If you are proficient in social media basics and looking for a new online community, I recommend checking out Reddit. Reddit is a social media community made up of thousands of bulletin boards — called “subreddits” — on almost any topic you can imagine. Millions of people all over the world are active on Reddit. On each subreddit, users who are logged in (“Redditors”) can post a link to a relevant article or create a text post. The other Redditors can up-vote or down-vote your post, leave comments, and up- and down-vote others' comments. It is a very interactive community. ... READ THE REST

With ABA TECHSHOW 2015 taking place April 16-18 in Chicago, we're scoping out some of the most intriguing product updates and launches so far this year — including highlights from the announcements crossing our screens as the legal tech companies rev up for the big week ahead. ABA TECHSHOW draws scores of practice management technology experts and innovative companies — watch for expert tips and more news here after the conference. Practice Management Software Updates. Here's a sampling of the latest news ... READ THE REST

Who are these “enterprising lawyers”? Actually, they are easy to spot. 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! Meet lawyers Janine Goodman and Marc Lindsey, co-founders of Avenue4 LLC, a (non-legal) firm focused on advising clients with Internet assets on how, whether and when to enter the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) market. Once in the market, Marc and Janine help them find buyers for their assets. Their clients are predominantly Fortune 500 companies that hold large supplies of unused IPv4 numbers. Is this NewLaw? Sure sounds like it to us! ... READ THE REST

“The Internet is the most powerful and pervasive platform on the planet,” said Federal Communications Commission Chair Tom Wheeler on February 26, 2015. Regardless of your area of practice, these three Internet-based actions should be the foundation of your law practice's marketing plan. Website. Face it, you barely exist as a professional without a website. Prospects and clients must be able to find you, and the first place they will look is the web. Will you let others’ websites define you, or will you define yourself? The first step in your marketing plan must be creation of your website.

Peggy Gruenke | If you are ready to try flat-fee billing, here are some questions to consider.

A common frustration among lawyers is that their networks are too low caliber to provide access to decision-makers. If you have a business development plan, it is probably too generic to give you a meaningful edge over the competition. You wish you had started planting the seeds of opportunity earlier — but as a new lawyer, you didn't have the expertise or network to make traditional marketing activities fruitful. It's a conundrum that can't be solved by attending more bar association events or cocktail mixers. Instead, try using these two strategies to upgrade your network and identify better business opportunities. ... READ THE REST

Lawyers are routinely told how necessary it is to maintain an active presence on Twitter. With good reason: With 284 million monthly active users (48.2 million of whom reside within the U.S.), it’s a safe bet your potential clients are there. More importantly, consumers are increasingly turning to social media channels when evaluating purchasing decisions — even legal services. Plus, clients control more of the purchasing journey than ever before — often, by the time they reach out and contact you, they’ve already decided to retain your services. Therefore, it’s become imperative that you remain top-of-mind by communicating, engaging, building trust and establishing relationships with the people who could someday become your clients. But on a platform where more than 500 million messages are sent every day and the average lifespan of a tweet hovers around 18 minutes before it disappears into a void of cat pictures and TV show spoilers forever, how do you make sure you’re getting return on your social media investment? ... READ THE REST

You’ve finished law school and passed the bar. Now the youthful energy that carried you through six, seven or eight years of higher education needs to focus on paying the bills. If you are like many new attorneys, you are carrying six figures of debt on your back. So what if you’re part of a trend? […]

Calendar management continues to be a major source of anxiety among legal professionals — with good reason. Calendar-related errors are the leading cause of malpractice actions against lawyers, accounting for more than a full third of all malpractice claims. Missed deadlines, filing dates, and court appearances attributed either to procrastination, failure to maintain an up-to-date calendar, or user error when adding calendar entries can be incredibly costly for law firms, with the average malpractice claim in the some states costing as high as $100,000. Malpractice claims hit small firms particularly hard — according to the most recent Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims study prepared the ABA Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Responsibility, more than 70 percent of all claims are filed against firms with five or fewer attorneys. ... READ THE REST

“I don't know what to do!” he cried. “Now we're forming committees to make decisions.” I had listened to his travails for the last year as his firm slowly moldered. Morale was bad, profits had slipped down over time, senior partners had become unhappy with their compensation, and the firm's reputation had taken a couple of hits.