ABA Journal: Asked and Answered

Gary M. DuBoff says he’s very big on paying quarterly tax estimates on time. For many years, he kept a spreadsheet of everything that he spent money on, including coffee. After a year, he says, you may discover that you spend $1,200 on coffee. When it comes to retirement savings, DuBoff, a certified public accountant and a principal at Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra in its New York City office, sa...

If you want to give a good speech that will resonate with people, you should not use notes or an outline, says Gerard Gregoire, vice president of litigation services for the West region at Allstate. Instead, he says, know what you want to say forward and backward—much like you would a case file before trial—and practice on your own, so that you know the information so well you don’t have to rely o...

When Michael R. Anspach attended Marquette University Law School, yoga, meditation and being active in a 12-step community helped him succeed. But once the 2018 graduate started practicing at Anspach Law, those techniques didn’t work. This was because the demands of litigation made it impossible to quiet his mind, even on evenings and weekends, he says. In this episode of Asked and Answered with t...

Rather than relying on one prep course for the Law School Admission Test, Haley Taylor Schlitz, a 16-year-old recent college graduate, took three within a five-month period. She was accepted at nine law schools and says having study organization plans, coupled with finding her true self as a homeschooler, helped lead to her success. In this episode of Asked and Answered with the ABA Journal’s Step...

Some people diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder need prescription stimulants to function at the best of their abilities. But there are others who don’t have the diagnosis, but take the medicine illegally because they think it will help them perform better. It's a problem that law schools and the legal profession need to become more aware of, says Patrick Krill, an attorney and...

Do nearly 25% of Americans really think Ruth Bader Ginsburg is chief justice? ABA President Bob Carlson addresses gaps in public knowledge of history and government uncovered by the first Survey of Civic Literacy in this special episode of the ABA Journal’s Asked and Answered hosted by Journal reporter Amanda Robert. Carlson highlights the survey’s most surprising findings, and discusses the ABA’s...

Practice areas like cannabis law, M&A and real estate law are currently hot, but the good times never last forever, says legal recruiting consultant Valerie Fontaine of SeltzerFontaine. In this episode of Asked and Answered, she speaks with the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward about potential slowdowns and how lawyers can be thinking ahead to recession-proof their practices. Special thanks to...

Drawing attention to a client's plight can be a great outcome for an attorney wanting justice in a case. But what do you do when your client is trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons? In this episode of Asked & Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with attorney Pete Wentz, an expert in crisis management and communication strategy. Wentz shares what tactics he's found he...

When attorney Roula Allouch got involved with Bullyproof, an anti-bullying initiative with the ABA Young Lawyers Division, she quickly saw that many members' complaints were about judges. Complaining about judges is hard, Allouch tells the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward, and for the most part it's a bad idea to raise it in court while the behavior is occurring. But how should you respond? Li...

Samorn Selim had a difficult childhood. Her family fled Laos when she was young, and settled in a rough section of Stockton, California. There was violence in her neighborhood, and sometimes the family did not have enough food. So after graduating from Berkeley Law and getting a job at a big law firm in San Francisco, she thought she should be happy, she tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis W...

Do you have a New Year's resolution to finally get your home and office in order? In this episode, professional organizer Janet Taylor speaks with the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward to share tips and tricks for finally conquering mounds of paperwork and constantly losing house keys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, many have said that they no longer know how to behave in a work environment–but employment law expert Gerald Pauling doesn’t buy that. The Seyfarth Shaw partner tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward that in his experience providing training to supervisors, managers and rank-and-file workers, “I almost never encounter situations where trainees or partici...

If a client can’t or won’t pay your retainer, he or she is not worth a discount, Janice Brown tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. But there are ways to explain your true value to a potential client who balks at the cost. Brown, who is the founding partner of the litigation firm Brown Law Group, advises confidence when speaking with a potential clie...

Want to protect democracy and ensure voters’ rights? If you are looking to ways to volunteer during the midterm elections, there are opportunities available, especially for attorneys. Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Marsha Johnson-Blanco, co-director of the Voting Rights Project for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, about how attorneys can help on Nov. 6. Lawyers are needed to...

As an associate dean of the University of Houston Law Center, Sondra Tennessee has witnessed her share of helicopter parents. She’s seen parents ask law schools to switch their child’s professor, because they didn’t think he or she was a good fit. She’s seen them try to get an extended finals date, without their child knowing that they contacted the school.  She’s also heard of parents contacting...

One of many lawyers’ worst fears is that a client, opposing party or even a random stranger may try to physically hurt them, often for nothing more than the attorney doing his or her job. In this episode of the ABA Journal's Asked and Answered, Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with Ty Smith, a retired Navy SEAL who founded Vigilance Risk Solutions Inc., a security consulting business that focuses on...

When approaching a difficult conversation at work, reframe it in your mind as a discussion that can help improve your relationship with someone, says Michele Coleman Mayes in this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series. “You have to work harder to listen to someone you’d rather not hear talk,” says Mayes, vice president and general counsel with the New York Public Library. You...

U.S. Army veteran and criminal defense lawyer Mia Yamamoto decided to publicly transition genders when she turned 60. Being her authentic self was so important that she told herself, "I don't care if someone shoots me the day after I transition. I'm going to transition. I'm going to die as a woman." In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Yamamoto discusses the importa...

If you’re working on a client matter and get even the slightest sense that something you’re doing may cause problems down the road, ask another lawyer about it, says Lucian Pera, a Memphis partner at Adams & Reese who frequently advises attorneys on professional responsibility rules. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Pera says that he's learned that everyone, inc...

There are some issues that people with opposing views may never agree on, particularly when one group has significantly more power than the other. But sometimes when an issue is brought to authority figures’ attention, they can be convinced to do the right thing, says Cruz Reynoso, a former California state supreme court justice. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series,...

When her career was getting started in the 1970s, a partner interviewing Roberta “Bobbi” Liebenberg for an associate position asked if she would cry when things went south in court. "Why, do you want me to?" quipped Liebenberg. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Liebenberg says that in her career as one of the few women appointed as lead counsel for plaintiffs in...

You may be confident of your ability to act with courtesy and professionalism in your home country. But with the array of cultural differences, social mores and business traditions you may encounter while traveling, how can you be sure you’re not offending clients and alienating foreign judges and arbiters? In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with...

A veteran who graduated from law school following a 14-year career with the U.S. Air Force, Andrés Gallegos was married with a young family when an auto accident resulted in him having quadriplegia. In this episode of the Asked and Answered: Lived and Learned series, Gallegos says he learned never to let anyone else's perception of his capabilities limit him in achieving his dreams. Gallegos, now...

This August, lawyers from around the country will come to Chicago for the ABA Annual Meeting. Wondering whether to make the trip yourself? We’re joined by ABA President Hilarie Bass and Marty Balogh of the Meetings and Travel Department to discuss the new offerings, event highlights, and local attractions attendees should be sure to check out in the ABA’s hometown from Aug. 2-7. Learn more about y...

Lawyers' mental health has been a topic of increasing discussion and awareness, combined with efforts to help lawyers deal with anxiety, depression and addiction issues. But an aspect of mental health that is sometimes overlooked is body image, and the consequences of body dysmorphia and eating disorders. In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal's Stephanie Francis Ward speaks with l...