Posted on October 28, 2009 by Beverley Rogers

Unhelpful Lawyers or Unhelpful Survey?

A recent Law.com post reported on a survey indicating that news reporters who cover litigation say that lawyers are not particularly helpful when it comes to helping reporters understand the core issues in a case.

Before continuing, I have to confess to a pet peeve about over-reliance on surveys of dubious value. Cable news shows, for example, get me going when they cite their “informal” viewer polls, and admit to a lack of “scientific” validity but go on to discuss the conclusions as if they are entirely valid. Grrrr.

Nonetheless, my hunch is there is some validity to the notion that lawyers and reporters may not speak the same language when identifying or talking about “core” issues in a case.

But, here’s my problem: the second paragraph of the Law.com post says outright that the survey may not be “bankable,” which I interpret to mean “reliable.” Then, by training, I have to think like a lawyer. If the only evidence - - the survey - - is not reliable, there is no reliable evidence to support the proposition that lawyers are unhelpful to reporters in identifying core issue in litigation. If there is no reliable evidence supporting that proposition, then why is there an article discussing it?

Here’s another problem. Long ago I learned that in sampling, the problem is not the size (or lack of size) of the sample but the representative nature (or lack thereof) of the sample. Thus, if the only problem is that the sample is small, the survey may be reliable after all. But, we may never know because all we know is that the response rate was low.

I suspect that we’re left with the intuitive notion that some lawyers may not be helpful to reporters. I also suspect that there’s an easy solution; it’s just a matter of finding the right lawyer to ask.

In this blog, we try to be helpful to all our readers, especially if they are not lawyers, in understanding a variety of legal issues within our primary areas of practice. Reporters (or all readers) are invited to comment to let us know how we’re doing.

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Posted on April 15, 2009 by Angelo Tartaro

Ridgefield Chamber Plans New Initiatives

At a recent meeting of the Ridgefield Rotary Club, I had the opportunity to hear Marion Roth, Executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, speak about some of the new initiatives she and the Chamber’s Board have been working on. Her general goal is to develop a sense of cooperation among the agencies and organizations concerned with economic development, including the Chamber, the Town’s Economic Development Commission and private groups like the Chamber itself and Downtown Ridgefield. One of the Chamber’s most interesting initiatives involves leveraging cultural resources to make Ridgefield a destination for the arts, theatre, restaurants and inns.  The "Look.  Listen.  Stay." initiative will be inaugurated in May, and will coincide with several local events.

These are exciting plans. I regret that for now I can only touch the surface because there is much more to learn about these initiatives and the people, along with Marion, making things happen. Our firm is a member and we’ve supported its past activities (partner Bev, a long time resident, being actively involved). I hope to cover the progress of the new initiatives and report on future developments in greater depth.

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