You At Work

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. ...

Staff members do a tremendous amount of work for your firm, and they interact directly with clients in numerous ways. And by the way, Model Rule 5.3: Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants is in play. So you will be on the hook for any ...

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 ...

I sat in court recently listening as the plaintiff’s monotonous lawyer droned on about trivial irrelevancies. I watched the judge pretend to pay attention while most likely checking his Twitter feed. The few others in the room nodded off ...

A shocking number of ethics complaints stem from a very simple problem: lawyers not communicating with their clients. Clients pay for our time and effort, and they deserve to hear from us. Plus, our ethical obligations require that we be in ...

Who are these “enterprising lawyers”? They're easy to spot. Just look for the more engaged and happier lawyers. Deeply invested in the power of the work they do for their clients, they have ample interests beyond the practice of law. You ...

Initially, it was just awkward. This stranger's butt was inches from my face. Undulating. Back and forth. I could hear the loose change in his front pocket clanking against itself. He was a large man, but not large enough to block my view of his ...

Working for yourself is awesome. Working by yourself is awesome, too. You get to set your own hours, you can wear whatever you want—and you get to run your business your way. But no one warns you when you open a solo practice—especially if you ...