13 Tools to Make Your Client Communications Stronger

We all need to communicate effectively to retain clients and grow our market share.   Knowing the law is not enough; we must be able to communicate clearly, empathetically, and appropriately.   I present below 13 tools to make your communications stronger. It’s All in the Delivery Clients need to know and understand the many…

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Intelligence Versus Emotions: Are You Too Smart for Your Own Good?

Managers and partners time and again tell me about employees and associates who are super intelligent and yet, are not candidates for promotion.   What’s holding them back? In every case, it boils down to communication issues. These folks always know the right answer, but they don’t know how to properly communicate it in a…

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Best Practices for Lawyer Managers: Managing People and Building a Practice

Being a great manager of lawyers requires a lot more skill than legal knowledge and reasoning abilities.   Great leaders know how to motivate people to achieve goals over a sustained period.   This requires strong emotional intelligence skills as well as a keen understanding of each team member’s legal abilities and motivators.   I provide below some…

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7 Ways Unconscious Bias Inhibits Legal Diversity & Inclusion

Unconscious bias prevents law firms, corporations and Government agencies from hiring the best talent and retaining that talent.  Bias against those that are not in the majority group generally is not intentional.  We are all biased no matter our race, gender, sexual orientation or other differentiators. Thoughtful legal managers develop a strategy to help recognize…

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How to Motivate Legal Teams to Success

Being an effective law legal group leader whether in a corporation, a law firm, or the Government, requires specific skills.   Leading teams to accomplish goals under stressful circumstances requires these skills and a team commitment.  I provide below some of the essential traits that I learned from USPTO leaders and Directors. Is a legal…

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5 Questions to Ask Before Going to Law School

Law school is expensive.   Depending on the school, the tuition costs alone can exceed $150,000, in addition to your debts from undergraduate studies.   High paying legal jobs are difficult to get right out of law school.   All of these factors caution against going to law school unless you have a good reason…

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9 Critical Components of Constructive Feedback

Giving a lawyer a critique of their work can be difficult.   Yet, you cannot improve lawyer performance or achieve quality work product goals without providing constructive feedback.   I provide below the 9 essential elements for giving constructive feedback. Give Positive and Negative Feedback Forget the old adage “no news is good news.”  …

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3 Questions Lawyers Should Ask Themselves Now Regarding Alcohol

Attorneys have stressful jobs and many turn to alcohol as a form of self-medication to relax.   Problem drinking is much higher for attorneys than the general public.   Attorneys with a drinking problem are more prone to malpractice complaints and ethical violations.   This article discusses why drinking by lawyers is a big concern…

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3 Essential Questions for Lawyers to Conquer Their Fears

Lawyers are constantly bombarded by challenges that naturally create fear and anxiety.   Many lawyers don’t recognize these fears and fail effectively to deal with them.  This causes lawyers to be unhappy and to provide poor quality service to their clients.  I identify many of these looming fears and present some practical tips for dealing…

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