Everything
I Needed To Know I Learned After Law School
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
WHAT KIND OF LAWYER DO YOU WANT TO BE?
Why be a family lawyer at all?
What kind of clients do you want?
What do you want the colleagues you respect to say about you?
It’s always showtime
What do you want the judges you respect to say about you?
How to find a mentor
What if the attorney you work for is a brainless twit, who happens to sign the paychecks?
When to do it your own way
Do I have to work 60 hour weeks?
You are always judged by the company you keep
You don’t get a second chance to build a professional reputation
OFFICE MECHANICS AND WORK HABITS
Setting up your physical office
Technology is your friend
Forms and templates, or, reinventing the wheel
Checklists, outlines and other time saving tools
Fee agreements
Confidentiality
Sharing office space
Know your limitations
Phone calls and emails
How to paper your file
The ugly green monster on the corner of your desk
LEARNING YOUR CRAFT
What is an advocate, anyway?
Why it is important to develop a case plan and how to do it
Personal research files
Weaknesses? WHAT weaknesses?
The importance of being consistently professional
Distinguishing a gripe from a legal issue
How many cases at a time is enough?
Expert witnesses
Learn almost as much as your expert knows
The expert “Lawyer Wannabe”
Protecting your experts
Taking depositions
Preparing your client for his deposition and testimony
When to line up your witnesses
Oops! Tomorrow’s the settlement conference
Never underestimate your opponent
The difference between “real” time and “lawyer” time
Cross examination isn’t a refresher course
How to ask a question and other no-brainers they don’t teach you in law school
I just got out of law school. Why do I have to do CLE?
How to know when you’re out of your depth and what to do about it
FINDING AND SCREENING CLIENTS
What kind of clients do you want, anyway?
Building referral sources
Other lawyers
Other marketing tools
The blind date: client screening and the initial interview
Why it’s sometimes a good thing to tell a client your strengths and weaknesses (after you’ve figured out what they are)
Concluding the interview
When (and how) to turn a client away
Why refusing to accept a client who wanted to write me a big check that day was one of the smartest client development moves I ever made
How not to reject a client
KEEPING CLIENTS
Setting boundaries
Accessibility issues
Hand holding
How to keep communication flowing
Tools for success with the disorganized client
What do you mean there are weaknesses in my case?
Nine things NEVER to say to a client
Things never to say about a client to someone else (especially the judge)
How to refuse to do something a client wants you to do
What if you are getting sucked into the client’s agenda and losing your objectivity?
How much of my strategy should I share with my client?
It seems obvious, but never lie
Discussing other cases with your client
Give clients bad news verbally and personally
“Strong letter to follow”
Swapping jokes in chambers
What to do when you see clients in public
Prepare anything which requires the client’s signature well in advance of the due date
What to do with the client who tries to bully you
FIRING CLIENTS
How to recognize the problem client and what to do about it
When and how to fire a client
What if you really detest your client?
The most dangerous client there is
How to spot the Client from Hell:
Does not want a level playing field
Is greedy
Is domineering
Is entitled
Is impatient
Is suspicious
Has an ax to grind
Is guilty over the breakup
Is utterly innocent
Is bitterly resentful
Is crafty
Avoids dealing with the divorce
Alienates the kids
Didn’t pay their prior attorney(s)
YOU AND YOUR STAFF
How much staff do I really need?
How much do I pay them?
The Gospel According to Aretha
Training isn’t optional
NEVER blame your staff for your own screw up
Share the windfall
Do your own work in a timely manner
Remember that you can learn from your staff
They have a life, too
What if you have no control over staff?
What if the staff treats you like the new kid on the block?
The Office Manager from Hell
OPPOSING COUNSEL
What about opposing counsel?
Opposing counsel is the enemy, right?
Demonizing the other side
What goes around comes around
Never complain about your own client to opposing counsel
The wages of “war stories”
What to do about “he said/she said” letters
The importance of professional courtesies
What to do with opposing counsel who tries to bully or intimidate you
How to know when life is just too short to deal with a particular opponent
YOU, THE JUDGES AND COURT STAFF
Always be courteous and professional
Why it is important to thank the judge who just handed you a part of your anatomy
Promises, Promises
Who is making the decision, anyway?
How to read the judge and what to do when you’re losing him
How to get on the judge’s blacklist
When it’s ok to talk with the judge at the conclusion of a case and how to do it
How to handle the judge who tries to bully you into sacrificing your client
What about the judge’s staff?
KILLING TREES: HOW TO DO GOOD PAPERWORK
We aren’t paid by the word any more
A leads to B leads to C leads to success
All arguments aren’t created equal
Eliminate extraneous facts
Always check your authorities
How to prepare exhibits the judge will love
Never put dangerous or confidential facts in a public record
Review spells success
BILLING AND COLLECTING FEES
Rule #1: It doesn’t matter how many hours you bill
What if you work for a firm which sets a quota for billable hours?
How to bill
When not to bill
When to reduce a bill
How to talk to a client about money
How not to do it
“It’s not the money; it’s the principle”
How to be sure you get paid
When to take it on faith
How to deal with the case that turns sour
The clash between crusades and business
What happens when you get burned on fees (and you will)
How to stay out of fee arbitration
The deadbeat client
How to win at fee arbitration
What if the person you work for only gives you lousy cases to work on and won’t let you collect the fee directly
THE HARD STUFF
What to do when you think you have screwed up
You haven’t a clue how to do something you need to do
If you are really stuck and don’t have an in-house mentor, consider getting a second opinion
What if the person who is paying your bill isn’t the client and wants to call the shots?
What if your client wants you to do something you feel very strongly is inappropriate, but not necessarily unethical?
What if your boss instructs you to do something you don’t think is ethical?
What if you’re well into the case and realize your client is a really “bad guy”?
The family you can’t fix
Protecting yourself
YOUR LEGACY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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