Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC., Author at Lawyer-Coach

25 10, 2011

10 Tips for Mentoring a Young Lawyer

2019-04-01T21:27:42+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on 10 Tips for Mentoring a Young Lawyer

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report in its 14th Annual Global CEO Survey, 98% of Millennial workers believe that working with a coach or mentor is important to their development. More would choose training and development as a benefit than a cash bonus. When I shared information about this survey on Twitter, Jasmine Decarie, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Foley Hoag, wisely pointed out that law firms need to train mentors on mentoring.

Jasmine’s admonition brought me back to my official mentor in BigLaw. He was a kindly gray-haired gentleman in the trial department. Although all first-years were on General Assignment in those days, I wondered why I received a trial lawyer as a mentor, when I wanted to do corporate work. […]

7 10, 2011

The Proper Care and Feeding of Referral Sources

2019-04-01T21:28:36+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

Because I work with a lot of different lawyers, people often contact me when they need to engage one. Sometimes a friend needs legal services, and I hear from them later about their satisfaction level with the services received. Often, however, a friend calls on behalf of the potential client. I give them contact info for a couple of appropriate lawyers, which they forward to the client. Usually I give the lawyers I recommend a heads up by email or voicemail…and that’s the last I hear of it.

Over the course of a couple of years, I referred 5 or 6 potential clients to one lawyer. I never even heard whether she got hired. When a new referral request came in, I had a little conversation in my head: “I wonder whether the previous referrals were good matches for her. In any event, she didn’t seem to particularly appreciate them. She never let me know what happened. Did she even say ‘thank you’? I think I’ll send this referral to someone else who will appreciate it.” […]

31 08, 2011

How Lawyers Can Handle Bad Reviews and Complaints on Social Media

2019-03-21T19:12:02+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|7 Comments

When I spoke recently at the State Bar of Texas annual meeting about social media success stories for lawyers, I got a familiar question: “What should I do if someone trashes me online in social media?”

Almost every lawyer has experienced a client with unreasonable expectations, or one who got bad results because of their own bad behavior or bad facts. I can’t even count how many different people over the years that I have heard claim that they got cheated in their divorce settlement because their lawyer was in cahoots with the other side. (None of them told a credible story.) The difference today is that they can widely publicize their opinions and dissatisfaction online. I have been taken aback by the vituperative language used in anonymous comments to blogs and news posts. Given these common occurrences today, there is a definite risk that someday you will face an unfavorable rating or an untrue statement about your services online.

Some attorneys cite fear of negative comments as a reason for eschewing social media altogether. They are uniformed, however. Ratings and comments can be posted about your legal services on many sites whether you engage social media or not. If you don’t play, you won’t know what they say. […]

12 07, 2011

Is the Grass Really Greener at Another Law Firm?

2019-03-21T19:20:46+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Is the Grass Really Greener at Another Law Firm?

According to Linda Katz, a legal recruiter with Pye Legal Group in Houston, law firms have resumed associate lateral hiring following the recession drought. “Lawyers with three to five years of experience are in the greatest demand, although not all practice areas have bounced back yet,” says Katz.

If you are dissatisfied with your current law firm, what kind of information should you gather about a prospective new employer besides the obvious issues of compensation and billable hour requirements? After brainstorming with Katz, I compiled some suggestions. […]

30 06, 2011

Think You’re Underpaid? Get Real Before You Leap

2019-03-21T19:24:39+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Think You’re Underpaid? Get Real Before You Leap

An in-house lawyer (let’s call her Sara) contacted me about helping her design a business plan for starting up her own law firm. I commended Sara’s wisdom in creating a business plan before leaving her corporate job. Surprisingly few lawyers actually do that. She explained that she needed the business plan in order to get a bank to lend her operating capital. While I silently questioned how realistic her expectations were, I asked how much she intended to borrow. She said, “I only need enough to cover my living expenses for a couple of months. Just until the money starts coming in.” […]

3 06, 2011

Leveraging Dictation Technology to Save Time and Overhead

2019-03-21T19:30:36+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

Lawyers used to dictate drafts of correspondence and documents for their assistant to transcribe, in order to improve their efficiency over handwritten drafting. As word processing software became more user-friendly, however, lawyers began doing more and more of their own typing. Most found it easier to draft when they could immediately see and edit their work product. Today both solos and big firms save on overhead by using fewer, and sometimes less skilled, administrative assistants, which increases the need for lawyers to type more.

Some of those cost savings may be illusory, however. […]

26 04, 2011

Do Bar Associations Really Benefit Solos?

2019-03-21T19:53:56+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

“The hierarchy of the State Bar is not at all concerned with solos.”
“The truth is that the [state bar] is just not relevant to the majority of …lawyers.”
“Solos have been left out.”
“The ABA doesn’t do anything for solo and small firm lawyers.”
“Solos have a tight operating budget and I haven’t seen the ABA as a huge value for the money.”

These quotes come from statements in online articles and discussion forums, as well as comments made to me. Attorneys complain about bar dues and their perception that bar associations pander to big law firms, providing very little value to solos. When I delve into the subject with them, however, they often come away surprised at the extent of resources available that they were unaware of.

[…]

6 04, 2011

Choosing Law Practice Management Software

2019-03-21T19:59:33+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|7 Comments

In a previous post (Should A Solo Buy Law Practice Management Software?) I discussed some benefits and drawbacks of investing in law practice management software. I shared my opinion that all lawyers, including solos, can benefit from practice management software because, properly used, it will significantly improve your efficiency and organization. I also warned, however, that the learning curve will first slow you down. You will probably incur additional costs for training and for consulting to get the program configured to fit your needs and to coordinate with your other software and hardware.

Now that you are considering whether to take the leap, this post will address some of the questions you may have, and point out others that you should investigate in your decision process. […]

15 03, 2011

Should A Solo Buy Law Practice Management Software?

2019-03-21T20:06:29+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|3 Comments

When a client calls unexpectedly about his matter, do you fumble to find the information you need, while the client wonders why you can’t answer the question? Do you have trouble sorting through all the appointments and deadlines on your calendar to identify the ones that relate to a particular case? Do you rely on your increasingly overloaded memory bank for conflict checks? Do you waste time locating old emails or pink message slips? Do you lose money because you can’t remember how much time you spent on a dozen different phone calls during the day? Do you ever wish you had access to something on your desk while out of the office? Have you lost hope of ever getting organized? […]

8 03, 2011

What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You

2019-03-21T20:09:07+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You

I have had my business and personal accounts at the same bank for 16 years, but for over a year, I have been thinking of changing banks. In fact, I would have already moved my accounts if it weren’t such a hassle to transfer all those automatic payments. I had the intention to find a better bank one day.

What does my bank account have to do with your law practice? […]

About Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.

Make an Appointment

Setting goals for
your life and career?

About Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.

Make an Appointment

Setting goals for your life and career?

Setting goals for
your life and career?