Young attorneys need to stand up and lead, not pushed to the side. I have seen a drop in associate hiring in Chicago over the past few years. It appears the generations ahead of you chose to ice you out and keep all the work for them.

What I have learned from working with top-level finance industry professionals is that generations of Americans spent and didn’t save, and now, when the legal market suffers, some freak out and hold on to all the work they can get. I have no doubt that this is a survival tactic for many. This creates a disservice to the client – shouldn’t they be served by the most knowledgeable and able attorneys?

I have seen bogs of middle-aged lawyers shift to practices that are more profitable, and in some cases, attract clients away from younger but more experienced attorneys.  My work with law and finance professionals led me to a conclusion: we have an ageism problem in Midwestern cities and Chicago seems to be an epicenter of professionals trying to ice out the future leaders and rising stars.

Likely, the stories we hear from law firms are flawed. So many large firms report, “Times are good,” but I think many are lying. If things are going well, where are your summer associate programs? I think the reality of the slow decline of the billable hour has many shaking in their Cole Hahn’s.

If you want to be the best lawyer in any given practice, area you should just do it! Why do you need to be pulled up by silk stockings to be successful? My best advice is to hitch your wagon to a mentor who can help you grow without that individual feeding you the work. At the end of the day, most attorneys I know are quality practitioners who strive to keep the position noble.

To the young attorneys who graduate, earn their license, and strive to affect the world: do not wait; position yourself exactly where you need to be, and then, crank it up a notch!

If you have the passion, the will, and desire to change the world – you can – and you will.

In a recent alumni board meeting, I heard a college mentioning a change in the patterns of students looking for law firm jobs. Apparently, there are plenty of applicants for associate positions. Fewer students, however, respond to law clerk opportunities.

The traditional employment route when I was in law school started with the first summer job at the end of the first year. Many of my friends applied for summer associate programs with larger firms. Some people enjoyed their summer associate experience and stayed on for a second year. If you do your job right as a clerk, you have the chance to stay working with the firm and can apply for an attorney position for after graduation.

Not only have large firms offered clerk positions. Students interested in clerking often overlook smaller firms. The benefits of clerking run to the small firms as well as to the students looking for the right fit. Law students should consider that smaller firms offer a unique experience.

A smaller law firm looking to expand might use a clerkship position to add new attorneys instead of hiring associates directly. Consider that associates often need to learn the nuances of a firm’s practice and niche in law. It makes more sense for a small firm to hire and groom a law clerk for the associate position. A law clerk to associate transition is more profitable for small firm partners.

The pressure is less when law students learning the ways of a firm before becoming more significant overhead. Likewise, the buy-in from the 2L might be easier than for a more experienced student or associate who is comparing law firms by short experiences – a treacherous thing if you only have snapshot experiences.

In 2012, even in a recovering economy, managing partners cannot afford to make poor hiring decisions and law student applicants have fewer opportunities to make an impression of commitment. Remember, once you look like a job hopper, employers might see you as impatient or finicky, not good.

Small law firm advice notwithstanding, the road to big firm starts early and if you want to work for a big firm, your focus should be big firm clerkships. You can always leave a big firm later, but going small to big is a tougher ladder to climb.

Vicki Steiner, at UCLA’s Law Library, assembled a fantastic guide to Mobile Apps for Legal Research and News.

She includes a pretty comprehensive set of national resources, from the ABA Journal’s free app to the $54.99 iPhone, iPad and Android-friendly versions of Black’s Law Dictionary, which are well worth checking out.  (Android users will also want to explore DroidLaw, a free reference that has evolved significantly since Steiner listed it.  And downloaders on all platforms all well-advised to steer clear of LawBox, which Steiner describes as a free app, but which has recently dramatically changed its interface and moved all of its most useful, state-specific content behind a pay wall.)

For Illinois attorneys, there are a number of locally-based apps to use and explore, too.  Consider:

Illinois Statutes ($5.99) – iPhone listing of all 67 Chapters of Illinois Law, including the Illinois Vehicle Code, the Illinois Criminal Code and the Code of Civil Procedures.  Updates when the law changes.

Illinois Compiled Statutes ($29.99) – Same basic content as above, but with superfast searching and offline access (for those no Wifi, no 3G courthouses) and a more user-friendly set-up.

Illinois Pro Bono (FREE) – Created by Illinois Legal Aid, this easy-access directory lists volunteer and training opportunities across the state, organized by area of interest.  (Incidentally, the group has also created a Legal Aid app for non-lawyers.  It’s an easy-to-understand field guide for those dealing with divorce, child custody matters, small claims, evictions and foreclosures.)

Finally, for lobbyists, or, really, anyone interested in “how the sausage is made,” legally speaking, Cohen Research Group’s Illinois+ ($4.99, for iPhone) and IllinoisPro ($29.99 for Blackberry) are must-have tools.  These interactive lists of contact, staff and biographical information on Illinois legislators connect you quickly to the folks making decisions in Springfield.  Incidentally, their well-known guide to Capitol Hill is called Congress in Your Pocket.  I’m assuming they didn’t want to call this one “Illinois In Your Pocket” because the listings for state senators and representatives do not include PayPal links to make contributions to their campaigns.  Perhaps that’s coming in an update.

Have fun downloading and exploring this stuff and let me know what you think.  While I can’t promise you’ll love these new tools, I can assure you that it will be a more valuable use of your smartphone than, say, tweeting insults about opposing counsel.

Caroline Dowd-Higgins, IU Alumna BM ’89, MM ’95, will host “How to Make the Most of Your Current Job as You Plan for Your Career Future,” at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16 at Stahl Cowen.

During this seminar, Dowd-Higgins shares strategies to help you plan for your career future by networking in your organization, becoming your own marketing agent and creating a plan for success that meets your values. She gives you career secrets your boss will never tell you and advice you need to enjoy your work now and in the future. 
  
To register for the event, which costs $20 for IUAA members and $25 for nonmembers, visit: http://iuaa.imodules.com/s/1377/event.aspx?sid=1377&gid=2&pgid=873&cid=2223&ecid=2223&ciid=4222&crid=0

Law school is, by definition, a professional school.  Still, if you are like me, you spent much of law school lounging around in sweatpants and socializing with law school classmates (and studying, obviously!).  As you transition from law school into your legal practice, you will be expected to have mastered professionalism and to project professionalism in all instances.  More importantly, your ability to act in a professional manner early in your career will define you – and will define the impressions you leave on the people around you.  

Whether you are interviewing for a legal position or you have begun your legal practice, here are four easy things you can do to ensure that you are perceived as a true professional:

1. Dress like a professional.  As simple as it may seem, your attire is an exceedingly important aspect of your professionalism.  This is the very first impression you make, before anything else.  For interviews, without exception, you must wear a suit.  Several days in advance of your interview, be sure your suit is clean and pressed (and that it fits you!).  Likewise, if your workplace observes a “business” dress code, or for any formal business occasions (for example, client meetings, court hearings, depositions, etc.), wear a suit. 

If your office observes a “business casual” dress code, this calls for something slightly less formal than a suit.  Still, your attire should be traditional and conservative.  Flashy, quirky or otherwise inappropriate attire is never well received in a professional environment.  Also, wear your clothes well.  Avoid wrinkles and tuck in your shirt.

If you dress the part of a lawyer and a professional, you will make meaningful first impressions and build your credibility from day one. 

2. Be mindful of your demeanor. Much like attire, mastering the proper demeanor in a professional environment will be central to your success.  In interviews and in your practice, take care to act in a formal, professional manner.  With this said, you also want to approach your office interactions in a relaxed, natural way.  Your demeanor should reflect that you are serious about your work but that you are also an open, friendly person.  If you can demonstrate by your demeanor that you are both of these things, your colleagues in the legal profession will respect you and want to get to know you.  Finally, as a new lawyer, you will be well served by expressing enthusiasm at the prospect of working on any case, deal or project that comes across your desk.  Enthusiastic lawyers are more pleasant to work with, and in turn get more work!       

3. Hone your interpersonal skills. Finding success in a professional environment depends in large part on capitalizing on our own personal strengths and minimizing our weak areas.  In a legal environment, in particular, where you are expected to work closely with colleagues and clients, honing your interpersonal skills is a must.  While not everyone has the same interpersonal qualities, there are a few rules to live by.  In all instances, be reasonable and even.  Do not display extreme emotions and do not take frustrations out on anyone (this includes your administrative assistant – the best way to get in trouble as a new lawyer is to treat staff in a disrespectful manner).  Ask your colleagues about their work and their interests.  Steer clear of office gossip or any office dynamics that you are not comfortable with.  Keep your personal drama out of the workplace, too. 

4. Master your practice. Finally, in an effort to demonstrate professionalism in a legal environment, it is important to master your legal practice.  Now, this is not something you can do right away, or all at once, but you should be working toward this every day.  As a recent law school graduate (and after having studied for the bar), your knowledge of the black letter law will never be better.  Capitalize on this and build on it.  Make yourself marketable (if interviewing) or indispensable (if you have already secured a job) in the early years of your practice by staying on top of the technical aspects of your job and showing growth from month to month and year to year.    

Follow these guidelines and – even if you have to work at it at first – you will project professionalism to your peers and superiors.  Over time, it will become second nature.  (And don’t worry – those sweatpants can get plenty of use on the weekends.)

Facebook’s new timeline feature offers some nice benefits but raises alerts for attorneys in flux in their careers. You might have a great job today but we all know the economy is still in recovery and this is an election year. If you end up polishing your shoes and putting your best foot forward, make sure your timeline represents your best employment interests.

The new timeline feature allows us to scroll back in time to share and learn about the people in our social networks. I think that the glimpse into someone’s past is a humanizing experience. A general rule of thumb: If you have to explain it you should, and if you make vague statements, other people will assume meaning based on their own schema.

Allow me to make a few assumptions. One third of Facebook users build their timeline to create a permanent record and electronic scrapbook. A second third of Facebook users are sure that everything shared on others’ timelines was a published for them, personally. The last third of users appreciate the reasonable expectation of formality and privacy on Facebook timelines.

There are new cases being argued about Facebook privacy. In a recent article I read about the perils of divorcing and having your timeline reproduced in discovery. I imagine there are decision makers operating in business with a wide range of social media experience. I think Facebook users intend on sharing information with others freely and comfortably; LinkedIn users appear to be more cautious about what’s shared on their “professional” profile. Some people incorporate their Twitter and Facebook into LinkedIn and there is no bright line test or standard.

There isn’t a certification page or box to click and swear your Facebook comments are true and correct on information and belief, so on and so forth. Most intelligent and socially adept social media users know to take Facebook with a grain of salt where the author’s intent seems obvious. Business users share content and comments with sincere business intent, and are likely to be viewed as more reliable.

While the laws on Facebook and admissibility develop, so do the expectations of accuracy by potential employers. Follow a few guidelines and you should be in good shape: (1) don’t lie; (2) be consistent; (3) qualify and disclaim if it seems relevant; (4) assume a variety of opinion among your “friends” on politics and religion; and (5) review and clean up your timeline to prevent unpleasant explanation.

Attorneys in transition are lucky to have the opportunity to learn what they don’t like so they have a better chance of enjoying law practice long-term. I remember first-year law professors advising us to try on many hats before picking the one that fit best.

I remember doing work at an insurance defense firm, early in law school. Later, I had the chance to work on the other side and learn how to litigate a plaintiff’s case. I think I learned more about insurance companies than I learned about evidence and trial practice. The long-term take away is knowledge.

First – at the defense firm – I sat at my desk for days on end, paging through deposition transcripts (low-tech late 90s) and hunting for pre-existing conditions, statutory violations or any other cognizable reason to stick the plaintiff with contributory negligence. I was encouraged to use any and all available resources to give my supervising attorney the support for our pleadings.

Second – at the plaintiffs’ firm – I sat in trial at the counsel table, watching a video-taped deposition of the physician expert, testifying as to soft tissue injuries. While waiting in recess after the close of the evidence, our expert, provided by the insurance company, explained how the computers and algorithms limited the discretion of claims adjusters and even the lawyers in settling cases.

Looking back I realize that the insurance defense firm was getting paid for every hour they spent and every resource I used. On the other hand, the plaintiffs’ firm lost big time when the verdict came back for specials but no pain and suffering – this meant no money for our injured plaintiff’s lawyer who spent countless hours and staff resources on a case that returned, what I was told, was an inconsistent verdict.

My experience in personal injury and defense taught me that the denial of claims on insurance policies and benefits generally is big business. At times it seems you need an act of God or Harry Potter to get these companies to pay. Who wants to do this for a living? Not me.

Prior to and after injury law, my main practice area was family law and domestic relations – the hourly billing suburban cash cow. Its great to be a paid gunman when the clients can afford it, and I submit that domestic litigation is good for the economy when the lawyers keep buying new cars and suits. The other side of the coin is the damage to the family, community and society generally.

Today, practicing public relations, I do more work in intellectual property, corporate and finance. Whenever these areas challenge me, I quickly remind myself of the alternatives. I urge you to try on many hats before picking the one that fit best.

In December, the Sarasota, Fla., courtroom of Senior Circuit Judge Nancy Donnellan saw yet another smart-phone equipped juror run up against the usual rules and expectations of courtroom decorum. 

 According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, after the first day of proceedings in a personal-injury lawsuit from a traffic accident case, Donnellan instructed the jurors “with the normal warning not to discuss the case with anyone and not to use the Internet to find more information about the case.”

 But one bored juror, surfing on his phone, decided to look up the people in the case on Facebook to see if he knew them.  He ended up sending a friend request to one of the defendants, who happened to be “an attractive young woman.”

After being admonished by the judge, he was dismissed from the jury.  Naturally, he quickly posted, “Score … I got dismissed!!” on his Facebook page.

The expectation that courtrooms – and legal proceedings generally – will somehow continue to exist in an Internet-free bubble is fading fast.  Reporters, jurors and interested members of the public routinely tweet, text and post at speeds far faster than a banging gavel. 

What to do, then, with the traditional sense of propriety that has kept attorneys and other legal professionals largely off of social media sites?

It is possible – even desirable, at this point – to live a Facebook-free life without being labeled a hopeless Luddite.  The site’s growth – the addition of new users – has been slowing in the U.S. and some recent studies show it losing ground as a venue for communication and networking.  Other tools, though, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, are demonstrating surprising staying power.  Missing out on the opportunities they present for marketing, coalition-building and information-sharing would be a real loss.

It might take a while for courthouse rules to catch up with the ubiquity of social media and there are sure to be more tense exchanges like the one in Sarasota to come.  But, eventually, judges, jurors, the media and the public will find a way to balance the desire for information (and the electronic means to transmit it) with the need for confidentiality and impartiality, just as they have with the advent of television cameras and laptop computers.

 Meanwhile, lawyers can make use of social media technology without running afoul of traditional expectations for confidentiality.  The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.6 [Trial Publicity] lays out specific guidelines for extrajudicial statements, noting exactly what information can be publicly shared without posing “a serious and imminent threat to the fairness of an adjudicative proceeding.”  Following this rule, attorneys are free to publish the claim being made in a matter, to share information already in a public record, to state that an investigation is in progress and/or to announce the scheduling or result of any step in litigation.

Attorneys can join social media and participate, ethically and effectively, in the robust public conversations it facilitates.

But they probably shouldn’t do it from their smart phones.  In court.

Many people say the best thing about the end of the year is a fresh start in the next. I saw an article today about New Year’s resolutions and how they often fail. There are a few habits you can adopt to help you reach your goals in 2012.

Making lists helps me learn and remember information. I like my lists because they help me see workflow in a mosaic representation. Why do we work so hard? We have lists of things to do. Even if making lists for your lists sounds funny, continue to organize your tasks and visualize your progress.

Reviewing event calendars helps me pre-identify events I don’t want to miss. All good networkers plan their next year during December. Don’t worry if you didn’t follow suit; take the first week in January to identify and plan to attend strategic events that enhance your brand and presence in your community.

Setting SMART goals helps me reach more goals. I will share more soon about SMARTER goals. As it is, the SMART theme focuses on specific, measurable, and the goals you can evaluate to better determine whether your action items move your closer to achieving your goals.

Marketing plans work when they are easy to manage. “Make a plan, work the plan” works when your plan goals are feasible. Time is money and we need to carefully spend our billable time. Allow yourself an hour every day for PR marketing. This will prove, over time, to be a best use of your resources.

Rewarding myself for achieving goals motivates me to keep promises to myself. Setting quarterly goals is a good idea because you can evaluate PR marketing efforts in three-month intervals. Share your ideas, events and content on a monthly basis so the people in your network know your practice and can send referrals.

Something about law school changes our attitudes as we turn into lawyers. We often maintain a need to take a position and zealously defend it, regardless of its weight. This can cause us to work extra hard to avoid losing. We can learn how to take calculated risks and accept “no” without imputing failure; the lawyer might otherwise avoid potentially losing positions and might miss a great opportunity.

There are a few confidence situations where we need to remember to bring our “A” game:

Job Hunting – you can’t say the wrong thing if you’re honest.
Do you really want to work somewhere you have to lie about your values or belief systems? Why would you agree or disagree with an interviewer just to get a job? Smart lawyers recognize pandering and it serves no one well. If the job is not a match, keep hunting. It is OK not to fit with everyone.

Networking – if you are a friend first you make an easier referral.
People do business with others they know, like and trust. Spend time getting to know people at networking events as friends first. Likeable people are more likely to receive follow up phone calls. Balance your time in networking conversations between what you do and who you are and vice versa.

Volunteering – even if you don’t know what you’re doing, you still win.
Don’t shy away from volunteer and pro bono opportunities simply because you don’t have a mastery of the subject matter. If organizers expected perfection they would have hired experts. Volunteer experience also allows us to break away from our daily roles, which creates a good environment to meet others and get to know them in a neutral atmosphere.

Collaboration – none of us knows everything so roundtable your issues.
The smartest person is often the one who asks the most questions. The best lawyers know the limits of their knowledge and experience. We all benefit from floating ideas around and hearing some fresh input. By including others and seeking collective intelligence you will always come out on top.

Personality – help people remember you among the competition.
You don’t have to be dry, even despite your practice area. Some of the most dynamic attorneys work in otherwise stale practice areas. The dynamic person makes their work seem interesting. People with passion for their work get noticed. So much of life as a lawyer is a confidence game.