You At Work

We’ve all heard the adage that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. When it comes to attorney discipline matters, there are certainly times when this is true. However, there are also many times when a lawyer is perfectly ...

There’s nothing like a brilliantly designed purse. It is a shield, a satchel and a work of art. When you walk into a meeting and set it on the table, a gorgeously appointed bespoke purse speaks in a strong, proud voice and says, “Put your ...

A law student is working on a direct examination during a trial skills program. She is practicing her presentation — how she stands, gestures and speaks. Each time through the examination, she asks exactly the same questions, with ...

A big part of a lawyer’s role is negotiation, and that means numbers. A lawyer has to be able to calculate the value of whatever is being negotiated. Case evaluation is part art and a lot of math. Pulling a number out of the air and hoping the ...

Last month I signed up to take the California bar exam in July. (I'm fully aware I might be insane.) Taking the Arizona bar exam right after law school, when I had no obligations outside of studying, was challenging enough. This time, I reached ...

It seems that every solo lawyer I meet has a list of things they would like to be doing better in their practice. Sometimes the motivating factor is business growth, sometimes it’s efficiency. At the heart of many “to do” items, though, is ...

Regarding your self-promotion, I have good news and I have bad news. Good news: There are more opportunities to promote yourself than ever before. Bad news: The sprawl of marketing opportunities is so fractured and vast, you'll need multiple ...

Unhappy clients often choose to file ethics complaints against their poor-performing lawyers. What leads to their unhappiness? It may come as a surprise, but most ethics complaints are not about incompetence. Instead, most complaints revolve ...

Analysis of a new report on $19.6 billion of approved legal department invoices reveals that to maximize firm profits, partners should focus on developing and retaining senior associates and providing clients with services in multiple practice ...

I'll begin by pulling the Band-Aid off quickly: After 15 years, I'm leaving the e-discovery space. For those who know me, this will come as a really big surprise — especially given my longtime social media moniker "eDiscovery Gold.” In truth, ...