You don’t need to be reminded what a tough market it has been these past few years. But while it’s been bad out in the trenches, imagine how discouraging it’s been for law students slogging their way through torts and contracts and civ pro classes, then studying for weeks to take the bar exam, hoping to pass. For far too many students, despite summer internships or a highly coveted clerkship, long-term legal job prospects still seem bleak. To make matters worse, many firms complain that young lawyers arrive ill prepared for the day-to-day demands of practicing law. So how are law schools — besieged by bad press and dropping enrollments — addressing this situation? ... READ MORE

Break up with your mouse! You know that old chestnut from composer Burt Bacharach, “Make it easy on yourself, ’cause breaking up is so very hard to do?” Well, that’s what I want you to do. I want you to break up — with your mouse. And I’m going to show you how to make it easy on yourself, by giving you a list of the most common, useful keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Word and Outlook.

When you open a solo law practice, especially early in your career, it’s easy enough to do everything yourself. Often you’re too poor to hire anyone anyhow, and if you haven’t yet built up your book of business, you have the time to figure things out on your own. I’ve had my firm for almost two years, though, and now I’m getting to the point where I’m so busy it’s time to start outsourcing some things on my to-do lists. Where to start? I kicked this question out to a handful of solo lawyer groups and solo attorneys to find out the first thing they had outsourced.

Courtroom or boardroom, most lawyers know that when confronted with a wall of words an audience is more likely to nod off than to receive and retain information. Online, it's no different — and that's one reason infographics have become so popular. For this Friday Five, Kerstin Firmin has lots of good ideas for turning your packs of facts into infographics that engage, educate and (oh, yes!) entertain. ... READ MORE

Want your clients to be more open and honest with you? Make them feel at home. Sounds simple enough. A warm smile, an inviting office, and you should be all set! But what if their first interaction with your firm is over the phone? How do you communicate that you’re there to help … when you’re not physically present to help? How do you gain a client's trust? Try these three trust-inspiring tips next time you’re on a call with a cautious client.

The needy client is a multifaceted and challenging customer, usually driven by the forces of overwhelming anxiety. Although they appear in different guises, your rudimentary needy client is easy to recognize based on the unusually large number of phone calls, emails, unannounced visits — and perhaps even “coincidental” run-ins at your local coffee shop. It […]

For 25 years now, Bob Denney has been taking the temperature of the legal profession and sharing his firm’s observations on the most important business trends in the practice of law. We're pretty darn proud that Attorney at Work readers are the first to receive his 2013 “What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession” report in its entirety. So what's the outlook for a profession in a state of flux?

Your law firm website is the core of your marketing efforts. Yet it's easy to take it for granted. We know how it goes — you spend time and trouble getting it to work like you want, and then you move on to more urgent things. But, really, constant attention is needed to keep your website working for you. Sayre Happich has good ideas for doing just that, from the experts at the 2013 Legal Marketing Technology/West. ... READ MORE

There are oh-so-many things to be grumpy about. We could start with politics. Or the traffic. Or even the coming holidays. But let's not, eh? Being grumpy is just too easy. Instead, let's shoot for the flip side of grumpy and go for grateful this pre-Thanksgiving day. Take something as simple as the size of your law firm. How many times have you thought, "If only I was with a [fill in the blank] firm, it would be different!" The truth is ... there's something to be thankful about in any size law firm. To wit, consider these things.

In his post last week, Joshua Lenon homed in on the "First Question to Ask a Client." So, at the other end of the process, when you've wrapped up the matter, what should your final question be? For many lawyers, it might just be, “Cash or charge?” Today, Joshua says that's a mistake. Just as there is much to learn from clients in the beginning of a matter, you can let closing a matter be a learning moment for you as well. This is your opportunity to learn from your clients how satisfied (or unsatisfied!) they are with your services. But how many lawyers and firms take advantage of the chance? ... READ MORE