If you’re like most lawyers, one of your top business goals is to grow your law firm. Law firm expansion means a more profitable law practice and the ability to change the world for the better. Of course, it’s often easier said than done. Growing a law practice takes time, and that’s something most lawyers don’t have a lot of.
Back in 2019, I wrote an installment for this column discussing whether true-crime documentaries can do more harm than good for the criminal justice system. In that piece, I focused squarely on the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. I spoke with a reporter who had covered the trial and received his feedback regarding what was actually included in the series and what was left out. I referred to that editorial practice as the “CliffsNotes version.”
What does it take to have a successful law practice? This question brings to my mind a quote from Mark Twain who said, “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.”
Being able to make predictions is crucial for lawyers. Let’s explore the nature of judicial prediction-making by attorneys and see how the latest in artificial intelligence-powered legal technology comes into play in this altogether ubiquitous, yet highly formidable task.
This coming Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court justices will take the bench and begin the October 2022 term. For the first time since 1994, Justice Stephen Breyer won’t be among them.
A recent news story from my home state revolved around a police officer terminated by his department for firing warning shots while pursuing a criminal suspect. At first glance, I was a bit confused. We live in a world where law enforcement literally fires directly at—sometimes killing—individuals who aren’t even fleeing, only to face an administrative suspension. Why would a cop get fired for firing off warning shots to try and stop an absconding suspect?
Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Ross Guberman, the founder of Legal Writing Pro, which helps attorneys and judges write more effectively, and the developer of BriefCatch, a legal editing software tool.
Law school graduates are unleashed into the legal marketplace with strong analytical skills but often lack much of the practical knowledge needed to run a successful law firm, which can make or break a fledgling law practice. Thinking like a lawyer will only get you so far in the competitive world of solo and small law firms, and that is why effective marketing is so important, especially if it is not taught in law school.
I’d been waiting for this series. The Incredible Hulk (aka Bruce Banner, with whom I share a surname and who helped me through some tough times as a “hefty/big-boned” kid in the late '80s and early '90s) has already made an appearance in my column. But I didn’t really touch on the aspect of superhero attorneys there. Now that I’ve had the chance to look back at that entry ... wow! It was written almost five years ago.
On-campus interviews have long been a staple of law firm recruiting. But when the pandemic hit, law firms, like everyone else, had to adapt by taking this time-honored tradition virtual—in many cases with great success.
