Legal Toolkit is a comprehensive resource for professionals in law practice management. Each month, host Jared Correia invites forward-thinking lawyers to discuss the services, ideas, and programs that have improved their practices.
Gabe Teninbaum, professor of legal writing at Suffolk Law, talks about the work Suffolk is doing to encourage innovation, including programs, technology courses, and internship opportunities.
Effectively managing your practice’s client intake process can be the difference between a good law firm and an exceptional one.
In this episode of The Legal Toolkit, Louise Kennedy and Mitch Jackson join Jared Correia to discuss the role of digital assistants in the practice of law.
ABA President Linda Klein talks about project management needs that solo and small firm attorneys struggle with and the ABA's new Blueprint initiative.
Creative Content Specialist/"Spaceballs: The Animated Series" writer Adam Kosloff discusses why prolific writing is very costly for lawyers.
Jared Correia talks to experts about additional skills that law schools should teach students to better prepare them for the practice of law.
Crisp Video Group CEO Michael Mogill talks with Jarred about creating video content for law firms and using it to effectively market.
ClariLegal founder and CEO Cash Butler talks about litigation support options available to law firms and legal practitioners.
Frank Strong talks with Heidi Alexander about content marketing and why it’s so important for lawyers.
Mark Jacobsen talks with Jared Correia about the 2015 U.S. Consumer Legal Needs Survey and online law firm marketing.
Josh Stark from Ledger Labs talks about self-executing contracts, Bitcoin, and how blockchain technology could impact the practice of law.
Heidi Alexander talks with Lawyerist founder and editor in chief Sam Glover about how lawyers can increase their organization and productivity.
Jeff B. Cohen, remembered for his role as Chunk in The Goonies, discusses dealmaking in the context of the law.
Many lawyers today are thinking about going solo or starting their own firms. But running a law firm is like running a business, which involves much more than providing legal services. You have to think about billing and business management, when to accept and reject clients, and maintaining a calm composure under a stressful situation....
The last 10 years have seen a 75% rise in legal costs, which compares to a 20% increase for other fields. It’s estimated that there are one billion dollars worth of unrecognized legal needs in today’s market. Even when legal needs are recognized, it’s common for potential clients to see their problems as prohibitively expensive....
Do you charge for initial consultation in your practice? If not, you might be missing out on higher quality meetings and additional revenue. Despite this claim, most lawyers are worried that changing their fee structure will chase potential clients away from the front door. How can we, as lawyers, offer discernible value and make people...
Online review sites are increasingly important for product and service consumers, but to what extent are people really taking them into consideration when selecting an attorney? If potential clients are counting stars before they call, how do lawyers take control of their online reputations? Furthermore, with limited time and marketing budgets, what should solo and...
In order to succeed in the current economy and to ensure sustainability, law firms must constantly review and refine the way they conduct business. Although lawyers have likely heard of agile, lean, six sigma, and other technology-driven management systems, Legal Project Management (LPM) has been tailored to the practice of law specifically. So how do...
Most lawyers think about search marketing in a broad way, trying to reach everyone on the internet. But focusing on local search, which involves targeting specific cities, states, and neighborhoods, can have better overall results. This area of marketing is often quite confusing, however. What is local search marketing, how does it affect Google rankings,...
Developing a good rapport with clients and trust among your fellow attorneys can lead to better case results, happier clients, and a more pleasurable work environment. Lawyers, and particularly trial attorneys, need to make emotional connections and be persuasive. But, all too often, these essential aspects of practice development are overlooked. So what should introverted...
While convenient, email seems to be increasingly a distraction in law firms and most other businesses. Furthermore, email chains about important cases sit in our inboxes next to spam, family interactions, personal information, and more spam. Due to the sheer volume of emails received, lawyers and firm staff often waste time navigating them to find...
Software developers and progressive law firms are looking for ways to streamline their practices, offer higher quality services for less, and help bridge access to justice. Using mobile apps and other technologies, basic legal services are increasingly available, affordable, and easy to use. But many attorneys are wary of technology like LegalZoom and Shake because...
As e-discovery purveys more and more practices and practice areas, it becomes important for solo and small firm lawyers to at least have a cursory understanding of the process. Attorneys can be at a big disadvantage coming up against opposing counsel without the proper knowledge, workflow and tools for e-discovery. Since everyone today texts, emails,...
The idea of a lean business was recently made popular by Eric Ries’s book, “The Lean Startup.” The lean concept involves eliminating waste and resources that don’t create value for the end client. This practice has become predominant in the tech world, in which companies create a minimum viable product, test it early and often,...
Lawyers as a group have the reputation for being slow to adopt new technology. However, when the smartphone emerged, they quickly jumped on board. And due to cloud computing, lawyers are able to work anywhere, using their smartphones and tablets. Wearable technologies like the Apple Watch, other smart watches, and Google Glass seem to be...
Due to advancements in technology, increased outsourcing, and globalization, students are not necessarily graduating law school and entering a big law firm on track to become a partner. A legal career can take you into a solo practice, a virtual practice, electronic discovery, in-house counsel for a startup, or in an alternative direction using your...
Analytics is basically data analysis focused on distilling information useful for improving processes and decision making, often in a business context. When applied to law firms, analytics can be used to improve client intake, increase the firm’s efficiency, and identify silos. How is this possible? How can simply collecting and analyzing data affect your law...
Apple products are gaining traction in the legal field, particularly among solo and small firm lawyers. As more software and apps are being created for Apple computers and law firms are working in the cloud, using Macs in your legal practice is becoming a better option for many attorneys. But often, it can be intimidating...
Lawyers all know they should be networking, and most of them are, but there is an important distinction between the quantity and quality of your connections. Many lawyers are more comfortable networking with other lawyers and find themselves at the same conferences every year. But in order to be truly successful, a rainmaker, lawyers must...
Whether it is from a coffee shop, home office, or library, more people than ever are working remotely. This includes employees at a law firm or business, but many of the principles could be applied to a solo lawyer working at home. The benefits of working from a remote office include shorter commutes, potentially flexible...
There has recently been an increase in virtualization of law practices and the rate at which firms are beginning to adopt internet-based technology solutions. There are significant advantages attached to those programs including mobility, flexibility, ease of installation and management, and decreased setup cost. But most lawyers don’t know what a virtual office entails, are...
New applications and accessories for the iPhone and iPad consistently promise to improve the professional and personal lives of lawyers. However, with limited time and so many options, it is difficult for busy lawyers to keep up with trends and make educated decisions about which products will make their practice more efficient and which might...
In this increasingly saturated market, being a successful lawyer means standing out from the crowd and becoming the expert in a specific field. Due to economic pressures, it is now necessary for a lawyer to develop a powerful brand in order to make a good living. This means going above and beyond being a hard...
It is important for lawyers to keep up with the newest pieces of technology. Software and products are constantly improving and it can be incredibly beneficial for a firm to switch to a new system. These new software packages can save time for lawyers who are then able to focus on new clients or marketing...
Many large law firms are embracing modern marketing strategies to be more competitive. Although some of the options are out of budget for smaller firms, there are many within reach. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia interviews Jennifer O’Leary Cathell from Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP. Together, they discuss what marketing paradigms and...
Many attorneys believe email is the most effective form of marketing communication because of list segmentation, custom content ability, and reach into mobile devices. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander is joined by email marketing expert Heather Jackson from Constant Contact. Together, they discuss the advantages of using email for marketing as well as the...
When overwhelmed with work, some firms hire freelance attorneys to fill the gap between client demand and firm capacity. Whether it’s niche expertise, transactional labor, or long-term temp. assignments, these contract attorneys are well-equipped to support the unique interests of their hiring firms. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia interviews talent placement...
Many people know Evernote as Cloud based storage for documents, but some might be surprised that it can be used in collaborative environments as well. With its advanced search functions, storage options, share features, and OCR ability, Evernote is becoming a friend to law offices everywhere. On this episode of Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander...
How much time does your law firm or practice spend producing documents? Automated Document Generation can dramatically reduce that time while improving work product quality. Large firms have been doing this for many years but did you know there is a solution for small and mid-size firms? In this edition of Legal Toolkit, host Jared...
In this edition of Legal Toolkit, co-hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander invite members of the LexisNexis team to discuss their latest report, Enterprise Legal Management Trend Reports, 2013 Mid-Year Edition: The Rise of “Large-Enough” Law Firms. The report concluded that the nation’s largest law firms are losing the market share to smaller rivals, referred...
MILO, short for Macs in the Law Office, started as a listserv for attorneys using Apple products in their law practices. Since it’s inception, the interest has increased to support MILOfest: a conference centered around how to use Apple products to benefit law practice. In this edition of Legal Toolkit , host Heidi Alexander invites...
Social media data presents significant challenges for lawyers when it comes to issues of investigation, preservation and discovery. Nonsense words, arcane acronyms and unexpected abbreviations are just some of the things that attorneys need to look for in order to effectively discover evidence via social media. In this edition of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared...
Office space is becoming less common as lawyers and entrepreneurs experiment with communal work spaces and home offices. “It comes down to time, money, and family,” Kelli Proia, aka the [email protected] Attorney, said. When she began her practice, she was working part time and raising a family, and renting office space wasn’t practical. Now that she...
On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared Correia, invites Jordan Furlong to discuss how the legal marketplace is changing and how law firms can react. “In the short term,” Furlong begins, “we’re going to see a lot more regulatory reform ending in a small set of really advanced legal services, exclusive to...
Adam Ziegler was a practicing attorney for ten years when he decided to leave his partnership at a Boston litigation boutique and become an entrepreneur. He is now co-founder and CEO of Mootus, a platform for open, online-legal argument. Lawyers and law students can open up legal discussion questions to their peers, who must provide...
On this edition of The Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia talks with Chad Burton about how to use virtual staff in your law practice. Burton’s law firm employs virtual staffing services to manage its phones, accounting, documents and secure email. Chad covers the use of virtual staff to assist in other areas, as well, including:...
Clients have an abundance of options when hiring an attorney. Often, it is a firm’s website that determines who they ultimately hire. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander talk to Jeff Lantz about building an Internet brand and website that differentiates you from your competitors and attracts clients. Jeff Lantz is the founder...
Desktop as a service, commonly known as DaaS, is a relatively new service which provides users access to their desktops from any computer via the cloud. Your hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander invited Tom Rowe to talk about DaaS for lawyers. Rowe is a 4th generation attorney with an undergraduate degree in computer science...
Wondering where The Legal Toolkit has been for the past six months? Never fear, Jared Correia, your host and a Senior Law Practice Advisor with Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program ( Mass. LOMAP), is back. In this month’s episode meet the new co-host Heidi Alexander, also a Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, who...
On this October edition of The Legal Toolkit, Jared Correia, Senior Law Practice Advisor with Mass. LOMAP, joins Chiara LaPlume, principal of LaPlume Law, LLC and Sofia Lingos, principal of Lingos Law, to address entity choice for lawyers and law firms. Chiara and Sofia run down the options for law firms and solo lawyers (including...
Jared D. Correia, Esq. is the CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, which offers subscription-based law firm business...
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