I’ve noticed that the best rainmakers usually have really good legal administrative assistants (LAAs), and these lawyers are generally very good at engaging their LAAs in activities to nurture existing client relationships and even develop new ones.

Now that we are in the third quarter of 2016, we can look back and assess some of the year's health and fitness trends. Which ones have real staying power? There are always many predictions for what will be the go-to diets, workouts and lifestyle changes. Here are five trends predicted to change our lives for the better, and a verdict of whether to keep them — or let them go.

“My life sucks.” That’s what I said during the weekly video call with my mastermind group a few weeks ago. My life is actually awesome, but it’s challenging with the amount of work I’ve heaped on my plate. Between clients, speaking engagements and new product ideas, I was overwhelmed. I could not wrap my head around everything I wanted to do and everything I was already committed to doing. I needed to get organized — in the global sense. I needed more than a to-do list or a calendar. Glancing over at the empty wall in my office I thought, “I can use that.”

Next month, Merrilyn Astin Tarlton's new book hits the streets, and we couldn't be more excited. "Getting Clients: For Lawyers Starting Out or Starting Over" is the best response yet to that age-old plea, "Tell me how to get some clients!" And, starting today, Merrilyn will be writing a new monthly column of the same name — because based on what we've been hearing, you just can't get enough help getting clients.

Earlier this month in San Francisco while speaking at the Legal Marketing Technology Conference West, I made a startling observation. Marketing automation in the vast majority of law firms is either nonexistent or 10 years behind the times. What a CPA Firm's Revenue-Generating Website Can Teach Us. I did a panel together with Eric Majchrzak, CMO and shareholder of Arizona accounting firm BeachFleischman. Although Eric's firm is small in comparison to most large law firms (with approximately 100 accountants and CPAs), they are light years ahead of most law firms in terms of online marketing. The website that Eric and his team have created is a revenue-generating machine, projected to bring in half a million dollars in new business this year, and over $1 million next year. Does your website do that? It can. But it won't, unless you make these six fundamental changes to your online marketing strategy.

The Legal Marketing Technology Conference West in San Francisco, produced by the Legal Marketing Association and its Bay Area Chapter, is a forum for product debuts and first looks at new ways of doing business. This year’s conference (held Oct. 5-6) did not disappoint. Without ado, here are five marketing technology and social media trends to watch.

Technology continues to raise clients' expectations. They want improved performance, better communication, accurate billing and quicker results. Lawyers will fail to keep up with those expectations if they refuse to incorporate the necessary technology into their work. Brilliant tools are available to help you meet clients' desires faster, without compromising on quality. Here are five types of productivity tools, and a favorite in each category.

Email may be good for maintaining a relationship, but it is not good for building one. Both email and texting are fast, convenient and essentially allow nonstop 24/7 communication. The downside is they are easily misinterpreted — and emails have become so numerous many go unread or wind up as junk. When you have face-to-face contact, or even talk by phone, the conversation naturally strays into other areas, and you get to know someone as a person. Clients expect a professional to be technically competent, but they also want to work with someone they like and trust. Using the right mode of communication for the given circumstance will help you build and maintain strong relationships and stand out from the crowd

Comma placement matters. Broadway musical Hamilton’s Angelica Schuyler sings in “Take a Break”: In a letter I received from you two weeks ago I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase It changed the meaning. Did you intend this? One stroke and you’ve consumed my waking days Hamilton wrote “My dearest, Angelica.” He calls Angelica his “dearest,” a noun expressing extreme affection. If Hamilton had omitted the comma, “dearest” would be an adjective. The phrase in a letter to his sister-in-law would be more formal, like the “Dear Sir” opening of a business letter.

You spend the whole day in court, or in meetings and conferences with clients. And what do you have to show for it? A legal pad filled with scribbles, a few random thoughts on sticky notes — and more scribbles on the back of an envelope because you couldn't find a notepad in your bag? You may have even more notes on your computer, but are they associated in any way with the legal pad, sticky note or envelope? If you are smirking, you know you are as guilty as me. Fortunately, organizing projects and tasks doesn't have to be as hard as you think.