Legal Career Development

I always emphasize the importance of remaining optimistic when coaching lawyers on the topic of job hunting. And, lawyers being lawyers, I always need to provide some reason why they should remain upbeat. I have a simple answer: The job ...

You don’t need to be reminded what a tough market it has been these past few years. But while it’s been bad out in the trenches, imagine how discouraging it’s been for law students slogging their way through torts and contracts and civ pro ...

I appreciate a nice, tidy “to-do” list — and how moving through the list can offer clarity of purpose, digestible milestones and a sense of accomplishment. But when it comes to mapping out their career paths, lawyers can find a to-do list is ...

Some years back, I worked with the very smart managing partner of an AmLaw 200 law firm. He was an extraordinary lawyer and a strong, thoughtful leader. But he had this thing about making his firm bigger. More accurately, he wanted it to be the ...

Every year, law schools crank out twice as many baby lawyers as there are job openings, and every year we hear that the traditional market for lawyers is shrinking. The United States already has more than 1.2 million attorneys, and somewhere ...

Meet this month's Enterprising Lawyer, solo appellate specialist Walter Sargent. In 1996, Walter left the Colorado Springs office of a large Denver-based law firm to start his own solo practice focused entirely on appeals. The ...

In an interview earlier this year, Laurel Bellows, managing partner of her Chicago business and employment law firm and current president of the American Bar Association, was asked, “How do you do it? How do you do work-life balance and is it ...

Future of lawyers: Five big ideas from Suffolk Law Institute. With Professor Andrew Perlman at the helm, Suffolk University Law School in Boston recently created the Institute on Law Practice Technology & Innovation. Its purpose: To “study ...

Who are these “enterprising lawyers”? Actually, they are easy to spot. Look for the happier, more engaged lawyers. Deeply invested in the power of the work they do for their clients, they have ample interests beyond the practice of law as well. ...

When you're an associate receiving positive feedback for your intelligence, diligence, and impeccable work product, it's hard to fathom the need to start learning an entirely different set of skills for the later phases of your career. But ...