Maybe this is the year you’ve committed to writing a blog. Perhaps you want to improve your client alerts or have just been given a monthly column. Talk about producing content under pressure! You’ve mastered the art of writing when you can write without being inspired. It can be done. After 30 years as a professional writer, here’s what I’ve learned.

Departing a law firm partnership can be surprisingly challenging — and potentially perilous — if you are not prepared.

Lawyers are judged by the written words we put on websites and promotional materials and in our primary work products, be they briefs, contracts, leases, warrants or wills. In an analog world, work products were buried in client or court files where few, outside of the parties to an action or transaction, would see them. In the digital world, work products may find their way to the web just like our other materials, there for all to see (perhaps forever). The upshot: When you publish any material, assume the world will see it. Strive to be clear and concise. Software like WordRake can help you.

With so many options for scheduling and tracking your meetings, deadlines and to-dos, how do you make it all work together? Today practice management technology experts Heidi Alexander, Tom Lambotte, Catherine Sanders Reach, Nora Regis and Lee Rosen tell how they keep their calendars under control.

No "space law practice" existed when Joanne Wheeler started out, but that did not stop her from building a thriving practice around her passion for the final frontier. Wheeler, an expert in satellite regulation, has held posts at both the European Space Agency and Ofcom (the U.K.'s communications regulator) and currently leads Bird & Bird LLP's satellites specialist industry initiative.

Congratulations. Your speech to the International Biometrics Association was a hit. A line of people are waiting to congratulate you and pay compliments. Many are simply being kind and expressing appreciation. However, at least some have a more serious purpose in approaching you: They want to tell you how the industry-specific problem you spoke about affects them. This is the Holy Grail of public speaking — but now what?

Sitting for long hours, indoors, staring at a computer and shoveling in bad food at work isn’t just a bad idea, it can be devastating to your health. I know, it seems almost counter-intuitive: Worker safety standards globally at are an all-time high. We have “nutrition-packed” food and, on the whole, work itself has gotten much easier than in generations past. So why are our workplaces so toxic? Here are seven reasons.

Lawyers and money do not go together like peas and carrots. Actually, let me rephrase that: Lawyers and talking about money do not go together like peas and carrots. Lawyers and managing money do not go together like peas and carrots. And lawyers and setting competitive market rates do not go together like peas and carrots.

I’m often reminded of a situation that happened several years ago. I was sitting in a building lobby killing time before an appointment. In the lobby was a small coffee shop. The line was long — out the door. The dutiful employee was making lattes and mochas as fast as he could but many people would walk up to the shop, assess the line and leave. I always imagined that the owner would look at his books at the end of the month and think things were going well and he certainly didn’t need another employee. But did he ever consider the business he wasn’t getting?

Captain Kirk, in a TV episode of "Star Trek," says, “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.” Playing is not something I do easily or often. Even in my youth, it was easier to get me to eat brussels sprouts than do something purely for fun. However, I’ve come to accept that playing is a necessity for sanity to offset the high-stress lawyer lifestyle.