Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice – Page 2

18 Tips to Successfully Interview at a Law Firm | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

15Nov

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18 Tips to Successfully Interview at a Law Firm | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

For a successful law interview, lawyers may benefit from tips on how to best make the case for themselves – why they’d be right for this firm. Particularly, since the way they approach meetings in their practice of law can backfire in an interview. A job interview isn’t a deposition, after all.Here are 18 tips for successfully interviewing at a law firm.The Interview Is About Them, Not YouMost candidates think interviews are about them, but “it’s about the employer. It’s not about you,” says Tony Waller, assistant dean for career development at the University of Georgia School of Law.The real, if unsaid, questions an interviewer asks are: “Are you a good investment for the firm?” “Can we put you in front of clients?” and “Will you turn out quality work product for us?” says Waller, who cu...

Can You Get a Prenup After Marriage? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

11Nov

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Can You Get a Prenup After Marriage? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

Deciding which partner gets what assets in a divorce can be costly. That’s why many couples take the time to complete what is called a prenuptial agreement before marriage.These agreements help set parameters for what happens after you go your separate ways. This may include decisions involving who gets custody of a child, who keeps a house or apartment, and what assets are considered joint or separate. Setting up an amicable legal agreement before marriage can make some of these choices clear, as well as streamline tough conversations down the road.For all of these reasons, many lawyers recommend a prenup. But what if you’re already married? Though significantly less common, a postnuptial agreement can help you obtain that same legal peace of mind.Who Needs a Prenuptial Agreement?A prenu...

The Best Online Will Making Programs | Aging

10Nov

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The Best Online Will Making Programs | Aging

Rather than walking into an attorney's office and paying a high hourly rate, you can opt for a range of online will options to help create a will from the comfort of your home at a reasonable price. These will makers aid with documents ranging from basic wills to intricate estate plans. Finding the right will making software for your family situation can streamline the process and allow you to have everything in order for your heirs.Nolo’s Quicken WillMaker & TrustIf you want nearly everything for a customized estate plan in one place, Quicken provides software to create a will, power of attorney, health care directive, living trust and other estate-related documents. A questionnaire guides you through the process of deciding which documents you need. Nolo's WillMaker starter bundle i...

How to Recruit Exceptional Lawyers at Your Law Firm | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

9Nov

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How to Recruit Exceptional Lawyers at Your Law Firm | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

Across the country, many law firms face a competitive market for attorneys. For example, the number of attorneys in the District of Columbia is almost half of what it was a decade ago. Alabama lost 19% of its attorneys and Ohio lost 9% of its lawyers between 2020 and 2021. That’s why, when it comes to recruiting exceptional attorneys, there’s more to legal recruiting than compensation and want ads.“Money is an important factor, but it’s rarely the real driving factor,” explains Carol Morganstern, a partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, a global legal executive search firm, who specializes in placing lateral partners in San Francisco Bay Area positions.“People are really looking for success, and then the money follows,” she says.Recruiting is as much about a firm’s culture as it is about...

What Does ‘Of Counsel’ Mean? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

6Nov

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What Does ‘Of Counsel’ Mean? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

Like most companies, law firms have a hierarchy of naming conventions that apply to the individuals who work for them. These titles typically range in ranking from paralegal to associate to partner.Most titles have straightforward meanings, but the title "of counsel" is used to reflect a multitude of employment arrangements. In general, it is typically applied to lawyers at a law firm who are neither associates nor partners.Under the American Bar Association Formal Opinion 90-357, "of counsel" is an appropriate title for a lawyer with a law firm when “the relationship between the two is a close, regular, personal relationship and the use of the title is not otherwise false or misleading.”When to Categorize a Lawyer as 'Of Counsel'Generally, a working relationship between a lawyer and a la...

How Lawyers Can Find and Evaluate Continuing Legal Education Courses | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

1Nov

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How Lawyers Can Find and Evaluate Continuing Legal Education Courses | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

While states’ specific requirements vary considerably, every state requires licensed attorneys to complete continuing legal education, commonly called CLEs. While many attorneys bristle at the CLE mandates, their complaints don’t mean they’re less obligated to fulfill those education requirements. Here are things to look for when it comes to choosing a CLE program, as well as some programs worth checking out.How Attorneys Can Choose a CLE ProviderWhen choosing CLE programs, “avoid doing what so many lawyers do: Wait until the last minute. Then you’re setting yourself up for the worst of possible situations,” says Rima Sirota, a professor of legal practice at Georgetown Law.Attorneys should give themselves time to find programs that are meaningful to their practice or relate to an issue th...

What Is Arbitration and Who Does It Favor? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

26Oct

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What Is Arbitration and Who Does It Favor? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

The United States litigation process is both expensive and time-consuming. That is why many individuals who find themselves in a legal dispute will face the possibility of arbitration.Arbitration is handled outside of the traditional court system. In this alternative process, an arbiter is a qualified decision-maker – often a lawyer or a retired judge – who hears both sides and issues a decision.Nearly 8 million cases have gone through arbitration since the Federal Arbitration Act passed in 1926, according to the American Arbitration Association. The act established that arbitration decisions as “valid, irrevocable and enforceable.” Following arbitration, parties are prevented from subsequently entering the dispute into the traditional court system.The Arbitration ProcessGenerally, arbitr...

How Lawyers Can Navigate the Ethical Minefield of Legal Advertising | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

25Oct

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How Lawyers Can Navigate the Ethical Minefield of Legal Advertising | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

Attorney advertising is vital to law firm success and profitability, but marketing continues to pose legal ethics issues that must be addressed at every turn.In the decades since the Supreme Court issued its 1977 opinion of Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, which legalized attorney advertising, states have become more lenient about lawyer marketing, while the courts often strike down onerous limitations.When it comes to the formal limitations on advertising, “All the restrictions are eroding,” says Thomas Spahn, counsel at McGuireWoods, who has authored several books on attorney ethics.In the meantime, there is probably more variance between states on ethics rules for attorney advertising than there is on any other issue, according to Spahn. And this is hurting consumers on a national scale,...

What Is a Nondisclosure Agreement? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

18Oct

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What Is a Nondisclosure Agreement? | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

Approximately 57% of U.S. workers have some version of a nondisclosure agreement, or NDA, with their employers, while 70% to 88% of American firms require employees to sign them.According to a team of researchers at Syracuse University and the University of Maryland, there is about a 40% to 50% chance that if an employer asks an employee to sign an NDA, it's also asked them to agree to a noncompete contract or another agreement restricting the worker's ability to seek future employment. And on the flip side, almost every company that requires employees to sign a noncompete contract or other restrictive agreement also requires them to sign an NDA. Nevertheless, NDAs, also known as confidentiality agreements, have been given less scrutiny than other restrictions on workers.But NDAs are rece...

How to Legally Change Your Name | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

13Oct

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How to Legally Change Your Name | Explore Law Firms and Legal Advice

There are many reasons why someone might consider changing their name, including marriage, adoption or the desire to reflect a different gender identity. “The most common situations that prompt people to want to change their names are marriage and divorce or related family situations, such as stepparent adoption,” says Elizabeth Katz, visiting professor at Harvard Law School. “In more recent years, there's also been an increase in people wanting to change their first names to better fit their gender identity.”Nonetheless, you do not need a formal reason to change your name. Disliking your name or preferring a nickname, for example, is enough to kickstart the name change process in a court of law.The Name-Change ProcessName change requests are generally processed in a state court where the...