P.I.S.S.D. -- Personal Injury, Social Security Disability. Dallas Texas Lawyers » Legal Blogs

Want To Give Me A Birthday Gift Today?

Bob Kraft — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:57:18 +0000

Halloween is my birthday. If you’re like the 99.9% of my friends who didn’t get me a birthday present, I have an easy solution for you. My blog, Bob Kraft’s P.I.S.S.D., has been nominated by LexisNexis as one of the 25 best injury blogs in the country. You can give me a birthday gift by visiting the LexisNexis site here and voting for the P.I.S.S.D. blog. You do have to register, but it’s painless. Just leave a comment mentioning Bob Kraft’s P.I.S.S.D.

Thank you, and Happy Halloween!

Nicole Collier Speaks at Texas Trial Lawyers Association Conference

Bob Kraft — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:15:07 +0000

Congratulations to attorney Nicole Collier for being chosen to speak to the Mid-Year Meeting of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Collier’s presentation topic is Legal Blogging. The conference is being held this week in Austin, Texas.

Featured Link – 50 Best Blogs for Law Librarians

Bob Kraft — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:56:42 +0000

From OnlineUniversityLowdown.com comes this list of the 50 best blogs for law librarians. Check it out.

Welcome to the Redesigned PISSD.com

Bob Kraft — Sun, 10 May 2009 01:58:32 +0000

My friend Grant Griffiths and G2 Web Media have done a “makeover” of this blog. We’re still tweaking things a bit, but I’d like to know what you think.

Thanks Grant!

Blogging Presentation at Lawyers Inner Circle

Bob Kraft — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:07:38 +0000

I have the honor of making a presentation to the Lawyers Inner Circle group today. The topic is Attracting Clients With Blogging. I’m talking with the other lawyers about the importance of providing helpful information on their blogs. A good legal blog should be educational, not promotional.

We are meeting in Cary, North Carolina, at the beautiful Umstead Hotel and Spa. The lawyers attending are mostly personal injury plaintiff attorneys, but other practice areas are also represented here.

I’m making this post live, as a demonstration to the audience.

March of the Blogs – Law Firm Web Strategy Blog

Bob Kraft — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:01:00 +0000

For the month of March, I am going to highlight blogs that I think are interesting and useful. Some may not be directly related to personal injury or Social Security disability law, but all of us who represent injured and disabled people occasionally need help in other areas. A few have been featured here before, but they keep getting better. Today's entry in March of the Blogs:

Steve Matthews keeps a lot of irons in the fire. He writes the Law Firm Web Strategy Blog and the Vancouver Law Librarian Blog, as well as running Stem Legal and contributing to the Canadian legal blog Slaw.

The Law Firm Web Strategy Blog is exactly what it sounds like – articles about all aspects of marketing law firms on the Internet. The blog describes itself as being "…about web innovation in the legal space and making the connection to law firm business interests." This is the list of Categories from the blog:

I really like the tag line of the Vancouver Law Librarian Blog: Points of interest to the West Coast Law Librarian. Highlighted sources
on KM, Web Development, and Law Library Management. … And hey, if
it's got a Vancouver perspective, that'll work too.

Stem Legal was started in August 2007 by Steve. Before that, from 1998 to 2007, he was the Knowledge Services Director at Clark
Wilson LLP in Vancouver, and the driving force behind the firm’s Web
strategy, including concept development, design, coding, web marketing
and SEO operations. The vision behind Stem is to offer an outsourced service for law firms to increase online profile and web-driven business opportunities. Their tactics "…range from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and link
building campaigns to audience profiling and content development
strategies."

As for Slaw, it's a blog about anything that's both Canadian and law-related. There's a ton of material to read at each of Steve’s sites. Check them all.

March of the Blogs has been fun for me to put together. There are many, many good legal blogs that I didn't have room to include. I'll sprinkle some in from time to time, as I always have. And maybe I'll have the energy to do another March of the Blogs in 2010. Stay tuned…

March of the Blogs – Texas Appellate Law Blog

Bob Kraft — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:22:00 +0000

Austin, Texas attorney D. Todd Smith has been creating quite a buzz in Texas with his Texas Appellate Law Blog. Todd keeps Texas lawyers up-to-date with the decisions and trends of all Texas civil appellate courts. Every Texas lawyer should read this blog. Here is a list of topics from the Texas Appellate Law Blog:

Todd has accomplished quite a lot in his career so far, and here is his bio from the blog:

D. Todd Smith is an
appellate specialist based in Austin, Texas. He opened his practice in
2006 after spending nearly a decade with the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.,
where he was a member of the appellate and litigation practice groups.
Before joining Fulbright, Todd served a two-year clerkship with Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul A. Gonzalez (ret.).

Todd is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and currently serves as editor of the State Bar Appellate Section publication, The Appellate Advocate. He has handled matters before many of the state’s fourteen intermediate appeals courts, the Texas Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Todd obtained his bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University and later attended Texas Tech University, where he received a master’s degree in public administration. He earned his J.D. cum laude from St. Mary’s University School of Law.

While in law school, Todd served as Editor-in-Chief of the St. Mary’s Law Journal,
which was ranked by a recent survey of state and federal court
decisions as the third most frequently cited law review in the United
States. He was a member of the St. Mary's National and State Moot
Court teams, Phi Delta Phi, and the John M. Harlan Society. He also
served as an intern to Fifth Circuit Judge Emilio M. Garza.

Todd is active in various state and local bar associations and is a
regular author and speaker on appellate-related topics. He is admitted
to practice before all Texas state courts, the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals, and the United States District Courts for the Northern,
Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas.

When not practicing law, Todd enjoys spending time with his wife and
two young sons, exploring the Texas Hill Country, watching and
attending sporting events, and keeping up with the ways in which he can
implement new technology for his clients' benefit.

March of the Blogs – NY Injury Law Blog

Bob Kraft — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:03:00 +0000

Elmira, New York attorney Jim Reed is an all-around nice guy, and an excellent trial lawyer. Jim and other lawyers at the Ziff Law Firm, are putting out really good information on the NY Injury Law Blog. If you're interested in personal injury law, Social Security disability, or safety tips, you need to check out NY Injury Law.

Here are the categories covered on this blog:

And here is a little bit about Jim Reed himself:

Jim has practiced for more than 20 years in NY and PA as an attorney
limiting his practice to personal injury and malpractice cases. Jim
has achieved muliti-million dollar recoveries on behalf of his clients
and has been selected as a NY “SuperLawyer” and for membership in the
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Forum membership is limited to
trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and
excellence in advocacy by achieving a trial verdict, award or
settlement of Two Million Dollars or more.

March of the Blogs – Build A Solo Practice

Bob Kraft — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:53:00 +0000

Connecticut attorney Susan Cartier Liebel is a very busy woman.She's been coaching other lawyers, primarily solo lawyers, for quite a while. She uses her blog at Build A Solo Practice to help with this coaching.

But now Susan has created what could be a hugely successful venture – Solo Practice University. She has gathered faculty from around the country to teach about their specialties, whether legal, management, or marketing. This is definitely worth checking out.

Here's a little info about Susan:

Biography

In 2000, I approached the Acting
Dean of Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden, Connecticut and
said, "let me teach your students how to open their own practice right
out of law school." I must have caught him in a weak moment because he
gave me the green light. To date, a full 20% of my students have
successfully "hung a shingle" right out of law school or shortly
thereafter.

As a result of my teaching success, in 2004 The Connecticut Law
Tribune recognized my contributions with the "Young Leaders in the Law"
award for Education. This honor led to my current column in The
Connecticut Law Tribune and Law.com, "An Independent Spirit," which
gives advice to solos and discusses issues many solos face.

It is my personal mission, through education and authorship, to
change the way law schools educate their students and the way the legal
community receives solos.

I am uniquely qualified to consult and coach lawyers on how to start
and grow their law practice whether right out of law school or shortly
thereafter because that is exactly what I did. I live what I teach and
preach.

I went to law school a decade after graduating from Syracuse
University's Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in
advertising. In those ten years I earned a living in advertising,
promotion, marketing and sales as both an employee and an entrepreneur.
In sales, whether starting a new office for a recruiting company or
selling planned unit developments, I was always the top salesperson.
Why? I believe in what I do and I understand how to first identify and
then address the needs of my clients as well as building a network of
relationships which is the basis for a truly successful practice.

Upon passing the bar exam, a few months after graduation from the
University of Bridgeport School of Law (now Quinnipiac University
School of Law), two fellow students and I started the law firm of
Cartier, DeMatteo and Forman, LLC based in Fairfield, Connecticut.
After five years, the law firm became Cartier & DeMatteo, LLC as
the partners grew into their own. Life changes; your practice evolves.
Since 2001, I have operated the Law Offices of Susan Cartier-Liebel,
LLC. Creating the national coaching/consulting firm of Build A Solo
Practice, LLC in 2005 was a natural evolution from my professional and
life experience and my teaching. It has been well-received because I've
walked the walk, I don't just talk the talk.

Having been so well-received, in August, 2007 I closed the doors to
my law office so I could coach and consult full time. And now in 2008 I
have concluded my instruction at Quinnipiac University School of Law
which limited my teaching both geographically and total students and
embarking on an exciting challenge to teach hundreds, if not thousands,
of new lawyers throughout the country in a revolutionary new web-based
educational community called Solo Practice University .….to be launched soon. (Update from Bob Kraft: Solo Practice University is now officially launched.)

March of the Blogs – Environmental Crimes

Bob Kraft — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:54:00 +0000

Walter James is an environmental law attorney in the Dallas -Fort Worth area. Walt writes the intriguingly-named Environmental Crimes blog, which covers issues related to all aspects of environmental law. Walt is a delightful gentleman, and he manages to let his personality come through in his blog, even though much of his readership is the boring, corporate-law type. Check it out – you might be surprised how interesting environmental law can be.

Here is Walt's biography, from his Web site:

Walt’s interest in the environment began when he was a teenager
touring the national parks west of the Mississippi river on an extended
family vacation. His interest in the law may be genetic, as his father
and grandfather practiced law. Walt graduated from the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law in 1987. After law school, Walt moved
to Dallas, Texas and focused his practice on environmental law. Since
starting his legal career, Walt has worked in private sector
representing a variety of regulated entities covering a variety of
environmental legal issues. After 17 years with large law firms, with
the positive input and support of a group of outstanding clients, Walt
founded Walter D. James III, PLLC in March 2004.

Walter D. James III has been involved in environmental issues since
1987. Walt and those he selects to associate with, have unique legal
and technical/educational backgrounds that allow Walter D. James III,
PLLC to provide legal services on any type of environmental issue. From
representation of a small scrap dealer in Dallas on industrial waste
management practices to representation of multi-national corporations
on Superfund and remediation issues, there is a substantial breadth of
expertise available to clients of the Firm.

Walter D. James III, PLLC focuses its practice on civil and criminal
enforcement, administrative, remediation and cost allocation/recovery
and group representation aspects of environmental law. Our experience
in working with environmental consultants on development of allocation
approaches and settlement of large, complex environmental litigation
has been of special benefit to our clients. We accept Federal and State
court litigation matters focused on environmental and natural resource
law (including all aspects of discovery, motion and trial practice).

We have found that our expertise in the technical aspects of
environmental law will result in measurable cost-savings for the
clients we represent. Many times, we are asked to work closely with
some of the finest environmental consulting firms in the United States.
Our ability to work with the in-house and outside technical expertise a
given client has available often results in a more efficient resolution
to a dispute than the client may have experienced previously. We do not
try to serve the role of environmental consultant, but our technical
understanding of an environmental issue is generally well-received by
the environmental consultants we work with. Our goal is to form a team
consisting of the in-house legal and technical expertise supported by
Walter D. James III, PLLC and outside environmental consultants.

We are a small law firm by choice, with big-firm experience and capabilities.