Requesting an extension because of school vacation Somehow, I missed this WSJ Law Blog post in early October, which reported that Weil Gotshal requested a delay in hearing dates in a bankruptcy case (set for December 18, 19, 20, and 27) on the grounds that “These dates are smack in the middle of our children’s […]
One of the enduring challenges for any professional is navigating office politics. Regardless of the profession, office relationships can be extremely challenging and rewarding — sometimes even at the same time. Challenges can come from a variety of sources: simple misunderstandings, failure to appreciate different skills and approaches, resentment about coworker’s work habits, etc. Office conflict […]
When I sat down to write today’s post, I intended to write about how excellent client service blends into client development. I’d planned to suggest some tactics for extending the relationship so you become a “trusted advisor” (to borrow David Maister‘s phrase). One of the tactics I’d planned to suggest was, not surprisingly, taking clients […]
One of the best books that I’ve started reading¹ this year is Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The thrust of the book is that ideas that are memorable share certain common features. By learning those features, you can make your own ideas more “sticky.” The six principles that the Heath brothers […]
Today’s shorts are very, very short. Email interpretation: We’ve come to rely on email as a quick and easy way to get a message across. Quicker than voicemail and an easy way to create a record, we use email for everything from assignments to news to forwarding jokes. David Giacalone of f/k/a offers commentary on a […]
As promised in Wednesday’s post on resilience, today’s topic is how to be resilient in the face of challenges and adverse events. I recently worked with a client who tended to get stuck in things that had gone wrong or felt like slights to her. For instance, after opposing counsel accused her of acting in bad […]
I recently ran across a post by Ruthie on Ruthie’s Law inquiring, “Are you tough enough?” Ruthie suggests that: The most successful lawyers are the ones who can accept that occassionally making mistakes is the price of progression, pick themselves up, move on and vow not to make the same mistake again. The most successful of all […]
A few things from the last week that deserve to be highlighted… Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq. offers a fascinating interview with Bruce Stachenfeld of Duval & Stachenfeld, a New York-based firm that’s made the news recently with its unusual compensation plan. The firm pays first-year lawyers $60,000 and calls them “opportunity associates.” The […]
Evaluation season is coming up soon. I recently received a question that might be paraphrased as follows, with identifying information removed: “I’ve had a difficult couple of years for reasons that are partly out of my control (a serious, but now resolved, health issue and a slowdown in the work available) and partly within my control (some […]
When I review the searches that lead people to this blog, I all too frequently find some version of, “I hate being a lawyer.” Often I shrug and move on without much thought, but seeing the search last weekend took me down a different line of thought. Is this really true for the searcher? Maybe it […]