Al Nye The Lawyer Guy

Red Sox Stinking Up The Place

I wrote a couple of days ago about how poorly the Sox are playing after their first defeat by Tampa.  Now add two more games to the series and the Sox walk away an 0–3 series and 3 1/2 games out of first.

Face it, the Sox bite right now!  Except for Dustin Pedroia who lit up the ball at every opportunity last night, the Sox stunk.  Allowing six runs in the seventh inning — are you kidding me?  Varitek striking out for the last out — again.  He’s looking at and 0 for 17 at bat now. 

The Red Sox bullpen is pathetic.  It’s a joke.  Phew.

What happened between last year and this one? 

The Sox begin a four game series with the Yankees tonight. 

My prediction: the way they’re playing, they’ll be lucky to win one.

The "Long Tail" Theory Is Debunked

You know how the theory goes.  As explained by Wired magazine editor, Chris Anderson, in his book “The Long Tail”, the idea is that the Internet is allowing society to focus less on a small number of popular hits and instead be more receptive to a large number of niches “in the tail.” 

This was meant to show, for example, that Netflix could make millions from simply having available the thousands and thousands of movies that aren’t currently hits, because the unlimited availability of all those movies at a cheap cost would be big money makers for the company.

Anderson said companies like Itunes could offer their millions of songs cheaply over the Internet, for example, and these would prove to be money makers.  So the new idea was that it wasn’t just hits that drove the industy, the Internet now allows folks to forego blockbusters and there’s plenty of money to be made in the niche offerings.  The book was met with favorable reviews and universally acclaimed to be genius. 

The only problem appears to be that it insn’t true.

As noted by Lee Gomes in today’s Wall Street Journal, a study by Anita Elberse, a marketing professor at Harvard’s business school found that folks shopping for videos and music online the same way they do in person.  Current hits dominate and the Internet may be making it more so, not less.

Anderson claimed that the companies that will prosper are those that stop focusing on the blockbusters and figure out how to address the niches.  The statistical research by Anita Elberse found just the opposite.

Money quote:

Although no one disputes the lengthening of the tail (clearly, more obscure products are being made available for purchase every day), the tail is likely to be extremely flat and populated by titles that are mostly a diversion for consumers whose appetite for true blockbusters continues to grow. It is therefore highly disputable that much money can be made in the tail. In sales of both videos and recorded music—in many ways the perfect products to test the long-tail theory—we see that hits are and probably will remain dominant. That is the reality that should inform retailers as they struggle to offer their customers a satisfying assortment cost-efficiently. And it’s the unavoidable challenge to producers. The companies that will prosper are the ones most capable of capitalizing on individual best sellers.

In short, the long tail is a theory that just doesn’t hold up.

 

Arrest of Chinese Lawyers Shows China Ignores Human Rights

As reported in the Washington Post, some Chinese human rights lawyers were arrested by government security officials to prevent them from attending a dinner hosted by two visiting members of the U.S. Congress.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) had invited several dissident lawyers to meet with them Sunday night, but later learned that police took two lawyers from their homes that afternoon and prevented them from returning to the city; blocked another lawyer from leaving his apartment complex; and stopped at least six other lawyers from attending. 

"China has regressed," fumed Wolf in an interview Tuesday. "There has been absolutely, positively no progress" on human rights. At least three lawyers and one pastor, who was able to attend the dinner, are now under house arrest, Wolf said.

On the same night this was going on, Condoleezza Rice hailed renewal of the U.S.-China human rights dialogue as a step forward in improving China's human rights record.

It seems to me that if human rights is such an important issue to the U.S., we’d have serious reservations about participating in the upcoming Olympics.

Red Sox loss moves them 1 1/2 games behind

Another loss by the Sox, this time to the Devil Rays, 5–4, which puts them 1 1/2 games behind the Rays (who have the best record in MLB).  This is the third straight loss for the Sox.

Another missed opportunity by leaving a man stranded on 3^rd in the 9^th. 

I sure am glad that the season still has a long way to go….

Red Sox in Second Place

Having lost yesterday 3–2 to the Houston Astros, it’s no surprise that the Sox have dropped into second place.  Quite frankly, the Sox have been playing pitiful baseball recently.

Take yesterday, for example.  They stranded 13 players on the bases, 5 in the first two innings (without getting a run).  Their relief pitching has been plain awful.

Second place?  They’re luck to be there….

The Bottled Water Racket

The Washington Post has an informative article today about the ridiculous prices folks pay for bottled water — silly because in most blind taste tests, people can’t distinguish bottled water from tap water.  The reason: it often is just tap water.

Tap water, that is, with a mark-up of 1000 to 10,000 percent.

Don’t get me wrong — some places have nasty tasting water.  Most tap water I’ve had while visiting Florida was awful, for example.

Here in Maine, our water is clean, pure, tasteless and cheap.  Poland Spring gets much of its water from Maine because we have such an abundance of cold, quality water.  I strongly doubt that anyone could taste the difference between bottled water and tap water in Maine.

In these frugal times, why waste money on bottled water? 

Some folks here in Maine say the same thing and are now resisting efforts by companies to take our natural resources and pay little for them.  A recent protest in Kennebunk, Maine shows a backlash against the bottled water industry.

As noted in the Portland Press Herald article, Poland Spring wanted to draw as much as 250,000 gallons of water each day from the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Maine Water District.  (Poland Spring already gets water from more than 20 wells in eight Maine communities — but it wants more.) 

Protesters helped convince the water district’s trustees to put off a vote on whether to allow the sale to Poland Spring. 

$7 a gallon for gas -- are you kidding me?

Nope.  As reported last night on CBS news, a new energy report predicts that we could see $7 a gallon gas prices in just two years. 

Two years. 

Just think about what that will do to your budget.  No wonder the stock market tanked yesterday.

Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Ban on Handguns

In a 5–4 ruling, the Supreme Court said that the D.C. handgun ban infringes on the right to own a gun under the Second Amendment.

Read about it here. 

Federal Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

As noted in today’s Washington Post, the Federal Reserve has decided to leave the interest rates unchanged for the first time in nine months.  Other months always had a rate reduction but the fed now says the economy is holding up better than it thought and that it’s now more worried about high inflation.

I wonder.

If you ask me, most folks are just as bad off now as they were nine months ago — many are worse off.  The interest rate has already been lowered to 2 percent.

Is the Fed really saying that the economy is doing better — or is it realizing that the rate cuts haven’t done much of anything and that they can’t cut them much lower and have any interest rate left at all?

Online Prisoner List in Maine Delayed

As noted in today’s Press Herald, the department of corrections in the state of Maine had planned to list online information on all state prison inmates and others who are on probation — roughly 10,000 people. 

As the paper reported: “Officials see it as an aid to police, who would have up-to-date and instant information on a suspect's probation status, and to crime victims, who could find out whether perpetrators are behind bars.”

Not so fast, said Governor Baldacci.  He wants a thorough public review prior to this website going live.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union expressed concern that the site would include “those who represent little or no threat to society.” 

Hmmm … is it okay to list serious offenders but not appropriate to list those who represent only a “little” threat to society?  And who decides who should be included with the more serious offenses?

Is a repeated drunk driver only a “little” threat?  What about someone who is serving probation for domestic violence — serious offender or not?  Do we have a blanket policy of only listing those convicted of felonies?

Does your state have a registry and if so, what inmates are listed?

George Carlin Dead of Heart Failure

The comedy world lost a legend yesterday — George Carlin, 71, died yesterday after checking into a hospital with chest pain.  Full story here in the Washington Post.

He was a wonderul comedian who will be missed….

Here’s a video of George on death:

 

 

Solo by Choice by Carolyn Elefant

 

Solo by Choice

How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be

By Carolyn Elefant

DecisionBooks

$45.00, paper back, 300 pages, 0-9406755-8-7 (2008)

 

Carolyn Elefant writes the highly popular blog www.MyShingle.com where she provides lots of encouragement for lawyers who are thinking about going solo.  This wonderful book is for all those folks who are frustrated in their legal career and wonder if there is something more. 

            Carolyn captures the focus of her book wonderfully in her preface:

 

Back when you were in law school, you had dreams.  Maybe it was standing before a jury, passionately arguing on behalf of a desperate client … or winning an appeal that would link your name to a new legal precedent … or pulling off a dramatic 11^th hour deal that would give your struggling technology client a life-saving infusion of capital.

            But what happened?

            Here it is two, five, eight years out of law school – maybe more, maybe less – and most of these dreams are unrealized:

 

·      You work 60-hour weeks in BigLaw, researching narrow legal issues for clients you never met, toting a partner's briefcase to court and watching him argue a motion you drafted nights and weekends, and which you know you could argue better given the opportunity.

·      Or, you’re a government prosecutor or Justice Department attorney whose litigation experience is the envy of your large-firm colleagues, but where the work no longer challenges you and you can't move up any higher without political connections.  Or you want to move to the private sector but your limited tenure won't bring sufficient value to the firm. 

·      Or, you were let go from a firm because you weren't partnership material, and now you're temping at document-review jobs that barely pay the bills.

·      Or, you enjoy your work but you're plagued with guilt about leaving your children with a nanny five days a week.

·      Or, you just passed the bar, and the prospect of paying off your student loans by slaving away the next seven, eight years on the chance you might make partner has you popping antacid in the middle of the night.

 

Of course, your own situation might not be all this grim, but you're still haunted by the thought there ought to be greater satisfaction practicing law.

 

Believe me, there is.

 

This book is dedicated to every lawyer who ever wanted to run the show but worried that going solo was career suicide … every lawyer who wanted to solo but didn't know how to set up the office and make it work … every lawyer who never set foot in a courtroom but dreamed of one day practicing law their way.  In short, this book is dedicated to becoming the lawyer you always wanted to be.

 

            Elefant begins an early chapter by listing six reasons to go solo (autonomy, practical experience, to feel like a lawyer, work flexibility, to own not loan your talent, and career satisfaction) and explains why each reason merits consideration.  She then provides no-nonsense guidelines to follow in planning your solo practice and gives plenty of advice about getting started.

 

            Elefant offers a practical course of action for dealing with clients, billing and fees, generating cash flow, outsourcing and growing your business.  She also has highly informative chapters on both traditional marketing (including Web based marketing) and some nontraditional ideas.

 

            The Appendix is filled with sample business plans, hardware and software basics for starting an office, legal research services, and ideas about creating a sample forms library.  What is also noteworthy about this book is the treasure trove of author notes, solo quotes, sidebars filled with practical advice, and interviews with other solos.

 

            This book is also filled with great ideas for those already in solo practice.  But the real benefit is for those considering hanging out their own shingle.  So if you've even had the glimmer of an idea that you'd like to become a solo practitioner, don't make a move before reading this excellent book.

 

Buy it on Amazon here.

 

Flooding Victims

My heart goes out to all the victims of flooding throughout various regions of the country.  The pictures in the papers and on the news of flooded farms, homes, towns and cities is gut wrenching.

So are the scenes of President Bush visiting Iowa.  Here’s what he said in Cedar Rapids:

“Obviously to the extent that we can help immediately, we want to help and then plan for recovery."

With how he and FEMA handled the flooding of New Orleans, I’d be highly skeptical of any effective federal relief.

Celtics Destroy the Lakers 131 - 92

So much for Kobe Bryant — the famed Lakers MVP — carrying his team to the championship.  So much for the glitzy offense of L.A.  So much for all the hype from the west coast.

Game 6 came down to what often wins championships: defense.

The Celtics allowed Bryant only 22 points, stole loose balls all over the floor and made their shots — lots of them.  This blow out of the Lakers leaves no doubt about who is the best basketball team.

Believe it.

Celtics championship number 17.  Get ready to hang another one up.

 

WE WON!!!

Although it took the City Council until after midnight to hear our issue regarding the Porthole and Comedy Connection — the council did the right thing and recognized that the outside seating and entertainment should be grandfathered.

Bottom line: The Comedy Connection and Porthole Restaurant can remain open under the same conditions as in the past.  It’s great that the counselors saw the wisdom of keeping these landmarks in Portland without the proposed restrictions.

 

Please Help Save The Portland Comedy Connection

Please Help

Save the Porthole &

Comedy Connection!!

The Portland City Council will

decide an important zoning

issue that could severely

impact the outdoor seating

and entertainment for these

businesses.

On Monday,

June 16...

Join us before the meeting at the Porthole/Comedy Connection at 6 p.m. and we will walk together to City Hall to show our support. If you can’t attend, please contact a City Councilor and let them know how you feel.

Please also send a copy of your e-mail to oliver@mainecomedy.com

Mayor Ed Suslovic: 874-8941 esuslovic@portlandmaine.gov

Kevin Donoghue kjdonoghue@portlandmaine.gov

409-2807

David Marshall dmarshall@portlandmaine.gov

409-6617

Dan Sklonik dskolnik@portlandmaine.gov

831-7343

Cheryl Leeman cl@portlandmaine.gov

773-4161

James Cohen jcohen@portlandmaine.gov

253-4708

John Anton janton@portlandmaine.gov

650-8979

Jill Duson jduson@portlandmaine.gov

878-0769

Nicholas Mavodones nmm@portlandmaine.gov

774-0257

NOTE:

I’ve never used this blog as a means of supporting a local business but this is an exceptional circumstance.   The Comedy Connection is Bob Marley’s home club.  I've known Bob for many years: he is Maine's most well-known comedian and is an esteemed professional who is highly regarded in the industry.  The Comedy Connection is where Bob has made several of his CD’s, and it is a favorite spot for him to perform.  It’s a respected comedy venue where nationally known comics have appeared.

Oliver Keithly is the owner of the Comedy Connection and the Porthole Restaurant.  He is seeking to have his businesses operate just as they have been for the last seven years — with outside seating in the summer months to accommodate the many loyal patrons of these businesses. 

The City of Portland is trying to impose outside seating limitations for what appears to be no legitimate reason.  The wharf where the outside seating is located has had recent repairs and been inspected.  An engineer has determined it to be completely safe.   Oliver is not asking for new zoning, additional seating or expanded operations; he simply wants to run his businesses with the same outside seating as he always has in the past. 

He needs your help. 

I know it’s the last minute, but if you could go to the Comedy Connection tonight at 6:00 p.m. for a walk to City Hall, or if you could write to the members of the Portland City Council to show your support for these businesses (or if you could do both), that would be great. 

I hope to see you there.

Celtics Lakers Game 4: I Confess

When the Celtics were down 21 at the end of the first quarter and down 24 in the second, I shut off the television in disgust.  I fully expected to read the paper this morning to find out just how badly they were beaten.

Imagine my delight in seeing that they’d staged one of the greatest come-from-behind wins in history, with a final score of 97 – 91.

If you were like me and missed the second half, check out what happened here.

"We just wet the bed," Bryant said. "A nice big one, too. One of the ones you can't put a towel over. It was terrible."

 

 

Go Celts!

Verrill Dana's Duncan pleads Guilty

I wrote previously about the Maine law firm of Verrill Dana LLP, (a firm that has over 100 attorneys and has been in existence for 145 years), and its decision to fire attorney John D. Duncan for allegedly stealing money from his clients and the firm.

Well, it’s not “allegedly” any longer.  As noted in today’s Portland Press Herald, Duncan faces up to 30 months in prison for stealing $296,500 from his clients and the firm over the last ten years.

He pled guilty yesterday to felony theft charges and still faces federal crimes for tax evasion.  Sentencing on the state charges is scheduled for September.

This is clearly a tragedy to all parties involved….

Update 6/12

Today’s Press Herald had another long article about John Duncan and his potential prison sentence for stealing nearly $300,000 from clients and the law firm of Verrill Dana.  The article also raises some questions about the role of the supervising lawyers at Verril Dana and what responsibility, if any, they had in this case.

 

Price of Heating Oil in Maine Soars

Here in Maine, lots of folks heat their homes in the winter with oil.  Naturally, the price tends to rise in the winter during peak demand and then it generally goes down over the summer — but not this year.  The price of home heating oil is only followed from October to March (Maine’s heating season).

The Portland Press Herald reports that the average cash price for No. 2 heating oil in Maine is now $4.60 per gallon.  Since March, the average heating oil price has gone up 80 cents, or 21 percent.  

I mentioned previously that the price in December of 2007 was $3.20, so this price hike is huge.  And if you consider that each fill-up is typically for 200 or more gallons of oil, then you can understand the impact of such a large price increase. 

I used about 800 gallons of oil during the last heating season so at current prices, I’m looking at next year’s heating tab of around $3680.

Ouch.

 

Ugly Celtics Loss Has Series 2-1

In order to win this NBA series, the Celtics need good production from their top three players: Pierce, Garnett and Allen.  Last night, they didn’t get it.

Allen scored 25 points with five 3–point shots, but Pierce and Garnett stunk up the court.  They combined to score just 19 points on 8 for 35 shooting (22.9 percent).  Pierce ended up with just 6 points in a dismal 2 of 14 shooting night.  (He scored 50 points in the first two games.)

Even if Bryant is having an off night (and he wasn’t — scoring 36 points), the C’s can’t win without the big guys contributing.  Garnett and Pierce couldn’t buy a basket last night and no one but Allen stepped up on offense. 

They need to turn it around or this series will be tied on Thursday.

Just a word about the officials calling the game.  How is it that in the previous game played in Boston the Lakers only went to the line 10 times, and in this game they got 34 chances at the line (with Bryant going 18 times himself)?  You can talk all day about the agressiveness of the team being the difference in how often you get fouled, but I’m not buying it. 

Clearly, the officials call the games differently depending on who is the home team.  I’m not saying that the officials last night in LA were calling a bad game, or that the officials in Boston on Sunday were doing so.  But there was a vast difference in how fouls were called in the two games. 

Because the transition between defense and offense is so fast in basketball, how the officials call the game can make a tremendous difference.  It did last night.