Recently in Legal Lifestyle Category

Mother’s Day isn’t just about phone calls, cards, and chocolates. It’s about taking the time out to appreciate what our mothers (and if applicable, the mothers of our children) do for us. It’s also a great time to look at what we can do for them.

Working Mother’s “2012 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women” list details what many of the BigLaw firms are doing for their female attorneys. Though the list appears to be in no particular order or ranking, here are a few standouts that smaller and mid-size firms can learn from:

For lawyers in firms of all shapes, sizes, and practice areas, you are measured by the bottom line — oftencounted in billable hours. We’re trying really hard to avoid the cliché about time and money, but it’s especially true when your merit is measured by time billed.

“Cash Rules Everything Around Me.” The words are as true today as they were back in 1993. So how do you maximize your productivity, and thereby maximize your firm’s revenue?

Yes, lawyers drink. It's a truism for a reason. Drinking is highly correlated with drunk driving. It should be no surprise then, that occasionally, a lawyer, or more specifically, a prosecutor, will be charged with driving under the influence. The only real question is, can that person, in good conscience, continue to prosecute DUI offenders while facing DUI charges?

It sounds like a ridiculous question. Do as we say, not as we do, right? Yet, the District Attorney for Travis County, Texas, Rosemary Lehmberg is facing those questions now, after she pled guilty unconditionally, waived her right to an appeal, and prepares for a relatively lengthy jail sentence.

Is there a better place for people watching than a criminal court in California? Most of the nation would agree that us Californians are a wee bit odd. Head to the nearest criminal court and that oddity is multiplied exponentially.

No where is this more evident than wardrobe choices. You are in court. You’re facing time. What do you choose to wear? Even worse, you are the attorney, you are representing someone who is facing time, and you choose to wear that? Go home, watch some Boston Legal, and learn something.

From lawyers to laypeople, here are some of the most amazingly bad or inappropriate wardrobe choices for court:

For some lawyers, the work day never ends.

Twenty years ago, lawyers left their phones and computers at work. Thanks to increased mobility, lawyers now send email from their phones, read briefs and cases on tablets, and are rarely seen without a laptop. Unfortunately, the never-stop-working work ethic means that more attorneys are burning out.

So how do you stop the vicious cycle? Try actively disconnecting from the office at the end of the day.

As you may have gathered from prior posts on this blog, there are lots of ways that your email can ruin your life. Or at least your reputation.

In the past, we've discussed how spell check won't always make you look smarter, and the fact that giving your clients (or opposing counsel) pet names in your phone is simply a terrible idea. To illustrate these points, I've offered true stories from professionals who have made these mistakes and lived to tell the tales.

Today, I'm tattling on myself -- and attempting to save you from yourself -- with a cautionary tale of what not to do with an Outlook appointment invite.

Yesterday, we brought you five ways to make the opposing attorney hate your guts. Whether you decide to use them for good (self-corrective measures) or for evil (returning the favor to the counsel from hell), today, we bring you five more.

Everyone who has ever practiced law has opposing counsel horror stories. This shouldn’t be surprising. After all, you remember some of the weirdos from your law school class. How many of them are practicing attorneys?

In hope that this will help you correct your bad behavior — or indulge in a misery-loves-company therapeutic rant — here are five ways attorneys irritate the other side.

Like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill, we keep trying to preach the good word of relaxation to lawyers near and far.

Clearly, that's a fruitless endeavor. Lawyers are always going to be a high-stress bunch.

Instead of telling you how to live your life -- if you want to stress, that's your right -- today we're going to discuss how different generations handle stress.

It’s Friday. If you are lucky, you only have about half of a day left of work before the weekend. Still, finding that extra motivation to push through the end of the day can be difficult. Your brain has already skipped ahead to thoughts of weekend plans.

How can you relax a bit, take the edge off, and get your second wind for the last few hours of the week? Here are five suggestions: