Mentoring Law Students On a Decline?

Legal Blog Watch has a post titled Will a Down Economy Mean the End of Mentoring? It is Carolyn Elefant's reaction to an article in the 9th issue of the Complete Lawyer. It has been common for law firms to offer summer associates positions to 2L and 3L students that potentially led to a full time employment. Students had the opportunity to be taught and mentored by practicing attorneys directly. Firms took upon a role of shaping the almost-graduates into successful attorneys. With fewer jobs and less opportunities for law students to be summer associates, what will happen to the mentoring role firms have assumed over the years? That leads to another question; how important the mentoring really is? Can older and experienced lawyers (sometimes set in their old ways) provide the sufficient guidance in the quickly changing technology based times?

So we ask you. How important this guidance really is? What are your thoughts about the existence, need, and effect of mentorship? Would you like to see such guidance as a part of the school curriculum? Or is it better to just learn on the job? Feel free to share your opinions.

Loislaw vs. Westlaw vs. Lexis

Above the Law posted this month, law firms as well as other businesses are coping with the difficult economic environment and are looking into cutting their costs without having to fire associates. One way to cut back on cost is to look at monthly bills for legal research databases. Some firms use Lexis, some use Westlaw, and some use both. The subscription packages wary from firm to firm. The one thing that doesn't wary are the multiple hidden costs within both of these databases. Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell decided to cut back on their legal research cost by embracing Loislaw for non-billable research.

Thanks to the faltering economy, we are now required to use Loislaw instead of Lexis or Westlaw for certain things. Unlike its more expensive counterparts, Loislaw has one "low, all-inclusive flat rate, with no hidden charges for printing, copying, downloading, or hyperlinking to primary law or analytic materials outside the scope of a current subscription."

All non-billable legal research involving case law, statutes or regulations at both the state and federal level should first be performed using Loislaw. Loislaw should also be used for billable research where appropriate, resulting in a much lower cost to the client. If additional research is required on Lexis or Westlaw that research must be billed to a client/matter. [Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell Memo]

See the firm's full memo here.

This makes me wonder, will the use of Loislaw become a trend in more law firms? And if so, will law school education, particularly legal research courses often taught by law librarians, need to adjust and possibly add Loislaw to the curriculum? What are your thoughts? Any comments?

Social Networking and Law Firms

Legal Talk Network posted yet another great episode, this time about social media and law firms. Bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Brian Carter, keynote speaker and Director of Search Engine Marketing (PPC), SEO, and Social Media at Fuel Interactive and Heather M. Milligan, Director of Marketing at Barger & Wolen LLP to talk about social networking tools Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook as they hit the mainstream, how they are utilized in the legal community if at all, and how some firms look at social networking as a great PR tool for business. The guests further discuss why some lawyers are skeptical of Web 2.0. Download the episode to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy listening to this interesting discussion.