Satisfaction & Engagement
Lawyers on the Rise: Three Ways to Recruit Resilience
December 26, 2017
By Neha Sampat – (Originally published in Law Practice Today on August 14, 2017.) Grit. Fortitude in the face of struggle. Elasticity that allows a person to be stretched to an uncomfortable limit and then bounce back swiftly and completely, often with forward trajectory. We hear a lot about resilience these days, with Sheryl Sandberg
Read More…
Knowing Who’s Who in the Job Search Process
August 18, 2017
By Valerie Fontaine – Job seekers in the legal marketplace find a myriad of online and in-person resources of varying uses and value. Do-it-yourselfers might stick to Internet options such as social media, job boards, and employer listings with great success; others seeking the more human touch might reach out to one or more of the
Read More…
Laterals Must Take a Proactive Role in Their Onboarding
June 15, 2016
By Valerie Fontaine – Much is written about the lateral lawyer onboarding process from the employer’s point of view, but the newly hired lateral must play an equal or greater role in the process. Most large law firms have an established protocol yet, once everyone gets busy, it’s not always followed or completed. As a lateral
Read More…
What’s Your Hook?
January 21, 2016
By Valerie Fontaine – A narrative hook grabs readers’ attention at the beginning of a story and draws them in so they continue reading. Similarly, in a job search, your hook or Unique Value Proposition (UVP) states the clear benefit you provide to a prospective employer. It communicates who you are, what you do, what differentiates
Read More…
Looking into My Crystal Ball . . . Hot Practice Areas for 2016
November 23, 2015
By Valerie Fontaine – Hot and cold areas of law practice fluctuate with economic cycles. Areas that are hot right now may be completely cold in the future, and vice versa. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, real estate and corporate transactional practices are absolutely hot. Real estate finance, development, construction, purchase and sale, and
Read More…
What Associates Want
September 3, 2015
By Valerie Fontaine – Associate attorneys are the unhappiest workers in America, according to a 2013 CareerBliss study reported in Forbes magazine. Citing the structured environment, heavy emphasis on billable hours, and the long and uncertain path to partnership, associates ranked their satisfaction with the way they work and the rewards they receive lower than workers
Read More…
Leveling the Playing Field: Bringing In the Men
November 10, 2014
By Pat Gillette – Women had to fight for the right to take maternity leave. We had to fight for the right to work part time. We had to fight for the right to work remotely. These issues drove women’s initiatives, conferences, and publications for years and finally, the legal industry, as a whole, has
Read More…
Lateral Partner ROI
August 24, 2014
By Sang Lee – At the request of a particular law firm’s managing partner, I recently interviewed several partners who had joined his firm laterally within the last 12 months. The interview goals included, among others, the identification of strengths and weaknesses (oops, insert “areas for development” here) in the firm’s “thoughtfully conceived” and freshly launched
Read More…
How to Help Lawyers Find Happiness
August 7, 2014
By Sue Manch – Those of us in the legal talent development arena devote our time and efforts to programs and policies that will improve the success and happiness of our lawyers and law students. We implement competency-based performance models, create tailored mentoring programs, develop substantive and varied curricula, gather meaningful feedback, and provide one-on-one
Read More…