To read the year’s most popular law practice management tips, click here.
Top 20 Law Practice Management and Wellness Tips for 2018:
From the beginning, Attorney at Work’s goal has been to publish ideas that will help you “create a practice — and a life — you love.” In previous years, top posts favored tech and marketing tips. This past year, however, we saw a shift. Whether due to the zeitgeist of the times or Google’s algorithms, 2018’s top 20 more closely reflect that original goal: law firm management practical tips for building a successful law practice — with a definite tilt toward personal well-being.
In fact, more than a quarter of the year’s top posts focus on lawyer wellness. This shouldn’t be surprising: More lawyers are writing about their personal struggles, helping to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and addiction. And, based on the alarming reports on the profession, the need for this information is clear. But, honestly, we were a little surprised: Wanting to write about these topics is one thing — getting people to read them is quite another. Is it a passing fad, stoked by the organized bar’s renewed initiatives to address attorney unhappiness? We hope not.
As for the No. 1 post of the year, the prize goes to attorney and wellness coach Jamie Spannhake, with “Five Traits of Great Lawyers.” (You might be surprised at what’s included in her list.) Second-place honors go to Dustin Cole for “Why Lawyers Really Struggle for Work-Life Balance.” His bottom line: You can’t have a successful practice and a happy life if you don’t have a good grip on the basics of managing your practice.
So which other articles captured Attorney at Work readers’ attention in 2018? Without further ado, here are the most popular posts we published last year.*
The Top 20
20. Flat Fee or Hourly? Pros and Cons of Billing Options by Ruth Carter
19. Running Your Practice More Mindfully on a Legal Pad — The Analog Attorney by Bull Garlington
17. Blockchain 101: What Attorneys Need to Know by Arup Das
16. Top 10 Attorney Directories Where You Should Be Found by Chris Dreyer
15. Advice to New Associates on Becoming a Rainmaker by Mike O’Horo
14. Chronic Stress: It’s a Matter of Confidence, Not Competence by Neha Sampat
13. Make It Rain: Five Steps to Get New Clients by Heidi Nadel
12. How to Shoot for Realistic Work-Life Balance This Year by Link Christin
11. Client Communications Checklist by Danielle Flagg
The Top 10
10. The Secret Science of Mingling by Bull Garlington
9. Twelve Steps to a Profitable Law Practice by Ernie Svenson
8. Can Lawyers Ethically Store and Transmit Client Information in the Cloud? by Mark C. Palmer
7. 10 Things I Hate About the Little Things Lawyers Do by Jared Correia
6. How to Be Productive When You Are a Depressed Lawyer by Dan Lukasik
5. Confronting Lawyer Turnover in Law Firms by Link Christin
4. Taking Control: Time Management Tips for Busy Lawyers by David Ackert
3. Video: Resetting Default Heading Body Fonts in Microsoft Word by Deborah Savadra
2. Why Lawyers Really Struggle for Work-Life Balance by Dustin Cole
1. Five Traits of Great Lawyers by Jamie Spannhake
* Ranked solely according to page views over the past 12 months.
Want More Marketing Tips?
Earlier this week, we spotlighted Attorney at Work’s top 20 marketing and business development posts of 2018, here.
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