Layoff Tracker

Law Schucks has a Layoff Tracker that tracks law firm layoffs since January 2008. They analyze this data in a variety of ways, chronologically (by month, calendar year, rolling 12 month) and by firm. As of June 14, 2009, over

12,542 people have been laid off by major law firms (4,874 lawyers / 7,668 staff) since January 1, 2008
10,550 (3,944 / 6,606) people have been laid off from law firms in calendar 2009
308 (63 / 245) have been laid off in June

Wonder About Your Power Usage?

Via Law.com Legal Technology, an article titled Green Gadgets to Exorcise Power Phantoms, the author Joseph Howie writes about the phantom power usage, which he describes as power being used/drawn even when devices are supposedly off. He mentions few examples of energy waste (listed bellow). He continues saying that the first step to energy savings is to be able to measure how much energy is being consumed; therefore he lists few tools/gadgets that can help you measure, calculate and project power usage.

There are 168 hours in a week, but most devices are used no more than 50 hours, so it's easy to see how a significant percentage of a law firm's electrical usage can be wasted by having devices drawing power all the time.

Instances when power is used without knowing:

• computers can be configured to blank their screens when they're not being used, but the computer can still draw substantial power;
• printers and copiers can take several watts of power just to be ready to print;
• servers can draw a substantial amount of energy even when users are not accessing them. In fact, the cost of running a server can be a significant percentage of its original cost. Older servers may be very inefficient, costing hundreds of dollars a year to operate;
• cell phone chargers can draw power even when the phone isn't connected, or when it is connected but fully charged;
• coffee makers that can make coffee in an instant may do so by always keeping the water warm and ready to brew.

Tools/Gadgets (read the full article for descriptions):
Kill A Watt
The Energy Detective
Smart Strip Power Strip
Energy Orb
Solio Charger
Wagan Tech

A large office might find it relatively easy to cut a kilowatt per hour for the entire year, resulting in saving almost a thousand dollars of electricity, four and a half tons of coal and about 10 tons of CO_²!

Overcharging For Legal Research?

Via Law.com, an article titled Lawsuit Claims Chadbourne Overcharged for Computerized Legal Research, discusses - what some believe to be the widely spread common practice of many law firms - overcharging for legal research. Do really law firms overcharge? Do law firms pay flat fee? Do they have to pay for hidden cost that are posed by the legal databases' providers? How should law firms bill their clients for the time spent on legal research and for the expense incurred when conducting legal research?

A California plaintiffs attorney has filed a lawsuit against a New York-based law firm on behalf of a former client of the firm for what she claims is a hidden but widespread practice within the legal profession: law firms secretly profiting off legal research fees by overcharging clients. Follow: Waggoner v. Chadbourne & Parke, No. BC408693 (Los Angeles Co., Calif., Super. Ct.).

Consumer protection attorney, Patricia Meyer at Patricia A Meyer & Associates, said that many similar law suites are being filed or just about to. She believes this is "unfair business practice" within the legal profession and continues on saying:

I know I'm not the most popular person in town right now, but that's okay. This is something that needs to be corrected.

Any thoughts? Feel free to share your comments!

Impact of Law Firm Layoffs on Women

From ABA Journal Law News Now: Roberta Liebenberg, current chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, comments on recent layoffs in law firms and their disproportionate impact on women. Liebenberg's letter was written in response to a recent article published in Forbes (March 16) discussing the effect of the recent Wall Street layoffs on women.

Liebenberg says that

Firms are laying off their part-time lawyers, 75% of whom are women. Too many layoffs are based on gender-biased evaluations. In this dire downturn, we can't allow the economy to be used as an excuse for gender-bias and roll back the progress we've made.