Paul Jacobson

If you are looking for some inspiring blog and web designs, take a look at the showcase of 20 top designs on SilentBits.  These designs are amazing.  One of my favourite blogs in terms of design has been Veerle’s 2.0 blog:

(via Digg.com)

Technorati Tags: blog design, blog redesign, top 20, web 2.0, web design

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Just a short time after AOL unveils a very Digg-like Netscape, Digg is due to launch version 3.0 of its service on 27 June.  I am quite excited about this new version of Digg mainly because of the new categories that are going to be introduced.  According to TechCrunch:

In addition to a redesign (that retains the essential Digg “experience??), Digg is adding a number of news categories beyond technology. Topics are grouped into six “containers??, including technology, entertainment, gaming, science, world & business, and online video. The default view on Digg is still the technology container, although users can change that view and can also deselect individual topics within containers to further refine what they see on the home page.

These changes virtually pale in comparison to the host of other functionality changes that will be introduced in the new version.  I am looking forward to the new site and to using Digg even more than I do at the moment.

Here is a screenshot of the new site.  It looks pretty funky:

Technorati Tags: digg.com, netscape

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I have had a Gmail account for a little while now and it has been used mainly on the Web as a spam trap of sorts.  My primary personal account has been on Yahoo!.  With 2.7GB of storage space (and growing) I am beginning to lean towards using Gmail as my primary personal email account instead of Yahoo!.  I think I am just having a Google moment …

I am curious about the Google Chat feature.  I have been accessing Google Talk/Chat through iChat since I have started using it and I am quite keen to see how it works within Gmail itself.

Technorati Tags: Google, gmail, Yahoo!

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I have gone on about the cost of legal services and how they can be almost prohibitively expensive before on this site.  It has been in the back of my mind for the last few months and my first thought has been to find ways to make my services less costly.  There is a debate going on at the Legal Ease Blog (actually, it is the continuation of a debate that has been going on across many legal blogs for a while now) where Allison Shields makes the point that price has been found to be of less significance than I would have thought:

There are lots of reasons clients change law firms, or choose lawyers, other than price. In fact, studies have shown that price is a relatively insignificant factor when it comes to choosing one firm over another. The lowest price doesn’t always win. Many clients leave law firms because they feel the firms are not responsive enough, because the lawyer doesn’t listen to what the client really wants, because the rapport just isn’t there, because the lawyer wasn’t forthcoming about problems with the case, because the lawyer failed to adequately explain the steps to the client and manage the client’s expectations at the outset, and for a host of other reasons.

The lawyer/law firm-client relationship is just that - a relationship. If a solo can establish a rapport with a certain type of client or within a certain type of industry, build or demonstrate knowledge and, more important, trust, price shouldn’t be a major factor in the decision.

A solo that can show that she is capable, listens to the client, focuses on the client’s needs, and is responsive to client calls, requests, etc. can often outshine a larger law firm. Although clients often express dissatisfaction with their representation in terms of the fees that they’re being charged, the real reason for their defection isn’t the rate or fees themselves- it’s that they don’t feel they’re getting value for their money, and they don’t feel that their lawyer cares about them. Solos often are attractive to clients because clients feel they get more personal attention, and they’re willing to pay for it.

I am beginning to think there is merit in this argument and that reducing fees to make them cheaper can be perceived as somehow devaluing the services rendered.  It goes back to the issue of perceptions and how there can be perceived value where there is little, if any, real value and vice versa.  As much as I’d like to single handedly change those perceptions, it just isn’t going to happen all at once.  In the meantime my time is best spent doing work that means something for my clients and providing the best service I can.

Technorati Tags: legal costs, legal fees, value-based billing

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I found this one at The Greatest American Lawyer and immediately sent it to my wife who thinks it would be a great idea.  I think I agree!

One of the hardest things to do is to actually turn off the lawyer. Let’s face it, no one wants to be married to a lawyer or have a lawyer as a dad or mom, especially if the lawyer is going to bring the adversarial part of the job home. Wouldn’t it be great if we had an “off button” so we could go back to being a real human being at the end of the day?

One of the disadvantages of working from home is that it is so easy to sit down at my desk and slip back into some or other file and work for a few more hours.  I often find I have to flip that “off” switch just to preserve what is left of my sanity.  It also helps to spend some time with my wife and puppies too. 

Technorati Tags: lawyers, off switch

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