Professional Development

The next time you walk into a seminar and decide where to sit, consider sending the message that you’re attentive, respectful and came to learn a thing or two.

While the most self-serving among us give the profession a bad name and justify nearly every bad lawyer joke, most of us became lawyers because we genuinely want to help people. You need only speak to a class of first-year law students to get a ...

I participate in a lot of law firm retreats and meetings, but one will always stand out. I was talking with representatives of the firm before the retreat kicked off when one of the partners pulled me aside, pointed out another firm partner and ...

Do you get nervous before speaking in front of people? Even worse, do you have trouble letting go of your performance once it's over? For lawyers especially, it can be hard to shut off your mind. So it’s useful to think about another context ...

As a judge reviews your brief, they’re evaluating your argument and your professionalism. Consider the words of the Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, in an article he wrote for the ABA.(1) “When I read a brief, the first ...

A growing body of research suggests that reading fiction increases your capacity for empathy. The basic idea is that imagining the emotional world of fictional characters is good practice for empathizing with actual humans. For example, have you ...

A personal brand is the thing that sells you when you’re not there to sell yourself. Here’s a primer on lawyer branding. To borrow a phrase from Charles Dickens, for young lawyers in today’s legal market, it’s both the best of times and ...

It’s highly unlikely that your law practice is anywhere near as noisy and chaotic as Times Square. Quite the contrary: When you go to meetings, or present to groups of lawyers or potential clients, the space is relatively calm and quiet. Most ...

If you speak English and only English, does it make sense for me to explain something to you in French — even if I speak slowly? Of course not. While you probably never make this specific mistake with your clients, almost all of us commit a ...

This time last year, many of us were anxious for 2016 to end. But instead of smooth sailing ahead, I feel like the universe started 2017 by saying, “Hold my beer” and it has spun chaos ever since. During the past month, I’ve been looking back ...