Counsel to Counsel - Career Advice for Lawyers artwork

Counsel to Counsel - Career Advice for Lawyers

139 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratings

Counsel to Counsel is a periodic podcast produced by Stephen Seckler of Seckler Attorney Coaching (www.counseltocounsel.com). It addresses important career, marketing, and leadership issues facing attorneys. The target audience is associates, counsel and partners at law firms of all sizes; but the podcast also addresses issues that are relevant to in-house counsel, law students or any lawyer who is looking for career insights inside or outside of the law.

Counsel to Counsel is aimed at individual lawyers who are looking to increase their own career satisfaction and build their marketing and leadership skills. The podcast features interviews with leading consultants, career professionals and marketing experts who advise attorneys on careers, marketing, law firm management and related issues. The guests are also a roster of successful attorneys who have found career satisfaction inside and outside the law.

Counsel to Counsel is a direct outgrowth of the blog Counsel to Counsel which Stephen Seckler has been publishing since 2005.

Since graduating from law school in the late 1980s, Stephen Seckler has been advising lawyers on career and marketing issues and working with a broad mix of law firms and corporate law departments. He began blogging when legal blogging was in its infancy and his blog Counsel to Counsel was named to the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 in 2007 and 2008 (the first two years that list was in existence).

Steve has written extensively on career and marketing issues and he has spoken at many law school, law firm and bar association events. He served on the Boston Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Work Life Balance and was Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association. He is active in the Senior Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, the ProVisors business network, and has been quoted frequently in the legal and business press.

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Episodes

Episode 86-Career and Life Lessons from Jim Durham-A Pioneer in Legal Marketing

May 17, 2022 11:24 - 53 minutes - 62.8 MB

I met Jim Durham in the early 1990s when legal marketing was just taking off in law firms.  For decades before, law was thought of more as a profession. And while it is still very much  profession, there has been a dramatic shift in the way law firms think about marketing.  While there a few remaining firms that rely on longstanding institutional relationships to keep associates and partners busy, most firms today are actively looking for ways to promote their reputations. The most success...

Episode 85-Peristence, Follow-Up, and Avoiding Fatal Attraction-Tips for Building Your Business Relationships

May 06, 2022 01:06 - 9 minutes - 9.84 MB

If I had to name one thing I work on with almost every client, it would be FOLLOW UP! Follow up and persistence are critical if you want to build your business relationships, generate referrals, find that great in-house job, or get alignment from the partners you are trying to lead. The explosion of email and the added proliferation of spam filters, has made this all the more challenging. If you add in the fact that many lawyers don't like "sales", follow up is challenging....but criti...

Episode 84-How Lawyers Can Think Like Their Best Clients and Grow Their Practice

April 24, 2022 17:53 - 32 minutes - 32.9 MB

Bruce La Fetra calls himself The Client Whisperer. He works with the leaders of law, finance and other professional services firms who can't scale or can't exit because they depend on a single rainmaker. His tag line is “Think Like Your Best Clients”. According to Bruce, the ability to consistently attract great clients sets the best lawyers far above their peers.  Your best clients are: 💲 Easier to manage 💲 More profitable 💲 Quicker to buy 💲 Provide more referrals 💲 More fun to work w...

Episode 84-How Lawyers Can Think LIke Their Best Clients and Grow Their Practice

April 24, 2022 17:53 - 32 minutes - 32.9 MB

Bruce La Fetra calls himself The Client Whisperer. He works with the leaders of law, finance and other professional services firms who can't scale or can't exit because they depend on a single rainmaker. His tag line is “Think Like Your Best Clients”. According to Bruce, the ability to consistently attract great clients sets the best lawyers far above their peers.  Your best clients are: 💲 Easier to manage 💲 More profitable 💲 Quicker to buy 💲 Provide more referrals 💲 More fun to work...

Episode 83-Career Services at Latham & Watkins-How One Law Firm is Creating New Models for Success

April 10, 2022 17:45 - 47 minutes - 50.4 MB

We speak all the time on this podcast about the many ways, lawyers can advance their careers and find more satisfaction in an out of the law. If you at a law firm that emphasizes professional development, chances are, you are learning how to be successful in your practice area. If you are fortunate to have a good mentor, perhaps you are also learning how to succeed at your firm and maybe how to begin to build your own practice.  But if you are like most law firm associates, it is on you t...

Episode 82-Personal Branding for Lawyers

March 20, 2022 14:48 - 36 minutes - 37.2 MB

There is a lot of talk in my business networking group ProVisors about building a personal brand. But what is a personal brand?  How can it help you build your law practice?  Why should all lawyers create one? In this episode, I speak with an expert on branding.  Barbara Kaplan is CEO of BSK Strategies, a business development consulting practice helping individual lawyers and law firms build their brands, target and win new and higher-value work, establish thought-leadership, and develop i...

Episode 81-Lauren Rikleen-Rebel with Many Causes

March 06, 2022 22:16 - 43 minutes - 45.7 MB

Lauren Rikleen knew from a very early age that she was destined to become a lawyer.  She was the one in her family who was always questioning. She was the one who was always concerned about injustice. One of her earliest childhood memories was trying to stop bullying on the playground.   Today, Lauren is President of the Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership.  She is a nationally recognized expert on developing a thriving  diverse and multi-generational workforce. I recently sat dow...

Episode 80-Leadership for Lawyers-Moving Up in Your Law Firm or Corporate Law Department

February 20, 2022 19:58 - 36 minutes - 39.5 MB

We talk a lot on this podcast about marketing and career management.  While great lawyers have great technical skills, getting the work you want and advancing your career, requires a different set of skills. The same is true for lawyers who move from being an individual contributor to taking on leadership roles in their firm or in their corporate law department. In this episode, I speak with an expert on how to make a successful transition into leadership.  We discuss the things you should...

Episode 79-Digital Marketing for Your Law Firm: Getting the Right Mix

February 06, 2022 23:42 - 39 minutes - 44.2 MB

It has never been easier to create digital content to market your law practice.  But what is the right mix?  How much should you be leveraging LinkedIn and other social media platforms to build your visibility.  Are email newsletters effective? Should you be using SEO to get more visitors to your website? What about podcasting?  What should you being doing yourself and when should you outsource? In this episode, I speak with Marc Apple, a real expert in digital marketing.  Marc is the own...

Episode 78-Transitioning to General Counsel-Career Lessons from a Litigator

January 18, 2022 01:34 - 42 minutes - 44.5 MB

I speak to a lot of lawyers who are interested in moving into in-house roles. While not every in-house lawyer is happy leaving private practice, on the whole, I find that the in-house lawyers I meet have higher levels of career satisfaction.  In-house lawyers generally don’t keep track of their time, at least not in the same way.  And while the hours can still be demanding, lawyers who work in corporate law departments often have more predictability. In-house lawyers also enjoy having an o...

Episode 77-Going Solo with Employment Law and Workplace Investigations

January 09, 2022 16:49 - 42 minutes - 38.4 MB

Launching your own law practice can be both energizing and scary. For lawyers who are accustomed to earning a steady paycheck, hanging a shingle means saying goodbye to security. Leaving a large firm means that there is no one between you and the client. You need to figure out how to advise them without the help of partners who are just down the hall. You also need to develop your own infrastructure. At the same time, starting your own practice means having a lot of flexibility and a chan...

Episode 76-Setting Actionable Goals for 2022

December 05, 2021 18:34 - 5 minutes - 6.54 MB

Early December is a great time to start planning for the New Year. Creating S.M.A.R.T. goals is a great way to make sure that you achieve what you set out to do.  In this special edition of the Counsel to Counsel Podcast, I define S.M.A.R.T. goals and then share with you my own S.M.A.R.T. goals for 2022.

Episode 75-Shifting Your Litigation Practice to Mediation

November 20, 2021 12:25 - 30 minutes - 33.7 MB

When I speak to lawyers about the changes they would like to make in their careers, there are a number of repeating themes. One theme I often hear from litigators is that they are tired of the conflict and petty discovery disputes. They are frustrated in having to deal with opposing counsel who seem more interested in winning than in justice.  One path for these lawyers is alternative dispute resolution. So where is mediation today and what are the career opportunities for lawyers who w...

Episode 74-Turning Business Conversations into Business

November 06, 2021 01:04 - 44 minutes - 46.1 MB

We have spoken a lot on Counsel to Counsel about the importance of building business relationships. But we have not spent much time discussing how to turn those relationships into actual paying work. In this episode, I am joined by Gary Johnson who understands a lot about selling legal services.  We discuss a series of common hypothetical situations where there may be opportunities to generate business.  Gary walks us through the process for identifying needs and doing so in a way that do...

Episode 73-Managing and Advancing Your Law Firm Career

October 23, 2021 20:49 - 44 minutes - 46.7 MB

In thinking about guests to invite to this podcast, I’m always on the lookout for attorneys who have taken alternative career paths. I also try to find both practicing attorneys and former practicing attorneys who have great advice to share with my audience.  Today’s guest is in the latter category. Amy M. Gardner is a certified career and career transitions coach and team development and leadership consultant with Apochromatik. She works with employers to reengage teams and help them thr...

Episode 72-Selling a Law Practice With the Law Practice Exchange

October 10, 2021 16:00 - 52 minutes - 55.8 MB

In the past year, I’ve been talking a lot on this show about The Next Stage, my program to help senior lawyers figure out what comes next.  My guests have discussed ways that lawyers can find meaning later in their careers.  One topic that we’ve addressed is succession planning, or ways that lawyers can ensure that what they have built will live on as they scale back or exit the practice of law. In larger firms, succession planning may mean handing the reins of leadership over time to the...

Episode 71-The Humble Rising Lawyer, Arivee Vargas

September 13, 2021 21:53 - 55 minutes - 57.4 MB

There are a lot of unhappy lawyers in our profession. But when I started this podcast three years ago, it was my firm belief that there are many happy attorneys as well and we can all learn from them. In this episode, I speak with  Arivee Vargas, an attorney who really works at trying to find more fulfillment in her career. She is also someone who inspires others through her own coaching work. I met Arivee for the first time when I sat in on a career panel that was sponsored by Region I ...

Episode 70-Shailini George on Doing Well and Being Well in the Law

September 12, 2021 12:30 - 41 minutes - 43.3 MB

There are many efforts underway around the country to help lawyers address stress in the practice of law. Several years ago, the Report of the Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being was issued by the American Bar Association, Conference of Chief Judges, and other legal organizations.  It called well-being an essential element of a lawyer’s duty of competence. In Massachusetts, there is an organization called Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers which helps attorneys deal with substance abuse and some o...

Episode 69-Lessons Learned from David Rosenblatt-The Managing Partner Who Outlasted Them All

August 22, 2021 19:09 - 41 minutes - 41.5 MB

There are many paths to success in a law firm.  I’ve emphasized on this podcast that growing your practice is a good place to start.  Having your own clients gives you a sense of ownership that is hard to achieve when you are just servicing firm clients.  If you have your own book of business, there is more opportunity to focus on the work you enjoy and the clients you like.   For some, getting involved in the management of a firm is another way to find more fulfillment.  But it is not for...

Episode 68-Are there Gender Differences in Legal Marketing?—What Men and Women Can Learn From Each Other About Building a Law Practice

August 15, 2021 15:17 - 40 minutes - 40.3 MB

There are many ways to build a law practice.  Legal marketing is not a one size fits all. Lawyers have different personalities and interests.  Different practice areas lend themselves to different marketing techniques. Beyond this, there can be some gender differences in the way men and women approach marketing. In this episode, I speak with Lana Manganiello who has put a lot of thought into this subject.  Lana is a business development coach with Equinox Strategy Partners.  We met through...

Episode 67-Retirement By Design (for Lawyers)

July 25, 2021 20:27 - 1 hour - 61.8 MB

Aging baby boomers now fill the senior ranks of many law firms across the United States. Because of this, hundreds of partnerships will be facing succession planning issues in the next decade. How can firms make successful transitions and ensure the long-term viability of their practices? How will senior partners transition their clients to younger partners, so the clients are well served in the future? How will the next generation assume responsibility for managing the firm of tomorrow? U...

Episode 66-Going In-house with David Sclar

July 10, 2021 18:54 - 43 minutes - 42.1 MB

For many lawyers, going in-house continues to be an attractive career option.  But the lawyers I speak to have a lot of questions about making a transition to in-house. They ask me about the timing, how to find good in-house jobs, how practicing in a corporate law department differs from private practice and how in-house jobs differ from each other.  In this episode, I speak with David Sclar who has a lot to say on the subject.  David is author of Workplace Strategies for Technology La...

Episode 65-Live Big with Rochelle Seltzer

June 20, 2021 11:28 - 41 minutes - 44 MB

On Counsel to Counsel, I speak with attorneys and  consultants who share their advice about advancing your legal career.  We  discuss practical issues to help you build the career that you want. In recent episodes we have talked about how to build relationships in a virtual environment, how to leverage the LinkedIn platform, how to go in house, how to manage your time more effectively, and how to create a side hustle while practicing law. In this episode, we take a step back to look at mu...

Episode 64-Building Your Practice and Your Management Skills with Mindful Communication

June 06, 2021 10:40 - 48 minutes - 51.6 MB

Being a great communicator is essential to your success as a lawyer. Whether you are counseling a client, managing paralegals or associates, giving a presentation, or just trying to cultivate relationships that might lead to business, effective communication is everything to your success. If you are like me, in law school, you learned to think like a lawyer.  You cultivated your legal research and writing skills and learned to interpret the law.  When you entered the real world, you soon l...

Episode 63-LinkedIn in 30 Minutes (with Kristyn Brophy)

May 16, 2021 16:00 - 33 minutes - 34.5 MB

LinkedIn is a critical marketing tool for lawyers. This has been underscored this year as the world of in-person networking has remained largely shut down.  But as the world opens up and we find ourselves at conferences, networking functions, meeting for lunch or coffee, LinkedIn will continue to be an important tool in the marketing tool bag. In this episode episode, we do a quick dive into LinkedIn and talk about how to make the most of LinkedIn. My guest Kristyn Brophy has a lot to say ...

Episode 62- Finanancial & Career Planning for Senior Attorneys

May 02, 2021 14:26 - 43 minutes - 47.3 MB

This past year has been one of great reflection for many attorneys. The lawyers I speak to are thinking more about what they want from their careers and how they can find meaning in their professionals and personal lives. One group I'm particularly enjoying working with are senior lawyers who have 30 or more years of experience in practice.  The pandemic has caused this group of attorneys to think more about existential questions (What do I really want to do the next 10-15 years?  Am I rea...

Episode 62- Financial & Career Planning for Senior Attorneys

May 02, 2021 14:26 - 43 minutes - 47.3 MB

This past year has been one of great reflection for many attorneys. The lawyers I speak to are thinking more about what they want from their careers and how they can find meaning in their professionals and personal lives. One group I'm particularly enjoying working with are senior lawyers who have 30 or more years of experience in practice.  The pandemic has caused this group of attorneys to think more about existential questions (What do I really want to do the next 10-15 years?  Am I rea...

Episode 61-Succession Planning With Senior Attorney Match

April 17, 2021 13:28 - 40 minutes - 44.3 MB

As we’ve discussed several times on this show, there are 100s of law firms  throughout the country that are facing succession planning issues.  Baby boomers are aging quickly and firms that want to be in business in 10 years need to have a plan that makes room for the next generation.  How can firms make a successful transition and ensure the long-term viability of their practices?  What options are available to firms? In this episode, I’m excited to welcome Jeremy Poock who knows a lot a...

Episode 60-A Mock Coaching Session-Part II

April 05, 2021 02:19 - 27 minutes - 27.1 MB

In this episode, we return to a coaching session with Beth Masterman.  If you haven’t heard Part I, you should go back and listen to that first.  In today’s episode, several months have now past and Beth and I are continuing to explore my next career move. To recap,  Steve, is a 9th year real estate associate at Smith Johnson, an AmLaw 100 firm.  Steve was passed up for partnership and reached out to Beth for help. Steve is not a real person but he has issues which are similar to the issu...

Episode 59-A Mock Coaching Session-Part I

March 21, 2021 21:14 - 31 minutes - 31.4 MB

Counsel to Counsel is now in it’s third year and with this episode, we decided to try something a little different. Many people ask me to explain what coaching is.  While I’ve written about the subject and had on today’s guest in an earlier episode to talk about coaching, I thought that doing a mock coaching session would be a great way to demonstrate the power of working with an executive coach.  I decided that Beth Masterman would be a great guest to invite back. Thankfully, she agreed ...

Episode 58-Managing Your Exit (Career Succession Planning-- with Bill Lahey, Esq.)

March 07, 2021 14:47 - 49 minutes - 49.3 MB

With aging baby boomer in their senior ranks, 100s of law firms  throughout the country are facing succession planning issues.  How can the firm make a successful transition and ensure the long-term viability of their practice?  How will the younger partners step into the role of managing client relationships so the clients are well served in the future? Underpinning all of this is a reality for many firms. Lawyers are living longer, practicing longer, and have very strong professional ide...

Episode 57- Billable Work v. Investment Hours (Dr. Sarah Reiff-Hekking on Time Management)

February 21, 2021 14:28 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MB

Paul Morton has a lot to say about the term “non-billable hours”.  Paul is the COO of the law firm Burns and Levinson in Boston.  He has been a figure in law firm administration for well over 30 years and he has seen a lot of changes during that time including increased billing pressure on lawyers.  But according to Paul, billable hours should not take priority over all non-billable work.  In fact according to Paul, the phrase “non-billable hours” should be replaced with “investment hours”. ...

Episode 56-Practicing Law with a Side Hustle (“Mindful Return”)

February 07, 2021 21:39 - 53 minutes - 51 MB

In many ways, practicing law and being an entrepreneur are completely opposite activities.  Entrepreneurs are all about possibilities: What might be? What problems can we solve? Where are the gaps in the marketplace? Lawyers, on the other hand, spend their days identifying risks, thinking about what can go wrong, and managing those risks. There are numerous examples of lawyers who have left the practice to pursue a law-related entrepreneurial opportunity. There are legal technology firms t...

Episode 55-Professionalism in the Practice of Law with Don Frederico

January 24, 2021 19:46 - 42 minutes - 35.2 MB

If you are an attorney, what does it mean to be a professional?  What is the borderline between zealous advocacy and uncivil and obstructionist behavior?  My guest in this episode, Don Frederico, has a lot to say about that subject.  Don is a lawyer I met over 30 years ago when I began my own legal career at Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.  At that time, Don was a litigation partner at the law firm McDermott Will and Emery. Today, Don leads the Class Action Defense Practice at Pi...

Episode 54-Ben Sigel-The Great Connector

January 09, 2021 20:00 - 53 minutes - 50.9 MB

On this podcast, we talk a lot about relationship building.  Doing great work should always be your number one priority as a lawyer.  But successful careers are not built on merit alone.  The people in your network are critical.  Whether you are thinking about an in-house move or growing your law practice, relationships matter….a lot.  In this episode, I speak with someone who is a master at relationship building.  Ben Sigel is a lawyer who has been a litigator at several mid-sized and larg...

Episode 53-Business Development in 2021 with The Law Firm Success Group

January 01, 2021 17:38 - 50 minutes - 52.6 MB

The New Year is finally here and without getting into it, let’s just say that many of us are happy to welcome 2021.  A new year brings hope, a chance for a new beginning, and if you are in private practice, a great opportunity to ramp up your marketing and business development. So today, that is what we will be focusing on: how to grow your practice in 2021, and what it is like to work with a business coach to achieve that goal. For this episode, I have invited Alay Yajnik, award-winning b...

Episode 52-Interviewing Tips for 2021 (updated for Zoom)

December 22, 2020 03:18 - 6 minutes - 7.65 MB

For the last 10 months, most interviewing has gone on-line.  Zoom interviews are the norm right now and new hires are even being on-boarded virtually.  While the world will eventually shift back to in-person interviews, Zoom, WebEx and other virtual platforms are likely to continue to play a significant role in the hiring process.  The convenience of bringing together parties who are in different locations and have different schedules, it high.  As we enter 2021, I decided to that updating m...

Episode 51-Giving Thanks in 2020

December 07, 2020 18:48 - 5 minutes - 6.25 MB

It has been a hard year for most of us.  But we have a lot to be thankful for as well.  In this special edition of Counsel to Counsel, here is my list of things to be thankful for.  What's your list?  Practicing gratitude is one way to provide solace to ourselves.

Episode 50-A Late Career Shift to Public Service

November 20, 2020 02:16 - 54 minutes - 52.9 MB

Many lawyers choose public service early in their careers.  In a public agency, attorneys may find that they are getting more responsibility than they might get at the same stage in private practice.  Assistant district attorneys, for example, find themselves trying cases almost from day one.  Lawyers working for agencies that regulate industry may be given a lot more responsibility for crafting policy than they might otherwise be exposed to as an associate at a law firm. But salaries in t...

Episode 49-Adapting to Change, Pivoting to In-house and DEI in the Legal Profession

November 09, 2020 15:03 - 43 minutes - 43.2 MB

Many lawyers who start out in private practice don’t expect to stay in a law firm setting.  Sometimes the move in-house is planned.  At other times, moving in-house becomes a more realistic option when partnership doesn’t seem likely. And after moving in-house, things can also change quickly. My guest in this episode, Bill Gabovitch, has a lot to say on the subject of adapting to change.  Bill began his career in private practice, experienced a layoff, ended up in-house and found his role ...

Episode 48-Successes and Failures in Lateral Partner Movement

October 30, 2020 02:42 - 36 minutes - 32.9 MB

Lateral partner movement is alive and well in the practice of law.  While partners and practice groups were changing firms with increasing frequency in the past decade, the pandemic has not really slowed down the process. There are many reasons why law firm partners seek out greener pastures. In this episode, my guest Susan Mendelsohn, talks about some of those reasons.  But what makes a lateral move a success?  Why do some partners make a lateral move and stay for years while others quick...

Episode 47-Crisis Management and a Legal Career in Education

October 25, 2020 19:56 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MB

Many attorneys I speak with think about transitioning to an in-house role at some point in their career.  For some lawyers, the path to in-house is planned and deliberate.  But for many lawyers, in-house opportunities arise through serendipity.  That is what happened to my guest in this episode. Jonathan Moll, had a long and successful career in private practice.  But by developing an expertise in education, a great in-house opportunity arose with one of his clients and he seized the momen...

Episode 46-Improving Our Communication with Zoom and Other Virtual Platforms

September 20, 2020 12:30 - 52 minutes - 54.6 MB

In this episode of the Counsel to Counsel podcast, I am joined by a talented communications expert, Charlotte Dietz, Founder of Speak Well Partners. Charlotte is a communications and public speaking coach and business story strategist.  She shares some great insights into how we can all do a better job communicating in a virtual environment. Since March, most of us have been getting a crash course in how to use Zoom (or other virtual platforms). In some ways, Zoom is really just another ph...

Episode 45-Building a Life Sciences Practice From the Ground Up

August 30, 2020 10:52 - 42 minutes - 41.7 MB

In this episode I speak with Dave Dykeman, a Co-Managing Partner of the Boston office of Greenberg Traurig.  Dave and I met almost 20 years ago, not long after he moved to Boston and since that time I’ve watched his career take off as he has successfully built an IP practice in the life sciences.  Whenever I coach lawyers on marketing and business development, my starting point is getting my clients to define their ideal client.  While this doesn’t always include what industries they serve...

Episode 44-Getting the Most from Networking Meetings and Troikas

July 19, 2020 15:58 - 54 minutes - 52.1 MB

In this episode, I speak with Steve Fretzin, a premier business coach, trainer, and speaker on business development.  Steve focuses on the legal industry but comes with experience in other industries as well.  Steve and I discuss the importance of networking in building a professional services practice, how you can get more out of your networking meetings, and how to do this in a time of social distancing. The ability to generate work has never been more important for lawyers and other prof...

Episode 43-Building a Concierge Law Practice to Address Family Conflict and Mental Health Issues

July 05, 2020 21:06 - 55 minutes - 52.6 MB

In this episode, I speak with Lisa Cukier, a partner at the law firm Burns and Levinson in Boston.  Lisa practices in a number of related areas.  We talk about how she has built what she calls a concierge practice.  We also discuss what it has been like to serve on the executive committee of her firm, and how she has modified her own marketing and business development in a time of social distancing. Whenever I am thinking about guests to invite on this podcast, I look for lawyers and other ...

Episode 42-How the Rise of Digital Media, Innovation, and Data Privacy Regulation Have Shifted the Legal Job Market

June 20, 2020 21:24 - 48 minutes - 47.7 MB

Law is a conservative profession.  In law school we read the great appellate decisions and learned about the tremendous importance of precedent in our legal system.  In truth, the law is always evolving and adapting to changing societal attitudes and new developments in business, the sciences and technology.  New statutes and regulations are always being adopted to address new legal concerns and even case law evolves. If you want to remain relevant in the profession, it is important to kee...

Episode 41-Using Pro Bono to Build Your Skills and Enhance Your Career Satisfaction in a Time of Crisis

June 10, 2020 11:25 - 37 minutes - 38.6 MB

The need for pro bono legal services for the poor has never been greater. Prior to the pandemic, legal services agencies were only able to meet a portion of the need. For example, due to lack of funding, legal aid programs in Massachusetts were forced to turn away 57 percent of residents who sought help last year. With the coming recession and millions of families in this country facing food and housing insecurity, this gap will surely widen. Pro bono lawyering will be needed to meet the gr...

Episode 40-Succession Planning for Law Firms Meets Chapter 3 for Lawyers

May 30, 2020 18:45 - 34 minutes - 36.9 MB

All professional athletes eventually face the same challenge: when to retire and what to do after retirement. For the most part, an athlete’s career is limited in time because of the physical demands of job. Lawyers on the other hand do not face these constraints. There are many lawyers who practice well into their 70’s or 80’s and some who never choose to retire.  But for many law firms and for many law firm partners, this is not an optimal strategy.   Healthy businesses need a healthy succ...

Episode 39-An In-house Career in the Life Sciences

May 19, 2020 01:55 - 34 minutes - 35.7 MB

For some associates, partnership is the ultimate career goal.  But for many lawyers, a plum in-house job is the real brass ring. In this episode, I welcome Mark Levine who has won the brass ring several times in his career. Mark is General Counsel and Secretary at Flexion Therapeutics, a commercial stage biotech company.   Mark and I speak about his path in-house, how his role has changed as he has moved into a GC position and how in-house practice differs from private practice.  We also ...