Archive

How many times have you heard something to this effect: “The key to getting clients is to just do great work.” Well, I’m here to tell you that’s a partial truth, at best. Clients expect you to do great work. Clients expect great work. That’s what happens when you pay upwards of $150/hour for someone’s […]

I was involved in a multiparty email exchange about a pre-trial scheduling order. As sometimes happens in conversations among many lawyers about how much time to allot to discovery, expert disclosures, and dispositive motion deadlines, things went a little sideways. And since all this communication was occurring by email, no one could read anyone’s tone, […]

Before going to law school, I was a high school teacher. I stood in front of classrooms of kids all day. During the fall, I coached football. In the winter, I helped with the basketball program. In the spring, I went to a lot of baseball games. And when on summer break, I framed houses […]

A couple of weeks ago, I got a message on LinkedIn from a headhunter asking if she could talk to me about an available job with another firm in town. I’m happy where I’m at and not interested in moving, but I told her I would talk to her anyway. I’ve long tried to operate […]

If you are a lawyer who’s been grinding away for a couple of years at a job that makes you miserable, a job you hate, you need to read this. You need to stop whatever you’re doing, to receive some hope and encouragement. Maybe you don’t know there are other options. Perhaps you don’t think […]

Myth: Marketing Is for Extroverts In times gone by, marketing was done by wining and dining clients and potential clients. Wining and dining is the preference of extroverts. Those personalities who thrive on engagement with others. It was the way of the world. And there is still a place for that, but there are also […]

When I was a baby lawyer being introduced to a client by one of the partners, he described me as “our smartest associate.” I thought my heart would explode with pride. After my initial internal dialogue of “Wow! That’s awesome,” my next thought was, “I’m not sure that’s true.” But even if it were true, […]

Myth: Effective Marketing Lets Potential Clients Know How Great You Are Your potential clients don’t need to know how great your are. They couldn’t care less about where you went to law school or how high falutin’ you are. Among other things, this emphasis on the wrong things is what lawyers get so wrong with […]

When I started this blog in June of 2016, I did so without too much trepidation. I was essentially briefing cases and writing about my practice in ways that I was pretty comfortable with. But then I wanted to branch out. Slowly, I started to have ideas about other things I would like to write […]

We live in what has been called the “gig economy.” It seems like everyone has a side hustle where they’re earning extra income – Uber drivers, dog walkers, ghost writers, podcasters, renting out their primary residence. You name it and there’s likely a niche market. But should lawyers be looking to take advantage of this […]