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The User-Friendly Lawyer
Wendy L. Werner is a business and career adviser to lawyers. She is also an award-winning photographer who believes that her ability to see a good picture complements her ability to teach lawyers what they need to see about themselves and their businesses. She pulls together her thoughts on where lawyers lack vision in an article, How to be More User-Friendly, published in the ABA's Law Practice Today. She describes it as "a list of things that lawyers need to do or think about to not just be tolerated by the rest of the world, but to flourish." On her list:
- Talk less, listen more.
- Sharing information with those around you is not a bad thing.
- Know what your colleagues are working on.
- Being rigorous doesn't mean being a jerk.
- Risk is sometimes necessary to find new opportunities.
- If you only spend time with lawyers, you won't know how to talk to juries or clients.
- Lawyers are frequently smart people -- but lots of other people are smart too.
- Diversity is a fact of life. If you want a successful and smart organization, hire and promote a diverse work force.
- Seek opportunities for feedback.
- No matter what your level in the organization, find a mentor, coach or adviser.
- Having fun at work isn't a crime.
- At the end of your life you probably won't say, "I wish I had spent more time at the office."
Read Werner's full article, and perhaps you'll end up more user-friendly.
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on February 26, 2007 at 05:26 PM | Permalink
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