State of the Group Legal Services Industry: Things to Know
Earlier this year, I attended the Group Legal Services Association (GLSA) annual meeting, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The highlight was the spirited “State of the Industry” panel. While the panel reported...
View ArticleTop Five Ways Lawyers Use Dictation Technology
For many young lawyers, dictation evokes images of dusty credenzas covered with tape recorders and microphones. But while today’s lawyers tend to be more tech-savvy than past generations, they still...
View ArticleContronyms: Context Controls Comprehension
Sanctions. That word has always troubled me. It’s a contronym, a word that has opposite meanings. Lawyers know that a motion for sanctions asks the court to penalize an adversary’s bad act. But other...
View ArticleHow to Handle a State Bar Letter Questioning Your Fitness to Practice
In my last column, I discussed how you can relocate to another state without sitting for another bar exam. One question that naturally stems from that discussion is what to do if you make a mistake in...
View ArticleMaybe You Should Pass Up That Partnership Offer (Really)
You’re in a small firm with one or more baby boomer senior partners, and they’ve just made you an offer of partnership. Congratulations. Maybe. Before you accept, there are lots of questions you should...
View ArticleWorking With Multiple Monitors in Your Law Office
When I interview people via Skype, I explain that I have the Skype window on my notebook computer screen, which also holds an embedded camera. I take notes on another, external monitor and update...
View ArticleAdd These Five Super Marketing Steps to Your Plans
Celebrating its seventh year, the Super Marketing Conference in Boston, a collaboration between MassLOMAP, the ABA Law Practice Division and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, brought expert...
View ArticleRegaining Command of Email
Email is the global de facto communication standard. Business use of email continues to grow. Email is also a hybrid form of communication — a written form used conversationally. This hybrid nature,...
View ArticleThe ‘Day 1’ Law Firm: Adopt This Jeff Bezos Mantra to Grow Your Practice
Jeff Bezos has many powerful mantras for his business, but this is one of my favorites: It’s always “Day 1” at Amazon. What he means is that Amazon will never stop being a startup. It’s a message Bezos...
View ArticleConnecting the Dots to Boost Your Online Marketing Strategy
Effective marketing is an ongoing journey, especially because the whole landscape of online marketing is always in flux. Your law practice changes over time, and changes at Google, Facebook and other...
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Attorney Safety: Interview with Stephen Kelson
Earlier this year, I shared statistics about threats of violence made against attorneys. Stephen Kelson, a shareholder at Christensen & Jensen PC in Salt Lake City, focuses on commercial...
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Compartmentalize and Integrate: Five Ways to Handle It ‘All’
I am a lawyer and a parent. I also try to have a social life, volunteer, take care of my pets, and run a household (not completely by myself, thank goodness). Recently, a friend — also a lawyer and...
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Build It! The New Associate’s Guide to Business Development
Big firm or small, there’s a single question the partners ask about young associates: “Is she a keeper?” And, while legal skills certainly count, we all know what ultimately swings the pendulum on that...
View ArticleTips for the Well-Dressed (Male) Lawyer
Every new parent knows there are far more clothing options for baby girls than for baby boys. While selections have improved in the past decade or so, it can still be a struggle to find outfits for the...
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Need a Confidence Boost? Try This Before You Speak
When teaching speaking skills to lawyers, the first question is why participants are there. What do they want out of the session? The most common answer is they want to feel more confident. They want...
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Handling Settlement Funds: A Best-Practices Checklist
“So that’s how you do that!” My article on handling retainers, “Would You Pass a Trust Account Audit?,” generated a lot of inquiries and ah-hah moments. So, I’m following up with more tips on handling...
View ArticleGet On With Your Life
“This is the year.” He sounded casual enough, but I saw the inner force he hoped to screw to the sticking place. “This is the year I finally get out of here and start doing things I love.” We’d been...
View ArticleHow to Generate ROI as a Young Lawyer
Your law firm cares about your personal and professional growth. But make no mistake, the law is a business — often a cutthroat one. Your firm has made a big investment in you in terms of salary,...
View ArticleVideo: Pasting Text for Better Formatting
If you’re like most lawyers, you recycle text from other documents a lot. But cutting-and-pasting is a frequent source of formatting disasters in Microsoft Word. Instead of always using CTRL-V when...
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The Invisible Lawyer: Shed the Status
It’s the old “tree falling in the forest” conundrum. If a lawyer develops expertise, but no one knows about it … are they even an expert? “Becoming an expert” is a great differentiation strategy, but...
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