The term is more than just a label; it reflects outdated hierarchies and is a barrier to a more inclusive and collaborative legal environment. Originally Published by ABOVE THE LAW by Olga V. Mack on June 24, 2024 at 2:48 PM In the ever-evolving landscape of the legal profession, certain terminologies and labels can shape perceptions and the dynamics within legal teams. One such term,...
By Chere B. Estrin Legal Apartheid: The Poisonous Impact of the 'Non-Lawyer' Label on Professional Equality There is a petition going around to strike the term "non-lawyer" from use by the ABA. I can't help but stick my two cents in: "The use of the term "non-lawyer" creates an artificial hierarchy within the legal profession. It implicitly suggests that only licensed attorneys hold value or...
By Chere B. Estrin I had lunch last week with a friend who is the Director of Administration at a top, major law firm. The firm had been seeking a litigation paralegal for months. When I first received their search, the hiring requirements included 5-10 years of litigation paralegal experience, actual trial experience, ability to handle legal research, drafting and a whole host of other...
by Kim Barrett, MBA, MPS As is the case with many first-generation professionals, I grew up with only the bare necessities and attended public school. Neither of my parents attended college. In fact, neither of them even graduated high school. It wasn’t until they were well into adulthood that they each (separately) earned a GED. They worked, but didn’t make a lot of...
By Joseph Lavelle, Esq. and Maureen C. Washington, ACP, CAS What is one word with thirteen characters that can lead to loss or victory? COMMUNICATION. Thousands, maybe millions, of articles have been written that describe, define, characterize, explain, or expound on this essential durable skill. But what does this combination of five syllables, four vowels, and four consonants...
by Blake Lively with Comments From Chere Estrin Blake Lively nailed this concept about the value of your team in her article, "Your Law Firm’s Employees Cost Too Much to Lose. If you are in law firm management, you simply MUST read this article
Chere Estrin What does it cost to replace an attorney in your law firm? In the end, more time than you realize. Let’s look at...
By Lawrence Pascoe Compared to other businesses, lawyers have not evolved in how they serve their clients Let's be honest; the way lawyers serve their clients has not changed much, not just from the late 1970s when I started practicing law but probably since the 1200s when England passed laws regulating the conduct of the legal profession. Lawyers have harnessed technology to do tasks...
Jathan Janove As a former labor and employment law attorney, I’ve taken issue with the popular employee disciplinary tool commonly referred to as “progressive discipline.” In my view, it’s a pernicious contradiction in terms. Here’s what I published on this topic with SHRM. I advocate replacing conventional employee disciplinary policy with the following three communication...
Very good career advice from LawCrossing, in a series of questions & answers:"Little things that you do every day without thinking could be driving your coworkers crazy. Your bad business habits can give you a bad reputation and make you the topic of water-cooler gossip. Take a deep breath—and a good hard look at yourself—and then ask yourself if you are guilty of committing any of...
Found this interesting post at the morepartnerincome blog which is sponsored by Juris,Inc.:"Hildebrandt’s Rees Morrison passes along a simple but clever technique for encouraging attorneys to improve efficiency by finding delegable tasks for non-lawyer members of the team. The idea comes from the corporate world but should work to everyone’s benefit in a law firm as well. The law...
