Category Archives: For lawyers

What are law firms looking for in an attorney?

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It appears that the legal market is finally turning around. We’ve been seeing some progress for a few months, but things really started picking up since the beginning of the year.  If you’re an attorney searching for a job, you’re in luck!  However, the question remains – what are firms searching for in an associate and a partner?

To be sure, there are still more attorneys available than attorney positions and the market is highly competitive.  Firms are choosy about attorneys and look for specific traits along with experience.  Do any of these sound like you?

For associates

Strong work ethic and intellectual curiosity;

Loyalty and desire to go the extra mile;

Excellent communication skills;

Team player

For partners

Practice area expertise;

Superb reputation;

Business generation skills;

Team player

If you have these traits, you definitely should show prospective employers just as you want to demonstrate your legal expertise.  Be sure you include examples of these traits in your cover letter.  To show intellectual curiosity and dedication, you may want to say something like “I worked in my last position for more than four years.  During that time, I worked tirelessly to learn all I could about tax law.  As a result, my knowledge of tax expands beyond code – I now understand how tax law affects a company from the top down.”

Of course, it’s always a good idea to let firms know of any business you bring to the table.  This is extremely important for partners, and very helpful for associates, as well.  Be specific regarding what type of cases you could bring to the firm and list the ways you plan to continue to generate more business in the future.

Any other questions?  Contact us!  We’re attorneys helping attorneys and we are happy to help lead the way to a great new position!

A how-to: Setting career goals for attorneys

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You’ve known since you were a kid how important it is to have goals.  So far, you’ve done a great job with achieving goals – law school, the bar and the practice of law aren’t easy tasks and you’ve done them brilliantly.  Now, it may seem that you’re in a bit of a rut with your career goals.  What’s next?  Unfortunately, I can’t tell you exactly what your next goals should be – only you can decide that.  However, I can give you a little advice as to how to make sure  your goals “stick.”

1.       Be specific.  When you make a goal, be sure it’s very specific.  You definitely don’t want to make a goal to “make a lot of money in the next five years.”  You need to be specific.  How much money do you want to make?  How do you want to make the money?  A goal like “I want to make $1,000,000 by selling my vacation home and bringing two patent cases by January 2016” is a much better way to state your goal.

2.       Be realistic.  You obviously want to make your goal a stretch, but you want to make it a realistic stretch.  Something like “I want to buy my own island in the Caribbean by 2012” may not be a realistic goal for a 2nd year associate who has no other assets.  However, “I want to buy my own island in the Caribbean by 2031” may be more realistic.

3.       Put a specific date on your goal.  It’s very important to give yourself a time line when you’re making goals.  Without due dates, none of us would get very far. (Now you know why courts have due dates for motions!)

4.       Write it down!!  This is by far the most important tip (and the easiest) when making goals.  If your goals are written, you are much more likely to remember them and achieve them.

More questions about setting your career goals?  Contact us!  We’d love to help.

Writing your law firm bio. Yes, it’s important!

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Your bio is important!  There, I said it.  I know you better than you think I do.  I know that when you started working at the firm, the marketing department asked you to write a bio and you never did.  Then, they wrote one for you based on your resume and something they overheard you say about your previous work; and now that’s the biography of your career life.  Something someone who doesn’t know you or your experience wrote and put on a website.  Probably four paragraphs or less, and most of it is about your undergrad and law school – two things that were most likely not the highlights of your career (at least I hope not).

People (prospective clients) read your firm profile.  It needs to make you look like the attorney you are – a star!  You need to make sure that someone who reads the biography will get a sense of who you are, your experience level and a few of your greatest career achievements (or maybe more than a few of those achievements).  Trust me, it’s important.  So, take a little time and create the perfect profile.  After all, this is how most of the world knows you – only a few simple paragraphs.

1.       Talk about your experience.  This is the one thing that, ironically, many attorneys leave out the law firm profile.  This is the most important part!  Explain the type of cases you have handled in the past and in the present.  Emphasize the types of cases you want to continue getting.  Be sure to add a few specific cases where you had an outstanding result or a case that is right in line with the types of cases you want to continue getting.  You want potential clients to read your profile and think to themselves “This attorney handled a case very similar to the one I have pending. Maybe I should give her a call.”

2.       Don’t be shy.  Be sure to add many of your achievements.  Don’t skimp.  Were you ever published?  Make sure to include the name of the article, the publication and a sentence or two about the content.  Have you been recognized by your peers with an award or an honor?  Add this to the bio, as well.

3.       Keep your education to a minimum.  Really.  Where you went to undergrad is nearly irrelevant, and where you went to law school is just a touch above that.  There are some advantages to adding your education, like making a personal connection with a potential client (“You went to the University of Oregon, too?  What year?  What a coincidence!), but beyond that education is merely filler.  Keep it short and mention is at the bottom of the profile.

4.       Make sure that you have a nice picture to add to the profile.  It needs to be a close-up of your face.  You should be the only person in the picture, and it should be relatively recent.  Make sure you like the picture, as well.  First impressions count!

5.      Be sure to update your bio.  Keep everything current and check back once every quarter.  It’s so much easier to update a few little things every quarter than to completely re-write the profile every two years.

Need more help?  Don’t hesitate to contact us!  We’re attorneys who have been placing attorneys in California for more than 15 years.  We’d love to help you!

What am I going to do with a box of 1,000 business cards?

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The question we’ve all asked at one point in time.  You know the drill.  You get a new job, a new office and desk and begin working with a new secretary.  About two weeks into the routine, a large rectangle ends up on your desk with a business card taped to the top.  Another 1,000 business cards just for you.  When you left your last job, you had approximately 900 of the cards remaining in the rectangle box and now you’re starting all over.

As impossible as it seems, those 1,000 business cards should be gone in about 6-9 months!  It’s a crazy notion, but it works.  Business cards are actually the cheapest way to generate revenue for the firm.  The only catch is that you have to give them to people.

As attorneys, building a book of business isn’t typically one of our core strengths.  No one wants to market themselves for fear that they will look like a used car salesman.  I’ve heard the complaints a million times.  However, I’m here to tell you that no one views a business card as a form of sales.  Most people simply view the card as a way to contact you should they ever need your services.  This is exactly what you want them to do!

So, don’t be afraid to hand out business cards.  You should have at least five cards in your purse or wallet at all times.  Hand them out generously.  They cost somewhere in the ballpark of $.02 each, so go crazy!  Leave one on your table at a restaurant.  Give one to your brother-in-law at the family holiday party.  Give one to every attorney you meet.  Chances are they he or she will come across a case in your practice area at some point, and now the attorney can contact you to handle the matter.  (Referral business is the best!)

Business cards are really an old-fashioned piece of marketing that works.  So, don’t let them linger in your bottom drawer – get them out into the world and see what happens.  My guess is that within a few months of passing out the cards, you’ll start receiving more phone calls and emails about potential cases.  In addition, you’ll be building awareness about your practice area and your firm.  All this for just $.02!

Need more advice about how to jump start your legal career?  Contact us!  We’re attorneys helping attorneys, and we’re ready to help you.

Where are you going?

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Where are you headed in your career?  What are the things you want to achieve?  What does “success” mean to you?   These are the things you should know without even thinking.  Unfortunately, many attorneys get so caught up in the day-to-day stresses of our jobs that we don’t think about our careers.  The good news?  It’s not too late to really plan where you want to go in the next year, the next five years and beyond.

The first step in figuring out where you want to go is to sit down and think.  Pick a quiet time and a quiet place in your house.  (Don’t do this at work – you know it isn’t quiet there.)  Spend an hour writing down your goals.  Make a list of all of the things that are important to you.  What do you need to be fulfilled in your career?  What type of lifestyle do you want?  Do you want to maintain the lifestyle you have or do you want to step it up?  What does “success” mean for you?

Once you have a list – leave it for at least 48 hours.  Come back to the list and review it.  Does your list surprise you?  Did you write things that you didn’t realize you wanted?  This is very typical!  Now, think about your current career with each of the items you listed.  How many of the items on your list will be achieved in your current position?  If you’re looking at a list that will never happen in your current career, it’s time to start thinking about a move.  If most of the things on your list can (and will) be achieved, you’re in the right place.  Congratulations!

If you are one of the many who may not be at the position of your dreams, it’s time to start thinking about what will help you meet your goals.  Do you need to work fewer hours or bring more business to the firm?  Maybe you need to move to a partner position or go to a work-from-home arrangement.  Maybe you need to switch firms or switch practice areas.  Don’t take anything off the table.  Explore your options!  You are not stuck.  You have the power to make changes in your career.

Choosing your career (instead of having your career choose you) is within your power and is easier than you think.  Just completing this exercise is a step in the right direction!  Need more help?  Contact us.  We’re attorneys helping attorneys, and we’d be happy to answer any questions you have.