Novelists such as John Grisham and Meg Gardiner, to name two, are certainly at the top of the publishing heap when it comes to lawyers who have garnered international fame as authors. And let’s not forget those who have devoted their careers to writing legal treatises and manuals. Some even have their names as part of the book’s brand, for example, Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook. These authors contracted with medium- to large-scale publishers. But a growing population of lawyers is taking the self-publishing route — like best-selling romance novelist Louise Bay.

Across industries, we have repeatedly seen that innovative technology does not replace the unique value-add of humans. Still, the uncertainty of change can leave any profession anxious. A recent study found half of the lawyers at London’s biggest law firms believe AI and machine learning technologies will threaten their roles and lead to job cuts. It was a hot topic of discussion at last week's Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law conference, Beyond Our Borders: A Global Legal Innovation Summit.

Much time is wasted by our inability to focus our attention and effort on what is truly important. Whether due to distractions (email alerts, shiny objects, interruptions), difficulty prioritizing or basing decisions on how we feel (physically and emotionally), it's easy to lose sight of where our efforts are most needed. This leads to procrastination for some, while others feel like they're constantly working just to keep their head above water, always in crisis mode.

There's a saying that goes, “If you want something done, ask the busiest person in the room.” Many of us have been that person at one time or another or felt a pang of guilt or envy because we weren’t. As lawyers, we are expected to burn the candle at both ends. Successful lawyers not only do their work and handle their cases but are also active in their community and profession. And every successful rainmaker knows the key to bringing in new business is contacts and visibility! Unfortunately, the price of this success is often organizational burnout, stress, anxiety and depression.

Technology can be your ticket to a successful, profitable practice — or it can be a debilitating nightmare. Choosing and using technology well is essential to an efficient, growing practice with satisfied clients, a happy team — and a less-stressed attorney. If you haven’t reviewed your office's technology in more than two years, I can almost guarantee your practice's needs have changed and that your operations — and profits — are suffering.

A growing body of research suggests that reading fiction increases your capacity for empathy. The basic idea is that imagining the emotional world of fictional characters is good practice for empathizing with actual humans. For example, have you noticed that when you read a favorite novel you’re able to feel what the characters are feeling? It happens so naturally, we don’t realize this is strange. The characters aren’t real, you’ve never met them, and they’re often doing things you could never do. This is great news, right? An easy way for lawyers to develop more empathy. But can you see the challenge?

Lawyernomics is one of the tentpole legal technology conferences every year. There are only a few other events at the intersection of law and technology that bring you a comparable combination of content, attendees, vendors and, of course, Vegas! The theme at this year’s Lawyernomics is “making connections,” so here are five ways you can make important connections at Lawyernomics 2018.

Legal Project Management (LPM). It’s a buzzword you hear a lot in the legal industry as the “next big thing.” In fact, managing a matter as a lawyer is as old as the profession itself. What’s different now are the tools available to manage your matter more efficiently and even achieve higher profits. Properly planning […]

Margaret Atwood, the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has frequently noted that with all technology, there is a good side, a bad side and a stupid side that you weren’t expecting. With major advances in technology, like the internet itself, it is easy to think of examples of all three. Of course, since digital communication tools permeate the world and the workplace today, it’s almost unavoidable that lawyers’ business communications with clients are largely done via technology. So it is a useful oversimplification to state that law firms should design an overall client communications strategy of minimizing the bad, enhancing the good and avoiding the stupid. This requires thoughtful planning that must be done expeditiously and reviewed regularly because technology will continue to evolve.

Business development needn’t be complicated, difficult or distressing. However, for many lawyers, it’s all of that. Most of that can be eliminated by a single shift in perspective. It comes down to this: You need a specific market focus to be relevant.