The middle of summer is a great time for tackling projects that you can't get to during the rest of the year. Here are a few suggestions: Ensure that data security is covered in your employee handbook, employee training, and BYOD policy. Include computer files as part of your summer office clean-up. Start planning for the last quarter of the year in terms of collections … [Read more...] about To-Dos: Your August office checklist
Your career
Why taking your vacation is worth the hassle
If you can't remember the last time you took a vacation, you're not alone. While American workers are stressed, they're not taking time away from work. According to a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder, 3 in 5 workers (61 percent) say they are burned out in their current job, and 31 percent report high or extremely high levels of stress at work, yet only … [Read more...] about Why taking your vacation is worth the hassle
Should I stay or should I go? 3 signs you should keep your job and 3 signs you shouldn’t
By Holly Caplan bio Growing up I was taught by my parents to get a job and keep a job. Period. It was ingrained in me that once I graduated college, I needed to land at a good company and stay there. The big reward would be retirement at 40 years with a fancy company pen and pension. This was my mindset for years. It's what was expected of me, and it is what I … [Read more...] about Should I stay or should I go? 3 signs you should keep your job and 3 signs you shouldn’t
How simple technology solutions can make your job astonishingly easier
As a law office manager, there likely are many days when you are frantically running around trying to make plays, getting blindsided by distractions, and sometimes even losing track of the plays you should be making. However, with the proper application of technology and processes in your day, you can feel as though you are confidently running the ball, are in control, … [Read more...] about How simple technology solutions can make your job astonishingly easier
Effective mentoring helps minimize staff turnover woes
A well-designed and well-managed mentoring program can have a major positive impact upon the career development and retention of associates in law firms big and small, says Bianca Moreiras, a law firm consultant, coach and speaker, and CEO of Bianca Moreiras and Associates. "Over 45 percent of new associates leave their firms by their third year and the top 400 law firms lose … [Read more...] about Effective mentoring helps minimize staff turnover woes
How to be a better proofreader
When hours of work are spent crafting a compelling legal brief, contract, or report, it can be very disheartening, not to mention embarrassing, to have all credibility instantly erased with one misspelled word. Of course, typos happen. Human beings make mistakes. And we can't rely on technology to save us either, unfortunately. For example, spell check would not have … [Read more...] about How to be a better proofreader
9 critical rules for managing former peers when you get promoted
Just promoted to administrator from within the ranks? Congratulations . . . and beware. It's not easy to manage former peers. Friendships have to change, and so do whatever hard feelings the new administrator had with other staffers. And relationships aside, about two thirds of the staff now reporting to the new administrator think they should have been given the job. Here … [Read more...] about 9 critical rules for managing former peers when you get promoted
Being a great leader by applying what I’ve learned as a mother
By Abby Curnow-Chavez bio With Mother's Day just behind us, I've been thinking about the connection between motherhood and my other "job" – not the one of mom to teenage boys, but my work as a leadership consultant and executive coach. As parents, we are "leading leaders" and just like leaders in business, shifting from parenting to "leading leaders" requires an adjustment … [Read more...] about Being a great leader by applying what I’ve learned as a mother
How to increase—and demonstrate—your value to the firm
Don't become an economic casualty. When revenues drop, firms put their administrators under close scrutiny. They want a good payoff for the salary investment. Sometimes the partners question whether the administrator is doing enough. And sometimes they question whether they need an administrator at all, says executive coach Lissa Weimelt, a principal with the executive search … [Read more...] about How to increase—and demonstrate—your value to the firm
12 signs you are about to lose your job
Call it denial. Call it turning a blind eye to what’s going on. But even the most business-savvy administrator can fail to see when the job is in jeopardy. People think it will happen to everyone else but not to themselves. Administrators might be observing negative goings-on in their offices without cluing in that their jobs are on the line. The only way to stay safe is to … [Read more...] about 12 signs you are about to lose your job