The Red Velvet Lawyer

Creating  Your Own  Future Chris Brogan, one of the bloggers I follow who gives advice to entrepreneurs, offered this advice in his E-zine today: I’m asking myself a bunch of recurring questions every single morning, and all throughout the day: * What’s my vision of myself and my business and how will I make that real today? * If I say I am ____ (this kind of person), then what does that look like in action DAILY? * What can I do to change reality towards what I want it to be? What, specifically, can I change to make the world come closer to matching my vision? These are huge questions, but they are business questions, they are life questions, they are the questions of an owner. They are not “how do I get the boss to notice me” questions. They are “how do I get the UNIVERSE to do what I want it to do” questions. * * * Your year is made up of days, and those days must be treated like your only hopes and chances exist within them. So, I will quit w...

Professor Brian Leiter  Takes on the Scambloggers Professor Brian Leiter, a well-known blogger , is now writing for the Huffington Post . In American Law Schools: The New Reality , he describes the many factors that have contributed to the down turn in applicants to law school including: Competition among law school for US News rankings, which forced them to compete based on expensive services instead of affordable tuition; Rising student debt; Poorer employment outcomes for graduates in a recessionary economy; Congressional overhaul of bankruptcy laws as they relate to student loans; and Lax oversight by the ABA regulators. I've blogged about all these topics this past year.  And, it is nice to have this summary for easy reference. In his second article, American Law Schools and the Psychology of Cyber-Hysteria , Professor Leiter looks at the "toxic" environment law schools face while trying to respond to the market downturn in responsible...

Distinguished Alumni  of the  Appalachian School of Law  Profiled in 2013 We have plenty to brag about!  I am very impressed by how quickly our graduates assume senior positions with great responsibility.  Our alumni show a strong dedication to public and community service, just as we intended when the founders created the Appalachian School of Law with a focus on ADR, professional ethics, leadership, and community service.  Beginning in October 2013, I profiled fifteen alumni of ASL who serve in public service jobs.  I want to capture those profiles in one place before moving into 2014.   So, below you will find the alumni I profiled in 2013, with links to each profile.  I am listing them in the order profiled, and I include the year they graduated from ASL.   Captain Artie Vaughn , Area Defense Counsel, Judge Advocates General Corp (2007). M. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen , Assistant U.S. Attorney (2003). Justi...

25,000  Page Views Friends, family, and colleagues: Another milestone reached! 25,000 page views! My blogging experience started in March 2013. Like everything, success relates directly to the attention and energy invested in the project. As I blogged more frequently, built my relationship with other bloggers, got more posts shared by my FB friends, and continued to create content I hoped you would like, page views grew exponentially, slowing a bit over the holiday season. Here is a summary of my experience: 5,000 page views on August 2013. 10,000 page views on November 7, 2013. 15,000 page views on November 27, 2013. 20,000 page views on December 9, 2013. 25,000 page views on January 1, 2014.    Obviously, I am a very long way from getting the million hits a day that top bloggers see (and don't expect that kind of attention), but I am very grateful for this opportunity for growth, connection, voice, and influence. Thanks for supporting Th...

Most Popular Posts in 2013 Several of the blogs I follow have provided year-end-round ups of their most popular blog postings.  I am providing links to them here, so we can access them long after they disappear off my blog roll. Many of these blogs made the ABA Top Blawggers list this year. Above the Law: Top Ten Most Popular Posts Brian Leiter's Law School Reports: Signs of the Times, 2013 in Review Dewey B Strategic: 2013 Review Real Lawyers Have Blogs: Top Posts for 2013 Robert Ambrogi's LawSites: Most Popular Posts of 2013 Buffer Blog: The 10 Most Popular Social Media Marketing Guides The Droid Lawyer: My Top Posts in 2013

Enjoy the evening, and I will see you soon.  Don't forget about my postings about  resolutions  and will power, the  3-word approach to goal setting, and designing your future with 5,000 goals . Jan. 1, 2014 Update:  Here's some additional coaching about how to pick your 3-word goals.

Distinguished Alumni  of the  Appalachian School of Law: Magistrate Zachary (Zack) A. Stoots Magistrate Zachary (Zack) A. Stoots, a life-long resident of Southwest Virginia, has served his community in many capacities.  Like many of our graduates, he is the first generation of his family to graduate from college and the only member in his family to attend graduate school. In December 2011, he joined the Magistrate's Office in Tazewell County, Virginia. Interestingly, he served as a Magistrate immediately after law school in July 2010. After six months in that position, he moved to the Russell County Commonwealth Attorney's Office as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney.   Zack left the part-time position at the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for full time employment back with the Magistrate's office . The Magistrate Manual describes the position this way: The office of magistrate is probably more important today than it has been at any ot...