By Ariella Greenbaum

Leaving law school behind doesn’talways mean leaving the often lofty billfor it behind. Whether you are preparingto graduate from law school, recentlygraduated, or graduated several years ago,it’s likely that your law school loan pay-ment is on your mind.

Ann Levine, owner of Law School Expert(www.lawschoolexpert.com), a law schooladmission consulting firm; author of “TheLaw School Decision Game,” bestsellinglaw school admission guide; and formerDirector of Admissions for two ABA-approved law schools, says that it’s impor-tant to think about your post-law schooldebt from the very first day you step intothe classroom. “If you live like a lawyerwhile you’re in law school, you’ll live likea law student when you get out,” accord-ing to Levine. “Earn money during lawschool if you can and save if you can.Think about everything you’re spending

from your student loan distributionbecause when you end up paying it offyears later, you will pay many times thatamount due to interest—very much likecredit card debt.”

Once you have graduated and earned yourlaw degree, you have earned expertiseand insight that can help earn you thesalary you deserve. In order to make thiswhat it’s worth, Levine advises to makesure you’re getting paid what you shouldbe earning. Visit sites such asIndeed.com, the United StatesDepartment of Labor’s Bureau of LaborStatistics (www.bls.gov), and organiza-tions such as the American BarAssociation and the NewYork State BarAssociation for salary calculators andlistings. “Don’t feel like you have to bedesperate and don’t be afraid to work foryourself,” says Levine. She notes thatthere is more risk in going solo, but thereis often a better payoff since, nationwide,the median salary for lawyers regardless

of experience level is $113,000 per year.

Even if you are earning a substantialsalary that allows you to live comfortably,you might still have a loan hanging overyour head, even several years after gradu-ation. Don’t feel it’s necessary to buy intothe hype—whether it be renting a fancyapartment, eating out at pricey restau-rants, or buying designer clothes—justbecause everyone else does it, Levineadvises. Take the money you would beputting toward these material items anduse it to pay off your loans. The fasteryour loans are paid off, the more peace ofmind you will have and the more likelyyou will be to save for something thatwill prove valuable for years to come—whether it be that vacation home, apart-ment, or whatever you have been dream-ing about since law school.

Ariella Greenbaum is NYCLA’s SeniorCommunications & Social MediaManager

Managing Your Debt

N E W Y O R K

COUNTY LAWYERI N S I D E

Networking for YourFirst Job

6Starting Your OwnPractice

11Life After LawSchool 13

Coding Lessons14

Amicus Brief ..................................2

Book Review ................................12

Calendaring.....................................4

CLE Programs ................................5

Coding .........................................14

Electronic Research Center

CLEs .............................................10

Ethics Hotline ...............................12

Events Calendar..............................2

Featured CLE Courses ...................4

First Job Tips ................................12

Judicial Path..................................11

Library Notes................................10

Life After Law School..................13

Managing Debt ...............................1

Message from Barbara Moses,

President of the NYCLA

Foundation ......................................3

Message from Stewart Aaron,

President of NYCLA......................1

Networking .....................................6

NYCLA in the News......................3

Practical Experience.......................7

Recent Events .................................8

StartingYour Own Practice..........11

What’s Tweeting.............................3

TT AA BB LL EE OO FFCC OO NN TT EE NN TT SS

May 2012 Visit us at www.nycla.org Volume 7 / Number 12

Whether you’re a law student, a newlyadmitted attorney, or at any point in yourcareer, you might feel the positive energythat’s in the air as we leave behind win-ter and have summer sunshine to lookforward to right around the corner. Ifyou’re a recent law school graduate, youmay be preparing for the bar exam andbeginning your job search. If you’re aprofessional with a few years under yourbelt, you may be thinking about how tohone your practice skills. If you’re amid- or senior-level professional, youmay be taking this time to re-evaluatewhere you are in your career. And, inaddition to your vacation plans, you maybe looking forward to spending sometime this summer making connectionswith others.

The summer time provides a greatopportunity to freshen up your career,just as you would freshen up your gar-den, pull out your lighter weight sum-mer wardrobe, or light the fire on yourgrill for the first time this season. Keepin mind that, at every corner you turn,there may be an opportunity to not onlyimprove your career, but also shape itin such a way that surpasses yourexpectations.

Within this issue, several NYCLA mem-bers share tips on how to do just that—

how to make the transition from lawschool to practice; how to impress yourcolleagues and managers from your firstday on the job; how to gain practicalexperience; how to go about networking;how to go about changing career paths;and more.

J.D. candidate, Julie Adler, offers adviceto current law students and recent law stu-dent graduates on page 6 with her articleon how to network in order to set poten-tial opportunities into motion, whileAssociate Attorney, Katherine Hwang,offers tips for your first job on page 12.

If you’re a lawyer who has been out ofschool for a few years, turn to page 13 toread Darren Marks’ article about the

importance of involvement, buildingyour reputation as a lawyer and manag-ing finances.

If you’re a more seasoned practitioner andconsidering a change in your career path,turn to page 11 for tips on going frompractice to judiciary and opening yourown practice. Rachel Nash shares howshe became an administrative law judgeand Brad Andrews talks about officespace and web presence options for soloor potential solo practitioners.

You can use your membership at NYCLAto spring your efforts into action. Learnsomething new by coming to our Practiceof Law Series events (Trial Techniques forBeginners on May 10 and Preparing aTrial Notebook on May 31) and the May17 Public Forum on intellectual property.Join us in welcoming newly elected offi-cers and members of the Board ofDirectors and, most importantly, buildconnections with others in our communityat our May 24 Annual Meeting, or consid-er getting involved in a Committee thatpiques your interest.

Allow this time of year to inspire you tostart fresh, learn new skills, make connec-tions and get involved. Tweet me at@NYCLAPres and share how you arespringing into action.

School’s Out

Stewart D. AaronPresident, New York County

Lawyers’ Association

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer2

MayYoung Lawyers’ Section’s “InPractice” with Administrative LawJudge, Rachel H. Nash Tuesday, May 8–12:30-1:30 p.m.

Portrait UnveilingTuesday, May 8–6 p.m.Unveiling of portrait of former NYCLApresident, Catherine A. Christian

Breakfast Forum: Opportunities inGreen or Sustainable Housing andDevelopmentThursday, May 10–8 a.m.

Practice of Law Series: TrialTechniques for BeginnersThursday, May 10–6 p.m.Participate in discussions concerning trialstrategy, witness preparation, jury selec-tion, opening/closing statements,direct/cross examination, and hearsay

objections and other evidentiary issues atthis Practice of Law Series event led byJeffrey Kimmel, Esq.

Public Forum: “Lin-tellectualProperty”Thursday, May 17–6 p.m.“Lin-sanity” was one of the biggestNew York sports stories of the year.Join NYCLA’s Entertainment, Mediaand Intellectual Property Section andits Sports Law Subcommittee for anin-depth analysis about about a vari-ety of legal issues commonly involvedin representing athletes, includingissues involving, agency, intellectualproperty, and publicity rights fromSteven Olenick, Esq.; ProfessorMarc Edelman; and ChristopherChase, Esq.

NYCLA and ScotBarNY Whisky-Tasting ExtravaganzaThursday, May 17–7 p.m.Join colleagues from NYCLA and TheScottish Bar Association of New York foran exclusive evening of networkingwhile sampling a fine selection of Scotchwhisky, craft beer, and gourmet foodpairings. Free and open to NYCLA andScotBarNY members only.

NYCLA’s Annual MeetingThursday, May 24–5:30pmAnnual induction ceremony of NYCLAofficers and members of the Board.

JunePractice of Law Series: What JudgesWant You to KnowThursday, June 7–6 p.m.

EVENTS CALENDAR

To Advertise in

New York County Lawyer

Call 631-427-7000

NYCLA joined with other organiza-tions in filing an amicus curiae brief inthe case of Lino v. City of New York, acivil suit filed by the New York CivilLiberties Union (NYCLU) against theNYPD which was dismissed by thelower court and is being appealed bythe NYCLU. It was filed on May 19,2010 in State Supreme Court for New

York County on behalf of what maybe more than 100,000 New Yorkerswhose personal information is beingkept in the NYPD’s stop-and-friskdatabase even though state lawsrequire that all police records of theirstop-and-frisk encounters be sealedand not be available to any public orprivate agency.

NYCLA Files Amicus Brief

All events, unless otherwise noted, will be held at NYCLA Home of Law, 14 Vesey Street.Visit the Association’s web site, nycla.org for more details, schedule changes and

additions, and to R.S.V.P. for events, which are subject to change.

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 3

Dear Friends:

The New York County Lawyers’Association Foundation is pleased towelcome eight new and returning mem-bers to its Board of Directors. At theFoundation’s Annual Meeting, held onApril 9, 2012, Dyan M. Finguerra-DuCharme, Vilia Hayes, Henry J.Kennedy, James B. Kobak, Jr., Ann B.Lesk, Michael J. McNamara, LewisTesser, and Richard Williamson wereelected or re-elected to three-year termson the Board of Directors, and VeronicaE. Rendon and John J. Kenney wereelected to two-year terms.

Among the many programs funded bythe NYCLA Foundation are severalgeared to law students and younglawyers. Every summer, the Hon. HaroldBaer Jr. and Dr. Suzanne Baer MinorityJudicial Internship Program places high-achieving minority law students in thechambers of both federal and state judgeswith stipend-supported internships. Thissummer’s interns are Hsinyi Chang,Maria Dyson, Carolyn Fakury, KristenRamos, and Bedel Tiscareno. Aftergraduation, newly admitted lawyers

working as prosecutors and defenseattorneys are eligible for NYCLA’sPublic Service Fellowships, awardedannually based on an essay competition.In addition, throughout the year, younglawyers benefit from NYCLA’sMentoring Program (winner of a 2011Bar Leaders Innovation Award from theNew York State Conference of BarLeaders) and enjoy the social and net-working events hosted by the NYCLAYoung Lawyers’ Section.

Unfortunately, your dues do not cover allof NYCLA’s programs and services. Wedepend on your contributions (made tothe NYCLA Foundation, which is recog-

nized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organiza-tion) to carry out the programs that makeus proud to be members of NYCLA. Youcan make donations—in any amount youchoose—simply by going towww.nycla.org and clicking on “Givingto NYCLA.” You can also mail a check,payable to “NYCLA Foundation,” toNYCLA Foundation, 14 Vesey Street,New York, NY 10007. We are gratefulfor every contribution, and are pleased tosay “thank you” with a selection ofDVDs, books, prints, and other giftsdescribed on our website. Since theNYCLA Foundation is recognized bythe IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization, giftsare deductible to the extent provided bylaw.

NYCLA needs both your support andyour ideas. Please do not hesitate to con-tact me with suggestions for fundraisingor related topics. You can reach me atbmoses@maglaw.com.

Sincerely,

Barbara MosesPresident of the NYCLA Foundation

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Copyright © 2012 New York CountyLawyers’ Association. All rightsreserved. New York County Lawyers’Association grants permission forarticles and other material herein orportions thereof to be reproduced anddistributed for educational or profes-sional use through direct contact withclients, prospective clients, profes-sional colleagues and students pro-vided that such use shall not involveany matter for which payment (otherthan legal fees or tuition) is madeand provided further that all repro-ductions include the name of theauthor of the article, the copyrightnotice(s) included in the originalpublication, and a notice indicatingthe name and date of the Associationpublication from which the reprint ismade. Subscription rate: $10.00 peryear for non-members

NEW YORK

COUNTY LAWYER

Stewart D. AaronPresident

Sophia J GianacoplosExecutive Director

Ariella GreenbaumEditor

Senior Communications and Social Media Manager

New York County Lawyer is published by

Long Islander Newspapers under the auspices of

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Photo Credits

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Ariella Greenbaum

M E S S A G E F R O M B A R B A R A M O S E SP R E S I D E N T O F T H E N Y C L A F O U N D A T I O N

NYCLA In The News

This Chinese-language newspaper published daily for residentsin North America, reported on the April 16 U.S.-Asia LawyerCooperation Forum held at NYCLA.

World JournalU.S.-Asia Lawyer Cooperation Forum Held April 17, 2012

NYCLA’s Judicial Section Task Force Co-Chair, MargaretFinerty, is quoted in this article, which discusses the new pro-cedure put in place for restaurant tribunals.

amny.comHealth grade judges: City making it harder to dismiss violationsMarch 29, 2012

A letter from NYCLA’s President, Stewart Aaron, about newissues in the legal field is featured in this newspaper:

Metropolitan Corporate CounselLetter from the President of the New York County Lawyers’AssociationMarch 21, 2012

A photo from NYCLA’s March 15 Judicial Reception was fea-tured in this issue:

New York Law JournalNYCLA Hosts Reception for JudgesMarch 20, 2012

An article about the filing of an appeal by NYCLA and otherManhattan bar groups for New York County Lawyers’Association v. Bloomberg, 107216/10, on March 19 is men-tioned:

New York Law JournalBar Groups Appeal Ruling On 18-B Conflict CasesMarch 20, 2012

NYCLA’s ethics opinion on metadata was mentioned in thisarticle:

New York Law JournalTime to Revisit the Ethics of MetadataMarch 19, 2012

An article about the Federal Probation Department confrontingtightening resources mentions testimony from NYCLA’sDecember judicial budget cuts hearing.

New York Law JournalFederal Probation Department Confront TighteningResourcesMarch 19, 2012

A roundup of recent national and local news stories featuring NYCLA and its members

This May, NYCLA’s CLE Institute, inconjunction with various NYCLACommittees, will be presenting programslooking at how technology has both affect-ed the practice of law and brought aboutnew threats to personal and data security.

Documenting Technological Abuse:From Intake to Admission intoEvidence – May 14, 2012, Co-sponsoredby NYCLA’s Cyberspace LawCommittee, Education Law Committeeand Young Lawyers’ SectionIncreasing, abusive partners are usingtechnology to establish power and con-trol. From GPS devices to spyware,

Facebook tampering to harassing textmessages, technological abuse is presentin many cases of intimate partner vio-lence. Gain an understanding of the tech-nologies used by abusive parties to: • Help clients protect themselves fromtechnological abuse.

• Gather and document evidence ofabusive behavior.

• Get evidence of technological abuseadmitted into court.

Cybersecurity: Risks, Best Practicesand Security Challenges – May 15,2012, co-sponsored by NYCLA’sCyberspace Law Committee

Take an in depth look at the state ofcybersecurity, focusing on the inherentrisks, development of best practices andchallenges to the security of personalinformation, including:• Social media and cloud computing:the threats to privacy, security and lib-erty.

• Creative data mining.• Growth of financial crimes.• Strategies for managing the risksassociated with data-loss protection,brand protection, privacy erosion andmore.

Service of Process in the Digital Age:

Understanding the New Process ServerRegulations – May 21, 2012, co-spon-sored by NYCLA’s Civil Court PracticeSection (CCPS)Learn about the new process server regu-lations that:• Require the carrying and operating ofan electronic device recording GPSlocations.

• Require automatic transmittal of com-pleted records to independent third-party contractors.

• Provide new requirements on elec-tronic record storage and availability.

• Effect litigants and law firms engag-ing in court proceedings.

Risk mitigation tips and calendaring selection criteria anyfirm can take to heart

Risk Management is a hot, oft discussedtopic these days, and more small firmsand solos are looking to put processesand procedures in place to manage andmitigate risk. On top of that, firm clientsare relying on their legal partner not to bea “risky” business. Proper risk manage-ment starts with knowing the main sourceof troubles ahead.

Case in point, according to the AmericanBar Association’s “Profile of LegalMalpractice Claims,” calendar-relatederrors are a leading cause of malpracticeactions against lawyers in the U.S. Theyaccount for over 34 percent of all mal-practice claims, with 70 percent of claimsfiled against firms with five or fewerattorneys.

The calendaring solution … commonlyavailable legal-specific, court date calcu-lation and rules-based calendaring tech-nologies. These can assist with the calen-daring process, improve efficiencies, andminimize the aforementioned risk ofmissing a deadline (that could eventuallylead to a malpractice lawsuit). Here aresome proven tips to navigating calendar-ing technology:1. Legal calendaring is not “just” for

mega firms with significant technol-ogy budgets: Rules-based computer-ized date calculation services nowoperate via a software-as-a-serviceweb model enabling users to selecttheir jurisdiction, event and date totrack their case deadlines online.Explore your web-based options andset up a free trial.

2. Calendaring proactively addressesdisaster recovery/businesscontinuity: Accessing calendarsonline and having redundancies“housed” in multiple locations greatlyaids “business as usual” scenarios afterdisaster strikes. Telling the judge thatyou arrived late for court because yourplanner got destroyed or lost will nothold water. Regardless of your use ofonline calendaring, back up your filestoday.

3. Court date calculation services canserve as a tremendous productivityenhancer and help eliminate humanerror. Automating the tedious-but-necessary date calculation/calendaringprocess often saves days of researchtime. Keep track of how much timeyou and others at the firm spend onthis task, and then weigh the cost/ben-efit of “outsourcing” it.

4. Knowledge might translate to costsavings. Understand your malpracticeinsurance carriers’ calendar automa-tion requirements and rules since hav-

ing an automated system in placeoften results in insurance discounts.Call your provider today and find outmore.

5. Maximizing calendar exposure.More and more professionals are shar-ing calendars these days, so don’t getleft behind. Encouraging integrationwith other desktop calendars andestablishing one cohesive, central, andeasy-to-access calendaring system willminimize calendar-related errors andreduce billable time spent on research-ing rules and calculating deadlines.Increasing calendar exposure address-es disaster recovery and provides aback-up when you need it most.

Once the relevance and importance ofhaving (or at least considering) a rules-based calendaring system has been deter-mined, a common question with manyanswers is “what solutions should I lookat and why?” Before investing time,money and resources in a legal calendar-ing program, the firm should consider thefollowing criteria and factors:• Calendaring responsibility andexpertise: At the smallest firms,attorneys may track their own calen-dar dates; at the other end of thespectrum, mega, national firms haveentire departments dedicated tocourt docketing. Look carefully atthe parameters of the calendaring

systems you consider to see whichone will work best for your staffinglevels.

• Attorney and other timekeeper buy-in:It doesn’t matter how sophisticatedyour calendar system is if people arenot using it. Identifying a highlyplaced advocate at the firm can helpsmooth this process considerably.

• Quality and experience matter: Makesure the vendor/company you chooseis truly in the “rules business” and notjust providing timelines. Also check tosee if the vendor’s IT staff includesqualified attorneys and legal calendar-ing professionals who update the rulesregularly and can provide real-timetechnical support when you need it.

• Working the way you work: Sinceevery firm has its own internal sys-tems, procedures, and processes, it’simportant that calendar programs canbe customized to work your way, withyour other existing software pro-grams, and in a way your attorneyswill accept.

• Off-site/backup capabilities: Based onenhanced attorney mobility, your cal-endaring system needs to be remotelyaccessible when a staffer is travelingor working from home. In addition,make sure your system can be backedup to another location and quicklyrestored when required.

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer4

Featured CLE Courses Focusing on the Effects of Technology

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May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 5

May CLECourse List

The New York False Claims ActTuesday, May 1, 2012–6-8 p.m.2 MCLE Credits; .5 Ethics; 1.5 PP;Transitional and Non-transitional

Advice From the Experts: SuccessfulStrategies for Winning CommercialCases in New York State CourtsFriday, May 4, 2012–9 a.m.-5 p.m.8 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Ethics; 3 Skills; 3.5PP; Transitional and Non-transitional

Bridge the Gap II: A Program forNewly Admitted AttorneysConsecutive Fridays, May 11 and 18,2012–9 a.m.-5 p.m.16 MCLE Credits: 3 Ethics; 7 PP/LPM;6 Skills; Transitional and Non-transitional

Documenting Technological Abuse:From Intake to Admission IntoEvidenceMonday, May 14, 2012–6-8 p.m.2 MCLE Credits: 1 Skills; 1 ProfessionalPractice: Transitional and Non-transition-al (also NJ)

How to Handle an EmploymentDiscrimination CaseConsecutive Tuesdays, May 15 and 22,2012–6-9 p.m.6 MCLE Credits: 2 Ethics; 2 Skills; 2Professional Practice; Transitional andNon-transitional

Cybersecurity: Risks, Best Practices,and Security ChallengesTuesday, May 15, 2012–6-9 p.m.3 MCLE Credits: 1 Ethics; 2 PP;Transitional and Non-transitional (also NJ)

How to Represent a Client in aMediation – Special Lunchtime ProgramWednesday, May 16, 2012–Noon-1:30 p.m.1.5 MCLE Credits: .5 Ethics; 1 Skills;Transitional and Non-transitional (also NJ)

Dealing With Ethical Issues Arising inMatrimonial PracticeWednesday, May 16, 2012–6-9 p.m.3 MCLE Credits: 3 Ethics; Transitionaland Non-transitional

Service of Process in the Digital Age:Understanding the New ProcessServer RegulationsMonday, May 21, 2012–6-9 p.m.3 MCLE Credits: 1.5 Skills; 1.5 PP;Transitional and Non-transitional

Job Transitioning for Mid-LevelAssociates: The When, Why, and Howto Move on to Your Next Position andImprove the Way You Practice LawTuesday, May 29, 2012–6:30-8:30 p.m.2 MCLE Credits: .5 Ethics; 1.5Professional Practice; Non-transitional(also NJ).

CLE INSTITUTE

SAVE THE DATE:Ethical Considerations in TimeManagement, Wednesday, June 6E-Discovery and Ethics:Technology Assisted Reviews,Predictive Coding, The JudicialRole and Ethical Considerations,Tuesday, June 12Civil Rights Jamboree, Friday,June 15

NYCLA’s CLE Institute now anAccredited Provider in NewJersey

New York County Lawyers’Association’s CLE Institute is cur-rently certified as an AccreditedProvider of continuing legal educa-tion in the State New Jersey.Courses qualifying for CLE creditin New Jersey will be so designatedon the NYCLA website. Be sure toconsult www.nycla.org for programdetails and program locations.

Please note that TuitionAssistance is available for quali-fied attorneys for live programsoffered by the CLE Institute.Check our website atwww.nycla.org for more informa-tion and how to apply for TuitionAssistance. Check our website forcourse details, faculty, completeprogram descriptions and pricing.

Be sure to check our website fora complete listing of programs.

The last thing litigators want to worryabout is facing litigation from (former)clients. With a thorough, effective calen-daring system, the worries over malprac-tice cases shrink considerably — alongwith the hours spent on the gruelingwork of tracking down and verifyingcourt dates over the phone or on line.Once you’ve made the business case forcalendaring technologies, carefully evalu-ate the various options based on the com-prehensiveness of the system’s availablecourt rules, the ability to back up calen-dars on the fly as well as other factorssuch as a potential vendor partner’s repu-tation and track record.

Alexander J. Manners is the Director ofCompuLaw at Aderant. He has beenworking in the legal calendaring field for20 years and is responsible for the cre-ation and growth of the CompuLaw rulesdepartment including the update andmaintenance of 2000+ court rule sets.Alex has been instrumental in creatingsome of CompuLaw’s most innovativeproducts such as a patented date calcula-tion scripting language. He is a recog-nized industry expert in the legal calen-daring arena and has authored manyproposed rule amendments for courtsnationally that have been adopted intolaw. Prior to joining CompuLaw in1997, he managed a docketing depart-ment at a large multi-national law firm.He can be reached atalex.manners@aderant.com.

Calendaring Technologies(Continued from page 4)

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May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer6

By Julie Adler

The word “networking” often conjuresup images of forced handshakes withstrangers and awkward exchanges ofbusiness cards. But as a graduating 3L, Ihave learned that networking can meanmuch more than that, and it doesn’t haveto be a dirty word. Here are some tipsfor thinking about networking beyondthe informational interview.

1. Find your passions, and pursuethem. This process should begin fromday one of law school. In this job market,most employers only seriously considerthose applicants who have demonstratedinterest in their practice areas. Focus oncourse work and internships in the areasthat interest you, join relevant bar associ-ation committees and listservs, and shapeyour networking efforts accordingly. Alsobe sure to keep an open mind about whatyou think you want to do and considerany first job that might help get youthere. Recognize that finding your pas-sions doesn’t mean just your legal pas-sions. Don’t be afraid to start a side busi-ness, engage in community organizing, orwork to develop other nonlegal expertisethat will complement your legal skills. Ifyou have “Food and Wine Club” on yourrésumé, you never know if some food-loving lawyer will call you in for aninterview for your dream trusts andestates job just for that reason. At thevery least, your passion and drive willcertainly impress potential employers,and you will maintain your sanity duringthe job search by continuing to do thingsyou love!

2. Start your career while in lawschool. The third year especially is agreat time to begin to achieve yourcareer goals. Make it a point to meeteveryone you can who practices in yourarea of interest. Go to fun and interestingevents (conferences, symposia, and“meetups”), get to know practitioners inthe field, and get your name out there bywriting articles on the topics that interestyou. Try to publish your work innewsletters like this one, in law journals,or on legal blogs—you never know whatwill go viral! Also stay on top of the blo-gosphere and Twittersphere to keepabreast of new opportunities and devel-opments in your area of interest, andeven consider starting your own blog orTwitter feed. These days, social media isubiquitous, and you can use it to showoff your expertise in a particular area—blog, tweet out relevant news and devel-opments, follow your career mentors andhave them follow you back, and maintaina professional Facebook page. Most busypractitioners do not have time to stay ontop of all the news in their legal field,especially if it is an emerging field oflaw, and they need someone like you todo it for them. Of course, joiningLinkedIn and building your profile andconnections there can be helpful as well,and you should look for specializedgroups related to your preferred areas oflaw—many of them have job listings thatyou won’t find through your school’s jobdatabase.

3. Don’t underestimate the value ofworking for free. The first time I count-ed the number of unpaid internships Ihave had in my life, between undergradu-ate and law school, I cringed. Let’s justsay I couldn’t count on both hands. Itwasn’t until recently that I started pon-dering the true value I received fromthese internships. They are only a compo-nent of networking, but they are anextremely valuable component. Nothingcompares to the connections you makewhen you actually work for someone andcan demonstrate your potential when ajob opens up. If you can’t afford to workfor free, tell your employer that you needto hold a side job while you intern—many employers will completely under-stand.

4. Stay positive! This is probably themost important thing you can do. Beproactive, of course, but keep remindingyourself throughout the process thatthings will work out eventually—because it’s true! There are plenty ofpeople out there who have struggledthrough unemployment after law schooland then ended up landing great jobs, sotalk to recent grads and let them inspireyou. Maintain a healthy sense of realismby preparing to work as a bartender orbarista to save money while you searchfor the right legal position. Don’t listenonly to the naysayers or let the lawschool scam blogs get you down.

In sum, the search for an entry-level jobis a bit like a pinball machine or a gameof billiards. Winning the networkinggame requires the right combination ofluck and skill. And one thing is certain:the more balls you set in motion, thegreater chance you have that one of themwill fall in the hole.

Julie Adler is a J.D. Candidate, 2012, atBrooklyn Law School and a NYCLAmember.

Networking for Your First Job

By Alanna Gluck

The word “networking” can strike fearinto the hearts and minds of even themost experienced and knowledgeableattorney. With the number of eventsavailable for professionals to attend,the labor of building a network canseem repetitive and uninteresting.Trying to maintain a work/life balancecan also lead to the conclusion thatthere is no room for networking inyour professional development.However, finding alternative network-ing options will not only lead you toyour ultimate goal of making connec-tions—it will make those traditionalnetworking events more enjoyable.Here are a few options for broadeningyour networking opportunities:

Have a community life outside yourpractice. By volunteering your timeand/or expertise to aid an organizationor people in need, you will demon-strate to colleagues and employersthat you care about the world outsideof your profession. Seek out volunteeropportunities via a professional asso-ciation or through charitable organi-zations that serve to better the com-munity. Remember that it is importantto have professionals in addition toattorneys in your network. Joining aCommittee or serving on a Board ofDirectors at a philanthropic organiza-tion, or simply devoting your freetime to those in need will help you toconnect with other like-minded peo-ple outside your profession-specificnetwork.

Find a hobby. Pursuing a passion

outside of legal practice will help youto maintain a work/life balance andwill help you in both professional andpersonal endeavors. Join an amateursport team or league, take a class, playan instrument, or become involved aclub or group. Meeting others whoshare your personal interest can be aconduit to professional connectionsand leads.

Carpe Diem. Seize every chance thatarises to connect with others. Eveneveryday interactions are opportuni-ties to meet a future colleague or anemployer. Always be prepared, putyour best foot forward and bethoughtful about your image. Carryyour business card on you at alltimes—be ready to give it out, butonly when there is a reasonable open-ing to do so. You never know whoyou may end up striking up a conver-sation with.

It is not just about a business pitch.At its best, networking is about beingmemorable and making a lastingimpression on another professional.Do not be afraid to discuss your inter-ests and activities outside of your pro-fession. Do you speak a second orthird language? Have you recentlydone some traveling? Do you haveexpertise in a nonprofessional endeav-or that sets you apart from your col-leagues? Share something uniqueabout yourself that will help you tostand out from others who may bevery similar to you professionally.

Alanna Gluck is NYCLA’s MembershipEngagement Coordinator.

Outside the “Networking” Box

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 7

By William Daks

Congratulations. You just endured severalgrueling days of taking one or more barexams. It’s nearing the end of summerand now what? It’s time to initiate or getback to employment. How do you suc-cessfully transition into your first practic-ing legal job? More importantly, how doyou gain the practical experience yousampled through law school but neverreally engaged in? Here are some practi-cal tips to guide you.

First, eagerly anticipate and inquire toyour superiors about receiving newassignments. Demonstrate that you areeager and willing to do your best, andhandle a full caseload. Your employermay initially only assign a variety ofsimple assignments. Whether it is only abrief research memo on applicable caus-es of action or reviewing a file andassessing the plaintiff’s medical treat-ment records, take each task with pride.Your employer is certainly expecting youto complete each assignment successful-ly. More importantly, he or she is alsoidentifying your analytical and problem-solving skills. Excelling at these tasksearly and demonstrating your ability towork well under pressure will pave theway for more complex and gratifyingassignments.

Second, show continuity and the abilityto transfer into new assignments. Youmay initially only draft a summons andcomplaint or a bill of particulars.However, as the expression goes, “see theforest for the trees.” As the course of liti-gation progresses, you may be calledupon to draft subsequent follow-upassignments, such as a motion for sum-mary judgment on liability or damages,or a motion to compel discovery.Drafting the early pleadings and otherimportant documents through the courseof litigation allows you to know the casebetter than your superiors. Additionally,demonstrating your understanding of theimportant pleadings and motions throughthe course of litigation will only enhanceand further your practice skills.

Third, create and maintain a task list andbe attentive to upcoming deadlines. Oneof the most fundamental lessons to belearned early as a practicing attorney isthe importance of dates and deadlines.Motion practice is almost entirely predi-cated on return dates. In order to ensureproper compliance, you must documentand continually review such dates onyour calendar. Another compelling reasonto stay apprised of important dates is forproper law firm practice. The last thingyou want to explain to your employer isthat you overlooked a particular returndate and thereby served late papers. This

will only provide embarrassment (andpossibly lead to termination) and mayfurther be grounds for unnecessarymotion practice to restore a case to activestatus. Therefore, as such problems areeasily avoided, maintaining and stayingapprised of your caseload is an importanthabit to develop early in your career.

Fourth, research and do your best to con-tinually follow up, and stay updated onnew and important decisions. Dependingon your type of practice, the legalauthority we often rely upon is continu-ously fluctuating and evolving. This isparticularly more relevant practice areassuch as the New York labor law.Additionally, there are various sourcesand methods for staying current withinyour practice areas. Grab a copy of theNew York Law Journal for your dailycommute or browse your firm’s officesubscription. Also consider joining appli-cable practice committees at your localbar association, such as the New YorkCounty Lawyers Association (NYCLA).Committees often keep their membersupdated of the latest practice-worthynews with daily or weekly mailing lists.Moreover, such active participation aidsyour career development while alsoallowing you to become an expert onnuanced issues arising within the office.Your employer will appreciate yourdemonstrated engagement and interest.

Fifth, have a copy of the Civil PracticeLaws and Rules (CPLR) and relevanttreatises readily available in your office.Early in practice, you will be surprisedat how many times assignments involvenew issues that you have not yetencountered. For these situations, yourgo-to source of information includessources such as Siegel’s New YorkPractice treatise. Consulting with thesevaluable sources provides you with asolid background before engaging in themore in-depth research assignmentsoften require. Additionally, no newlypracticing attorney is expected to memo-rize or know all of the relevant rules.Therefore, do not hesitate to utilize suchvaluable resources.

Finally, ask questions! You will be sur-prised what you might learn. Not only doyour superiors have a wealth of experi-ence, but they are often extremely willingand excited to share such information. Byasking insightful questions, you aredemonstrating your willingness to learnand correctly handle challenging situa-tions. Good luck and make the best ofyour first legal job experiences!

William Daks, a NYCLA member, is anadmitted attorney in New York and NewJersey, and is currently a Law Clerk atRaskin & Kremins, LLP.

Gaining Practical Experience in Your First Legal Job

Annual MeetingInduction Ceremony and Reception

All NYCLA Members are invited to attend theAssociation’s annual induction ceremony ofNYCLA officers and members of the Board.

Unsung Hero Awards will be presented andThe United States District Court

for the Southern District of New York: ARetrospective (2000-2010)

announced

Thursday, May 245:30 p.m.NYCLA Home of Law14 Vesey StreetReception following ceremony

R.S.V.P.at

NYCLA.org

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer8

RECENT EVENTS

Stewart D. Aaron (center), NYCLA’s President,welcomes Forum attendees to the Home of Lawand talks about the history of the organization andits mission, the history of the Association’s AsianPractice Committee and its work, his personalobservations on Asian practice, Asian-related liti-gation, Asian business and transactional opportu-nities, and challenges, at this panel moderated byZhihui (Julie) Guo (third from left), Chair,NYCLA’s Asian Practice Committee.

Nearly 100 attendees heard from experts includingattorneys from the United States and Asia, a NewYork State Supreme Court judge, and leaders ofNew York Asian Bar Associations.

Asian Practice Committee Hosts U.S.-Asia Lawyer Cooperation Forum

Committees Gather toDiscuss Literature and

BioethicsAlan L. Fell (left), Law and Literature Committee Co-Chair; Beverly J. Jones (second from right), HealthLaw Committee Chair; and Marilyn J. Flood (right),NYCLA counsel; welcome Phoebe A. Stone (secondfrom left), attorney and bioethicist; and Loren WisserGreene (Center), M.D., M.A. (Bioethics), ClinicalAssociate Professor of Medicine, New YorkUniversity School of Medicine, to the April 18 jointmeeting of the Law and Literature and Health LawCommittees where Stone and Wisser Greene dis-cussed bioethics around “The Immortal Life ofHenrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, which raisedissues about medical ethics.

NYCLA Hosts Film Screening and DiscussionOn Friday, April 13, NYCLA’s Task Force on Professionalism co-sponsored a screening of the documen-tary “UNRAVELED,” the story of Mark Dreier, the prominent New York City attorney who was arrestedfor orchestrating a massive fraud that netted over $750 million from hedge funds. A discussion with thefilm’s director, Marc Simon, and noted ethicists, Ronald Minkoff and James Kobak, followed the screeningand covered dissatisfaction in the legal profession, ethics, values, and the choices lawyers make in today’ssociety.

“UNRAVELED” director Marc Simon before theevening screening at Village East Cinemas

Panelist Ronald Minkoff (center) flanked by hismentee, Jennifer Ramme (right), and a memberof the audience (left).

On April 16 at NYCLA Home ofLaw, NYCLA’s Asian PracticeCommittee hosted the U.S.-AsiaLawyer Cooperation Forum, whichconsisted of a panel of lawyers whodiscussed cooperative opportunitiesbetween U.S. and Asian Lawyersand related topics under the back-ground of economic globalization,and a reception.

Marc Dreier’s attorney, Gerald Shargel (right), dis-cusses some of the finer points of the defense strategywith audience members following the screening.

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 9

RECENT EVENTS

Meet-Up Covers CareerDevelopment Topics

On Wednesday, April 28, experts in profes-sional development held interactive sessionsat NYCLA’s Advance Your Career Meet-Up.Attendees learned what employers look foron resumés, how to use social media in thejob search, and how to look the part on aninterview.

Silfath Pinto, Founder,Stylosophy, speaks about howto look the part on an interview.

Attendees hear from Paramjit L. Mahli, Chief Executive Officer, The RainmakersRoundtable, on how to use social media tools to maximize the job search.

The New York Bar Foundation Presents Donation to Project Restore

Collin Bull (center),NYCLA Board ofDirectors member andSupervising Attorney ofProject Restore, accepts a$5,000 donation toNYCLA’s Project Restoreprogram, from The NewYork Bar Foundation.Sylvia Chin (second fromleft), Co-Chair of The BarFoundation’s first judicialdistrict, was on hand topresent the check at theApril 9 Board of Directorsmeeting, from this charita-ble and philanthropic entity of the New York State Bar Association that isdedicated to aiding educational, direct legal services, and charitable projectsaimed at meeting the law-related needs of the public and the profession.Alongside Bull and Chin are Stewart D. Aaron (left), NYCLA’s President;Lois Davis (second from right), NYCLA’s Director of Pro Bono Programs;and Barbara Moses (right), President of the NYCLA Foundation. This dona-tion will help NYCLA’s Project Restore program provide assistance to indi-viduals with misdemeanor and felony convictions who are denied vocationallicenses by the New York Department of State.

On April 23, NYCLA’s Women’s RightsCommittee hosted the Edith I. Spivack AwardCeremony and Reception honoring DonnaLieberman, Executive Director of the New YorkCivil Liberties Union, with the Edith I. SpivackAward for her work in the area of women’srights.

Edith I. Spivack AwardPresented to Donna Lieberman

Former Women’s Rights Committee Chairs, Marilyn Flood, NYCLA Counsel (far left); Hon. RichardPrice (second from left); Kay Murray (third from left); Rosalind Fink (fourth from left), former NYCLAPresident; Hon. Paula Omansky (fifth from left); Susan Harper (fifth from right); Marcia Goffin (fourthfrom right); Barbara Rochman (far right), pose with current Women’s Rights Committee Chairs, MinnaElias (second from right); and Joana Lucashuk (third from right).

Edith Spivack’s granddaughter, Susanna Parker (left), and daughters, Amy Bass (second from left), andRita Christopher (third from left), pose with NYCLA’s President, Stewart Aaron (center, left), DonnaLieberman (center, right), Minna Ellias (third from right), Joana Lucashuck (second from right), andCarlin Meyer, (right), Professor of Law, New York Law School, and Director, The Diane Abbey LawCenter for Children and Families, who gave introductory remarks.

Minna Elias (center) and Joana Lucashuk (right), NYCLAWomen’s Rights Committee Co-Chairs, present DonnaLieberman (left), Executive Director, New York Civil LibertiesUnion, with the Edith I. Spivack Award.

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer10

Unless otherwise noted, classes are freeand open to the public

MayWestlaw: BasicMay 8–1:30-2:30 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Westlaw: Family Law Research

May 8–3-4 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Lexis: IMay 9–10:30-11:30 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Lexis: IIMay 9–Noon-1 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Lexis: Criminal Law ResearchMay 9–1:30-2:30 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Using Bloomberglaw.com forLitigationMay 17–10-10:50 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Using Bloomberglaw.com for aCorporate Transactional PracticeMay 17–11:05-11:55 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Westlaw: IntermediateMay 22–10-11 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Westlaw: Entertainment LawMay 22–11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

U.S. Bankruptcy Court ElectronicCase Filing SystemMay 23–10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.2.5 MCLE Credits: 2.5 Skills;TransitionalMembers: $65; Nonmembers: $85;Nonlegal Staff: $35

JuneWestlaw: AdvancedJune 5–1:30-2:30 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Westlaw: Intellectual PropertyResearchJune 5–3-4 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

U.S. Bankruptcy Court ElectronicCase Filing SystemJune 18–10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.2.5 MCLE Credits: 2.5 Skills;TransitionalMembers: $65; Nonmembers: $85;Nonlegal Staff: $35

Westlaw: BasicJune 20–10-11 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; TransitionalFree and open to the public

Westlaw: New York MaterialsJune 20–11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Using Bloomberglaw.com forLitigationJune 21–10-10:50 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Using Bloomberglaw.com for aCorporate Transactional PracticeJune 21–11:05-11:55 a.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Lexis: IJune 26–11 a.m.-Noon1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Lexis: Update Enhancements ResearchJune 26–12:30-1:30 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

Lexis: Expert WitnessJune 26–2-3 p.m.1 MCLE Credit: 1 Skills; Transitional

LIBRARY NOTES

Electronic Research Center CLE Programs

To make suggestions about books, e-books, or database purchases, contactDan Jordan at djordan@nycla.org or212-267-6646, ext. 201.

Featured Internet SitesClass Action Litigation Informationwww.classactionlitigation.com/about.htmlClass Action Litigation Information is aservice provided by Timothy E. Eble,P.A., maintained to provide a usefullegal research source for attorneys and afree service to assist the public in under-standing class action litigation, govern-ment, and the legal system. The site fea-tures links to numerous sources of infor-mation related to many questions thatarise in the context of class action or“representative” litigation. It aims to dis-pel some of the unwarranted myths andcriticisms of class action litigation andthe legal system as it is a necessary pro-cedure to protect the public from unethi-cal and improper business practices.This website contains:• The Federal Class Action PracticeManual-Internet Edition, by TimothyE. Eble

• The Manual for Complex Litigation,3rd and 4th editions

• Class action and complex litigationarticles by Timothy E. Eble andJudge Thomas A. Dickerson,

Associate Justice, Appellate Division,Second Department

• The text of the “Federal Class ActionFairness Act 2005” with analysis andrecent decisions

• A flowchart of how class action litiga-tion proceed

• Information on Canadian class actionlitigation

• A place for attorneys to post courtordered notices of class action litigation

• Links to monitor pending legislationon class action litigation

• And a Glossary of Class Action LegalTerms, and more

On the lighter sideLawhaha.com – The site, compiled byProfessor Andrew J. McClurg, billsitself as the only academically orientedlegal humor and commentary site.Lawhaha.com seeks to “proximatelycaus[e] comic/stress relief among legalprofessionals and the public at large” —an amusing site providing the pause thatrefreshes the mind.

New Arrivals and Newly Updated

The Department of Justice Manual, 3rdEd. (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business,March 2012) Gain insight to the poli-

cies and directives outlined in the U.S.Attorneys’ Manual, an eight-volume colection of the basic manuals, guidelines,policy statements, and procedures dis-turbed by the Department of Justice thatgovern the actions of U.S. Attorneysworking in the Justice Department’sCivil, Environment & NaturalResources, Tax, Antitrust, Civil Rights,and Criminal Divisions, as well as in theU.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide.

Fashion Law: A Guide for Designers,Fashion Executives, and Attorneys,edited by Guillermo C. Jimenez,Fashion Institute of Technology andBarbara Kolsun, Stuart WeitzmanLLC. (New York: Fairchild Books,[2010]) As the global fashion and

apparel industry has grown to representa $3 trillion market, a new area of law isrequired to help guide fashion designersand executives through the legal quan-daries peculiar to fashion. This textaddresses such legal issues as: definingand protecting intellectual property,knock offs, licensing, counterfeiting;agreements such as franchising, distri-bution, rentals, leasing; handling cus-toms; and creative copyright infringe-ment. It provides a practical workingknowledge to avoid legal disputes andprotect rights of fashion executives,managers, and designers. Contributorsrepresenting industry and law firms willprovide content and case studies for bet-ter understanding of legal issues whenlaw meets design.

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 11

By Brad Andrews

The most useful thing I learned during asummer clerkship in 2005 at a large firmout west is that a life in “biglaw” wasn’tfor me. So a year later, I did what anyreasonable law school graduate would do– moved across the country, sat for thebar exam, and started my own family lawpractice in Manhattan.

I quickly learned that there is a lotinvolved in starting your own practice. Inthis column, I’ll address just two aspectsof same: your physical office, and whatyou might call your online office—yourwebsite.

Your physical officeYou have three main options: renting

space in a law suite, renting a virtualoffice but working from home or some-where else, or simply working fromhome. Since starting my own practice,I’ve done the first two.

Renting in a lawyers’ suite has manyadvantages. You have somewhere to go towork each day. It’s decorated how youwant. You have all of your files there. Itlooks and feels professional, and mayeven include a receptionist and anaccount with the United Lawyers’ courtservice. Also, importantly, there is theadvantage of being around other lawyersevery day. You can ask them for adviceas you encounter problems that are newto you, but old to them; you can refermatters to them that you are not compe-tent to handle; in return, you may well

get referral or contract business fromthem. Perhaps most importantly, you willenjoy the camaraderie of interacting witha variety of lawyers on a regular basis,trading “war stories” and gaining a vari-ety of perspectives as to how to practicelaw.

The major downside of a law suite is thecost. In midtown, the cost ranges fromaround $1,200 per month for a small,interior office in a good suite with areceptionist to $2,500 (or more) for alarge, windowed office.

Your second option is a virtual office,which can be had for as little as $150 permonth. It gives you a prestigious addressfor the delivery of mail, and access toconference rooms. It might include a

United Lawyers’ account that you canglom onto for a small fee. In the $150range, you will need to rent a conferenceroom by the hour, while a higher monthlyfee—say $500—will include a set num-ber of hours that you can reserve a con-ference room. There may also be anoption to pay a little extra to have some-one answer your telephone and take mes-sages. But, you will have to find some-where else to work. For virtual offices,you could start by looking at Regus(www.regus.com) and DaVinci(www.davincivirtual.com).

Your third option is to work from homeand use your home address. In my view,this is a false economy. Fair or not, if I seea lawyer’s “office” address being in a resi-

Starting Your Own Practice: Your Physical Office and Your Online Office

By Rachel H. Nash, Esq.

Living, working, and being educated inthe public school system of the City ofNew York has exposed me to manydiverse cultures. I easily relate to peoplefrom all different backgrounds and socio-economic levels. My travels and studiesabroad and around the globe have givenme personal knowledge and awareness ofother cultures.

I always wished to work in the publicservice area. So, after graduating fromBrandeis University but before startingCardozo Law School, I worked in thePress and Research office of then MayorRudolph Giuliani. It was exciting towork in the Mayor’s office, and felt apart of the heartbeat of my city andeveryone I met. So, I decided law schoolwas the path to a rewarding profession inpublic service.

During law school, I did a summerinternship with the New York City LawDepartment summer honors associateprogram and the Department ofConsumer Affairs Adjudication Division.During my judicial internship for a DCAAdministrative Law Judge (ALJ), Iobserved hearings first-hand, and learnedabout administrative procedures, law, evi-dence, testimony, and creditability. Afterthat summer, I knew that I wished to pur-sue an ALJ position, but I was unsurehow to reach such a high goal. There wasa hiring freeze and three years of lawpractice were required. The competitionwould be fierce.

After graduating Cardozo Law Schooland passing the NYS Bar in 2001, Iattended numerous law panels and CLEclasses in order to broaden my profes-sional network and sharpen my skills.In 2003, I attended a full-day programon “How to Become a Judge” sponsoredby the City Bar Association of NewYork. At the program, I learned aboutvarious judgeships and the judicialapplication process. The informationprovided led me to my first and currentposition as an ALJ.

Over the past seven years, I have been

fortunate to have adjudicated cases atthe Health Tribunal, EnvironmentalControl Board, Small ClaimsAssessment Review for the New YorkState Department of Finance, and as avolunteer Small Claims Civil CourtArbitrator.

It is common in these tribunals and courtsfor respondents to appear pro se. Theadministrative hearing is often therespondent’s first courtroom experienceand may be the only one. Unfamiliaritywith the process can cause anxiety, stressand sometimes tears. I begin all hearingswith a welcome to the tribunal; a smallgesture that many times has a very large-ly beneficial effect. Next, I explain thehearing procedure, and always end thehearing by wishing them a good day.

Soon after joining NYCLA in 2011, Iattended a NYCLA panel that addressedthe need for diversity on the bench. Itwas stressed that New York City was adiverse place and justice was betterserved when those seeking justice werejudged by a reflectively diverse bench.

I believe that my diverse background,education, experiences, and youth havehelped me to provide justice fairly to theever-changing pool of respondents. Mypositions have allowed me to implementwhat I believe are the most desired quali-ties of a judge; the treatment of all partieswith the utmost respect, patience and fairand balanced decision making.

For those NYCLA members who wish topursue an ALJ or related position, mysuggestion is to attend related CLE class-es, panels, join bar committees, volun-teer in the courts, seek judicial intern-ships and attend the “In Practice” and“In Chambers” series organized byNYCLA’s Young Lawyers’ Section.

I love my work as a per diem

Administrative Law Judge. I feel work-ing as a judge is the most noble and self-less position one can have as a lawyer.For me, it is synonymous with being atthe height of the practice within theheartbeat of the profession.

Rachel H. Nash, Esq. is a per diemAdministrative Law Judge and a NYCLAmember..

A Judicial Path

Rachel Nash

(See Starting Your Own Practice on page 15)

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer12

From Books to Practice:Tips for Your First Job

By Katherine Hwang

I currently work as an Associate Attorneyat a small firm in midtown Manhattan, butmy first year out of law school was a bal-ancing act. I graduated during the down-turn in our economy, in 2009, and workedseveral part-time jobs at the beginning ofmy career, legal and non-legal. I was areceptionist, a teaching assistant, an internwith a large NGO in human rights litiga-tion, assistant to a professor, and a lawclerk to the firm where I currently work.Every one of these positions felt like a“First Job.” As such, the first few yearsout of law school was not the smoothest,but they were formidable and allowed meto hone skills in different areas andbranch into new types of practice. It wasalso through my first jobs that I grew con-fident by learning and growing.

Your first two years out of law school willbe just that—a learning and growing expe-rience. Your first job is where you begin todevelop your skill set, typically in litiga-tion or transactional work, whether it be indrafting, oral advocacy, case management,negotiations, or client relations, firstthrough imitating others, then by findingyour own voice. However rocky or smoothor transition from law school to practicewill be, here are a few tips which I hopewill make your transition from the booksto the practice a bit easier:

Give yourself a break. In the beginningof any job, you will know little or noth-ing. When you venture into a new area,you will be challenged every time. If youare like me, a perfectionist, a hard worker,and sometimes too hard on yourself—attributes of many law students-then youwill endeavor to do your best. However,remember that sometimes the only way tolearn is to make mistakes. Give yourselfa break—you are new to the law practice,and you do not know everything. You arenot expected to, and that is okay.

Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to admitthat you do not know something. I havenever failed to have been helped by a fel-low attorney when I asked him or her aquestion, whether it was legal, procedur-al, or career related. More experiencedattorneys remember what it was like tostart out and are willing to impart advice.

Do your best, control what you can,and let go of what you cannot. In lawschool, we managed our classes, ourschedules, and how we studied. However,as an attorney, we are subject to thewhim of our boss, our clients, judges,court staff, deadlines, and opposing coun-sel, both civil and uncivil. We writemotions, try cases, and win or lose. Doyour best and have passion for your job,and that is all that anyone can ask of you.Let go of the rest.

Join a Committee or a Section, such asthe Young Lawyers’ Section for supportand guidance. Join in law school if youcan, and you will have a support networkfor when you begin practicing. If youdevelop these networks and participate inthese communities early on and you willbenefit tremendously. I emphasize thatthese are communities because as youbecome involved, you develop relation-ships and friendships with fellow mem-bers. I joined a bar association committeewhile in a 2L and upon graduation and fiveyears later, I reaped the benefits. Because Ihad been a member for several years, Ibecame friends with other members.Following graduation, I have the opportu-nity to take on a leadership position anddirect my own projects.

Find a stress relief that works foryou. I go to the gym, practice yoga,cook, and bake to relax and relievestress. Find whatever works for you andstick with it. You will find that it notonly helps you relax, but it will enhance

your productivity.

Remember that you are the only one incharge of your career. No matter whatyour aspirations, take ownership of devel-oping your own skills set. Active listening,drafting, negotiation, oral advocacy, organi-zation, and case management are just a fewskills necessary to being a good lawyer.

Leave work at work. If you have theopportunity to do so, leave work at work,literally and mentally! Remember that ifthere is nothing you can do about a case,then go out and have a good time, or gohome and relax.

Give yourself extra time. No matter the

assignment, overestimate how much timeit will take you to complete it, especiallyif you are starting out at a new job orworking within a new practice area of law.Inevitably, it will always take you longerthan you think to figure out what to do.

The law is a “demanding mistress,” as Ionce was told by a colleague several yearsmy senior. Practicing law can be a chal-lenge, but that is also what makes it interest-ing. Keep these tips in mind and developgood practices in the first few years of yourcareer that will stay with you throughout.

Katherine Hwang is an AssociateAttorney at Santamarina & Associatesand a NYCLA member.

Ethics Hotline

The Committee on Professional Ethics accepts both written and telephoneinquiries on ethics matters and provides advisory opinions. For additional infor-mation, call the members listed below.

Please Note: Assignments are subject to change.

Questions to the Hotline are limited to an inquiring attorney’s prospective con-duct. The Hotline does not answer questions regarding past conduct, the conductof other attorneys, questions that are being litigated or before a disciplinary com-mittee or ethics committee, or questions of law. This notation shall not be con-strued to contain all Hotline guidelines. For a full discussion of Ethics Hotlineguidelines, please see “Guidelines on NYCLA’s Ethics Hotline,” September2006, New York County Lawyer, Vol. 2, No. 7. To view the article, visitNYCLA’s website at www.nycla.org, click on Ethics (on the left-hand side of thepage) and then on Ethics Hotline.

April 16-30Bruce Handler212-508-9372

May 1-15Lew Tesser212-754-9000

May 16-31Mark Bower212-240-0700

June 1-15Ron Minkoff212-705-4837

By Linda Lemiesz

If you are looking for a good book totake on vacation with you, considerpicking up a copy of Corban Addison’sfirst novel, a fictional tale, “A WalkAcross the Sun” (Regalus Books, 2012).Not only will you be supporting the lit-erary efforts of a fellow lawyer, you willalso be rapidly engrossed in the novel’smemorable characters, fast-paced andsuspenseful plot line, and exotic settings.However, there is a better reason forperusing it than your pleasure at theauthor’s good craftsmanship. Followingthe great 19th century novelistic tradi-tion of social realism, Addison’s workfocuses on the crime of sex traffickingand the global legal system’s struggle toend slavery. Once you finish the novel,

you will look at the world around youdifferently.

“A Walk Across the Sun” opens incoastal India as a tsunami strikes.Teenage sisters Ahalya and Sita Ghai, ina stunning sequence of scenes, lose theirhome, parents, friends, position in theworld, and then, path to shelter in theirconvent school. A trip with an unreliabledriver ends with their being sold to abrothel. Across the world in Washington,D.C., young attorney Thomas Clarke’scareer setbacks at the corporate firmClayton Swift initially seem trivial bycomparison to the ordeal of the two sis-ters, but soon we learn he has lost hisway as well. After the death of theirinfant daughter, his wife Priya has fledhome to India, her misery at her loss

aggravated by her husband’s worka-holism. At the height of his confusionabout the state of his life, as he wan-ders around a park, Thomas witnessesthe abduction of a child. His powerless-ness to help the child and her motherpropels him to accept an offer fromClayton Swift that he initially hadshrugged off: the chance for a probono sabbatical. He accepts a positionwith an NGO and is soon on a plane toBombay himself.

Addison’s plot has the reader skippingaround the globe as Thomas learns ofthe disparate fates of Sita and Ahalyaand meets a cast of characters that rangefrom brothel workers and global crimelords to sexual slaves, police officers,and lawyers. Despite the inherent sala-ciousness of the subject matter,Addison’s writing is never less thansensitive to the plight of the trafficked.One of the strengths of the book is itsportrayal of how Thomas develops asboth a lawyer and as a person, from a

careful observer and commentator to apassionately involved advocate for theexploited.

Within a few weeks of readingAddison’s novel, I stumbled across thefollowing scenes: at Penn Station in themiddle of January, a burly man hastenedthree barely clad blonde teenagers into awaiting town car; in the FinancialDistrict, in the early hours of the morn-ing, a girl with a broken stiletto heel anda fresh bruise on her face sat crying inthe subway station, but could not speakEnglish when asked if she was okay;and in Chinatown, a door opened on theback of a van with five or six youngwomen inside looking terrified. Innocentvignettes of New York City life or some-thing more ominous? “A Walk Acrossthe Sun” will leave you questioningwhat you witness.

Linda Lemiesz is a NYCLA member andmember of NYCLA’s Law and LiteratureCommittee

B O O K R E V I E W

A Walk Across the Sunby Corbin Addison

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 13

Life After Law SchoolBy Darren R. Marks, Esq.

They say you learn the law three times:law school, the bar, and the practice.However, young lawyers rarely learnwhat life will be like after law school.Hopefully, these bits of advice will helpyour professional development.

Your finances & youOne of the best “welcome to the world” tipsI received after law school was to stay ontop of my student loans. This may soundsilly, but it was some of the best advice Igot. Six years out of law school, I am thank-ful I listened to my friend’s advice.

What you may not realize is that howyou handle you student loans, in fact,reflects and affects you. As a lawyer, youare a fiduciary with obligations to yourclients. Potential employers, as well asthe character and fitness committee,know that your résumé highlights howgreat you are; however, your credit scoretells them how responsible you have beenwith the largest financial obligationsmost of us have yet to undertake.

How you manage your student loansdirectly affects your access to, and cost of,credit. Whether you are looking to buy ahome or car, or a hang up your own shin-gle, how you have managed your studentloans will affect your life choices. I getthat many young lawyers have exorbitantdebt and may not be able to pay off theseloans as quickly as they may like; howev-er, it is important that you be your ownadvocate and communicate with yourlenders to ensure that your student loansare kept in good standing. Especiallywhen you are first out of law school andyour student loan debt is at its peak, themissed payments and higher interest rateswill have exponential ramifications onyour financial and professional well being.

Just do it!A mentor once told me, “there are peoplewho do, and those who have a reasonable

justification as to why they did not.”

I have some lawyer friends who are thefirst to complain about how they are tootired or busy to get involved in profes-sional or community organizations. Onthe other hand, I have other lawyerfriends who work equally as hard, if notharder, but make the time to network,volunteer, sit on charity boards, and evenparticipate in legal and political organiza-tions. I personally make the time to dothe above, and even box and run halfmarathons. Inasmuch as being busyrequires careful planning, it requires anongoing self-commitment to better your-self. You don’t need to join every organi-zation under the sun, just seek out thoseorganizations you feel passionate aboutas well as those organizations that mayserve you best in both your personallyand professionally. Keep in mind, thatyou should not just join an organizationto add a line to your CV. Join an organi-zation that you want to be a part of andthen actually do something!

You do not have to take over the organi-zation, but you should be active and makean effort to accomplish something withinthat group. Stand out in the organizationby organizing an event, writing an article,editing an amicus brief, or volunteering todo some pro bono. Just don’t become the“never seen dues paying member.” Nomatter how busy you feel you are, inhindsight, I am sure you will reflect uponhow you could have found a way to havebeen more involved. Remember, you arefortunate to be a member of a highlyregarded profession, in the greatest city inthe world. The potential for clients andprofessional opportunities are almost end-less. However, you are not likely to catcha break if you do not get involved.Remember that luck favors the prepared.

Develop a Stellar ReputationWithin a population of over eight millionpeople, New York City has over 77,000lawyers. A judge once told me that New

York’s legal community is small and thatyour reputation will precede you. Havingbeen in practice a few years, I can tellyou that the longer you are a lawyer, thesmaller the legal community becomes.

Understand that how you interact withothers does not occur in a vacuum. Yesour legal system is “adversarial,” but thereis a difference between zealous advocacyand being a jerk. As a professional, youshould always maintain a courteous dispo-sition because someday you will be call-ing on a fellow lawyer seeking a courtesyyourself. You will find that it takes thesame amount of effort to develop a reputa-tion of being a sharp and courteous lawyeras it does to become known as the lawyerwho is discourteous and unprofessional.

Food for ThoughtTake the time to learn everything aboutthe cases you handle. When a client comesto you, or a partner assigns you a case, donot rush through the minutiae of investi-gating the who, what, why, where, andwhen of your case. Do your own investi-gation and research. If you rely on thework of others, you will not know every-thing about your case and the mistakes ofothers can harm both you and your client.As you are developing your professionalcareer and work habits, take your time tothat you go step-by-step through theprocess. Do not rush; your clients will bemore accepting of the legal bills for yourprofessional services then they will ofyour careless error costing them their case.

Learn to see and plan for the bigger pic-ture. Think outside the box! While yourclients’ issues may be legal in nature,their problems exist outside legal papersand the courtroom and your actions astheir lawyer have real-life repercussions.Think to yourself of how your actions inrepresenting your clients will affect theirlives after the case is resolved and governyourself accordingly. Never lose sight ofyour client’s end goal. You will beamazed at how many times legal prob-lems can be resolved with some commonsense and creativity.

A final tip is to find a mentor and even-tually become a mentor. As a younglawyer, there is a lot to learn. A mentorwill not only teach you the law, but alsothe nuts and bolts of the legal practicebased on his/her experiences. In time,as you get situated into your legalcareer, find a young lawyer to mentor.Giving back and helping others is notonly a testament to what you havelearned, it is very rewarding. I hope thatyou find time to give back to the com-munity over the course of your promis-ing legal career.

Darren R. Marks is a Member of SmithMazure Director Wilkens Young &Yagerman, PC and a NYCLA member.Darren has spent the last three years as theTreasurer of the Lexington DemocraticClub, as well as a Delegate to the New YorkCounty Democratic Judicial NominatingConvention. Darren is a 2006 graduate ofTouro Law Center.

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer14

Predictive Coding Lessons from Judge Peck’s Opinion in Da Silva Moore1

By Matthew F. Knouff

This article was extracted from a four-partseries published online on the Lawyer toLawyer blog in March 2012. The ideas andopinions expressed in this article are solelythe opinions of the author and do not nec-essarily reflect the position of MagistrateJudge Andrew J. Peck, CDS Legal, or anyother person or entity.

One would be hard-pressed to find a legaltopic hotter than predictive coding at themoment. Whether your buzz term ofchoice is “computer-assisted review,”“technology-assisted review,” “predictivecoding,” or “computer-assisted coding,”the debate over the use of this new tech-nology has revolved around misconcep-tions of its role in the discovery processand fears about its efficacy in comparisonto other methods of search and retrieval.In Monique Da Silva Moore, v. PublicisGroupe & MSL Group 11 Civ. 1279(S.D.N.Y. Feb 24, 2012), the HonorableMagistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck, UnitedStates Magistrate Judge for the SouthernDistrict of New York, gives us the firstopinion approving the use of computer-assisted review, which in his articleSearch, Forward from the October 2011edition of Law Technology News hedefines as “tools…that use sophisticatedalgorithms to enable the computer todetermine relevance, based on interactionwith (i.e. training by) a human reviewer.”Those who looked to Judge Peck’s com-mentary in Search, Forward as a “sign ofjudicial approval” now have a rulingwhich can begin to assuage the fearsassociated with breaking from the costlyand oft-ineffective traditions of exhaus-tive human review and search methodolo-gies solely built on keywords.

In Da Silva Moore, a gender discrimina-tion case, the parties discussed an elec-tronic discovery protocol which includedthe use of predictive coding. A disputearose not over the use of the actual tech-nology, but rather over the protocol sur-rounding its use. In brief, the ESI proto-col proposed by the defendant (MSL),and objected to in its entirety by theplaintiffs, included the following steps:

(1) MSL would use technology to gener-ate a random sample set from thedocument universe (2,399 documentsout of approximately three million).This sample would be reviewed andcoded according to certain categories(e.g. relevance, privilege, and issue-relation), beginning the process ofcreating the seed sets used to train thecomputer. In addition, MSL woulduse “judgmental sampling” tech-niques that leveraged the use of key-words (including those proposed byplaintiffs), Boolean operators, con-ceptual searches, and similar meth-ods, to identify documents to furtherdevelop the seed sets.

(2) The non-privileged results from thisinitial phase would be reviewed byplaintiffs’ counsel with any disputesregarding coding being subject toconference. The resultant sets wouldbe the initial seed sets used to codethe full document universe.

(3) The initial seed sets would be runagainst the entire corpus to identifysimilar documents. MSL would thenreview sample sets of at least 500computer-coded documents to evalu-ate coding decisions, make any

changes, and further train the system.At least seven iterations of refinementwould be performed. Plaintiffs wouldreceive all documents reviewed dur-ing each iteration, allowing them theopportunity to participate in calibrat-ing the predictive process.

(4) The entire set of relevant documentsfollowing the final iteration would bereviewed by defense counsel. MSLthen proposed cost-shifting for thereview and production of documentsexceeding the 40,000 mark.

(5) MSL would perform quality controlby reviewing a random sample ofdocuments excluded during the com-puter-assisted review process as beingnon-responsive. These documentswould be provided to plaintiffs forreview to determine if the levels ofrecall and precision are acceptable.

In evaluating MSL’s proposed ESI proto-col and plaintiffs’ objections thereto,Judge Peck debunked myths, reiteratedsome old lessons, and provided counselwith much needed guidance. In an agewhere increasing volumes of ESI high-light the shortcomings of traditionalsearch and retrieval methods, the need toeffectuate the “just, speedy, and inexpen-sive determination” requires that legalpractitioners adapt accordingly.Computer-assisted review can providecounsel with a means to tackle the reali-ties of modern litigation discovery headon. Whether you decide to take the leapinto computer-assisted review technologynow that you “no longer have to worryabout being the ‘first’ or a ‘guinea pig’”as Judge Peck comments, or decide toresist the Matrix with all your might, itbehooves you to consider eleven key les-sons that can be gleaned from Peck’sopinion:

1. Technology-assisted review is aseffective, if not more so, thanmanual review. The long-heldbelief that manual review is themost effective method for finding allthe relevant documents during dis-covery is a myth. Although humansare very smart, and have big brainsthat rival the reasoning power of anycomputer, they get fatigued, theymake mistakes, and they can pro-duce wildly divergent decisionseven when evaluating the same doc-uments. Judge Peck sites variousscholarly works to support his opin-ion that “statistics clearly show thatcomputerized searches are at leastas accurate, if not more so, thanmanual review.”

2. The standard for review is not per-fection; rather the process shouldbe better than the alternatives at alower cost. A perfect methodologyfor returning 100 percent of all therelevant information in a case hasnever existed and probably never willexist. Judge Peck explicitly concedesthat computer-assisted review is notperfect, and reiterates Judge ShiraScheindlin’s observation in PensionCommittee that parties are not expect-ed to meet such a standard. Rather,the aim is to promote FRCP’s man-date for “‘the just, speedy, and inex-pensive determination’ of lawsuits”reinforced by the FRCP 26(b)(2)(C)’sproportionality doctrine. In compar-ing predictive coding to keywordsearching, Judge Peck illustrates

numerous shortcomings associatedwith keywords including the inherentproblems in selecting terms withouthaving the requisite knowledge abouta dataset, over-inclusiveness, andtheir usual lack of effectiveness.

3. Proportionality plays a key role indeveloping a protocol for comput-er-assisted review, but is evaluatedin light of the results. Judge Peckrejected the part of MSL’s proposedESI protocol that limited review andproduction to the top 40,000 docu-ments returned by the ESI protocol:“…proportionality requires consid-eration of results as well as costs.And if stopping at 40,000 is goingto leave a tremendous number ofhighly likely responsive documentsunproduced, [MSL’s proposed cut-off] doesn’t work.” The thresholdfor where a producing party can relyon technology to corral an unneces-sarily high review and productionburden depends on an analysis ofthe results rather than setting anarbitrary cap. This does not meanthat early agreement on such a capis not possible or even desirable, butcosts “cannot be considered in isola-tion from the results of the predic-tive coding process and the amountat issue in the litigation.”

4. FRE 702 and Daubert are notapplicable to search methodologyduring discovery. In holding thatMSL’s ESI protocol did not runafoul of FRE 702, Judge Peck high-lighted that FRE 702 and Daubertapply to the admissibility of experttestimony at trial, not to search andretrieval methodology during thediscovery process.

5. Humans are not being replaced bytechnology. A common, though car-toonish, concern involves a veritabledoomsday scenario where attorneysare replaced by machines and thelegal profession as we know it ceas-es to exist. Counsel can rest easy.Predictive coding is meant to helphumans practice law. Actual peopleare necessary to “train” the systemby selecting a seed set, reviewingresultant sets, and refining the pro-tocol. Keep in mind that counselstill has to use the information tobuild a case. We are a long wayfrom robots making courtroomappearances. Think of computer-assisted review technology as anoth-er tool in your arsenal; albeit a toolthat only works effectively within adefined process.

6. FRCP 26(g)(1) does not requirecounsel to certify that a produc-tion is “complete.” In objecting toJudge Peck’s acceptance of defen-dant’s ESI protocol, plaintiffsargued that the court provided“unlawful cover” for defense coun-sel who has a duty to certify the“completeness” of document pro-ductions under FRCP 26(g)(A)(1).Judge Peck highlighted plaintiffs’erroneous reliance on this subsec-tion which applies to initial disclo-sures. FRCP 26(g)(1)(B) applies todiscovery and incorporates propor-tionality under FRCP 26(b)(2)(C) asopposed to a requirement for “com-pleteness.”

7. Cooperation and transparency areimportant considerations for gain-ing acceptance from the bench.

Judge Peck noted his strongendorsement of the SedonaConference CooperationProclamation and stated that “thebest solution in the entire area ofelectronic discovery is cooperationamong counsel.” The defendantMSL was extremely transparent withits ESI protocol in that “plaintiff[could] see how [defendant] hascoded every e-mail used in the seedset (both relevant and non-relevant).”Judge Peck went on to state thatdefendant’s “transparency in its pro-posed ESI search protocol made iteasier for the Court to approve theuse of predictive coding.”

8. Leverage your client’s knowledgeto help develop the search proto-col. Judge Peck expressed surprisethat “in many cases counsel do notappear to have sought and utilizedtheir client’s knowledge about theopposing party’s custodians anddocument resources.” When han-dling eDiscovery in modern litiga-tion you must know your client’sdata, key custodians, business termi-nology, and internal processes.Having this type of knowledge inadvance will not only provide manystrategic advantages, but when youopenly share information about tar-get custodians and your proposedsearch methodology, “opposingcounsel and the Court are more aptto agree to your approach (at leastas phase one without prejudice).”

9. Phased discovery can help con-trol costs. MSL proposed a phasedapproach to discovery where 30custodians would be reviewed dur-ing an initial phase, after which asecond phase would be considered.The Court agreed with thisapproach and addressed plaintiffs’concern over having enough timeto complete both phases by extend-ing the timeframe for discovery ifnecessary. With this approach MSLwas able to avoid the up-front costsof searching seven additional custo-dians. In addition, Judge Peck heldthat MSL’s CEO, whose emailswere in France and likely protectedby French privacy laws, should notbe reviewed initially because thoseemails could be obtained throughvarious custodians located in NewYork. This also helped reduce thecosts associated with complexcross-border eDiscovery efforts.

10. Predictive coding is not necessarilyappropriate for every case. JudgePeck stated several times that heapproved of computer-assistedreview in “appropriate cases.” In thesame manner that a chainsaw is notthe best tool for all types of yardwork, technology-assisted review isnot the ideal tool in all cases. In DaSilva Moore it was deemed appropri-ate, in part, because of the large doc-ument universe. Some may arguethat every case involving millions ofrecords does not necessarily requirecomputer-assisted review since thereare several other factors that canweigh on such a decision. I submit,however, that it is important to atleast evaluate whether computer-assisted review would be an appro-priate solution. If it can help cutcosts, defensibly streamline the dis-

(See Coding Lessons on page 15)

May 2012 / The New York County Lawyer 15

dential neighborhood, I assume the lawyercan’t afford an office. Other lawyers—andmore importantly, potential clients—maywell make the same assumption. Since thefee for even a very small legal matter isequivalent to several months of rent at avirtual office, to me it just doesn’t makesense to use your home address. If youlose even one or two potential clients as aresult, you’ve lost money.

My suggestion is that, if possible, youshould try to rent an interior office in thebest law suite that you can find. Whenevaluating suites, be sure to consider notjust the physical space, but the lawyerswho occupy it. Talk to as many of themas possible before committing and see ifyou develop a rapport. The ideal situa-tion might be to move into an office withone senior attorney in your practice areaand the rest in other practice areas. Ifyou can befriend everyone in your suite,then the senior attorney would be avail-able to you as a resource and possiblygive you contract work, while the otherattorneys may refer you clients that can’tafford the senior attorney’s hourly rates.But more important than trying to find

that precise situation is to find a suitewith smart, friendly lawyers that may beable to serve as mentors, regardless oftheir practice areas.

Your online officeAmazingly, some lawyers still don’t evenhave a basic, informational website. In myview, it’s a must. Even if you don’t aspireto generate new clients from your onlinepresence, a basic website may neverthe-less prevent you from losing business.For example, a friend might give someonethey know your name, but that persondecides to Google you before calling(these days, that is probably the rulerather than the exception). If that clientcannot find out anything about you—or,worse, finds only your Facebook profilethat says that your favorite movie is “TheHangover”—you may well lose that clientand never know it.

So, how do you do it? Again, I think youhave three options: you can do it yourself,you can configure an out-of-the-box lawyerwebsite, or you can have a web designer/developer create a custom site for you.

Doing it yourself is not as hard as youthink. One option is to develop your siteon Blogger. If you are at least a littletech savvy and, set aside a few hours you

can figure out how to create a site, con-figure it with different pages and gadgets,put some content in there, and customizethe banner. If you Google “remove blog-ger navbar,” you can even find instruc-tions on how to remove the annoyingblue bar at the top of the page. For anexample, see my website atwww.andrews-law.net. Other options fordo-it-yourself websites are Weebly(www.weebly.com) and WordPress(www.wordpress.com).

Option number two is to configure anout-of-the-box website using a standardtemplate. For example, seewww.1and1.com andwww.lawyersites.net. The up-front costsare low, and the monthly fees appear tobe reasonable. You can even configure anattorney website for free at www.law-firm911.com, but note that if you upgradeto its “premium version,” there is a setupfee of $500 as well as a seemingly outra-geous monthly fee of $300.

Option three is to hire either a companyor an independent web designer to devel-op and host your site. The cost dependson your requirements. An independentdeveloper may charge a reasonable, flatfee for your website, no monthly fee, andeven throw in a year or more of free

hosting of the site. Hosting is very cheapthese days; see, for example: www.blue-host.com. If you wish, you can checkout my side business at www.andrews-websites.com, which provides a basicsite with a blog for a flat fee. A largercompany is more likely to charge anongoing monthly fee for hosting, “soft-ware updates,” and perhaps some SEO(search engine optimization) services.However, if you are looking to gain cus-tomers through search, going with a larg-er company may prove advantageous ifthey are able to develop links to your sitethat either generate traffic or improveyour SEO.

Take a look at the websites of several lawfirms to get a feel for what you want.Then take a look at each of the optionsmentioned above to start thinking abouthow you want to go about it. Again,doing it yourself really is not that hardwith today’s technology.

If you have decided to start your ownpractice, or are considering it, congratula-tions! Hopefully, the information in thisarticle will help you get your two“offices”—physical and online—in order.

Bradley H. Andrews, Esq., is a collabora-tive divorce attorney and NYCLA member.

Starting Your Practice(Continued From Page 11)

covery process, reduce burden on allparties (including the court), andidentify relevant information moreeffectively than any alternativemethod, there would appear to me tobe a strong case for using computer-assisted review.

11.Rely on a trusted vendor to lendtheir expertise.Without endorsingany specific vendor, Judge Peck notedthat service providers can be helpfuleven when counsel is knowledgeableabout ESI issues. Unfortunately, allvendors are not created equal. It isimportant to vet providers of comput-er-assisted review for their knowledgeof the technology as well as their abil-ity to implement processes and proto-cols to ensure its successful deploy-

ment. Make sure you ask your vendorlots of questions until you are com-fortable that they can successfullyshow how their processes are defensi-ble when a judge or opposing partycomes calling.

Da Silva Moore significantly advancesthe case for predictive coding. JudgePeck ruled that its use was warrantedgiven: “(1) the parties’ agreement, (2)the vast amount of ESI to be reviewed(over three million documents), (3) thesuperiority of computer-assisted reviewto the available alternatives (i.e., linearmanual review or keyword searches), (4)the need for cost effectiveness and pro-portionality under Rule 26(b)(2)(C), and(5) the transparent process proposed bythe [defendant].” While it appears thatwe have a long way to go before com-puter-assisted review supplants the tradi-tional, and more costly, manual review

methods, the new technology and asso-ciated processes present a means toaddress the problems associated withexpanding amounts of ESI and the asso-ciated eDiscovery burdens that mayarise. The legal industry does not existin isolation from developments in tech-nology, but rather, is intimately inter-twined with such advancement. As aresult, legal practitioners must adapt.With his opinion in Da Silva Moore,Judge Peck gives all legal professionalsa means to jut ahead a few positions onthe evolutionary chart.

Footnotes

1. On April 13, 2012, plaintiffs filed a for-mal motion to recuse or disqualifyMagistrate Judge Andrew Peck allegingthat the “cumulative effect” of his state-ments as well as his conduct “in theaggregate” presented the appearance ofpartiality towards the defendant’s posi-

tion. Plaintiffs sited various remarks madeby Judge Peck as well as writings andindustry appearances showing his supportof predictive coding. On April 26,Southern District Judge Andrew Carterupheld Peck’s ruling. Finding that thereexists no basis to hold Peck’s conclusionthat “the use of predictive coding softwareas specified in the ESI protocol is moreappropriate than keyword searching” asclearly erroneous or contrary to law,Judge Carter denied Plaintiffs’ objections.He further stated that “there is simply noreview tool that guarantees perfection.”

Matthew F. Knouff serves as GeneralCounsel & eDiscovery Counsel atComplete Discovery Source, a NYCLA ben-efits partner, and is a NYCLA member. Formore information about predictive codingtechnologies and processes, contactMatthew at mknouff@cdslegal.com or 212-813-7006, or visit www.cdslegal.com.

Coding Lessons(Continued from page 14)

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