory response, generally by a third party, after someone has just received an insult. It is slang for disrespecting someone or to make fun of someone. It is so humiliating or insulting to the point where you cannot return with a comeback...

Trial Success

Posted on September 21, 2008
I got an email that says I never seem to discuss anything about actually trying a case, and that is what new lawyers and solos need to know. I returned the email and asked what they wanted to know. The writer said the technique I use to try a successful case...

Twitter Revisited

Posted on September 20, 2008
I got a lot of criticism after my post on the general uselessness of Twitter without having much tried it. I took that to heart and have used it this week. After all, I do not want to be some kind of technology-lacking Mennonite plain person looking back and shunning the First Wave Amish and their total lack of convenience only to see that the larger world has also left me behind...

My Name Is Chuck Newton And I Am A PC

Posted on September 19, 2008
Jerry Seinfeld was paid $10 million for two spots for Microsoft, which were so weird they made no sense. The new spots are well done and I think make the point.

Marketing Is An Expense That You Should Make Sure You Can Afford

Posted on September 19, 2008
You know it is time to get out of the consulting business when: 1. You use the term "value-added" without falling down laughing. 2. Your three meals a day are a morning consumption function, a noontime consumption function, and an evening consumption function...

10 Largest Bankruptcies Of All Time

Posted on September 18, 2008
With Lehman Brothers filing the largest bankruptcy in history, there are a couple interesting points to make. First, in a democracy, what is a right for the biggest and most powerful corporations among us, should be a right extended to the least consumer among us...

The Last Known Use For Sticky Notes

Posted on September 18, 2008
I no longer use sticky notes or post it notes. However, this video shows the only use for which a sticky note should be used -- entertainment. Otherwise, stickies are not green, they are not even that helpful. They cost money either in terms of purchase costs or the costs of goods that allow you to get the stickies for free...

Coming Back Online Only To See The Economy In Turmoil

Posted on September 17, 2008
The electricity in the world wide home office came back up last night. It is amazing how much I have missed. I still need to go out and wait in food lines and gas lines today, but it is great to be connected again to the outside World. It is truly impressive to see how much we communicate, in all of the forms and avenues, everyday of our lives...

Sorry. Temporarily Out Of Business.

Posted on September 15, 2008
I found someone to let me use Internet a short time. It looks likely that this blog will be out of business for a couple or few weeks in that Hurricane Ike hit The Woodlands especially hard. Currently, we are told that the destruction to the electric grid is catastrophic...

I (Don't) Like Ike

Posted on September 12, 2008
I did the smart thing by demanding that my grown children get the hell out of Houston. They live near downtown and the University of Houston. On Thursday morning they did not want to miss their classes and leave, but I did the Dad thing and yelled at them...

Some Dumb Ass Will Buy 'Em

Posted on September 12, 2008
See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Federal Judges Increasingly Look For Clerks With Experience

Posted on September 11, 2008
It use to be that one of the coveted positions some students looked forward to upon graduating from law school was clerking for a federal judge. A year of so with the Judge would teach them a lot and would allow them to either move up to an appellate clerkship or a good Big Law, in-house or law school position...

Lead Them Not Into Temptation

Posted on September 11, 2008
The problem for many big corporations, insurance companies, financial institutions and even consumers to a lesser degree is that it is easy for a lawyer to lead them into temptation. To the lawyer it is the means of getting paid more per case. To the entity it is the feeling of feeling vindicated, even if the final result does not necessarily turn out that way (kind of like the last act of defiance)...

What Can We Do?

Posted on September 11, 2008
To me the law school experience is financially depressing, and I cannot be alone in this regard. It is not that I do not see it as a wonderful opportunity still, or a reward, because I do. It has just become (or it is at least becoming) unaffordable except for students with the best off of parents and family...

Joad Cressbeckler For President And Obama Is A Snob

Posted on September 10, 2008
I dedicate this video to Rick Georges. No reason why except that if he likes McCain he should love Joad Cressbeckler. I guess I'll dedicate the second video to me, because Rick should not get all of the blame.

Robert Ambrogi Is On The Warpath

Posted on September 10, 2008
And no, by "warpath" I am not referring to the video game, the music group, or the Washington Redskins' official website. So please, nobody sue me for using the term. I am talking about its original or literal meaning. A path to war taken by native Americans when traveling to an enemy's territory to engage in battle...

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