Legal Career Development

Who are these “enterprising lawyers”? Look for the more engaged and happier lawyers in the crowd. Deeply invested in the power of the work they do, they have ample interests beyond the practice of law as well. And they seem to have more energy ...

“What is the most important thing to your successful career?” Shelly asked earnestly.It was flattering to be asked. This young associate was interviewing the more successful senior attorneys in the firm to help her figure out how to manage her ...

The joke goes that some lawyers lack both competence and confidence; call them newbies. Some lawyers have competence, but lack confidence. Some lawyers are competent and have the confidence to let others know about it. A fourth group can project ...

Sometimes women let circumstances and self-imposed obligations get between themselves and their big dreams, says Nancy O'Reilly, editor of the new book, "Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life." ...

You know the feeling. You aren’t unhappy, but you aren’t ecstatic. You don’t dread going to work, but you linger longer than usual on that second (or third) cup of coffee before you head to the office. You wouldn’t say you are bored, but ...

There’s a tricky balance that lawyers need to strike: staying focused on the "task at hand" while keeping an eye on the future. The task at hand involves acquiring technical skills — drafting, negotiation, deposition-taking — at a relatively ...

A common frustration among lawyers is that their networks are too low caliber to provide access to decision-makers. If you have a business development plan, it is probably too generic to give you a meaningful edge over the competition. You wish ...

You’ve finished law school and passed the bar. Now the youthful energy that carried you through six, seven or eight years of higher education needs to focus on paying the bills. If you are like many new attorneys, you are carrying six ...

I shocked my contacts at the beginning of the year when I announced that I joined another law firm. (I know, I never thought it would happen either.) I am now of counsel at an IP boutique firm called Venjuris in Phoenix. I still have Carter Law ...

If you’ve ever had someone say to you, “Come in here and shut the door," because you "need some feedback" on that project you just finished, you may have an instant aversion to the word “feedback.” For many of us, it’s a synonym for “criticism” ...