Legal Talk Network - Law News and Legal Topics

Between threatening Facebook and suing Wachtell, the Chief Twit is pretty active. We also talk about the end of the Supreme Court Term and the struggles in bar prep.------Elon Musk is desperately seeking a win and if he can't get it in a cage match against Mark Zuckerberg, he'll try his hand in court. Spoiler: it's going to go just about as badly. He's sent a legal threat to Facebook that fails to articulate much in the way of a legal issue and now he's suing Wachtell for being the lawyers that forced him to buy the company in the first place. Meanwhile the Supreme Court Term ended in a blaze of gaslighting and a hail of disingenuous spin. And now law schools are facing legal threats if their student body looks diverse. Finally, bar prep is just a little bit more stressful for students prepping with Themis, which continues to suffer website problems in the critical weeks before the exam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s talk technology, eDiscovery, Chat GPT and how to make use of our time in a productive way. All of these tools are coming at us lightning fast – listen to our discussion with Joy Holley, John Simon and Erich Vieth on where to start the learning process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erica has “thunder tears.” Liz becomes “hot garbage.” We’ve all had days where life is a big hot mess. In this encore episode, Amy, Mary, Erica and Liz talk about how they re-center when everything goes sideways, and how to downplay the guilt that goes with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If you don’t have it in writing, you’re out of luck.” That’s the common wisdom you’ll hear from TV judges, helpful uncles, well-meaning friends and even lawyers in your life. But while getting an agreement in writing is a best practice, in some cases you—or your clients—might have more options than you think to enforce a unwritten agreement.While the foundational principle of the Statute of Frauds holds that contracts must be written and signed to be enforced, there is a tool to create an exception. This tool is laid out in detail by Paul Golden in his new book, Litigating Constructive Trusts: The Last Resort in Fighting Inquity and Inequity. Golden, who has extensive experience in real estate and trust and estate law, believes far too few attorneys are aware of the potential benefits of constructive trusts.In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Golden explains the concept of a constructive trust to the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles. A constructive trust is a “legal fiction,” where (broadly speaking) a judge decides that between two parties with a relationship where trust could be assumed, there has been an egregious betrayal of that trust and an unjust enrichment to the betrayer. The judge can then retroactively declare that even without a written contract, a defendant had a fiduciary duty to the victim, and victim’s property must be returned to them.“Traitorous partners, gold-digging girlfriends, old ladies being tricked out of preparing a fair will, and plain old murder,” writes Golden in the book. “These have been, and will continue to be, the subjects of constructive trusts. The facts in some constructive trust cases are so outrageous, one often feels like a voyeur, but without the shame.”Golden explains the special benefits of a constructive trust, as well as defenses that can be made if your client is the subject of a constructive trust claim. Different jurisdictions have different standards for constructive trusts, and Golden and Rawles discuss the state of New York’s 4-prong test in detail. Most constructive trusts are based on case law, but some states do have civil code about them. Golden offers advice to lawyers looking to use a constructive trust argument, and lists common trial issues they might face, including how to convince a judge they have the power to act to avert a deep injustice from continuing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If normal SEO is austere classical music, social media algorithms are drunk jazz on a Saturday Night—you never know what’s coming next. The guys talk through how to play nice with The Algos and then share the next two picks for your marketing dream team. -----Social media algorithms have more changes than a Thelonious Monk composition, which kinda sucks when you’re just trying to get your content promoted by these fickle, two-timing, nutty formulas. Gyi and Conrad give their take on whether you really need to fight the rhythm or just go with the flow while making content that people actually like. Good idea, right? We think so too.Later, it’s time for the guys’ next picks for your in-house marketing dream team. Conrad goes for the advertising machine—the statistics-loving, data-driven person who helps you make well-informed decisions for your business. Then Gyi goes with the perennially essential intake manager. Intake is everything, and lawyers need to understand why. Tune in for Gyi’s insights on what an intake manager can do for your team.The News: Threads, the Twitter killer, raced its way to 100M users.  Google Business Profiles Drops Call Tracking Features and effectively gave Conrad the willies. Should you be freaked, too? If your LinkedIn reach massively changed, it’s because LinkedIn had a massive algorithm update.  Mentioned in this Episode:CallRailLHLM Episode: How Much Time Should You Spend on Your Marketing? || Drafting Your Marketing Dream Team: Round 1Leave Us an Apple Review Lunch Hour Legal Marketing now on YouTube Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legal leaders from Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas discuss how their organizations acquired opioid settlement funds and the impactful legal services they are providing to those affected by opioid use disorder on LSC's “Talk Justice” podcast. A 2019 report from LSC’s Opioid Task Force describes the need for civil legal services in response to the opioid epidemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:  Interview questions to ask that help you understand an applicant’s true motivations. Questions that dig a little deeper. And how to accept those answers at face value. Ever had a terrible experience hiring someone? There are tools to help you avoid mistakes, but you have to learn how to use them. But there are no silver bullets. Go boldly, but tread lightly.  Dealing with a new hire who won’t complete required training? Can you really require someone to learn, and if they won’t, is that grounds to terminate the relationship? This question quickly drifts into some interesting territory.  And finally, how long can you keep a new attorney at your firm before they need to start returning a profit to the firm? Maybe while they learn the ropes, you can at least have them do something that delivers value. (You can only wait so long).  Mentioned in this Episode:Malcolm Gladwell, Revisionist History pageMalcolm Gladwell, “Hamlet Was Wrong”Using DiSC For HiringKolbeThe Predictive IndexMyers-Briggs personality testJay Henderson, Real Talent HiringReal Talent HiringWizehireJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Ely Delaney joins me to talk about the follow up formula, and how to turn leads into cases.He takes us through his strategic system for client retention, as well as maximizing cases once they’re closed.Ely Delaney is your Automated Systems Strategist and is also known as “The People Whisperer”. He’s the creator of The Follow Up Rockstar System, teaching entrepreneurs how to go from surviving to thriving in any economy through the art and science of building strong relationships and following up for LIFE.He’s an Amazon bestseller with his two books “Marketing Tidbits” and “Networking Tidbits”With a passion for connecting people, his best-selling training course “Networking Like A Rockstar” has over 1389 students registered globally. Ely helps speakers, authors, and coaches automate their follow-up to grow their business without having to have an MBA from MIT.He’s the guy to help you build a 24/7 automated system and turn you into a Follow-Up Rockstar!Ely gives listeners actionable tips on: [3:45] How we make client relationships better  [4:35] Replying in a timely manner [5:45] Setting the expectations and timeline for client work [9:40] Communicating client expectations [12:15] Living by your calendar and scheduling platforms [15:40] Making your calendar invites stand out [21:50] Setting up your automations and automated sequences [28:50] Case studies to prove this concept [33:55] How to handle client communication once cases are wrapped up [45:00] Ely’s book review [50:05] One big takeaway from this episode  Resources mentioned in this episode:Me, Inc. by Gene SimmonsConnect with Ely here: https://www.facebook.com/elydelaney https://instagram.com/elydelaney/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/elydelaney/ https://twitter.com/elydelaney  https://connectwithely.com/   Connect with me Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter Karin on Twitter Karin on LinkedIn Conroy Creative Counsel on Facebook https://conroycreativecounsel.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The July bar exam is right around the corner, and if you’re like most recent law school grads, you’ve probably got some pre-test jitters. DeMario Thornton welcomes young lawyer Taylor DiChello to pick her brain on strategies for successful bar prep and test-taking. Taylor discusses her approach to studying, the usefulness of BARBRI courses, the structure of the bar exam, and much more. Tune in for practical tips and reassurances to calm your nerves as the exam approaches. Taylor DiChello is a corporate associate at Gunderson Dettmer where she specializes in the representation of emerging growth companies throughout their life cycles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mindfulness refers to our ability to maintain our present-moment awareness without drifting unhelpfully to the past or future. That might sound like a heady concept, but a focused, steady mind truly is helpful in life, and its applications in legal practice could lead to radical improvements for lawyers and their clients. So, how do we get there? Molly Ranns and JoAnn Hathaway talk with Dr. Nehal Patel about his article, Why Lawyers Fear Love: Mohandas Gandhi's Significance to the Mindfulness in Law Movement, where he highlights Gandhi’s teachings and explains how meditation and mindset shifts help legal professionals thrive in the practice of law. Nehal Patel is a licensed attorney and an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices