Ever wonder why some writers get all the attention online? Their posts get shared, their personal brands grow, their email lists swell, and their fortunes rise as their content receives an outsized share of eyeballs. It’s easy to dismiss their success as luck, by concluding that it resulted from a post going viral (as if hitting "Publish" is the same as pulling the lever on a slot machine), or connections with influencers that others don’t have. The truth is, those who break through are fundamentally no different from the rest of us. They just act differently. They know what it takes to produce content that cuts through the noise and provides real value to readers. In fact, readers perceive their content to be so valuable that they share it with others — they’re smarter for having read it and assume (rightly) that members of their own networks will think more highly of them for having exposed them to it as well.

New Year's resolutions, like eating healthy or spending more time engaging with friends and family, are quickly abandoned when you're under constant scrutiny at work. (There's nothing like a civilized “Hunger Games,” right?) But you do have some control. Here are five tangible, realistic ways to get some balance in your life.

The best rainmakers are often great networkers. That doesn’t mean they are necessarily good schmoozers or enjoy working a room; in fact, many do not. It does mean they know and connect a lot of people. Many lawyers think of networking as disingenuous or self-serving. But your personal efforts will be more rewarding and effective if you focus on the best reason for networking: to know the right people so you can help others.

Congratulations! You survived law school, passed the bar and got a job. By now you’re somewhat settled in. Some partners have learned your name, and you’ve received a few paychecks. So, what will you do with the steady earnings? Since it is far easier to start your financial life on the right foot than be forced to adjust bad habits decades later, here’s a checklist covering what to do and what to avoid as a new attorney.

Legal technology is a $3 billion industry. Having established its roots in case and document management, it is increasingly infiltrating firm marketing departments. And that’s a good thing. Attorney at Work contributing editor Susan Kostal spoke with marketing technologist Scott Brinker, VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, about how technology is changing marketing and elevating its role in organizations. Brinker keynotes at the upcoming LMA Tech West conference.

Raise your rates? What is an hour of your time worth? Some might say, “Whatever the market is willing to pay.” How did you decide your hourly rates? How do you make more money? The two obvious ways are work more hours or charge more money. Toward the end of last year, I was debating […]

PracticePanther is one of the fastest growing case management / legal practice management software providers. Thousands of attorneys in more than 35 countries have switched to PracticePanther because of how much time and money it saves them. But wouldn’t it be nice to know what features they love? Which ones really make PracticePanther stand out […]

Remember the clickbait headline, "Sitting Is the New Smoking"? One of the latest iterations of the perennial office ergonomics conversation, it helped give rise to the notion of an "active workstation." I wish the headline jibed with reality. It could be better rewritten as "Not Moving and Other Unhealthy Choices Are the New Smoking."

To make the best decisions for the future of your law firm — whether setting marketing priorities, undergoing a new strategic initiative or developing a new mission statement — it’s essential to obtain the right insights and perspectives. That’s where these three research approaches come in: primary, secondary and internal research.

Oh, balderdash! I just read that using profanity enhances team building in the workplace. Say what? Apparently, a vocabulary of four-letter words brands you as part of the “in” group in the information technology industry, and the practice is spreading.