By George Prentice of Boise Weekly

An Idaho jurist will be part of a three-judge panel next week, scheduled to hear arguments in the legal battle over California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The panel, announced Monday, includes N. Randy Smith, a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Smith was associate and assistant general counsel for the J.R. Simplot Company, professor at Boise State and Chairman of the Idaho Republican Party in the 1990s. Smith was named to the federal bench by President George W. Bush.

Also on the panel will be Judge Stephen Reinhardt of California—dubbed the “lion of the left” for a career of liberal rulings—and Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of Arizona, considered a moderate.

The Ninth Circuit will hear arguments beginning Monday, Dec. 6, in the appeal of a federal judge’s ruling this summer striking down Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

Nichols of Nampa awarded

William F. Nichols, a shareholder in White, Peterson, Gigray, Rossman, Nye & Nichols P.A. of Nampa, has been awarded the 2010 Professionalism Award for the 3rd Judicial District.

The award from the Idaho State Bar is an expression of respect, commendation and appreciation from the recipient’s peers. Nichols is the third member of the White Peterson firm to receive this honor; Terrence White received the award in 2003 and William F. Gigray III received it in 2006.

(Compiled by Pat Carson of The Idaho Statesman)

McFarland named pro bono award winner

The law firm of Hawley Troxell announced that the Idaho State Bar board of commissioners has selected Hawley Troxell associate Ryan McFarland as one of five winners of the Denise O’Donnell Day Pro Bono Award for performing exceptional volunteer legal work. The Idaho State Bar and Idaho Law Foundation honored McFarland and his fellow winners at the annual Resolution Meeting Nov. 17 at the Boise Centre.

McFarland, an associate in the Civil Litigation Practice Group at Hawley Troxell, was nominated for his numerous volunteer hours, especially in a difficult immigration case.

In addition to his volunteer work with the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program, McFarland is the 2010 chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society-Boise Chapter, and serves on the Salvation Army’s Treasure Valley Advisory Board.

(From the Idaho Business Review)

MARKETING PLAN: PLAN TO MARKET

What is your marketing plan as next year looms? Consider the following five points:

Identify your marketing goals. Create a dynamic, adaptable marketing plan that can change as conditions/competition warrants the change. Who is your ideal target? What types of clients do you want to reach?
Build in accountability, timelines, and deadlines. Who is responsible for what portions of the marketing plan? How do your spend your marketing time?
Create strategies to go after your marketing goals. Expand your opportunities. Pursue the types of clients and prospects you prefer.
List the tactics and action steps to help you accomplish your marketing plan. Join a network or organization to extend your reach.
Implement your marketing plan and update it regularly. Enumerate, track, and monitor results.

To contact Merilee directly click here.

The State Bar Board of Commissioners has selected Hawley Troxell associate Ryan McFarland as one of five winners of the Denise O’Donnell Day Pro Bono Award for performing exceptional volunteer legal work. The Idaho State Bar and Idaho Law Foundation honored McFarland and his fellow winners at the annual resolution meeting this week.

McFarland, an associate in the firm’s civil-litigation practice group, was nominated for his volunteer hours, especially in a difficult immigration case. McFarland also is the 2010 chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Boise Chapter. He serves on the Salvation Army’s Treasure Valley Advisory Board. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan and his B.A. degree from Brigham Young University.

Compiled by Pat Carson of The Idaho Statesman

by Tim Baran of Lawyerist.com

This is not about trying to get your marketing courses accredited (that’s a rant, er, post for another time). It’s about using continuing legal education (CLE) accreditation as a tool to enhance what you already offer and broaden your potential audience.

If you’re a law firm, solo attorney, or company or entrepreneur catering to the legal profession, you need to establish yourself as an expert in your niche practice or service. How do you do that?  By presenting at conferences and other events, offering seminars, webcasts and teleconferences, blogging and engaging on social media platforms.

It seems as though most recognize this as our overflowing inbox and mailbox can attest, advertising free webinars and low cost (and not-so-low cost) 3-day conferences. How do you separate yourself from the pack? By getting CLE accreditation.

Accreditation offers three immediate advantages

1. Presumption of quality – the standards and rigorous accreditation process promotes quality assurance

2. Opportunity for lawyers to satisfy their mandatory CLE requirements –  in today’s budget-tightening times, potential registrants for continuing legal education programs are increasingly inquiring about earning credits

3. Increase program awareness and attendance – many states list the programs they accredit on their website, often with a link to the Provider’s website

THANKSGIVING: MARKETING FOR GOOD

How does your law firm help the community, during the holidays and throughout the year?

Some law firms connect Thanksgiving to marketing. California personal injury lawyer Rodney Mesriani, with the Mesriani Law Group, wrote in his blog, “Tips to Avoid Thanksgiving Accidents.” In the Midwest, two Wichita law firms–Martin Pringle and Foulston Siefkin–contributed to the Kansas Food Bank in time for the Thanksgiving Harvest Food Drive. In response to the Triangle Troubleshooter Thanksgiving Challenge, the Raleigh law firms of Graebe Hanna & Welborn and Manning Fulton donated to Helping Hand.

To the readers of this Weekly Marketing Tip for Attorneys who take the time to email comments about specific tips, thank you. Happy Thanksgiving!

To contact Merilee directly click here.

The Idaho State Bar will present federal prosecutor Monte J. Stiles with an award for professionalism Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise announced Monday.

From The Idaho Statesman

The Idaho State Bar will present federal prosecutor Monte J. Stiles with an award for professionalism Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise announced Monday.

The award recognizes Stiles for his “outstanding courtesy, cooperation, respect, diligence, candor and competence.”

Stiles has served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 1987, when he was hired to run the federal Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force. The task force is a group of agents and prosecutors who investigate and prosecute high-level drug trafficking organizations.

As a federal prosecutor for 23 years, Stiles has worked closely with foreign, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting major drug traffickers.

Stiles graduated from Brigham Young University Law School in 1982. He was appointed a deputy prosecutor in the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office in 1984.

Because of his expertise in international drug smuggling and money laundering, Stiles has been tapped to teach advanced narcotics and money laundering classes for the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C. He’s also been an instructor for organized crime seminars in Eastern Europe; in 2010, he was one of two instructors for a week-long money laundering/asset forfeiture conference in Zagreb, Croatia.

Compiled by Pat Carson of The Idaho Statesman:

Best Lawyers, a peer-review publication, has named JoAnn C. Butler of Spinks Butler LLP as the “Boise Best Lawyers Land Use & Zoning Lawyer of the Year” for 2011.

Butler focuses her practice in land use, real estate and commercial law. She has represented both non-profit and for-profit developers in affordable housing tax credit transactions. Her work also includes facilitating historic rehabilitation tax credit applications.

From the Idaho Business Review:

Hall Farley attorneys make ‘Best Lawyers’

Hall, Farley, Oberrecht, and Blanton attorneys Richard Hall and Donald Farley have each been named as Boise’s Lawyer of the Year for 2011 by “Best Lawyers,” a peer review publication for the legal profession

The Lawyer of the Year designation is awarded to only one lawyer in each major community, and in each specialty.

Hall was named as Lawyer of the Year for 2011 in the field of insurance and Farley was awarded the title for his work in products liability.

by Susan Minsberg of Lawyerist.com

Co-counsel arrangements can be a great way to expand your practice. Negotiating the best arrangement involves knowing the right questions to ask.

Check out prospective co-counsel

QUI TAM: POSITIONING FOR PROSPECTS

Whistleblowers have law firms from which to choose. Founded by a former federal prosecutor, Pennsylvania law firm Kenney & McCafferty “represents whistleblowers nationwide in qui tam lawsuits brought under the False Claims Act.” K&M reports having worked on high profile cases, such as a $520 million settlement against AstraZeneca.

With offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Phillips & Cohen states its qui tam lawsuits “have returned more than $6.89 billion to the U.S. Treasury through civil recoveries and criminal penalties.”

Nolan & Auerbach, with four locations in Florida, California, and Pennsylvania, promises, “We are the most successful qui tam law firm exclusively limited to Healthcare Fraud under the False Claims Act.”

How do you separate your law firm from your competitors? Stake your position.

To contact Merilee directly click here.