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Commentary
Commentary: A Healing Profession: How to Help Colleagues in Crisis
Texas Lawyer
Monday, February 1, 2010
In the aftermath of the Jan. 18 apparent suicide of Baker & Hostetler partner John Mason Mings, Texas Lawyer asked Ann D. Foster, director of the State Bar of Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program, to discuss suicide warning signs. Listen for expressions of anxiety, feeling trapped, purposelessness, hopelessness and anger, she advises. Other warning signs may include increased isolation, recklessness, exhausted appearance, deteriorating hygiene, missing work and decreased productivity at work.
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Commentary — Advice to Associates: Learn the Rules
Texas Lawyer
Monday, February 1, 2010
Anthony Lowenberg, an associate with Hermes Sargent Bates in Dallas, says he thought the new year would bring a good opportunity to reflect on what new lawyers know, have yet to learn and ought to know but don't know yet. He offers five things all newbie Texas attorneys should know without research, questions or even blinking. He starts with one of the most dangerous and basic mistakes: the pitfalls of a missed deadline.
Commentary: Legal Actions and Immigration Tools to Help Haitians
Texas Lawyer
Monday, January 25, 2010
The response by the United States and its citizens and other nations to the devastation wreaked by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti and its many aftershocks provides clear evidence of the compassion of our globally connected community, says Kathleen Campbell Walker of El Paso. In addition to the tangible forms of aid en route to Haiti, many less publicized legal actions of the United States will have far-reaching benefits to Haitian nationals.
Tips for Becoming an Effective Leader
Texas Lawyer
Monday, January 25, 2010
Lawyers who represent clients and their firms well eventually may be rewarded for their efforts with the prestige of a leadership position, says professional coach and psychotherapist James Dolan. But natural leaders are few and far between, he says. They tend to be the class clown in grade school, the cool outsider in high school or the rock musician in college. They either led or got into trouble because natural leaders know no other way of dwelling within a hierarchy than to lead.
Commentary: Vice, Virtue and "The Merchant of Venice"
Texas Lawyer
Monday, January 18, 2010
William Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice" teaches us some good lessons, says Michael P. Maslanka. But the most important is this: We are just not because we must be, but because it is in our nature to be so. "The quality of mercy is not strained/it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/upon the place beneath . . . though justice be thy plea, consider this/that in the course of justice, none of us should see salvation/we do pray for mercy/and that same prayer doth teach us all to render/the deeds of mercy. . . ."
Commentary: Subtly Gauge Judges' Interest to Keep Oral Argument Interactive
Texas Lawyer
Monday, January 11, 2010
If trial lawyers live for the clinching closing or the cutting cross, appellate lawyers live for oral argument, says Martin J. Siegel of Houston. It's admittedly not quite as dramatic. In fact, it's often 20 minutes or so of anticlimax. Why, then, would a lawyer use her long-awaited platform to ask questions of the judges? Isn't she supposed to answer questions, not pose them?
Commentary: Revolutionize Legal Education Using Work Product
Texas Lawyer
Monday, January 11, 2010
Law schools use the case method as the core means of teaching law students, says David K. Bissinger, a trial lawyer and partner in Siegmyer, Oshman & Bissinger in Houston. It has enormous value, but technology has the potential to revolutionize the law school experience. By using real-world advocacy materials, law schools can help restore confidence in the legal profession and the legal process, he says.
Paws to Learn: Public Speaking Lessons From the Dog
Fulton County Daily Report
Monday, January 4, 2010
Communcations consultant Joey Asher says his dog Balou is a 60-pound, black-lab mix that — if he could only talk and write on a flip chart — could be a great public speaker. That's because Balou understands how to connect with people better than most humans.
Commentary: Modifying Partner Compensation Plans
The Legal Intelligencer
Monday, January 4, 2010
Few lawyer managers would claim that setting compensation for partners and associates during this recession is a simple task, says management consultant Joel A. Rose. He encourages attorneys to become involved in their firms' marketing efforts and cause top performers to want to remain with their firms and to provide incentives to other attorneys to perform those fee-producing and nonfee-producing activities to enhance relationships and attract new and profitable business from existing and potential clients.
Comment on Disciplinary Rules' Proposed Amendments
Texas Lawyer
Monday, December 28, 2009
On Oct. 20, the Texas Supreme Court issued broad and extensive proposed amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. The court noted that it will accept public comments about the changes until Dec. 31. If the amendments go into effect as drafted, Texas lawyers hopefully will adjust their conduct to meet the standards more quickly than they did last time.
Unprecedented Decade in the Legal Profession
The National Law Journal
Monday, December 28, 2009
The word "unprecedented" may be the best way to sum up the past 10 years in the legal profession, says law firm consultant Bradford W. Hildebrandt. It applies to every major trend and development that has affected law firms during this period: unprecedented demand for legal services; unprecedented firm growth and increase in profitability; unprecedented competition for top talent; unprecedented compensation for first-year associates; and, finally, an unprecedented rapid decline in demand for what we commonly think of as "recession-resistant" legal services.
