Prediction for 2012: Free CLE Changes the Legal Education Landscape

Cross-posted from 4freeCLE - and representing one of my big projects for next year:

2011 was the year in which free, on-demand continuing legal education began to really take off, both as a business model for the sponsors and as a real choice for practitioners. I'll list a couple dozen below for the sake of those who need a few credits quick, but first let me make a few predictions:

Predictions for 2012:

• There will always be a market for paid, premium CLE. Just as free books and images on the internet have not destroyed the market for books and art IRL, so too free CLE on the internet will not destroy the older market. It'll just change the, possibly shrink its overall dollar value but by increasing the need to prove value, it'll improve quality. And higher-quality items usually command a better mark-up.
• In 2012, at least 1 percent of the market for CLE in general will be satisfied through free CLE, and most of that will be on-demand via the internet.
• Although economic issues may encourage some lawyers to exit the profession, the overall demand for CLE will increase, as on-demand access makes it practical to use it as a resource for problem solving. For example, if an ethical issue involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act occurs to you while you're stuck at the airport with your cellphone; you can take a quick, short on-demand ethics CLE to help you now!
• 4freeCLE is going to do a *lot* more in 2012 to radically improve free continuing legal education. If you have any special requests, contact us!

OK, enough predictions. Here's some links for those who have waited until now to earn credit. Let's have an educational 2012!

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Intellectual Property Colloquium (IPC)

Most IPC recordings have been granted credit in CA, FL, IL, NE, NY, PA, TN, TX, WA

• The Bilski Oral Argument
• Can You Hear Me Now? - fireside chat with Verizon executives
• A Conversation with Chief Judge Paul Michel
• A Conversation with Fred von Lohman
• Derivative Work
• Everyone Hates DRM
• Patent Reform: Damages
• Privacy in Networked World
• Statutory Damages and the Tenenbaum Litigation
• You Tube, My Take - (Viacom/Google litigation)
• Many More Hours of AV CLE on intellectual property!

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Lexvid

• Attorney-Client Privilege and the Duty of Confidentiality
• Chapter 11 Reorganizations: A General Overview of Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Terminology 
• Hot Topics in Commercial Leasing
• Insurance Law Fundamentals
• Getting In, Getting Out, Getting Paid: Fee Agreements, Withdrawal as Counsel, and Fee Arbitrations - by Lexvid
• Legal Considerations When Assisting a Client Form a Business
• Navigating the Immigration Jungle: Immigration Visas
• Short Sales & Other Options to Avoid Foreclosures 
• Lots more - I'll catalog them soon!

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Practising Law Institute

• Advocating for Veterans - the Basics on Benefits, Discharge Upgrades and Cultural Competency
• Debt Ceiling Debate Raises Legal, Regulatory and Financial Issues 2011 
• Defending Unlawful Detainers: Training Pro Bono Attorneys to Help Families Avoid Homelessness 
• Diversity in Law Practice 2011: Legal Update, Inclusion Strategies, and Work-Life Balance
• Expanding Your Practice Using Limited Scope Representation

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Trial.Com

• Catastrophic Loss Cases - How They Are Different
• Changing In-House/Outside Counsel Relationships
• Compliance: In-house Counsel’s New Challenges
• Copycat Liability
• Counsel Selection: A Trial Lawyer's Guide to the Universe
• Effect of Corporate IT Politics on Otherwise Privileged Communications (ethics credit!)
• Guilt By Association: You Didn't Design, Make or Sell It, But You Could Be Liable Anyway
• In-House Counsel On The Hot Seat
• Internal Investigations Done Right - The Nuts and Bolts of Who and How to Conduct Them
• Preparing Your Client to Testify 
• Privilege and In-House Counsel (ethics credit!)  
• Protecting Your Brand from Social Network Abuse
• Trials, Tribulations and Travails
• What’s Your Story? It’s Simply the Key to Winning Your Cases 
• Lots more - I'll catalog them soon!

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Black Duck Software

• The Impact of Visualization Technology on Open Source License Obligations
• Insights and Lessons learned from the Top OSS Legal Cases
• An Introduction to Open Source Software and Licenses
• Managing Open Source Software: Legal Issues in M&A
• The Open Source Community vs. Patent Trolls 
• OpenSource Due Diligence in M&A and Financing
• Open Source Exposure via Your Software Supply Chain
• Trademarks and Open Source Licenses
• Understanding the Top 10 Open Source Licenses

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See also: "Why Free CLE? Because it’s a commodity and because “interesting CLE” is oxymoronic"  by The Irreverent Lawyer

Cat Drinking Preferences

"I don't like it when it's on tap"

We have three cats. We figure that so long as we have no more cats than humans, we aren't crazy cat people. It's important to set such a limit, because at heart, we just might be crazy cat people.
Cats are not intelligent the same way humans are, but they seem to have feelings and personality and preferences. Michelle (the largest, colored like a milk cow) likes to drink water from the sink. She'll come right up to you, stare at you until you follow her to the bathroom, and wait for you to turn the tap on.
Imp, on the other hand, either hasn't figure out the sink-drinking thing, or just doesn't care for it. Just now she carefully followed me to the bathroom and looked like she wanted the water turn on, just like Michelle. Then she looked the whole thing over carefully, as if pondering what it all meant, and then walked away. I know she knows it's water, but she is just not interested in that sort of drink.

Christmas Air Shark

Houston, We Have A Problem

It's been a busy holiday (?aren't they always?) but slowing down now. We had time for fun, in between running around, stocking books, decorating the house and what-all.
Christmas Eve we drove up to my sister Kat's for a gift exchange and huge amount of food; Christmas Day we drove to Kris' sister Susie's for a gift exchange and moderate amounts of food. See the difference?
Kris found for me a gift that I would never have gotten for myself but which we all enjoyed very much: an air shark. We assembled it right away; Jason was a very steady and necessary hand in this; it may be possible to assemble the shark single handed but the room had a very high ceiling and the first step in the directions was to inflate the unit. This put plenty of firm tension on the skin of the balloon on which to attach the hardware, but it meant it was untethered and unballasted much of the time.
Once assembled, it was a huge amount of fun. Propulsion is by a motor that moves the tail either left or right, as you direct; it gives you an appreciate of how fish may maneuver.
Once we got it home, I thought dangling a ribbon from it would give the cats something to play with but they seemed to elaborately ignore it. It may be that it is too large and slow to around their chase and play feelings. Well, we humans have enough of that to fill in for them.
Thanks Kris!