The Practice: Engaging the Client, Before and After You’re Retained
Practical pointers from Brian Tannebaum, one of our small-firm columnists, on how to engage with your clients.
Inside Straight: How To Drive Your Boss Nuts!
Hey secretaries, want to learn how to drive your lawyer bosses nuts? (Or: passive-aggressive lawyers, here is a post to share with your secretaries.)
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Inside Straight: On Robin Williams And Saying ‘Thank You’
In-house columnist Mark Herrmann offers some good, simple advice -- which not enough people follow, sadly.
Dewey & LeBoeuf: A Paralegal’s Lament
If Dewey goes under, staffers will also lose their jobs. Here is one paralegal’s perspective on what’s going on at D&L….
A Quinn Emanuel Partner’s Lecherous ‘Reply All’
A Quinn Emanuel partner recently sent a "reply all" email that was, er, not very politically correct. What on earth did he write (to the entire New York office)?
Inside Straight: On Being ‘Light’
How do you keep a client (or a boss) happy? Be "light." What does it mean to be light?
Learning After Law School
Once you’ve got your law degree, how do you keep your professional skills up to date? Share your perspective in this brief survey, and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card.
Dewey Have a Plan of Action?
We recently wrote about various developments at Dewey & LeBoeuf. There have been reports of the firm having some financial issues, and there have been some notable partner departures as well. Sources we’ve heard from at Dewey feel significant anxiety right now about the direction of the firm. What is the latest news?
California Firm Puts the ‘Ghetto’ Into ‘Re-Gifting’
I’m much more likely to throw away a gift or give it to charity than to regift something I already have or don’t want. I think I’d live in fear of the original gift-giver meeting up with the regift recipient and talking about how I was a bad friend for orchestrating the whole mess. I’d […]
Holiday Gifts for Your Secretary / Administrative Staff: Open Thread
Over the weekend, I had dinner with a friend of mine who used to work as a paralegal at a small law firm. She told me about how one year, for the holidays, all the lawyers chipped in to get her a gift certificate to a spa, so she could get herself a massage. I […]
Why Legal Secretaries Hate Women Lawyers
Being a woman is a tough job, especially when you're working in a Biglaw atmosphere. Among the long list of things that Biglaw women have to worry about, being cordial to coworkers sometimes tends to fall by the wayside. So ladies, have you been wondering why your legal secretary avoids eye contact with you at all costs? Here, let me give you a clue: it's because your legal secretary secretly hates you....
Schenck Price Competes Smarter With Lexis+ With Protégé
LexisNexis sat down with John Ursin, Managing Partner at Schenck Price, to learn how the firm is using legal AI to strengthen client service and daily legal work.
I’m Rubber and You’re Glue: Is Name-Calling a Part of Law Firm Culture?
You'd figure that when people grow up, go to law school, and get real jobs as attorneys, that name-calling would stop. But you'd be oh so wrong. With the advent of modern technology, name-calling is ten times easier than it was before. Lawyers can now insult colleagues in the blink of an eye and with the click of a button, making for great email scandals. But has name-calling become a part of law firm culture? One wrongful termination suit claims that it has....
Nelson v. Jones Day: Case Dismissed
Jaki Nelson, an African-American woman who once worked as a legal secretary in the Los Angeles office of Jones Day, sued the firm last year. She made some explosive allegations -- but were they without merit? A California judge just dismissed her case.
The Return of Staff Layoff Watch? Hogan Lovells Offers ‘Voluntary’ Separation Program
I feel like I’ve stepped into a time machine that has taken me all the way back to 2009. According to an internal memo obtained by Above the Law, the international law firm of Hogan Lovells is offering a voluntary separation program to U.S. staff. The memo, posted in full below, talks about needing to […]
Holiday Gifts for Your Secretary / Administrative Staff: Open Thread
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for a legal secretary / administrative assistant. Law firm partners are getting their end-of-year distributions, associates are getting their bonuses, and some of this bounty will be shared with their secretaries, in the form of Christmas — er, holiday — gifts. What should you get your secretary […]
Nelson v. Jones Day: Another Side to the Story
Earlier this week, we brought you the story of Nelson v. Jones Day — a discrimination lawsuit filed against Jones Day by Jaki Nelson, an African-American woman who worked at JD for almost 18 years. Some of the allegations in Nelson’s complaint — use of racial slurs by firm partners and administrators, sex scandals, and […]