The Law Planet Blog

Here at The Law Planet, we believe that profits increase by increasing revenues or decreasing expenses. If there is a suitable freeware or shareware program we can use to accomplish a task, then we use it. We just discovered GiveAwayOfTheDay. This website has a free software program every day. But you must download the software and install it on its given day.

Recently we downloaded a program called Evernote, which reminded me of an old DOS program called Sidekick. You take bits and pieces of information and file it using Evernote's system. We'll see how this works.

While we use WordPerfect as our main word processor, I also have a copy of OpenOffice on my computer for heavily formatted Word documents that open funny in WP. I have also used Google Documents, which my son swears by, and not at.

We have not installed Linux on any machine but with what I've been reading about Vista, that may be our next step if MS doesn't get its act together.

That's the penurious view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida

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Posted In: Law Practice Management , Legal Technology

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Our clients like us enough that they occasionally pay our bills. Most of these bills are paid by check. In fact, we receive checks on an almost daily basis, some large and some small. These checks have to get to the bank somehow.

In the old days (as in more than 3 weeks ago), our firm administrator had to go to the back on a regular basis to deposit the checks. We have an ATM card for this, but it was still a pain. We switched banks to Stonegate Bank recently and they provided us with a remote deposit terminal. This is one of the coolest devices I've seen in a while.

The remote deposit terminal is a small desktop scanner that is designed to read the magnetic strip along the bottom of each check. We scan the check and input the amount of the check. The machine places a red logo across the front of the check indicating that it has been electronically processed. And each day we upload the deposit to the bank - no ATMs, no waiting in line.

This technology is an outgrowth of the 9/11 disaster where manual check processing halted because all air travel was suspended. The bankers came up with electronic image processing and this will make our life easier. Check it out for yourself.

That's the view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.

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Posted In: Law Practice Management

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A recent article in The New York Times described how Pakistan's lawyers are opposing the disbanding of the court system and what appears to be the imposition of martial law. I'm not sure what I, a securities lawyer in Jupiter, Florida, can do about this situation other than stand up and cheer.

Lawyers are easy targets in the U.S. We are blamed for higher costs for health care, medications, insurance and just about anything else when the critic feels it appropriate. On the other hand, there are lots of satisfied clients out there who were glad they had a lawyer when one was needed. It may be that people like some lawyers, but only their own. The other guy's lawyers are probably the object of intense dislike.

Lawyers were heavily involved in the formation of our great nation. Lawyers were involved in any case that impacted the rule of law in the U.S. Lawyers are there for the underserved, the ill and those that are too young to even ask for a lawyer. If it wasn't for a lawyer, Mr. Miranda would not have a warning named after him.

So when you read about the lawyers in Pakistan standing up for their country's constitution, dressed in their suits and being assaulted by police with tear gas, ask yourself, do we want to kill all the lawyers? Didn't think so.

That's the view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.

Posted by Dobin & Jenks | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legal Issues

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The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the securities industry's trade group, has been remarkably silent in the arbitration abolition wars. First, the distorted report from Daniel Solin and Edward O'Neal came out which said arbitration was unfair, simply based upon won/loss rates. Then the Feingold-Johnson bill is proposed - to ban all "consumer" arbitrations. Even PIABA, the trade group for securities claimants' lawyers, came out against arbitration and, separately, proposed removing the industry panelist from all arbitration panels.

In a recent article from The Investment News, SIFMA is described as fighting back. Of course, the naysayers will portray SIFMA's study as self-interested, but noone seemed to accuse Mr. Solin or PIABA of the same self-interest. But I digress.

A review of the SIFMA study shows that a lot of thought went into debunking the horse-droppings that were left behind by the Solin study. SIFMA correctly points out the number of garbage cases that were filed by people who were incapable of accepting that the market simply went down. This is not to say that every case was garbage, but my own experience was that there were a lot of people who wanted to take the risk and that ultimately led to their financial distress.

Read the report. It provides the other side of a coin that was not previously turned over. Now, I'm sure, the battle heads for Congress. Long live arbitration!

That's the view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.

Posted by Dobin & Jenks | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Securities Arbitration , Securities Industry

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