My last post on managing aggressive clients discussed the importance of your "first response." Now we forge bravely ahead to using your physical environment to your advantage. Aggressive clients need to know that while they are under your roof, they must follow your rules. So, once you've identified (and decided to keep) an aggressive client, take care to set the stage for their arrival. ... READ MORE

Yes, it seems we’ve been talking about the big changes coming to the legal profession for a very long time. But when the shift starts making headlines in the general media, it begins to seem more real. When academia begins to roil, you know change has arrived. At this point, you’re either on the bus or behind it. If you’re feeling a little panicky, or need a nudge in the right direction, you'll find wit and wisdom on the new legal marketplace in our latest e-zine: "New Math, New Money: A Lawyer's Guide to the Changing Business of Law." ... READ MORE AND GET THE DOWNLOAD

It’s a short list of skills that separate great performers from average performers. Confidence, also called personal presence, is one of those critical skills. Those who have it (or fake it well) usually succeed. Clients expect you to have it. After all, they hired you, the expert, to guide them through their toughest challenges. Judges […]

When stalking canonical monsters, you get to pack light. For the most part, there’s only the one item you’ll need to finish the job, assuming you can get close enough, and can maintain your nerve. If you’re going to do a werewolf, you need a silver bullet. If a vampire is your aim, you’re going to want a stake. I’m pretty sure you can finish Franken Berry with a spoon. Traveling upon a rerouted mystic highway, lawyers tend to think of social media in the same fashion, at both ends of a spectrum. Those who refuse to accept there is any business utility to social media marketing discount the opportunity by proxy, in favor of the sacred objection. Those who view social media marketing as a cure-all imagine a new-fangled magic bullet, theorizing a circuitous, aphysical path through the hearts and minds of actualizing clients everywhere. The answer lies somewhere in between. ... READ MORE

In this edition of "Ask the Experts" Benjamin Shames of Valorem Law Group and Pepper Hamilton's Janine Book respond to a reader's question about money and trust. "We have an office manager, but I just don’t think it’s right to let her handle the money end of things. My partners say I’m crazy to require a firm lawyer to daily carry our receipts to the bank and handle all the bill paying. I say it is part of our fiduciary duty to the partnership. What do you think?" ... READ MORE

When it's time to get serious about creating a strategic plan for your law practice, you can easily become mired in budget details, PowerPoints and politics. To get where you want to go, though, you need to set aside the noise and minutiae and get clear about the one thing you really want. Be bold, says Fred Miller, and let that one goal drive your planning. What's your BHAG, or “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”? You probably dream about it. We all do. But how many attorneys, practice groups or entire law firms actually sit down and think about what it would take to accomplish their BHAG? In my experience, not too many! The term BHAG (pronounced bee-hag) first appeared in Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James Collins and Jerry Porras. A BHAG is a strategic business statement — one that encourages organizations to define visionary goals that are both strategic and emotionally compelling. Why not be bold and create your firm's BHAG? Here are three things to keep in mind. ... READ MORE

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.