Monthly Archives: November 2011

Nancy Glazer is manager of Legal Launch LLC.  The goal of Legal Launch LLC is to provide uplifting, career counseling for 3Ls, recent law school graduates and experienced attorneys.  Nancy offers her clients endless ideas and possibilities to help land them the right job in a competitive market.             

I am ashamed to admit this.  There are days when I get off the train at Union Station, see/hear someone ask me for breakfast money and then cringe when I discover that I have no singles or quarters in my pockets to give.  Sometimes I have time to stop and dig for money.  Sometimes I am running late and can’t stop.  It is at these times that I choose to look away, no, run away, from the hungry stranger as I hear his plea.  It doesn’t feel good.

There are only a few feelings in my day-to-day life that hit so low.  I am embarrassed and ashamed of myself on those mornings; it is ridiculous that I can’t manage to give a buck to someone who was forced to cross a line of dignity somewhere along his way.   Guilty of being unprepared, potentially late and consumed mentally with all the day’s business, I choose to keep going on some of those days.  It’s low.

“Turning a blind eye” is big news these days.  Anyone who pays attention feels disgust with all the could-be chinks in the Penn State, Syracuse or Anywhere University’s big football business armors.  The folks who saw, the folks who heard, what did they do?  What were they thinking?  How did they arrive at the stream of decisions they made?  Did they conveniently store the knowledge that they had in some out-of-the way compartment of their minds?  Did they pretend that they knew nothing significant?  Did they come up with justifications for their silence, as I have done on my late and ill prepared mornings at Union Station?

Readers of my blogs know that I am often calling out to mid- and senior attorneys to take 15 minutes to respond to the “pleas” of recent law school graduates.  While more experienced attorneys know, yes, we all know what new grads are ultimately looking for.  While you may not have an actual position to offer to a newly-minted and jobless attorney, you do possess extremely valuable golden treasures, your own life experiences.

It’s simple.  You know what you do every day.  A new law school grad does not.  Fifteen minutes recapping your weekly schedule in your practice may actually be fascinating to a new lawyer.  Like most people, she is still trying to figure out what she wants to do when she grows up.  Hearing about your clients, the files on your desk and floor and your life experiences are golden nuggets to law graduates trying to learn how law is practiced in the real world.

Lest you still think you have nothing of value to offer a new grad, think about the people you know.  Your law school friends and legal colleagues may work in firms or companies where a law graduate may eventually want to work.  These firms, companies or organizations may be considered gold mines to a novice lawyer hoping to make a connection and build a relationship with someone working  there.

Back to my failings near Union Station … No doubt, my inactions are horrendous. After the wakeup call we’ve all had after Penn State, I know that I will start to be better prepared with ready money as my train approaches the station. I don’t ever want to turn a blind eye to anyone’s plea.

I am hoping that the Penn State scandal will make the Chicago legal community more aware, more sensitive, too, to the plight of recent law school graduates.  When a new law grad asks you for help, realize that the help you can give is simple; she is getting to know you, what you do and who you know.  She’s not asking you for a W-2.   I hope that the 15 minutes you spend with her gives you a good feeling, too, as you coast back into your corner, side or even interior office.

Please understand.  I am not trying to compare the problems of subsistence of those begging for breakfast money with the plight of unemployed law school grads.  Obviously, the needs of these two groups are different. 

The one thing these groups do share is that they both need help.   I will attest, it gives me the lowest of lowest feeling when I look the other way …

J. Nick Augustine, J.D., is the principal of Pro Serve Public Relations, a PR firm for law, finance and small business professionals. Nick is experienced in law, business, entertainment, public relations, and his Secured Solo Practice™ agency model. Nick enjoys sharing career growth, strategy and experience with legal job seekers and attorneys in transition.

The frequency of change in law stresses us out. For this holiday season my gift to you are my thoughts on adapting to change while maintaining steadfast practices. The theme I see most frequently is the change in form that retains the substance. To be successful we need to be able to adapt to change without compromising sensation, perception and memory.

Black letter law has been evolving for hundreds of years. Our laws ebb and flow with changes in society, policy and the nature of the times. It seems like there have been vast changes to law in the last decade; moreover, the practice changed the most, and technology created a stir. If you have ever tried researching and reviewing on the train, reading pdfs on a small BlackBerry screen you would long for an iPad, as I complain, I curse the ability to continue doing work regardless of time, place or space.

A friend recently suggested that my BlackBerry and I were out of date Gen Xers, too stuck in our ways to adapt and embrace change. While waiting for the train I posted a query on Facebook as to what new devices suited my needs and blended the full media options of the new Androids while still allowing me to type on a keyboard. My cousin, Emily, a busy lawyer was the first to tell me about a perfect solution. I thought – “How great is this, let my peers pre-shop and test devices for me!” You see, I have been embracing change and don’t realize how blended I am in mixing the new with the old.

At my office, you’ll find me with not the very latest, but very recent technology, and piles of paper. I went back to paper when learned more about my cognitive process. If I don’t print an important e-mail I will likely forget it if I don’t do calendar reminders. Who has the time to calendar everything? When I sift through my client e-mails I see my hand-written notes and quickly remember what I need. This is how I process and learn information – it looks different from the methods for transmitting information.

Looking further, I thought more about how we receive and feel about information processing. Today, when I meet new people I find valuable, I send them a professional letter on the very best stationery. I sit at a wooden desk and fold the pages perfectly. I still read print newspapers – and I scan and save the articles I like, using keywords and techniques for instant retrieval. I am a visual person and learn from viewing, writing and manipulating the written text. I tried going paperless and had more trouble than I wanted to admit.

The takeaway is that you can embrace all the new things while holding on to tried and true methods of learning, communicating and of course, practicing law. Just because something is new, does not make it better by definition. Ask the half of my office that looks 1930s blended with its 2011 technology. You’ll never take my antique globe, real wooden desk and print news.

J. Nick Augustine, J.D., is the principal of Pro Serve Public Relations, a PR firm for law, finance and small business in Chicago and Naperville. Nick advises and assists attorneys in transition based on his experience in law, legal marketing, public relations and his Secured Solo Practice™ model. Nick shares career growth strategy and experience with legal job seekers.

Many Chicagoland law students who live or work in the city and suburbs encounter family law opportunities. In DuPage County I launched my legal career working for some fine family law firms. The experience exposed me to some of the less than fine firms as well. Not all family law needs to involve screaming lawyers and clients and law suits over fees. I am happy to share the Collaborative Law Institute and collaborative family law with you.

5 reasons you should consider collaborative family practice:

1.       There is added value in staying out of court. In collaborative family law the parties hire lawyers but sign an agreement not to go to court. The team of professionals includes the lawyers, mental health experts and neutral finance professionals. When you help parties learn to work together toward the future instead how to prepare for battle, a favorable outcome is likely.

 2.       Lawyers can more effectively spend client retainers. When legal fees are not spent on court appearances, you can focus on research, advice and counsel. Too often representation of your client and children’s best interests take a back seat to trial practice. I say spend the billable time researching, drafting and negotiating a good settlement and parenting agreement.

3.       Reduced ARDC risks are good for insurance. Family law attorneys, especially the ones who sue clients for fees, get inquiry letters from the ARDC at a higher rate. If your practice is largely or wholly collaborative, I say you are less likely to encounter discipline and you should make an argument to your professional liability carrier to reduce your premiums accordingly.

4.       The Collaborative Law Institute offers educational opportunities. I know many fellows in the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and have attended their events. The opportunity to learn savvy practices and meet other professionals is refreshing. I’ve attended many family law events and most attorneys spend their time telling war stories – which is good – meeting new people who can send referrals is better.

5.       Happy clients with met expectations are better referral sources. One of the elements of collaborative practice is a meeting of the minds regarding expectations at the outset of representation. You can meet your objective goals when you aren’t sideswiped by 201(K) letters, motions to compel, and custody depositions and hearings. The result: happier client who tells their friends about you and refer new clients.