the landmark gay rights case Lawrence v. Texas 539 U.S. 558 (2003) was litigated by Jenner &
Block’s and Lambda’s Legal Board Co-Chair Paul M. Smith?
Ina world of tweets and blogs one new legal publisher Twelve Tables Press is launching a rather
contrarian project by publishing books (yes I mean – paper
pages sewn together between two covers ) which tell the story of how
leading firms and their members became legends and influenced the development of the
law and the legal profession. This series will be similar to their Leaders in Law, which features leading
Judges and Attorneys. The first book of that series Breaking New Ground focuses on a civil rights
lawyer, educator and jurist: Senior District Judge Thelton E. Henderson, of the
Northern District of California. Steve Errick’s Twelve Tables Press is preparing
to develop a new series called Law
Firms & Legends.
will focus on the top 100 ALM law firms and capture the stories of the founders
and leaders of each firm. Every law firm will be able to recount the
unique role that the firm has played in shaping US law, social and political
history. According to Errick the mission of Twelve Tables Press is
to “showcase the compelling stories, the will and fight of individual lawyers,
law firms and judges bringing positive attention to the craft of lawyering and
the lawyers who have made a difference in United States legal
jurisprudence.” The Twelve Tables imprint refers to the 12 bronze
tablets on which the earliest Roman codes were inscribed.
law firm will have the opportunity to tell eight to
twelve in-depth stories on the history of their firm. These stories will be
published in a single volume e-book and hard cover expected to be 200 to
350 pages each. Each title is designed to appeal to students and lawyers,
legal history fans and legal scholars, and of course to firms showcasing
their history to clients. The series is positioned to have a wide appeal
because each volume will highlight the thought leaders and
practitioners in America’s most prestigious law firms and will tell an important
story about the evolution of legal practice in the US. The series will be
marketed to all law libraries, colleges, law firm libraries, Amazon and other
book distribution platforms and partnerships.
Legal Publishing Pro Steven Errick, the publisher of the series has an extraordinarily deep
and successful career in legal publishers. His resume reads like a “Who’s who”
of major legal US publishers. He has been an executive at Lexis Nexis,
CCH Wolters Kluwer, Aspen legal Education, Foundation Press (West publishing)
and Warren Gorham & Lamont.
No Robots Just Real Lawyers While members of the legal profession will remain active participants in social
media data streams, the time may be right for law firms to offer a more
focused and deeper examination of their unique histories, especially
as law schools fight decreasing student enrollments and firms fight
for the best and brightest students among a smaller graduating pool. ALM 100
law firms have argued cases before the US Supreme Court, invented new
forms of corporate structure, helped write constitutions and legislation,
provided leadership in social reform movements and invented new forms of legal
practice. As the legal profession continues to be buffeted by financial
and technological forces, this series
will offer a sober reflection on the women, men and firms who are still the
key drivers in the transformation of American law and jurisprudence.