Lawyer Skills

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 ...

Every year, the American Bar Association’s Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division hosts a conference jam-packed with programs covering the latest legal trends. We asked Houston solo practitioner Ashley Hallene, known for delivering hot ...

Here in the Midwest, autumn calls for heavy-duty yard cleanup time. Predictably, of course, the leaf blower broke just as the first round of oak leaves hit our lawn. The chainsaw and the hedge trimmer died next. Okay, no big deal. We simply ...

We know it sounds like an oxymoron, but a “Red-Tape Reduction Committee” might actually be the thing your practice needs. Today, Vivian Manning describes how forming just such a committee is helping her newly merged firm dispense ...

In the grand scheme of things, we are all newbies adjusting to using mobile devices. After all, even if you had one of the first iPhones, it has only been five years. Technology consultants and others who make their living helping us to find ...

I felt like Indiana Jones. Instead of snakes, there were power cords slinking around my feet. Instead of a whip, I held a ballpoint pen. Instead of a hat, I wore, well, my hair was perfect. I was not looking for treasure. No, I was looking for a ...

Well, really … why should he? I mean, knowing that people do things for their own reasons and not for yours, what’s in it for your partner to cross-sell you? Why should he introduce you to his client and promote you as someone who could help ...

Uh oh. You’re at the start of a meeting or a client presentation and it takes a sharp left turn. Perhaps you misjudged your audience or suddenly you realize you are horrifyingly off topic. Or, more commonly, you may have inadvertently hit a hot ...

In this excerpt from his book The View from the First Chair, veteran California defense lawyer Martin L. Grayson offers a crash course on the importance of courthouse demeanor, with tips for always (always) presenting your best ...