Since 1980, I have been consistently reviewing law school applications. Even then, as a first-generation black American college work-study student in the admissions office at Columbia Law School, it was pretty clear to me that admission to elite law schools was preordained by one’s academic pedigree. Some of the faculty…
Through my job as director of content at Rocket Matter, I’ve learned a lot about this profession. One thing that has really stood out to me is how many lawyers are suffering. Our website recently ran a five-part series on depression, substance abuse and wellness in the legal industry. The…
In what we are calling the cyber century, the first signs of danger appear on a screen; a hack, a viral video, a tweet. Any of these can be the opening shot of a bruising battle that can quickly escalate to a crisis. As general counsel, are you ready to…
The associates you hire want to do a good job. They strive to become good lawyers. They recognize the demands that are placed on them for their time, attention and skills. And they are up for the challenge. But they need some help along the way. There are things firms…
Recently, a business trip took me to Paris. As the schedule was tight and I had a number of appointments across the city, I had to frequently rely on Uber to get me places in time. Doing a number of comparable rides over a couple of days, I started to…
As I’ve watched the #MeToo movement gain momentum over the past several months, I’ve been thinking a lot about the intersection of #MeToo and the internal investigations space. In particular, I think the current environment warrants an examination of certain aspects of the usual approach to sensitive internal investigations. First,…
I keep two 5-by-8-inch notebooks with me at all times: one white and one yellow. These allow my mind to rest a little more easily. If I were to lose them, I’d be in a heap of trouble. The yellow one contains all of my daily billable time entries, and…
By the time it upended his life, Tunde had essentially forgotten about the online article he’d written. Submitting it for publication was one of the last things he had done before leaving his home country of Nigeria to pursue a master’s degree in America. Between dealing with his visa application,…
While the world around us is evolving with increasing rapidity, lawyers and law firms are still making fire with flint and dry straw. It wouldn’t be a stretch for me to claim that a disproportionate percentage of lawyers are technologically illiterate. But what’s worse is that many of those are…
The ABA Journal wants to host and facilitate conversations among lawyers about their profession. We are now accepting thoughtful, non-promotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors.
