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How I Got Over My Fear of Asking for Things for Me: I Treated Myself Like My Own Client
By Claire Parsons • September 18, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues
In my practice, I routinely ask for—nay demand—things on behalf of my clients without a second thought: produce the documents, dismiss the complaint, find in my client’s favor, etc. But, when it was time for me to take a step forward in my own career, I was startled to see how hard it was to ask for things for me. To be honest, it felt downright unnatural. This had always been a problem for me. I remember as a kid getting jealous when my mom came home from the store with a purchase for my sister. With rather sage advice…
Why Your Law Firm Needs Good Branding
By Dennis Hung • September 10, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues
If you own or operate a law firm, then you need to improve the ways in which you do your firm's marketing. A great marketing plan can help you grow your practice and gain more clients. Without good branding or marketing, you risk losing out on major opportunities to dominate your niche. Here various aspects in which better branding can help you: Hiring and Recruiting In today's world, new recruits are becoming harder than ever to get on board. This is because they can go with any company in the world. They are using social media and other web platforms…
A Career Planning Primer
By Diana LaMorie • September 05, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking
Estate planning. Retirement planning. Trip planning. Family planning. Business planning. Anything worth doing is worth planning. Rarely is anything accomplished overnight. In fact, I don't think there's such a thing as overnight success. Behind the hit song, hit movie, or ascension to CEO (or fill-in-the-blank top of your chosen field), came a lot of hard work, sacrifice and dedication. Success in your profession doesn't happen on its own either. A little bit of deliberation can help get you where you want to go in a more organized fashion and help keep your eye on the prize when you're feeling disoriented…
Tips On Motivating Yourself When You Feel Like You Are Not Good Enough
By Grace Carter • September 05, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Having a bad day can certainly rock your confidence. Especially if you recently had a few of those. People in this situation delve into the darkness, doing some of the worst things that they should do during those times – comparing themselves, wallowing about not being perfect, giving up and so on. However, there are much healthier ways to handle these feelings. You need to motivate yourself and focus on getting better. Here are some tips for when you truly need some motivation and you feel like you are not good enough. 1. Focus on progress Instead of constantly focusing…
Truth Telling about Law School Debt
By Susan Smith Blakely • September 04, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Law school student loan debt. Just the mention of it can cause most newly-minted lawyers to break out in cold sweats. It is always on their minds. It is always standing in the way of getting on with their lives. My children both are lawyers, and the amounts of their student loan debt is shocking. Fortunately, our family is in a position to help them pay down a large portion of that debt. But, many young lawyers are not in that position, and I feel so bad for them. Bad because they are in situations where they cannot follow their dreams. Bad because…
Your Clients Come To You For Answers.. What Will You Tell Them?
By Dennis Hung • September 03, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Other Law School Issues
You are sitting in your office, surrounded by many leather-bound law books, and the air smells of rich mahogany. A client is sitting in front of you, asking what they should do to make sure their business space is protected. They want to make sure they have a low-risk environment for lawsuits, and they trust that you have all the answers. And, of course, you do. That sounds like a nice dream (with a touch of Anchorman? Weird). It’s your future, as long as you study hard and work your butt off. But what are you going to tell your…
Friend or Foe? Technology in Our Everyday Lives: Future Mobility
By Keisha M. McClellan • August 31, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues
Disruptive platforms and technologies can transform entire industries. From Airbnb and Uber, to cloud storage, 3D printing, and cryptocurrency, innovation arrives in many forms. Take the future of mobility, for example. With the world’s megacities and their populations outpacing existing modes of transportation, visionary solutions that weigh legal risks and privacy vulnerabilities are in demand. KPMG produced a video that provides a glimpse into the future of mobility: see it here. Flying-car lab opens in Paris. Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, describes the future of transportation as being “three dimensional” in that vehicles will be able to move in vertical and…
You Graduated From Law School… Now What?
By Dennis Hung • August 31, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues
One mistake you don't want to make when graduating from law school is to assume that having a major law degree will have clients knocking on your door or local firms immediately hiring you. In fact, the field of law is actually one of the most competitive in the US and law school graduates have their work cut out for them. In today's competitive climate, you have to have flexibility when it comes to geography, a fine attention to details when it comes to compiling a resume, and most importantly, a willingness to take the kind of work that's available.…
The Barred Life: A Series of Indefinite Length - Part III
By Jannet Matthew • August 27, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues
Moving Forward While Looking Back **This post is looooong overdue but in my effort to staying committed to improving my writing and self-expression, here it is... I recently met with a legal recruiter to help me navigate the legal job market. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed after unsuccessfully trying for a couple of months. I tell her a bit about myself and what I’m looking for and the conversation proceeds a little something like this… Recruiter: Great! So, what legal software are you familiar with? ...me looking dumbfounded... Me: Do Lexis and Westlaw count? Recruiter: Yeah that’s perfect but… have…