Professional Skills

Past 12 Months

Released on: Aug. 1, 2012

Taken from the briefing Engagement Letters: Addressing Conflicts and Other Thorny Issues Before They Arise recorded July, 2012. During difficult economic times, when lawyers and their firms feel a particularly strong urge to develop new business, great care must be taken to identify and manage present and potential future conflicts.  Careful preparation of the opening engagement letter is the first and typically the best way to manage ...

Recorded on: Aug. 1, 2012

SPEAKER 1: It's my pleasure to turn this briefing over to Nick Christakos. NICHOLAS CHRISTAKOS: Good afternoon everyone, and thanks for tuning in. As the general counsel of our firm, I do deal on a regular basis with most of the issues that we'll be discussing today, so I hope to be able to pass on some creative solutions or suggestions for dealing with what I think are pretty recurring and sometimes challenging issues in the client intake process. Let's ...

Released on: Aug. 14, 2012

Please note:  CLE Credit is Not Available for this Briefing. Taken from the briefing A Millennial Makeover: How Millennials May Change the Way We Do Business recorded July, 2012. Law firms, like many business services organizations, work under an “apprenticeship” model.  Junior staff spend years learning their craft in the shadows of senior partners.  Historically, this structure has often resulted in a focus ...

Released on: Aug. 21, 2012

Please note:  CLE credit is not availabe for this briefing. Taken from the briefing Nitty Gritty of Negotiating Flexible and Reduced Hours and Making it Work recorded August, 2012. If you think you want to work flexible or reduced hours but you don’t know where to start, listen in to learn how to create a flexible arrangement that works.  Deborah Epstein Henry of Law and Reorder, a Division of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC will ...

From the program: California Employment Law Update 2012

Recorded on: Sep. 10, 2012

Taken from the Web Program California Employment Law Update 2012 recorded September, 2012 in San Francisco. Lecture Topics  [01:02:05] Elimination of Bias in the Legal Workplace  [01:02:05] Defining diversity and bias in today’s legal workplace Breaking down unconscious barriers despite organizational commitment to diversity Diversity and inclusion strategies: what’s working today; where are the new opportunities?  ...

Recorded on: Sep. 10, 2012

TIMOTHY LONG: Good afternoon and welcome back. So we're going to start this afternoon's session with what I suspect will be not only a provocative presentation, but also something that will be very informative and educational. And we couldn't have a better panel for this presentation, which is focusing on elimination of bias in the legal workplace. To my right, is my partner, Pat Gillette. Pat, by the way, last night, was awarded the Transformational ...

Released on: Sep. 20, 2012

Please note:  CLE credit is not available for this briefing. Taken from the briefing Business Development Plans for Lawyers: More Important than Ever recorded September, 2012. As competition in the legal market continues to become more fierce, lawyers at all levels need to be focused on business development activities.  An important starting point is a written business development plan.  And that applies not only to lawyers ...

Recorded on: Oct. 2, 2012

Please note: There will be no CLE credit for this briefing! Taken from the briefing Law Firm Finance 101 - Understanding the Numbers that Matter recorded September, 2012. Law firm leaders operate with a financial view of the firm at the center of every decision.  To achieve your goals, you need a strong foundation in what makes - and keeps - your firm profitable.  Learn to speak the language your firm's decision makers understand. This ...

From the program: Courtroom Skills for Pro Bono Attorneys (Free)

Released on: Oct. 5, 2012

Use this training for an overview of trial skills helpful to attorneys handling Pro Bono litigation matters particularly in an Unlawful Detainer context. Unlawful Detainers as summary proceedings provide unique challenges in trial preparation and representation. This three hour training is designed for practitioners at all experience levels. The panelists are experienced litigators in Pro Bono cases and eviction defense. This training provides ...

From the program: Pocket MBA Fall 2012

Recorded on: Oct. 16, 2012

Taken from the Web Program Pocket MBA Fall 2012 recorded October, 2012 in New York. Lecture Topics  [01:00:00] Working with the General Counsel's Office  [01:00:00] The role of the general counsel’s office in business transactions Managing relationships with business offices Identifying and mitigating risk Implementing and ensuring adherence to corporate governance, risk and compliance policies Ensuring ...

Recorded on: Oct. 16, 2012

DANA G. MCFERRAN: Welcome back. We are down to our last two sessions on a Friday afternoon, so I don't think I'll be disappointed in our last two last two programs. The next one is working with general counsel's office, so if you want any free legal advice, please feel free to ask these guys as we go along. But I just wanted to introduce you to our two speakers today. First, we have, to my immediate right, is John Grugan. He is a partner at Ballard ...

Recorded on: Oct. 17, 2012

Please note: There will be no CLE credit for this briefing. Taken from the briefing Opening and Running Your Own Law Practice: Hanging Out a Shingle in 2012recorded October, 2012. So you’re thinking of starting your own law firm but you don’t know the first thing about owning a business.  How can you find space? Do you need your own staff or can you hire per-diem help? What kind of computer equipment and software do ...

Released on: Oct. 18, 2012

Please note: There will be no CLE credit for this briefing. Taken from the briefing Business Development for Aspiring Partners in Today's Legal Economy: Strategies and Techniques 2012 recorded December 2012. In this briefing, our faculty – a mix of partners and associates heavily involved in business development – will share their experience and insights into business development in today's legal market.  They will discuss ...

Recorded on: Oct. 19, 2012

Taken from the briefing Tips for Attorneys to Communicate Logically: The Written Word, the Spoken Wordrecorded October, 2012. Being able to communicate effectively - both in writing and in speech - is perhaps the most important skill that an attorney can possess.  Although we are taught, before attending law school and throughout law school, how to convey our ideas, the practice of law demands continued refinement of our skills. We ...

Published: October 2012

Recorded on: Oct. 25, 2012

Taken from the briefing Women Partners: Lessons Learned on How to be a Leader and Still Have a Liferecorded October, 2012. A group of women partners, drawing on their own varied experiences, will address challenges faced by women in the legal sphere.  The nature of these challenges has not been static in our changing world.  We will discuss a variety of traditional and emerging issues.  The session will address two core issues - ...

Recorded on: Oct. 31, 2012

AMY TAUB: Greetings. My name is Amy Taub. And I am a program attorney with PLI. I would like to welcome you to today's briefing. Tips for Attorneys to Communicate Logically: The Written Word, the Spoken Word. Before we begin, I have some administrative announcements. This briefing will be one hour in length. Please feel free to send questions at any time during the briefing. Please remember that you access to materials for this briefing via the [INAUDIBLE] ...

From the program: Ethics and Law Department Management 2012: A View from the Inside

Released on: Nov. 20, 2012

This program will examine the ethical issues confronting in-house law departments in the second decade of the 21st century. While reducing outside legal spending remains a top priority, there is now increased pressure to become more productive. With total legal spending remaining flat or slightly decreasing, more is required with less. This pressure for increased productivity can lead to failure to meet ethical and legal requirements in managing litigation, ...

Released on: Nov. 15, 2012

Please note:  There will be no CLE credit for this briefing. Taken from the briefing Practicing Law in a Globalized Economy: Cultural Competency and Other Skill Sets for Success recorded November, 2012. Globalization is increasingly the norm in the legal industry. Research suggests that most U.S. lawyers work with multi-national colleagues or clients. To build relationships, attract business, and represent clients in the globalized ...

From the program: PLI's California MCLE Marathon 2012: Current Developments in Legal Ethics - Substance Abuse - Elimination of Bias in the Profession

Recorded on: Dec. 4, 2012

Taken from the Web Program PLI's California MCLE Marathon 2012: Current Developments in Legal Ethics - Substance Abuse - Elimination of Bias in the Profession recorded December, 2012 in San Francisco. Lecture Topics  [01:00:05] The Opportunity and Obligation to Eliminate Bias in the Legal Profession  [01:00:05] From courtrooms to law firms, attorneys are confronted with the opportunity and obligation to eliminate bias in the profession. ...

Released on: Dec. 11, 2012

There will be no CLE credit for this Audio Only On-Demand Web. Taken from the briefing Making a "Marriage" Work - Ensuring Lateral Success with Partner Acquisitions recorded November, 2012. The Legal Industry has changed dramatically over the years and, quite frankly, will never be the same again. The old glory days of choosing a law firm where you will spend your career or choosing a lawyer who will retire from your firm is an ...

Released on: Dec. 17, 2012

Please note: There will be no CLE credit for this Audio Only On-Demand Web. Taken from the briefing Courageous Counsel: Conversations with Women General Counsel in the Fortune 500 recorded December, 2012. Despite all of the advances in the number of women graduating from law school over the past three decades, it remains that only roughly 20% of the General Counsel positions in Fortune 500 companies are filled by women.  Listen ...

From the program: Basic Negotiation Skills 2013

Released on: Jan. 28, 2013

Negotiation is part of any lawyer’s everyday life.  You negotiate with colleagues, clients, and staff about an array of issues, ranging from simple project deadlines to complex contractual language.  This program is designed to help you gain confidence in every negotiation you conduct.  The panelists represent academicians, sole practitioners, and members of leading local law firms. Lecture Topics [Total time 06:12:31] Segments ...

Recorded on: Jan. 15, 2013

DOUG MACKAY: Thank you, Christina. Thank you, and thank you to our panelists for joining us today. This is our last panel discussion of the day, and it is about negotiating with colleagues and peers, negotiating with colleagues and peers. So let me introduce my panelists. To my right is Mike Gotham, and Mike is Director of Attorney Recruiting and Retention for Perkins Coie. Prior to joining Perkins Coie in 2008, Mike was Director of Attorney Recruiting ...

Recorded on: Jan. 15, 2013

DOUG MACKAY: Let's step back for a second and ask ourselves, well, what is negotiation? And really, it's two parts here. So here, it's what you have and what he or she wants, on one side. And then, he or she has what you want on the other side. So any negotiation has two different parts to it, two different parties, sometimes even more than two different parties involved. The key is satisfying the mutual needs involved with both parties. So how do ...