Careers

How lawyers are mining the information mother lode for pricing, practice tips and predictions

Related article: Your next job interviewer might be a computer program The day is here: Big data, loosely defined as the computer analysis of torrents of information to find hidden gems of insight, is slowly transforming the way law is practiced in the U.S. Law firms are using big data…

May 1, 2013 10:20 AM CDT

Your next job interviewer might be a computer program

Related article: How lawyers are mining the information mother lode for pricing, practice tips and predictions The next time you apply for a job at a law firm, it may not be the human resources department that hires you—it may be its computer. Apparently, more than a few HR execs…

May 1, 2013 10:15 AM CDT

ABA helps lawyers thrive by being at the forefront of new practice areas

Serving the growing number of elders who need legal help. Guiding companies through complicated efforts to combat cybercrime. Practicing law that focuses on collaboration. These are among expanding fields of law that offer opportunities to new law school graduates, those looking to return to law and seasoned practitioners in search…

May 1, 2013 9:50 AM CDT

Law school friends score a reality TV show

When Elura Nanos and Michele Sileo wanted to grow their law student tutoring business, they sought assistance from an adviser who suggested that the two self-described “big-mouth lawyers” raise their profile by appearing on television. The longtime friends knew nothing about TV, but that didn’t stop them. After Googling questions…

May 1, 2013 9:40 AM CDT

Don’t know what to do with your law degree? This lawyer wants to help

Calling all lawyers of the disgruntled, weary or wayward type. Marc Luber wants to help you. In January, the Los Angeles lawyer launched JD Careers Out There, a career advice website for juris doctors needing a jolt of inspiration. Luber is hoping his online portal will become standard fare in…

May 1, 2013 9:00 AM CDT

Secondments grow as a better-life option

Kevin Boland recently found sophisticated legal work and better work-life balance in a place that would surprise many attorneys: a temporary legal job. Last fall Boland, 54, a patent attorney who focuses on fluoropolymer technology, was looking for a position that would cut down on his two-hour-plus daily commute. He…

May 1, 2013 7:50 AM CDT

Mentors can help fledgling solos

When Fort Collins, Colo., criminal defense lawyer Andrea Hall went solo in 2005, she began aggressively seeking advice from fellow defense attorneys. She even offered to buy them lunch in exchange for tips. One attorney, Andy Gavaldon, offered to become her mentor and let her shadow him in court. “He…

May 1, 2013 7:30 AM CDT

LGBT lawyers join high court bar

“Remarkable for being unremarkable.” That’s how San Francisco attorney John T. Hendricks describes his induction into the U.S. Supreme Court bar on Jan. 22. Hendricks was admitted with about 30 other members of the National LGBT Bar Association, marking the first time gay lawyers as a group were admitted to…

May 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

Get a handle on student loan debt

U.S. student loan debt is estimated at $1 trillion. If graduating into a recession makes student loan repayment problematic for you, consider these tips for managing debt, instead of it managing you: Research. Learn what you owe and who you owe. Consult the National Student Loan Data System for totals…

May 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Legal reporter Nina Totenberg answers the question: When have you been the only woman in the room?

Early in her career, NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg was working in a man’s world. Totenberg recalls that era in response to the question, “When have you been the only woman in the room?” NPR reports. “When have I been the only woman in the room, are you kidding…

Apr 30, 2013 12:48 PM CDT

Simpler, tougher bar passage accreditation standard to be considered by ABA committee

An ABA committee has agreed in principle to a proposed new law school accreditation standard that would raise and simplify the current bar passage requirement. Under the proposed new standard, a law school would be required to show that 80 percent of its graduates who sat for the bar exam…

Apr 29, 2013 9:57 PM CDT

Top death-penalty defense lawyer says ‘our job is to provide them with a reason to live’

Ordinarily, Judy Clarke has little to say about her work on high-profile death-penalty cases. But at a Friday conference, she said it was a privilege to defend clients such as Susan Smith, who drowned her children, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and Jared Loughner, who killed a federal judge while killing and…

Apr 29, 2013 2:22 PM CDT

Enjoying your BigLaw job? You may be an odd duck, and that’s OK, psychologist says

About 96 percent of the BigLaw lawyers seeking help from psychotherapist Will Meyerhofer are seeking a way out. Then there are the 4 percent who like BigLaw practice. “I don’t want to exaggerate the phenomenon,” Meyerhofer writes at the People’s Therapist, “but there are folks who actually ‘fit in’ in…

Apr 29, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Insurer offers crisis management coverage, taps former Clinton lawyer for strategic counsel

A company called IronPro is touting its new crisis management insurance and the two lawyers who will provide services to policy holders needing help. The lawyers are President Clinton’s former special counsel Lanny Davis and Gordon Rees managing partner Mercedes Colwin, according to a press release. The Washington Post has…

Apr 24, 2013 1:49 PM CDT

Feinberg begins evaluating how to compensate Boston Marathon victims

Lawyer Kenneth Feinberg will have a tough task as he decides how to apportion money from a compensation fund for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Feinberg plans to develop a sliding payment scale for the One Fund Boston that is based on the severity of the injuries, the New…

Apr 24, 2013 11:00 AM CDT