 Seasoned jury expert shares secrets of voir dire and jury selection
The voir dire and jury selection process is one of the most challenging aspects of a jury trial, says jury research expert Jeffrey T. Frederick. “Conducting effective voir dire and jury selection requires developing strategies that secure the necessary information and adapt to the unique circumstances that lawyers face in their trial jurisdictions.” To help lawyers develop those strategies, Frederick recently met with YourABA, sharing advice from his 37 years of experience assisting attorneys. Read more ... 
Seven tips on ensuring client satisfaction
“If clients do not believe that a lawyer is serving their best interests, they will take their business elsewhere,” says law practice management expert Ed Poll. To help ensure that lawyers keep clients, rather than watch them walk out the door, he shares seven tips that focus on effective communications at every stage of the client relationship. Read more ... Advice on getting a judge to rule in your favor
It’s often a lawyer’s violation of the most common sense rules of the court that make it hard for a judge to rule in the lawyer’s favor, said Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, speaking in a Section of Litigation audio program. In particular, Cole cited local rules that lawyers find burdensome or don’t realize are important. Read more ... A woman’s guide to using ambition to power success
In light of a recent White House report that indicated that American women earn 25 percent less than their male counterparts, a panel of prominent women lawyers used the example of their own high-powered careers to highlight the importance of ambition in achieving career success. Read more ... Insiders share EEOC trends, insights
Two district office Equal Employment Opportunity Commission attorneys were part of a panel of experts who met recently for an ABA CLE, “Ask the EEOC,” to discuss current trends in EEOC claims practices, investigative tools and best practices. Read more ... The impact of microinequities in the workplace
“Wow, you speak English so well!” is a comment that Hispanic lawyer Carlos Cruz-Abrams of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, has heard often throughout his life. While the statement is usually meant as a compliment, he said that it’s actually a subtle insult, coined by psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce during the seventies as a “microaggression.” Cruz-Abrams and other experts share how such slights can devalue individuals and negatively impact the workplace when they happen on the job. Read more ... Misclassifying independent contractors has serious consequences
In makes good business sense for many employers to use independent contractors, but labor and employment lawyer Sarah Bryan, Littler Mendelson P.C., warns that misclassifying workers has serious consequences. She shares examples of both large and small companies paying out big money for their classification errors. Read more ... Turning legal profession into a business: Project management
A panel of true believers spoke to legal project management and how it can make the legal profession more efficient and more profitable, can lead to the adaptation of best practices and can lead to a more disciplined approach to doing business. As part of a Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section-sponsored program during the ABA Midyear Meeting, several general counsel and partners spoke to the emerging trend made all the more timely with client concerns in a down economy. Read more ... Ethical pitfalls for solo and small firm attorneys
Client grievances are more likely to be filed against solos and small firm practitioners than other lawyers, and attorneys in those settings can ill afford to spend time responding, including going to court, given that there are often no colleagues to pick up one’s case for them. In a recent ABA CLE program, a panel of experts provided advice on avoiding those grievances. Read more ... Eight tips on getting your first job after law school
Experts in tort, trial and insurance law shared their secrets of career success during a Midyear Meeting program on the topic. Panelists offered law school students tips on landing their first job in this tough and competitive legal market. They emphasized to law students that setting themselves apart from other applicants is key. Read more ... | 
