ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH COMMITTEE

Get Involved with NAMWOLF

Join the monthly call of the Membership, Engagement and Outreach ("MEO") Committee to learn what's happening within the organization. You can join monthly or from time to time. Our monthly calls are open to all of our member firms and we encourage anyone interested in knowing what activities are being planned by the Practice Area Committees, or what efforts are being made by the MEO Sub-Committees and other NAMWOLF Committees to join the call. Each of the following PACs, Sub-Committees, and NAMWOLF Committees report on their highlights for the month. (Click here to keep reading) 

Spotlight - Member Firm:  Bryant Rabbino LLP

New York, NY

Bryant Rabbino LLP is a boutique law firm comprised of seasoned, diverse practitioners who represent sophisticated clients on complex matters. A new NAMWOLF law firm member, Bryant Rabbino joined in order to maximize opportunities to work with companies that seek high quality, complex legal services through diverse law firms. They offer top-notch legal services at competitive rates through their team of senior attorneys who have practiced at the nation's largest law firms. Their attorneys have developed highly specialized capabilities in their dedicated practice areas and, in some instances, are thought leaders in their fields.

Spotlight - Member Firm:  The Willis Law Group PLLC

Office Romances - How Employers Can Protect Against Liability

By: Anne Widlak, Partner, Nemeth Law, P.C., Detroit, Michigan

Submitted on behalf of the Labor and Employment PAC

Although Valentine's Day is behind us, romance should not be forgotten. But when romance occurs in the workplace, it brings with it potential pitfalls that employers should take seriously. Some studies suggest that as many as half of all employees have engaged in an inter-office relationship, with half of those individuals admitting to having a tryst on site. Office romances have been a fact of life for a long time, but many employers are surprised to learn that these relationships can cause real problems in the workplace if they are not addressed.

For instance, when employees become aware that a supervisor and a subordinate are seeing one another, there is a real risk that co-workers will assume that the subordinate is getting special treatment. A perception of favoritism can create serious morale problems and significantly lower productivity.  And how does the manager handle employment decisions about his or her sweetheart? What happens when the relationship is over? If the manager decides to end the relationship, a scorned lover may claim that the relationship was never consensual but was in reality sexual harassment. Or perhaps the subordinate breaks off the romance - he or she may claim that any negative employment decisions that follow are retaliatory. (Click here to keep reading) 

Vendor Spotlight: Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.

By: Sonjui L. Kumar, Kumar, Prabhu, Patel & Banerjee, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia

Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. (www.rimkus.com) is a worldwide provider of forensic consulting services to insurance companies, law firms, corporations and government agencies. Rimkus assists clients in the responsive and timely resolution of claims and disputes. The company's team of professional engineers, scientists, certified financial consultants, and technical specialists is recognized for its commitment to service excellence by local, national and international business communities.

Rimkus is a long-time partner of NAMWOLF and has been attending the Annual Meetings and participating with NAMWOLF since October 2009. John Orr, Senior Vice President of Marketing was invited to participate with NAMWOLF by a good friend and law firm member Carlos Rincon. Since then, Rimkus has enjoyed the continued relationship, made many new friends and met outstanding individuals within the NAMWOLF network. They look forward to a long and relationship with the organization.(Click here to keep reading) 

Three Quick Tips to Increase Your Visibility on LinkedIn

By: Mayra A. Jimenez, Marketing Coordinator at AlvaradoSmith, Orange County, California

Submitted on behalf of the Marketing Best Practices Committee

Tip No. 1: Who are you?  Use your professional headline, the description directly below your name on your profile page, as a tagline and branding tool. While LinkedIn automatically populates your professional headline with your current position, you can edit it to add value to your profile. It is not compelling or descriptive if it simply states your job title. Use your professional headline to communicate the type of attorney you are and what industry or practice area you work in. How would you find yourself through a Google search?  How would you find your competitors? How would you stand out?

Basics of Social Media for Legal Writing

By: Keely Herrick, Parks Wood Law, Atlanta, Georgia

Nothing thrills your clients more than receiving a newsletter from a law firm, right? Admit it, even most lawyers don't look to social media primarily for legal writing. So, if you want to reach out to your community about topics in your field, how do you use social media effectively to avoid getting immediately zoned out of someone's news feed?

If It's Not Interesting to You, It's Not Interesting to Me

Just like when you're meeting a new person, the best rule for presenting yourself online is to be yourself. If you're forcing yourself to discuss a topic because you think that you should, rather than because you are interested in it, it's much more difficult to start an interesting dialogue. You wouldn't purposefully start a conversation about something you don't care about, so don't do that in your writing, either.

The World Is Your Audience

One caution as you write: you don't want to take a position that could be adverse to a current or potential client of your firm. Keep this in mind and try to discuss matters objectively. (Click here to keep reading)