Newly admitted lawyers can feel overwhelmed and intimidated. Law schools can’t teach everything, and there’s a lot of on-the-job learning. Some of the work is difficult and complicated. Some of what’s required is as simple as showing up on time and doing work that looks perfect and is free of typos (yes, that matters, even for internal communications).

With each task, the best new lawyers progress from competence to excellence. Start with the goal of being a “superstar associate” by being the best lawyer you can be. When new lawyers take on tasks and do good work, others will notice and will mentor you. What any new lawyer makes of their earliest experience in any firm will drive them to the next level, no matter their career path.

This episode shares tips for standing out and learning how to be a lawyer from two attorneys who have excelled in their careers and have made partner at their respective firms.

Resources:

As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation that you can use the second the podcast ends.

Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for the answers to your most burning tech questions.

Dr. Megan Ma is a Research Fellow and the Associate Director of the Stanford Program in Law, Science, and Technology and the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX). 

Show Notes KMR Episode 376:

• The Language of the Law, by David Mellinkoff
• Stelo – Glucose Biosensor 
• Thinking about AI in a new way… Logical fallacies: Seven ways to spot a bad argument

As always, stay tuned for the parting shots, that one tip, website, or observation that you can use the second the podcast ends.

Have a technology question for Dennis and Tom? Call their Tech Question Hotline at 720-441-6820 for the answers to your most burning tech questions.

Caitlin McCabe is a project manager at BARBRI Global.

Show Notes – Kennedy-Mighell Report #374

A Segment: Fresh Voices in Legal Tech with Caitlin McCabe

B Segment: More with Caitlin McCabe

Parting Shots:

• Stay Curious
• Bone Conduction Earbuds by Shokz
• Braves New Words by Salman Khan

Lutz starts with keeping up with the slew of developing state privacy laws and international regulations. Corporations handle massive amounts of data, much of it confidential. Privacy disclosures, terms of service, customer service, data breaches, and transparency are all factors. It’s a lot for any legal team to manage, and the field is only getting bigger.

Hear how Lutz got her start in corporate data and privacy law, how she approaches her duties, and how she helps the rest of the corporation understand where the vulnerabilities and minefields lie.

As a lawyer, you understand your duty to maintain confidentiality. But as computing capabilities surge, and in the murky and evolving world of AI, there’s a growing need for attorneys who understand and stay on top of lurking challenges to privacy and data security. Everything from massive customer database hacks to simply sending an email using a coffee shop’s WiFi can create data security issues. (And Lutz reminds us, change your passwords frequently).

Resources: 

Microsoft Outlook email encryption

Google Gmail encryption

“Twenty Years Ago, AIM Chatbot SmarterChild Out-Snarked ChatGPT,” TechCrunch

ChatGPT

“’She Hooked Me’: How an Online Scam Cost a Senior Citizen His Life’s Savings,” Wall Street Journal

Justin S. Daniels at Baker Donelson, videos

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

Maurice is a native of France, where she learned English while growing up. She crossed the English Channel and earned her first law degree in England, a LL.B. Next, Maurice returned to Paris to obtain more degrees in law. Afterward, she moved to Louisiana, where she enrolled at Louisiana State University to obtain her LL.M.  Maurice takes all her knowledge, skills, and legal expertise to assist clients in New York City.

Together, the two provide real-life tips for students in associate programs. Hear the things they look for in an associate and clerk and how these programs lead to job offers. Associateships and clerkships are opportunities often not available to students in other career paths. Make the most of them. 

In a summer program, remember your goals. Do good work and build relationships. Remember why you’re in an associateship or clerkship. Hear what firms are looking for and how they judge performance. These programs are job interviews. Not just for the firm but for students exploring the firm. Learn what makes a good cultural fit. Both sides are observing each other. 

Attitude is everything. Be positive. Say yes to opportunities. And make the most of your summer program. 

Resources:

Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal LLP

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

Katie Winchenbach is a corporate attorney at Motorola Solutions and program director for Ms. JD, a national nonprofit that supports aspiring and early-career women attorneys.

Meghann Burke is an attorney and executive director of the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association. 

Now he’s known as “The Bike Guy” and stands out in the crowded personal injury field by specializing in an area he’s passionate about. He’s an example of specializing in something you love, and he’s sharing his story with new lawyers just starting out.

Bonnici walks us through, step by step, how he took advantage of an available incubator system, learned on the job from a mentor, and built his practice and his reputation. Hear how he got started, networked, built a brand, made himself memorable, and hired an assistant to make himself more productive. Real lessons from real life. 

Got questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at NewSolo@legaltalknetwork.com  

Topics:

• • “Follow your passion” is common advice. But in the case of guest Josua Bonnici, his passion for bicycling helped him stand out in the crowded personal injury field. 
  • Hiring your first employee. Why it’s scary and why it’s necessary.
  • How to develop a website and social media presence with a library of videos and testimonials. 

Resources:

California Lawyers Association

Thomas Jefferson School of Law

San Diego Bar Association

Joshua Bonnici previous appearance on Legal Talk Network’s “On The Road” podcast

A Bloomberg survey found burnout is a major problem, and it’s getting worse among attorneys. For the first time the survey found reports of attorney burnout exceeded 50%. Reports of wellbeing and job satisfaction are in decline too. But it’s not just in corporate practice, burnout affects those who want to volunteer. With so much need it’s easy to forget you’re only one person, and you can’t do it all. 

How can we get involved in pro bono work without burning out? It can start with being aware of the syndrome, adjusting our workflow to the right level, adopting “virtual” programs to balance time, sharing the load, and focusing on areas of passion. 

Learn to recognize the signs of burnout in the pro bono space and how you can help yourself, and others, deal with stress and feeling overwhelmed. And for all who volunteer their services to help others: Thank you.

Saumya Kuriakose is an Attorney at The Pettit Law Firm in Dallas, Texas.

Nadda Rungruangphol is a Staff Attorney at the Texas State Securities Board in Austin, Texas.

Alysia Huskey is a licensed attorney with The State Bar of Texas and works as an Assistant District Attorney in Kaufman County, Texas.

Guest Jared Correia is a podcaster, lawyer, and full-time business management consultant, sort of the lawyer you know who knows how to run a business. For clients, he digs into law firm management from the very high-level strategy to the nuts and bolts of tech and daily operations.

Shared offices create issues with malpractice insurance, shared practice management software, and clearly communicating your solo status while working in what to a client may appear to be a firm.

Plus, the important distinctions between website chat capability, automated chatbots, and the emergence of true artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT. Learn where each product can fill gaps in your practice and turn leads into clients. Tech that may make your solo practice work like a larger firm.

Got questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at NewSolo@legaltalknetwork.com

Topics:

• Practice management problems attorneys in a shared office space encounter.
• Incorporating online chat and chatbots on your website, capture more leads.

And where does the latest – ChatGPT artificial intelligence – fit?

Guest Christopher T. Anderson is a law practice management consultant (and host of the Legal Talk Network’s Un-Billable Hour). Anderson shares the “triangle” of a successful law firm: Acquiring clients; Producing the results you promised; and Achieving and Measuring the impact and success of your firm.

Anderson’s unique take on law firm management is built on thinking of law as a real business first. Why are you doing what you do?

Acquiring new clients means building on referrals, creating relationships, and paid marketing. Know and tell your story.

Producing results translates to setting client expectations (and meeting them), and doing your best work. Establish a “North Star” for every case.

And then there’s achieving and measuring the results for your business stakeholders. Where do you want to be? What separates good law firms from great ones? A law firm is a business, it’s OK to admit that.

Got questions or ideas about solo and small practices? Drop us a line at NewSolo@legaltalknetwork.com

Topics:

• Building a law firm is building a business. Don’t forget that!
• There are three “sides” to building a firm: attracting clients, satisfying clients, and achieving business success.
• Every part of your legal career is intentional, it’s not luck. Know what you are trying to achieve.

Maryam Ahranjani is an experienced law professor at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where she teaches in the areas of constitutional, criminal and education law. She is also a textbook author, rule of law and human rights consultant, program manager and evaluator, and curriculum designer.

By Maryam Ahranjani

• Why Are Women Lawyers Underrepresented in Criminal Justice?

Additional Resources

• ABA Task Force: Women in Criminal Justice
• ABA Criminal Justice Section
• ABA Young Lawyers Division

Episode Links:

• Untangling Fear in Lawyering: A Four-Step Journey Toward Powerful Advocacy, by Heidi K. Brown
• https://www.viacharacter.org/ 

Learn to untangle your communication traits and internal turmoil. Listen to your mind – and your body – and understand your strengths and abilities. If you struggle to speak up, to confidently share your ideas, or understand how you process information and energy, you are not alone.

Brown, author of “The Introverted Lawyer: A Seven-Step Journey Toward Authentically Empowered Advocacy” and “Untangling Fear in Lawyering: A Four-Step Journey Toward Powerful Advocacy,” delves into the feelings of stress and anxiety that can hold us back. 

Plus, we have a special upcoming mailbag edition on Office 365 and all things Microsoft. Got a question? Contact us at newsolo@legaltalknetwork.com.

Topics: 

– It’s OK to be introverted or shy as a lawyer. Acceptance can help you work through your unique challenges.

– Understand feelings of stress and anxiety (and the difference between being shy and being an introvert).

– Just like any professional athlete or performer, you can seek outside help, coaching, mentoring, and other services to help you be your best.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Lawclerk, Alert Communications, Abby Connect, and Clio.

Rob Lee is the chief curriculum director and faculty lead at the SANS Institute.

Special thanks to our sponsors CaseFleet and PInow.

Topics:

• What it’s like being a legal unicorn
• Flipping the script by learning to be a lawyer before learning to think like a lawyer
• Battling inertia to make practice management changes that benefit clients
• Launching a firm during a pandemic
• Scaling and managing an influx of clients
• Cultivating relationships through preferred provider deals
• Managing client expectations with forthright, transparent communication
• Yes, print advertising still works!

The Tech Stack:

• Clio Grow/Clio Manage for client intake and management
• Quickbooks online for bookkeeping 
• HotDocs document automation from AbacusNext 
• Lawyaw for online legal forms

New Insights (brought to you by Nota):

• Veteran practitioner Starlett Massey answers litigation associate Melanie Kalmanson’s question:
• Question 1 of 4: “What made you decide to start your own firm?”

Special thanks to our sponsors, Lawclerk, Alert Communications, Abby Connect, and Clio.

William C. Banks is a Syracuse University College of Law Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor and Emeritus Professor at the College of Law and the Maxwell School as Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs.

Thank you to our sponsor NBI.

If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap yet, get the first chapter right now for free!

If you’d like to learn more about empowering a team of high achievers, check out our resource page on managing people.

Thanks to Knackly.io, LawPay, Back Office Betties, and TextExpander for sponsoring this episode.

Paige A. Greenlee founded Greenlee Law PLLC in 2014, after spending twelve years in private practice at both large and mid-sized firms in Tampa.

Brittany J. Maxey founded Maxey Law Offices, PLLC in 2008.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Clio, Answer1, Lawclerk and Courtfiling.net.

During her tenure in Biglaw doing mergers and acquisitions, Deirdre found her calling working alongside in-house counsels. She realized that in order to advance, she would need to diversify her experience, so when the opportunity to head business development at USA Network came up, she took it. That off-path experience eventually paved the way for an offer from Thomson Reuters to head their legal department.

In this episode of In-House Legal, host Randy Milch interviews Deirdre Stanley about her path to the top. Together, they discuss her background, pivotal decisions along the way, and how being interested in multiple disciplines is the key to high level positions. Tune in to hear her advice for lawyers in today’s market and about her daily duties to maintain a free press worldwide.

Deirdre Stanley is the executive vice president, general counsel, and board secretary at Thomson Reuters. Prior to her current role, she held various legal and senior executive positions, including deputy general counsel at IAC (previously USA Networks, Inc.). From 1997 to 1999, Deirdre served as associate general counsel for GTE Corporation (a predecessor company to Verizon), where she headed the mergers and acquisitions practice group. She currently serves as a vice chair on the Board of Trustees of the Hospital for Special Surgery and is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Executive Leadership Council.

Visit Ringler Associates to contact a consultant in your area about structured settlements.