bout IDIA  Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education (IDIA) is a non- profit   organization working in India which aims to empower underprivileged children by providing them with equal access to quality legal education. It is a student-run organization that aims to train underprivileged students and transform them into leading lawyers and community advocates. We conduct sensitizations across India to spread awareness among underprivileged children about opportunities in pursuing law as a career, select promising students and provide training for law entrance examinations, including the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), provide financial aid and mentorship to these students once they secure their admission to a leading law school. IDIA – Kerala Chapter functions from its base at The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi, which is the only National Law University in Kerala. The Kerala Chapter is run entirely by student volunteers from NUALS, with an aim to help underprivileged students in the state.  For further details, visit IDIA’s official website here. The Event An LLM from a NLU can be a game changer in your career. However, the CLAT PG and AILET PG entrance exams are competitive. It is important to have a focussed and systematic preparation for the exams. Important areas relating to law must be clearly understood by the aspirants. Starting your preparation early and following the right method of studying will go a long way in helping you crack these exams.  IDIA Kerala Chapter is conducting a workshop where we will be discussing the opportunities that open up after a LLM from a NLU, pattern of CLAT PG and AILET PG, preparation strategies, tips and tricks, and recommendations for materials by our resource persons. To lead the talk, we have Krithika Singh and Dhanya Prasad, who have cracked these exams with top

As a solo law firm, you are small but mighty — able to run a lean business operation, offer customized and competitive pricing, and outperform your BigLaw competitors through personalized legal services delivery. Yet year after year, the biggest struggle for solo practitioners and small law firms is finding time to do what matters most: marketing and growing their practice. Developing a smart growth strategy will help you move from survival mode to building mode. Smart Growth Strategy for Your Small Firm If you want to grow, it’s important to understand how to tap into your firm’s strengths. A smart growth strategy leverages your people, processes and data so that you can gain a competitive advantage. Whether your small firm is a startup or well established, it’s important to prioritize a growth strategy that can support the firm’s expansion into the future. Signs of Failure Having an effective business growth strategy will also protect you from some of the common symptoms of a failing firm, such as: Scaling too quickly without the resources to back up your rapid growth.Creating a weak or imbalanced staffing structure that is inefficient, poorly trained or mismanaged.Missing out on valuable revenue because of lack of clarity on your niche practice areas, target market and competition.Misdirecting marketing, branding and advertising campaigns, which then fail to deliver results and generate leads. Elements of Success Key elements to incorporate in your firm’s growth business plan include clarity on your firm’s mission and value propositions, niche practice areas, pricing, staff organization, and key metrics by which you will measure your growth. With consistent review sessions on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis, you’ll have a steady guidepost throughout your growth journey. Here are eight ways to ensure your growth strategy succeeds. 1. Work smarter (not harder) through streamlined systems.

The Thought Leader Collaborative (the “Lab”) is an online training program and membership site that helps lawyers and legal marketers grow legal practices using LinkedIn. As a member of the Lab, you’ll have access to the resources you need to build a practice and grow your personal brand on LinkedIn, including: A core curriculum of on-demand video contentTwo live monthly training sessions (via Zoom) on LinkedIn strategies and tacticsA growing library of LinkedIn checklists, guides and templatesAccess to a community of lawyers and other professionals interacting via a private LinkedIn group Be Sure to Sign up by December 20 These resources and more are available for a cost of only $39 per month (with a 10% discount for the purchase of an annual plan). The Lab only opens to new members three times a year, and is now open for registration from December 6-20, 2021. The Lab and the monthly live training sessions are led by Jay Harrington, a lawyer, legal marketer and author. If you’re a regular reader of Attorney at Work, you’ve likely seen Jay’s work, as he has been a regular contributor of articles for close to a decade and his books are available in our bookstore. If you’re looking to hit the ground running in the new year and leverage LinkedIn, the world’s most powerful social network, for marketing and business development, you’ll learn how as a member of the Lab. To learn more and join, please visit the Thought Leader Collaborative site, here.https://www.thoughtleadercollaborative.com/a/46861/LBRdeMHS The post Thought Leader Collaborative ‘Lab’ Now Accepting New Members appeared first on Attorney at Work.

Giving away good ideas may seem counterintuitive, but providing free attorney thought leadership is one of the best ways to get new business. The purpose of creating thought leadership content is to provide answers, make sense of complex information, and chart a future course for a reader, viewer, or listener. By consistently generating high-quality content and publishing it to the right audiences, a lawyer will generate awareness, build trust, and develop new business opportunities. Many lawyers don’t realize these benefits, however, because they’re concerned about giving their ideas away. When they do create thought leadership content, they hold back. Their concerns are rooted in a belief that their insights will be put to use, independently, by a prospective client, and thus their efforts will be wasted. This belief is understandable but mistaken. A prospective client isn’t searching for a solution to a complex legal challenge so they can implement the solution themselves. They’re seeking clarity so they can assess what they’re faced with and identify the right expert to help guide them forward. A lawyer’s stock-in-trade is providing knowledge in exchange for a fee. It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to generate new business opportunities is to share your best ideas for free. Free Attorney Thought Leadership Content is Your Proxy A very small number of the world’s greatest chefs, such as Grant Achatz of Chicago’s famed Alinea restaurant, can offer a single, unalterable tasting menu for an astronomical price and pack the house every night. For the top chefs, their reputations precede them. They’ve earned such high levels of trust that people will accept what they’re serving and pay handsomely for it, sight unseen. For the other 99.9% of restaurateurs out there, offering a menu of options with explanations of ingredients and cooking techniques is

Hiring is incredibly difficult right now no matter what industry you are in. Thankfully, many industries — including legal — have full-on embraced remote work. And for law firms, remote work opens the door to alternative hiring options, including outsourcing substantive legal work to freelance lawyers. The good news is that it has never been easier to hire freelance attorneys to support and help build your business. Freelancers can help you reduce costs, improve efficiency, and allow existing employees to focus on core goals and tasks. It’s not hard to see why freelancers could represent 80% of the global workforce by 2030. Despite this, it’s still possible to land yourself in a freelancing nightmare if you don’t hire correctly. Screening Freelance Lawyers to Find the Right Fit If you are embarking on your outsourcing journey, a structured hiring process — including background screening and interviews — will help you filter through the best candidates. Asking the right questions during the interview process is critical in helping you navigate the freelance space. Here are some essential questions to ask any freelance lawyer before you commit to hiring, as well as some common red and green flags to look out for along the way. 1. What experience do you have? This question should be at the top of your list during the hiring process. Reading about all of this on a résumé is one thing, but having an actual discussion with the freelancer about relevant experience and background will help you gain valuable insight. In addition to understanding their practice area background, it’s important to know whether freelancers have worked in a team before and how they have performed. Similarly, understanding how long they have been freelancing and whether it suits them helps judge their ability to work well in this type of

In my 25 plus years of recruiting in the legal sector, I have never seen an environment like the current one with respect to recruiting legal talent.  And that’s at every level —partners, associates, management and staff. Demand is high and so are the demands of the candidates. We’re seeing firms pushing the envelope and doing things like: Offering associates in lower-cost markets “New York” salaries plus the ability to work from homeOffering headhunters double their current fee percentage (and we’re not opposed to that!)Increases in referral fees paid to employees who suggest candidates.A large increase in the number of counteroffers by current employers. Rethinking Law Firm Recruitment and Retention As a result, firms should rethink their recruiting and retention strategies in a time of crisis. Here are some suggestions: 1. Articulate the case for your firm. Too often, firms can tell us why they need the person, but often have difficulty telling us why anyone would come. Despite what you may be hearing about today’s market studies continue to show that compensation is not the primary consideration for candidates. As a result, it is incumbent on you to explain the benefits of both your firm generally and the specific opportunity. Along those lines, firms often point to their culture as a differentiator. However, you need to be very specific about the firm culture, using specific examples. And just saying the buzzwords “collaborative,” “collegial” or “entrepreneurial” won’t cut it. 2. Be very specific about your firm’s remote vs. in-the-office policy. Nothing tells candidates more about your culture than your policy concerning returning to the office. It is no secret that most employees want flexibility and most firms are emphasizing that in their policies, but the devil is often in the details. Both with regard to your firm’s general policy and

>In this post, the author has explained the meaning and the laws associated with the concept of Deceptive Similarity under the Trademark Laws in India. Introduction Trademark has been defined in Section 2(zb)of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 as: “A mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods/services of one person from those of others and may include the shape of goods, their packaging, and combination of colors”. Trademarks are essential in developing a company’s brand name and goodwill. It not only aids in the creation of brand value but also aids in the generation of revenue. A trademark is vulnerable to being infringed and/or misused because it is so important. One such way of a trademark is making “deceptively similar” trademarks. Interpretation and Scope of Deceptive Similarity The concept of deceptive similarity has been discussed under Section 2(h) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 as: “A mark shall be deemed to be deceptively similar to another mark if it so nearly resembles that other mark as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion.” In layman’s terms, deceptively similarity of marks can be defined as similarity between trademarks that can lead the general public of average intelligence to believe that the mark in question is somehow related to a registered or well-known trademark. According to Section 11(1) of the Trademark Act, 1999, “a trademark cannot be registered if it is deceptively similar, or identical, with the existing trademark and goods and services, that is likely to create confusion in the mind of the public at large”. Criteria for a court of law or tribunal for determining deceptive similarity The criteria for the determination of the deceptive similarity of marks had been decided in the case of Cadilia Healthcare Limited v. Cadilia Pharmaceutical Limited, where the Hon’ble Supreme

The end of the year is barreling toward us — are you ready? If not, here are a few tips for tidying up your practice and doing a comprehensive financial review. Financial Management for Your Firm For many lawyers, financial management is the business area of practicing law that provides the most heartburn. It’s completely understandable. But it is to your detriment when you don’t understand the financial fundamentals better. Hire financial advisors to aid you in better understanding your business. Too many lawyers delegate responsibility to employees who have not been properly trained. Be aware of potential landmines. A major red flag is having one employee who has all financial responsibility: check writing, bookkeeping, trust accounting and reconciliation, as well as maintaining all communication with your financial partners and bank. Checks and balances are key. Often, there is no ill intent on the part of the employee, just a lack of knowledge. If, as the owner, you do not understand the process, you will have a hard time finding the flaws in your system or properly supervising. nalyze your cash flow. Brenda Barnes, owner of B2 Management & Consulting, has this to say about law firm finance: “A good system of cash flow management can spell the difference between a successful business and a failed one. You need positive future cash flow to meet your debt commitments. Strong cash flow management also provides the ability to invest in growth. Getting to a position of excess cash flow helps your company operate in a strategic, proactive way, and can help keep you from operating on the defensive. Year-end is an excellent time to document your cash flow, prepare a cash flow budget, and look for areas of improvement.” What Should a Law Firm Financial Review Include? A Year-End Checklist Barnes

Does your law firm work allocation model leave too many associates behind? Historically, work allocation in law firms has primarily been driven by partners. When a partner chooses an associate to help them with a matter, their skills are important, but so is the associate’s proximity and the impression they’ve left on that partner. As their working relationship deepens and the associate’s experience widens, they can quickly become the go-to person when that partner needs help. The Problem with the ‘Proximity and Familiarity’ Model On the surface, this seems like a win-win. The partner wants the best person on their matters and has no reason to look elsewhere unless their preferred associate is unavailable or unequipped for the matter at hand. But work allocation based on proximity and familiarity risks conscious and unconscious bias, leading to unfair work distribution among a firm’s associates. If a partner monopolizes an associate, they are also depriving that associate of experience working with other partners and denying other partners the help of that associate. When the Center on the Legal Profession at Harvard Law School explored law firm work allocation in 2017, longtime partners confirmed that traditional work allocation has an implicit bias toward associates who can easily develop relationships with partners. “An associate’s talent and abilities are critical and the key selection criteria, but unintentionally, people are sometimes drawn to those they think they can work the easiest with — those who studied in the same university, are into the same sports, have the same kinds of interests,” said Bas Boris Visser, a partner at Clifford Chance. This is just part of the reason why some firms, especially larger ones, have been gradually shifting away from this model. Some have appointed one person to make or approve assignment decisions for a firm or practice

You’re putting out great content but can’t get clicks. How frustrating! Here are three suggestions for online marketing teasers to get people to open that email or click on the social media link. 1. This/These The title of this post could have been “Three Techniques to Tempt Targets,” but for some reason, we can’t resist the pull of “this” or “these.” The viewer of “Every Employer Needs to Know This Law” is more likely to click through than if the title was “An Important Law for Employers.” You will see this gimmick all over the sponsored posts on your social media platforms. It’s ubiquitous because it works. 2. Include a Number “Try These Techniques to Tempt Targets” would have worked. But including a number is better. A post that presents information in the form of a list is known as a listicle. The title makes a promise of a specific number of nuggets of information. The format fulfills that promise. Teasing with a number works even if the number is one. My mediation blog includes posts on “The One Thing You Can Control in Negotiation” and “The One Thing to Do to Maximize Mediation Success.” You want the reader to think, if there’s only one answer to the implied question, it must be crucial; I better find out what it is. 3. Use Alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of a sound at the beginning of successive or nearby words, as in “Techniques to Tempt Targets.” Alliteration makes a phrase catchy and memorable. Alliteration is very common in product names, such as Bed, Bath & Beyond and Dunkin’ Donuts. The 20th Century Fox Film Studio executive who gave Norma Jeane Mortenson her first contract renamed her Marilyn Monroe. There’s a reason all the Kardashians’ names start with “K.” Creative Content Marketing