My carpenter partner likes to say, “A House is a work in progress”. I agree. Just because you have a yellow kitchen this year doesn’t mean that you can’t decide to paint it purple next year. Work In Progress, or WIP is frequently used in law firms to designate things that are not yet to the point where we ask a client to pay for them. Thinking about WIP and executing your work to the valued level when you are acting on client files is good business.

Beware of holding things as WIP for non-billable work. Items like checklists, documents …

Most of you will say that typing 140 characters isn’t a big deal. But typing the same thing over and over again can be taxing, even if it is only 140 characters. And why type things unnecessarily if you can avoid doing so?
Hootsuite has a really neat feature that lets you save templates of tweets that you can drop into the Compose Tweet window with just a few clicks. This is how it works.
Type the text you want make into a template in the Compose Tweet window. Look for the Save Message as Template button towards the bottom …

♫ That’s why I fell for (the leader of the pack)…♫

Lyrics and Music by: George “Shadow” Morton, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, recorded by The Shangri-Las. 

In the three prior posts on lawyers and pricing, we have looked at how price is only one part of the 7 components of the legal marketing mix. Part 2 discussed the product mix and how you can change your legal product mix to better meet the needs of your clients in a way that distinguishes your services from those of the competition. Part 3 examined how the people on …

I just attended a lunch session with a Court of Appeal Justice on the topic of legal research. You might think, why would an experienced legal researcher and law librarian spend a lunch hour listening to a topic that she knows? I have two very good reasons, the basis of today’s tip, for attending presentations and seminars on areas within your realm of experience.

1. When you hear from others that your own process is very similar to theirs, it validates your process. It also may question your assumptions about your process if someone else’s best method differs from your own.

All of us have experienced the frustration of a dying smartphone battery. While battery life has greatly improved over the years, a dead smartphone is something most of us see more often than we would like.
Of course, turning of Bluetooth and WiFi when you aren’t using them will help extend your battery life, but dimming the brightness of screen can really help too, especially if you have a smartphone with a larger screen. Big screens look great, but they are a huge drain on your phone’s battery. Dimming the screen, even just a bit, will help you extend your …

The Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, is upon us.  On behalf of all Slaw Tips writers, l’shana tova – have a good year – to those of our readers who are celebrating.  A happy, healthy and prosperous 5775 to all.

Now, while I am by no means a pious person, I would like to reflect a bit on this important holiday’s lessons.

It is customary at this time of the Jewish calendar for each person to take stock of his or her actions, and to seek  – and offer – forgiveness for the wrongs committed, intentionally or inadvertently, personally or  …

September 24 is National Punctuation Day in the U.S. Though this isn’t a statutory (or highly celebrated) holiday in Canada, the fact that there are people in the world who care about and critique punctuation delights me.

In all seriousness, punctuation is a problem in a searcher’s world. Time writer Katy Steinmetz shares some details about how punctuation is evolving and John Davis had some interesting things to say in a 2009 Slaw post. I also confess that I have this Apostrophes page on  grammarbook.com as a favourite.

Today’s Tip: if your search term might be more relevant with …

Occasionally you may find yourself wanting to type superscript (see the adjacent graphic) or subscript (10₂). You can do this through the Font dialog box, but there is a much faster way.
For superscript, simply press Ctrl + Shift + + (press and hold Ctrl and Shift, then press +). For subscript, press CTRL + = (press and hold Ctrl, then press =). Pressing the respective shortcut again will get you back to normal text.…

♫ Well, rave on it’s a crazy feeling
And I know it’s got me reeling
I’m so glad that you’re revealing your love for me…♫

Lyrics and music by: Shaun Ryder, Paul Richard Davis, Mark Philip Day, Paul Anthony Ryder, Gary Kenneth Whelan, recorded by Buddy Holly.

In the prior two posts on lawyers and pricing, we have been discussing the issue that price is but one part of the 7 components of the legal marketing mix. Part 2 discussed the product mix and how you can change your legal product mix to better meet the …

After all these years of reading cases there are still times when I get to the end and think, “Who won?”. This is especially true when parties are numerous and placeholders are used rather than names in a judgment.  A lengthy decision with references to plaintiff, defendant, appellant, respondent, and co-defendant rather than Smith or Jones can be difficult visualize in context. It is also confusing when mutiple points of law are under consideration parties have mixed success.

Today’s tip: chart the outcome of a decision so you have a visual reference.

Create a graph, chart or picture that shows …