May 17, 2021 at 12:06 PM
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Companies, their boards, and regulators are increasingly focused on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) risks and opportunities. If you haven’t been paying attention to developments related to ESG, now is the time to start.
“We began receiving requests from our members for ESG-focused programming a few years ago, as lawyers, compliance professionals, and others saw a need to build their knowledge,” says Seema Lal Meehan, Director, Special Projects and Senior Program Attorney at Practising Law Institute (PLI). The organizer of the upcoming PLI program ESG 2021: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel, Meehan reports that interest in the topic is greater than ever this year, particularly as a growing number of Biglaw and other firms launch ESG-focused practices.
April 13, 2021 at 11:47 AM
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Picture this: A few weeks into a difficult matter, your toughest client tells you, “
Well, I guess you really do know how to think like a lawyer.” You feel a momentary glow, because there’s at least a chance it’s a compliment, even if a grudging one. But then they add, “Yeah, and you write like a lawyer, too.” Ouch. You thought your writing was just fine: precise, logical and, even better, free of jargon. What’s the problem?
It’s not that you write badly, but that lawyers face a tougher task than most writers ever confront. Although your subject matter can be complex and technical, your readers are impatient, often irascible, and occasionally hostile. Some writers can simplify their content to keep their readers happy. You do not have that luxury. Some writers can expect their readers to follow along patiently until an analysis or story reaches its end. You cannot.
April 12, 2021 at 2:43 PM
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The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic effect on immigration law, disrupting policies that were already shaken up by the Trump Administration during its first three years. Practitioners who advise on immigration law now must keep up with changes wrought by the pandemic as well as near-daily immigration news from the Biden Administration.
For the previous Administration, “COVID created the opportunity to significantly curtail legal immigration,” says immigration law expert Austin T. Fragomen, Jr., Chairman of the Executive Committee at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen, & Loewy, LLP and co-author of
PLI Chronicle, Fragomen outlines the immigration actions taken by the Biden Administration in its early days and anticipates changes to come.
March 16, 2021 at 10:08 AM
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Deborah Brightman Farone: CEO, Strategic Marketing Advisor – Farone Advisors LLC
As an unprecedented year comes full circle, many businesses are taking the opportunity to reassess their business development strategies, tactics, and goals. For law firms, some trends have become clear – and now is the time to take stock and make sure your firm is keeping up, says business development and marketing expert Deborah Farone.
Assess your technology. “There’s much more stress on the technology that marketing departments are using,” Farone observes. “Because everyone is working from home, people need information online, at their fingertips.” CMOs and partners expect their teams to be able to implement dashboards they can use to access client data, from pitching, to billing, to client service teams.
March 9, 2021 at 3:17 PM
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For smaller law firms, having a thoughtful business development strategy can make a world of difference, especially in a pandemic-challenged market. Deborah Farone, who wrote the book on law firm business development (
What are some business development challenges – and opportunities – for smaller firms in the current market?
DF: Business development and marketing can be a challenge for firms of any size with the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. Small firms, in particular, often lack a strong business development infrastructure, and this can be the biggest hurdle. In that case, individual lawyers need to be even more proactive.