Do you want to take your legal practice to the next level?
Perhaps you're
feeling frustrated
or
annoyed
because you aren't
getting
the
results
you want, or you aren't getting
them as quickly as you'd like.
Success in law requires more than technical legal skill. It requires mastery of
several key competencies, including:
Time management and
organization;
Communications skills;
Skills in working well with
people;
Client service and
business development skills; and
Work/life integration (when professional life and personal life work
together).
When these competencies are working
together with technical legal skill, it's a strong foundation for a profitable,
sustainable, satisfying life at the bar.
But if you aren't operating at your peak in one of these areas, you may notice one of a variety of challenges.
You procrastinate.
Your work area is cluttered to the point that
you have trouble finding files or documents you need, and you would never
even consider inviting a client into your office.
You work with a great
assistant, paralegal, or attorney, but you're not able to work effectively
with her because your wires keep getting crossed and she just doesn't seem
to get it.
You'd like to delegate work, but you feel
you need to bill the hours yourself, or you don't have the confidence that
the work will be done right if someone else handles it.
You’re working for or with someone who drives you nuts!
You need to bring in business (or more
business). You're feeling pressured, but you've tried "business
development activities" before and they didn't work for you, or you dislike
marketing so much you just can't be bothered.
You're having trouble collecting on your
bills.
You desperately need a vacation,
but you feel that you can’t possibly schedule time out of the office.
Your spouse is
angry because you’re hardly ever home and you’re on the phone or the
BlackBerry or stuck behind papers when you are there… And you’re worried
that your marriage is in danger.
Or
perhaps things are working well for you, and you'd like to accelerate your
success.
You’re in the first five years of your practice, and you enjoy it.
You’re ready to take your career to the next level, and you’re just not sure how to take charge of your
professional development.
You’re on track for partnership, and you’ve exceeded every goal. But sometimes you wonder whether you have a
blind spot that needs illumination.
You want to engage in client development activities.
You know it'll bring you more money and also more power in your firm, and
it'll open more possibilities for you if you want to explore a move to a new
firm. You're ready to get started, if only you knew what would work
for you and how to create the time.
You’ve just made a lateral move, and you want to develop a strategy for success.
You want to assume a leadership role, but you aren’t sure how to get your foot in the door.
Or maybe you'd even like to change employment to a
setting that will allow you to make better use of the competencies you've
developed so you can build your practice faster, with more support.
You want a
second set of eyes to review your resume and cover letters and help you
strategize your approach.
You want to improve your
interview skills.
You want to be sure that you are
asking the right questions to find a great practice.
You want help in negotiating
your salary and the terms of your employment.
You are working with a great
recruiter who is getting you terrific interviews, and you know a new job is
just a short time away -- and now you are thinking about how to hit the
ground running and make sure you succeed wildly.
You know the
standard solutions to advancing in practice
– work harder, find a
mentor, find a new and better job (maybe even call a recruiter), read the articles and attend the CLE
programs... Or suck it up, get "realistic" and admit that it isn’t going to get any better.
But those steps haven’t
worked…
And they’re costing you
time and money…
And you can’t afford to keep searching or waiting for things to get
better someday…
And you know you need
something else…
And you’re ready to set yourself apart from your competition, to build a
practice that works.
Here’s
the answer: personalized strategic solution.
Mastering the competencies necessary to support a strong practice requires individualized attention. Every lawyer brings certain skills and strengths
to practice, and harnessing those attributes while building skill in other key competencies creates a personalized plan for success based on that lawyer's own goals.
So, how can you discover your particular areas for development?
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