Legal Career Advancement: Business, Strategic & Financial Acumen May Be a Missing Ingredient

career management

How well do you understand where your law firm, company, client or other organization is going, what its strategy is, what financial targets it has in place, and what your role as a lawyer and leader is or should be in moving the organization forward?  Consider...

Career Development & the Art of Auto Mechanics

career management

Paul, the 20 year old technician who volunteered to shuttle me back from the dealership, was talking about how he fits in there. He credited being outgoing as the reason everyone seems to like him at the dealership, even as a fairly new employee. He wondered aloud how...

Career Building Buffet for Young Lawyers: 20 Tips

business development, career management

20 tips for new or young lawyers – – This is a slideshare of a breakfast talk I gave on Saturday to lawyers at the State Bar of Michigan’s annual Young Lawyers Section Summit.  It’s a mix of advice ranging from communicating with...

Stuck in Neutral? 5 tips for Faster Career Success

career management

Regardless of whether you are an in-house lawyer, in private practice or elsewhere, if you have at least a few years of experience under your belt, focus on the following tips in 2014 to take your career to the next level. Get a Sponsor.  Mentors talk with you;...

Mentors v Sponsors (Part II)

career management

Since sponsorship sounds like a miraculous career enhancement tool, there must be a catch.  Anecdotally the catch for many lawyers seems to be the necessity that they proactively and strategically identify one or more sponsors and intentionally develop a...