Lore law
Many an obscure blog has been covered in the pages of Webweek, but Law and Magic (http://lpcprof.typepad. com/law_and_magic_blog/) might just take the prize as the most specialised yet.
It does what the name suggests, mixing a discussion on environmental and IP law with the odd post on Houdini and the paranormal.
It’s not clear where the links between the two worlds lie, but the blogger does a good job of keeping her readers updated on legal problems magicians might face, such as contract disputes with a promoter.
The author is an associate professor of law at Louisiana State University Law Centre and is editing a collection of essays on law and magic for publication next year.
But with this new niche discovered, no firm will be able to call itself full service without a magic practice tucked away somewhere. It’s not called the magic circle for nothing.
Americans love nononsense, upfront advice. Which perhaps explains the direct style at legal marketing blog What About Clients?.
The seemingly difficult and complex question is answered abruptly in the last post, on 6 December: “Do first-rate work for existing clients. That’s it. Nothing more.”
Easier said than done. Another eye-catching snippet is ‘Seven habits of highly useless corporate lawyers’. The trick, apparently, is to do the opposite of the bad advice, gaining riches as a result.
And the sample advice is pretty remarkable. For remarkable, read really, really bad. It really shouldn’t be too difficult to do the opposite.
For example: “Treat the client as a potential adversary at all times. Keep a distance.” And then there is: “As out-house counsel, you are American royalty. Never forget that.”
It’s not clear whether ‘out-house counsel’ here means corporate solicitor or toilet attendant.
The Lawyer‘s Web Week is a weekly commentary on legal activity on the web. This includes an overview of the best of the week’s blogs. If you want to direct us to useful links, email webweek@thelawyer. com.
