Top tips from Reid Trautz, Sharon Nelson, John Simek, Catherine Sanders Reach and Marc Metheny.

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the South by Southwest Interactive Track in Austin, Texas. This conference focuses on business and social media. I came away from the week with my head buzzing with ideas. Among them were concepts from a fantastic session I attended on unique businesses. One of the panelists, Scott Chacon of GitHub, had simple but incredible suggestions for solving problems more effectively. ... READ MORE

I'm lazy, and that’s a trait I try to take advantage of whenever possible. How? By relying on every software automation function available to me. If the software will do my work, I'm darned well going to let it. Not only is it faster (leaving me more time to garden if the snow ever melts), but software makes fewer typos than I do when left to my own non-automated fingers.

Staff members do a tremendous amount of work for your firm, and they interact directly with clients in numerous ways. And by the way, Model Rule 5.3: Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants is in play. So you will be on the hook for any slip-ups they make, right? Right. After all, a staff member's error or omission can lead to a malpractice claim or disciplinary complaint just as readily as a lawyer’s. And then there's the damage dissatisfied staff can do to your client base—and, ultimately, your wallet. Given this, perhaps a few staff-related risk tips are in order. ... READ MORE

When you finish up a big case or put the final signatures on a long-time-closing contract, things can get slow around your office. You might begin feeling a little panicky. It's dangerously easy at that point to slip into thinking you'd take any old legal work you could lay your hands on—just to keep the cash flowing. And sure enough, that's what you do—jump on your horse and gallop off in all directions looking for work. And, sure enough, you bring in "any old legal work."

Studying for the LSAT’s, more years ago then I care to count, I recall learning about "if-this-then-that" statements. These were the questions geared toward testing our understanding of logical concepts and our analytical reasoning skills. Who knew, years later, there would be a company called If This Then That (IFTTT) geared toward completely automating and streamlining how we get things done? IFTT is a free web service that allows you to connect two web apps together to perform automated tasks. It's incredibly easy to use—and the automatic integration that is possible between apps seems almost endless: Evernote, Gmail, Google Calendar, Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, RSS feeds, Instapaper and so many more.

ABA TECHSHOW 2013 starts this week in Chicago, April 4-6, so for this "Product Beat" we have a preview of some wares being demonstrated in the exhibition hall—including highlights from announcements released just in time for the conference. If you’re in town, stop by the Chicago Hilton to run these new products through their paces—expo-only passes are free. Watch for special giveaways and—whether or not you attend—be sure to take advantage of all the free trials.

When you're an associate receiving positive feedback for your intelligence, diligence, and impeccable work product, it's hard to fathom the need to start learning an entirely different set of skills for the later phases of your career. But success as an associate does not guarantee long-term success as a partner. Unfortunately, most law firms don't do much to prepare associates for their eventual role as part­ners; rather, they encourage the skills and attributes that make them valuable in supporting roles, primarily legal skills. Although your status increases and there may be some pay (and billing rate) increase associated with becoming a partner, this increase is bestowed upon you not so much because you are suddenly more valuable to the firm, but rather because the firm is investing in you and betting that you will grow into your new role. Promotion to partner is much more a forward-looking decision—a leap of faith based on what the firm thinks you can contribute as a partner—rather than a backward-looking decision to reward you for being a good associate. This is an important distinction to recognize because you will remain relatively vulnerable until you fulfill your perceived potential. ... KEEP READING

I sat in court recently listening as the plaintiff’s monotonous lawyer droned on about trivial irrelevancies. I watched the judge pretend to pay attention while most likely checking his Twitter feed. The few others in the room nodded off intermittently as the hearing dragged on. I myself began to ponder the zombie apocalypse. Was it possible it had already arrived ... and we just hadn’t noticed? I watched the empty eyes of the judge as the zombie attorney droned on. Was I becoming one of them?

A shocking number of ethics complaints stem from a very simple problem: lawyers not communicating with their clients. Clients pay for our time and effort, and they deserve to hear from us. Plus, our ethical obligations require that we be in touch. So, beyond it being bad business to ignore a client, it can be very bad for your career if disgruntled clients complain to the bar. To deliver great service and create positive client relationships, take the following simple steps to improve communications. ... KEEP READING