Thursday, February 1, 2018

Losses in Cyber-Space: Recovering Insurance Proceeds When Your Computer Data Can’t Be Recovered (Part One)

Originally published by Verne Pedro.

This is the first post in a three-part series about first-party coverage for losses of computer data. Labor Day 2016 was a bad day for my client. That was the day her web host company hit the delete button, knocking her offline and completely wiping out her business website. Instead of celebrating a holiday weekend,…… Continue Reading

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Restoring U.S. Citizenship After Relinquishment

Originally published by Guillermo “Gary Wiener and John Meyer.

 

The U.S. Department of State has a process by which a former U.S. citizen who did not intend to relinquish can request to restore his or her U.S. citizenship.
      

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What Does it Mean to be a Lawyer? These 5 Techniques Show the Way

Originally published by Michael P. Maslanka.

 

Here’s my resume: 36 years a practicing lawyer; 2.5 years as a full-time law professor. I learned to think like a lawyer; now I teach others how.
      

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Assets on Ice, Cryogenic Estate Planning

Originally published by Gerry W. Beyer.

Dennis Kowalski is the president of the Cryonics Institute and a paramedic. The husband and father of three recently doled out $140,000 in order to cryogenically preserve his entire family after their deaths. The current process for cryogenic freezing requires…

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Ex-FBI agent: State Bar of Texas response to 2012 embezzlement ‘adequate and proper’

Originally published by Lowell Brown.

Procedural changes made by State Bar of Texas staff immediately after a 2012 embezzlement case were “adequate and proper” and should be enough to prevent another such theft, according to a member of the financial task force appointed by President-elect Joe K. Longley.

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Five Types of Content Your Audience Actually Wants to Read

Originally published by Stacey E Burke Blog.

You’ve put in the time and effort to create a marketing strategy for your law firm. After a several months of sharing your content you notice very little audience engagement. Is the return on investment (ROI) there? Constructing a strategic marketing plan and implementing that plan are great first steps when it comes to marketing your law firm. But what happens when the content isn’t doing its job of engaging, informing, and attracting new clients?  When this happens, you must ask yourself, “Are we producing the type of content they even want to see?” Fortunately for you, we have some answers to that question.

In a survey conducted by HubSpot in 2016, 1,000 Internet users were asked about their content consumption preferences and typical Internet behaviors. Here is what was revealed:

Internet users are more drawn to visual content, such as images, videos, and educational games. They also read social media posts more often than long form content, research content, and blogs. This doesn’t mean you should ditch writing blogs, drafting research articles, or producing podcasts for your law firm. But, your law firm should approach digital marketing with more diverse methods. Below are a few suggestions on where to start with a more diversified content marketing approach.

1.     YouTube Videos

 

Some of the most popular videos people watch on YouTube include tutorials, question and answer (Q&A) sessions, educational videos, interviews, and behind the scenes clips. Your law firm could either start shooting videos like these or diversify your current video content to include more options.

2.     Social Media Posts

Internet users are consuming more content than ever on social media. With more than 1.7 billion users on Facebook, 500 million on Instagram, and 313 million on Twitter, it only makes sense to include these outlets in your law firm marketing strategy. These social media channels are where your followers gather information and you need to be present and speak their language in order to reach them.

3.     Images

The HubSpot survey mentioned above revealed people are drawn to visual content. Other statistics help this make even more sense –  65% of people are visual learners, information pieces with visual aides are 43% more persuasive, and people have short attention spans.

Images can easily be applied within social media posts, blog posts, and even throughout your website. Create original graphics in the appropriate sizes with Canva to share along with your social media updates or infographics explaining legal processes and then share them across the board.

4.     Research With Tables/Charts

Make sure you’re using the right visualization for every post your law firm shares. Believe it or not, this especially applies to data, research, presentations, or educational pieces your law firm posts about. Using tables, charts, and diagrams gets the point across in a more effective manner and at the same time will be more appealing to your audience.

5.     Numbered/Bulleted Lists

Gone are the days when people actually take the time to read every word written in a blog post. Your audience wants the information, but they want to skim it quickly. Numbering or bulleting your information is a great way to ensure the information is actually seen.

 

If you can generate the type of content that resonates with your audience then interest and engagement will follow suit.  If your law firm needs help with its digital marketing needs, contact us today.

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Louisiana Supreme Court Upholds Expropriation of Commercial Venture

Originally published by Cheryl M. Kornick and Matthew D. Simone.

In a decision announced this week, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality and method of compensation for the expropriation by a governmental body of property owned by an ongoing commercial venture.   In St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District v. Violet Dock Port, Inc., LLC, the St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District (the “Port”), a government-owned public cargo facility, sought to expand its operations along the Mississippi River. The Port unsuccessfully negotiated the purchase of 75 acres of property owned by Violet Dock Port, Inc., LLC (the “Landowner”) which utilized the property to layberth and service oceangoing ships for the United States Navy.  The Port subsequently expropriated the property under the quick-take expropriation provisions of LA. R.S. 19:141, et seq., for a purported compensation of $16 million.

The Court examined the Landowner’s argument that the expropriation violated  La. Const. art. I, § 4(B)(6), known as the “business enterprise clause.”  This clause prohibits an expropriation if performed “for the purpose of operating that enterprise or halting competition with a government enterprise.”    The Landowner argued that the Port’s purpose to expropriate the property was to take the Landowner’s revenue stream from its contracts with the U.S. Navy or to halt competition with the Landowner’s cargo operations.  The Court rejected both of these arguments, finding no evidentiary support in the record – notably, the Landowner referred to its existing cargo operations as “negligible.”  The Court relied heavily on the testimony of Port officials that (1) the intention of the Port was to expand its cargo operations, meaning there was no real competition with the Landowner’s current operations;  and (2) the consideration of the existing Navy contract was “an afterthought.”  The Court ultimately deferred to the trial court as the finder of fact in evaluating the testimony of the witnesses, including specifically the Port officials, as to the intent and purpose of the taking.

The Court, however, remanded the matter to the appellate court finding legal error in the trial court’s determination of just compensation.  The trial court erroneously ruled that it had no discretion to determine just compensation for the taking other than choosing either the compensation number offered by the Port or the number offered by the Landowner.  The Court held that a trier of fact is not required to make a binary choice of one litigant’s testimony in its entirety.

Three justices dissented.  The dissenters argued that the majority opinion relied too heavily on the stated testimony of the Port officials and should have scrutinized the actual effect of the taking rather than relying on the stated intent of the taking.  The dissenters noted that the Port, after the taking, continued the layberthing services and continued the Navy contract, and that continuation of the Navy contract was planned to help finance the Port’s move to cargo operations. The dissenters argued that the private operation was attempting to use the same path toward more cargo operations, but that competition with the Port was “nipped in the bud” by the taking.  The dissenters ultimately warned that the majority decision rendered the “business enterprise clause” meaningless as long as the government entity could state a “proper motive” for the taking.

Disclaimer: This Blog/Web Site is made available by the law firm of Liskow & Lewis, APLC (“Liskow & Lewis”) and the individual Liskow & Lewis lawyers posting to this site for educational purposes and to give you general information and a general understanding of the law only, not to provide specific legal advice as to an identified problem or issue. By using this blog site you understand and acknowledge that there is no attorney client relationship formed between you and Liskow & Lewis and/or the individual Liskow & Lewis lawyers posting to this site by virtue of your using this site. The Blog/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state regarding a particular matter.

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