Today’s losing marketing trends – hiring a sales staff, wasting time at trade shows, and flashy brochures – December

Don’t spoil expensive marketing with needless errors; from being too busy to looking desperate – November

Georgia firm focuses on tracking ad results and making the legal process easy for clients to understand – July

A cheap business card bespeaks a cheap attorney – July

North Carolina manager gives staff a bonus for getting prospective callers to make appointments – July

Guidelines for getting good media coverage – July

Prepare the new partners for new responsibilities and possibly a cut in take-home pay – October

Don’t let the client base die when the senior partners leave, retire, or get carried out
– September

Baby-boom attorneys are in line for retirement planning – June

The salaries, benefits, and major complaints of today’s paralegals – February

Efficiency in assignments is the key to making the paralegals a profit center – November

San Francisco-based firm uses exit interviews to plan next year’s recruitment – August

Look beyond the resume when making a lateral hire; there are legal, ethical, and financial concerns – July

How to survive the (gasp!) associate salary hikes – June

How to set a dress code that suits the firm but doesn’t cross legal lines – April

Layoff safety: pay a severance and eschew references – April

Where ADA protection ends with drug and alcohol – February

Don’t let political talk turn into discrimination claims – February

What to cover in the vacation policy and how to keep it from generating legal troubles
– January

The legalities of personality and drug testing and dealing with the issue of bad hygiene
– December

Caution: holiday parties can invite legal claims – November


What to put in and leave out of the personnel files – September

Yes, gender discrimination lives in many law offices – August

The handbook elements that expose the firm to lawsuits – June

A few of the iffy spots in discrimination – June

Easy ways to violate privacy without realizing it – May

Four ways to stay in the black during a recession – April

Vermont manager uses four ongoing reports to track the money and the taxes – April

Don’t start new work before getting paid for the old; good ways to get the money in fast
– April

Don’t raise the rates without analyzing what the market will bear – March

Financial disaster starts with the partner revenues – December

How to identify the payment-risky clients
– December

Cash flow slowing down? Look at five expenses: disbursements, space, technology, health care, and staff – October

Setting the fees to make a profit and please the clients – August

The ins, outs, and terms of the engagement letter – June

Good collecting is mostly a matter of eloquent wording – May

Weekly financial reports keep the attorneys cash-aware – May

The timing and presentation of raising the fees (plus new fee options worth considering) – May

The art of finding new clients at conventions – February

The little turnoffs that send the clients to other firms – February

How not to lose the corporate clients to bigger firms – January

How to attract female clients (or what women expect to see in a law firm) – January

Turn prospect calls into current and future business – November

Don’t let a client leave without a word on satisfaction – July

A successful merger calls for good reasoning and ongoing integration of the two offices
– March

Good e-mail guides to set for the office
– March

Romance in bloom? Set up a no-date policy
– February

Keep the firm’s image professional with rules on e-mails – July

Office violence: know how to stave it off and also what to do if it occurs – May

LOA carries a regular column on grammar, writing, and speaking. It’s called ‘On Better Communication.’ Here are the topics it carried these past 12 months.

Him and I, he and me – yikes! – April

How and when to use Latin abbreviations
– March

The unscientific use of hyphens – February

How to take the flab out of writing – January

A year-end quiz on grammar’s finer points
– December

10 of grammar’s most stubborn errors
– November

The little mistakes of grammar and spelling that nobody ever takes time to correct – October

We Democrats versus us Republicans
– September

Getting them right: a/an, this/these, like/as, and I/me – August

Why the Sopranos aren’t the Sopranoes – July

A nine-question quiz on punctuation – June

Is and are with either, neither, and collective words – May

These are the articles that ran in LOA from May 2007 through April 2008.

Orlando staff participate in all the operational decisions – March

The nightmare staffers who don’t break any rules but drive everybody nuts – February

Tennessee administrator expands the handbook into a how-to book for staff
– February

California staff participate in the annual retreat – January

Five easy ways to make the entire staff miserable – January

How to set a professional development plan for staff – December

Handling the staffer who undermines the boss – November

Denver administrator evaluates the pros and cons of the professional employment organization, or PEO – October

To increase productivity, lay out the expectations – October

Disciplining with success (a LOA mini seminar) – October

A simple survey to gauge staff satisfaction
– September

How to turn any staff into a team of professionals (a LOA mini seminar)
– August

Florida staff review form is all comments, no numbers – June

How to delegate work and help the staffer succeed – June

How to fire with success (a LOA mini seminar) – November

Arizona administrator uses an interview scorecard – September

How to hire with success – from advertising the position to setting the salary (a LOA mini seminar) – September

Whether partner or peer, a bully warrants ousting – July

Recession and malpractice claims go hand in hand; watch these four risk areas – March

Six easy ways to open the door to malpractice claims; from too many clients to bad staff hiring – August

How to dodge the blows when a firing starts to look like a potential brawl – April

Management success rests on the ability to manage time – April

Introducing a change calls for the art of leadership – March

Assigning work requires clarity, tact, respect for staff – March

Start the year by evaluating personal management style – January

How to field tough questions and come out shining – December

How to win the respect of a new managing partner – November

How to end the desk clutter and make the job easier – October

Here’s how to show the partners the financial value of their hardworking administrator
– September

Before giving raises, take a hard look at bonuses instead; the pay remains the same, but the firm saves money – March