Do you have a New Year's resolution to finally get your home and office in order? In this episode, professional organizer Janet Taylor speaks with the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward to share tips and tricks for finally conquering mounds of paperwork and constantly losing house keys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, many have said that they no longer know how to behave in a work environment–but employment law expert Gerald Pauling doesn’t buy that. The Seyfarth Shaw partner tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward that in his experience providing training to supervisors, managers and rank-and-file workers, “I almost never encounter situations where trainees or participants in training are unable to identify the lines between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. L...
If a client can’t or won’t pay your retainer, he or she is not worth a discount, Janice Brown tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. But there are ways to explain your true value to a potential client who balks at the cost. Brown, who is the founding partner of the litigation firm Brown Law Group, advises confidence when speaking with a potential client, and gives listeners tips drawn from her own experience explaining legal fees and retainers. Lear...
Want to protect democracy and ensure voters’ rights? If you are looking to ways to volunteer during the midterm elections, there are opportunities available, especially for attorneys. Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Marsha Johnson-Blanco, co-director of the Voting Rights Project for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, about how attorneys can help on Nov. 6. Lawyers are needed to answer hotline calls in a variety of cities, answering questions at polling places and filing emerge...
As an associate dean of the University of Houston Law Center, Sondra Tennessee has witnessed her share of helicopter parents. She’s seen parents ask law schools to switch their child’s professor, because they didn’t think he or she was a good fit. She’s seen them try to get an extended finals date, without their child knowing that they contacted the school. She’s also heard of parents contacting potential employers for law students to get more detail about offered benefits packages. As the acade...
One of many lawyers’ worst fears is that a client, opposing party or even a random stranger may try to physically hurt them, often for nothing more than the attorney doing his or her job. In this episode of the ABA Journal's Asked and Answered, Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Ty Smith, a retired Navy SEAL who founded Vigilance Risk Solutions Inc., a security consulting business that focuses on workplace violence prevention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When approaching a difficult conversation at work, reframe it in your mind as a discussion that can help improve your relationship with someone, says Michele Coleman Mayes in this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series. “You have to work harder to listen to someone you’d rather not hear talk,” says Mayes, vice president and general counsel with the New York Public Library. You may need to have multiple difficult conversations for a situation to improve, she says, but as you ...
U.S. Army veteran and criminal defense lawyer Mia Yamamoto decided to publicly transition genders when she turned 60. Being her authentic self was so important that she told herself, "I don't care if someone shoots me the day after I transition. I'm going to transition. I'm going to die as a woman." In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Yamamoto discusses the importance of fighting for those who come after you, and of advocating for yourself. She describes her fear...
If you’re working on a client matter and get even the slightest sense that something you’re doing may cause problems down the road, ask another lawyer about it, says Lucian Pera, a Memphis partner at Adams & Reese who frequently advises attorneys on professional responsibility rules. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Pera says that he's learned that everyone, including lawyers, can use an outside perspective when they have an uneasy feeling about a work sit...
There are some issues that people with opposing views may never agree on, particularly when one group has significantly more power than the other. But sometimes when an issue is brought to authority figures’ attention, they can be convinced to do the right thing, says Cruz Reynoso, a former California state supreme court justice. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Reynoso discusses how his father's philosophy as a farmworker inspired him as a labor rights advoca...
When her career was getting started in the 1970s, a partner interviewing Roberta “Bobbi” Liebenberg for an associate position asked if she would cry when things went south in court. "Why, do you want me to?" quipped Liebenberg. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Liebenberg says that in her career as one of the few women appointed as lead counsel for plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation, she's learned that laughter has a place in the workplace. Humor plays a si...
A veteran who graduated from law school following a 14-year career with the U.S. Air Force, Andrés Gallegos was married with a young family when an auto accident resulted in him having quadriplegia. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Gallegos says he learned never to let anyone else's perception of his capabilities limit him in achieving his dreams. Gallegos, now a shareholder with Chicago's Robbins, Salomon & Patt, is a healthcare attorney and a disability ...
You may be confident of your ability to act with courtesy and professionalism in your home country. But with the array of cultural differences, social mores and business traditions you may encounter while traveling, how can you be sure you’re not offending clients and alienating foreign judges and arbiters? In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Terri Morrison, etiquette expert and author of “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: Courtrooms and Corporate...
This August, lawyers from around the country will come to Chicago for the ABA Annual Meeting. Wondering whether to make the trip yourself? We’re joined by ABA President Hilarie Bass and Marty Balogh of the Meetings and Travel Department to discuss the new offerings, event highlights, and local attractions attendees should be sure to check out in the ABA’s hometown from Aug. 2-7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lawyers' mental health has been a topic of increasing discussion and awareness, combined with efforts to help lawyers deal with anxiety, depression and addiction issues. But an aspect of mental health that is sometimes overlooked is body image, and the consequences of body dysmorphia and eating disorders. In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with lawyer Brian Cuban about his decades long struggle with body dysmorphic disorder, and how he learned ...
Newly minted law grads will soon be entering the job market, but where are they most likely to find employment? Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Valerie Fontaine, founding partner of the legal search firm Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith, about which in-demand areas of law have open job positions–and how law grads can secure them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wellness is not just about eating health food and exercising, Jolene Park tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked Answered. It’s also getting enough time to relax, getting enough sleep and not being stressed out about your job or finances–and employers can play a big role in all of those things. Park is the founder of Healthy Discoveries, a corporate wellness company. She says that something to consider when creating employee wellness programs is that people respo...
You love technology, you love the law, and you want a career that combines the two. But what kinds of legal tech jobs will be the most in-demand, and how can you get them? E-discovery and privacy law should be two areas that legal tech jobseekers look into, Shannon Capone Kirk tells the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. Kirk, who is e-discovery counsel at Ropes & Gray, first got her start as an associate after being assigned a case with a warehouse f...
Do you dread going to work? If so, maybe it's time to look at the other ways you can flex your legal skills, says Nancy Levit, co-author of The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law. There are many types of jobs for lawyers, and sometimes what you thought you wanted to do doesn’t work out, Levit tells the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. She shares tips on how to find the work you want to do, and how to find joy in the work you're already doing.la...
Confronting someone about a substance abuse problem--or owning that you have one--is not easy, but lawyers assistance programs can help. Usually referred to as LAPs and offered by attorney regulation agencies, the programs guarantee confidentiality when attorneys reach out to them. And if an attorney has committed an actionable offense, entering recovery before it comes to light and being able to show commitment to getting better can be a mitigating factor if he or she faces disciplinary charges...
True etiquette is behaving in a way that makes people feel comfortable, it's not about stuffy rules. But as social norms change, some people have a hard time separating personal from professional behavior. Before your firm's holiday party, it may be time to check in on what is—and is not—appropriate. In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Dr. Sharon Meit Abrahams, director of professional development for Foley Lardner LLP, about common social...
Switching law firms doesn’t only cause partner anxiety, it’s hard on clients too. Lawyers need to really evaluate whether a move will best serve the people and businesses they represent. In this month’s Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Karen Kaplowitz, a former BigLaw rainmaker who now leads a business-development consulting firm. Much of her work centers on working with partners after a firm merger, and in this podcast, she shares tips about how they can ...
Six-figure student loans can be a terrifying burden, and one of the top challenges for many law grads. But even if you’ve fallen in arrears, you still may have options to turn your financial situation around. In this month’s Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Adam Minsky, author of "Student Loan Debt 101." As an attorney with a practice devoted entirely to helping student loan borrowers, Minsky has had many clients who’ve felt hopeless about their financial ...
The full scale of the damage from Hurricane Harvey may not be known for weeks or months. But even as the rain is still falling, lawyers in Texas and across the country are mobilizing to meet the legal needs of the people who have been impacted. In this special breaking-news edition of the ABA Journal’s Asked and Answered, Lee Rawles speaks with Saundra Brown of Lone Star Legal Aid, whose Houston office was destroyed Monday. Brown discusses what efforts are already underway, and what kind of lega...
Studies have shown that salary and compensation at firms can still be markedly higher for white males than attorneys with a different ethnicity or gender. But if you feel you aren't being paid commensurate with your colleagues and with the value you bring to your firm, how should you proceed? In this episode of Asked & Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward talks with Jeffrey Lowe of the legal talent management company Major, Lindsey & Africa. Lowe wrote the report on the age...
Diversity at law firms, especially at the higher levels of partnership continues to be a hot topic of discussion. But is that all that it is, a discussion item? To this day, fewer than 20 percent of equity partners are women and even fewer are lawyers of color. This has been the case for more than a decade even though there are now more women in law school than men. Molly McDonough, editor of the ABA Journal, spoke about this issue with Subha Barry, of Working Mother Media, Vivia Chen of the Car...
Have you considered attending the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in New York City this August? In this special episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles and Molly McDonough hear about what special events and venues await attendees from ABA President Linda Klein and the associate executive director of Meetings and Travel, Marty Balogh. From a CLE lecture given by IBM Watson to a special behind-the-scenes tour of the Lincoln Center, Klein and Balogh share how this year’s meeting will of...
In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Victor Li speaks with attorney and activist Paul Harris about his work stretching back to the 1960s. Harris, one of the radical “movement lawyers” featured in the cover story for the August issue of the ABA Journal, talks about his work defending high-profile clients like Huey Newton, Leonard McNeil and others. Harris also discusses the current political landscape and what today’s generation of aspiring movement lawyers can learn from thei...
Even trained advocators don’t get everything they want at work. But what are some good strategies for knowing when to accept a manager’s decision, or continue to press for what you want? In this episode of the ABA Journal’s Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Dr. Artika Tyner, vice president for diversity and inclusion at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Tyner discusses how lawyers can advocate for themselves in the workplace, without getting in the...
Government entities at all levels often set aside a portion of work for minority and women-owned businesses, including law firms. But many people are unsure about how to land these contracts or receive certification. In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward gets tips for program participation from Emery Harlan. Harlan is a Milwaukee employment attorney and a cofounder of the National Association of Minority-Owned Law Firms. Special thanks to our sponsors Am...
