Category Archives: Good Lawyering

Email Poka Yoke

Posted on February 9, 2010 by D. Mark Jackson

Judge Gerald Lebovits has an excellent article on email for lawyers in the New York State Bar Association Journal. It’s comprehensive. My favorite tip is this: Fill in the address box only when you’re ready to send. The ease of … Continue reading →

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What Makes a Good Lawyer?

Posted on March 11, 2009 by D. Mark Jackson

Marjorie M. Shultz, a former Berkeley law professor and psychologist Sheldon Zedeck are trying to find out. The Law School Admissions Council is funding their research into alternatives to the LSAT, the standardized test for law school candidates. They have … Continue reading →

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Distracting Ourselves to Death

Posted on December 13, 2008 by D. Mark Jackson

Bryan Appleyard, after reviewing several books on the issue, argues we are distracting ourselves to death: The opposite of attention is distraction, an unnatural condition and one that, as Meyer discovered in 1995, kills. Now he is convinced that chronic, long-term … Continue reading →

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The End Is Near

Posted on November 14, 2008 by D. Mark Jackson

Is the legal field about to undergo a radical transformation?   Richard Susskind says so. D. Mark Jackson

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Respect for Associates

Posted on October 1, 2008 by D. Mark Jackson

Ben W. Heineman, Jr., and David B. Wilkins pen a must read article in the American Lawyer entitled “The Lost Generation?”  The authors present a compelling argument as to why, despite ever increasing associate salaries at big firms, retention rates … Continue reading →

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Lean Writing

Posted on September 13, 2008 by D. Mark Jackson

Can lean improve your writing?  Let’s take two essential lean concepts and see how they apply. Minimize Waste Eliminating unnecessary words makes for good writing. Ask any editor or writing coach. Removing unneeded words is reducing waste in your writing. Think … Continue reading →

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Lean Document Review

Posted on August 13, 2008 by D. Mark Jackson

Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq., shares his interview with Ray Bayley, co-founder of NovusLaw. You’ll likely walk away with a much different view of business process outsourcing. One of the major concerns about outsourcing legal work, including document review, … Continue reading →

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Creativity and Failure

Posted on August 5, 2008 by D. Mark Jackson

In the last several weeks, I encountered several instances of the same theme:  Creativity Requires Failure. In a recent lecture, legal writing consultant Gary Kinder argued that creative writing is only possible when you set aside your left brain’s logical … Continue reading →

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