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The upcoming ABA Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference presents a great opportunity to learn about the applicability, versatility, and growing importance of your attorney website design in promoting your legal practice. The conference focuses...

On this edition, Dolores Dorsainvil, Senior Staff Attorney of the D.C. Office of Bar Counsel, discusses the importance of law practice management, effective client screening, retainer agreements and how to handle attorney trust accounts. She also explains...

LexisNexis today announced the public beta release of LexisNexis ® Firm Manager TM , an innovative new online legal practice management application for solo practitioners and small law practices. Developed in collaboration with more than 150 attorneys...

Word that some big law firms may do away with lockstep pay increases and reduce their associates' base salaries beyond the cuts already instituted comes as little surprise to legal trend watchers. The Above the Law blog published a report late last...

During your time as a summer associate, how can you be sociable, but also appropriate? Although you likely have many opportunities to socialize with professionals at the firm, are there gray areas you’ve been wondering about? For example: Should...

As lawyers in your early years of practice, you have, undoubtedly, already learned about the importance of marketing your and your firm’s practice and developing your and your firm’s base of clients. However, as young attorneys, you probably...

Getting slow-paying clients to cough up what they owe is frustrating and a big drain on cash flow, but there are ways to nudge a client into paying. Reminder Invoice One of the least confrontational things you can do is to send a "friendly"...

The call elicits instant chest swelling. It's a prospective client who has been treated very badly by one of my professional rivals at another firm. "I should have gone with my instincts and picked you in the first place," the caller intones...

Matthew Homann has posted his latest "Ten Rules" listing on his blog, "the [non]billable hour," this one addressing the top rules of client service. In a nutshell, the post emphasizes the importance of going the extra mile. Clients...

An associate in a law firm can increase his or her value by understanding how a law firm makes money. Most law firms earn fees in one of four ways: (1) contingency fees; (2) hourly fees; (3) flat fees; and (4) retainers. Contingency Fees The most...

When an attorney agrees to represent a client, it is in everyone’s best interests to get the fee agreement in writing. The agreement should cover the precise matter for which the attorney or firm is being retained, the fees to be charged, expenses...

What a heady time for the First-year Associate. You have endured three years of law professors, other law students, and law school in general. You have survived the bar examination. And now you are a newly minted attorney with a generous salary, doing...

I. Obtaining Clients a. Determine what kind of clients to represent i. Small businesses ii. Family law iii. Personal injury iv. Collection work v. Insurance defense b. Solicit clients i. Advertising ii. Announcement letters ...

Judges demand respect. Part of that is a demand that attorneys show up when they are supposed to, ready to proceed. Missed deadlines and missed appointments can result in adverse rulings against a client, sanctions against the attorney, and possible disciplinary...

When you first start at a new firm, all you want to think about is learning the job and getting the work done. But, sooner or later, you know that you will be expected to start bringing in new clients. You were never taught this skill in law school, except...