Before COVID-19 rocked our workplaces, law firms were making strides in reducing office space. When considering what millennials want from their employers, skyscrapers with marbled interiors and stately furnishings may not have the same allure as they once did. In contrast, younger lawyers seek working environments dedicated to collaboration and efficiency. Law firms have noticed […]
To read the 2021 report, click here. While the number of lawyers nationally has grown faster than the U.S. population, this growth hasn’t been spread evenly across races and ethnicities, according to the American Bar Association’s 2020 Profile of the Legal Profession. The ABA Profile of the Legal Profession is a compilation of the latest […]
As the situation surrounding COVID-19 evolves, and thereafter as we start to settle on the new normal of the legal profession, hosting a full or partial practice out of a virtual law office is an apparent reality. In the past, operating a virtual law office (also known as a VLO) meant less overhead, more flexibility, […]
In December 2019, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) released its annual Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms. Across the board, progress for women and people of color is, to quote the report commentary, “at a rate so slow as to almost seem imperceptible at times.” Additionally, a recent report from the American […]
Law firms may not be walking the walk on cybersecurity, according to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) TECHREPORT 2019. The report found that, while almost 60% of law firms use cloud computing applications to store client data, only 35% take standard precautionary measures to secure these data. The annual ABA TECHREPORT examines how attorneys use technology […]
Law student well-being is just another way for millennials to get out of work. Is it just me or is that statement a bit harsh? Yet, I’ve recently heard it a handful of times from lawyers. Go ahead, label me as “soft” or a “tree hugger”; but I’m an attorney and I believe the notion […]
In the U.S., the bar exam has determined the fate of eager would-be lawyers since 1738. The exam is aimed at sorting out those who have the skills to practice law from those who don’t. However, state regulators haven’t agreed on a definition of the minimum competence needed to practice law. This begs the question, […]
For years, the legal profession has struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues. Year after year, lawyers top the lists of professions with the worst quality of life when considering their overall well-being. In the wake of studies like the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation survey and exposés like the infamous New York Times article released last July, the legal […]
Helping Lawyers Overcome Substance Abuse We are a self-regulated profession. That means that we have a duty to protect the public, including from impaired lawyers. We also have an obligation to help our colleagues who may be suffering from alcohol or substance abuse. Too often I instead hear stories of lawyers covering for, or enabling, […]
As humans, we all fall victim to implicit bias. Our life experiences affect our beliefs, and those beliefs often play into our decision-making, whether we are aware of them or not. Unfortunately, these unconscious biases can become increasingly problematic, especially when they begin to dictate our deliberate choices and reasonings. Luckily though, implicit bias does not have to dictate how we lead our lives. They can be addressed, and the Illinois judiciary is […]
A recent Chicago Tribune op-ed exhorting corporate leaders to speak up got me thinking. It was by Ravin Gandhi, the CEO of GMM Non-stick Coatings, a company that produces non-stick cookware. He talked about writing an op-ed critical of President Donald Trump’s “tepid response to white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va.” He says that […]
Perhaps the issue of lawyers drinking too much and abusing drugs is finally getting serious attention from those in the profession who build and sustain the culture. It’s been swept under the rug, whispered about, laughed off and/or ignored for as long as I’ve been a lawyer. As a self-regulated profession, we need to do […]
