Leadership

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Pal Jalsovszky is the managing partner of Jalsovszky Law Firm in Budapest, Hungary and a member firm of the International Lawyers Network. In this episode, Lindsay talks to Pal about how to manage your firm and your clients through a major firm transition, what the future of the legal industry may look like, and the secret superpower of being a tax lawyer. 

You can listen to the podcast here, or we’ve provided a transcript of the highlights below.…Continue Reading Law Firm ILN-telligence Podcast | Pal Jalsovszky, Jalsovszky Law Firm

When speaking with one of my lawyers last week, this was a question that he posed to me – it was not one he had an answer to and he suspects that it may not be possible. At least not in the way that law firms are used to. He said,

It’s not possible anymore, in my opinion, to have those vertical organizations where you have orders coming from the top and where everybody is treated the same way. Because people, if they are in different situations, you cannot treat them the same way if you want to be fair. So you must adapt.

So, how CAN one have a law firm in modern society? Continue Reading How to be a Law Firm in a Modern Society

When I wrote my first blog post on February 26, 2009, I could hardly have imagined where we’d be 14 years later. It would be fun to try to predict, and maybe I’d have gotten some of it right, but I try not to guess at the future.

One of the things I suspect we’d all have gotten right in some form is ChatGPT. I have been loathe to try it for many reasons – I’m not a technophobe, as you can all imagine, nor am I someone who advocates for lawyers to run and try the next big thing. Though, for those of you who have clients who may be using it or dipping their toe in the water, you know I will suggest you get to know it intimately for the usual legal reasons.Continue Reading Happy 14th Anniversary to Zen & The Art of Legal Networking!

On January 10th, the Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown Law and the Thomson Reuters Institute released their 2023 Report on the State of the Legal Market, which seems more relevant than ever as we go into a year of uncertainty. The report confirms this (and I’ll delve into a few specific points), but overall, I’d like to remind readers that we’ve been here before – contractions in the legal industry are nothing new. The good news is that hopefully, firms have learned the lessons of 2008/2009 and haven’t forgotten them. Will there be some casualties? Yes, but that’s the nature of business. And make no mistake – the law is still a business. Continue Reading State of the Legal Industry: No Need to Panic – We’ve Been Here Before

As someone with a MAJOR type-A personality (ask anyone who knows me), I am a wee bit of a workaholic. This might sound noble, but I assure you, it isn’t. 

Over the past three years, I’ve been caught up short by my own workaholism more than once, and the way in which it does not serve me as a good business practice. I’ve had many, many conversations with others in the legal profession who are in the same boat – and I think we’ve also learned that remote work (which has offered many people a greater work/life balance – whatever that is) can help us to achieve a little more peace. But so many of us are still really burned out.
Continue Reading Burnout is Not Good for Business…But Self-Care Is

I’m fresh off of a 12-day whirlwind business trip.

I traveled 14,983 miles over 19 flights and 1 bus trip. I visited six countries (while transiting through a total of 11 countries). I didn’t get very much sleep or eat nearly enough. But I certainly accomplished the goals that I set out to when I planned this trip, even if I might not organize six flights for one day the next time around.
Continue Reading Do we Deserve to Thrive…and not just Survive…at Work?

This Friday, I have the pleasure of joining some fantastic legal industry colleagues on a panel at the Legal Marketing Association’s Northeast Regional Conference. We’ll be addressing the topic: “The Best Influencer is a Good Story” and you’d better believe it’s one of my favorites. I’m tickled to be speaking with one of my favorite people, Adrian Lurssen, Co-founder, VP Strategic Development, JD Supra, and joined by the brilliant Paula Zirinsky, Co-Founder & Chief Strategist, Structura Strategy Group LLP who is moderating the panel and Steve Cohen, Partner at Pollock Cohen LLP, who is delightful and will tell us all about how he ended up going to law school at 58.
Continue Reading The Best Influencer is a Good Story

There are two sides within me that are constantly at war.

I think it stems from the one and only Barbie outfit I ever really liked (I was a stuffed animal gal – and still am). It was this pink velveteen skirt on one side that was really put-together looking (with a matching suit jacket, of course). And on the other side, it was a hot pink tulle party skirt. You know, so Barbie could go from day to night.

I have never owned anything like that as an adult, but frankly, it sounds really practical for business trips.
Continue Reading We are Messy and Imperfect…and That’s Okay

I am blessed with four of the best nieces and the best nephew around (and I will fight you on this).

Weekly, I have video chats with the two oldest ones, who are 13 (almost 14) and 11 (separately, because, teens/tweens).

The other day, 13 and I were talking about how she had to give a speech to her whole school (about 200 kids) because last year, she created a recycling program. Somehow, her school didn’t already have one, and she noticed that and decided they needed one. Uh, yeah, she’s amazing. So she rounded up some kids in her class, told them they could miss one lunch period a week, and figured out what she needs to do to make this happen. This year, her principal is going to oversee the club (I think because she knows it won’t continue after my niece graduates otherwise).
Continue Reading Being a Good Leader Means Knowing When to Ask For Help

It’s the dregs of August. It’s hot and humid. You may be in the office or you may not be. But if you are, this may be the time of year when you start to feel…stuck.

August is like the 4 pm of the day, the Sunday of the week, and while there are beautiful descriptions of how to languish in a porch rocker, listening to the crickets and cicadas while sipping a cool drink as you watch the condensation slowly make its way down the glass…I am not an August person.

Also, some of us may be stuck in the frozen tundra of an air-conditioned office and not sitting languorously anywhere and so the need to feel “unstuck” is a very real one – alas, for me, my home office is the hottest room in my house, so that’s not me either. I’m more like an office hobbit, hunched in front of my laptop, dreaming of crisp fall days and pumpkin-spiced lattes (only a week away!).

But, I digress.
Continue Reading Two Ways to Become Unstuck