“Relax: re·lax (rəˈlaks/) v. make or become less tense or anxious.” Being tense and anxious can make you worried, uneasy, irritable, exhausted and even susceptible to illness, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, gastrointestinal ailments and depression. And, as we all know, being a lawyer is stressful and can make you unhappy. So, We Must Learn to Relax. Clearly, relaxation is good for you. The benefits of lessening tension and anxiety are enormous. It makes you think more clearly, work more efficiently, handle stress better, and live as a nicer, happier and healthier person. Of course, a two-week vacation with no responsibilities and no calls from the office would be great. But be serious, that in itself would be stressful. What would be happening back at the office?!? A better idea is finding ways to relax, to rejuvenate both mind and body, with small amounts of time. Here are five ways to take a “mini-vacation” with minimal time. ... READ THE REST

I am going to assume that you, dear reader, had no personal information leaked as a result of the Ashley Madison hack. You may have been curious — after all, who didn’t wonder whether they would recognize someone on the list? But let's set that aside, too. With worry and curiosity off the table, I suspect many of you think this story is yesterday’s news. I beg to differ. This hack caught my attention because of the emotional response so many seemed to have. Don’t minimize what happened here because, in my opinion, it impacts every lawyer in active practice. ... READ THE REST

I often begin leadership workshops by asking this question: What do you most look for and admire in a leader, someone whose direction you would willingly follow? What one word would you use to describe him or her? I’ve received hundreds of responses, including “Honest,” “Smart,” “Caring,” “Supportive,” “Fair” and “Inspiring.” “Humble” often hits the top 10. “Big ego” never makes the list. ... READ THE REST

"One of the only": the ambiguous phrase that keeps popping up. I don't know what this means — and neither do your readers. A recent newspaper story about Martha Stewart’s sale of her brand quoted a branding maven: “When [Stewart] started, she really was one of the only people in this category in terms of experts that were really relevant.” Let’s overlook the issue of whether Martha is a “who,” not a “that”

When lawyers and law firms get focused on “creating content” (for those of you living in caves, that's what "writing" is now called), they think mostly about the subject matter. And that makes a lot of sense, for obvious reasons. But often forgotten is how to get that content in front of the intended “audience” — as "readers" are now known. In the good old days, law firms distributed their content by the U.S. Postal Service: Copies of lawyer-authored articles and newsletters were stuffed into envelopes, labeled and then run through the closest postal meter. But this once-bedrock activity of legal marketing hit its peak sometime near the end of the last century. Marketing assistants and mailroom clerks everywhere are not sad that this era is long gone. Content Syndicators Make It So Easy. We now live in the time of digital distribution, usually via email. But the inherent and entirely predictable problems of law firms (mis)managing their email lists has led to the emergence of “content syndicators” or “content aggregators” specifically for lawyers and their firms. ... READ THE REST

Although it isn’t something I freely admit to my friends outside the legal world, I can share with you how much fun I routinely have on Oyez.org, the Supreme Court media site. If you haven’t checked out this site yet, do so immediately! ... READ THE REST

Question: We’d like to start a client feedback program. What do we need to consider when implementing this type of program? In this edition of "Ask the Experts from the Legal Marketing Association," Jim Jarrell, Stacy Smith and Ian Turvill lay out the options for setting up a system for gathering and using feedback to improve your relationships — and your profits. READ THE ANSWERS

Let's recap where we left off last time (in my post "When You're Offered a Referral"): Your friend, Janice Brown, introduced you to a colleague, Jack, whom she believed to have a legal issue you could help with. Beforehand, you discussed with Janice whether she thought he would welcome the contact and how he might benefit from a meeting with you, let alone any ultimate legal advice. The introductory phone call to Jack went well, narrowing the focus on his current problem, and you agreed to meet to discuss it in depth.

In Friday Five+ Tech Tips, we invite law practice management and technology experts to share their favorite tips and tricks for tackling everyday quandaries that can prevent you from keeping your practice humming along smoothly. In the end, of course, it's all about teamwork — and that's this month's Tech Tips 5+ topic. We asked a dream team of law practice technology pros for their best advice on collaboration tools for lawyers. Here's what's up the sleeves of team members Heidi Alexander, Tom Lambotte, Tom Mighell, Jim Calloway, Dan Pinnington and Nora Regis. ... ... READ THE REST

“I never seem to get it right enough with him,” Sara told me, as she expressed her frustrations about being on Terry's case team. “He always has to do it better than me.” I nodded. Terry was an ace litigator, hardworking, controlling and driven to win at everything. We had even stopped inviting him to poker night, where several of us got together to play cards, opine about life and drink a little too much. With quarter bets and a $30 limit, usually everyone could play all night. When Terry was there, though, half of us were out within the first few hours, and he wasn't a particularly graceful winner. His need to win made the nights he was there less fun.