Law Practice Tips

Improve the audiovisual quality of your conference calls by using a webcam or microphone. Enhance your appearance by using an expensive spotlight  to illuminate your face.  And free up your laptop by putting your smartphone on a tripod  for video calls. For more tech tips, read articles about video calling ,   best gear for online meetings ,  mastering virtual meetings . And see Doug McHomey’s video about working about best video calling equipment for working from home. 

Surveys  show that a significant number of lawyers and their firms are using Twitter.  Lawyers mostly use Twitter for following news, marketing, and establishing reputations. See samples using a  Directory of Legal Twitterers , a  List of Lawyers to Follow , or a  Table of Top Law Feeds .  Learn more by reading articles about the benefits of Twitter , creating an account , ethical issues , getting followers , marketing with social media ,  starting up , and user tips .   Also see O'Reilly's  Twitter Book  and the ABA's   Guide to Legal Ethics and Social Media.

Signature technology can be used on business, government, and personal documents.  Popular software programs with electronic signature capability include Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word .  Digital signature software programs like Docusign  provides encryption in addition to electronic signatures. Learn more by reading articles about paperless signing , notarizing e-documents ,  document management ,  legal requirements , and when and  how to use signature technology .  Also see reviews of software for  digital signatures  and  document management.

Fact checking is essential because of the exponential growth of news sources and partisan reporting. Remember to be skeptical, compare sources, and don't share articles without verifying. For more fact checking tips, read articles about bias ,  literacy , reliability , scammers ,  spotting fake news , and teaching critical thinking . Try adding a fact checking extension to your web browser. Check out the bias ratings of your news sources at a fact checking website  and view a  diagram of ideology ranking  of news sources.  Consult the ABA's Legal Fact Checker which seeks to help media and individuals find answers to legal issues.

Write professional looking contracts by using concise wording, paragraph numbering, section headings, and tables of contents. Use letter-size paper and single spacing to make contracts easier to scan. For more tips, read articles about  form libraries , word processing ,  writing clearly , and technology tools  like document management software . Improve your drafting skills by attending an ALI Webinar  or taking a Ken Adams  workshop . Also see Dell  Toedt's  archive of drafting articles  and his contract checklist .  For in-depth study, read PLI's contract handbook  and the  ABA's Manual of Style for Contracts and other ABA books about business contracts , computer contracts , construction contracts , documenting deals ,  drafting style ,  government contracts , leases ,  medical contracts ,   prose in contracts ,  settlement agreements , structuring transactions , and tech contracts .  Webinar

Good morale benefits law firms, lawyers, and staff.  Morale improves recruitment, productivity, and teamwork. Read articles about  improving law firm morale with coaching ,  compensation , communication s, mentoring , and newsletters .  Also read articles about productivity improvemen t and boosting morale during the Coronavirus situation  and recessions . For more in-depth study, read the ABA's book about Lessons in Leadership and  Being a Champion for Your Firm and Employees .

Blogging builds reputations, informs clients, and markets professional services. It can be done by individual lawyers or by groups or firms. Research best practices by reviewing top ranked blogs . Add a Blog page to your firm’s website and enable visitors to subscribe for email updates. Search blogs using the ABA's Search Tool , Justia's Blog Directory , and Lexblog's Network  to access blogs published by thousands of lawyers and law firms. Learn more by reading articles about creating , hosting , marketing , readership , rankings , starting ,  syndicating   and tips .  Read books like the ABA's Blogging in One Hour  and the Dummy's Guide for in-depth study. And see below for links to Blog Pages at law firm websites hosted by Justia. Sample Blog Pages at Law Firm Webistes Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell , Los Angeles (Business Law) Leonard Sienko , Hancock, NY (General Practice) Arnold & Smith , Charlotte (Divorce Law) Siegfried River a , Coral Gables (Con