Communications Skills

The amazing array of communication technologies at our fingertips allows us to connect with clients, colleagues and resources across the world in ways unknown and unheard of just 10 years ago. On the flip side, many things get lost in ...

It's gone now, but I remember the coffee shop across the street where we used to gather in the mornings to brace ourselves for the coming day and generally shoot the shit with each other. It was a shifting set of players from nearby law firms. ...

Last year I went to a reunion of sorts with a couple dozen former colleagues from my college newspaper. Itinerant profession that it is, journalism had scattered us across the country into a broad range of media industry jobs. Over the years I ...

Anyone who knows me (or follows me on Twitter) knows that I love sports, particularly my beloved Golden Gophers. So it should come as no surprise that I watched the press conference with our new men’s basketball coach, Richard Pitino. After ...

Maybe it's time to accept that email just wasn't designed to do all the things we try to get it to do. Like manage projects and files, share documents or (groan) schedule meetings. It's not just that it's considered "old-fashioned," but with so ...

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 ...

It seems excellent lawyers do not always produce excellent legal writing. Whether due to a lack of time, of mental energy, of colleagues available to proofread, or of awareness of just how bloated a legal document can get, good lawyers sometimes ...

“No problem,” he said, as he emerged from the alligator-infested river. "No problem," he said, as he slaughtered half a tribe of natives. “No problem,” said the hangman, as he yanked the lever to hang the man—but not for slaughtering the tribe. ...

I’m tired of it. It’s off-putting. It hurts your professional image and undermines your marketing if you’re one of the perpetrators. I’m talking about bad grammar and spelling, the stuff that gets past spell-check. I see it in briefs. I see it ...

Lawyers, it turns out, are not so special. They have just as much difficulty writing and speaking well in their native tongue as the next person. Poor grammar. Jargon. Weird syntax. The ever-popular use of 10 words when one will do. You have ...