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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