For law firms, January is a time for decision-making and planning. That means meetings — lots of meetings. Unfortunately, too many of these meetings are a frustrating waste of time. If it helps at all, law firms are not alone in that experience — the whole world suffers from “death by meeting.” Consider these numbers: Professionals lose 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings (roughly four workdays). Approximately 11 million meetings occur in the U.S. each and every day. Most professionals attend a total of 61.8 meetings per month. Research indicates that over 50 percent of this meeting time is wasted. So, if it's your meeting, how can you make sure the time everyone is spending there is worthwhile?... READ MORE

If you want to run a successful business, you're going to need some key performance indicators. All businesses focused on growth pay attention to certain key pieces of data that indicate the health of the business. Law firms offer professional services with uncertain outcomes for clients, some of whom are in crisis situations. So how do you measure success in such circumstances? ... READ MORE

There's no getting around it. As a lawyer, you must be able to meet the gaze of everyone you speak to, and you should always make eye contact when addressing an audience. Easy to say, of course, but somewhat harder to execute. I’ve heard lots of tricks for sustaining eye contact, including looking at someone's forehead, necktie or hair if eye-to-eye contact makes you uncomfortable. Instead, I suggest turning to research from sports psychology to help you learn to look clients, fact finders and colleagues in the eye. Do not use the crutch of looking past or beyond people just because eye contact feels funny. ... READ MORE

The recent Attorney at Work compilation about time management and productivity ("A Matter of Time: Time Management and Productivity Tips for Lawyers") got me thinking about how lawyers are drawn to chasing new trends and technologies. It reminds me of my grandkids playing in the yard at dusk, when the fireflies come out. Soon, the kids are scrambling through the dark chasing, but seldom catching, those shiny, ephemeral glowbugs. While I have my own beefs against some of the new technology, much of it can be vital to your performance. Sometimes, though, we lose sight of the fact that any technology is a tool, not an end in itself. What makes the technology valuable is the users’ ability to use it effectively to get their work done. That requires a fundamental understanding of what your objective is and how to reach it.

Some time ago I was stunned by a discussion with a law firm that had almost been scammed into sending several hundred thousand dollars overseas. The incident involved what turned out to be a fraudulent check from a "client" and a request to transfer funds. What floored me was the firm's response to the situation. As we talked about what happened, the lawyers recognized they were fortunate to have listened to their firm administrator 's advice to not release any funds until the deposited check cleared. But even after the check did bounce, they felt unable to do anything about it, or have the situation investigated, because of a perceived attorney-client relationship and the loyalties they believed flew from that. The scammers had invested enough time in becoming involved with the firm that, even after nearly being taken in, the lawyers felt confidentiality trumped. Wow. Whoever was behind that scam knew what they were doing. I wish I could say this particular story was unusual, but I can’t. In the years since, these types of scams have only gotten more frequent and sophisticated, and it’s all owing to social engineering. ... READ MORE

I will never forget the time an executive with a large international company told of his meeting with a law firm. He and a member of the in-house legal department had agreed to get together with three firm partners, at their request. After the meeting, when asked what happened, the executive replied, “Nothing, really. We talked about a number of different things but we don’t really know why they were here.”

The e-book Paperless, self-published by attorney David Sparks (aka @MacSparky), has won an Apple iBookstore “Best of 2012” award. Okay, so it’s 2014, and I’m a bit late to the parade. But seriously, better late than never: This is one you shouldn't miss. Sparks, a self-proclaimed “Mac zealot,” wrote Paperless primarily for Mac users, so just about anyone with a Mac can use the methods he describes. But the book's big-picture paperless concepts and workflows are applicable for PC users too — and lawyers would be especially well-served by implementing his ideas. ... READ MORE

As Outlook has matured, so has its Junk Mail filter — it’s getting better and better at recognizing what’s good and wanted, and what’s bad and not. You’ll seldom find "good" mail in your Outlook Junk Mail folder, and the filter rarely lets spam email into your inbox. But it’s not perfect and will never be 100 percent right — you still have to check the Junk Mail folder from time to time to ensure email you wanted to see in your inbox hasn’t been rerouted to Junk Mail.

Productivity apps like Evernote may be hugely helpful — and popular — but some of us still like to use paper reminders like sticky notes and paper notebooks to keep on task. Dan Gold says Evernote has that covered, too, with two features that digitize your Post-it Notes and Moleskin Notebook scribbles. Today he explains how you can store, organize and pretty much do whatever you wish with your paper reminders — all from your smartphone or iPad.

Well, I took the plunge this past December and signed a lease for a brick-and-mortar office. I’d had a virtual office for almost two years, using a box at the UPS Store for my mailing address and meeting clients in the conference rooms at the State Bar of Arizona office. It was a great little setup for someone starting out. But I was tired of having to deal with meeting-scheduling issues and I wanted a stronger division between my work and my personal life. Here's how the first weeks have been going. ... READ MORE