Category «Communication Skills»

Presenter’s Guide Series Part IV: The Power of Asking Questions

In the fourth article in his series on presentations, Jerry Lawson advises us on creating compelling presentations. He advises that if the audience is not understood, not engaged, not brought into the conversation, the session usually dies on the vine. Asking the audience questions is one way to improve your training sessions.

Subjects: Communication Skills, KM, Law Firm Marketing, Legal Profession

In the post-AI legal world, what will lawyers do?

Jordan Furlong writes the legal profession is about to go through what manufacturing already has. In the next few years, legally trained generative AI will replace lawyer labour on a scale we’ve never seen before. An enormous amount of lawyer activity consists of researching, analyzing, writing, developing arguments, critiquing counter-claims, and drafting responses. A machine has now come along that does most of these things, much faster than we do. Today, the machine needs lawyers to carefully review its efforts. Within two years, I doubt it will.

Subjects: AI, Communication Skills, KM, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Technology Trends, United States Law

10 fatal traps that explain why law firm strategic plans are DOA

Patrick J. McKenna is an internationally recognized author, lecturer, strategist and seasoned advisor to the leaders of premier law firms. McKenna’s deep dive into law firm strategic planning delivers a detailed guide on the major errors to circumvent to establish a winning competitive position going forward.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Economy, Information Architecture, Information Management, KM, Law Firm Marketing, Leadership, Legal Profession, Management

Elon Musk’s ‘hardcore’ management style: a case study in what not to do

Professor Libby Sander explains why as a case study in how to implement organisational change, Elon Musk’s actions at Twitter will go down as the gold standard in what not to do. Among other things, the evidence shows successful organisational change requires: a clear, compelling vision that is communicated effectively; employee participation; and fairness in the way change is implemented. Trust in leaders is also crucial. Change management never quite goes to plan. It’s hard to figure out whether Musk even has a plan at all.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Employment Law, Ethics, KM, Labor Law, Leadership, Management, Social Media, Technology Trends, Telecommuting

Experts grade Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube on readiness to handle midterm election misinformation

Professors Dam Hee Kim, Anjana Susarla and Scott Shackelford are experts on social media. They were asked to grade how ready Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube are to handle the task of misinformation and disinformation in the upcoming election cycles. Social media companies have announced plans to deal with misinformation in the 2022 midterm elections, but the companies vary in their approaches and effectiveness and the result promises to be another jarring challenge to democracy in America.

Subjects: AI, Communication Skills, Internet Trends, KM, Legal Research, Social Media, Technology Trends

Citizens’ social media can provide an antidote to propaganda and disinformation

Robert W. Gehl, Ontario Research Chair of Digital Governance for Social Justice, York University, Canada raises an important issue about a recent Pew report on current state of digital media, news and right-wing propaganda. Gehl states the report misses a large number of alternative social media sites that actively and effectively oppose the right-wing propaganda. This distracts us from real-world solutions to the problems of online hate speech, disinformation and surveillance capitalism.

Subjects: Communication Skills, KM, Legal Research, Social Media, Technology Trends

Your Resume: Portrait or Passport Photo? Career Development for Lawyers—And Other Ambitious People

Jerry Lawson discusses how a good resume is more like a stylish portrait photo. A top portrait photographer uses lenses, lighting, composition, props and other tools to bring out the subject’s best features in an original way. Your resume should do no less for your professional qualifications. This actionable guide clearly identifies the elements and components that comprise an outstanding resume for attorneys and other legal professionals.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Competitive Intelligence, Job Hunting, KM, Legal Profession, Search Engines, Social Media

Presenter’s Guide Series, Part II – Dealing With Difficult Questions

Attorney Jerry Lawson is a legal tech expert with decades of experience delivering effective presentations. In this, the second part of a multi part series, Lawson shares insightful recommendations and techniques to successfully manage what can be challenging interactions with audience members during the course of a presentation.

Subjects: Communication Skills, Communications, Continuing Legal Education, Education, Presentation Skills, Training