Columns

Why lawyers in practice have to be mindful of time—especially their billing time

This is as good a time as any to discuss time. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Remember that time is money”—but I won’t waste any time discussing his kites. What does time mean to lawyers? Billable hours.

Jun 10, 2021 10:40 AM CDT

Not in Kansas anymore: A former congressman’s improbable journey from the heartland to Hollywood

In 2004, Dan Glickman began a six-year stint as chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America. That may seem like an unusual career change for a nine-term congressman from Kansas and former secretary of agriculture. People sometimes questioned his qualifications to lead Hollywood’s trade association. “I used to grow popcorn,” he tells me he’d respond. “And now I sell it.”

Jun 8, 2021 9:38 AM CDT

7 tips to strengthen the mind through identifying and overcoming implicit bias

Science explains that our minds are like icebergs: Our conscious awareness represents 10% of the iceberg above the surface of the water, and our unconscious awareness represents 90% of the iceberg unseen below the surface of the water. We are not aware of 90% of our thoughts/brain functions, which are unconscious—by definition.

Jun 3, 2021 11:57 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Precedent seems to matter little in the Roberts Court

How much weight does the Roberts Court give to precedent? This is the crucial underlying question now that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which puts the fate of Roe v. Wade before the justices. The case concerns a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

Jun 3, 2021 11:37 AM CDT

How to craft your legal writing on the clock

Recall the situation: It’s the first day of your new job as an assistant attorney general in your state. You’re an experienced litigator, and you put in for the position touting your skill as a writer. You were told that it would be a demanding job, but you figured that your experience in private practice has been as demanding as anything the new position might present.

Jun 1, 2021 1:00 AM CDT

How to handle tough conversations on whether to return to the office

The question is on every lawyer’s mind these days: When will management beckon me to return to my law firm office? And the related questions also weigh heavily: Do I want to do it? Can I do it? Will I do it?

May 26, 2021 9:53 AM CDT

This software will help you streamline your IP law practice

Running a law practice in 2021 is no small feat. With the digitization of documents, filings and court calendaring systems, the added complexities involved in tracking that data can make it difficult to stay on top of the daily challenges of managing a thriving law firm and busy caseload. That’s where law practice management software comes in. It helps lawyers streamline their law firms from client intake to the final bill and beyond.

May 24, 2021 10:35 AM CDT

Legal battles over coronavirus restrictions aren’t as novel as the virus—just look back 100 years

Just as public officials at every level have taken steps to control COVID-19, it was much the same a hundred years ago during the Spanish flu. And, like now, some individuals, believing that their rights were violated by such measures, turned to court.

May 24, 2021 9:10 AM CDT

What’s the connection between legal recruiting, virtual piano parties and Zoom engagement?

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Dan Binstock, a legal recruiter and co-owner of Garrison & Sisson, a leading attorney search firm. Binstock is also the creator of the Virtual Piano Party.

May 21, 2021 8:55 AM CDT

Fake victims, fake cops and the myth of entrapment in Netflix’s ‘Why Did You Kill Me?’

Every once in a while, I’ll hit a wall with this column. The problem usually arises when I have too many irons in the fire at the office. I’m currently battling through the COVID-19 backlog of cases and trials back on schedule now that courts are opening up and jury dockets are becoming more regular.

May 20, 2021 2:59 PM CDT

How legal practice is like working retail

Customers and clients need to realize their attitude can affect the level of service they receive. Lawyers can fire clients, but hourly workers can simply avoid certain customers and render themselves unhelpful, writes retired lawyer Margaret Makar.

May 20, 2021 9:20 AM CDT

What associates have to know about making a lateral move to a new market out of state

The days when attorneys remained loyal to one firm for decades are, for the most part, long gone.

May 17, 2021 10:08 AM CDT

Claim denied: A lawyer’s musings on the shortcomings of insurance

As lawyers, many of us either fight insurance companies or represent them. Sue or defend, we are all connected with insurance by buying it. When did the concept of insurance start?

May 12, 2021 12:52 PM CDT

4 ways to work toward an anti-racist allyship

Over the course of the last four years, the Trump administration’s policies, practices and rhetoric not only laid bare the deleterious effects of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, but it also revealed the manner in which ideologies of oppression—anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-Asian racism—may also overlap, intersect and interlock.

May 12, 2021 10:30 AM CDT

What this senior counsel learned from ‘the solar-powered lawyer’

I sowed each seed in my garden with equal care and affection. I took great pains to ensure optimal growing conditions: watering them, providing the prescribed fertilizer and periodically extracting weeds.

May 6, 2021 11:12 AM CDT