You At Work

Why do you find certain lawyers quoted in the press so often? Are they magically on speed-dial with certain outlets? In short, yes. Befriending a reporter is an exercise in social capital. You want to create an easy, mutually beneficial ...

Have you been avoiding a potentially difficult conversation with a client for fear of it going badly? The good news is that you are in solid company — some of the best and brightest lawyers procrastinate and avoid conflict. Introverts — and ...

In the past, “outsourcing” brought to mind images of large offices filled with workers on telephones, most likely overseas, fielding customer service center phone calls. That it is not what I have in mind when I suggest using outsourcing in your ...

Arizona was hit hard by illness this winter. Several people at my firm came down with cold and flu-type illnesses. Even I got sick; but thankfully, for my colleagues' sake, I am not contagious. I have depression. This doesn’t make me ...

I work with a lot of solo lawyers, both in my client base (unfortunately, ethics cases arise more frequently in solo practice), and in my network of professional colleagues. My colleagues in the ethics defense bar are frequently solos, and I ...

Those of us who love language and value the ability to be well-spoken have every reason to feel, like, depressed. I fear we have lost the battle with mass culture regarding articulate speech. Witness the ...

When I see other lawyers trying to be perfect, I want to help them. More often than not, it's a female lawyer who is also a mother, trying to be everything to everyone all the time. I want to stop and give her a pat on the back. Or maybe even a ...

No one would describe "The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts" as a light and frothy read. We are huge fans of Richard Susskind’s previous books and his evolving thoughts about the future of the ...

How best to manage time? Making the most of your time — your most precious resource — results in a truly balanced life: You enjoy your work life and you enjoy your personal life. What lawyers do is hard. No matter what the clock says, the legal ...

Valentine’s Day is on the horizon and stores are filled with overpriced flowers and red and pink candy shaped like hearts. In honor of this Hallmark holiday, my editors asked me, “How do you show love to clients?” (I assume by “love” they mean ...