Law Firm People Management

Sometimes it just seems like you can’t get a break, doesn’t it? The network’s down, you just received your third nuisance filing this week from opposing counsel … and you’d think an associate could draft a simple brief without ...

It may be among the toughest conversations you ever have to initiate. But when you think a colleague is in trouble—experiencing difficulties with drugs and alcohol or spiraling into a seemingly intractable depression, for example—it is worse, ...

Would you work for you? Why or why not? It’s a great question to ask yourself—often—if you are “da boss” or supervise other people. It provides a quick self-audit and points to things you’d be wise to keep doing—or to ...

Your long-tenured secretary arrives at work one morning and forgets to turn on the lights to her workstation, misfiles a court pleading and fails to confirm a client meeting. You want to believe it's just temporary but you fear it's something ...

Why do so many law firms protect their jerks — and what can you do when you've had enough of bad behavior?

The deal is done. The case is tried. It's over—now you can go home and rest. Tomorrow, you'll clean up this mess. Repeat. Soon, though, colleagues begin to comment about the federal disaster area your office has become. Next, you only take ...

No one really likes conducting performance reviews. For some reason, lawyers seem particularly averse to providing feedback. Perhaps this is because much of the work lawyers do is based on individual performance, or because few lawyers are ...

Sure there are plenty of project management apps to keep us on task, personally. But can project management software be used for managing others, too? In "Project Management: Easy as 1-2-3," Brett Owens highlighted products to help you manage ...

Most lawyers eventually supervise other lawyers. How you handle this new responsibility can make all the difference in the quality of work you get and in your relationship with lawyers you may work with your whole life. Here are some tips on ...

You don’t need a coach to tell you that taking a partner or client to lunch is a great way to forge and further business relationships. But a recent—and for me, jaw-dropping—conversation with some women associates got me thinking there may be ...