Sanctions. That word has always troubled me. It’s a contronym, a word that has opposite meanings. Lawyers know that a motion for sanctions asks the court to penalize an adversary’s bad act. But other English speakers define a sanction as a blessing. No wonder your client is confused. English has plenty of contronyms.

Earlier this year, I attended the Group Legal Services Association annual meeting in Arizona. The highlight was the spirited "State of the Industry" panel. While the panel reported that the industry isn't yet seeing change at a disruptive rate, plans and platforms alike are evolving and creating opportunities for lawyers. However, the concept of legal services plans still seems relatively unknown. To start, here's an overview.

A whopping 91 percent of in-house counsel rate an attorney’s articles and speeches as very to somewhat important when evaluating who to hire, according to the latest data from Greentarget. Just as important, 77 percent rated relevant blog posts as such. The key word is “relevant.” How to become so? By becoming a singular voice. And this means niche blogging. Why? Clients don’t hire generalists. They hire specialists. So be one.

To use a comparison from my days as a high school teacher, tactics are to objectives as strategies are to goals. You and your client are in different businesses (unless you do legal malpractice work) and have different business goals. But your client has been sued and is now at your doorstep. Now you have some common interests. You need to make sure your objectives are aligned with those of your client so you can employ tactics that will help you achieve those goals and objectives.

Sometimes lack of basic technology where it’s expected can be extremely frustrating. But forcing technology on clients without a human touch can backfire, too. We asked law practice technology pros Heidi Alexander, Tom Lambotte, Sharon Nelson and John Simek, Nora Regis, Reid Trautz, Courtney Troutman and Emily Worley about the technology lawyers absolutely should use to improve client service — and their best tip for keeping it human.

Secure client communication is a major concern for lawyers. Encryption is your best option for protecting confidential and sensitive information you exchange by email, text, voice and video calls with your clients. ABA Formal Opinion 11-459, Duty to Protect the Confidentiality of Email Communication with One's Clients, states: “A lawyer sending or receiving substantive communications with a client via email or other electronic means ordinarily must warn the client about the risk of sending or receiving electronic communications using a computer or other device, or email account, where there is a significant risk that a third party may gain access.” What are your options?

Today’s large corporate legal and insurance claims departments are learning from their peers in purchasing and HR how to leverage technology. And they are training a new category of professionals to better manage the business of law. These legal operations professionals are under intense pressure to drive efficiencies and keep costs down. Billing is one area that’s ripe for improvement.

Good marketers are good networkers. They meet lots of people in all kinds of settings and turn those people into clients. Chances are, you can be more focused about how your charity time and money integrate with your marketing efforts.

For many young associates, their first “real” job is at a law firm. If you fall into this group, it’s likely that you’re receiving honest — sometimes glowing, sometimes harsh — feedback about your work for the first time. On the other hand, you may be receiving no feedback at all. It’s up to you to discern the meaning of the direct, passive or complete lack of feedback that you receive. This means you need to understand the personality, quirks and traits of the person delivering it (or not delivering it, as the case may be).

Though it may seem like a trend among artists and hipsters, it’s not. The resurgence of old-school tools in the professional workspace is growing. People are choosing a pen, choosing a paper notebook, choosing to write a letter — not because they are faster or more efficient, but because they aren’t. Do you BuJo? Are you a pen freak? Is the Cornell method your secret weapon? Let us know.