Question of the Week

What words are you always seeing misspelled? What words do you look up every time?

The Bryan Garner on Words column from our March issue, “Why lawyers can’t write,” has been burning up the charts at ABAJournal.com. Garner mentions in this particular column that he personally has a practice of “asking secretarial candidates, who invariably describe themselves as good spellers, to spell three words—such as…

Mar 13, 2013 7:46 PM CDT

How many times have you exercised in the last 7 days? And what did you have for lunch today?

This week, we featured an ABA Journal podcast in which we talk to two exercise physiologists who work with Olympic-caliber athletes as well as executives and companies trying to integrate exercise and healthy diets into their work lives. “I have worked with litigators during trials,” says James Herrera, who coaches…

Mar 6, 2013 7:43 PM CST

Do you have any unusual hobbies?

If Ardsley, N.Y., solo Lisa Solomon isn’t working, chances are you’ll find her looking for wild greens or mushrooms around her Westchester County home, we note in our March issue. Solomon, who has been a forager for more than eight years, has found—and eaten—everything from stinging nettles to aborted Entoloma…

Feb 27, 2013 8:10 PM CST

Law at the movies challenge: Take a title and make it less interesting

In honor of the 85th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, we’re presenting a bit of a movie challenge: Take any lawyer movie and change the title to make it less interesting. For example: Single Indemnity, My Neighbor Vinny, To Catch a Mockingbird. To refresh your memory about some of the…

Feb 20, 2013 7:26 PM CST

Do you judge co-workers by how clean or messy their workspaces are? How tidy are you?

This week, the ABA asked followers of its Facebook page what we’d like to ask you: Do you judge co-workers by how clean or messy their workspaces are? Also, let us know how tidy you keep your own desk. Do you think that how clean your workspace happens to be…

Feb 13, 2013 8:30 PM CST

How grueling is your work week? If you have a flexible schedule, share your secret

This week, Lady Gaga testified in a deposition that her employees work no more than eight hours daily, though the time is spaced out throughout the day. “You don’t get a schedule that is like you punch in and you can play f—ing Tetris at your desk for four hours…

Feb 6, 2013 8:30 PM CST

Is ‘try’ the ‘most dangerous word to use at work?’ What other words signal failure at the office?

Try is the most dangerous word to use at work, Brad Hoover, CEO of the Internet company Grammarly, writes at Fortune magazine. “When I hear employees say they will ‘try to meet a deadline,’ ‘try to close a deal,’ or ‘try to handle a customer issue,’ my next question is…

Jan 30, 2013 8:40 PM CST

How much do you spend on clothes for work? Do you have trouble sticking to a budget?

Last week at Corporette, blogger Kat Griffin asked her readers what their annual clothes budget is—if they have one. And also last week, blog The Jane Dough noted a 2012 United Kingdom survey suggesting that women there spend 18 percent of their salaries on their work wardrobes. So this week,…

Jan 23, 2013 9:16 PM CST

What annoying or distasteful habits of co-workers are driving you crazy?

Last week, we noted a complaint (later withdrawn) accusing a Social Security Administration employee of creating a hostile work environment by continuously passing gas. The complaint said the worker broke wind more than 60 times in a 12-week period after four meetings with superiors to discuss the problem, according to…

Jan 16, 2013 7:28 PM CST

What’s the Most Ridiculous Case a Client Has Ever Asked You to Take?

We saw last month that Reddit asked its lawyer readers to post the details of the “stupidest” cases that their clients have ever put before them. One of the favorite anecdotes on the site concerned a reader’s story about a would-be client whose next-door neighbor had displaced some dirt and…

Jan 9, 2013 6:58 PM CST

Have You Ever Taken Legal Action Against a Retailer? Or Left Negative Feedback on a Review Website?

Many who manage to avoid shopping for most of the year still find themselves visiting dozens of stores or doing lots of online shopping during the holiday season—whether it’s to buy gifts for family members or take advantage of Black Friday deals. But sometimes promised merchandise isn’t delivered or other…

Jan 2, 2013 8:55 PM CST

What’s Your Favorite Legal Word?

A few months ago our favorite grammar blog (we’re journalists, what do you expect?) asked readers their picks for the coolest word in the English language. That made us wonder: What’s your favorite legal word? We asked some lawyers and law bloggers what their picks were. In pari delicto, says…

Dec 19, 2012 8:45 PM CST

What Steps Do You Take to Make Sure You Have Positive, Productive Interactions with Your Clients?

This week, we are honoring the memory of Steven Keeva, the author of Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life and a former assistant managing editor and columnist at the ABA Journal who died Dec. 7. The last “Keeva on Life and Practice” column we published in…

Dec 12, 2012 7:14 PM CST

Are You Raising Your Billing Rate in 2013?

This week, we took note of a column by Susan Hackett, a principal at the consultancy Legal Executive Leadership that chides law firms for their annual letters sent in December to announce rate increases. For one thing, December is too late in the year to notify clients, who have already…

Dec 5, 2012 8:29 PM CST

Do You Give Gifts at the Office? If So, Who Are Your Recipients, and How Much Do You Spend?

The season for law firm bonuses, holiday cards and related gift-giving is already upon us. So this week, we’d like to ask you: Do you give gifts at the office? If so, who are your recipients, and how much do you spend? Do you just buy for the person you…

Nov 28, 2012 6:01 PM CST