CLE
Cari Sheehan
Cari Sheehan Assistant General Counsel
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Attorney Soft Skills
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Premieres January 29, 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
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Attorney Soft Skills

The presentation addresses the essential soft skills every attorney should prioritize to succeed in their profession. It emphasizes ethical legal practice, reputation management, civility, and the importance of clear communication, time management, technology (including AI), and ongoing professional development. Real disciplinary case studies and practical examples are used throughout to ground concepts in real-world legal practice.

Agenda:
  • Introduction / Establishing Good Practices Early
    • Welcome, introduce the presenter, and explain purpose and objectives. Define the importance of soft skills and ethical awareness early in legal practice.

  • Building and Protecting Your Professional Reputation
    • Discuss reputation management with real disciplinary examples; importance of long-term professionalism.

  • Civility, Bias, & Model Rules (8.4d / 8.4g)
    • Explore misconduct rules, bias, harassment, and inclusivity in the practice of law.

  • Communication Skills (Rule 1.4)
    • Review client communication obligations and internal collaboration standards.

  • Interactive Activity: Professional Email Exercise
    • Rewrite an unprofessional email example and discuss tone, clarity, and impact.

  • Writing, Critical Thinking & Persuasion
    • Strengthen written advocacy and problem-solving approaches using case examples.

  • Time Efficiency & Diligence (Rule 1.3)
    • Cover time management models (Eisenhower Matrix, ABCDE method) and professional diligence.

  • Timekeeping & Billing Ethics (Rule 1.5)
    • Illustrate proper time entry practices using “Fun Examples” from slides.

  • Technology & GenAI in Legal Practice
    • Review current technologies, AI tools, and issues relating to client data protection.

  • Ethics & AI: Fake Cases, Real Consequences
    • Analyze real-world incidents of fabricated AI cases and legal ethics implications.

  • Teamwork, Leadership, and Negotiation Skills
    • Explore leadership dynamics, collaboration, and mentorship in professional settings.

  • Work-Life Balance Discussion
    • Facilitate discussion on defining and achieving personal balance in legal careers.

  • Conclusion & Key Takeaways
    • Recap lessons learned and essential principles for long-term professional growth.
Duration of this webinar: 90 minutes
When: Premieres in 79 days | January 29, 2026 10:00 AM PT
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Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credits

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California CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 Legal Ethics

New Jersey CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.80 Ethics/Professionalism

North Carolina CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 Ethics

Texas CLE

Status: Approved

Credits: 1.50 Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility


This presentation is approved for one and a half hours of Legal Ethics CLE credit in California, and one and a half hours of Ethics CLE credit in North Carolina. This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 1.80 hours of total CLE credit. Of these, 1.80 qualify as total hours of credit for Ethics/Professionalism. This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1.50 credit hours, of which 1.50 credit hours will apply to Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility credit.

Justia only reports attendance in jurisdictions in which a particular Justia CLE Webinar is officially accredited. Lawyers may need to self-submit their certificates for CLE credit in jurisdictions not listed above.

Note that CLE credit, including partial credit, cannot be earned outside of the relevant accreditation period. To earn credit for a course, a lawyer must watch the entire course within the relevant accreditation period. Lawyers who have viewed a presentation multiple times may not be able to claim credit in their jurisdiction more than once. Justia reserves the right, at its discretion, to grant an attendee partial or no credit, in accordance with viewing duration and other methods of verifying course completion.

At this time, Justia only offers CLE courses officially accredited in certain states. Lawyers may generate a generic attendance certificate to self-submit credit in their own jurisdiction, but Justia does not guarantee that lawyers will receive their desired CLE credit through the self-submission or reciprocity process.

Looking for CLE credit? Visit CLE Dashboard CLE Accreditation
Speaker
Cari Sheehan
Cari Sheehan Assistant General Counsel
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Cari serves as the firm’s Assistant General Counsel of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. In this role, she advises firm attorneys with respect to ethics compliance, risk prevention, and conflicts of interest. In addition, she assists in the review and negotiation of outside counsel guidelines, conflict waivers and engagement letters, and other items with ethical implications. In addition, she assists in providing ethical training and education within the firm to its attorneys and staff. Read More ›

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