A person could very quickly lose his mind trying out this or that marketing idea du jour. Is social media the ultimate answer it’s chalked up to be? If you hire a public relations firm to toot your horn for you, can you avoid actually having to sell yourself ... yourself? Well, any marketing expert worth her lengthy contact list will tell you there is no one answer. But there is a surefire way of framing your marketing thinking so that you can create a plan that works—for you.

“I told him right to his face what the deal was. And you know what? That lying scumbag now claims I told him something else! I’m gonna nail him, his client and his client’s mother, if that’s what it takes to teach him not to lie to me!” Once I’d calmed down my partner and […]

It’s easy to feel all alone when you have a [fill in the blank] challenge in your practice. Cash flow slowed to a trickle? Stagnation on the business development front? Ethics scare? Or so burned out you just don't care? You name it and you know you didn’t learn it in law school. So where to go when you need a helping hand?

Law offices tend to be set up quite traditionally. Plenty of lawyers are still users of fax machines and their offices usually contain ancient beasts known as stenographs. It is no surprise that lawyers tend to hire traditionally as well. But there's an alternative route to traditional hires that may benefit your practice: the virtual assistant.

While you probably don't give it much thought, the value of answering your phone properly can be enormous. On the other end of a ringing phone may be a potential client worth thousands of dollars or someone who may be able to refer many new cases to you. How the phone is answered—assuming that someone actually answers!—has a big impact on how many of those calls develop into new business.

Even if your practice isn't in transition right now, it's good to stay on top of the market trends for planning purposes. Twice a year, Bob Denney identifies the most important current trends in the business of practicing law, including what's hot and not in practice areas. This time around, Bob's taken a deeper look at those practice areas just for Attorney at Work readers.

When it comes to self-promotion, are you your own worst enemy? Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way and simplify your thinking about establishing a public voice and a presence—be it via the traditional media, social media or a combination. Here are some actions you can take now to increase or expand your exposure.

Starting your own law firm is similar in many ways to starting any business. You already have the law stuff: You've been to law school. You’re a good lawyer. You have clients who will stay with you. That’s the law stuff. But what about the business side?

Every morning, Outlook initializes with a trusty Microsoft registered trademark to greet you, and you go along merrily sending emails and calendar invites like a pro. There’s more to our steadfast friend Outlook than churning and burning emails and invites: There’s hidden treasure in that little icon. Knowing some of these hidden Outlook treasures can improve the efficiency of a software application you already own and use daily. Here are some favorites.

Go on, you know you want to. Throw the mess on your desk into piles and head home early. Pour a nice tall cool one, put your feet up in a shady spot and take a bite out of your summer reading list. Don't have a list? That's what we're here for. Today's Friday Five features five collections of reading lists. Now there's absolutely no excuse to be found in your office over the weekend!