Legal Insights

Moving to a Paperless Law Office

In today's increasingly digitalized world, it is difficult to escape the pressure to have a paperless law office. The time has come to stop resisting. The benefits of going paperless now far outweigh those of the old-fashioned office management system, and here are just a few benefits: Conserve Space Rather than rummaging through an office cluttered with stacks upon stacks of paper and stuffed filing cabinets, you only need a small hard drive, resulting in less physical and mental clutte...

Types of Legal Fees

Every initial consultation between a lawyer and a potential client begins roughly the same: the lawyer obtains the basic information provided by the client and the parties discuss the potential representation. Once it is clear that the lawyer can be of service to the potential client, the parties then need to agree on a fee arrangement. One common misconception about hiring a lawyer is the necessity of a retainer or a lump sum deposit to begin representation. As explained below, some fee arrang...

Coping with Stress at Work

Attorneys are known for working long hours in stressful conditions, especially those working for large law firms. Clients want results and partners want more billable hours from their associates, no matter the impact on personal time. Learning to cope with work-related stress early in any career pays dividends over the long haul, and these three habits can help make that a reality. Thinking Time Bill Gates schedules an entire week each year to step away from the office and reeva...

How to Excel in Serving Your Clients

The most successful law practices do not focus solely on providing excellent legal services, but also, excellent customer service. Here are four simple practice tips for providing excellent customer service. Be Transparent and Honest. Clients appreciate an honest answer, even if it is not the answer they were hoping to hear. Attorneys should be forthright in every client interaction and never hide the unsightly details. If a case is a loser or a desired result is unobtainable, the clien...

4 Ways Digital is Changing the Legal Field

The practice of law has been revolutionized by the digital age. Attorneys have historically been known for generating mountains of paperwork, but this new digital age has tremendous benefits for this age-old profession. Digital space has changed the legal field in many ways and here are a few of the highlights. File Storage An attorney with a clean desk used to mean that attorney had no work to do. Today it means he or she has gone digital. Client files can be cumbersome, ranging in ...

Write Better Legal Documents: A Checklist

Lawyers write something different every day. One day it's a legal brief, and the next it's an academic article for a trade journal, but the same principles apply across the board. Legal writing must be clear, concise and thoroughly edited to convey the appropriate message or argument. The following are guidelines for editing and improving legal writing of any kind. How to edit for readability Reading aloud can help writers determine whether their work is truly readable. Authors sho...

Time Management Tips for Lawyers

A lawyer's time is his or her most valuable asset, especially when the client is being billed by the hour. Every time the phone rings or an email hits the inbox, the clock starts ticking. Time management skills are important to busy professionals whose time is in constant demand. These tips for time management can help even the busiest attorneys to be efficient and productive every day of the work week. The To-Do List  It's crucial to keep a comprehensive running list of tasks t...

5 Qualities of a Great Lawyer

Thousands of people graduate from law school each year equipped with a diploma and a head full of good intentions, but few of them carry the tools necessary to build a successful practice. Law school teaches many things but not the intangible qualities necessary for true success in the industry, including how to develop new client relationships and still get other work done. Legal Services Link provides a forum for connecting great lawyers with potential clients in a cost-effective manner.&...