Quality leadership comes in all shapes and sizes based not only on the leader but also on the team being led and the mission of the group. It is relatively easy and stress-free to motivate and collaborate with a small group that has a shared vision. Add in 50,000 lawyers and you can expect every type of challenge and reward to surface!
Read more
By Betty Williams, President of CLA One of the most remarkable things an attorney may do at some point in their career is to own their own firm. Lawyers do so for a variety of reasons. Some want to be their own boss, others see a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, some want to get away from the large-firm culture, and others may have no option depending on the hiring climate. I was surprised to learn…
Read more
Twenty-two times. That’s how much more frequently attorneys with high stress contemplate suicide as compared to those with low stress. Twenty-two times! As a profession, attorneys contemplate suicide two- to three- times as often as the general adult population.
Read more
When I was 15 years old, I started working at a McDonald’s restaurant for $3.35 per hour. After several months, I received my first raise of five cents per hour, for which I felt quite proud. That is until I told a friend’s father about my raise, who wasted no time pointing out that this raise would only amount to about $2 per month. My friend’s dad was very successful in business, and of course he was right. Although he extinguished my joy, he helped me quickly realize the financial value of my time.
Read more
Whether you are attending an event or serving as a presenter at a function, the activities held or hosted by the California Lawyers Association are designed with you in mind. You may be present to learn, but there is always an opportunity for you to support your colleagues, whether you realize it or not.
Read more
An important benefit of being a member of California Lawyers Association is having access to a remarkable range of resources to help you better serve your clients and your communities. Our sections provide many of CLA’s most successful programs.
Read more
February has been called the month of love. Romantics happily look toward creativity or capitalism to celebrate their joy. Cynics note the overuse of the word from loving a person to a song, a meal, a color, or an expression. You get the idea. Those people prefer words like appreciate or enjoy.
Read more
In our professional lives, December marks not only the end of the year but also a time for reflection on the goals we set for the year. Missed or achieved, we consider how we gave back to our communities and to our profession. For some, volunteer service is a significant part of goal setting and a measuring stick used to determine whether we have contributed to improvements in some aspects of the legal profession, such as the public’s access to justice or diversity and inclusion in the profession.
Read more
As lawyers, many of us routinely navigate disputes between parties. To do this, we have to know our client’s position, certainly, but often it is equally as important to understand the vantage point of our opponent.
Read more
What is your goal, and how can I help? You will hear me ask this frequently as your new CLA President. You will also observe me encouraging members to get more involved in leadership with CLA.
Read more