California Pulse

Expert Analysis

• For Some Lawyers, Building A New Practice Makes Perfect

  Leaving an established law firm to start a boutique business of your own requires not only vision and resilience but also a solid business plan to help mitigate risks and increase your chances of unparalleled personal and professional success, says Rebecca Palmer at the Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group.

• Beyond Billable Hours: The Unseen Labor Of Women In Law

  The legal profession has a critical role to play in reducing attrition of women lawyers by addressing the disproportionate burden of the mental load — the often-unseen work of managing tasks and anticipating needs in both personal and professional realms, says Michelle Browning-Coughlin at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law.

• 10 Key Strategies For Successful Lateral Partner Integration

  To help ensure new partners and practice groups are successfully integrated, firms should embrace specific structured practices that recognize each lateral's distinct value, personalize their integration plans and proactively address transition complexities long after onboarding ends, say Elizabeth Kennedy at NewEdge BD and Erika Steinberg at CMO2Go.

• How Firms Can Manage DEI Commitments Amid Headwinds

  By recalibrating how they structure and communicate their inclusion efforts, law firms can reduce legal exposure and preserve their values, says Angela Vallot at VallotKarp Consulting.

• Key Ingredients For Effective Law Firm Strategic Planning

  As the legal industry faces political turmoil and economic uncertainty, the time is ripe for firms to revisit their strategic plans, ensuring they contain a few essential elements — from accountability systems to broad-based input — to achieve sustainable growth and profitability, says Joe Calve at Calve Communications.

• AI-Powered Biz Development Can Democratize Rainmaking

  As fluency in artificial intelligence becomes a competitive imperative in the legal industry, the next generation of rainmakers likely won’t be defined by their Rolodexes or club memberships, but by their ability to leverage AI business development tools effectively, says Jessica Aries at By Aries.

• How Law Students Can Effectively Use AI In Their Job Search

  Law students can use artificial intelligence tools strategically throughout the job application process to review materials, prepare for interviews and navigate employers’ use of similar tools, but there are several key missteps they should be careful to avoid, says Lauren Wong at University of San Diego School of Law.

• An After-Placement Plan Maximizes Legal Content's Potential

  Before landing a published quote, feature or interview, law firms should articulate the content’s purpose and develop a strategic plan for repurposing it to ensure they’re aligning public relations efforts with measurable business outcomes, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.

• Ask A Mentor: How Should I Coordinate Pro Bono Projects?

  Julie LaEace at Perkins Coie offers tips for attorneys acting as pro bono coordinators, including how to choose appropriate projects, how to encourage participation and why it is important to keep in touch with legal aid partner organizations.

• 6 Strategies For Navigating Legal Leadership Transitions

  Amid uncertainty in the legal job market, attorneys who are considering a transition to a leadership role must fundamentally reimagine their approach to value creation and develop a new set of skills, say Stacy Bratcher at Cottage Health and Michael Watkins at Genesis Advisers.

• The Augmented Lawyer: Crafting Responsible AI Policies

  As the legal industry increasingly looks to impose responsive guardrails for artificial intelligence use, firms and organizations’ internal use policies, outside counsel guidelines and vendor contracts can address confidentiality and data retention concerns in several ways, say attorneys at KXT Law.

• 6 Ways To Build Pro Bono Culture If You Lack Dedicated Staff

  Firms can develop a strong pro bono culture without hiring dedicated professionals through strategies like demonstrating active involvement by leadership, tailoring volunteer tasks to individual professional development needs and building trusted partnerships within the legal aid community, says Stacy Zinken at Paladin.

• Series

  Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Extend Your Content's Life

  Attorneys often limit the impact of their thought leadership by letting their content languish after initial publication, but through four easy strategies for retooling existing content, they can maximize its reach and further their business development goals, says Jillian McKenna at Verrill Dana.

• Why Law Firm Leaders Should Care About Student Debt Crisis

  ​​​​​​​As the student debt crisis evolves under changing federal policies, firms that proactively address the burden will have significant advantages in recruiting and retaining the best young lawyers, says Brian Kabateck at Kabateck.

• Series

  Talking Mental Health: Encouraging New Attys To Find Joy

  Rudene Haynes at Hunton discusses her experiences as a hiring partner, common sources of stress that newer attorneys face and steps that law firms can take to protect their attorneys' mental health and encourage personal life fulfillment.