When you’re pressed for time, you may feel there aren’t enough people or hours to get everything done. You can’t do it all — but whether it’s administrative, marketing or legal work, professional help is available on surprisingly short notice. Places to Turn When You Think There’s Nowhere to Turn Many resources, with a range of […]

Sorting email: The simplest steps to beat back email. Email use continues its upward climb. The Radicati Group recently reported that email use is growing at 5 percent per year and will do so through 2020. Though growth is slowing, the existing volume makes any increase problematic. Sorting email takes a lot of time each […]

With summer in full swing, it may be difficult to imagine Christmas and Hanukkah looming around the corner. But if the topic is holiday cards, it's not too soon to knock a few big decisions off your to-do list, like ... should we send digital holiday cards this year?

Who are these “enterprising lawyers”? Look for the more engaged and happier lawyers in the crowd. Deeply invested in the power of the work they do, they have ample interests beyond the practice of law as well. And they seem to have more energy for getting things done than anyone in the crowd. You probably know one — you may even be an enterprising lawyer yourself! Today, meet Victoria Aguilar, the inventive attorney behind Uncommonly Smart HR, a human resources consultancy owned and operated by her Denver law firm, The AR Group. ... READ THE INTERVIEW

Guest blogging? You are probably saying to yourself that you write enough as it is, and you couldn’t possibly take on another assignment. (And I feel your pain!) You spend most days creating documents and responding to clients, other lawyers and the court system. Plus, you probably maintain your own website and blog. Why on earth would you want to write a guest post on someone else's blog? The answer is fairly simple: credibility. By sharing your knowledge with more readers, you are establishing authority and building your practice. Guest blogging helps you achieve that in a few ways ... READ THE REST

A long time ago, lawyers earned new business by developing a reputation and building relationships. In the age of the social web, this really hasn’t changed at all.

“I won’t dignify that with a response” may sound very "Downton Abbey," but it won’t get you far when dealing with a potentially reputation-damaging crisis. Still, many litigants and their lawyers choose to handle a crisis in that way, which is not only ineffective but perhaps more harmful — to both your and your client’s reputation — than the crisis itself. Here are a few rules of what not to do in such situations — what I call the “three deadly sins” of crisis PR for defendants and their counsel. ... READ THE REST

Question: I am an attorney looking to build my brand online. So what social media platforms should I get active in, or are any of them really that important? A person could go crazy keeping up with every single social media platform. It's impossible, even if you had time. So we asked the experts from the Legal Marketing Association to tell us where lawyers absolutely need to be. Reputation Ink's Kristi Dosh says, "If you’re on no other platform professionally, you should be on LinkedIn." Barley Snyder's Jenna Wagner agrees, but adds that "JD Supra has quickly become a leading source for all things legal." And PR pro Elizabeth Lampert points to some up-and-comers lawyers should consider ... READ THE ANSWERS

Successful lawyers have many contacts willing to introduce them to prospects or others who can help them. Too many of these introductions are squandered because the lawyer being offered the introduction doesn’t manage the proffer properly. The result is a pleasant but vacuous meeting with no logical basis for continuity, where nothing gets accomplished, all at the cost of creating two new debts. What are the debts? When you offer to introduce me to Jack (below), I owe you. When Jack meets with me primarily at your behest, you owe Jack. We’ve created two debts. If I do this the right way, Jack will thank you for introducing me, and he’ll owe you. I have to do this before ever speaking to Jack. When a referral source offers to arrange a meeting with someone she knows well, thank her for the offer, and ask how she thinks you can help that person. Ask your source why she believes the referred contact will welcome the meeting and benefit from the meeting itself — not from the great work you’ll eventually do for them. The answer identifies the problem that the prospect will acknowledge having. It may prove to be the agenda for your meeting, but it’s definitely the foundation of any worthwhile introduction. To illustrate, let’s say that our client, Janice Brown, wants to introduce us to a friend and colleague. Here’s how that exchange might proceed

What steps can you take to better manage your time so you're truly more productive and less overwhelmed? For this month's Friday 5+ Tech Tips, we asked the practice management experts for their best time management tip: a teensy tweak or trick that has made a difference — or their best advice for overhauling an entire process, if that’s what it takes. Heidi Alexander, Carole Levitt, Nora Regis, Lee Rosen, Catherine Reach and Mark Rosch help you clear the decks! ...READ THE REST