The Red Velvet Lawyer

Then, Living with Purpose Tom Asaker, who blogs on business and marketing, takes a  look at the difference between finding your purpose and creating it. He says: [P]urpose isn't discovered. It's created. It isn't a carefully considered and crafted image. It's a bold statement. A way of believing and behaving that grows and evolves and enhances people's lives. Purpose isn't something we pull out of our brands. It's something we passionately build into them. Out of our experiences and values.                             * * * Purpose means progress. It's movement towards a more ethical and meaningful way of being. Purpose creates a new world. I teach at a purpose-driven school.  We exist to create opportunities for Appalachians who are often the first member in their immediate families to attend college or professional school.  On to that purpose, we have layered  our commitment to community service and to producing graduates who w

Honoring Her with Love and Purpose I should have had this epiphany some time ago.  But, instead, it came to me last night as I was dropping off to sleep. I turn 60 years old this summer.  My mom, JoAnn Drinkwater Young, died at the age of 61 in 1997.  When she was my age, she was already carrying the colon cancer that would kill her. Shortly after her death, I filled a glass bowl full of translucent blue glass marbles.  Each marble represented a week in my life should I only live to be 61.  I intended it to remind me to live my life joyfully, lovingly, and with purpose.   On a regular basis, I have thrown a handful of marbles into my garden representing the lapse of those weeks.  Until this morning, I had about 120 marbles left in that bowl.  Just now, I threw all but one of the remaining marbles into my colorful spring garden.  The last one I put in my "treasure box."  Every week I live beyond age 61 is a gift, in my mind.  If my mom had had extra weeks

40,000   Page Views Friends, family, and colleagues: Despite neglecting, this past month, my commitment to blog daily for a year, my blog has reached another milestone.  Some time today, page views of my blog topped 40,000.  The Red Velvet Lawyer celebrated its first birthday in mid-March. It has been a great learning experience. It has given back to me a voice I had as a columnist. It keeps me in a conversation with colleagues, students, and alumni. I appreciate your ongoing support and interest. Love you all, and thanks so very much for your support!

Tell a Story. Start a Conversation. At the last retreat of women entrepreneurs enjoying the coaching lessons of Christine Kane in her Gold Mastermind program, we -- yet again --  focused on identifying our ideal client and then practiced our elevator speech designed to draw that ideal client to our businesses.   So this discussion by blogger Mark Beese, at Attorney at Work , caught my eye. He reports on several presentations given at the recent conference of legal marketing professionals. Niche marketing. Think about the last time someone asked, “So, what do you do?” at a networking event. What did you say? “I’m a [fill-in-the-blank] lawyer” or “I’m an attorney at [X] firm”? Do you think you made a lasting, positive first impression? Kevin McMurdo , Principal of McMurdo Consulting and former CMO of Perkins Coie, led a lively discussion on teaching lawyers to focus on a specific niche market where they have a specific value proposition. He used the “elevator speech” to

Positioning your Law Firm  as an Expert Blogger Mark Beese, at Attorney at Work , reports on several presentations given at the recent conference of legal marketing professionals.  This story about "valuable free content" offered to energy law clients caught my eye.   Paul Grabowski , CMO of Bracewell Guiliani, gave a behind-the-scenes tour of what it takes to produce an award-winning mobile app. Targeting energy companies, Bracewell’s free “ShalePlay” app provides a stream of news, analysis and legal commentary on the hydraulic fracturing industry segmented by geographic shale “plays” throughout the U.S.   The process of creating the app took 14 months, and was a cross-disciplinary collaborative effort of in-house staff, attorneys and outside designers that required strong project management and a good budget. More than 10 software tools were involved in development, design and usage metrics.   Grabowski’s lessons learned?  Create a usef

Best Mediator?  Best Approach? Interesting post on the use of mediation in energy-related disputes. Frames the debate about substantive expertise vs. process/people skills and about evaluative mediation that can drift into ethically impermissible legal advice. 

Strongly Committed  to its Mission Last night, Jackie Pruitt, Director of Admissions issued the following press release, which elaborates on the changes the law school is experiencing. I've added links to topics I've covered as The Red Velvet Lawyer . For Immediate Release Jackie Pruitt Director of Admissions jpruitt@asl.edu 276-935-4349, ext. 1245 www.asl.edu APPALACHIAN SCHOOL OF LAW MAINTAINS STRONG OUTLOOK  DESPITE REDUCED DEMAND BOARD OF TRUSTEES REMAINS COMMITTED TO  PROVIDING QUALITY LEGAL EDUCATION As the Appalachian School of Law anticipates smaller incoming class sizes in the fall, the Board of Trustees remains committed to offering quality legal education, promoting the school’s nationally recognized educational programs, maintaining a strong community, supporting the school’s alumni, and providing the region with practice-ready lawyers.  Grundy, Virginia.   March 22, 2014 -  The school’s Dir