Any customer who wants a rate increase, please raise your hand. I don’t see any hands. Anyone? No one?

Yes, your credit card will expire — not just its date of validity, but its very mode of existence. With mobile payments already here, it seems reasonable to conclude that the e-way to pay eventually will render plastic obsolete.

The hardest part of lawyering, arguably, is collecting the money owed to you. Certainly, sending out a bill does not guarantee that the bill will be paid.

You might or might not know the name, but you almost certainly know the story. The name is Lee Jun-seok, and the story is that he was the captain who saved himself and let the passengers on his Korean ship go down with the vessel in April of this year.

Oh, those Girl Scout cookies. Thin Mints. Samoas. Do-si-dos. Too good to resist.

Typically, there are two general models for compensation: “lockstep,” in which the firm’s overall success each year is averaged out to determine the standard rate of compensation increase for most lawyers at each level of experience; and “eat what you kill” or EWYK, by which all attorneys are rewarded on how much business they personally bring in.

As lateral hiring continues to grow exponentially, lawyers looking to leave their firms must understand their rights and options — and those of the firm — as they plan their exits.

A frequent refrain from harried lawyers is, “I’m so overwhelmed that I just don’t have time to take care of myself.”

A Google search of “road rage” uncovered almost 90 million entries; boat rage, 24 million; air rage, 4 million; and grocery store rage — yes, you read that right, grocery store rage — 3 million.

Some lawyers still insist that law is a profession and not a business; an attitude that is ingrained in legal training.

Most clients would prefer to know how much it will cost them for the legal service they need and are seeking.

Becoming a partner in a law firm may be less of an achievement than ever.

Every public figure risks being misquoted, and often those misquotes attain a reality all of their own.

Prodding lawyers to meet an administrative deadline is often a source of frustration.

Lawyers are special – principles of economics do not apply to us.

More and more, bar associations are focusing on older lawyers, but I cannot help but think that these association “knights on white horses” really have only one focus in mind: protecting their status in the minds of the public.

It has become a maxim that there are too many lawyers and that there is ongoing softness in demand for legal services.

Most lawyers take pride in zealous advocacy on behalf of their clients.

A recent LA Times column describes a twist in medical fees. A specialist, in this case a cardiologist, is charging a premium retainer fee for accessibility. And that’s just access, not treatment.

One of the most successful and pervasive small-business sectors is one many people (often including those who are in it) don’t even think of as a business: the single-practitioner law firm.

As the legal profession continues to contend with everything from layoffs to fee pressures, we have reached a point where upheaval is the new normal.

The legal profession does not require anything remotely resembling effective client communication as part of our law school curriculums.

It has become conventional wisdom in this country that small businesses are the real engine of economic growth and job creation.

Two recent media interviews by leading legal consultants illustrate that the legal services market continues to move away from the BigLaw model of high rates and excess staffing.

When coaching lawyers who feel overwhelmed by their practices and lives, I emphasize that every day is an opportunity for each of us to create balance in our lives.

“I’m so overwhelmed that I just don’t have time to take care of myself.”

When a health problem arises, many are quick to jump to a conclusion about the cure.

In 1991 the American Bar Association adopted Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.17 which affirmed that an entire practice could be bought or sold, and modified the Rule in 2002 to permit the sale of part of a practice.

A dilemma arising with greater frequency in recent years is this: a client receives the lawyer’s bill, contends that it is too high, and refuses to pay it unless the invoice is written down.

Before 2008 the world of the law was a wonderful place.