Lawyers pride themselves on being good communicators, but there’s more to effective communication than choice of words. Like just about anything you ask a lawyer, the answer to the question, “Which is the best way to communicate your message?” is, of course, “It depends.” The phrase, “The medium is the message,” was popularized by Marshall…
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A recent study published in February 2023 suggests that you need to set boundaries to save your sanity—and maybe even your life. Lawyers are more than twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts than the U.S. population of working people over age 18 as a whole according to a survey of almost 2,000 lawyers in…
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This is one of those tricky interview questions that can strike fear in the heart of even the best job seekers. The key is understanding what you’re really being asked and have some strong answers prepared ahead of time. Like “What is your greatest weakness?” this question is intended to assess your self-awareness and test…
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As one year ends and another begins, numerous articles in the legal press attempt to predict which areas of law will be “hot” (or not) in the coming year based on market trends and the current direction of political winds. Generally speaking, when the economy is good and capital is abundant and available at low…
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Every marketplace operates according to the law of supply and demand, and the lawyer job market is no different. When the economy is strong, there’s plenty of legal work to go around, and law firm employers clamor to hire more lawyers to handle it. Conversely, when the economy slows and deals are down, hiring slows.…
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There’s no denying it: Marijuana is big business and getting bigger. The legal cannabis industry is projected to hit $32 billion in sales this year, according to New Frontier Data, with revenues expected to reach $63 billion by 2028. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, by October 2022, 19 states plus the District…
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Many students choose to study law because they see it as a means to make the world a better place. By the time they graduate from law school three years later, most with staggering debt burdens, the lure of astronomical salaries and bonuses offered by large law firms might outweigh their initial altruistic intentions. But…
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The majority of today’s law firm associates are Millennials and Gen Zers who never knew a world without constant communication. With the ubiquity of smartphones and the internet since birth, they’re accustomed to nonstop information at their fingertips, and expect the same level of accessibility and transparency from employers. They’re generally not afraid to ask…
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“You must appease the Fee God!” my first boss in legal recruiting insisted. He meant that, since the client is the one paying the fee, we must make the client happy. Forty years later, I remember those words and do my best to put them into practice. Candidate services Although recruiters work for the employer-client,…
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Emojis, those little pictures we use in all types of online communications, can convey emotional context that words alone cannot and can completely change the meaning of a sentence. They’ve become commonplace, even in business communications, although it’s debatable whether that’s wise. Their precise meaning is open to interpretation, depending upon a number of factors,…
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