Last year was incredibly busy for me, first with writing The Reluctant Rainmaker and then with designing programs like the Lawyers Business Development Bootcamp, plus working with many 1-on-1 clients. It was a great year, but toward the fall I started to notice that I’ve met very few of my clients and newsletter readers in… Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Subscribe to News RSS FeedInvitation for Complimentary Teleconference
Posted in Client development, NewsPlease join me on Wednesday, November 11 at 12:30 PM ET for a complimentary teleclass, “Business Development Made Simple.” Do you have all the business you want? During “Business Development Made Simple” I’ll share my rainmaking system, including: How to make the most of your networking (with action items you can implement during the upcoming… Continue Reading
Explaining a tragedy
Posted in NewsBack in April, a much-respected lawyer in Washington, DC committed suicide after being laid off. I didn’t post the story at the time because, quite simply, I couldn’t figure out what to say. This month’s ABA Journal cover story traces Mark Levy’s career, ending with his suicide in his office. Friends and colleagues remember Levy… Continue Reading
More practical law school curricula? Finally!
Posted in For new lawyers, NewsThe economic crisis and the resulting fallout has brought numerous changes to law-as-profession and law-as-business, and now law schools are bringing change to the table as well. According to an article in The National Law Journal: Washington and Lee University School of Law has thrown out its traditional third-year curriculum and replaced it with a… Continue Reading
Elite schools, unhappy lawyers?
Posted in NewsThe American Lawyer recently reported the results of a study titled After the JD, conducted on behalf of the American Bar Foundation. The study, which tracked 5000 lawyers who began practicing in 2000, found that “new lawyers working for firms of more than 250 lawyers are less satisfied with their jobs than their counterparts in… Continue Reading
Straight talk about the economy and the legal market
Posted in NewsAnother week with bad (or at least challenging) economic news. I suspect we all gasped in unison when the Dow went under 8000, and it seems to be more accurate to ask which firms aren’t laying off lawyers and staff than which are. Perhaps an overstatement, but not a radical overstatement. It seems like there’s bad… Continue Reading
Discrimination against women in law firms?
Posted in News, Women and the lawFormer law firm associate Catriona Collins sued the law firm that had employed her, Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane, claiming that she was passed over for work assignments and ultimately dismissed on the basis of her gender. Last week, the ABA Journal reported on Judge Kimba Wood’s Order denying (in part) the firm’s motion for summary judgment… Continue Reading
New and improved!
Posted in NewsIt’s been quiet on the blog this week because I’ve been busy working behind the scenes on revamping the blog. It all started last week when the fantastic person who handles all of my online activites (blog, website, hosting, you name it) sent me an email reminding me that the blog software I was using… Continue Reading
Are law firms “cuddly”?
Posted in News, Work/life balanceOr… Maybe it’s time for a change. There’s been much discussion for the past few years about the viability of the billable hour, the high numbers of lawyers (especially but not exclusively women and women of color) leaving the profession, and the high rate of lawyer depression. In case you missed it, Thursday’s New York Times carried an… Continue Reading
New issue of The Complete Lawyer: Dealing with the jerk at work
Posted in Coaching for lawyers, News, The practice“There have always been, and inevitably will be, a certain number of bullies, braggarts, brutes and bigots who manage to insinuate themselves into any assemblage of humans, the legal profession not excluded. In the past, these misfits have been dealt with by peer pressure and sanctions; however, as the rude, degrading behaviors creep ever… Continue Reading
“Because sometimes in life, you just need to be nagged…”
Posted in News, Quick hits, Special offersI ran across a handy site today: HassleMe. Although just about everyone hates to be nagged, reminders are helpful — especially to those of us who tend to be busy and pulled in many different directions. HassleMe is a free service that allows you to define how often you’d like to reminded to take whatever action… Continue Reading
Discovering my inner “hot worm”.. And changes for 2008
Posted in Coaching for lawyers, News, Special offers, Work/life balancePerhaps you’ve heard this: “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life!” I’ve seen that quote, or similar ones, attributed to everyone from Confucius to Harvay MacKay. Now, here’s my corollary: even so, you will nevertheless sometimes need to adjust priorities, to take time off, and to shift what you do.
Here’s what Lawyers Appreciate…
Posted in Just for Fun, News, The Secret Society of Happy LawyersThe second annual Lawyers Appreciate… is well underway, and the tagging continues! Here’s a summary of participants and what they appreciate. (Stephanie West Allen is also maintaining a list.) December 22 Gini Nelson (Engaging Conflicts): Lawyers appreciate justice.
Second Annual “Lawyers Appreciate…”
Posted in Just for Fun, News, The Secret Society of Happy LawyersLast December, Stephanie West Allen (of Idealawg and Brains on Purpose(tm)) and I launched a 10-day campaign that we called “Lawyers Appreciate…” We asked legal bloggers to make a post, sharing the things and people they most appreciate in the practice of law. And we were delighted with the results, which you can find summarized here. … Continue Reading
Welcome!
Posted in NewsWelcome to the new home of the Life at the Bar blog! Things are still a little dusty and under construction, but on the whole, we’re getting settled in here. Please look around, perhaps discover an old post that you haven’t seen before, and get comfortable. You’ll notice several new functions, including social bookmarking, post… Continue Reading
Are you suffering from communications chaos?
Posted in Coaching for lawyers, Coaching in general, NewsLawyers rely on good communications skills. Whether it’s in writing or in person, how well a lawyer communicates will have a significant impact on her career success. We spend a lot of time learning how to make effective, persuasive oral presentations in the context of practice, but what about day-to-day communications? These examples illustrate the… Continue Reading
Introducing BlawgWorld 2007: get your free copy today!
Posted in Blogs I like, NewsI am excited to join the fanfare introducing BlawgWorld 2007. (Download your free copy by clicking the image above or this link.) This nifty eBook includes posts selected from 77 of the “most influential” legal blogs, addressing practice management issues, substantive issues, technology issues, and more. I am honored that Life at the Bar is included. If you… Continue Reading
Recovering from a computer crash
Posted in NewsApologies for my silence of late. While traveling last week, one of the Windows files necessary for start-up mysteriously vanished. “It just happens,” say the tech support people, which is no consolation to me at all. After trying every trick in the book, including mystical incantations, I finally wiped the hard drive yesterday. I’m back… Continue Reading
Coming soon: Blawg Review #114
Posted in NewsToday is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. I once had the joy of being on a Norwegian milk boat headed to the North Cape on June 21. As we traveled northward, we could see the bonfires lit on the shore to mark the solstice. It was one… Continue Reading
Life at the Bar Survival Kit offer; clients speak out on law firm salaries hike
Posted in Billing time, Coaching for lawyers, NewsHappy Memorial Day weekend, all! Today’s entry will be brief — let’s say it’s in observance of the holiday, since I’m running to catch a flight to DC, so I can spend the weekend gardening in southern Maryland. But I wanted to post because I’m excited to be announcing the creation of a bundle of… Continue Reading
Follow-up from the NALP conference
Posted in For new lawyers, News, The practiceLast Wednesday, I attended the NALP Annual Education Conference. I wish I’d planned to be there for the whole conference, because I met some fantastic people (including Steve Seckler of the Counsel to Counsel blog) and read about a number of presentations that I would have loved to attend. But, I’d budgeted only one day, and… Continue Reading
Wednesday Grab Bag
Posted in Blogs I like, Just for Fun, NewsAnother pointer to some interesting goings-on… 1. The 800-CEO-READ Blog has an interesting post about the necessity of praising twentysomething workers for absolutely everything, because parents, teachers, and so on have rewarded this generation with everything from verbal reminders to winner’s ribbons and gold stars, following on a similar (but unlinked) WSJ article published last weekend. The post… Continue Reading
More on Administrative Professionals Day; Work/life balance in 3 movements
Posted in News, Work/life balanceIn my recent post reminding everyone that Administrative Professionals Day is coming up on April 25, I neglected to include a link to The Billable Hour, which is the ideal source for cards and gifts for paralegals. A few examples of cards: Put a nice gift card inside one of these and you’re assured an… Continue Reading
Interesting new resources for women who are lawyers
Posted in Musings, NewsOne of my mother’s friends, Margie Pitts Hames, argued in the Supreme Court in 1971, in Doe v. Bolton, the companion case to Roe v. Wade. She told me that when she went to the clerk’s office before arguing, she was told to put on her hat — because court reporters at that time were required to wear… Continue Reading