Oath of civility now required

Plus: AI tools trigger class action | Rethinking your client funnel

Lawyers are stepping up to the plate to make sure their practice and the profession as a whole keeps moving forward. This week’s lineup includes information about the annual civility oath California attorneys are now required to take, and a playbook for legal marketing that will keep you from striking out with potential clients.

We’ve also got the video (and transcript) of the CEO who sat down for an interview with a journalist who also happens to be a potential class member in a pending lawsuit. Finally, we’re tipping our cap to the eleven attorneys who made it all the way to Cooperstown. They’re proof that not every legal career peaks in a courtroom.

But first, did you see that a professional cornhole player who is also a quadruple amputee has been charged with fatally shooting a passenger in his car?

Justice is a piece of (Lemon Pound) Cake.
Did not have Afroman becoming the country’s number one proponent of free speech on our bingo card, but it's pretty amazing. Journalist Meghann M. Cuniff has curated clips of various viral moments from his defamation trial over on Instagram.

How many red flags can you ignore?
The real villain in the recently shelved season of "The Bachelorette" is whoever oversaw due diligence. Hopefully, the folks at "America’s Top Lawyers" are doing a more thorough job vetting their cast.

Art is in the eye of the beholder.
A lawsuit over a hamburger-like UFO mural is dividing the residents of America’s Frozen Pizza Capital.

Dun Dun.
This is your sign to buy an official "Law & Order" mug for your office. Or perhaps an Olivia Benson pillow.

What we’re watching.
Season 2 of the hit reality TV hoax "Jury Duty" is out on Amazon Prime. This time, it features a temporary HR employee helping out with a company retreat.

No fooling: new civility rules kick in April 1st

California has enthusiastically embraced the idea that each state is one of Justice Brandeis’s laboratories of democracy, so it is perhaps not surprising that this week it will become the first state to require attorneys to take an annual oath of civility or risk their law license:

“As an officer of the court, I will strive to conduct myself at all times with
dignity, courtesy and integrity.”

The Supreme Court of California adopted this requirement at the same time it declined to make incivility grounds for attorney discipline. However, it suggested that the state bar “explore the possibility of codifying existing case law reducing requests for attorney fees based on an attorney's incivility.”

To help implement the court’s order, the State Bar of California developed a “civility toolkit” you can download.

Why this matters: Increasing incivility is a common complaint, but few have ideas for curbing it. Read more on FindLaw for a deeper dive on California and Reuters for an overview of what other states are doing.

“I promise I haven’t sued you yet.”

Last August, the popular writing app Grammarly launched an AI feature called Expert Review that generated writing suggestions attributed to real journalists, novelists, and academics without asking any of them first. The backlash was swift, and the feature was eventually killed, but it is still a hot topic because investigative journalist Julia Angwin, who was one of the experts imprisoned by the AI platform, filed a class action about it.

This week, Nilay Patel, who is a potential plaintiff in that class action lawsuit, recorded an interview with Shishir Mehrotra, the CEO of Grammarly’s parent company.

Why this matters: Did Superhuman’s legal department sign off on this interview? Mehrotra’s discussion of his legal team’s advice is going to make discovery particularly interesting. (The Verge)

Play ball!

Baseball is back, and the second-best way to celebrate is by listening to this episode of the Baseball PhD podcast. Host Ed Kasputis, an attorney and advocate for America’s pastime, interviews the Honorable Louis Schiff, co-editor (with Robert M. Jarvis) of a book of biographical essays about the eleven attorneys who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Why this matters: There’s a reason why there are so many attorneys in Cooperstown. Law and baseball have shaped each other for almost two centuries: think antitrust law and labor battles to start. This podcast episode is a great introduction to that rich history. (Baseball PhD)

Something funny -el is going on with your intake

It is frustrating when visitors to your website aren’t filling out your contact us form or calling to set up a consultation. Figuring out why some prospects hire you and others disappear is tricky but necessary.

This piece from Josh Konigsberg of Law Firm Marketing Pros introduces a useful framework for tackling this problem: the marketing funnel. It’s a three-stage model that maps the journey a potential client takes from first hearing about your firm to signing an engagement letter. The stages—awareness, consideration, decision—each represent a different mindset, and each requires a different response from you.

Why this matters: The question “why aren't I getting more clients” is a little too broad to be helpful. Taking a close look at your marketing funnel lets you ask the sharper question, “At which stage are prospects dropping off?” (Law Firm Marketing Pros)

You're all caught up!

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Raise the Bar is written and curated by Emily Kelchen and edited by Bianca Prieto.

Oath of civility now required