Holiday Networking Tip for New Lawyers & Law Students

career management

New lawyers and law students, do you freeze in your tracks at the thought of going alone to a bar association or other holiday event full of strangers? Attending a social event where you know no one is hard for most people.  In my highly unscientific opinion, based in...

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...

Mentors v Sponsors: Do You Need Advice or Action? (Part I)

career management

When asked for a show of hands by those who had sponsors, about 20 of 200 lawyers present raised their hands.  When asked how many of those sponsors were powerful people who could help get them promotions, raises or high visibility assignments, most of the hands went...

LinkedIn Lawyer Pitfalls & Mistakes Beyond Endorsements & Recommendations

business development

In addition to the potential ethical issues for lawyers raised by LinkedIn’s endorsements and recommendations features, beware of the following potential pitfalls and mistakes on LinkedIn.  I’ve seen way too many real life examples of all of these....

Two Tips For Solo Lawyers On Space Sharing, Of Counsel & Other Arrangements

career management, practice & time management

I know solo lawyers who have entered into arrangements with other lawyers and firms, such as space sharing and informal and formal affiliations, that did not work out for various reasons and they regretted it.  The reasons run the gamut from differences in work ethic,...