US Law Firm News – Health Law News – Ober|Kaler Launches OberHITblog.com

Health Information Technology Blog covers privacy and security of medical information along with health care information technology issues

Baltimore MD, April 30, 2012 – The law firm of Ober|Kaler announced today the launch of its Health Information Technology and Privacy blog, OberHITblog.com. The blog provides guidance to health care providers and facilities as they move into a new electronic era of privacy and security concerns under HIPAA and the HITECH Act. Ober|Kaler lawyers Jim Wieland, Sarah Swank, Paul Kim and Josh Freemire are the blog’s authors.
“The pace of regulatory developments in health information technology and privacy is rapid and relentless,” explains Jim Wieland, who heads Ober|Kaler’s Health Information Technology and Privacy group. “New regulations pose significant operational as well as legal challenges for the health care industry. Our goal is to provide actionable, industry-savvy analysis in real time to health care organizations of all kinds.”

“Our commitment is to communicate new developments quickly, yet with the practical analysis that our clients need,” said Sandy Teplitzky, chair of Ober|Kaler’s Health Law Group. “OberHITblog.com adds another dimension to the guidance we provide to our clients and health care organizations across the country.”

Ober|Kaler’s Health Law Group is one of the largest in the nation, providing counsel and representation in the full spectrum of legal and business issues facing the health care industry.
The launch of the Group’s Health Information Technology and Privacy blog marks the fourth addition to Ober|Kaler’s family of blogs, which offers guidance and information to clients in a variety of industries:

OberIPWatch — Covers a wide range of intellectual property news and developments
MedicareforGeeks.com — Deals with Medicare enrollment issues for health care providers
MarylandCondoLaw.com — Provides guidance to Maryland condominium and homeowner associations and their members
OberHITblog.com — Offers information and analysis on legal developments in health care information technology, privacy, security and government IT incentive programs

About Ober|Kaler
Ober|Kaler is a national law firm providing integrated regulatory, transactional and litigation services to financial, health care, construction and other business organizations. The firm has more than 130 attorneys, and offices in Baltimore, Washington, DC and Falls Church. For more information please visit www.ober.com.


Corporate lawyer and law business author Michael Trotter sees the problems at Dewey and LeBoeuf as being sympomatic of wider issues within the legal business. And there will be more Big Law trouble ahead, according to Trotter, whose new book “Declining Prospects” looks at the changes in the legal profession and why they’re are causing long-term problems.

Michael trotter lawfuel

Corporate lawyer and law business author Michael Trotter sees the problems at Dewey and LeBoeuf as being sympomatic of wider issues within the legal business. And there will be more Big Law trouble ahead, according to Trotter, whose new book “Declining Prospects” looks at the changes in the legal profession and why they’re are causing long-term problems.

An interview with the NY Times provides some interesting observations about a profession facing – if not a crisis, something not far off it.

The publication of “Declining Prospects” comes at a moment when Dewey faces the risk of collapse. The turmoil at the firm appears to be a manifestation of a lot of the issues that you discuss in your book.

A.I don’t think Dewey’s problems are just a matter of a management mistake here or there but instead reflect a change in the fundamental competitive environment in the legal services industry. Many of the larger firms that serve major business clients are caught up in these changes. We’ve already seen several go under, and I think we’ll see quite a few more over the next few years.

Q.What has changed?

A.There are now far more capable lawyers and law firms than there is work for them to do. The financial costs of legal services have gotten so high that most clients are determined to reduce them. Many legal services have become commodities that can be supplied by a large number of firms with sufficient quality to meet the needs of most clients in most situations, and corporate general counsel now know that they can get what they need at a lower cost if they force the major firms to compete for the work.

Q.One reason for Dewey’s trouble is that it poached lawyers from rival firms by offering them multiyear, multimillion-dollar guaranteed contracts.

A.That’s a very risky strategy. For one thing, people don’t always produce what they promise; often not all the clients that they currently have move with them, so to give anyone a guaranteed contract based on their past success is basically a mistake. Imagine the environment where profits are dropping and there are some partners getting the full amount they were guaranteed and you’re getting half of what you expected. It generates a lot of hard feelings.

Q.A few chapters of your latest book are devoted to the working conditions at big law firms. You describe a grim environment.

A.Law firms expect associates to put in 1,800 to 2,000 billable hours, and at some firms it’s up to 2,500. That’s 50 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. And that’s just the billable time. Every lawyer has to make an investment every day of time that’s not billable. You have to study and learn, improve your skills, administer to your practice. If you’re working 50 hours a week of billable time, you’re probably working 65 to 70 hours of total time. So the burden is tremendous. Now, with the Internet and cellphones, you’re in demand possibly every hour of every day of every week.

Q.But haven’t these issues been around for years? Big law firms became big businesses a long time ago, and some will say you’re just an out-of-touch, bow-tie-wearing Southern lawyer romanticizing the practice and yearning for the days of Atticus Finch.

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