Business development
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Media and Journalism, Practice Pointers, Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Six Steps to Becoming an Expert
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. So you’re at a small firm and you want to be successful. Good. Why you wouldn’t want that is beyond me. But if you want to be a successful lawyer, you need to […] -
Biglaw, Gender, In-House Counsel, Minority Issues, Women's Issues
Inside Straight: Pitching Diversity
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Diversity matters. It matters for reasons of social justice. It matters because folks are tracking it, and it can be important to look good on those scales. It matters for reasons of trial strategy, […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Small Law Firms
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Beware the Uberclient
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. As with love affairs, all lawyer-client relationships must eventually end. If you’re lucky, they won’t end until retirement or death (not the untimely kind; that would be unlucky). More often though, they will […]
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Biglaw, Cheapness, In-House Counsel, Partner Issues
Inside Straight: In Praise Of Mediocrity!
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. All this perfection crap. One reader wrote to me to complain. Surely, he said, there’s room in the world for a law firm that does work that’s “good enough for the occasion at a […] -
Books, Small Law Firms, Videos
Small Firms, Big Lawyers: Why Are You a Small-Firm Lawyer?
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Small Firms, Big Lawyers, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. Seriously. Why? I don’t mean in a “because I couldn’t get a BigLaw job” way. I mean, “Why are you practicing law in a small firm?” And if you’re looking for work in […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Midsize Firms / Regional Firms, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners
Size Matters: Wanna Be Successful? Think Of A Niche To Scratch
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Size Matters, one of Above the Law’s new columns for small-firm lawyers. It is no secret that I do not like my small firm. But I do know people who have found happiness and professional fulfillment by working at small law firms. And, since Biglaw probably can’t […] -
Blogging, Books, Media and Journalism, Social Networking Websites, Technology
The Big Secret of Social Media
Although I have a blog and accounts with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Plaxo, I am not a big “rah rah” social media cheerleader for the sake of being one. There is much about social media that is overhyped, which is probably why I liked G.M. Filisko’s article in the January edition of the ABA […] -
Biglaw, Blogging, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: Business Development (Part 3)
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Is blogging a useful business development tool? The folks who sell blogging platforms to lawyers say that blogging is the route to riches. But bloggers themselves are far less certain whether blogging actually […] - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel, Legal Ethics, Litigators
Inside Straight: Business Development (Part 2)
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. This post is a two-fer: It both suggests a way for outside lawyers to develop business more effectively and offers a tip to in-house counsel to protect their legal departments. (I bet you […] -
Biglaw, Continuing Legal Education / CLE, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: Business Development (Part 1)
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Business development: What works? I was on the other side — the law firm side — of the business development coin for 25 years. And those 25 years taught me this about generating […] -
Biglaw, In-House Counsel
Inside Straight: The Incumbency Advantage
Ed. note: This is the latest installment of Inside Straight, Above the Law’s new column for in-house counsel, written by Mark Herrmann. Think for a minute about business development for law firms. Your firm wants to expand its litigation presence in a particular practice area. What do you do? Many firms figure they’ll march out […] -
Holidays and Seasons, pls hndle thx
Pls Hndle Thx: Hallmark of Justice
Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com Greetings, My firm, like so many, has decided not to purchase and send holiday cards for our clients, instead relying on those stupid ecards. Ostensibly this is part of our “Going Green” initiative. More likely it puts more green in the partners’ […] -
Advertising, Continuing Legal Education / CLE, Legal Ethics, Shameless Plugs, This Is an Ad
CLE Offering of the Week: Networking Professionally and Ethically
We’ve repeatedly discussed the importance to lawyers of networking. It matters whether you’re at a small firm or at a large one. It’s a necessary skill, in terms of getting the best assignments, making partner, and remaining a partner — no longer a guaranteed outcome, in these challenging times. But networking also raises some ethical […]
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Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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Small Law Firms
Thoughts on How to Network as a Lawyer at a Small Firm
Okay, so you’re not socially inept. I’d offer my congratulations, but being socially adept and willing to mingle is only part of the battle for a small firm attorney. It’s a necessary but not sufficient component of long-term success. (Remember all that necessary/sufficient crap from the LSAT? Yeah, me neither. It doesn’t matter.) What does […] -
Lawyer Advertising, Legal Ethics, Social Networking Websites, Technology
LinkedIn Recommendations: Yay or Nay?
I’d like to believe we live on a planet where reason dictates the choices we make as well as the policies of law firms. As numerous personal experiences and Above the Law articles have demonstrated to me, this isn’t always the case. And nowhere is this irrationality more perplexing than firm policies towards LinkedIn recommendations. […] -
Small Law Firms
Caveat Small Firm Hopeful: Socially Inept Need Not Apply
My former practice at a small law firm was primarily commercial and residential real estate development. The week after my bar results came in, my boss gave me a stack of documents to read through and let me sit in on a couple of closings. I watched, listened and pretended to take notes. Then one […] -
Blogging, Media and Journalism, Social Networking Websites
The Key to a Good Law Blog? Try Listening.
This past week, bestselling author Seth Godin pointed out that most bloggers and users of social media are failing miserably: There are millions of songs on iTunes that have sold zero copies. Millions of blog posts that get zero visitors each day. The long tail is real… given the ability, people create more variety. Given […] -
Lawyer Advertising, Technology
What's Wrong With Your Law Firm Bio?
Don’t take it personally. Nobody is perfect, but unfortunately, when it comes to law firm bios — well, most of them stink. They tout the vast accomplishments of the lawyer: where they went to law school, if they graduated with honors, whether they were on law review. Then they often include a laundry list of […] -
Biglaw, Blogging, Facebook, Small Law Firms, Social Networking Websites, Technology, Twittering
ABA Survey: Lawyers Profiting From Web 2.0
Almost two years ago, I joined Twitter to help find a publisher for a book I was writing. A couple weeks later, a friend I followed on Twitter asked, “Does anybody know a contracts lawyer?” I responded and won a new client. A lawyer winning business on Twitter was somewhat unusual at that time, but […] -
Biglaw, Blogging, Media and Journalism, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Have Law Blogs Failed to Live Up to Expectations? Biglaw Partners Opine
“The secret to happiness in life is setting low expectations.” — My Uncle Lyman Over the past few weeks, in the comments to my ATL posts, there have been a number of questions about whether or not large law firms are bringing in real clients through their law blogs. While we have seen some instances […]