The purpose of legal writing is to assist professional readers (PR) charged with making time-sensitive decisions about serious legal matters. As a law student, your PR’s include law professors, tutors, teaching assistants, bar graders, and potential employers – readers charged with making decisions about your admission to the legal profession. As an attorney, your PR’s include clients, employers, supervisors, colleagues, opposing counsel, and judges – readers charged with making timely decisions that profoundly impact the lives of real people. When tasked with determining whether a writer’s work product meets predetermined levels of professional quality, PR’s rely on internalized templates operating on both conscious and subconscious levels. This post identifies 5 qualities considered by busy PR’s when holistically assessing or grading the quality of a written legal instrument. [Read more…] about Five Things Professional Readers Expect from Legal Writers
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Podcast Episode 279: Legal Trends in 2020 and Going Forward (w/George Psiharis of Clio)
Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today, we’re excited to talk to George Psiharis, COO at Clio. Join us as we discuss some intriguing trends from Clio’s annual Legal Trends Report.
In this episode we discuss:
- The work that Clio does to streamline client intake and case management
- What does the 2020 Legal Trends Report reveal?
- How COVID-19 impacted the volume of business in the legal profession
- The three key things some law firms have done to increase performance
- The consumer-side and lawyer-side expectations for the future of law firms
- Are virtual offices/meetings here to stay?
- Concerns over the security of cloud-based technology
- Why do almost 80% of legal matters go without receiving legal advice?
- According to our guest George Psiharis, what is the “better normal” for the future?
Thanks for listening!
Interviewing Remotely for Clerkships
When I started law school, I didn’t even know what the word “clerkship” meant. If you are in the same boat and currently reading this, it’s okay, I’m here to validate you! The truth is, there isn’t enough information readily available about clerkships, unless you’re asking the right people the right questions. And for most first-generation lawyers, those connections and questions are generally not at the forefront of our experiences. Most law students do not learn about clerkships or even consider them as a career choice until well into 3L, when they hear of peers securing positions with judges. [Read more…] about Interviewing Remotely for Clerkships
Podcast Episode 278: Questions to Ask (and Avoid Asking) in Legal Job Interviews (w/Sadie Jones)
Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today, we have ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones back with us to talk about questions you should, and shouldn’t ask, in a job interview setting.
In this episode we discuss:
- Do you always have to have questions prepared to ask in an interview?
- In general, how many questions is it good to ask?
- The importance of active listening and follow-up questions
- Some questions that are always good to have on hand as needed
- Organization-specific and interviewer-specific topics
- Questions that might make the interviewer cringe and should always be avoided
- How to phrase questions related to the pandemic situation
Thanks for listening!
How To Assess Your First Semester of Law School
The first semester of law school brings about numerous changes. New friends. New professors. New campus. Maybe a new city. New subjects. New study techniques. It can be daunting. And, by the end of the first semester, you might be simply trying to catch your breath.
But, how do you know that you’ve had a successful first semester? And, if you haven’t achieved your goals for your first semester, then how do you readjust? [Read more…] about How To Assess Your First Semester of Law School
Podcast Episode 277: Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (w/Eve Rodsky)
Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast! Today, we’re excited to have Eve Rodsky on the podcast, who is an attorney and author of the book Fair Play. Through her research, she has developed a system for life-changing communication between partners, so that women can reclaim some of their time and live to their fullest potential. Join us for this episode to find out more!
In this episode we discuss:
- Eve Rodsky’s background and the work she does
- What Eve’s book Fair Play is all about
- What is “invisible labor” and can it be divided between men and women?
- Are women better at multi-tasking than men?
- Applying the concept CPE (conception, planning, and execution) to household management
- The big shift in division of labor between spouses after having children
- The Fair Play Card Deck that can help with rebalancing of domestic work so it’s more fair
Thanks for listening!