“I never seem to get it right enough with him,” Sara told me, as she expressed her frustrations about being on Terry's case team. “He always has to do it better than me.” I nodded. Terry was an ace litigator, hardworking, controlling and driven ...
Otto Sorts - August 27, 2015
No one likes to deliver bad news. But things happen, and when they do it's important to let those around you know. In your law office, failing to share bad news at the appropriate time can lead to rumor and innuendo, as well as loss of morale ...
Wendy Werner - June 4, 2015
Question: From a firm administrator’s perspective, what could a lawyer do to be a better boss? Supervising staff can be a challenge, but any lawyer can be a good boss with a little conscious effort. In this edition ...
The Editors - February 25, 2015
My wife is about a million times smarter than I am. (No … 100 billion.) For my money, that’s the recipe for a successful marriage. I’m a lawyer; she’s a legal assistant. We don’t work together, though — because that would be the recipe for a ...
Jared Correia - December 8, 2014 I hired Pat over 30 years ago, and she has worked either with me or in association with me ever since. She never was a great legal secretary, but she's reasonably bright, loyal and, for the most part, hardworking. However, as can happen to the ...
Otto Sorts - November 11, 2014
Working together in a law office isn't always rainbows and puppies. There can be some serious dustups, and we all know what that means — somebody's work isn't getting done. We asked a couple of experts from the Association of Legal ...
The Editors - October 1, 2014
It's unavoidable. If the goal you and your colleagues have set for your firm is a high rate of growth, you are going to be banging your heads against a wall every day. So it’s important to know up front whether that wall is made of bricks or ...
Bob Christensen - July 28, 2014
Question: What’s the best way to deal with staff performance problems? It seems like attempting to work them out during performance evaluation discussions between the assistant and the lawyer she works for is just going to ...
The Editors - June 30, 2014 Oh, I admit I was a little hard on my colleagues, but their idea was an old one we tried years ago to no avail. I guess they felt I was a bit harsh in the process of shooting it down (again) too, because when I left the room, I overheard one of ...
Otto Sorts - June 16, 2014
Question: With the warm weather, the annual "what to wear" debate is underway at our firm — and it's probably time to update and enforce a dress code policy. Do most law firms have a dress code? Should we have ...
The Editors - June 9, 2014
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