Nothing But The Ruth!

Forgive me, but I’m going to jump on my soapbox today. I’m a licensed attorney in Arizona and we have a mandatory bar, so all of us have to pay to play. In 2014, I paid $460 for my bar dues, and Arizona was ranked 10th in the nation for ...

One of the biggest challenges a solo practitioner has is managing the anxiety of not having a guaranteed steady income or client work. I’ve had open client files all year, but there are definitely lulls in work — when I’m waiting to get feedback ...

A holiday card catalog arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. I’m mostly a holiday purist who believes that you shouldn’t start celebrating the December holidays until after Thanksgiving. However, there are exceptions when holiday activities ...

The suicide of actor Robin Williams made many, including me, reflect on how problems related to depression and substance abuse can lead to desperate, irrational actions. Lawyers in general tend to be more susceptible to problems like these. ...

If you’re a law firm owner or partner, you know the drill — when you’re not working in your business, you should be working on your business. For most of us, that includes a lot of networking — attending mixers, going to lunches, interacting ...

Let me tell you a secret — the biggest distraction in my life is me. No, I’m not wasting time playing Angry Birds or watching Netflix. My challenge? I’m so well-trained to react the moment my laptop or phone lights up, chimes or rings that it’s ...

Recently, I was blown away by how awesome a fellow lawyer’s office is. It’s not very big, but it has a standing desk by a window that overlooks downtown Phoenix, opening up the rest of the space for an oversize leather couch and armchair. I ...

Ah, spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping and I have just received annual invoices from the two business organizations to which I belong. Between the two, I just paid about $500 for the opportunity to list my ...

Katy Goshtasbi provides an excellent yet simple definition of a personal brand: It's what people say about you behind your back. Essentially, it’s your reputation. As people have become more active on social media, though, the idea of a ...

As I looked out at the audience while teaching a CLE course recently, I started to wonder how many of them were there because they were interested in the material or because they just needed the credit hours. What were they really doing when ...