How to go from a Star Lawyer to a Superstar Lawyer

As lawyers, we all want to be great. In the current economy it is extremely important to differentiate yourself from your competitors so they will see you as the best lawyer for them. While many lawyers are stars in their practice area, only some lawyers are superstars. Lawyers who continue to work hard to grow their practice will become superstars, whereas their less motivated peers will plateau.

Cordell Parvin, a successful lawyer, mentor and law firm coach, recently wrote a blog post "What Separates Lawyers Who Are Stars from Lawyers Who Are Superstars". He talked about the difference between lawyers who have the attitude to keep working hard, pushing themselves to always be better, versus those who are satisfied with their current success and thus don't push themselves. Parvin talked about the book "True Professionalism" by David Maister. Parvin quoted Maister saying, "Cruising means working at what you are already good at, and in consequence usually means a low-stress comfortable work life. The difference between Dynamos and Cruisers is rarely one of ability. Rather, it is one of attitude.”

Parvin went on to say, "Superstar lawyers I know view a great year to be an event not an achievement. The achievement comes from continuing to strive to get better."

To learn the 15 things that star lawyers do that inhibit them from being superstars click here.

Federal Court Rules of Civil Procedure About to Change

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are changing substantially on December 1, 2009. To ensure that your AbacusLaw software is compatible with these new changes, you must update on December 1st.

The main change is a "days are days" approach to computing all time periods in each set of rules counting intermediate weekend days and holidays. Under the present rules, intermediate weekends and holidays are sometimes counted and sometimes not. To further simplify time counting, most periods shorter than 30 days are changed to multiples of 7 days (7, 14, 21, or 28 days) so that deadlines will usually fall on weekdays.

AbacusLaw customers can update court rules online using SlideRules.

If you don't have AbacusLaw court rules, call us at 800-726-3339. We'll get you started.

Get Practice Management Tips at PracticeSmarter.com

Abacus president Judd Kessler, Esq., recently launched a new practice management blog, PracticeSmarter. The blog helps legal professionals find more time, more enjoyment and less risk in their practice of law. You can read the blog at www.PracticeSmarter.com.

The first post, "The Golden Rule of Business," talks about the importance of surrounding yourself with professional people in order to maintain the reliable, trust-worthy image you have created for yourself in the business world. The post gives kudos to attorney Rodney Dowell, director of the Massachusetts LOMAP office, for his hard work and professionalism in the new podcast series "The Un-Billable Hour" on the Legal Talk Network (proud sponsor AbacusLaw).

The first episode of The Un-Billable Hour, "Legal Marketing for Success" can be listened to here or downloaded on iTunes.

Happy Thanksgiving from AbacusLaw

At Abacus, we are thankful for all of our wonderful customers. We appreciate your business and hope those of you in the U.S. enjoy this Thanksgiving holiday.