Elie Mystal recently made two smart proposals about how law school career services offices could be improved. Aaron Street provided his take here at Lawyerist a few years back. His ideas were also good ones.
While a few of Aaron suggestions are starting to pop up as reality, sporadically, at some law schools, Elie’s are almost certainly not going to happen at any school. Because law schools still refuse to accept that their fundamental view of themselves is threatening their very existence.
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My very first summer at a law firm, I repeatedly heard the advice: “treat the partner like a client.” Since I never had a client, the advice didn’t resonate at first. Fast-forward a few years, however, and I am a convert. Treating a partner like a client ensures that I am producing top-quality work, offering solutions, and thinking about next steps—helpful for the partner (fingers crossed) and good practice for me.
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Bitter Lawyer (bitterlawyer.com) is seeking an editor in chief with vision and a great sense of humor.
POSITION FILLED on April 11, 2013.
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A: Part-time law practice comes with its own set of challenges, but you can absolutely make it work — and it is a heckuva lot smarter than trying to have a law practice in your spare time. In fact, if you can balance the competing demands of a law practice and whatever you need to do with the rest of your time, a part-time law practice can be pretty great.
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How important to career success is “face time” in the office when compared with the same amount and quality of work done at home? Yahoo! and Best Buy recently received a considerable amount of press (traditional and online) regarding this issue. In both cases, the companies made changes to increase face time in an effort to improve communication and collaboration, as well as profits.
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About once a year, at a law prom-type event or during a Federal Bar lunch with local judges, I hear someone hypothesize about a future without local rules. Can you imagine? A world where the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure would serve as a universal common language. An Esperanto. A Euro for our juridical system. Is such a future possible or even desirable?
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I am a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Washington County Bar Association. I also participate in niche organizations focused on my practice area. Between conference calls, virtual meetings, and multi-day conferences, staying active in so many organizations can be a part time job in and of itself. But the way to get the most out of bar associations is to become active and not just read your monthly newsletters. But is the time and monetary investment worth it for solos and small firm lawyers?
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When I first started working at a law firm, I had a misplaced desire to own 100% of my projects. Instead of delegating letterhead printing and exhibit pdfing to a legal administrative assistant, I would muddle through these tasks on my own. This hoarding was silly, and I have since learned the benefits of delegating.
That said, sometimes you may find yourself at the office on a weekend undertaking an emergency TRO or filing something at 11:00 PM. At these moments, it’s important that SOMEONE know how to pdf a document or even file electronically. (I know, I know, some of you at super large firms have access to a 2:00 AM person who can undertake these tasks such that you will never need to lift a finger—this conversation is for the rest of us.) So what are the tasks that every newer attorney should strive to master in case of emergency?
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We lawyers think of ourselves as special. Overcoming all the obstacles that stood between us and a license to practice makes us feel that way. That’s why it’s common for lawyers to get rather upset about the idea that there are people out there doing lawyer stuff without a card that says “holder may do lawyer stuff.”
But laypersons (your potential clients) don’t see lawyers, or the law, the way you do. And that’s probably costing you clients.
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The scene: You’re a newer attorney eager to prove your chops. You are busy with active cases, but not crazy busy. A senior attorney stops by your office and asks if you have time help out with a project. Do you have time? Although it is an easy enough question, the answer can be surprisingly difficult to figure out. What does it mean to have time to help?
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