Giving Notice With Diplomacy

When you leave a job that you do not like, it is tempting to let your current employer know why you are really leaving. While giving constructive criticism to a boss you are leaving may seem like a good thing to do, it is a dangerous career move.

The Importance of Small Talk

Small talk is an important career skill. While small talk may seem trite or unimportant, it is actually critical in helping us to build rapport. If you are unwilling to make small talk with another individual, you are actually communicating that the other person is not important to you. Here are some good tips for making small talk.

The Best Referrals Come Unsolicited

If a lawyer or other professional service provider asks for referrals, he or she runs the risk of making a client feel uncomfortable. Better to deliver great service and then respond when a client asks how they can be of help to you.

Kill all the "Super Lawyers"

An ethics panel of the high court in New Jersey has ruled that "SuperLawyers" and "Best Lawyers in America" designations violate the ethical rules in New Jersey. Could this ruling be coming to a jurisdiction near you?

Hope for Part-Time Opportunities?

Is it really possible for large firm attorneys to work part-time and still get the brass ring? Are there models for successful part-time arrangements at the nation's top firms? Here are some examples; though I wonder if this article isn't sugar coating things a little. Do these women really work part-time? Do they simply not sleep (or not make any time for their own personal needs--beyond caregiving for their families?) I wonder!

Friends at Work

The Boston Globe reports on the importance of having 2 or 3 friends at work. Apparently, there is some evidence that people with friends in the workplace report overall higher levels of happiness in their lives generally. Individuals with friends in the workplace also report feeling more engaged in their work. Implication for lawyers: once again, it makes no sense to grind out hours in your office without taking the time to build office relationships.

Beware of Personal Information on the Web

Beware of what you post on the Internet. More and more employers are googling job applicants as part of their due dilligence process. Do you really want a firm to know that you once ate a live mouse when you played with a heavy metal band?

Trends in Partner Compensation

Yesterday, I participated in a teleconference hosted by Hildebrandt. Here are the main points raised by the speaker:

1. A high percentage of firms currently have open compensation systems (i.e. where attorneys know what their partners earn) but the trend is to move away from these systems.
2. Money alone is an ineffective motivator (unless it is a lot of money.) Internal fairness is more important.
3. A good practice is to conduct pre-compensation interviews with each partner and focus on the future (i.e. the goals for the coming year for that partner.) It is best to have two partners in the room to conduct the interview.
4. It is common now for partner income to fluctuate (up and down). This reflects a maturing market for legal services and the need to keep the "keepers" happy.
5. Practice groups are playing a bigger role now in law firm management.
6. The most successful firms use subjective rather than formulaic (or objective) systems to set comp.
7. Seniority is becoming less of a factor in setting partner comp.
8. What is keeping the client at the firm remains the number one factor in setting partner comp.
9. Firms are starting to move away from lock step systems (even at the associate level.)
10. Comp differentials from highest to lowest paid partner are increasing (5:1 or 6:1 is not uncommon.)
11. Good practice is to limit the number of salary steps so that partners do not overly compare their comp with other partners.
12. Hildebrandt advocates using a prospective comp system with a bonus pool at the end of the year of 4-15% to fix any "mistakes" that might have been made during the year.

Displaying Strong Body Language at an Interview

Body language plays an important role in any form of communication. In a job interview, where time is limited, body language is critical. Make sure to avoid these common mistakes.

Finding Inspiration in Your Daily Work Life

A legal blogger offers his own thoughts (taking quiet nature walks and breaks with your kids) and links to several articles on related subjects including: developing client empathy, different forms of genius and using music to create the right environment.

Keeping Your Network Fresh

Most of us do not make our best decisions when we are under stress. If the demise of prominent firms like Testa Hurwitz teaches us anything it is this: keep up with you network outside of your firm. Don't wait until a stressful moment in the life of your firm to keep your contacts warm. Think about what you would do if you had to leave your firm. Don't wait until the decision is forced on you. You will be able to think more clearly if that stressful moment does ever come. Crisis is not the time to start planning out a "plan B".

How About a Don't Do List

Here's a novel concept. Keep a list of the things you shouldn't be doing. Get more done not by listing what you should do, but by listing those things which are to be avoided. I like it!

Receiving Feedback

Associates I speak with often complain that they do not get enough constructive feedback on their work. But there is an art to eliciting feedback. It is important to be proactive about getting feedback because most people are unlikely to be honest with you about how you come across. David Maister offers some great suggestions. Here is a related article I wrote on responding to criticism. In a law firm setting, associates actually do get a fair amount of feedback. The problem is that the feedback they get is largely negative.

Staying Energized

An attorney blogger reflects on the importance of finding the things in our lives that keep us energized. He suggests we look for ways to increase those activities that have a positive effect on our energy level and reduce those activities that deplete our energy. Is it time for you to reflect on which clients and client matters you want to increase (and which ones you want to decrease?)

Juggling Two Offers

Career Journal offers some suggestions. I wrote about this as well. The problem arises when your second choice gives you an offer before your first choice has acted. It is a delicate balancing act. You still want your second choice to think that you are very committed to working for them (in the event that you do not get an offer from your first choice.) But there are ways to buy yourself more time.

Ending the Gauntlet--Book Review

The Boston Globe gives a positive review to Lauren Rikleen's book on the challenges that women face in trying to advance in the practice of law. But the reviewer seems to think that the author holds no hope for the practice of law. IMHO, the reviewer overstates the case. Rikleen does paint a somewhat bleak picture of the state of affairs for women in the legal profession; but I don't think her message is one of defeat.