Brooke Lively | We see it all the time — the more law firms grow, the less profitable they become.

Do you have $500? Good. You’re the proud owner of a new law firm! (Seriously, congratulations.) Thanks mostly to the spate of technology advances made possible by cloud services, it is cheaper to practice law than ever before, because lawyers can virtualize much of what they do. ... Of course, if that’s the direction you’re going to take, you’ll be limited to free software, which there is a lot of, even if most of it has not insignificant drawbacks. It turns out vendors that don’t charge for their services have less-robust products. Go figure. So, let’s get down to brass tacks: What else will you want to pay for, and how much will it cost?

Tomas Suros | Managing an increasing volume of cases and court deadlines – sometimes in multiple jurisdictions – is one of the biggest time management challenges for law firms. 

Trust accounting mistakes strike fear in the hearts of well-intentioned lawyers. Megan Zavieh points to 5 things you can check today to ensure you are handling client funds correctly.

Our law firm has tried many different formats for performance reviews, but often we find we are doing reviews just to do reviews. In most cases, it's merely a repeat of the year before. Do you feel annual reviews are worthwhile? What is the best format? In this edition of "Ask the Experts," we hear from Association of Legal Administrators members Michael Cohen, Christine Hashemi and Renee Mahovsky. ... READ MORE

Euphemisms are words or phrases used in place of other words that might offend the recipient of the message. The prefix eu- means “good.” Euphemisms substitute good language for what some might consider bad. Sometimes the communicator is sidestepping the truth, but, as an advocate, avoiding harsh language may benefit your case.

Chris Graham | Have you noticed that the way you read websites, emails, text messages — even magazine and news articles — has changed over time?

Andrea Cannavina | Good organization habits can make you more efficient and productive, but it doesn't happen by accident.

Learn how to quickly enter lists and repetitive formulas in Excel like a pro.

If you are an established lawyer looking to grow your practice, or a young lawyer hoping to build a book of business for the long term, you should give serious consideration to writing a book. Why? There are few, if any, better marketing assets than a book with your name on the cover. As a lawyer, there are two steps to business development. First, you need to generate opportunities, then you need to capitalize on them. Writing a book helps with both. Here’s how.