attorneys Archives

5 05, 2015

Where Can I Find a Virtual Paralegal to Match My Practice?

2019-03-20T21:29:49+00:00By Cathy L Ribble ACP|2 Comments

“There just are not enough hours in the day to do everything myself! I want to improve my work-life balance by delegating tasks, but no one is available. I keep reading and hearing about virtual paralegals and virtual assistants as affordable options, but I wonder: Where can I find virtual support which meets the needs of my law practice?”

Solo and small firm attorneys often share these same thoughts. For both groups, virtual paralegal or virtual assistant support is often the perfect solution provided you find the assistant who matches your needs. The first step is deciding what task(s) you want to delegate. That list will grow quickly if you could find the right person. Your next move will be checking out the following sources to identify the names of virtual paralegals or virtual assistants who have experience in your practice area. […]

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. […]

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. […]

1 07, 2014

What Clients Want

2019-02-21T23:25:20+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on What Clients Want

In 2000 Mel Gibson starred in a movie called “What Women Want” in which a freak accident caused his character, Nick Marshall, to suddenly have the ability to hear women’s unspoken thoughts. He initially found it to be a very disconcerting experience, because (1) he discovered that he had some erroneous assumptions, and (2) women’s impressions of him were not very flattering. In fact, many of them thought he was a jerk. It turned out that what they said to him and what they actually thought did not exactly coincide.

Eventually, however, Nick realized that he could use his new abilities to do research that would allow him to understand women better. He began to modify his own assumptions, expectations, perceptions, and behaviors, based on his research. His interactions became more effective and enjoyable. He became more successful in his career. […]

3 06, 2014

Relief for Stressed Out Lawyers and Law Students

2019-02-21T23:25:21+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Relief for Stressed Out Lawyers and Law Students

The countdown to the bar exam has started and I’m hearing about stressed out law grads. I frequently get calls from lawyers who need new tools for coping with stress. Sometimes, even as a coach, I get overcommitted or “life happens” and I find myself feeling cranky, anxious and struggling to sleep.

Stress negatively impacts our optimal cognitive functioning. That means that we may tend to forget what we already know about how to relieve stress. So for my own benefit and yours, I’m going to list some of my favorite (and not so favorite) ways to relax.

1. Exercise. I might as well swallow the bad-tasting medicine first. I’m one of those people who hate to exercise just for the sake of exercise. Nevertheless, according to Harvard Medical School, moderate exercise can reduce the production of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Exercise also stimulates the production of endorphins which are the body’s mood elevators.

If you feel the way I do about exercise, find ways to make it more fun. Walk along a beautiful trail or work out at the gym while chatting with a friend. Take a dance class or play a sport. Reward yourself with a protein smoothie after your workout. Do something to make it more enjoyable, or you’ll just wind up stressing over your failure to keep your commitment to exercise. […]

6 05, 2014

Six Essential Traits of the Successful Legal Entrepreneur

2019-02-21T23:25:21+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Six Essential Traits of the Successful Legal Entrepreneur

Sometimes lawyers get so focused on honing their legal skills that they don’t recognize themselves as entrepreneurs. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an entrepreneur as “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.”

Very few law schools have classes that actually teach a lawyer how to run a law practice. How can you know whether you will be any good at it? What if you aren’t graduating in the top 10% of your class? Does that mean you have limited potential for successfully running your own law firm?

Inc. magazine online shared advice from Steve Blank about entrepreneurism in a commencement speech to engineering students. It’s good advice for lawyers, too. He said:

“[G]reat grades and successful entrepreneurs have at best a zero correlation….You don’t get grades for resiliency, curiosity, agility, resourcefulness, pattern recognition and tenacity. You just get successful.”

In this post, I want to talk about why those qualities are essential for a successful legal practice. […]

8 04, 2014

How to Get That Thing Done That You Keep Putting Off

2019-03-15T18:27:12+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on How to Get That Thing Done That You Keep Putting Off

Most of us have something that we keep putting off until a looming deadline spurs us to action. Our modus operandi robs us of sleep and our confidence that we did our best work. Some unpleasant tasks don’t have a deadline, so we postpone them until we can’t function anymore without doing something about them. Like when you know you need to get a new computer, but that requires a disagreeable choice between researching to make the right selection, or surrendering to the influence of a salesperson. So you don’t do anything about it until your processing speed slows to a crawl.

Whatever you tend to procrastinate on, that increases your stress and lowers your self-esteem. Go through this list of suggestions and look at your practice with new eyes to find one thing you can do differently now. […]

18 03, 2014

The 4 R’s for Solving Dilemmas

2019-02-21T23:25:22+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on The 4 R’s for Solving Dilemmas

Do you have a dilemma, a persistent worry, a recurring aggravation, or a deep concern? As lawyers we are trained to apply logic and rigorous analysis to solve problems. Some issues, however, call for a different approach – one of creativity and inner guidance. Here’s a little formula, “The 4 R’s,” for finding a solution: Rest, Relax, Reflect and Receive.

1. Rest

Many of our problems arise out of the stress created by the very busy-ness of our lives. Studies have shown that the average person needs eight hours of sleep per night, but today many of us cheat our bodies of some of that needed rest. In his book, The Promise of Sleep, William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D. describes studies showing that if you are only getting 6 hours of sleep per night during the work week, by Friday night you have accumulated 10 hours of “sleep debt” that must be repaid. Dr. Dement says, “As your debt grows, your energy, mood and cognition will be undermined.” Dr. Dement warns that you cannot work off a large sleep debt by getting one good night’s sleep. No wonder you find yourself sleeping late on the weekend and then still wanting a nap in the afternoon. […]

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