Should lawyers mix business with pleasure when it comes to social media? Previously, I would have answered that question with an emphatic “NO!” But now, I’m not so sure. Panelists at the NALSC (National Association of Legal Search Consultants) 2018 Fall Symposium in New York City have me wondering whether I should soften that stance.…
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Law firms pay associate bonuses not only to incentivize excellent performance and high productivity, but also to entice lawyers to join them and stay. Firms may pay discretionary bonuses predicated on excellent associate work and strong financial performance of the firm, hours bonuses requiring a minimum number of annual billable hours for any bonus eligibility…
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Whether you are the employer-client or the attorney-candidate, you want your legal search consultant to handle your search honorably. One of the ways you can help ensure that your recruiter plays by the rules is to ask whether the search firm is a member of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) or, at…
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Law firm lawyers live by the billable hour, but there are many other types of hours—not all of them billable—expected of you by the firm. In addition to performing work for clients, partners (and aspiring partners) also must squeeze into their busy workdays other essential functions such as attorney training, mentoring and development, client development…
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Your value as a candidate must be readily apparent from a cursory glance at your resume. In practice, most resumes receive only 20 to 30 seconds of scrutiny before the reader makes an initial yes or no decision. Therefore, you must clearly and efficiently communicate your value to the audience which includes not only the…
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Clients are not always pleased when their outside lawyer moves to another law firm because it requires a change in the attorney-client relationship. Either the client must follow the attorney to the new law firm, leave the work with the previous firm and find a new relationship partner, or find a new lawyer and law…
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In most cases, the success of a lateral partner hire is greatly determined by the successful transition of his or her clients. A few years ago, the managing partner of a large law firm announced to a roomful of search firm consultants at a NALSC (National Association of Legal Search Consultants) conference that “We have…
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The skills that make a great rainmaker are not necessarily the same skills that make a great law firm associate. In the first few years, associates are valued for traits similar to those that brought success in law school—the ability to learn quickly and produce massive quantities of quality work. Suddenly, a few years later…
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On February 6th, 2018, SpaceX launched its first Falcon Heavy into space with an unusual payload: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s red Tesla Roadster with Starman, a spacesuit-clad mannequin in the driver’s seat “listening” to David Bowie’s Space Oddity on loop. As Starman blasted off, so did space law. The term “space law” refers to the body of international…
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When you return to work after leaving law practice for any length of time, you need to prepare for a successful transition. You can jump right back in, like cannon-balling into a swimming pool full of icy water. But you might be wiser to dip your toe in first—and ease into it—getting used to the…
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