Who are these "enterprising lawyers" anyway? Actually, they are easy to spot. Look for the more successful, more engaged and happier lawyers in the crowd. They are deeply invested in the power of the work they do for their clients, but have ample interests beyond the practice of law. And they seem to have more energy than anyone around them for getting things done. You probably know one or two—you may be one yourself! Beyond all that, though, you just know an enterprising lawyer when you meet one, and we're going to introduce you to a few more. Attorney at Work's new interview series begins today with Steve Harhai—a matrimonial lawyer who foresaw the marriage between computers and law before IBM was making PCs.

Why does a lawyer need an advertising agency? Well, most lawyers don’t have the knowledge and expertise to create a marketing campaign for their services unaided. You may be knowledgeable about every aspect of your practice, but when it comes to marketing, advertising and promoting your services to the public, you need expert help. And while advertising professionals […]

Did you know there’s a free web space available to every law firm, from solos to megafirms, waiting for you to stake your claim? Google, the Search Engine ruler, provides space at Google Places to host information about your law firm—and this information can go well beyond the basic business specs Google has sitting there now. Talk About […]

It's true, writing is a lawyer’s primary tool and a great source of pride and identity. But isn’t it also true that once in a while a teensy-weensy wisp of doubt creeps in? In the grip of writer's block, you fixate on memories of those red-penciled obscenities in the margin of your first freshman writing assignment. Someone questions your use of a semicolon, say, and you feel suddenly unmoored. Or the question of one space or two after a period is raised over cocktails and your usual patina of expertise begins to crumble: “It’s two, damn it! Right ... ?” This week's five is for the writer inside us all—the brief jockey, the aspiring novelist, the blogger, the 140-character Tweetster, and especially those of us too stubborn to put the pen down—with a few of our favorite sources of information, inspiration and amusement.

Online advice and recommendations are proving as important as personal word-of-mouth referrals, and a new study from Cone shows the former can derail the latter. Most people will rely on online information as confirmation before retaining a lawyer. That means it’s important to look your best online so that potential clients can check your credibility before picking […]

When my kid played soccer, there was a ritual at the end of every game. Each team would line up single-file, facing in opposite directions, then walk by the entire other team and slap each kid’s hand as a show of good sportsmanship—regardless of who had won. I still see vestiges of this practice among lawyers at the end of […]

Opening in theaters everywhere this week is Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and written by (among others) Aaron Sorkin, a pedigree that should generate a moderate hit for a baseball movie. But the book upon which the film is based, Michael Lewis’s 2003 best-seller Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, is really a business […]

Since we couldn't all be there yesterday at the Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West, we asked David King Keller and Jane Shahi to be our eyes and ears. For this week's Friday Five, they report on their favorite marketing tips and take-aways from the conference.

That article or white paper opportunity that seemed like a great way to enhance your reputation three months ago starts to spark panic attacks as the deadline looms. You know what you want to say, and have a file-folder full of notes and research, but “real” work obligations are pressing and you simply lack the time to pull it all together. Don't panic! Really good help is available.

"William Melater" (you can call him "Bill") is a young associate who's agreed to blog from time to time about life on the lower rungs of the legal profession as "The Dis-Associate," including—occasionally—what irritates him.