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.

If you speak English and only English, does it make sense for me to explain something to you in French — even if I speak slowly? Of course not. While you probably never make this specific mistake with your clients, almost all of us commit a version of it on a regular basis. We try to explain complicated legal problems using what we consider to be “simple” or “basic” legal language. The result is almost inevitable: No matter how slowly you talk, how clearly you break down your points, many clients still get confused.

In my December post, “A Pre-Year-End Checklist for Solos and Small Firms,” we ran through the major systems of a law practice and took stock of concerns to attend to in the new year. (If you missed it, be sure to go back and get the downloadable checklist to help evaluate where to put your energy when upgrading your systems.) So now, on to your new year’s practice renovation. Here are some of the most common trouble spots — along with tips on addressing them now that the calendar has turned over to January.

Several pundits declared 2017 “the year of artificial intelligence,” and with good reason. AI has entered our lives in so many ways, from how we interact with our phones to Amazon knowing what we’re likely to buy. But when it comes to legal marketing, 2017 was in many ways “the year of AI hype.” Nonetheless, I am confident that AI will transform much, much more in our lives and businesses for many years to come. For 2018, I suggest five imperatives for legal marketers.