Leadership

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Last week, we talked about the temptation to slide back into old habits as the world starts to open back up from quarantine. Things have changed, and they’ve changed dramatically, so there can be that desire to seek the familiar ways of doing things – but we really don’t have to. And with these Delta variants taking a firm hold on us, it will be more important than ever to be and stay flexible. I know that’s not something the legal industry is historically comfortable with, but we showed during the pandemic that we’re actually quite good at it. And that flexibility can be profitable for our firms (even if it’s a bit hard on our psyches). So what we DO need is both better mental health care within the legal industry (and self-care and boundaries) right along with continued moves towards a different way of being and thinking.
Continue Reading Breaking Down the Barriers to Change in a Post (During?) COVID World

Join us for our latest episode of the Law Firm ILN-telligence podcast!

Mitch Karsch is a partner with International Lawyers Network member, Davis & Gilbert, and also an ILN board member. In this episode, Lindsay and Mitch talk about lessons learned during the pandemic, the long-term effects on office space and how a mid-pandemic…

A conversation I had earlier today got me thinking about what it means to be a leader.

Is it technical skill? Surely, you need to have the skill to perform your duties and an understanding of what your company or organization does to be successful. Is it experience? Yes, often that helps, though I think we all know that there have been cases where someone may have skills from another industry that can be transferred without having what is considered the “right” experience on paper, and still be a wildly successful leader. Is it executive presence? That may be debatable and probably depends on the audience that you’re speaking to as to what their definition of “executive presence” is.

So what are the right ingredients for being a leader?
Continue Reading What Does it Mean to be a Leader?

A pandemic is a strange time to be a leader. It’s both terrifying, because you, as much as everyone else, have no idea what’s going to happen, but you have to put on a brave face to instill confidence and it’s, in some ways, exciting, because you get to test your skill set in a way you never have (although, let me be absolutely clear – every leader I know would hand it back over in a heartbeat). I talked to a law firm leader recently who said she regularly presents a calm and collected front to her shareholders and then hangs up the phone to cry. We laughed about it, because that is EXACTLY how it is – like ducks, we are serene above water while paddling like maniacs below.
Continue Reading Nine Leadership Lessons Learned in a Pandemic

Join us for our latest episode of the Law Firm ILN-telligence podcast!

Jonas Forsman heads the M&A group at Hellström in Stockholm, Sweden, which is also a member of the International Lawyers Network. In this episode, Lindsay and Jonas talk about what it was like to be skiing in northern Italy when the pandemic broke…

Bear with me as I tell you a short story, of a baby blogger named Lindsay. She was four years into her career in the legal industry, still learning by doing, and didn’t think she had much, if anything, to say. A new social media platform called Twitter had launched in 2006, and she joined two years later, finding it a fun community to engage with other legal professionals around the world. It was also a fantastic way to learn – they shared articles and news and had in-depth conversations around them. Almost like sitting together in a room discussing them, only behind a computer screen.
Continue Reading Happy 12th Blogiversary to Zen & the Art of Legal Networking!

Almost ten years ago, I attended a general counsel panel about achieving greater collaboration and the clients who participated shared their top takeaways for lawyers and law firms. I’m not sure whether it speaks to the constancy of the legal profession that this advice holds true for today, or we are just still not getting it, but while there are definitely some sophisticated clients needs in the market today, the basics remain the same:
Continue Reading Lawyers – What do Your Clients Want? Hint: It Hasn’t Changed

Join us for our latest episode of the Law Firm ILN-telligence podcast!

David Gitlin is a partner with Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld, a business law firm with an entrepreneurial spirit in Pennsylvania and a member of the International Lawyers Network. In this episode, Lindsay and David talk about the impacts of the pandemic and

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