21 08, 2025

Avoid Hiring Mistakes

2025-08-21T18:32:56+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Avoid Hiring Mistakes

Best Practices to Avoid Hiring Mistakes

By Debra L. Bruce

A framed sign reading “Job Opening – Apply Within” sits among law books, a judge’s gavel, and pens—symbolizing a legal job opportunity and the importance of thoughtful hiring. Job Opening – Apply Within Hiring the right candidate is crucial to maintaining professionalism, productivity, and harmony in your law office. Image created with Microsoft Copilot.

Do you dread the hiring process because it is so difficult to find the right people? Perhaps new hires have repeatedly disappointed you. They turn out not to have the skills or experience you expected or that they claimed to have. Perhaps co-worker drama seems to ferment around your new hire or communication breakdowns negatively affect work product and deadlines. Most law firms can tell tales of hiring mistakes that cost the firm time, money, and office harmony. This article provides tips on how law firms and law departments can make better hiring decisions.

1. Define in detail the skills and behaviors required for the role.

Do not let yourself off easy with a broad description like “litigation associate with 5 to 7 years of experience.” Invest time in identifying your expectations of what the new hire will be able to handle competently on Day 1 and what other talents and skills will be crucial to the new hire’s success at the firm. Also, do not shy away from posting the aspects of the job that you would personally find boring or tedious if it is an essential aspect of the job. By way of example, which of these capabilities will the candidate need?

Manage all aspects of a case from start to finish
Conduct the same routine depositions and motions in case after case without losing focus and engagement
Envision the timeline of a case and plot deadlines and critical […]

2 10, 2024

Upcoming Presentation for Texas Minority Counsel Program

2024-10-02T17:20:21+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Upcoming Presentation for Texas Minority Counsel Program

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking at the 32^nd Annual Texas Minority Counsel Program on October 24, 2024 at 3:45 pm. I will be discussing how getting recognized and valued as an essential advisor requires anticipating the client’s legal needs and providing competent legal advice. Yet, that is just the ante to get into the game. The attorney must know how to communicate strategically and in ways that are beneficial from the perspective of each recipient. This CLE aims to teach lawyers how to deliver high quality legal services by communicating ethically and effectively with multiple levels of stakeholders.

There are many interesting topics throughout the program on October 24-25, 2024. I am particularly looking forward to the closing presentation by Katie Phang, Host of the Katie Phang Show and Legal Contributor and Legal Correspondent for NBC & MSNBC. Take a look at the TMCP brochure to further look into who will be speaking and their topics. Click here to register for the program.

-Debra Bruce

3 11, 2022

5 Common Concerns When Delegating Work and How to Tackle Them

2022-11-03T15:07:04+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on 5 Common Concerns When Delegating Work and How to Tackle Them

1 “If I don’t do it myself, it will not be done right”

This is the first thought that comes to our minds when delegating isn’t part of our everyday routine yet. It’s common and understandable, yet it’s far from being beneficial for you or your firm. Believing that you’re the only person that can perform a task effectively will not only make you waste resources but, if you think about it, it can also be a little naive. For example, how many good law firms are out there? How many competent, efficient, committed, and even perfectionist legal practitioners have you met throughout your entire career? How many people are as passionate as you about law, that will want to perform their job properly? You can be absolutely certain that there are people out there that can, and will, be the right fit for your practice, the key is knowing how to choose the right person. […]

17 05, 2016

How to Turn Clients Away Without Creating Offense

2019-03-20T21:27:30+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

Turn clients away without creating offense I’ve written about warning signs that a potential new client may be a train wreck waiting to happen to your law practice. If you pay attention to such warnings, then you may find yourself wondering just how to turn clients away without creating offense. That’s just what one of my clients struggled with recently. Here are my thoughts and thoughts from other attorneys, too.

How NOT to Turn Clients Away

Attorneys have a variety of ways that they handle potentially undesirable clients. Here are 3 methods that I do NOT recommend using to decline the representation. […]

15 04, 2016

Lists Improve Lawyer Time Management

2019-03-20T21:29:08+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Lists Improve Lawyer Time Management

Attorneys use lists to improve lawyer time management

“Duh! Tell me something I don’t already know,” you might have said to yourself when you read this headline about lawyer time management. I’m sure you already have some kind of list on your desk, on your computer, or on your mobile device right now. And yet, I frequently find myself coaching lawyers about creating and reviewing lists to improve lawyer time management and reduce the overwhelm of modern law practice.

There are many different kinds of lists with different functions and different ways to manage them. This post will include a “list of lists” and a brief description of their benefits or functionality. Check out David Allen’s, best-selling book Getting Things Done and his website of the same name for more elaboration on some of these ideas. I also invite you to share your suggested additions to this list in the comments below. […]

5 04, 2015

Overcoming Fears of Virtual Legal Assistants

2019-03-20T21:30:37+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

Is running your law practice growing to more than you can handle, but maybe not enough for full-time help? As a prudent business person, perhaps you aren’t ready to make the commitment to hire more staff or to lease additional space to accommodate them. If you find yourself working too many long hours just to keep up, and doing work that you should be delegating, maybe it’s time to experiment with a virtual paralegal or virtual administrative assistant. Virtual workers can permit you to flexibly expand and contract your office staff as your needs fluctuate on a project by project basis. […]

2 12, 2014

Overcome Bad Habit Loops

2019-02-21T23:25:14+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Overcome Bad Habit Loops

This year is almost over. As you think about next year, do you have things you want to do differently? Have you started contemplating your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Do you notice some of the same items on your list that you had last year? Perhaps you are a victim of “the power of habit.”

New York Times business reporter, Charles Duhigg, published an excellent book called The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business in 2012. He summarized research by neuroscientists on habits and provided illuminating case studies of how people and companies broke bad habits and transformed their futures. Using the research and principles Duhigg described, I’ll provide some guidance on how you can look at the patterns in your life to design structures for better habits in the future. […]

4 11, 2014

“We Have Met the Enemy, and He is Us”

2019-02-21T23:25:16+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

When you’re searching for solutions to personnel problems in the office, take steps to make sure you have accurately identified the source of the problem.You need to uncover obstacles to good performance by your office staff by being sure they have the necessary training, optimal equipment and clear instructions.

What if you’ve done all of these things, but you’re still getting poor performance? Is it time to terminate him? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Have you had difficulty finding anyone who could perform these job responsibilities well? Have you had trouble keeping the talent who did perform well? You might first verify that you are paying a competitive salary. If you are underpaying the market, talented personnel may not be attracted to the position, or they may parlay the experience and training they get in your office to a higher paying job. […]

7 10, 2014

Who Will Pinch-Hit for an Injured Solo?

2019-03-20T21:31:45+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Who Will Pinch-Hit for an Injured Solo?

A lawyer client recently posed a question to me about obtaining professional liability insurance. She practiced in a larger firm, and now she wants to start her own solo practice. Solos face some unique issues in obtaining insurance and making disaster contingency plans. Some legal malpractice carriers require a solo to designate a back-up attorney who will step in for her if she is incapacitated due to illness, injury, or even death. How does a solo find a lawyer willing to do that? Here are some of my suggestions:

Perhaps you have a colleague with a similar practice in a solo or small firm. They need lawyers available to cover for them, too. By making a reciprocal arrangement, you may be able to persuade a lawyer to take on that daunting responsibility.

If you don’t know someone who would be a good fit, however, it’s time to develop some additional relationships. How could you go about that? […]

2 09, 2014

Humorous Client Misconceptions

2024-11-03T00:38:33+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Humorous Client Misconceptions

Judge throws up his hands in confusion over plaintiff's request Clients get confused sometimes and we are all aware of how that can lead to misunderstandings. However, many of their misconceptions are quite humorous and I have compiled several of these for today’s post. Hopefully this will offer you a little break from your daily grind while you read some of their “ideas” about their cases. If you are a new lawyer, perhaps this information can help you head off some misunderstandings in the future.

First, some misconceptions about domestic relations matters:

1. I don’t need to negotiate with my spouse. The Domestic Relations Court will resolve my case and my problems.

2. Joint custody or shared parenting automatically means we will split time with the children on a 50/50 basis.

3. Since the divorce wasn’t my idea, I shouldn’t have to endure changes to my lifestyle, like selling the house, getting a job or experiencing a lower standard of living. […]

About Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.

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About Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.

Best Practices to Avoid Hiring Mistakes

1 “If I don’t do it myself, it will not be done right”

How NOT to Turn Clients Away

Make an Appointment

Setting goals for your life and career?

Setting goals for
your life and career?