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Appeals Court Rules Anonymous Yelp Reviewers Must be Revealed

As on-line marketing continues to evolve, consumers reviews continue to gain importance to almost any business, including law firms. However, anonymous negative consumer reviews can be harmful, and a growing number of law firms are vexed with inexplicable negative reviews of self-proclaimed clients that cannot be identified as ever having been a client of the firm.

The Virginia Court of Appeals, in a decision that is sure to grab attention throughout the country, ruled that Yelp must reveal the identities of seven negative reviewers whose experiences cannot be confirmed by the merchant as ever having been customers.

“The anonymous speaker has the right to express himself on the Internet without the fear that his veil of anonymity will be pierced for no other reason than because another person disagrees with him,” wrote the court. However, "if the reviewer was never a customer of the business, then the review is not an opinion; instead, the review is based on a false statement” and not subject to First Amendment protection, the court further explained.

Other courts have been tougher on merchants seeking to compel consumer Internet sites to reveal names of anonymous reviewers, so why is Virginia different? As explained in the court's opinion, Virginia has a statute on the process for unmasking the identify of people communicating anonymously over the Internet. Virginia Code § 8.01-407.1 sets that standard--not the court opinions of other states as curiously requested by Yelp counsel.

Law firms are not the only businesses impacted by anonymous negative consumer reviews by people claiming to be past clients, but I know a number of excellent lawyers who are struggling with these types of reviews. They have sought relief directly from the websites without relief, so must either engage in a time consuming battle to "push" the negative review down in importance or engage a costly on-line reputation repair company to to the work for them.  

My congratulations to carpet cleaner, Joe Hadeed, and his counsel for pursuing this for all of us.

 

 

Legal Podcast Pioneers Ambrogi and Williams Hit Six Year Mark!

Congratulations to Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams on the sixth anniversary of their landmark podcast program, Lawyer-2-Lawyer! Not only was their podcast among the first, they have been able to sustain the podcast by covering an amazing array of interesting topics and engage their audience each week for six years! They even had me as a guest a few years back!

Congratulations guys, and here's hoping for six more!

Confessions of a TECHSHOW Chair

I am excited to be leading a wonderful group of nine people who are planning the 2012 ABA TECHSHOW next March. It is a small collection of volunteer lawyers and legal professionals who plan all facets of this premier technology conference for the legal profession. We held our second 2-day planning meeting last weekend (the first being in May) to develop the "grid" of over 70 educational sessions over 3 days, review the expo hall for over 100 vendors, select and engage a keynote speaker, and dozens of other details. Despite the work, it is really a terrific professional experience to build the next edition of this twenty-five year tradition.

But it does cut into my freetime, and as you can see from the lack of blog posts in the last few months, it really cuts into my blogging time.

Yet I wouldn't trade the experience. Besides working with my colleagues on the TECHSHOW Planning Board, I am being introduced to many new people who contact me to be a part of the ABA TECHSHOW 2012, mostly as a speaker. It's time consuming, but worth it.  I am corresponding with lawyers from acroos the U.S. and Canada. The planning board works to incorporate up to 30% new speakers each year, so I welcome these inquiries. 

The Board also has its ear to the ground for new ideas, topics, and the Next Big Thing. We continue to keep offering popular topics such as the Paperless Track that are well-attended each year, as well as new tracks and sessions--yep, iPads in the law office (and at trial) will be an expanded topic this year.

We are well into our planning, but always have time for few more good suggestions--in addition to the ones we get from past conference attendees and others. So feel free to email me with your suggestions. And while I can't promise positive results, if you would like to be a speaker, include a brief synopsis of your past technology and speaking experience. We always have the top legal speakers at this conference, so the competition is tough.

Anyway, I'll blog when I can, but be sure to check out the ABA TECHSHOW blog too, for updates throughout the coming months leading to the conference on March 29-31, 2012 in Chicago. 

Is 4G Really 4G? Just the Facts, Ma'am!

I keep seeing wireless companies advertising they have 4G speed or the largest 4G network, but I started to wonder about the claims and what they really meant. The tiny print in the TV ads provided some guidance that there are limits to the claims. However, it was not until I read this interesting article from Engadget that provided clarity to the ad claims. Bottom line? 4G might really be 3.5G or other fraction above 3 but below 4. An interesting read . . .

Sifting Through the Ashes of Law Firm Dissolutions

I finally had some time by the pool this summer to read the June 2010 issue of Law Practice Today. The theme of the issue is Sifting Through the Ashes of Law Firm Dissolutions, which turns out to be a very revealing look back over the past few years of economic turmoil within our profession.

While I recommend reading all three articles on the topic of why firms dissolve, I found the thesis of one article far more insightful and compelling than the others.

The first article, by venerable management guru, Ed Poll, focuses on the need for firms to aggressively manage cash in harsh economic times. Paying attention to cash flow, promptly collecting receivables, and reducing overhead are his keys to avoid failure.

J. Mark Santiago, makes a strong case in the last article that the lack of three traits--leadership, strategic focus, and financial discipline—has brought down some once-mighty firms.

But the article by San Francisco lawyer Will Nathan contains the most compelling and often overlooked reason behind law firm failure: The move from true partnerships to limited liability companies. Nathan writes that LLCs have made it easier for rainmaking partners to flee their firms at the first sign of trouble because their personal assets are not at risk. He contrasts this to true partnerships where lawyers risk losing their personal assets; partners tend to stick together longer to work though financial problems in order to avoid losing personal assets to creditors. To support his thesis, Nathan points out a number of San Francisco firms that converted to LLCs and have gone bankrupt in the past few years, namely Brobeck, Heller, Graham, and Thelen.

Without the responsibilities of a true partnership, Nathan writes, rainmakers flee to other firms on more solid ground, leaving remaining LLC members and creditors to stave off bankruptcy or dissolve.

I seems to me that leadership, cash flow and focus are important, but without the integrity and accountability of a true partnership, a firm will remain subject to the whims of a few.

With the U.S. and world economies still not in the clear, if I were a “partner” in a big firm LLC today, I would definitely be checking my firm financial reports on a regular basis, and check out any rumor of a big rainmaker leaving the firm.

 

TIME Says Super Bowl Runner-Up is the Best Team

Well, they didn't exactly say that, but based on their choice for Best Gadget of 2009, the Super Bowl pronouncement can't be far behind.

TIME magazine says the Verizon Droid phone is the top gadget beating out the new iPhone 3G s released in July. What, pray tell, is their rationale?  Because it is "Android's first credible challenge to the iPhone."

Say what?

Yep, TIME says the Droid is better even though it doesn't have "the gloss and finish of the iPhone," and it's "physical keyboard is good but not great."  Yeah, and the best team in football is the Super Bowl runner-up.

So add TIME to the list of uber media outlets, including Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, who so much want Apple's iPhone to lose the crown as the best smart phone. But you can't be the man until you beat the man, and it hasn't happened yet.