Saturday is the first day of fall. Days are getting shorter, football is in full swing, and we’ll be in the holidays before we know it. Realistically, we have about 3 months left for 2006. Today, I encourage you to pause and think about what you’d like to do with the last quarter of your […]
As soon as I finish typing this post, I am going on retreat for the weekend. I’ve checked into a hotel that has a nice view, a good desk, 24-hour room service, and oodles of peace and quiet. The high-speed ‘net connection is working here — unlike at my office — and I am preparing […]
There’s a key skill for balancing work and life, and it’s one that doesn’t come naturally to many of us. Cheryl Richardson, author of Take Time For Your Life and Stand Up For Your Life (among others) calls it “passing up good for great.” As children, we’re taught the old saw that a bird in the […]
As attorneys, we’re often faced with statements, actions, arguments, behavior, etc. that is galling in the extreme. It’s a common practice in litigation among some to make an effort to find their opponents’ hot buttons; push the button and out pops an ugly, crazy person — not someone a jury would respect or believe. (Same […]
Generally speaking, law firms use the phrase “client development” to refer to the process of signing clients that the firm will represent in litigation, transactions, etc. This blog has previously discussed client development for associates. But today, I’d like to consider another type of client development associates must consider: internal client development. As an associate, […]
I’ve been preparing a post about the challenging people we encounter in a legal practice: the nasty opposing counsel, the client who always reminds you of the cliche that with “friends” like this, who needs enemies; and even the rare colleague at work who’s a terrific attorney/paralegal/secretary/whatever but radiates fury or blame or negativity. We […]
We cannot solve problems with the same level of consciousness that created them. — Albert Einstein This is one of my favorite quotes. It is, at least for me, a truism that I must change my perspective, my way of thinking, my approach to a problem before I can possibly solve the problem. Another great […]
A lawyer dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter isn’t really sure what to do with the guy because they never get lawyers in heaven. So he makes a deal with him that they’ll let him spend a week in hell and then one in heaven and then decide where he’d like to spend eternity. […]
Generally, when anyone discusses work/life balance in the context of lawyering, the assumption is that the focus is on the “life” part of the balance, because the “work” part comes with the turf. That’s usually quite true. But today, I’d like to examine the “work” part of the equation. “[The law] is a jealous mistress, […]
I am party to some litigation right now. I am a client. Although my case is completely outside the scope of the practice I maintained in patent litigation, I am learning to appreciate what it means to be a client. Because these lessons would have served me very well when I was in practice, I […]