With the Golden Globe and Grammy Awards glitz and glam, my excitement is at an all-time high for the Academy’s 25th Anniversary Gala at the Spring Summit in April. Then, reality hit: What am I going to wear? The Gala is a Black Tie event and here at the Academy we are going all out for this […]

Estate planning contemplates two different general time periods: During life and after your death. Estate planning needs also vary based on the goals you are trying to achieve. For example, after death, do you simply wish to transmit your assets, or do you wish to provide your loved ones with asset protection, tax protection, divorce […]

I just read a delightful new little book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. According to its author, Margareta Magnusson, this book is for everyone over 65 who has difficulty culling their things or has simply not yet begun. With a charming […]

“What you create after allowing yourself the time to ‘goof off for breakthrough ideas’ is usually your best work.” Let’s set the stage a little. As Practice Building Consultant here at the Academy, I serve as coach to one third of the Members of the Academy. So that means, no matter what day, or what […]

Estate planning contemplates two different general time periods: During life and after your death. Estate planning needs also vary based on the goals you are trying to achieve. For example, after death, do you simply wish to transmit your assets, or do you wish to provide your loved ones with asset protection, tax protection, divorce […]

Effective January 1, 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) reduces individual and corporate tax rates, eliminates a host of deductions and credits, enhances other breaks and makes numerous additional changes. One thing the TCJA doesn’t do is repeal the federal gift and estate tax, as originally contemplated by the House of […]

Recently, Facebook announced a change to the algorithm that determines what a user sees in their newsfeed, now emphasizing content shared by family and friends over posts from law firms, news organizations and other company pages. In his Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained, “Recently we’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content — posts […]

As I discussed in last week’s blog, retirement assets, including 401(k)s, IRAs, etc., comprise a large portion of the average American’s wealth. Planning for these assets is critical, not just due to their value, but also due to their special nature. Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s and the earnings on them are tax-deferred. Roth IRAs and […]

We all know it’s important to acknowledge a job well done and express gratitude. We also know we should exercise consistently and eat a healthy diet. Just because we know we *should* do something, does that mean you *are* doing it?How do you carve out time to focus on the office environment and culture when […]

If you’ve spent energy and money marketing and generating a client base, it should be considered a crime in your law firm not to continue to connect with them after you’ve been retained. However, we see time and again that many attorneys don’t make an effort to contact their clients at all in some cases […]