Managing a Law Firm

It happens to every lawyer—although hopefully not too often. You propose or quote a fee to a client or prospective client and are greeted with a response such as “I can’t afford it” or “How can you have the nerve to charge that?” When that ...

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or stuck on a deserted island for the past month, you’ll have likely noticed the fanfare that accompanied Apple’s recent unveiling of its latest “must-have” toy, the iPad 2. The new tablet device sold out ...

Nothing makes me happier than getting my head around complicated issues and feeling mastery over my chaotic, 21st-century life. And nothing helps me organize my scattered, Internet-addled brain cells better than mind mapping. Put simply, mind ...

Fred sat at the end of the table, sweating and looking at the six of us as we waited expectantly for his decision. He hemmed, he hawed. And he asked to go over the options yet one more time. “It’s easy, Fred. Settle or sue. We’ve been here over ...

Successful practices identify specific client groups and focus business development efforts there. But, being lawyers, we tend to classify clients according to their legal needs rather than by criteria that are far more relevant to clients: ...

Another U.S. baby boomer turns 50 every 8.5 seconds. And if you run the math, it’s also the case that baby boomers are turning 60 at the rate of 1 every 7 seconds. Yes—you in the back there, hiding your issue of Rolling Stone behind the Wall ...

If financial planning sounds overwhelming, and you work on contingency, take a look at “structured settlements.”

Speaking with a reporter is always a crap shoot. But speaking with them is far better than avoiding them. While you can't control what the reporter ultimately writes, with a little advance work you can improve your chances of getting a positive ...

It happens to every lawyer from time to time. Someone you thought was a good long-time client suddenly drops the relationship. Or, perhaps you compete for a new client and you’re not selected. It can happen for any number of reasons. Many of ...

What’s the most important e-mail you need to review this morning? It’s rarely what arrived overnight. By default, Microsoft Outlook opens to Inbox, but it doesn’t have to. Instead, you can tell Outlook to start by opening the folder of your ...