Do it now—while the phones are quiet and your colleagues are off nursing their post-holiday blues. Lean back, put your feet up, stare into the distance and make a few — emphasis on few — plans for the coming year. Focus on the strictly pertinent. If business development has long been your bugbear, the start […]

You don’t need a coach to tell you that taking a partner or client to lunch is a great way to forge and further business relationships. But a recent—and for me, jaw-dropping—conversation with some women associates got me thinking there may be some not-so-obvious obstacles to following this age-old advice. One ambitious and intrepid young woman extended to the male head of her practice group what she assumed was an innocent invitation to lunch. She was immediately rebuffed with his assertion that he never joins women associates for lunch (or any other “social” activity). Why? Because his wife objects.

As 2011 draws to a close, we bring you the biggest hits from Attorney at Work’s first year—in the form of two great downloads and two collections of posts by some of our most popular authors. Here’s your opportunity to catch up on some of the year’s best ideas. ———– Lawyer Marketing Collection Yesterday we […]

We’ve assembled the top marketing articles from the past 12 months of Attorney at Work—the ones readers told us helped them most, and the ones that generated the most “clicks”—into a handy downloadable guide to help get you rolling on your plans for next year. It may just be the starting point—or the kick in the pants—you’ve been needing. So, take a read through the tips and checklists in the Lawyer Marketing Collection, and share and discuss them with your colleagues ...

Here on the cusp of the biggest holiday week of the year, it seems nearly everything that needs to be said already has been: "Seasons greetings!" "Happy Hanukkah!" "Merry Christmas!" "Thank you!" "Best wishes for the new year!" "Don't forget your mittens!" We've said them all—with feeling—upon arrival, departure and when raising cups of cheer. The truth is, the warmth and care of traditional holiday greetings really can't be repeated too often. So, yes, we have three more things we'd like to say to you.

Warren Zevon sang about sending “lawyers, guns and money” to get him out of a tight spot. But right now, it's lawyers who are in a tight spot. It’s getting harder to make it, every single day. Between the plethora of young lawyers looking for jobs, and the older lawyers clutching their jobs for dear life, it’s a jungle out there. If you want to survive, you need to know the law, the practice and the business. If you don’t know the law, go become a politician, used car dealer or waitperson and get out of our way. For the rest, here are some survival tips:

Forrester Research calls email “the workhorse” of interactive marketing. In a recent report, “U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2011 to 2016,” they see email spending growing by a mere 10 percent, but believe marketers will significantly increase spending on analytics to better focus their campaigns.  Whether it’s a client newsletter, holiday e-card or monthly missive to firm alumni, for years lawyers have been using […]

“Here is the file. Be sure to get me a breakdown by 4 p.m.” That’s it. That was the assignment, and I had no idea what it meant. Before I could even think of a question, my boss was out of my office and into his, closing the door firmly behind him. It remained closed. I checked […]

Yes, you can make all your holiday arrangements while sitting down in front of your computer. Online shops, electronic greeting cards, restaurant reservations ... it’s all pretty clean and easy these days. But there are a few—and we’re among them—who believe you haven’t really observed the holidays until you’ve made a mess with glitter and glue, pounded a few nails, baked your own cookies and volunteered to do some dirty work for those who need it. That is what today’s Friday Five is all about. So go on and make something already!

If you haven't already, you'll want to download 25 Tips for the New Lawyer. Even experienced lawyers say it's full of useful and thought-provoking perspective. And wisdom is far from a finite resource. Several of our readers and authors have responded with a hot tip of their own for new lawyers. Here you go!