For every attorney-paralegal relationship that is built on a foundation of mutual respect and admiration, there are several razed under constant consternation, engendered by a sense of entitlement on the lawyer's part. For every long-standing relationship between a lawyer and his office manager, there are several that won’t even last a year, as part of a larger cycle of constant ingress and egress. This equation could be reversed, however, if more lawyers recognized the true value of support staff, by treating them as colleagues within the context of a team environment, and abandoning the de facto caste system ... READ THE REST

Running a small law firm is no easy feat. Aside from the fact that law school gives you little in the way of business or technology skills, there’s also the small matter of spending the majority of your time dealing with people at some of the most stressful times in their lives. If you get busy or successful enough to grow, it’s then very difficult to keep everyone in the loop on what’s happening in each file. The sheer volume of emails, phone messages, documents and notes means that despite it being 2015 the reality is you’re tied to paper and the physical file. This is often the point that firms look for a Case Management System — once they become overwhelmed ... READ THE REST

Why is it that we take care of everyone and everything else before we take care of ourselves? Why do we neglect our needs in ways we would never tolerate from another person? Why do we accept this self-treatment? Perhaps it's because no one holds us accountable but ourselves, and we generally do a very poor job of that. Or maybe we think it's selfish to prioritize our own well-being over everyone else's. But it isn't selfish. In fact, it is crucial to our well-being, and benefits our work and the people around us. We simply need to re-frame the conversation we have with ourselves. Instead of saying “Me first,” think of it as “I am as important as all the other people and things that are important to me.” READ THE REST

We’re a bit obsessed with numbers at Attorney at Work. (You have seen “The Friday 5,” right?) As of July 1, we figure our expert contributors have written more than 1,150 original posts since our 2011 launch. That’s “one really good idea every day” for 1,150 days.  We’ve run the numbers on this past year, too, and during our summer break, we’ll be highlighting nine […]

After each recent Supreme Court ruling, I noticed a common pattern. Certain law firms would send an alert within hours, advising readers of the decision. Over the days that followed, other firms’ advisories would trickle in to my inbox or Twitter account. Some are still arriving. News, of course, can present a marketing opportunity. However, the benefit you receive from informing others about it will depend on many factors, including your competition for the readers’ attention, the timeliness of your message and the quality of the piece.

Even the best writer can sometimes confuse words that sound almost the same — call them sound-alikes. A prior post reviewed many of the most common pairs. Here are some more.

One of the downsides of traveling is that email keeps coming in while you’re gone. Although I had an awesome time doing The Undeniable Tour earlier this year, and speaking at the Ungagged conference in London, my inbox turned into a nightmare while I was away. I prefer to keep the population of my inbox at 25 or less. That way I can see all pending messages on one page. I get easily overwhelmed and distracted if I feel like too many pressing issues need my attention. When I got back from London, I had nearly 300 messages in my inbox. Bah! It was time to get a handle on this. ... READ THE REST

Go to law school. Work hard. Get a job at a big firm. The road map for becoming a successful lawyer used to be fairly predictable. But these days, many talented lawyers, uninspired by the BigLaw hierarchy, are striking out on their own. We're seeing more lawyers with entrepreneurial spirit start boutique firms or solo practices, finding new ways to deliver excellent legal services on their own terms. Carving out a distinct space for a new law practice and attracting the right kinds of clients is no easy feat. One big challenge: Without an existing big firm brand attached to your work, it’s up to you to establish yourself as a thought leader and stand out in front of peers and potential referral sources. But what does that mean? How do you find your target audience? And what makes for a true thought leader? Here are five tips for becoming a thought leader in your field. ... READ THE REST

It’s something you hear when you’re starting your career (and something you’ll hear constantly, throughout your career, if you’re a nonconformist): "You have to be more professional." Of course, that begs the question, just how does one "be professional" in the first place? Think about what your definition for professionalism has been. It’s not something you came up with yourself. No one is coloring a particularly sweet giraffe in kindergarten thinking: "How can I do this kindergarten thing in a more professional manner?" You don’t start thinking about this notion of professionalism until you start working — and not because you feel like it's the right thing to be doing, either. Someone (your first boss, a teacher priding himself on remaining grounded in "real life") started drilling the idea into your head. "Professionalism" — never was there a finer term to air-quote. ... READ THE REST

“What is the most important thing to your successful career?” Shelly asked earnestly.It was flattering to be asked. This young associate was interviewing the more successful senior attorneys in the firm to help her figure out how to manage her own legal career. But I asked her to come back later, so I had time to think on it.