Question of the Week

What Are You Thankful for This Year?

Often it seems as if there’s no getting around bad news. Foreign conflict, crime, death and sadness dominate headlines. And with the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and continuing economic woes in the legal industry, it’s easy to dwell on the negative. But this week, we’d like you to tell us…

Nov 20, 2012 4:48 PM CST

Give Us a Timeline of Your Daily Workday Routine. Is It Something You Can Handle Long-Term?

In the last week, a memo from a departing Clifford Chance associate made its way around the Internet. In the memo, the lawyer-mother resigning from her position explained her resignation by way of transcribing a timeline of her typical day, which begins at 4 a.m. and ends at 1:30 a.m.…

Nov 14, 2012 7:19 PM CST

Did This Year’s Voting Persuade You That Election Law in the US or Your State Needs Updating?

The results are in for the 2012 election—in fact, the results of the presidential election were announced before many votes in the battleground state of Florida—where many voters waited six hours or more to vote—were counted. University of California, Irvine law professor Richard Hasen suggested at Election Law Blog that…

Nov 7, 2012 7:53 PM CST

Tell Us Which Sentence of the US Constitution You Would Rewrite, and How You Would Rewrite It

In early October, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens told the Chicago Bar Association at its annual John Paul Stevens Award luncheon of his desire to amend the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution by adding four words to it as shown in italics below: “This Constitution, and…

Oct 31, 2012 4:22 PM CDT

What Does Your Workplace Do to Make You Feel Appreciated?

Last week, the New York Times wrote about how the latest perks that Silicon Valley companies are giving to their employees focus on their home lives. “Facebook gives new parents $4,000 in spending money,” the Times reports. “Stanford School of Medicine is piloting a project to provide doctors with housecleaning…

Oct 24, 2012 7:35 PM CDT

If You Were Running for President, What Would Your Six-Word ‘Stump Speech’ Be?

For several months now, the National Constitution Center has invited both visitors to its Philadelphia museum and visitors to its website to share what they would use as a six-word stump speech if they were running for president. “This standard political speech dates back to the 1800s, when candidates stood…

Oct 17, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Do You Know What Your Co-Workers and Superiors Earn, or Not? What’s a Better Workplace Policy?

At Above the Law, columnist “Anonymous Partner” weighed in on a recent partner compensation survey (PDF) that noted that partners in law firms with open-compensation systems (a firm at which every partner knows what every other partner makes or could easily find out) earned far more than partners at firms…

Oct 10, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

How Do You Deal with Rude Opposing Counsel?

At The Velvet Hammer a little while back, Seattle plaintiffs personal injury attorney Karen Koehler described a tense encounter at a photocopier with opposing counsel and offered her readers seven tips on how to deal with others of his ilk. Among her tips: “1. Sever all emotionality with the [rude…

Oct 3, 2012 4:48 PM CDT

What Nonlegal Tasks Have Clients Asked You to Perform for Them?

Last week, one of the Westlaw Insider blog’s headnotes of the day was from Cincinnati Bar Assn. v. Alsfelder, 816 N.E.2d 218 (Ohio 2004): “Although attorney has a duty to assist his client in making informed decisions, a process that often implicates nonlegal considerations, attorney may not serve in a…

Sep 26, 2012 4:30 PM CDT

How Do You Physically Prepare for ‘Game Days’ in Your Legal Practice?

Last week, in a post titled Eggs Win Trials, Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett extols the virtue of eating eggs and bacon for breakfast—and hard-boiled eggs for lunch—on days he spends in the courtroom. “In fact, and even aside from the health benefits (which mainstream medicine doesn’t want to…

Sep 19, 2012 5:06 PM CDT

Which Celebrity Do You Think Would Make a Great Attorney in Real Life and Why?

Sometimes, child actors and star athletes grow up to be attorneys. In recent years, law blog Bitter Lawyer has interviewed both Jeff Cohen, aka “Chunk” from the 1985 movie Goonies and now a top entertainment lawyer; and Len Elmore, a onetime NBA player who later worked as a prosecutor and…

Sep 12, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

When Does Career-Promoting Behavior Cross the Line Between Admirable Persistence and Annoyance?

Persistence pays, as the saying goes, and you won’t find professional opportunities if you don’t actively pursue them. Many of us have been the one pursued–by vendors, those new to the profession who want to get their foot in the door, or others somehow convinced of their own brilliance. But…

Sep 5, 2012 5:55 PM CDT

How Do You Deal with Unsolicited Letters from Prisoners?

A recent thread on the ABA’s SoloSez email discussion list focused on how fellow solosezzers deal with random letters from prisoners. While some lawyers say they ignore them, others say they respond with a form letter that has resulted in clients. This made us wonder how you handle letters from…

Aug 29, 2012 5:46 PM CDT

Has Student Loan Debt Impeded Your Romantic Relationships?

Marriage is a union of love–and frequently, of finances. So when you’re saddled with student loan debt, it could give your potential partners cold feet. NPR spoke with a woman who was dumped for just that reason. “I was really floored at the time, because I just didn’t consider that…

Aug 22, 2012 8:07 PM CDT

Are You Suspicious of People Who Don’t Have a Web Presence?

This week at The Not-So-Private Parts, Forbes blogger Kashmir Hill responded to commenter backlash to a post she wrote last week citing Slashdot and Slate that drew the conclusion that it’s suspect for an individual not to have a Facebook account. Hill herself doesn’t feel this way, noting that her…

Aug 15, 2012 7:59 PM CDT