When sanctioning lawyers who have violated the rules, ethics regulators typically consider a set of aggravating circumstances that can increase the punishment, as well as a list of mitigating factors that may reduce it. These factors may include prior discipline, or lack thereof; harm, or lack of harm, to clients; or extreme mental or physical duress on the attorney's part at the time of the misconduct. Not every state agrees, however, on how to treat the attorney's length of time in practice. Should mature attorneys have known better and thus be sanctioned more harshly? Or having gone so long in practice without discipline, should they be cut a break? This lack of agreement among the states raises an interesting question ... READ MORE

Trust: It’s a quality that supports ease of communication and smooth case management and secures your colleagues’ and clients’ loyalty. But with so much happening today in the online space, how do you establish it? Here are four building blocks of establishing a trustworthy persona in your online legal communications — one that will stick with you offline as well. ... READ MORE

If you know their names — and there's a good chance you do — you may think of Peter Giuliani and John Remsen as consultants who advise AmLaw 200 firms. But today they are also the experts for the Association of Legal Administrators' edition of "Ask the Experts," answering the question: "We hear about big law firms and their strategic planning processes, but what about smaller firms and solos? What process do you recommend?" ... READ THE ANSWERS

To grow your law practice, you have to get more clients, right? But is that really the best growth strategy? Not necessarily. For many law firms, the right strategy is to get better, not bigger. Pursuing growth — more clients, more billable hours, more staff — for growth's sake is often counter-productive. Good growth — sustainable, manageable, profitable, enjoyable — requires a different approach.

Let's say you're an average Joe who needs to find a local lawyer. Finding the right one can certainly be a difficult quest. Where do you start? Many might think a person's automatic first step would be to ask a few friends if they've used a lawyer they can recommend. But according to a new FindLaw survey, consumers are more likely to head straight to the Internet. Thirty-eight percent of people in the 2014 FindLaw survey said they would use the Internet to find a lawyer, compared to 28% who said they'd ask a relative or friend. That's a big shift from a similar survey less than a decade ago, in 2005, when only 7% said they'd use the Internet and 65% said they'd ask a friend or relative. The problem there for lawyers? The Internet is such an overcrowded space that the only thing more difficult than finding the right lawyer might be getting found if you’re that lawyer. Enter the solution: Learning how to win at "local search marketing" ... READ MORE

It’s simple math, actually. You can fiddle around with yearly billables expectations, “pieces of the pie” and annual hourly rate adjustments — and even stop stocking free coffee in the break room. But your ability to build a legal business that thrives — one that makes money — is going to require a more systemic approach.

Your vocabulary is probably better than the average reality-show star, but if, you know, you are addicted to “amazing,” or find yourself, like, OK, wanting to, like, break some of your, uhm, bad speech habits, this post is for you.

The legal world really is starting to work differently. And while the path is uncertain, change is certainly creating opportunities for new career directions. For our "New Math, New Money" download, legal careers expert Wendy Werner asked a few smart people for their best advice in response to this question: “What’s the one thing a new lawyer should do right now to prepare for tomorrow’s law jobs?” For this Friday Five, we have their smart answers, plus Wendy's own wisdom for new lawyers. READ MORE

Question: “After several networking lunches and casual meetings with a potential client, she invited me to come meet with her and her staff to “tell us what you can do for us.” What should I do? How can I make sure I stand out and get the work?” In this edition of “Ask the Experts” we hear from Legal Marketing Association members Stacy Smith, Jim Jarrell and Paul Bonner. ...READ THEIR ANSWERS

In this series, Oklahoma attorney Noble McIntyre has been offering tips on rolling out the welcome mat for clients and prospective clients. His first two posts provided pointers on phone etiquette and office appearance — but it's the people in your firm who set the tone. In this installment, Noble looks at how their behavior can help instill client confidence. In every interaction with a client, the people involved are the most important element. And on the firm's side, it’s not just about you, the client's lawyer, but about the other people in your office, too. ... READ MORE