Professional Skills

Past 12 Months

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 ...

Published: October 2012

From the program: Project Management for Lawyers 2013

Released on: Feb. 5, 2013

Legal project management is quickly becoming a critical way of doing business in law firms and legal departments. Lawyers are learning to implement project management principles in order to better plan, organize, and supervise projects while enhancing client service and relationships, minimizing risk and enhancing profitability and the management of legal costs. In just a few years, legal organizations have moved from questioning the need for project ...

Recorded on: Feb. 22, 2013

Taken from the Web Program Diversity & Inclusion in Law Practice 2013 Recorded February, 2013 in New York A Real World Update on Diversity [01:15:17] Real world analysis of diversity in the legal profession. Where are we today? A look at the metrics: What’s being measured? Are we making progress? What does the data indicate? The purchase price of this segment includes the following article(s) from the Course Handbook ...

Recorded on: Mar. 19, 2013

GRACE E. O'HANLON: It's my pleasure to introduce you to the chair of today's program, Vincent Martorana. Vinny is counsel in the corporate and securities group with Reed Smith's New York office. His practice includes the representation of clients in domestic and cross border mergers, stock an asset acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements, corporate restructuring, private equity investments, and security ...

From the program: Fundamental Concepts in Drafting Contracts: What Most Attorneys Fail to Consider 2013

Released on: Apr. 2, 2013

The reduction to writing of an agreed-upon understanding among parties can sometimes be viewed as a cursory step in formalizing a business relationship. Yet the manner in which concepts are expressed on a page is often as important as the concepts themselves. Solid contract-drafting skills are therefore essential tools to any professional who deals with transactions or business relationships. Unfortunately, although contract counterparties might have ...

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 ...

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: Oct. 18, 2012

Please note: There will be no CLE credit for this briefing. Taken from the briefing FCPA Due Diligence in Cross-Border Transactions 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 the fundamentals of business development and ...

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 ...

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?  ...

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: 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 ...

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 Dealing With Stress and Substance Abuse in the Legal Profession [01:01:19] This presentation will examine stress, depression, substance abuse and other personal challenges commonly faced by today`s legal professionals. The presentation will also identify ...

Recorded on: May. 3, 2012

Taken from the Web Program Lawyers' Guide to Using Social Media for Professional and Client Development 2012 Recorded May, 2012 in San Francisco Developing a Social Media Plan for Your Law Firm [01:01:53] Generating internal support for blogging and social media in your law firm Social media policies: Do you need one? What would be included? Creating a social media education program: where to get started and what components to ...

From the program: Developing Business 2012: Developing Networks and Client Relationships

Released on: May. 7, 2012

DVD's from the program Developing Business 2012: Developing Networks and Client Relationships, held March 2012.

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 ...

Recorded on: Jul. 18, 2012

Taken from the briefing Engagement Letters: Addressing Conflicts and Other Thorny Issues Before They Ariserecorded 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 ...

From the program: How to Read Financial Statements 2013

Released on: Apr. 3, 2013

Financial statements provide great insight into the financial activities of a corporation.  For some corporations, these statements may be complex and can require extensive review.  Attorneys are often involved in negotiating, structuring, or litigating matters where understanding a corporation’s financial statements is an essential element of the overall engagement. In this practical program, a distinguished panel of experts ...

Recorded on: Jul. 3, 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-- Hype or Help, How Can Alternative Fee Arrangements Add Demonstrable Value to Your Practice and Your Clients? 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 have access to materials ...

Released on: Jul. 3, 2012

Taken from the briefing Hype or Help? How Can Alternative Fee Arrangements Add Demonstrable Value to Your Practice and Your Clients? recorded June 2012. The discussion of AFA's (aka alternative fee arrangements or value-based fees), is no longer a discussion of "alternatives" as much as it is a discussion of "appropriate" fee arrangements: namely, legal pricing and cost models that focus on finding and focusing on the value ...

Released on: Jun. 21, 2012

Please note:  There is no CLE credit for this Audio Only On-Demand Web Program. Taken from the briefing Intelligence Driven Business Development and Strategy recorded June, 2012. Despite record revenues over the last several years, the legal profession finds itself in the midst of it's most complex period in history.  Buyers of legal services are forcing law firms to change their billing model, increase their efficiency, and above ...

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 ...

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 ...