Legal Career Development

When I was practicing law at a large firm, the associate annual review period was always an interesting time around the office. This may not be true at all firms, and perhaps there’s more frequent communication happening these days, but in my ...

Your law firm cares about your personal and professional growth. But make no mistake, the law is a business — often a cutthroat one. Your firm has made a big investment in you in terms of salary, benefits, training and overhead. It expects a ...

“This is the year.” He sounded casual enough, but I saw the inner force he hoped to screw to the sticking place. “This is the year I finally get out of here and start doing things I love.” We’d been down this road before. The goal is always the ...

Big firm or small, there's a single question the partners ask about young associates: "Is she a keeper?" And, while legal skills certainly count, we all know what ultimately swings the pendulum on that question: "Can she bring in clients?" Help ...

You're in a small firm with one or more baby boomer senior partners, and they’ve just made you an offer of partnership. Congratulations. Maybe. Before you accept, there are lots of questions you should ask. Here are just a few, starting with the ...

For many young associates, their first “real” job is at a law firm. If you fall into this group, it’s likely that you’re receiving honest — sometimes glowing, sometimes harsh — feedback about your work for the first time. On the other hand, you ...

It is said that new lawyers only face two challenges when opening their own practices: not knowing how to practice law and not knowing how to manage a practice. Other than that, the rest is easy. Other than that, the rest is easy. In ...

Athletes often discuss the fact that each time they advance to the next level the game “speeds up.” The leap from high school to college ball is a significant one. Players are bigger, faster and stronger, and the game moves at a more rapid pace. ...

A great deal has been said and written about the epidemic of the unhappy lawyer. Surveys suggest that career dissatisfaction among lawyers, and even rates of depression, are on the rise. Law firm associates are not immune. In fact, a survey from ...

Regarding your self-promotion, I have good news and I have bad news. Good news: There are more opportunities to promote yourself than ever before. Bad news: The sprawl of marketing opportunities is so fractured and vast, you'll need multiple ...