From the Idaho Business Review

Hawley Troxell announces that Nick Smith has joined the law firm as an associate in its litigation practice group.

A fifth-generation Boisean, Smith graduated from Brigham Young University. He subsequently earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School (summa cum laude, Order of the Coif). While in law school, he was a note and comment editor of the Minnesota Law Review and published the Post-Cuno Litigation Landscape with Morgan L. Holcomb. Smith also received the Sidney J. Kaplan Legal Scholarship award.

Prior to joining Hawley Troxell, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, and the Honorable Michael S. Kanne, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He is admitted to the Oregon State Bar Association and the Idaho State Bar Association.

Smith, who speaks fluent Spanish, has lived in Germany, Mexico and the Kingdom of Tonga.

By Gina Passarella of Law.com

Says one consultant: ‘The overall marketplace for legal services is fracturing. It’s unbundling and specialists are emerging.’

By Monica Almendarez and Jennifer Smuts of Law.com.

For some attorneys, developing a personal marketing plan can feel like an exercise in futility. Often it is something that is done to appease firm management and written without a lot of thought and energy. Inevitably these plans are tossed aside, only to be consulted when next year’s plan is due.

This article is a fresh look at the right way to create and execute a personal marketing plan. If you have a genuine desire to build new business, and follow these tips, the personal marketing plan you develop will be an effective one.

To read the rest of the article click here.

From Law.com

A Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, attorney who police say recruited a client to help him feed his prescription pill addiction has been ordered to serve five years in prison.

Shawn C. Nunley, a former Kootenai County deputy prosecutor, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and began his prison sentence on Friday at the Idaho State Correctional Institution.

First District Judge Ben Simpson retained jurisdiction in the case, which means he will determine in six months whether Nunley should remain in prison or be placed on probation.

Police say Nunley paid for the client to travel to California monthly to fetch hundreds of OxyContin pills. The man later went to police and acted as an informant. Detectives monitored the man completing a transaction with Nunley.

ASSOCIATES: A FRESH PERSPECTIVE

You bring a unique viewpoint to your surroundings if you’ve ever moved into a different community, joined an organization for the first time, or entered a new place of business. Similarly, new associates can help you look at your firm with a fresh perspective, from learning about the firm’s culture to understanding what each attorney’s practice areas encompass. Ask your new associates to write down their impressions and questions (including the ones that start with “Why…?”); the associates will learn more about the firm and so will others as the compilations are shared.

The results should yield informed associates plus ideas that could lead to innovative ways to improve both internal and external communications. Ultimately, enhanced communication can lead to business development.

To contact Merilee directly click here.

From the Idaho Business Review

The Idaho attorney general’s office has announced a $1.65 million settlement with a generic drug maker over pricing, but nearly 70 percent of the money goes to the federal government.

Idaho Medicaid primarily uses the “average wholesale prices” of drugs as reported by drug manufacturers to set reimbursement rates for pharmacies.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden says in 2003, Sandoz reported its generic version of Prozac sold for an average wholesale price of nearly $2.60 a pill. Wasden found the price was actually less than 22 cents a pill.

Sandoz admits no wrongdoing in reaching the settlement, which must be approved by the Fourth District Court in Ada County. Sandoz is the generics pharmaceutical division of Novartis AG.

Attorney General spokesman Bob Cooper tells the Idaho Statesman that Idaho will keep about $500,000 of the settlement.

from thenonbillablehour.com

Found this great tip on Connection Cafe about how to use Google’s Keyword Tool to understand what people are looking for:

Explore opportunities for new offers or ones adjacent to what you currently offer.  Go to the Google Keyword Tool.  Enter a single term associated with your organization’s services, products, or offers.  You could also provide a URL to one of the pages that describe what you’re doing today and Google will use that to help with the research.

The tool will return a long list of similar terms that people are searching for.  It will also tell you roughly how many people are searching for those terms and how competitive the market for placing advertisements on those pages will be.  Sort by search volume or competition.  What do these results tell you people are searching for versus what they’re finding?

by Kendra Brodin of Lawyerist.com

After a long day at the office, usually the last thing we want to think about is more work. But if you want to really want to get yourself known, you’ll get involved in community activities or in social causes.

A lot of people just don’t enjoy the typical networking events: stiff conversation at a cocktail party or a formal luncheon or dinner. But volunteering is a great way to network without really trying. It is a way that you can benefit yourself and whatever organization, project, or cause you’re interested in, and it can be fun.

To read the rest of the article click here.

ROBB & ROBB: PRIVATE AVIATION ACCIDENTS

Robb & Robb LLC’s headline on the firm’s website section that features aviation reads, “Over $800 million in Verdicts and Recoveries”; the language then describes private aviation accident lawsuits. This Kansas City law firm promotes 13 media outlets—including CNN, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal—where the firm’s cases have been featured.

Although other firms may promote a practice area that encompasses aviation accidents, Robb & Robb has a more narrow focus: seeking private aviation accident lawsuits. As part of the distinction, the firm explains that private aircraft do not have the black boxes that commercial aircraft carry, making private plane crash lawsuits “complex and challenging.”

In your practice areas, concentrate and levitate your experience.

To contact Merilee directly click here.

From Idaho Women Lawyers:

We hope you can join us for this exciting October luncheon.

TOPIC: Justice Gutierrez, Justice Lansing, and Andrea Patterson will present the results of the Judicial Recruitment Committee

DATE: Tuesday, October 26, 2010

LOCATION: The Lincoln Room, on the lower level of the Supreme Court building (451 W.State Street)

CLE CREDIT: We will apply for 1.0 hour of CLE, including 0.5 hour of ethics

DESCRIPTION: For the first half hour, members of the Judicial Recruitment Committee will provide information regarding the Judiciary’s recruitment problem, its response, and complete results of the 2009 survey of the Idaho Bar regarding judicial service and selection procedures, including the strong support for, yet reservations about, the Bar Survey on judicial candidates. The next half hour will be focused on Rule of Professional Conduct 8.2(a) and its implications for the Bar survey. After introduction to the Rule, Commentary, and cases, lawyers will be asked to dialogue about the implications of Rule 8.2(a) for the bar survey.

COST: $10 Please RSVP at info@idahowomenlawyers.com if you plan to attend. We hope to see you there!