Yes, I'm a "headhunter" ...

Not to brag … but yours truly was recently appointed an officer of the PILI Alumni Network Leadership Council. 

Outreach Team Leader:

John Thurmond

Lateral Link Group LLC

Soooo spot on. My typical mistake: caffeine.

The worst part about speaking in public is the five or ten minutes right before you have to actually talk to people. How you handle these minutes can help ensure you’ll be calm and relaxed when speaking.

• Distract Yourself: The best way to keep your mind from thinking about something is to keep it occupied. Orvedahl recommends bringing along a book to read, a game to play on your phone, or talking with friends (or anyone around you) before you hit the stage.
• Create a Ritual: A little ritual is a great way to not only keep yourself distracted, but also to calm yourself down. Come up with something that works for you. Take a short walk around the building, do 50 push-ups, or practice your breathing. Routines are used by sports players and performers all the time for a reason: they’re a great way to clear your mind.
• Embrace Your Nervous Tendencies: Everyone has nervous tendencies and they’re nothing to worry about. In fact, if you embrace them you can learn to control them a little better. Have a shaking knee? Focus your energy on making it shake. As Orvedahl points out, “Being nervous is not a bad thing. It will give you energy and drive if you harness it correctly.”
• Don’t Drink Alcohol or Caffeine: Orvedahl stresses that you should avoid two of the most common pre-performance drinks before presenting. Caffeine can make you more nervous and anxious than you already are. For its part, alcohol is a great way to get relaxed, but it also slows your brain a little and makes it hard come up with quick-witted responses.
• Boost Your Confidence: This seems like simple advice, but it’s still good to think about. If you’re struggling to remain confident, Orvedahl has some simple advice, “[Remember] there’s a reason you were given this opportunity, so use that logic to project your confidence.” Unless you were picked randomly from a hat and brought onto a stage, you must have some quality that people like, so remember that if you get nervous.

For full article, click title above or click here.

Best article I’ve seen yet on exactly what employers are looking for when they look at a potential employee’s Facebook page. Pic above is from a separate follow on article. - JT

“Employers already know it’s a good idea to check job candidates’ Facebook pages to make sure there aren’t any horrible red flags there. The reddest flags for most employers seem to be drugs, drinking, badmouthing former employers, and lying about one’s qualifications. But there’s another good reason for checking out a candidate’s Facebook page before inviting them in for an interview: it may be a fairly accurate reflection of how good they’ll be at the job.”

For full article, click on title above or click here.

Here’s a little article I wrote, which was just published in the ABA Minority Trial Lawyer Newsletter. Enjoy!

The ground lost in law-firm diversity and minority hiring over the recession is by now well publicized. As the Am Law Daily reported, between 2008 and 2009, big firms lost 6 percent of all attorneys and 9 percent of their minority attorneys. Overall, in 2009, law-firm diversity actually dropped for the first time in the decade that the American Lawyer has tracked the numbers. The most recent data from the Am Law Daily Diversity Scorecard indicates that diversity regained some ground in 2010, with big firms increasing their percentage of minority attorneys to 13.9 percent, up 0.2 percent. While most observers felt great relief over the improvement in 2010, the gain was undoubtedly small, and, until we see numbers for 2011, it is premature to call it a trend. Moreover, as clients and law firms watch the economic downturn in Europe unfold and brace for any negative impact on U.S. markets, it remains to be seen whether law firms can sustain whatever diversity initiatives led to the 2010 rebound in diversity numbers.

For full article, click title above or click here.

Truly phenomenal advice. Another way of looking at this is to take a service-minded approach to your life. Give when you can, and don’t keep a balance sheet.

Perhaps one of the most important attributes of a connector is a willingness to help and to reach out even if there is no obvious or immediate payback.

That means thinking long-term. Jen Singer is the founder of the blog Mommasaid.net, author of five books, a Pull-Ups spokeswoman and an undeniable connector. “The biggest mistake people make is they think ‘if I help this person, that will happen immediately.’ We have to stop thinking in linear terms,” she says.

Click title above or here for full article.

The gist: ownership of law firms by non-lawyers. Put another way, allowing law firms to seek outside capital. I think we’ll see this in the US sooner rather than later. From The Economist:

Liberalisation will probably affect low-end services first, such as will-writing and conveyancing. Britain’s “Magic Circle” of big profitable partnerships (Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) show little interest in being bought—by Tesco or anyone else. But if their new rivals prove capable, they may have to adapt. Some see this. Clifford Chance has had a back office in India for years. Allen & Overy launched one in Belfast last year. Recession-racked clients demand value for money.

Foreigners are watching Britain’s example with interest. Current American law on this issue is like Britain’s used to be. But Jacoby & Meyers, a big personal-injury firm, is suing three states (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) for the right to raise outside capital. The managing partner, Andrew Finkelstein, has already talked to potential outside partners about buying in, but can go no further unless the rule is overturned. (He has not yet talked to investment bankers about going public, but he says he is interested.) The states are trying to get the suit thrown out on a technicality. Jacoby & Meyers may lose this round. But if Britain’s reform is successful, the American old guard may struggle to win the next one on the merits.

Click here for full article.

This is really brilliant stuff! - JT

6. LinkedIn Gains Some, Loses Some

It has been a big year for LinkedIn— a successful IPO, double last year’s traffic, and a user base that’s grown to 135 million.  Companies will continue to step away from traditional job boards that have higher price tags, but offer fewer and fewer advantages to LinkedIn. However, LinkedIn will face increased competition from Facebook and Google+. Facebook, in particular, is currently used by more businesses than LinkedIn. LinkedIn will add new features to its company pages to catch up with other networks, introduce richer profiles and add features that will improve engagement. If all goes well, there will be more profiles and activity on LinkedIn. If not, we will be seeing more corporate “About Us” pages like Pinterest’s, in which team members show their Facebook Timelines and Twitter profiles – but no LinkedIn profiles.

Click title above or here for full article.