Most of us judge ourselves on our motivations rather than our actions.  However, employees only get to judge us by our actions. Getting in touch with what we’re doing rather than what we intended is a huge step in the right direction when it comes to managing employees! There are two common flashpoints that adversely […]

Creating a business is not necessarily all about columns of numbers and cash flow. An entrepreneur, and let’s face it, that’s what attorneys with their own practice are, creates a place where employees spend a large percentage of their life and a place where clients can change the course of their lives. Looking at your […]

For the most part, using the latest and greatest technology is a good idea. Twenty years ago, for example, having a fax machine in your office meant you were on the cutting edge. Today, however, most attorneys rely on scanners and email as their preferred means of transmitting documents. But are fax machines a thing […]

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by such creative contributors. John Adams for one of course, but I received the following blog entry from our long time American Academy Member Joel Loquvam–the content and remarks are poignant and worthy of sharing! On July 3, 1776, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, […]

We’ve had a number of blog posts on “the little things that make a big difference” in the way a law firm shows up in the community, but no tip has ever had the potential to have this much impact. It’s not an easy tip to implement, if it was—everybody would do it. We have […]

Strict privity of contract used to be the rule in estate planning cases.  In other words, only the client could claim that the estate planning attorney had been negligent in planning their estate.  Obviously, this severely limited malpractice actions against estate planning attorneys.Over the years, the number of states adhering to the doctrine of strict […]

Towards the end of my active litigation career I can remember a woman coming into my office that wanted to sue the law firm she had worked at for wrongful termination. Long story short: she worked for a named litigation partner at a local firm for 15 years. Feeling a bit unappreciated, she put her […]

Regardless of your estate planning talent and skill… without rapport, people in general don’t feel like they “know” you. Trust is nearly impossible without rapport. Even if building rapport is not your strength, there are a few specific efforts you can fine tune and practice on everyone from the dry cleaning lady to the guy […]

Gary Coleman’s dead?  “What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?!”Gary Coleman played “Arnold,” the little brother on TV’s “Diff’rent Strokes,” for eight years beginning in 1978. Coleman appeared in dozens of television films and series over the years. Coleman is perhaps the stereotype of a childhood star with a troubled life. Coleman had a variety of legal and […]

Lawyers tend to have a hard time asking their clients what they can do to improve, assuming that if they don’t hear any complaints, everything must be fine.  But unfortunately, this is not always the case.  When it comes to legal services, as in many other service-oriented industries, clients who are unhappy rarely take their […]