6 Tips for Preparing for a Speaking Engagement
6 Tips For Attorneys to Utilize for Their Next Speaking Engagement
Ready to be “Out of Office”
Whether you are traveling or simply taking a few days to relax at home, we have five tips today to help you set up your time out of the office for success.
End of the Year Overwhelm
As we approach the end of the year, the calendar seems to be getting shorter but our to do lists are getting longer and longer - professionally and personally. Between work, holidays, kids school schedules, holiday parties, and all of the work that is needed to make it all happen, it’s a hectic time. This week we are going to share the ways we try to keep the end of the year overwhelm under control with four strategies we use to keep the overwhelm at bay.
Listening and the Law
Listening is an essential skill for any attorney. Here are five practical tips to improve your listening skills today.
Finding Deeper Meaning in Litigation
Being a lawyer is hard. Litigation is a particularly difficult practice area. We find deeper meaning in the practice of law through litigation.
the motherload of Maternity leave
This week Amy shared with us her transition back to work following her third maternity leave. While it was not easy, and far from perfect, Amy generously shared some of her insights on how she made the transition back. There are five steps she took in order to set herself up for success.
Follow Up and Follow Through
Networking is more than just a business card exchange. It’s about building relationships. Just like any other relationship networking relationships are based on trust and a big part of that trust is follow up and follow through.
Clearness Committee
This week we revisit Greg McKeown’s book “Effortless” and talk about the clearness committees utilized by the Quaker community. In the Quaker community, the clearness committee is a group of community members that a person can meet with to present a decision they are trying to make. The goal is for the clearness committee not to instill their opinions in the matter, but to ask questions that will assist the person to gain clarity in their decision.
Not Everything Requires Going the extra mile
As lawyers we could slave over every detail and every possibility. But it that really what the tasks requires? Is that the best way to serve our clients? These are questions you can ask yourself before you go overboard. Some things do require the extra mile - but NOT everything.
Stop “Shoulding” All Over Yourself
Being a lawyer takes a certain amount of drive and ambition. Law school overtly and intentionally pits student versus student and those comparisons are very well known. This environment makes it very easy to consider all of the things you think you “should” be doing - but all of these “shoulds” make it easy for you to lose sight of yourself in the process. But how do you stop “shoulding” all over yourself?
Building Your Network
Networking is all about building relationships. A great place to start building your professional network as an attorney is through a reciprocal relationship. Law students and lawyers alike should be thinking about building networking relationships to build their practice and career.
Managing Client Expectations
Part of the pressure placed on lawyers comes from clients and their expectations. If you can optimize setting expectations for your clients that can relieve pressure from your shoulders.
Leaving the Law
For now we are discussing a few of the reasons why attorneys start to ponder leaving the law - lack of control, pressure, and a general dissatisfaction. Lack of control is not unique to law or any specific practice area. However, within each practice areas the level of control you have and the areas over which you have control vary.
Networking With Confidence
Networking is something that professionals think about regularly because it is critical to a successful practice. Yet, it can be intimidating, overwhelming, and time consuming. Do you feel like networking does not come naturally to you? You are not alone!
A Decade in Practice
We answered questions about our expectations before law school and then after law school, our biggest challenges, and whether we would do it all again, there are also some other questions that really resonated with us.
Your Professional reputation
When you think about your professional reputation, you first need to acknowledge that this is not about people “liking” you. Not everyone you come across will like you – no matter how you treat them. If this is your measure, you are setting yourself up for failure. Rather, we encourage you to think about your reputation as what people can expect from you when they interact with you professionally.
Amy’s LLM Journey
Getting an LLM in taxation is something that was always in the back of Amy’s mind as she worked in an estate planning firm with a tax focus. Finally, after seven years in practice, she felt ready to investigate. She was hesitate to go back to school, but wanted to learn more - what’s the harm in applying?
Imposter v. inexperienced
Imposter syndrome is something that affected both of us very significantly in law school. When you are put together in a competitive circumstance with the highest achievers from various aspects of life, feelings of inadequacy and not measuring up are commonplace.
Measuring Success
The key to true success for you is the why behind the goals you set for yourself. These must be tailored to fit your personal and professional values.