The other day, in a team review of new hire candidates, I was stunned to hear someone say they’d never be able to work with “someone like that.” All three candidates were at the top of their classes. Each had interviewed superbly and came highly recommended. It turned out the remark wasn't prompted by anything found in the resumes. A young member of our team had naturally “Googled” each candidate.

Poor writing skills can turn off potential clients and others, whether it's in an e-mail message or a formal proposal. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best lawyer for the job because people do draw conclusions based on the quality of your writing. So before writing that e-mail or letter to a client or that important memo to your partners, consider these five basic writing tips.

How do you get your online research under control when there's just so much to find, read and capture? Tom Mighell manages his online research with a system of quick steps that you can put to work in your practice, too. The process involves three Internet tools: Google Reader, Instapaper and Evernote. In part one of this three-part post, Tom shows how to get started with Google Reader.

Knowing the difference between a feature and a benefit when describing your practice can help you improve your marketing success. There’s a simple way to understand it. Think of a typical pencil. Features would include that it’s yellow and has six sides, a graphite core and a rubber tip. Benefits might be that it’s easily seen in a drawer, it doesn’t […]

When it comes to texting, you may not be in the same league as teens, but as texting becomes more and more a part of our lives, the inevitable has started to happen: Overuse injuries—carpal tunnel, eye strain, and neck and back pain. Here are some tips for those of us (and you know who you are) who just can’t put the smartphone down.

At Attorney at Work, we propose that 2011 is the year to explore kindness as a universal business principle. Acts of kindness not only bind clients and colleagues to you, they can be the key to improving employee (and practice) performance. Trendwatching.com even identifies “random acts of kindness” as the number one consumer trend for the coming year. It's a pretty easy concept to embody.

Don’t be the victim. Scammers have become more brazen in their attempts to lull unsuspecting lawyers into trusting them, and bad check frauds targeting lawyers are on the rise. But you don’t have to let it happen to you. Learn how to recognize a scam and avoid becoming the defrauded victim. ‘Tis the  season to be […]

There’s no way to avoid it: holiday parties with goodies loaded with sugar, fat and calories. Even the uber-disciplined may find themselves a few pounds heavier at this time of year. But now, according to a new study, there is a smart, simple way to combat holiday excess: Set your alarm early, drag yourself out […]

Are you making yourself sick just trying to keep focused on the work at hand and not click over to Facebook to check on your “friends?” Struggling with the guilt you feel two hours after googling a single address, once you realize that you’ve followed the rabbit down the hole and are now tagging photos […]

The other day, I took one of our new aggressive associates with me to meet my oldest client, who was bringing along his 20-something son. Over lunch, the talk turned to Twitter and Facebook, and the two kids discussed how far behind the technology curve the old fogies were. "Dinosaurs," I think they said. My associate was particularly critical of the partners at our firm and how they use, or don't use, technology. Afterward, I got to thinking about all the new communications options I have, and what they could do for me. Then I talked to different lawyers I know who use them well, to see what they get out of each one. Here’s what I learned.