BlackBerry Addiction: Coming to an Office Near You
Do you have a BlackBerry? Do you find yourself addicted to the tiny keyboard and blinking red light? Does your “CrackBerry” sit on your nightstand at night, in case an email arrives while you dreamily sleep through the early morning? You just might have BlackBerry addiction.
Human Law found an interesting article from the Independent concerning the rising numbers of people addicted to their BlackBerries. To make the situation more interesting, it seems like some British employees are actually suing their employers for getting them addicted to those happy email devices.
This is not the first time I have written about BlackBerries harming people, but this is the first instance I have seen of employers being sued for it.
In the end, I cannot help but wonder about consent by the employees. If you willingly accept a BlackBerry (don’t most employers offer a choice?), do you really have room to complain about the effects it has on your life? Maybe this is an unfortunate price people must pay for constant connectivity. I think some people are addicted to their cell phones. Perhaps they should sue their wireless providers. I’m sensing some mass torts coming along.
[tags]legal andrew, blackberry[/tags]
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Don’t Make These Mistakes While Job Hunting
Over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, Jim linked to a great post entitled 5 Mistakes College Grads Make When Looking for a Job (from The Ivey Files). The focus of Anna Ivey’s tips are on college graduates, but they easily (and importantly) apply to law school students as well.
My personal favorite is the last one: bad voicemail greetings. While I have luckily never fallen prey to this, I know it happens to people. It’s fun to have casual or humorous voicemail greetings while in college, but legal recruiters do not look too kindly on such things (after all, you’ll have a voicemail greeting at their firm, if they hire you). Thus, it is critical to give recruiters the best phone number to reach you, and then make sure that the voicemail greeting is professional and courteous. Simply say something like “Hello, this is Andrew. Please leave a message and I will return your call.”
Be sure to head over to Anna’s site to check out the rest of the tips. Also, head to Jim’s site for awesome tips on being wise with your newfound money after graduating from law school.
[tags]legal andrew, voicemail, job search[/tags]
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Personal Development Carnival
Be sure to check out yesterday’s Personal Development Carnival, where you can find awesome articles to help in your personal development. One featured article is my post on warming up prior to public speaking. Wander over and see if anything peaks your interest.
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Maximize Firefox Searching with Hotkeys
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Robert Ambrogi made a great find today: Firefox search plugins for legal research. These plugins are simple additions to the awesome, free Firefox browser, and they allow you to search Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. As Robert explains, the five plugins allow you to search the entire LII, or specific portions, depending upon which plugin you use.
I would like to take this awesome opportunity to point out two cool keyboard shortcuts (a.k.a.: hotkeys) that can make legal research even quicker. Every Firefox user, even attorneys and law students, should know these quick helpers.
CTRL + K – Use this hotkey to make the Firefox search box active. Pressing CTRL + K puts your cursor directly in the search plugin box, so you can type your search, hit ENTER, and then view your results.
CTRL + UP / DOWN – Once your cursor is in the search box, you can quickly change the active search plugin by pressing CTRL + DOWN ARROW to move down the list and CTRL + UP ARROW to move up the list. Simply press these keys until you see the appropriate icon displayed in the search box, then type your search and hit ENTER.
Now you have all the tools to easily do basic legal research online, with minimal use of your mouse. The beauty of these hotkeys is that they work for all search plugins, which we all know come in all flavors. What are you waiting for? Get searching!
[tags]legal andrew, firefox, hotkey, keyboard, shortcut, plugin, legal information institute, cornell[/tags]
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Google Desktop Provides Seamless Information Flow
As a lawyer or law student, I’ll bet you spend a lot of time switching back and forth between Outlook and other programs all day. I know I used to. I say “used to” because I know have a solution that provides seamless information flow between Outlook and my eyes, without any user interaction.
Enter Google Desktop
If you have not heard of Google Desktop, you should definitely check it out. When it first hit the market, Google’s Desktop app focused on search abilities. Google has now extended this functionality to include an awesome “sidebar” that lets you dock “gadgets” to perform different information management tasks. If you don’t believe me, check out the image of my sidebar at right.
After you have everything setup, you have a one-stop solution to:
- Manage and read email
- Monitor and add items to calendar
- Keep track of task list
- Find any file on your computer, with the keyboard
- Do just about anything else you can imagine
Piece of Cake Installation
Installing Google Desktop is as simple as going to http://desktop.google.com and downloading the programming. Google has an easy-to-use installer that will walk you through the program. Simply follow the instructions.
Once the program is installed, it will need to index your files. This process makes sure that Google Desktop can find something when you search for it. Indexing will take a while, but you can continue working while it goes on the background.
Easy Customization
Once Google Desktop is fully installed and indexed, you can easily customize the look and function of the program. You can remove a gadget by clicking on the down arrow in gadget’s title bar and selecting “Remove.” To add a gadget, simply click on “Add+” at the top of the sidebar. A window will open allowing you to browse all the different gadgets. Find one you like and click “Add.” Google will do the rest.
How Will This Help You?
One method of being more productive is having a more efficient information flow. Google Desktop will provide that. Basically, instead of having to look this way and that (or click here and there) to access vital information, everything will be in your new “heads-up display” sidebar.
As shown in the picture of my sidebar, by clicking on image at right, Google Desktop displays my incoming email, calendar, and tasks, as well as a nifty “Scratch Pad.” The Scratch Pad is a handy application that automatically saves any text you enter into it, letting you write as much or as little as you want without opening up anything.
What are you waiting for? Go get it!
Do you have any suggestion to improve information flow with Google Desktop? Please post a comment or drop me a line to share with us.
[tags]legal andrew, google desktop, calendar, email, taskpad, scratch pad, flow[/tags]
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How Do You Use Post-It Notes?
You just gotta love the Post-It Note. A small yellow square of handy stickiness. It doesn’t get any better than that, until they made other colors, shapes and sizes. Transparent, plastic, labeled, lined, oh my! Yep, I love ’em all.
Ok, back on track – I ran across this post that details twenty ways to use our happy yellow friend. It has some great tips and ideas that I had not actually thought of before. Be sure to check it out and maximize your use of productive man’s best friend.
How do you use Post-It Notes? Post a comment or drop me a line to let us know.
[tags]legal andrew, lifehack post-it[/tags]
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How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less, by Nicholas Boothman (book review)
Comments Off on How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less, by Nicholas Boothman (book review) 
I recently finished reading a great book by Nicholas Boothman, entitled How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less
In a nutshell, this book provides concrete tools and exercises to help you make contact with strangers, establish a rapport with them, and make small talk. In the end, you should have a new connection in this ever-changing life. Since Boothman separates his book into three parts, I will do the same with this review.
first contact
Boothman first focuses on those first few seconds when you actually meet someone new. He provides simple tips to help you make the most positive first impression possible.
One of the things I really like from this section is Boothman’s method of greeting people: Open – Eye – Beam – Hi – Lean. Keep your heart open and aimed at the person, look the person directly in the eye, beam a bright and friendly smile to the person, say “hi”, and slightly lean toward the person. When you combine all of these things effectively, you can introduce yourself in a powerful way.
the 90-second land of rapport
I took two important principles from this section, although there are many more that you might glean from it.
First, attitude is everything! Boothman discusses in great detail what he calls “a really useful attitude.” In other words, know what you want out of communicating with another person, and adopt the attitude that will help you obtain it. In contrast, never have a “really useless attitude.”
Second, the easiest way to establish rapport with someone is to synchronize your behavior with them. This means to adopt his/her body language and method of speech. Once you become like someone else, he/she begins liking you. This is what rapport is all about. For more reading on synchronization, you can check out previous posts (Get Your Client/Interviewer to See Things Your Way, and Getting People to See Your Way – Follow-Up Thoughts).
the secrets of communication
Boothman’s final section provides great insights into the way we communicate with others. Specifically, he explains the different types of communicators (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic).
More importantly, Boothman gives you the tools and knowledge to determine what type of communicator another person is and then to change your own communication to match his/her style. This is synchronization 2.0!
What Are You Waiting For?
Ok, you have read me hyping up this book, now you definitely should go get your own copy: How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less
These skills are incredibly useful for people in all fields, especially lawyers who must communicate and meet with new people on a daily basis. Why not invest a mere pittance and become a better communicator today?
Other Books You Might Like
How to connect in business in 90 seconds or less
How to make someone love you forever! In 90 minutes or less
[tags]legal andrew, nicholas boothman, How to make people like you in 90 seconds or less, How to make someone love you forever! In 90 minutes or less, How to connect in business in 90 seconds or less, synchronize[/tags]
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Lawyer Marketing Via MySpace
There is a very interesting post over at My Shingle that discusses using MySpace to market your services as a lawyer.
Honestly, I am not quite sure what to make of this tactic. While it obviously could be successful (as My Shingle reports in its post), it also seems like it might create some professional responsibility problems. I’m no expert, but it sounds like having an online client intake form might invite people to provide too much information up front. I thought attorneys were supposed to be very cautious about the details potential clients provide during an initial meeting. An online form does not allow an attorney to stop a potential client before he discloses too much information. But, like I said, I’m no expert.
With that said, I’m all for using the technological tools of our time to make life easier (and hopefully better). If it works and does not breach ethical guidelines, I say to go for it. However, I don’t think I will be starting a MySpace page anytime soon. Heck, I’ve only been blogging for a couple months. I don’t even use IM! (ok, I used to, but found it very anti-productive – more on that another day)
What are your thoughts on attorneys using MySpace to network? What about Facebook? Please post a comment or drop me a line.
[tags]legal andrew, lawyer, attorney, law firm, marketing, myspace, facebook[/tags]
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The Gaping Hole in Law Firm Recruiting
Are you currently searching for a job? Do you know someone who is? If so, I’m sure you know about the frustration of connecting job candidates with hiring authorities. This is typically the job of recruiters.
The disappointing part is that some most job markets do not have a comprehensive system for managing all the information that recruiters have and presenting this information to job candidates. This is particularly true in the legal field.
I was browsing through my feed reader this evening, and I finally found someone who understands what law firm recruting needs. The itzBig Blog understands the huge, gaping hole in law firm recruiting. This post nails exactly the kind-of system that law firm recruiters (actually, recruiters from all sectors) need:
You know, one where all three parties [recruiters, job candidates, and hiring authorities] have access to real-time, dynamic data, and where recruiters have the ability to truly assess candidates’ qualifications and to look for the exact type of candidate that the customer wants. That doesn’t exist right now, which is why everyone involved in the process seems to approach the others as adversaries. Put everyone on the same page, and new recruiters as well as weathered old warhorses will be able to find the right talent.
Can you imagine how efficient it would be to have a single database where recruiting information was all uploaded and searchable? Sure, this takes a lot of the leg work out of finding jobs, but in today’s world it is really like “finger work” on the keyboard anyway.
Economically speaking, a comprehensive database would reduce transaction costs between job candidates and hiring authorities. Recruiters would be responsible for managing this information warehouse and getting the word out to job candidates. In the end, everyone wins!
Do you have ideas for a recruiting database like this? Please post a comment or drop me a line.
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Automated Phone Tree, Courtesy of Pheeder
I just found a great new service, pointed out by the [non]billable hour.
Basically, you enter phone number and the numbers of people you want to contact. Pheeder then calls you to record your name and message. Pheeder will then call your friends and pass the message on to them. Two-way communication is allowed: your friends can record a message, and then Pheeder calls you back so you can hear it.
One awesome way to use this, suggested by the [non]billable hour, would be to cancel client appointments if an emergency comes up. However, the ethics of putting client info into a FREE system such as this might be questionable.
You could use this, though, to notify friends if something comes up when you were supposed to meet them for a gathering. Also, you could use it for coworkers, in the event you can’t just send an email with your BlackBerry.
Lawyering aside, you could also use Pheeder as a phone tree (or just single branch doing it all) for a club or organization you might be in charge of. Perhaps you could use it for your local bar association committee or non-profit organization work. It could also notify your church committees of upcoming events. Use it for political activism, getting out the vote, etc. The uses seem endless.
Does anyone have experience using Pheeder? What was it like? Please let us know by posting a comment or drop me a line.
[tags]legal andrew, pheeder, phone[/tags]
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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