Attorney Kerry Lavelle Has Second Book Published By American Bar Association
Attorney Kerry Lavelle, founder of Lavelle Law, Ltd., the 31-attorney firm with offices in Schaumburg and the Chicago Loop, has had his second law book published by the Solo, Small Firm & General Practice Division of the American Bar Association (ABA).
The book, The Early Career Guide for Attorneys: Starting and Building a Successful Career in Law is now available on the ABA website and Amazon. The book is designed to provide guidance to attorneys as they start their careers coming out of law school, or as they transition in from another profession.
"Much of what takes place in law school prepares students to be tacticians and to properly execute the functions of practicing law," says Lavelle. "With this book I hope to fill the gaps between being a functional attorney, and what it takes to navigate the social and personnel aspects of getting a career started in a very complex industry that is very much built on interpersonal skills."
According to Lavelle, the core of the book addresses the law firm landscape. He describes various skills and tactics, and provides guidance for minimizing or even eliminating, typical first year mistakes that can derail a young attorney's career before it even gets started.
The release of the book comes several years after Lavelle's first book The Business Guide to Law: Creating and Operating a Successful Law Firm, which was published by the ABA. That book has maintained a solid level of sales which prompted Lavelle to take the next step in his career as an author.
"As I wrote the first book with an eye on helping attorneys understand the business aspects of running a law firm, I could see parallel stories taking shape regarding the need for those entering the practice of law to understand all of the nuances that will be measured in their first year of practice."
In The Early Career Guide for Attorneys: Starting and Building a Successful Career in Law, Lavelle provides guidance for those starting their careers in small firms as well as presenting a very different view for those who cast their fate with any of the extremely large brand-name firms known collectively as BigLaw.
"The experiences that will be encountered in a small or mid-sized firm will be measurably different than what young attorneys go through in the BigLaw environment," says Lavelle. "I don't advocate for one over the other, but do try to make clear the career path and life-style distinctions that await those who pursue either path."
The various chapters of the book cover the behaviors, habits, best practices, cultural rules, and values of the office that young attorneys will encounter as they begin their careers.
While Lavelle has promoted his first book to law schools for use in their curriculum, he feels his new book may work well as a gift item. "I'd love to see law schools focus more on creating success for their graduates in the first year out of school, but I think this is more of a book that young attorneys will read on their own. It's certainly a book I wish someone had given me when I was starting my career more than 25 years ago."
The Early Career Guide for Attorneys: Starting and Building a Successful Career in Law can be ordered from the ABA website and on Amazon.
For more information, or to arrange an interview or speaking engagement with Kerry Lavelle, call 847-705-7555.
Lavelle Law's main office is in Schaumburg with an additional office in the Chicago Loop. The firm was founded in 1989 as a single attorney practice with an emphasis on tax law. The firm has added more than a dozen practice groups including Estate Planning, Business Law, Litigation, Criminal Defense, Immigration, Divorce and Family Law, Commercial and Residential Real Estate, and Law Practice Consulting. The firm has received numerous awards and commendations for its business success and commitment to ethics, national recognition for its pro bono services, and multiple acknowledgements of the charitable work it provides in local communities. For more information, visit www.lavellelaw.com or follow Lavelle Law on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.