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A. Scott Chinn, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, IndyBar Masters Division Chair; Monica McCoskey, Paganelli Law Group, IndyBar Young Lawyers Division Chair
This is a joint column co-written monthly by the Chairs of the Masters Division and Young Lawyers Division to compare, contrast, and relate practicing law 25+ years ago to practicing law today. Each column will examine a new general subject.
New Year’s Resolutions for Your Practice
As we turn the page to a new year, it’s the perfect moment to reassess how you work, what you want to achieve, and how your practice can evolve. Instead of vague resolutions that fade by February, consider adopting practical, high-impact commitments that support sustainable growth and well-being. Here are some powerful resolutions to strengthen your practice in the year ahead with some personalized tips and tricks from the young and senior lawyer perspectives.
1. Build Systems, Not Habits
Habits rely on willpower. Systems rely on structure—meaning they keep working even on your low-energy days. This is more than “staying organized.” Create repeatable workflows to reduce decision fatigue, promote consistency, and protect your time.
Monica’s Resolutions: 2026 is the year for email filtering and ridding myself of the cluttered inbox. I also plan to set up a client intake system that helps my team get from first call to engagement to active work in a more efficient manner. Finally, I would love to see myself getting ahead of cases, serving discovery with pleadings.
Scott’s Resolutions: I have never really generated to-do lists to keep myself organized. But as I have gotten more senior, I find that things can more often slip through the cracks or lost in the relationship of timing of expected completion. I am going to give list-making a try.
2. Strengthen Your Time Management
Time is one of our most valuable professional resources. Start the year by experimenting with various methods to streamline your schedule, figure out what works, and by February, lock in your plan.
Monica’s Resolutions: As I navigate more responsibility in practice, “time blocking” is crucial. I plan to explore assigning my days into the following blocks: (1) deep work (the true billable stuff); (2) calls/meetings; and (3) admin/bills/client management. I recognize everyday will not be perfect or look the same, but protecting my most focused hours to provide my highest-value work is a vital, yet often overlooked, responsibility.
Scott’s Resolutions: As I have acquired a lot of new responsibilities over the past few years, I have not delegated enough functions that others can or should do. And in some cases, I need to find more successors for things that are not core priorities for what people expect from me (or that I expect from myself).
3. Preserve Your Energy and Make Space to Recharge
Leave burnout in 2025. Treat rest and recovery as a strategic investment in your performance, not an optional luxury.
Monica’s Resolutions: As prior articles reveal, I am still figuring out what “work-life balance” actually is and how to implement it in my practice. Nevertheless, in 2026, I hope to spend more time with my family in Michigan, continue to grow as a fitness instructor with barre3, and take a real vacation—weddings and funerals don’t count.
Scott’s Resolutions: In the realm of “control what you can control,” I am going to continue to focus on spending the right amount of time and energy improving my physical health and wellness rather than chasing the prospect of being “off-the-clock” for any appreciable length of time – which has eluded me for the past 31 years.
4. Refresh Your Personal Brand and Prioritize Networking and Connection
Your professional community is a powerful asset and in today’s world, your online presence is often your first impression.
Monica’s Resolutions: I intend to reconnect with old friends, explore professional organizations in my practice area, and update/refine my LinkedIn and office profiles with my latest accomplishments.
Scott’s Resolutions: I will say “ditto” to Monica’s good resolutions – except the LinkedIn thing . . . .
5. Build Your AI Literacy
AI is rapidly reshaping nearly every profession, and the ability to use it confidently is becoming a core competency.
Monica’s Resolutions: As I once said on a panel “AI terrifies me.” Here’s to getting over the fear of the inevitable. I intend to tailor a portion of my CLEs to further my understanding of the various AI resources and ask questions that will allow me to safely and responsibly utilize AI in practice.
Scott’s Resolutions: I made strides in learning about and utilizing AI in 2025. Part of my 2026 plan as the leader of my group at the law firm is to continue to encourage the use and development of AI among our professionals and support them in that endeavor. And in early 2026, I plan to use AI for a major professional project.
The new year isn’t about reinventing your practice overnight. Spend a few hours upfront, experiment, and be open to change, all in exchange for a more productive, sustainable, and fulfilling year.
On behalf of the Young Lawyers Division and Masters Division, thank you for following along on our column series. We’re grateful for your engagement, your feedback, and your commitment to growing alongside us. Here’s to another incredible year with the best legal community.•
A. Scott Chinn is a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP where he represents public and private clients in state, municipal, and public sector legal matters. He provides advisory, transactional, and general counsel representation for public finance, procurement, regulatory, infrastructure, environmental, and economic development matters. Prior to joining the firm, he served as counsel to Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and as Corporation Counsel to the City of Indianapolis. Chinn currently serves as the Chair of the Masters Division, is a member of the IndyBar Board of Directors, and is a past president. Chinn is also a Distinguished and Life Fellow of the IndyBar Foundation. He earned his B.A. from Indiana University and his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Monica McCoskey is an attorney with Paganelli Law Group where her practice concentrates on business and real estate litigation. Prior to joining Paganelli Law Group, McCoskey was an associate attorney with a law firm in Northern Indiana, where she practiced securities litigation and represented plaintiffs and defendants in various legal matters. She is the Chair of the Young Lawyers Division, a member of the IndyBar Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of the Social Subcommittee for the Litigation Section’s Executive Committee. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
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