They say an elephant never forgets.  The problem is that with so much going on in our law practices, we’re often the exact opposite of the elephant.  Tasks, phone messages, faxes and emails fly at us all day long and it makes it impossible to keep up.  We see something useful and promptly file it in a mental “to be read later” stash, then we forget the stash.

If you’re like me, you’ve got enough on your plate.  You’ve tried to-do lists, manila folders and a host of other methods designed to help you maintain order.  In my entire legal career, however, I have yet to find a single tool as versatile as Evernote.

You may not know, but Evernote is a web-based application that allows you to take and organize all manner of notes, snippets and files for later retrieval.  There is also a desktop application (Mac and Windows) and mobile versions (iPhone, iPad and Android) that synchronize your notes across all platforms.  So if you’ve got Evernote on your computer and your iPad, both of the applications will remain in perfect harmony at all times.  Not too shabby.

There’s a free version, but I found that the relatively inexpensive upgrade was well worth it because of the added storage space it gave me.  Once I began to actively use Evernote in my practice, it became clear to me that this was a system that I didn’t want hampered by limitations.  In fact, here are my top 9 uses for more effective use of Evernote by lawyers.

1. Email Archive: Let’s say you get an important email you don’t want to lose.  It could be an alert, a client email or something from a colleague or adversary.  When you sign up for Evernote you get a special email address that you can use to send documents directly to Evernote without going to your application or the website.  Just take that important message and forward it to your Evernote account.
2. Courtroom Reading: We all get opinions, articles and clips to read.  Many lawyers stash them into a manila folder to review during downtime in court.  When you use Evernote (particularly the iPad version) you can just save these documents to your application and review them without the bulky manila folders.
3. Instant Research: I do a significant amount of consumer protection work in my practice and rely on cutting-edge caselaw to help drive home my points.  For each type of practice area I’ve got a special notebook (that’s what Evernote calls the folders into which you save things).  When I come across a case or snippet of information, I save it to the relevant notebook for later use.  I’ve also got copies of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act and US Bankruptcy Code saved as separate documents in Evernote so I can have them handy at all times.
4. To-Do Lists: I’m a project-oriented sort of guy, and keeping a to-do list in each notebook helps me streamline things.  With one notebook per project I can easily look at what I’ve got to get done in each one, moving me along more quickly.
5. Evidence Locker: Need to store photos of accidence scenes or injuries?  How about surveillance photos of spouses slinking into seedy motel rooms?  Evernote can hold your photos, so why not create an Evidence notebook for each case in which you’re associated?
6. Collaboration: Lots of lawyers want to be able to share notes with their clients, co-counsel or other professionals associated with a particular matter.  Evernote allows you to share notebooks with anyone – just add their email address and it’s done.
7. Dictation: The mobile versions of Evernote allow you to upload voice memos to your account and save them as you see fit.  If I’ve got a pressing need for dictation while on the road, all I do is record the voice memo and save it to a notebook I share with my assistant.  She gets the audio, transcribes it, and we’re off to the races.
8. Content Creation: Effective law firm marketing requires consistent content creation.  One form of content is audio – podcasts and downloadable segments from your website.  Some people think it’s got to be done with a professional recording studio, but the real clincher is that content has got to be created regularly.  If you spend lots of time in the car you can either get a digital recorder or use the Voice Notes feature to record on-the-fly segments directly to Evernote.  Upload it when you get back to the office and you’re good to go.
9. Blogging Ideas: Sticking with the content creation line of thought, you should be reading other blogs to get inspiration.  Not just blogs in your field of practice, but also those in related areas.  For example, divorce lawyers should be reading what the mommy bloggers and family bloggers have to say.  Bankruptcy lawyers need to keep up on personal finance blogs.  See an idea you like?  Just save it to Evernote and you’ll never have to wrack your brain to remember where you saw that really cool thing about that thing (you know what I’m talking about).

How are you using Evernote in your practice?

Here are two systems that I use in my practice. The first “system” is used to effectively follow-up with clients on a regular basis. The second “system” is used to balance all of my personal commitments with my professional, legal responsibilities:

Client Contact System

At the heart of this system is the idea that successful attorneys do a good job of following up with people, whether it be clients, prospects, or referral sources. What follows is a simple, yet powerful system for doing just that.

At the core of this system is the premise that every month, even February, has 4 Mondays, 4 Tuesdays and 4 Wednesdays. Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that you have 48 people that you want to keep track of or stay in touch with. Of those 48 people, 18 of them are your top referral sources, and 36 are active clients/cases.

The first step in the system is to create a matrix to organize your follow-up and contact schedule. You can easily create an excel sheet to manage this. The second step is to determine how often you should be following up with people. I recommend that you follow up with clients on at least a monthly basis (You probably speak with most of your active clients many times a week, but I would include them on a monthly schedule anyway. The purpose of the schedule is stay in touch with the inactive clients). You will have to use your own judgment regarding referral sources, but I recommend that you contact them no less than once every quarter – the top 5 much more often than that.

The next step is to add each contact to the matrix. If you have 36 active cases that you want to touch once a month, and twelve days per month to make contact with the client, then you will need to contact 3 clients on each of the four Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. With 18 referral sources that you want to touch at least every quarter, than you should divide them up and call on 6 referral sources a month, or 1 every other contact day.

Finally, you must schedule your follow-up for a specific time each day (think time-blocking) and keep a list of the contacts you must touch. This can be done with Outlook, a handwritten cardfile, or by using your own case-management system. (Personally, I use “OmniFocus” on my Mac – it’s the best task management program I have found). However you do it, be consistent and create a system to make sure that none of your contacts get lost in the cracks. You can follow-up with people using email, a phone call, or letter. The sky is the limit regarding how much or how little time you want to work on this and how creative you want to be.

How to Get Stuff Done System

Like the Client Contact System, this system revolves around the fact that every month of the year has a set number of days. Depending on the year, you will find that there are between 6 and 9 months per year that have 5 Mondays or 5 Fridays. I reserve these days for “personal business”. In other words, if I need to schedule doctor’s appointments, take my car in for service, get a haircut, etc., I schedule it on one of those days.

By doing it this way, I am not interfering with my regular business appointments, and I am able to know, 18 months in advance, which day I need to schedule my next dentist appointment for. I suggest you pull out a small notecard and write these 6-9 dates on it for the next year and a half. Put a card in your purse, wallet, desk drawer, and/or car, and whenever you need to make a “personal” appointment, schedule it for one of those 5 Mondays or Fridays. It’s that simple – you won’t interfere with your work, and you’ll get a lot more done.

You might also give a copy of that list to your spouse – at your own peril.

James Hart operates a consumer law practice in Raleigh, North Carolina handling Workers Compensation matters and Collaborative Divorce cases.

The truth is that there is no single way to handle Inbox Zero, and I think that’s because everyone’s mind works in a different way. But in all my years of being an attorney – and in coaching so many solo and small firm lawyers – I’ve come to realize that it’s like an episode of Dragnet sometimes.

Tell me exactly what to do, and I’ll do it. If it works then I’ll keep it; if not, I’ll move on.

This is just to get you started; you’re perfectly capable of refining these steps later to meet your individual preferences.  Most lawyers can figure out what works for them.  And for those who can’t, I’d recommend asking your support staffers.  For those without support in the office … well, you’re probably going to figure out if something is for you by judging the amount of headache is produces or cures.

1. Sort. You’re going to want to sort your inbox by sender. This allows you to quickly separate mailing lists and spam from more important correspondence. If your email program doesn’t support sorting, it might be time to find a new one.
2. Delete. Quickly delete everything for each sender who isn’t important. This could include spam or unknown senders, mailing lists that you never read (make a note to unsubscribe later), colleagues who are a pain in the ass, or anything else you’re never actually going to read. Remember, be honest.
3. Go back to the top and start over with the much smaller list.
3. Make Folders. Create the following folders in your email program (use the @ symbol to ensure that the folders stay in order):
   @Act
   @Clients
   @Review Later
   @Saved
   One folder per listserv you belong to
4. Make Rules. Set up a rule or filter that automatically sends each mailing list email to the appropriate folder after marketing that email message as read. This way you get the massive amounts of listserv mail out of the inbox immediately, saving it in a defined place for a time when you need it.
5. Divide And Conquer. Now comes the hard part – figuring out what to do with the remainder.  Working from the oldest email to the newest, you’ve got to decide whether the message requires immediate action, whether you can review it later, or whether you can just save it.  Honesty is paramount here because “Review Later” will invariably mean “never” to most people.  I treat “Review Later” to mean “read this while I’m waiting for the calendar to be called … someday.”

You’re going to end up  deleting a mess of email messages – sale notices from retailers, spam, and useless drivel.  You’ll also have a ton of “Review Later” messages, which is cool because you’ve always got time between court appearances and it’s a good idea to be productive during that downtime.  And those rules are going to save your life, especially if you’re like me an get an avalanche of listserv emails each day.

Honestly, it’ been so long since I read the Inbox Zero introductory materials on this topic that I have no earthly way of knowing whether this is the party line or not.  I can tell you, however, that this is how my real world operates.

How about yours?

photo credit: niczak

Not to worry, though.  This isn’t one of those philosophy classes you take in college as a way to feel cool, only to realize it’s waaaaaay over your head.  In fact, understanding the madness behind the method is as easy as these four steps.

Get Past The Zero

As a first step, don’t take the “Zero” literally. It’s catchy, but it’s not the whole picture. If emails come in faster than you clear them out, it’s not reasonable to think you’re going to reach this state of nirvana for more than a second or two. For the very few who aren’t inundated with emails, maybe you’ll have a little more luck.

Even Without Zero, The Concept Is The Key

In a nutshell, Inbox Zero boils down to this.  Scan your email once or twice a day and make an immediate decision about each one.  To make it even easier, you only have three choices to make:

1. Respond now
2. Save it for later
3. Delete

Ending The Addiction Is The First Step

Inbox Zero is not about obsessively clicking your inbox every second of the day. It’s about choosing a time that’s good for you and taking care of business now instead of putting everything off because it’s just too overwhelming and time consuming.  Remember those baby steps we’ve talked about?  This represents one of ‘em.

At some point we all realize that maybe a change in attitude about email is needed.  That’s the beginning of the journey, and an important start to make.  You can use any tool or strategy to accomplish Inbox Zero, but you must have the right frame of mind before any of them will work.

To End The Addiction, Change Your Thinking

Merlin Mann calls them the Articles of Faith.  I’m not of the mind that this constitutes faith – rather, it’s an attitude adjustment.

1. Unlike men, all emails are NOT created equal. You simply don’t have to give each one equal attention. Each day, you will only receive a few that are important enough to warrant immediate action. The rest can be put into a folder for later or simply deleted. In the latter case, you might not even need to open it.
2. Your valuable time is extremely limited. This is the one resource that you can never renew – no matter how green you go. Instead of squandering it based on other people’s demands, you should set your own priorities and hoard your time like a miser.
3. Less really is more – a one sentence, or even one word, response is not rude. It’s fast for you to write and fast for the recipient to read and understand. If the other party is short on time, they’ll appreciate it. They were probably never reading through those too long responses anyway.
4. There’s no crying in email! Seriously though, if you feel guilty or any other type of emotion that prevents you from taking action with your inbox, it’s time to let those feelings go. After all, you are running a business, and those kinds of feelings will only hold you back.
5. Be honest. Don’t lie about how much time you have or what you’re really going to do with a specific email. Are you really going to find time to read the hundreds of mailing lists that you signed up for when you can’t even get through your client’s messages? How about the client that emails you 10 times a day with the same question? By leaving them in your inbox, you can continue to promise yourself that you’ll get to it later. You’ll also continue to break that promise.

Instead of obsessively checking emails, get on with your workday and do something productive with your time. Each time you go through this process, you’ll get faster, and you’ll learn more about your habits so that you can use automated tools like rules and filters effectively without missing an important communication.

Don’t expect to remain at Inbox Zero for long, but that’s kind of the point. This allows your inbox to be used for what it is truly meant for, incoming communications, not a repository for all the crap you don’t feel like dealing with.

Next time we’ll go through the step-by-step process I use to get to Inbox Zero Nirvana.  We had to go through the basics to get to the how-to; if we didn’t, there would be no way to know why we do what we do.

photo credit: niczak

When I first read about Getting Things Done and how it may be the lawyer’s best friend, I wanted to jump in with both feet and a shovel. My office was a mess, my apartment even worse.

The problem was that I didn’t know where to begin. I know we’ve talked about the steps involved in GTD, but we’ve got some work to do in order to make sense of things. And I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t help out with that.

Let’s start with Step 1 which is the collection phase.

You cannot start doing what needs to be done if you don’t know all that needs to be done.  That’s why the first step is to do a brain dump and get it all down on paper (or a screen, a notepad, whatever).  Once it’s memorialized, you don’t need to remember anymore.  You’re free, and can’t forget anything because you don’t need those powers of recall.  Where do you get your tasks? They are either from physical records or mental ones.

First, the mode of collection.  You need index cards for this.  Each one gets a single to-do placed on it so you can shuffle them around and re-order them later.  I’m normally a techie sort of guy, but this is one time when a physical and visual aid is best.

Let’s go to the MENTAL aspect of your tasks. Write down every task, project, idea or plan you want to do.  Don’t stop, don’t slow down – remember, this is literally an information dump from your brain to paper.  Don’t worry about not writing beautifully or in an organized way. Remember that this step involves collection – not organization.

I find it easiest if I walk from room to room in my apartment, space to space in the office.  I stop at every desk, closet, piece of furniture, chair, and workstation.  I open every drawer, fiddle with every stray folder.  Things that need to be taken care of are hiding between sofa cushions, and your job is to pry it loose.  Once I’ve stopped moving from place to place, I perform a mental walk-through over every aspect of my life.  I think about goals for my health, family, career, spare time (ha ha), social life, parents, finances … all of it.

Now that we’ve done the brain dump, we need to round up all the physical reminders of what needs to be done.

Your existing to-do lists are the first stop.  If you’re like me, you’ve got hundreds of scraps of paper sitting around, Post-It Notes with scribbles and phone messages with notes jotted on the back.  Your paper calendar has margin notes, your answering machine has messages to be returned, and your notepad on your smartphone has lists of lists.  Dump it all on that single list.

Next, don’t be shy about asking people around you – family, co-workers, friends, colleagues – what needs to be done.  Write it all down.

Get as granular as possible.  If I need to sharpen my pencils I’ll write that down.  If I need to clean out the paperclip container on my desk, I write that down.  Nothing escapes my list.

Ready for the next step?  Good, because we’re still just at the beginning.

Image credit:   Some rights reserved by paperbits

I’ve got enough to do, and so do you.  With short timeframes and approaching deadlines, it’s tempting to just throw it all in the trash folder, hit empty, and be done with it for the day.

As lovely as this may sound, you know you just can’t do it. It’s inevitable that the first time you throw caution to the wind, you’ll miss something that actually was important. Before you accept your life sentence to the third realm of inbox hell, try the Inbox Zero method. If you’ve never heard of this technique before, you’re not alone. Why do you think email hell is so lousy with lawyers?  Aside from the fact that lots of people think all lawyers belong in hell, that is.

Before we begin, let’s make one thing clear – this is not some run-of-the-mill filtering system that may or may not screen out critical communications along with the junk. This method promises to help you take your email from completely overstuffed to clean as a whistle – and keep it that way – in no time. Impossible, you say? Not according to Merlin Mann, the brains behind Inbox Zero.

Now, you’re thinking this is even a worse idea than some new high-tech filter. With a name like Merlin, Inbox Zero must be all smoke and mirrors – big promises with no substance to back them up. Well, to set you straight, Merlin says upfront that some of his tips will be useful to you, and some, not so much. In other words, he’ll suggest ways that you can develop your own customized strategy that works perfectly for you.

I know, I know – that sounds like a lot of work. You’d much rather have someone say, simply install this little program, and your email life will be perfect. It will read your mind, spoon feed you everything that you need to know, and never make a mistake. Unfortunately, no one’s really gotten that far with artificial intelligence just yet.

Before you decide that you don’t have time to for this, think for a minute. What lawyer couldn’t use just a few more billable hours a month, some more time to be productive and get work done?  If you could invest a little time upfront to save hours each day for the rest of your life, wouldn’t it be well spent? Instead of opening and deleting for hours on end, you could spend that time on more important things – you know, the ones that actually put a little cash in your bank account.

Let’s take a closer look at what Inbox Zero is all about. While we’d all love to always have an absolutely clean inbox, is that really realistic? Think about it – no emails could mean no interest in your services and no customers.

Inbox Zero is a cool name for a seemingly unattainable goal and a very real way to prioritize and manage your incoming messages so that you control your email, instead of allowing it to control you.

Instead of selling you a software package, Inbox Zero teaches you how to develop the right attitude, skill sets, and toolbox to become the boss of email world. Will it give you complete control over the ignorant masses who continue to stuff crap into your inbox minute by minute? Of course not, that would be an impossible feat. Instead Inbox Zero teaches you how to take control of your own email destiny.

That all having been said, we’re going to dig into Inbox Zero For Lawyers over the course of the next little bit of time.  We’ll peel back the layers of this onion (no crying, please) and talk about how to adapt it to your practice.  Stay tuned, folks – it’s going to be a fun ride.

photo credit: niczak

Look at a lawyer in court and you make an assumption.  Success equals well-dressed.  You may think yourself able to look above the tailoring of the suit, but the truth remains that poor clothing choices makes it an uphill battle for even the finest lawyer.  As a solo, you need to make the right impression on the judge, the jury, and opposing counsel.

We instinctively identify people according to their projected image. We have hardwired mental images of how corporate executives should look like and how artists dress up.  It’s human nature, our sole means of shortcutting the decision-making process.

Even Hannibal Lechter made a snap decision based on Clarise Starling’s shoes.

The good news is that power dressing doesn’t need to be expensive for the frugal solo.  Just keep the following tips in mind.

Look The Part. You should look like a lawyer, not some “ham-and-egger” solo.  Dress sharp, look like you mean business, and don’t take prisoners (unless you’re a criminal defense lawyer, that is).  Press your pants, iron your shirt.  Being a solo doesn’t mean license to look like a slouch.

Avoid The Trends. A stylish wardrobe can be pretty striking but it’s too much of a distraction for your clients.  Plus, it’s going to go out of style next year and you’ll be forced to spend more money to avoid looking like a dork in court.  A classic wardrobe can be pretty expensive but if you keep the pieces to a minimum, you’ll find that they will carry you through many occasions for many years, saving you money in the long run.  For a solo, saving a few hundred dollars a year can be a make-or-break event.

Mix And Match. The key to that is to have a certain color palette. You can go towards different shades of brown or hues of gray or navy. Keeping your wardrobe within the same texture or pattern type is another key to mixing and matching quickly.

Best Foot Forward. Two pairs of shoes, one brown and one black.  Simple, well-shined and maintained properly.  That’s all a solo needs.  Period.  They’ll last for years if you don’t trudge through the snow in them.

Tie One On. The tie is something you can use to perk up your wardrobe. Go for vivid colors, classic patterns and shiny fabrics. These are the ones which need not stay within your color palette. Reds give a kick and silk looks luxurious.

Remember The Rule Of Three. Keep 3 sets of classic suits and pants. This saves you time during morning dress-up as you have fewer items to choose from. Having a closetful of items will only confuse you.

Look sharp, polished, powerful and yet simple. Then, you can forget about it and concentrate on the tasks at hand.

photo credit: andrewrennie

I’m the king of getting things done tomorrow.  Always have been, likely always will be.  If something can be tossed off until a future time, so much the better for me.

My comfort is that every lawyer struggles with procrastination now and again.  It makes us inefficient, unproductive, and downright cranky.  Work creeps into our personal time, causing problems with family and friends.  Everybody procrastinates to some extent, but it’s the chronic procrastinators that need to take immediate action.

So how do I fight back against procrastination?

Baby Steps

I always dreamed of a huge office and a plush leather sofa on which to take afternoon naps.  I fantasized about spaces so big I could get lost in it.  Cubicles, rooms, conference areas and a big kitchen.

Then I became a lawyer and realized that these things cost money.  I also woke up to the fact that most of it was indulgent and not needed.  I had a solo law office, and I didn’t need all the extra room.  Even as my law office grew, my desire for space has been kept in check.  So my reality does not comport with my fantasies of youth.

My home office consists of a desk and nothing more.  Most days I’m sitting at the dining room table.  The physical office is high above midtown Manhattan, but consists of a 10 x 8 room.

Suffice to say, it’s not enormous.  And that means if I don’t make the best use of my spaces then I’m not going to be able to keep my head above water.

This solo law office space problem is pretty common, and we need to work hard to keep it from creeping up on us.  If we don’t then one day we’ll find ourselves displaced by all the stuff we’ve got.

Keep only what is essential. We receive gifts from friends, family, clients and referral sources all the time.  Knick-knacks, coffee mugs, calendars and pens emblazoned with the name of some random title company start to overrun the office.  Why are they still here?  A solo law office doesn’t have room for useless stuff.  Make a habit of tossing out everything you’re not using right this minute and you’ll free up enough desk drawers to make room for the important items in the office.

Use smart furniture. Instead of having a bookcase in the office, get a cabinet with closing doors that you can also use to stash books.  A 4-drawer file cabinet can easily be replaced with a 5- or 6-drawer model to increase storage capacity without taking up more space.  Consider chairs that stack when not in use.  If you’ve got a solo law office then there’s nobody to impress when there are no clients except you.

Trick your eyes. Even a small solo law office can look bigger if you put some thought into it. Painting the walls a bright color gives the illusion of a larger place (I use a semi-gloss paint to reflect some of the light without getting blinded). Putting up a mirror on one wall will not only look good (and help you make sure there’s no spinach in your teeth before a client meeting), but it creates the feeling of openness and more space. Of course, less clutter on the desk and floor will also make things seem a little more spacious.

More lights. A dark room feels crowded. A bright one feels bigger. Have windows which let in ample light. Use sheer rather than thick curtains. Replace your dim light bulbs with brighter ones.

Grab the scanner. The reason I started scanning in most of the paper in the office was so that I could get rid of it.  Less paper means less clutter.  less clutter means more space.  More space means greater tranquility.

Got any tips on making a small office seem bigger?

Some rights reserved by William Brawley

He’s an ass-kisser. She’s just lucky. I never catch a break. Some guys have all the luck. (Apologies to Rod Stewart)

Bullshit.  Successes are not born, they’re made.  See that lawyer who just won the verdict that got plastered on the front cover of the bar journal?  The attorney with the new Benz every year who seems to take more vacations than most infants take naps?

Those, my friend, are successes.  And if you think they just fell back-asswards into it then you’re sorely mistaken.  I’ve talked about how to get lucky, but hard work is only half the battle.  You can work as hard as you like, but if you’re working on the wrong thing then it’s not going to make you a success – it’s just going to make you tired and angry.

Successes share some key qualities.  I’m not talking about being Outliers, either; there are traits that are developed over time and nurtured so that the chances of a win are maximized.  Put your 10,000 hours into practicing these things and make them into habits.  Once you do, success is closer than you think.

Fire-Bomb Weakness With Education

Successful lawyers don’t know everything; in fact, they know what they don’t know.  I’m not stupid enough to handle a complex Chapter 11 bankruptcy case – I know enough to realize I don’t know how to handle one.  A successful lawyer constantly does a SWOT Analysis to sniff out the gaps.  From there, they set about learning the answers.  There’s no time for moaning and whining about what they don’t know because a lawyer who is going to be successful is going to be too busy finding solutions.  Now.

That learning process is never-ending, because a success is always actively seeking the next challenge.  It’s like a man wandering in the desert for a decade – he’s always thirsty, and he’s not going to pick his head up from the spigot if he’s got a choice.

Create Ambitious Opportunity

Look, the economy sucks.  Your practice area may be lower than the stock price of pets.com after the bubble burst.  Maybe you’ve taken to endlessly sharpening pencils and lining them up just so on your desk.  If you sit around and wait for it to get better, what happens if it doesn’t?  Eventually the pencil’s going to wear down, don’t you think?  What then?

Think about the field of law that’s likely to hit next.  Don’t pick the hot field today – everyone’s already packed into that courthouse and fighting for clients.  Besides, you need some time to learn it.  By the time you’ve got a sense of how things work, the boom may be over.  Don’t wait, do it today.  Tomorrow’s too late.

Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission

Ayn Rand had the right idea.  Don’t want for someone to give you permission to do something.  Don’t wait until you’re anointed by some unseen force to build an expertise in a new field of law.  Don’t sit on the sidelines waiting to be invited to speak at the Chamber of Commerce.  Don’t hope for a benevolent benefactor.  Because I hate to tell you this – there’s nobody coming to save you.

Go online and read every published decision in your field of law.  Follow every link to every outside source, and read those as well.  Take notes.  Create mindmaps.  Go to the court and pull a bunch of files to see how the best lawyers in town are handling things.  Then start taking action.

Expect – And Accept – Failure

I wish I could tell you that being a success means you win.  It doesn’t.  In fact, you lose more often than you win.  When you make a mistake, you learn from it (remember the first point).  Rocky lost to Apollo Creed.   Steve Jobs lost so much with Pixar before Toy Story it was absurd.  Coke lost with New Coke.  Abraham Lincoln’s losses prior to becoming President are legendary – and even in winning the Oval Office he lost half the country and got us embroiled in a war with one another.  Each one of these epic losses ended in staggering successes.

Eye Of The Tiger.  Coca-Cola trouncing Pepsi.  End of slavery.  Steve Jobs – yeah, he did alright.

Don’t Be An Asshat

Successful lawyers play fair.  They don’t punch below the belt, and they don’t pull an Enron.  When they win, they give back to the people around them.  They share the fruits of victory, and recognize that they could not do it alone.  The paralegals, the secretaries, the people who made it all possible.

It is all about fair play and win-win. Winners are passionate about their goals as much as they are of their values.

You think successful lawyers are born and not made?  You think it’s easy to get the mansion and the yacht?  Think again.  It takes hard work, a willingness to lose, a drive to move ahead without an invitation, and a constant struggle to expand your knowledge.

Easy?  No.  Worth it?  Yes – because even if you lose more than you win, it’s a lot easier to keep going if you’re in control of your life.

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