Surely you know that May 1 is Law Day, and I do hope you remembered Administrative Professionals’ Day last Wednesday.Â
But did you miss Lawyerpalooza 2008 (which offered “great rock n’ roll from your favorite Seattle law firm bands to benefit Seattle elementary school music programs”) or the Columbia Law School Law Revue Spring Show, both [...]
Over the last several months, I’ve noticed more and more inquiries from lawyers wanting to focus on business development. Unlike some coaching topics (career path and work/life integration, most notably), law firms often provide some business development training in-house to midlevel and/or senior associates as well as partners. Many firms even provide coaching from external [...]
Lawyers who are or aspire to be leaders must learn to self-manage. Especially when stressed or under pressure (and who isn’t, at least part of the time?) it’s easy to let self-management slide in the face of provocation. Some attorneys I know offer a blanket apology to staff and colleagues — something like, “I’m feeling [...]
 Just a few months ago, I wrote a blog entry titled, Social networking, yea or nay?, in which I reviewed an issue of Law Practice Management that featured several article advocating the use of social networking. Since then, I’ve networked on LinkedIn and I even set up a Facebook profile, though I drew the line at [...]
It’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 [...]
In listening to conversations about leadership development, I’ve noticed a tendency that at first I attributed to a slip of the tongue. People say things like, “So good management – I mean, leadership – requires [this that and the other].” Some people even suggest that management and leadership are really the same thing and that [...]
 Think back to elementary school. My guess is (depending on your generation), when the teacher called roll most students responded by saying, “Here!” And usually, especially by 5th grade or so, one wise guy (were there gunners in elementary school?!) would respond by answering, “Present!” The other kids would snicker and the teacher might look [...]
 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. Today, I’d like to consider another type of client development associates must consider: internal client development.
As an associate, particularly a junior associate who receives work from more senior lawyers, [...]
 A few days ago, I posted on the difference between strategy and tactics and recommended identifying strategy first and then move to tactics. Selecting effective tactics depends, of course, on the strategy and the ultimate goal. Building relationships almost always comes into play, though. Strong client relationships form the foundation of a healthy practice; strong [...]
Following on last week’s post examining the roles of strategy and opportunity in career planning and business development, today considers strategy vs. tactics. Assuming that you find value in applying strategy to your own efforts rather than drifting along and hoping for the best, step one is to set the strategy.  Obvious, right? Well…
April 30, 2008 
