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Legal Marketing Through Writing Ari Kaplan is one of those people that truly enjoys helping and encouraging others. You can tell just by talking to him for a few minutes that his passion is coaching and teaching. He wants to help people succeed in their endeavors, whatever they may be. One main area of expertise Mr. Kaplan possesses is getting published. In fact, he runs a company called Ari Kaplan Advisors that is dedicated to coaching those who are trying to get published. This is such an important skill to learn for lawyers and attorneys everywhere. Getting an article published in a magazine, newspaper, or law journal can do many things for a lawyer’s reputation and career. It will help establish expertise in a certain area, relate your name to a particular topic of importance, and improve your status as a respected member of the legal community.
Law Firm Incubator Suites In the world of Manhattan attorneys, being a solo practitioner or small practice lawyer is becoming more and more difficult. One of the main reasons is that office space is so expensive, yet so important. Rental prices in Manhattan range from pricey to extremely pricey, and you pay for what you get. A lawyer looking to save money gets a place that he is afraid to show clients. A lawyer who needs a nice office to meet with clients ends up breaking the bank to stay there. It seems to be a lose-lose situation. Not to mention, the amount of time needed to grow a practice takes too much away from important “client time”.
Future of Continuing Education In the past 25 years, continuing education requirements have increasingly become mandatory for most professional fields in the U.S. What was once thought of as isolated mandates made by the respective professions' governing boards, is now a national trend. Today, Continuing Education is mandatory for Law, Accounting, Real Estate, Psychology, Pharmaceuticals, etc. So what's the reason for the shift towards mandatory CE?
Continuing Para-Legal Education Lawyers and law firms today are growing and competing in a rapidly changing legal environment. The drive to gain clients, work on bigger cases, and continue to deliver faster and higher quality service is increasing. This makes the jobs of paralegals and legal assistant ever more important. With this in mind, it is no wonder why more and more law firms are requiring that their paralegals take some form of continuing legal education.
Virginia CLE 10/31 Deadline: Feeling the Pressure Nobody likes deadlines. Deadlines mean you have to get something done. Deadlines mean you are in a hurry. Deadlines bring about stress. Well, the Virginia continuing legal education (CLE) deadline is coming up on October 31st. And just like any deadline, people usually wait until the last minute to do anything. This causes a feeling of being overwhelmed; so much to do, so little time. If you are one of those lawyers who has yet to complete this year's requirements, here are 5 great ways to relieve the stress over the next two months. 1) TAKE SOME TIME OFF. I realize that we just got through the Labor Day weekend, but working hard day in and day out, takes its toll. And there is no way to do CLE while you are plugging away those hours in the office. So give yourself a break and take a long weekend to yourself. Spend some time with the kids. Then sit back, relax, and listen to a CLE course. 2) GET SOME EXERCISE. A good run or an hour at the gym is a great way to forget about everything else going on in your life. It gives you a chance to concentrate on one thing, and clear your mind of the stress that is holding you down. Once you sweat out the worries of holiday planning, client management, and putting your kids through school, you will be able to concentrate on the more important things. And you will feel good about yourself for doing it. 3) LISTEN TO MUSIC. And I don't mean something depressing or loud and obnoxious. Most of the time that kind of music does nothing but add stress. I suggest something relaxing, easy to listen to. For those of you looking for something like that, I recommend such bands as The Shins, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, etc. All you need is a guitar, a soft melody, and a soothing voice. Just let the music take over, and you will leave all thoughts of deadlines behind. 4) DO SOMETHING SPONTANEOUS. I don't care what it is, but if you change up your daily routine once in a while it will go a long way towards feeling better. If you feel run down by the pressures of work, life, and CLE requirements; just change the pace. Go for a long drive, take the family out for a night on the town, go out and have a drink after work. Whatever it is, take advantage of a few hours in your day and do something completely different and out of the ordinary. It makes the ordinary seem more bearable. 5) GET IT OVER WITH. The best way I know of to forget about the pressure of the CLE deadline is to get it done as quickly and easily as possible. Sure, the first four suggestions are great for clearing your mind, but eventually you have to get these credits over with. For quick and easy CLE, give your online options a try. Lawline.com offers a variety of courses that you can take right at your computer, from home or work, anytime. So if you are starting to feel the stress of the October 31st deadline, these courses will help. So stop wasting your time complaining about CLE requirements and do something about it. After all, the Virginia CLE deadline is not going away.
Lawyer Hunting Season For big law firms, recruiting new associates has been a by-the-book process for years. It's simple -- go find the best students at the best schools and offer them huge salary packages to start immediately. And it works. But recently, some areas of the law are calling for more specialized expertise and training than you can expect a law school student to have. The answer -- look for the best and brightest lawyers in the field that are already practicing at smaller firms in the area. According to an article in this week's edition of Crain's, elite law firms are luring second and third year associates away from smaller firms more than ever before. The reason is that they can save time and money training these lawyers, who are ready to jump into their own cases immediately after arriving. Therefore, instead of recruiting recent graduates and training them to a certain areas of expertise, these larger firms are simply stealing lawyers who are already experts in fields such as Real Estate, Securities, etc. This has the potential to cause problems for smaller firms who are trying to stay ahead of the competition and continue to grow. Losing attorneys to higher salaries and better compensation packages means more time spent recruiting new lawyers. The repercussions are obvious in the loss of time spent with clients. Although there is no sure fire way to protect your lawyers from being "snatched up", there are some things you can do to try and sweeten the deal. Of course, salaries will be lower at smaller firms, but other things can help keep lawyers in place. Such things as a more welcoming work environment complete with office luxuries, performance bonuses, and career building opportunities can add some incentive to remain at the smaller firm. In the end, it is obvious that larger firms may win this tug-of-war game over attorneys, but smaller firms can still find ways to succeed.
Lawline TV - Before Online CLE How many of you know that before Lawline.com was an online CLE provider, Lawline was a television show on a local New York cable station? The following is a post about the beginning of Lawline and the emergence of legal broadcasting. In 1983, Alan Schnurman, senior partner of Zalman & Schnurman, was looking for a new way to market his law firm. The idea he came up with was a television show in which he interviewed prominent attorneys on current topics and trends in the law. And just like that, Lawline was born. And now, 25 years later, Lawline is the longest running legal television show seen in the greater New York metropolitan area. The show features knowledgeable guests who answer the commonly asked legal questions in their field of expertise. With an audience reach in the tens of thousands, it has become clear that many people look to this form of media for the answers to many of their questions. It is a way to learn about the law without paying a lot of money to meet with an attorney. In addition, many public relations firms have seen the value of having their client do a guest appearance on Lawline. Past guests on the show range from Chief N.Y.S. Administrative Judge Judith Kaye to celebrity criminal defense attorney Ben Brafman, as well as CEO’s, judges, and motivational speakers. Topics covered over the last two and half decades have included all aspects of real estate, divorce, high profile criminal trials, estate planning and taxes to mention a few. Lawline is currently seen on New York City’s local PBS station WNYE which covers the tri-state area, as well as Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx cable and Cablevision of Westbury and Riverhead.
A Unique Strategy to Litigation Communications Amy Greenfield, Esq. is managing partner of Van Prooyen Greenfield, LLP. She is a lawyer, a communicator, and a businesswoman, but most importantly Amy is an entrepreneur. She has found an innovative way to approach public relations and continues to set herself apart from the pack. Her firm, with locations in both New York and San Francisco, has a focus on public relations and litigation communications. They are a pioneer in merging public relations expertise with a law firm structure. Whereas there are a large number of PR Firms out there, Amy brings the added benefit of a strong legal background. Her added edge comes from the fact that her competition constantly has to beware of certain gray areas in the laws revolving around communications. There are attorney client privileges that cannot be violated. Many times, these privileges control the message that is acceptable to deliver to the public. In fact, many times public relations firms get themselves into trouble by releasing documents that are confidential, and that can have a cataclysmic impact in a high profile case. Ms. Greenfield’s knowledge and background in law provides her the ability to combine these sets of skills and deliver the highest quality public relations consultation. Amy has surrounded herself with attorneys, former product managers, former reporters and editors from the largest new agencies, public policy experts and award-winning communicators; all of whom deliver the highest quality support and service to the firm’s clients. She has been involved with a number of high profile cases in such fields as technology, financial and entertainment. Amy Greenfield has filmed two lectures for Lawline.com. The first, NY Advertising Rules 2007, deals with recent changes to New York advertising laws, and the second, Litigation Communications, in which she and Lori Teranishi go over some of the ways that law firms can use public relations to their advantage. Both demonstrate Ms. Greenfield’s passion and commitment to the field, her business, and her clients.
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