Question of the Week

Does Your Workplace Have a ‘Macho’ Culture?

In the March issue of the ABA Journal, we note a complaint (PDF) filed against Dechert by a male associate who says the firm retaliated against him—at first withholding work, and eventually firing him—for taking time under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act after the birth of his second…

Feb 23, 2011 7:30 PM CST

Do You Recall Any Creative Hypotheticals From Law School? Did They Cross the Line?

We learned this week that a veteran law professor is on the hot seat after students complained his criminal law class hypotheticals involving the school’s dean were too violent, sexist and racist. In the scenarios, the Widener Law dean was a shooting victim in 10 cases and a drug dealer…

Feb 16, 2011 7:40 PM CST

Have You Ever Had a Client or Co-Worker Who Used Poor Judgment on Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day can inspire dread in the hearts of divorce lawyers, because the holiday can prompt emotionally fragile clients to act in ways that harm their cases. “I heard about a sex tape sent over to the soon-to-be-ex-spouse around Valentine’s Day some years ago, before the Internet and technology took…

Feb 9, 2011 5:28 PM CST

Have You Ever Had to Fight Weather to Keep Working?

At the time of this writing, those of us in Chicago are knee-deep (at least) in snow. But ABAJournal.com soldiers on, even though most of us are working remotely. County courts are closed, but Mayer Brown, which has some of its worldwide information technology aspects centralized in the Windy City,…

Feb 2, 2011 5:50 PM CST

Can Document Review Work Help You Grow as a Lawyer?

Updated: News got out this week that WilmerHale is looking to hire 40 new law graduates for legal discovery work, aka document review. And we also discovered this week that Thomson Reuters is looking to staff a document centers in Michigan and Texas. There’s arguably a stigma that can be…

Jan 26, 2011 8:39 PM CST

Is an Emotional Outburst at the Office Ever OK?

Earlier this month at the Careerist, author Vivia Chen wrote about crying at the office, in which she cites an article from the Harvard Business Review: “The unwritten corporate rule is quite simple, reminds HBR: ‘It is never OK to cry in your office, with your colleagues, or, god forbid,…

Jan 19, 2011 7:19 PM CST

Which Words Do You Think Need to Be Banished?

Every new year since Jan. 1, 1976, Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., has released a list of words or expressions that it declares should be “banished from the Queen’s English for misuse, overuse and general uselessness.” LSSU invites readers to submit a word to banish and…

Jan 12, 2011 6:23 PM CST

Do You Engage in Any Good-Luck Rituals?

This week, we noted a report that some New Yorkers—lawyers included—employ “smudgers” to clear their homes of the negative energy they feel has been left behind by prior owners or tenants through ritual acts such as burning sage inside the space. Lawyer Ziporah Riech hired a smudger because she wanted…

Jan 5, 2011 6:02 PM CST

What Are Three Things You Resolve to Do to Improve Your Law Practice in 2011?

As the year comes to a close, it’s time for obligatory lists – from best and worst ofs to resolutions worth noting. We even compiled our list of most-read news posts on ABAJournal.com in 2010. This made us wonder what’s on your list for the New Year. What are three…

Dec 28, 2010 2:00 PM CST

What Words & Phrases are Resumé Killers?

Earlier this week, a LinkedIn spokeswoman shared her top ten phrases to avoid in your resumé, including gems such as “fast-paced,” “results-oriented” and “proven track record.” Apparently these phrases are so overused, they’re likely to be seen as empty and meaningless to potential employers fatigued by too much sameness. So…

Dec 21, 2010 7:06 PM CST

Post Your Legal-Themed Answers, ‘Jeopardy’ Style (and Answer in the Form of a Question)

A Winston & Strawn associate’s recent appearance on Jeopardy has inspired us to take a different approach to this week’s question. We would like to invite commenters to post legal-themed answers, Jeopardy style, and also respond to those posts in the comments in the form of a question. In your…

Dec 15, 2010 5:34 PM CST

What’s the Most Interesting Card or Gift You’ve Received from a Colleague or Client?

This week, we noted a funny animated holiday e-card created by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips that depicts partners debating their firm holiday card’s language. The cartoon lawyers settle on “Warm Wishes” and a long disclaimer. Very often, those with whom we do business play it pretty safe when giving holiday…

Dec 8, 2010 5:35 PM CST

Which Law Blogger Would You Most Like to Meet—And Why?

We at ABAJournal.com marked Cyber Monday by announcing our fourth annual Blawg 100, the year’s 100 best legal blogs as chosen by the editors of the ABA Journal. And for most of December, readers will be able to vote for their own favorites among the 100 we’ve chosen. Some blogs…

Dec 1, 2010 8:22 PM CST

Are Librarians Part of Your Legal Team?

Our friend Patrick Lamb struck a nerve last week with his New Normal blog post about whether law firms continue to maintain libraries and employ librarians. Several commenters took issue with Pat’s characterization of a librarian’s duties. And others noted that they’d have a librarian on staff if they could…

Nov 22, 2010 5:01 PM CST

Why Do You Love Being a Lawyer?

From our comment streams over the months and years, it’s clear that while there are those who are disenchanted with the practice of law, many love what they do. They are inspired by their clients, thrive as advocates, are intellectually stimulated on a daily basis and feel like they’re making…

Nov 17, 2010 4:13 PM CST