Daily Dispatch

Effecting Misuse Can Affect the Effectiveness of Your Writing: Sound-Alikes

Similar-sounding words can have very different meanings. Sound-alike words have tripped up many a scribe. Because you may be spelling the word correctly but misusing it for the context, spell-check is of no help. Watch out! Incorrect usage will ...

Theda C. Snyder - November 24, 2014
Five Things We’re Celebrating at Attorney at Work

How long have you been a subscriber to Attorney at Work? Those of you who have been with us from the very beginning have been receiving “one really good idea every day” since December 2010. By our count, today marks 1,000 really good ideas in ...

The Editors - November 21, 2014
Women Lawyers
Gender Bias: Time to Leave Your Law Firm?

Question: “I’m a young female lawyer working in a midsize law firm. It’s fairly obvious that women are treated as second-class citizens around here. Are there ways that you have seen to effectively battle this bias — or do I ...

The Editors - November 20, 2014
Create a Shared Vision for Your Law Firm

Businesses of all shapes and sizes set aside time at year's end to review their mission statement, strategic plan and operational plan. Unfortunately, few solo and small law firms see the value in using these particular business-planning tools. ...

Mark Bassingthwaighte - November 19, 2014
Make Your Marketing More Persuasive

Lawyers often need to use persuasive skills in their work — convincing a judge or jury with an argument, persuading another party in a contract negotiation, convincing a client to pursue a realistic path. Yet when it comes to marketing, many ...

Sally J. Schmidt - November 17, 2014
dealing with burnout
Small Matters: I Never Said I Would Do That

In some high-volume practices, a typical engagement can be very small. Some solo lawyers make a practice out of hundreds of single-hour consultations. For lawyers in these consultation-heavy practices, it should be routine to have clients sign a ...

Megan Zavieh - November 13, 2014
Nothing But the Ruth
Solo Anxiety: It All Works Out in the End

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 ...

Ruth Carter - November 12, 2014
T-Rex with open mouth jerks at work
Senior Staff Performance — It’s Been a Long Time

I hired Pat over 30 years ago, and she has worked either with me or in association with me ever since. She never was a great legal secretary, but she's reasonably bright, loyal and, for the most part, hardworking. However, as can happen to the ...

Otto Sorts - November 11, 2014
LinkedIn Profile
Reach Your LinkedIn Goals

Using LinkedIn is a lot like any other business development activity. If you don't know what your goal is, and plan a strategy for achieving it, you won't accomplish much. At last month's Legal Marketing Technology Conference West, David Ackert ...

Sayre Happich - November 10, 2014
Windyfoggery and Other Writing Tips from the Master

Theodore Bernstein created an analog to the economic maxim that bad money drives out good: bad words tend to drive out good ones. Bernstein, a journalist and professor, wrote or co-wrote seven books on grammar and usage. As an addict of grammar ...

Theda C. Snyder - November 6, 2014
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