Question of the Week

Do you think character and fitness standards for the bar are too lenient or too harsh?

This week, the California Supreme Court denied disgraced fabulist Stephen Glass admission to the state bar on character and fitness grounds, noting the duration of his journalistic dishonesty in the 1990s and his subsequent efforts to avoid detection. Was the court too harsh? Above the Law assistant editor Joe Patrice…

Jan 29, 2014 6:50 PM CST

Does your firm consider job candidates’ law school pedigree? Does its approach result in good hires?

Earlier this month, we noted how London-based law firm Clifford Chance has a “CV blind” policy that hides job candidates’ university information from those who conduct final interviews. The firm’s introduction of the policy last year led to a 28 percent increase of the number of schools from which it…

Jan 22, 2014 8:30 PM CST

Is the bar exam a valuable test of law grads? Or an unnecessary expense for them?

This week, we noted that the Iowa Supreme Court is considering waiving the bar exam for the graduates of its state’s law schools. The idea is to shorten the period between graduation and law practice, and to allow grads to save the money they would otherwise need for living expenses…

Jan 15, 2014 6:00 PM CST

Are you aggressively planning for retirement, or do you hope to work as long as possible?

Image from Shutterstock. This month, the ABA Journal cover story asks readers if they’re adequately planning for retirement, and the ABA Journal Podcast addresses how even lawyers who are in debt can pull this off. So this week, we’d like to ask you: Are you aggressively planning for retirement, or…

Jan 8, 2014 6:00 PM CST

How long was it until you stopped feeling like a ‘new’ lawyer?

It’s a new year. How many years has it been since you started practicing law? How many years has it been since you were a “new lawyer”? Or are you one still? “One of the transactional attorneys I worked with at BigLaw told me that she only started to feel…

Jan 2, 2014 2:30 PM CST

What do you wish someone had told you when you were a first-year lawyer?

Last week, Dallas-based lawyer career coach Cordell Parvin (who practiced law for 36 years) asked and answered this question at his eponymous blog: What do I wish someone had told me when I was a first year lawyer? Parvin came up with a list of 25 pieces of advice (and…

Dec 18, 2013 4:55 PM CST

What’s a gift that you’d love to receive?

It’s that time of year! We’ve come out with our guide to holiday gifts for lawyers (as has lawyer Reid Trautz at Reid My Blog!). But we’d like to balance out these lists of gifts by hearing from you about what you’d really like for a gift. Law-related or not.…

Dec 11, 2013 8:20 PM CST

What’s the biggest mistake a boss, co-worker or underling has made that you’ve had to fix?

Last month at the Velvet Hammer, Seattle litigator Karen Koehler wrote about dealing with staffers’ mistakes. “Staff errors can involve forgetting to properly note a motion,” Koehler wrote. “Setting up the deposition but forgetting to invite a court reporter. Not providing the court with working copies. Miscalculating dates. Forgetting to…

Dec 4, 2013 7:10 PM CST

What qualities do you look for in potential hires?

Last week, a reader asked Corporette about tips for hiring a new assistant. “What should I look for in a new assistant? What questions should I ask during an interview?” asked the attorney, the newest in the trio of lawyers who would share the assistant. Corporette’s Kat Griffin didn’t have…

Nov 26, 2013 6:48 PM CST

What was the most unusual (but true!) excuse you have had for being late to court or the office?

Reader Judy Shields tells us she was late to court last week. Why? “Because our cat brought a live flying squirrel into my closet,” she writes. “While I was able to get clothes from the rest of the house, my shoes were all in the closet, and I figured shoes…

Nov 20, 2013 8:45 PM CST

Is it a smart move for a company to make work-life balance policies?

Last month, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs announced a policy requiring junior analysts to spend some time each week away from the office. “According to one Goldman analyst, the firm’s junior bankers have been told that unless they receive a special waiver [because of ‘critical client activity’], they aren’t supposed…

Nov 13, 2013 5:15 PM CST

Do you encourage young people to go to law school?

This week, Greedy Associates noted an unusual scholarship offer. Willens Law Offices, based in Chicago, is offering an “Anything But Law School Graduate Scholarship” worth $1,000. “Some of you may be wondering, why would a law firm create a scholarship to dissuade students from practicing law?” Matthew Willens wrote in…

Nov 6, 2013 6:15 PM CST

What pump-up songs do you play on your earphones on the way to court?

We’ve asked you before how you physically prepare for ‘game days’ in your legal practice. This week, we’d like to know: What pump-up songs do you play on your earphones when you walk into court? Or in your car on the way the courthouse or to some other “game day”…

Oct 30, 2013 6:04 PM CDT

Do you take your pet to work? Would you if it were possible?

Earlier this month at Attorney at Work, Phoenix solo Ruth Carter wrote that if she rents office space for her law practice, she would want her dog to be allowed. She also surveyed other solo and small-firm lawyers about whether they take their dogs to work (or would want to),…

Oct 23, 2013 6:00 PM CDT

What is the worst email you accidentally sent or received? And what were the consequences?

Last week, we noted a story in which a former bar president sent an email which derided the questions presented by justices on the Nebraska Supreme Court in a recent oral argument—and mistakenly cc’d the court’s chief justice. The sender of the email promptly apologized, and the justice assured the…

Oct 16, 2013 6:07 PM CDT