The cover story of the July/August 2015 issue of The Washington Lawyer magazine is entitled, “The Professional Development Imperative.” It’s a well-written piece that discusses the need for lawyers to undergo comprehensive professional development after they graduate from law school, and various options for obtaining that training. From the point of view of a law […]
Too many corporate law firms are missing a startlingly obvious message when a company hires a new General Counsel. When a new boss is on board your basic reaction could fall into one of two camps. You could subscribe to the theory that, “the more things change the more they stay the same.” This is […]
The organizational structure of law firms is changing rapidly. The traditional structure was pyramid shaped, with equity partners on the top, followed by a few of counsel, a select number of senior associates, more mid-level associates, and a generous smattering of junior associates, many of whom came from the firm’s summer associate program. Now law […]
As smaller law firms are taking a more conservative approach to hiring full-time attorneys, a new staffing trend has emerged that allows small and boutique firms to accept cases they otherwise may not be able to take due to lack of manpower or expertise. Rather than hiring an attorney to assist with the case–one that […]
Wedding vows and diamonds are supposed to be forever, but your membership in a bar association or other networking group probably shouldn’t be. Too many lawyers join a bar association early in their careers and dutifully attend events for years or even decades even if their membership in that association doesn’t yield any referral sources. […]