Dallas bankruptcy lawyer Stephanie Curtis joins us, and we talk about maximizing work from home, how to always be prepared, and social media tips for job seekers.

COVID-19 update

Following Dallas County Shelter-in
Create a good working environment in their home!
She had created a workspace for her sixth grade daughter before all of this hit, and she commandeered it
Smartboard plus monitor plus laptop
Remote in to the firm server
Set a schedule; wear work clothes; prioritize
Go into your kitchen, make lunch, and eat!
Could change the way we work going forward
(Think about going through this 20 years ago without the tools/tech we have available - Daniel)

Her firm/practice:

She started at Haynes and Boone and then went to Jones Day, before forming her own law firm in 1998.
Decided six years ago not to come home and work in the evening and ditched her home computer, but now the laptop is back
She and her partner (Mark Castillo) both came from Big Law, and they do high-end work
Important for her was to not have bureaucracy in the firm
Ford v. Ferrari - no passing around the red folder!
Small/efficient/talented people
Seeing an uptick in Chapter 11/Reorganizations among business
Also following numerous changes in the laws
including state comptroller office
so much that you have to know enough to identify the issue
Important to be reading and staying up on changes and news that impacts your practice areas/clients/industry

Advice to lawyers:

Always be prepared
Predict what might come up in this meeting or what the court might ask you
Have a notepad/pen/pencil with you anytime you go into a meeting or to see a partner
mortifying when she invites an associate to a meeting or call, and the associate doesn't bring something to take notes on, or has something with them but doesn't take notes when they should be
(Be ready to anticipate needs - Daniel)
Anxiety can prevent lawyers from doing this
You need to be taking action and making mistakes, or you aren't learning
When applying for jobs
Clean up / pay attention to your social media accounts - employers will look at them!
poor grammar
inappropriate conduct
it might be your first impression with the interviewer
Have a LinkedIn account with a professional headshot
Make sure cover letters are written/addressed to the specific firm/job you are applying for
Integrity/honesty/strategic are keys and must be done in combination
Current environment requires us to work with the other side to come to resolutions on as many issues as possible
Submit agreed orders
Take advantage of Zoom depositions

Rapid Fire Questions

Most important characteristic/trait in an associate - work ethic
Key habit - preparedness
Favorite app/productivity tool - banking app (can pay employees/vendors/everyone on their phone)
Favorite social distancing activity - cooking
Favorite legal movie - My Cousin Vinny