New Lawyer Hacks

February 1, 2022

I don't know about you, but when I first started lawyering I felt very overwhelmed. There is so much to learn that wasn't taught in law school. So to help you find your ground, I have put together my favorite new lawyer "hacks." 

1. Create Workflows

I learned early on to keep a master checklist/notes document. Every time I learned how to do something new, I added it to this document. Now I have something to refer to whenever I need and I don't need to re-create the wheel every time I have to complete a task. Some things I kept track of are how to complete service of process, record requests, discovery, temporary orders, trial prep, and prove-ups among other items.

2. Create a Master Contact List

It is a pain to constantly have to look up court contact information. So I decided to make a master court contact list. It has contact information for each court, judge, coordinator, and reporter for all of the counties I work in. It even has instructions for record requests and child support office information. If anyone else practices family law and wants a copy, just let me know!

3. Join the Texas Pro Bono College and/or the Texas Bar College

As a member of the Texas Pro Bono College or the Texas Bar College, you get free access to the Online CLE Library. This means you have access to all of the CLE articles published by the Texas Bar. You also get some pretty cool swag. So how do you become a member? 

For your initial membership year in the Texas Bar College, you must have completed 80 hours of accredited CLE within three years or 45 hours in the current year. After that, you are required to complete 30 hours of CLE per calendar year. At least 3 hours must be ethics. Newly licensed attorneys can join for $40 when they complete 45 hours within the first 2 years of licensure. After that, membership is $75 per year. 

For your membership into the Texas Pro Bono College, you must complete 75 hours of pro bono services per year. There is currently no cost to join the Texas Pro Bono College.

 4. Use Bookmarks

Take advantage of your bookmarks. I have links for everything, including looking up court records, jail records, court information, DFPS, the VSU, and even a date calculator. This seems so simple, but you would be surprised how many people have to search for the right link every time they need it. 

5. Sync Your Calendars

My law firm uses MyCase as its case management system. Something I do is link my MyCase calendar with my Google Calendar. This allows me to look at one calendar instead of two, and it ensures that I never miss any deadlines or appointments. Just go to Settings > Integrations & Apps > Calendar Integration. 

6. Centralize Your To-Do Lists

I recently started using Notion to organize my thoughts on each of my cases. This allows me to have one page per case that includes summaries, contact information, and to-do lists. And I can easily switch from case to case, instead of having to open a new document or navigate back to the home screen first. Plus you can customize the settings to make your notes aesthetic. I even have a page with an overview of all my cases so I know what stage each case is at. 

That's it folks! That was my top six new lawyer hacks. I hope that by putting this together I can help you along your journey. As always, don't forget to subscribe!