Put your best billing foot forward first
Put a “positive spin” on the description of your services. I have been saying this for many years in the context of preparing your billing statements for work done for clients.
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Archives
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Entitlement thinking may be on the way out
Ownership mentality, or the lack thereof, is a primary cause for the failure of many organizations, including law firms. When entitlement is the primary psychological attitude, the organization and the people it serves suffer! There is a vast difference between ownership thinking and entitlement. One of the unanticipated benefits of our financial difficulties may be to whack "entitlement" thinking on the head.
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IOLTA funds update
See the latest edition (March 3rd) of our newsletter featuring a discussion about the safety of IOLTA funds and the responsibility of lawyers for the failure of banks holding their accounts.
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Trust Accounts
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Yes, Joe, the plumber, needs more education than lawyers
Bruce Crist, mentioned in my previous blog post, sent me another note. Seems I’m wrong again. 
I mentioned that California attorneys are required to take 12.5 hours per year. The actual requirement is that lawyers receive 25 hours (down from 36 by recent amendment) of MCLE approved education. That works out to be, according to C.P.A. Bruce, 8.33 hours per year.
And Bruce admits that this is less than plumbers are required to take in MA. Bruce says now that plumbers are required to have 44% more education than most lawyers. Taking a line from Bruce, "… and the point is?" I made my point earlier.
Bruce, thanks for the "joust" and for reading my article.
Have a great day!
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Plumbers must take as many hours of education as lawyers
In an article I wrote for February 2009 issue of The Bottom Line, the publication for the Law Practice Management & Technology Section of the State Bar of California, I discussed the continuing education requirements for lawyers as contrasted with others such as plumbers, et al. The article was a follow-up to piece to comments I have made here on June 12, 2006 (MCLE whining) and November 22, 2005 (Plumbers get more education than lawyers), all of which focus on the complaints lawyers have made about their education requirements to retain their licenses.
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