How to Survive a Merger Without Losing Your Mind Your firm is merging. If I may slip into my ''Yoda'' mode for a moment, let me ask you: Are you afraid? No? Well, you will be! But if you read and assimilate all of the wonderful advice I intend to throw at you in this short article, you will have a much better chance of emerging unscathed from—or even better off as a result of—the experience. (336 views)
Tips on how to avoid procrastrination I hate to say it, but life is all about the here and now. The longer we wait to do things, the less likely it is that we will ever do them. In fact, motivation has been known to dwindle exponentially with the passage of time. (13 views)
Douglas J. Wood, Renaissance Man of Marketing and Advertising Law Douglas J. Wood is an attorney who knows how to maximize his skills. In addition to being a partner at Reed Smith, LLP, and chairman of its advertising, technology, and media group, he's general counsel for three different organizations: the Association of National Advertisers, Inc., the Advertising Research Foundation, and the Advertising Council. (18 views)
How to find the right headhunter? Question:I am an associate at an Am Law 50 firm, and I get calls from headhunters all the time, sometimes up to several times a week. I never took the calls in the past, but I have recently decided to look for a new position. How do I go about finding the right headhunter? (M.M., New York) (315 views)
The Lfie and Career of John (''Jack'') Wm. Butler, Jr.: Partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP John Butler's motivation to enter the legal profession did not stem from a lifelong dream of one day becoming an attorney. Rather, he went into law because of his father's bad experiences with attorneys in business dealings. (730 views)
Nachman & Associates, PC Since its inception in 1993, Nachman & Associates, PC, has made it one of its goals to not only assist clients with their immigration matters but also to serve as a conduit for their successes. According to the firm's website, ''[...] we work in tandem with our clients in crafting business immigration strategies, making better immigration choices, and, as appropriate,... (103 views)
The Life and Career of Lawyer Turned International-Restaurant Owner David Nachman David Nachman, an immigration attorney from New Jersey, is one lawyer who has never lost sight of his additional career curiosities and passions. (1393 views)
Non-Traditional Job Settings: The Temporary or Telecommuting Lawyer-The Best of Both Worlds or a Big Mistake? Lawyers are continually looking for novel approaches to law practice. To that end, one of the most common questions posed to me each week is ''Should I look at temp positions?'' Whether temporary work is a good career choice depends largely on what you want for your career and life and what geographic region you are practicing in, as every geographic region views temporary... (8589 views)
What Risks Does Lawyers' Professional Liability Insurance Typically Cover? Legal malpractice policies usually provide coverage for claims that arise from ''wrongful acts'' committed when providing legal services and provide both indemnification coverage and claims-expense coverage. Covered acts also include a variety of services regularly provided by lawyers as offshoots of their practices, such as: (85 views)
Amar Thakur Utilized His Legal Skills and Experience to Help Build the Intellectual Property Practice at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP When Amar Thakur graduated from law school back in 1995, he initially wanted to go into business law but ended up going into intellectual property law instead. Thakur said he first got into IP law because of his technical background. (469 views)
How Denise Ben-David Got Her Job as a Paralegal Denise Ben-David tells LawCrossing how she got her job as a paralegal and later became a lawyer: (25 views)
Interviewing — Part II: Conduct For the past couple of weeks, we have covered the ins and outs of physically preparing for an interview. However, we have not begun to cover the territory of mental preparation. Every interview, just like every cover letter, should be approached with a specific intention that is tailored to the employer and the position. Your interview is the first face-to-face interaction... (14 views)
Taking on the extra baggage of extra work You were out of the office sick for two days and have returned not only to a desk full of your own files and half-finished casework but also several new projects—stuff you've never seen before—assigned with a brief note and deadline. One of the partners has recently gotten into the habit of asking you to photocopy huge numbers of documents for him. The new associate... (76 views)
Shernoff, Bidart & Darras, LLP Having practiced bad-faith insurance law for several decades, it is no wonder that William M. Shernoff has established one of the leading bad-faith insurance firms in the country, earning it Martindale-Hubbell's highest ratings for legal ability and ethical standards. (438 views)
Personal Isn't Private: Advice for New Lawyers in the New Millennium I sat in the passenger seat as the partner I worked for drove us to the courthouse to start a trial. He was rudely cut off while pulling into the parking lot. To my amazement, this partner smiled and waved the driver along, and we continued on our way. He explained to me that although he might normally honk, swear, or raise a middle finger, there was at least a small... (269 views)
Must You be a ''Type-A'' Personality to Succeed in a Law Firm? Today's law firms are increasingly interested in promoting diversity among their ranks. While some law firms have invested in broadening the ethnic, gender, and sexual-orientation characteristics of their attorneys and staff members, one wonders how diverse a law firm can be. Assuming certain firms are diverse in terms of the demographics of their attorneys, are the most... (11624 views)
The Life and Career of Frank Darras, Plaintiff's lawyer specializing in disability and life insurance cases ''When you come from nothing, fear is not an option, because what can they take from you?'' That powerful sentence has become the mantra of one of America's top plaintiff's attorneys, voice for the disabled and senior-citizen community Frank Darras. (1670 views)
Georgia Yuan: General Counsel for Smith College Georgia Yuan was working as a project geologist for the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco when she first considered a career in law. She said that the environmental lawyers with whom she worked piqued her interest in the legal field. However, it wasn't until she and her husband relocated to Pullman, WA, a few years later that she took action and entered... (43 views)
Interviewing—Part I: Preparation Redux Last week, we discussed how to prepare for a legal interview so that you can project the best first impression under any circumstances. Once you walk through the door, though, the journey is far from over. There is always the potential for something to be thrown by the wayside or forgotten by complete accident that could make or break your interview experience with an... (148 views)
A Fast Way to Torpedo Your Legal Career Forward or Backward ''Birds of a feather flock together. If you're an eagle, don't hang around chickens; chickens can't fly.'' (337 views)
Is lack of work on joining a new firm common? Question: I'm a third-year litigation associate and joined a new firm two weeks ago. I was promised a lot of work and responsibility, which is why I joined this firm, but things have been really slow since I joined. I keep asking for work, but I'm told to "hold tight" and that work will be coming to me soon. Is this common, or did I make a mistake by joining this new... (51 views)
Kevin Culligan Helps to Expand the Intellectual Property Practice at King & Spalding, LLP Kevin Culligan's decision to enter the legal profession did not stem from a lifelong ambition to become an attorney but, rather, from an experience he had while helping some of his friends as an undergrad at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, more than 30 years ago. (60 views)
The Law Offices of Carl Shusterman Carl Shusterman is extremely familiar with immigration law. In addition to practicing for nearly 30 years in the private sector, he was also an attorney with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for six years before starting his own firm. (280 views)
The Life and Career of Cristina Perez also termed as 'The Healing Judge' Cristina Perez began her career as a lawyer, but throughout the past decade, she has bloomed into a reality court TV judge and television personality, a radio show host, and an inspirational author. Her aggressive go-getter attitude and wisdom, combined with her strong moral foundation, have lifted her to many platforms from which she has begun to share her inspirational... (5982 views)
Lessons to Be Learned from The Apprentice: The Scary Synchronicity between Law-Firm Life and ''Trump Land'' Groan. Another blurb about Donald Trump's irritating yet successful efforts to become a brand of one: ''The Donald.'' Trouble is, it's tough to ignore the guy. And why is it that a stodgy, bilious real estate developer has now decided he must be a cultural icon? I suppose once one has been a billionaire many times over and had the thrill of starting from scratch at least... (41 views)
Interviewing — Part I: Preparation Interviews, in and of themselves, are almost as complicated and detail-oriented as the documents that get you them in the first place. Between questions of dress, conduct, question responses, and materials, there are so many ways a person can take a wrong turn on the path to employability. However, there are also more ways to drive that incredible first impression home... (21 views)
Electronic Communication 101 The director of human resources requests that you provide your new address for personnel record updating. You just learned that your long-standing and trusted contact at the courthouse broke his leg while skiing. You need to update a high-maintenance client on a recent legal development that will favorably affect her case. You cannot locate a file. The seminar has been... (501 views)
Why You Should Think Twice Before Quitting Any Legal Job If you go into any firm that has been around more than 20 or 30 years, you will inevitably find a handful of attorneys who have been there from the very beginnings of their careers. These well-adjusted souls will typically report to work each day at a similar time and will have managed to be the only ones left in the law firm after generation upon generation of attorneys... (15218 views)
Ian Thompson Enjoys Helping to Plan and Execute Strategy as General Counsel for SeaMobile, Inc. When Ian Thompson joined SeaMobile as general counsel last year, he had an extensive and variegated work history. In addition to practicing law at several different firms, he had also worked as a paralegal/legislative analyst and as a sales representative and assistant winemaker for a winery. (3 views)
Do grades matter if you have good litigation experience? Question: I am a fourth-year litigator at a small firm that focuses on criminal defense (DUI, street crimes, etc.). I'm the only associate, and there are two partners. I love being in court practically every day and think I can run circles around my friends who are litigators in the big firms (and have never been in court!). However, none of the big firms in... (56 views)