Browsing Tag

business

(Legal) Career Killers: Michelle Branch and her Warner Bros. Contract

Welcome to (Legal) Career Killers — a series that looks at how the law, lawyers or lawsuits killed a band’s or artist’s careers. In other words: They fought the law and the law won.

When Michelle Branch was arrested in August for assaulting her husband, Patrick Carney of the Black Keys, it raised so many questions:

“Wait, she married the drummer from the Black Keys? When did that happen?”

“And he allegedly cheated on her? One of the hottest and biggest stars of the early 00s and someone who’s music is still widely beloved by people of a certain age?”

“Speaking of which, what happened to her anyway? Where did she go for 15 years?”

Well, the answers are yes (they got together shortly after Carney produced Branch’s 2017 comeback album, Hopeless Romantic), that’s what she said on Twitter (although she later deleted her Tweet and suspended divorce proceedings), and it’s complicated.

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We Are The Champions!

Very proud to win several Azbee Awards of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors this year. I think this might have been my biggest haul yet.

Coverage of 2017 Avvo Lawyernomics Conference

Here are the stories that came out of my live coverage of the 2017 Avvo Lawyernomics Conference (my fourth such conference – time flies!):

8th annual Lawyernomics conference will encourage attendees to bet on themselves.

Lawyers: Don’t be afraid to double down on data.

When should lawyers bet on themselves? Sometimes clients will give you the answer.

Podcast: What Lawyers Can Learn From Accountants

I really liked the intro the Legal Talk Network folks wrote for this podcast, so I’m just going to quote from it:

For a long time data had shown that law firms generally generated more revenue than accounting firms overall. However, that trend has shifted within the last eight years with accounting firms enjoying greater fiscal success. What changes did the accounting world make that allowed them to surpass legal market revenue? In this report from On The Road, host Victor Li talks with Intuit small business ecosystem evangelist David Leary about the impact that embracing technology, adopting the cloud, and business innovations can have on legal industry earnings.

Coverage of 2015 ABA Annual Meeting

Another ABA Annual Meeting is in the books. I only covered a few events this year (a far cry from last year). Here are the stories that came out of my coverage:

How can tensions between minorities and police be addressed? Reforms proposed.

Lawyers debate campaign financing, voter restrictions and other election issues.

Disruptive innovators try to convince skeptical attorneys of the need to collaborate.

What are the business costs of ignoring racial and gender diversity?

Meanwhile, the quote from the Tweet below caused quite a commotion.

Coverage of 2015 Avvo’s Lawyernomics Conference

Last week, I covered Avvo’s Lawyernomics conference held at the Wynn Las Vegas. Here are the stories that came out of it:

How should you reboot your legal marketing? Lawyernomics speakers will explore.

It’s a mobile world–embrace digital marketing and learn Google’s secrets, Lawyernomics speakers say.

What will lawyers be doing in 5 to 10 years?

Coverage of ABA National Summit on Innovation in Legal Services

Last week, I covered the ABA’s National Summit on Innovation in Legal Services, held at Stanford University. Here are the stories that came out of it:

Toronto Uh Oh…

One of my big features at The American Lawyer was a look at how Toronto was using public-private partnerships to prepare for the 2015 Pan Am Games. The biggest selling point was that P3s would ensure that projects came in on-budget and on-time.

With five months left before the start of the games, it looks like the on-budget part isn’t going to happen. Unless spending 80% of the budget with five months left and construction yet to be completed was part of the plan. When I initially reported the story, I was more concerned about whether or not P3s could really keep the Pan Am preparations under-budget and under-deadline (the article ended up becoming more about the lawyers and law firms doing the work). I guess now we know that massive sporting events (a notorious sink-hole of sunken costs) are their own forces of nature.

Album Review: “Songs of Innocence” by U2 (UPDATED)

UPDATE (10/15/2014): The review has been augmented to include bonus tracks from the deluxe edition released earlier this week. 

Perhaps the biggest irony surrounding U2’s latest album, “Songs of Innocence,” is that Bono and company adopted an innovative and cutting edge distribution system to promote a back-to-basics concept album about formative experiences from their childhood days.

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Coverage of 2014 ABA Techshow

In March, I covered ABA Techshow for the ABA Journal. Here are the stories that came out of it:

Smartphone Kill Switch Campaign Gathers Momentum

NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and mayor-to-be Bill de Blasio renewed their effort to pressure smartphone manufacturers to include a kill switch on their phones. The October press conference was the latest stage in Schneiderman’s ongoing campaign to convince manufacturers to improve the security features of their smartphones.

By the way, when did this Seagal movie come out? I know he’s made like 30 direct-to-DVD movies in the last few years, but I don’t remember hearing anything about this “masterpiece.” I can only imagine what the dialogue was like. “I brought my own kill switch,” said Seagal while pointing his gun at the camera. Then again, nothing is ever topping this one-liner.

Judge Narrows Challenge on Ban on Ultimate Fighting

U.S. district judge Kimba Wood trimmed a lawsuit brought by mixed martial artists in New York arguing that the state ban on MMA events is unconstitutional.

See also: Battleground State: The Battle to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York.

Some fighting to legalize mixed martial arts in NY.

Suit Fights State Ban of Mixed Martial Arts.