A client recently called me, and I could hear the tension in his voice right away. Too many projects coming due at the same time (and thus, another long weekend in the office) combined with sheer exhaustion to make Rick an unhappy lawyer. “I just don’t know how I’m going to get it all done. I always do, but you know, I’m thinking maybe I’m not going to pull it off this time.” We started listing out exactly what Rick needed to do and, while it was a lot of work, the truth was that he could accomplish all of it within about 30 hours, which would leave him some time free over the weekend — if, and only if, he was able to stop worrying about the work and start doing it.
“So, Rick,” I ventured, “you sound completely stressed out, and your brain seems to be going in six different ways at once. Why don’t you hit the reset button?” (Read the rest of the entry…)
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Introducing Ron Peterson, a guest author. To learn more about Ron, scroll to the end of his post.
Lawyers will often carry Phi-Beta Kappa keys, law review credentials, marquee college and law school degrees, and—after a few years of diligent and conscientious practice—a growing realization that they may be unemployable! How can this be? Throughout school your work has been “A” quality, tests confirm your abilities, you law work has proved impeccable—but advancement has been halted at a critical time in your career. Unlike the earlier part of your life, after six or seven years, law firms take for granted the quality of work and focus more on (Read the rest of the entry…)
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In just a few hours, I am going on retreat. I’ll be in Wyoming, which dials deep into one of my top values — freedom. (The image to the left is the view from my “office” during last year’s retreat.) A retreat is, for me, time devoted to looking at where my business is, what’s going well and what isn’t, and what the next steps are. I’ve gone on retreat around this time each year since I started Life at the Bar, and it amazes me what comes of the time.
One of the problems lawyers have with their practices is that we rarely take time to reflect on our goals and our progress toward them. Instead, we tend to be in fast forward motion, moving forward all the time, but not pausing to ask (Read the rest of the entry…)
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I noticed another lesson in the Olympics last night. I watched the 400m relays and saw the U.S. men’s and women’s teams disqualified for dropping the baton. The men quit running after the drop, but the women’s team anchor Lauryn Williams picked up the baton and ran the rest of the race. It was hard to watch the drops and the runners’ responses, knowing how hard the athletes had trained and that one slip terminated any hope of winning. I wondered if the women knew that the men had dropped the baton and, if so, if they were shaken by their teammates’ error.
Coverage cut next to the women’s 10m platform diving. Although the Chinese divers were considered almost a lock for gold and silver, the story behind the competition was about Laura Wilkinson, the 30-year old diver hoping to wrest a medal from competitors about half her age in this, her last competition. She’d injured her wrist and right tricep, and her dives were sufficient only to put her in 9th place. What I noticed (as an ignorant viewer, not even a diving enthusiast) was her spirit and composure. Although she was clearly disappointed that her dives earned such low scores, each time she mounted the platform, she smiled genuinely and gave each dive her all.
What do these sketches have to do with lawyers? As I watched the competitions last night, I started thinking about one of my former clients — let’s call her Jane. When we began working together, (Read the rest of the entry…)
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Last night, I was watching the men’s gymnastics Olympic competition. I was struck with the approaches, at least as described by the know-it-all knowledgeable commentators. (I admit to some impatience with the Olympic commentators, who magnify every misstep and cluck over the athletes’ failings, but that’s another story.) Some gymnasts played all out, trying their most difficult moves and performing brilliantly — or not. Others seemed to play it safe, preferring to execute flawlessly what they knew they could do well rather than to stretch for a more difficult series of moves.
Recently, I asked this question: Are you playing to win, or are you playing not to lose? One astute commentor asked whether I intended the question to be answered with regard to litigation or (Read the rest of the entry…)
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Former law firm associate Catriona Collins sued the law firm that had employed her, Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane, claiming that she was passed over for work assignments and ultimately dismissed on the basis of her gender.
Last week, the ABA Journal reported on Judge Kimba Wood’s Order denying (in part) the firm’s motion for summary judgment and permitting the case to proceed to trial. A New York Law Journal article reports the fact in more detail than the ABA Journal’s summary: (Read the rest of the entry…)
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One of my favorite questions to suggest to a lawyer who’s in conversation with a potential client or looking to deepen a conversation with a current client is this: When you’re stuck in traffic and you’re thinking about your business, what’s the challenge that comes to mind most frequently? I love that question because it’s so universal and because it creates an opportunity for someone to share what’s really of concern, which isn’t always the same thing as the surface concern that may have prompted the conversation. (The question is drawn from James Hassett’s marvelous book, Legal Business Development: A Step-by-Step Guide.)
And so, when I decided recently to create a survey to see what’s most pressing to the lawyers who read this blog and my weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers, that question became Question No. 1. I’m pleased to have received numerous responses already, and I’d be grateful if you would take a few minutes to share your thoughts with me. As a “thank you” gift, you’ll receive access to a resource I’ve created, Manage Your Time to Maximize Your Rainmaking: The Top Ten Tips. The survey is completely anonymous and does not require you to share your email address.
To take the survey, please click on this link or copy this into your web browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=YKUPvL6P_2fDJhvkfT8qoTsQ_3d_3d
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I’ve begun including a new feature in my weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers, called “Ask Julie.” Readers can send in questions, and each week I select one to answer in the newsletter. Last week’s question and response generated quite a bit of discussion, so I’m sharing it here. (If you haven’t yet subscribed to Leadership Matters for Lawyers, you can do so by clicking on this link or by completing the sign-up box at the top of the middle column on this page.)
The question…
I’ve been working for a partner for two years now (since I started with the firm) and I still have no idea what he wants. He assigns something to me and tells me what he wants, but when I deliver it, (Read the rest of the entry…)
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I’ll write more about this in a future post, but here’s a question for you to consider:
Are you playing to win? Or are you playing not to lose?
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September 05, 2008 
