In the past, if you wanted to put call-tracking numbers on your local directory listings, you'd get some dirty looks. That's because 100 percent consistency in your NAP (name, address and phone) is critical. The thinking was that adding call-tracking numbers would ruin your citation profile and your search rankings. Well, things have changed: You can use call tracking on your GMB listing. Here's how to do it.

I have a group of mental gremlins that live in my head. Other people I know call their gremlins “the girls” or “the committee.” These are the voices in my head that tell me I suck at everything. Do you have a name for yours? When my gremlins get on a roll, my thoughts can snowball quickly out of control. They can start with any topic and then run the gamut within a matter of minutes: “I’m a bad dog parent. I suck as an athlete. I’m a crap lawyer. I never get anything done.” Of course, everything they say is a lie, and thankfully, I know that. But their perpetual negativity is hard to live with at times.

Pandemic or not, our clients don’t stop needing us. As a lawyer and mother, I often say, “I don’t have time to be sick!” As we all know, without your health, nothing else matters: You cannot work, take care of clients, be there for your family, or manage your work and life. While many people focus on medications to get them well once they are sick, you can take preventative steps to boost your immune system and avoid getting sick in the first place. Here are five tips to help you stay healthy

As members of a conservative industry that — literally — wrote the rule book on sexual harassment, law firms need to be ready for a day of reckoning that seems inescapable. Right now, the focus is still largely on Hollywood, mass media, Wall Street, Silicon Valley and politics … all professional arenas historically known to operate by their own set of rules that have been at equal turns brushed off as socially acceptable, emboldened after career-ending threats kept censure at bay, and vigorously defended in a courtroom. But the shakiness of this dynamic is that the lawyer standing beside every Steve Wynn, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Gavin Baker, Travis Kalanick or Al Franken is most likely operating from his or her own "house of cards."

Law firms aren’t great at customer service. Spoiler alert: Neither is the TSA. Indeed, even where law firms are less likely to be gropey, there are similarities between the two. The TSA’s problem is that it is trying to enforce a robust security program at the cost of consumers' convenience. Law firms are kind of like that, too. A major part of what a law firm does is to act as a steward of its clients’ information. To protect client information more diligently, the firm needs to inconvenience clients further. Passwords, encryption, secure email. It’s barrier after barrier placed in front of the destination, all in the name of protecting information no one can get at any longer. Of course, if it was up to the average lawyer, they wouldn’t do any of that. It’s the increasingly rigorous laws and rules that require it. I bet you didn’t know, Mr. Big Shot Lawyer, that you were a glorified TSA screener?

The Legalweek 2018 sub-conference Legal Diversity and Talent Management featured speaker panels from various sectors — law firms, companies, startups, bar associations and government. Being surrounded by legal innovation and discussions of the future of our industry, it was inevitable that LDTM focused on the future of diversity in that industry as well. How can law firms engage with that future? Here are five things I learned.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity method has been wildly popular since its debut in 2001. "Capture" is one of the most important steps in the GTD process, and nothing captures ideas faster than pocket notebooks. I know, Evernote is amazing and you can use the GTD method to transform into a magical unicorn of production. But when it comes to jotting down brilliant ideas on the fly, which opens faster: your notebook or your phone? Here are five great notebooks for your purse or pocket that never lose power, offer the highest level of definition and are fairly stylish to boot.

Over the years, I’ve conducted thousands of client interviews to gather feedback on outside counsel. The discussion frequently turns to how a firm first started representing the client, leading to stories about what lawyers do well — or not so well — when trying to pitch for business. Mistakes range from not doing enough to doing too much in business development meetings. Let’s assume you have an opportunity to meet with a prospective client to discuss helping with a company’s legal work. Here are do's and don’ts to make the most of your opportunity.

Unfortunately, there is no template or set of instructions that works for every lawyer. I have seen a lot of tactics executed with varying degrees of success. What seems to work best is engaging in an activity that is natural to you. What do I mean by "natural"?

Since 2009, the number of legal malpractice suits has escalated along with the costs to defend them, according to annual surveys by Ames & Gogh, an insurance broker. They say insurers have paid claims of $50 million or more in 2016, and that malpractice claims are most commonly triggered by conflicts of interest and cybersecurity issues. Business transactions result in the most claims, which tend to center around improper preparation, filing and/or document transmission. If you want to do everything possible to ensure you’re never among the firms accused of malpractice, take advantage of law practice management software, advises Nerino Petro, technology co-editor for the ABA "GP|Solo Magazine" and CEO of a legal consulting firm. Here are four reas