Where to Get Free Online CLE Credits

CLE compliance reporting is right around the corner. If you're anything like most people, you've waited until the very last minute to make sure you have all your credits. And if you are in fact in that "most people"...

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How to Leave Work at the Office -- and Not Worry About It

Anchoring is a special skill for sailors. It requires knowing something about the bottom terrain, the tide, the type of anchor to use and more. But when an anchor is set well, the sailor can sleep peacefully knowing the...

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Best Gifts for Your Secretary, Paralegal, and Admin

The holidays are a fun time of the year around the office. People are often in good spirits and are looking forward to a little break, and maybe even that end of year bonus and merit raise (if they're...

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Law Firm Secretary Awarded $277K for Overtime

It's not a good look when a firm practices employment law, but doesn't pay overtime. For one Los Angeles law firm, it looked even worse when a court ordered the firm to pay almost $277,000 in attorney's fees to...

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Colorado Lawyers Can Avoid Disciplinary Issues With Online Program

Lawyers can avoid disciplinary problems by completing a new online program launched in Colorado. Administered by the state's Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, it is the first program like it in the nation. Attorneys who use it also can...

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How to Avoid the Calls You Don't Want Over the Holidays

For most lawyers, Thanksgiving is the beginning of the end ... of the year, that is. And even for those lawyers that have to meet a billable hour requirement, like every other person employed in a non-retail job, once...

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Should Your Small Firm Look Like a Large One?

Running a small law practice can be overwhelming. In addition to being a (or the) revenue generator, you also have to be the boss and manage the business side of things too. Fortunately, small firm clients understand that since...

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What to Do If Your Judge is Overly Festive During the Holidays

Judges are people. It might not always feel like it, but they are human beings that can get drunk on holiday spirit (or just spirits), act stupid, and embarrass themselves like everybody else. Not only is there an annual...

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Why Oppose When They Can Amend?

"Judicial economy" is a hard-sell to some clients. They don't really care about the judge's workload or the time it takes to prepare, oppose, or argue a motion. They want results, and they want it now. If you change...

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5 Gritty Tips to Persuade Clients to Settle

Being a lawyer means seeking justice on behalf of clients. However, lawyers understand that justice, particularly in the civil sense, is about dollars and cents, more so than justice. When it comes to persuading a civil client that it...

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Don't Give Inmates Anything But Advice

Steven M. Cohen apparently was concerned about his client's oral hygiene in jail, so he gave the man a toothbrush. That resulted in a felony conviction for delivering illegal articles to an inmate. Then the state Supreme Court suspended...

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Against People-Pleasing: Why Lawyers Should Be Hardcore

Troubling the leaders of his day with questions, Socrates was the gadfly of Athens. So said Plato, his student and chronicler of his trial. Of course, Socrates accepted a death sentence for his self-appointed role in society. Today, lawyers...

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Are Elder Bankruptcy Cases a Growing Niche?

For elder law attorneys, an unfortunate trend seems to be on the upswing among the client base: individuals over the age of 65 filing for bankruptcy. However, given that the number one cause of bankruptcies is medical debt, this...

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How to Help Your Settlement Get Government Approval

Tom Petty will likely be forever remembered by plaintiff's lawyers for one reason, and one reason alone ... wait for it ... wait for it ... the wai-ai-ting is the hardest part. And if you've ever had to wait...

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How to Say 'Seasons Greetings' on a Budget

It's not too early to think about seasons greetings, and for some things it's probably too late. So let's just talk about what you can do this season -- especially if you're on a budget. Assuming you're not a...

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Should Juries Know If a Witness Is Undocumented?

The legal issues surrounding undocumented immigrants are varied and often controversial. When it comes to disclosing a defendant, litigant, or even a witness's immigration status, courts must exercise a careful balancing act between the probative value and the potential...

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Can 'Best Practices' Be Bad for Your Law Practice?

Before Copernicus published his book 'On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres,' the scientific community traditionally thought that the Earth was the center of the universe. That's thousands of years of wrong. So what does that have to do with...

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What's in a Footnote? An Answer to THE 'Internet' v. 'internet' Question

For years, grammarians and spell checkers have been telling you to capitalize the word "internet." Then, a couple years back, a change in the capitalization tide took place, and over time, the word lost its proper noun status. It...

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Tips When Asking Clients for Testimonials

Testimonials are the next best thing to referrals -- real people saying good things about your practice. There are pluses and minuses, however. And when it comes to lawyer advertising, of course ethics rules apply. But if there is...

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How a Mistranslation Can Ruin Your Case

It's a rare condition, in this day and age, that a non-English speaking litigant in a courtroom will get an unqualified translator. However, when it does happen, and it does happen, the consequences can be rather pronounced. Given the semantic...

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How to Persuade a Client to Reject a Settlement

Hypothetical: After putting countless hours into a case you know you can win, the other side ships over a dismal settlement demand or offer that you know is garbage, and to your dismay, your client, even after being told...

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Legal Sector Lost 1,100 Jobs in October

If you've lost a job recently, don't take it personally. According to labor statistics, the legal services sector lost 1,100 jobs last month. Out of more than a million people in legal services, it is not a large enough...

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Trading Tables: From Defense Attorney to Prosecutor

It is not uncommon to see attorneys practicing criminal justice change sides from defense to prosecution, or vice versa, when they decide it's time for a career change. While sometimes (or probably most of the time) this change is...

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Public Speaking Tips for Lawyers

You're a lawyer. You've done moot court. You know your way around the podium. If you are not a litigator, maybe you are a transactional attorney who counsels clients or gives presentations. In any case, you should not be...

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How to Add a Little Humor and Creativity to Your Daily Law Practice

Many miserable lawyers out there dread going into the office, or just working as a lawyer. Even if you're not not that miserable, you can certainly try to improve your day to day experience as a lawyer. One simple...

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Should Law Firms Offer Free Lunch, Snacks?

Should law firms provide free snacks to their employees? Yes. Next question. Is there no such thing as free lunch? Objection. Vague, or at least the answer is yes and no. At law firms, not so much....

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Senate Debates How to Curb Mythical Frivolous Lawsuits

Several bills recently introduced in the Senate, aimed at curbing frivolous lawsuits, sparked congressional debate that might be worrisome to many federal practitioners. The suite of bills seek to erect higher barriers for individuals to sue businesses, as well...

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Seasonal Business Cards for Marketing on a Budget

When it comes to seasons greetings, ecards are the cheapest -- and that's the problem. Not that you have to spend money on cards, but colleagues and clients expect a little more than a digital signature. Especially when you...

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Can You Avoid Liability by Tolling a Statute of Limitation?

One of the simplest causes of malpractice involves missing deadlines, and no deadline is more critical than a statute of limitations. If you miss one, then you can almost rest assured that (or, more likely, not sleep because) you'll...

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Cannabis Law Firm Goes Global

Is it really a good idea to issue a press release about going global with your cannabis practice? Hoban Law Group, a leading cannabis law firm in Colorado, apparently thinks so. The firm announced it is opening four offices...

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Quash Cases via Arbitration or Pay the Price

When filing or defending a lawsuit with an arbitration clause, it can often work out to your client's advantage to utilize that arbitration provision, or to try to get around it. Sometimes though, cases will get filed before a...

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What Is Drug Court Practice?

As the opioid epidemic continues to make front-page news, legal practitioners have opportunities to be part of the remedy. President Donald Trump's commission on opioids has called for more drug courts to address the "worst drug crisis in U.S....

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Judge Tells Lawyer: No Sidewalk Speeches

Most lawyers know the ethics rule on trial publicity, but never have occasion to worry about it. The rule prohibits a lawyer from making statements to the media that may prejudice a pending a case. There are some exceptions...

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Passing the File After Being DQ'd by a Judge

Even the best conflict checking system won't be able save you from getting disqualified if a case unfolds into a conflict, or some other insurmountable issue rears its ugly head. And while opposing counsel and parties may be happy...

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How to Overcome Sickness From Work Stress

Alyson, an ambitious attorney, had a stroke when she was 35. She was going to court that day, but suddenly her body went limp. She was paralyzed. It didn't happen in a day, however. It happened over the course...

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Will Lawyers Ever Practice in Outer Space?

When the topic of Space Law comes up, some lawyers are bound to roll their eyes, while others will start scanning their memories of which Starship Enterprise crew member could have been a space lawyer. But in reality, right...

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What to Do When a Witness Is Blowing a Deposition

It happens to every attorney who has appeared for a deposition. It's that moment when it goes south, when the witness says something so cringe-worthy you don't know what happened. If only there were a pause button or a...

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What to Do When You're Kicked Off a Case

It's embarrassing to get fired, and even more so when it's executed in public. Then there's the ultimate dismal dismissal, when a judge kicks you off a case. There's no place to hide when it becomes part of the...

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