legal skills Archives

The One Legal Blog

Cultivated content for legal professionals, the One Legal blog is a central resource for legal support matters, productivity tips, legal technology news, and more.

5 things legal professionals should remove from a resume (and what to include instead)

Whether you’re job hunting or not, you should regularly take the time to update your resume to reflect professional accomplishments. Take stock of achievements and skills to add and don’t be afraid to shave off excess info.

Top 10 myths about eFiling and eService: Part 2

Part 2 of the series dispelling frequent myths about eFiling and eService. Maximize your court filing practices with the facts behind the misconceptions.

Top 10 myths about eFiling and eService: Part 1

Who rejects your documents? Do judges still print? When will conformed copies get returned? Let’s demystify these myths about eFiling and eService.

6 problem-solving strategies for legal professionals

Legal professionals are known for being problem solvers. Indeed, just about every engagement involves some type of problem a client needs to have solved. Typically, we handle these issues with ease. Our education and training have taught us to apply

5 sites for free education and training for legal professionals

Legal professionals spend a lot of time searching for classes and events that will give them needed CLE. And while this is important, just because those courses are accredited doesn’t mean that they will necessarily help you prepare for all

Bringing effective legal project management to your team

For decades, the term “project management” invoked images of construction workers and engineers huddled around a set of blueprints, scheming to raise a building from the ground up. It was rarely, if ever, applied in the legal setting. In recent

The path from paralegal to attorney: what you need to know

As a paralegal, you’ve got the inside track on the legal industry. After seeing the higher salaries that lawyers earn, the challenging work they perform, and the level of prestige that they seem to enjoy, it’s natural to think about

Tips for implementing new technology at your law firm

Despite the benefits of a more tech-savvy firm, not everyone in the office may be gung-ho to learn the necessary skills and make the various changes. A large law firm may ask the IT staff to champion the conversion to

Are you an I- or a T-shaped paralegal?

The legal profession is renowned for being traditional, conservative, and extremely resistant to change. Consequently, many lawyers (and some paralegals as well) tend to avoid the unfamiliar and focus on just one thing – their chosen area of expertise. However,

Should paralegals have a specialty? Finding your niche

In the legal industry, niche specialization can enable professionals to distinguish themselves as leading experts and make it easier for clients to decide who to work with. This is why some of the most successful law firms in the country are the ones that practice in a specific area of law. But it’s not just the

Don’t write wrong: $10 million lawsuit decided over missing serial comma

Good grammar – following the rules for commas, punctuation, and sentence structure – is considered by many to be essential for effective writing. But in the age of informal writing via texting, social media, and email, does grammar really matter

5 essential questioning techniques for legal professionals

From questioning witnesses on the stand or taking depositions, to conducting preliminary client interviews, or simply interacting daily with other colleagues, effective communication is critical to your success as a legal professional. Among the most important communication skills to master

Why should lawyers bother to write in plain English?

As the myth goes, the legal profession’s tendency toward verbosity originated from a period in English history when legal drafters were paid by the word. In contrast to the earlier practice of payment by folio (large sheets of paper), which

Why typography should matter to lawyers

“Typography matters because it helps conserve the most valuable resource you have as a writer — reader attention.” So says Matthew Butterick, a graphic designer-turned-lawyer who has authored a book called “Typography for Lawyers”, which seeks to bust a lot

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