Category: Management
There are benchmarks in life … and in our law practices. Benchmarks might be as significant as a marriage, a birth or a death. In law, it might be graduating from law school, opening one’s own practice, winning a significant case, or in today’s world of Baby Boomers, moving into our "second season."
The Airstream trailer (see my earlier posts on this subject) has taught me and confirmed many lessons I’ve learned over the years. Here are just a few that our current trip has triggered:
Change is part of life, and we must learn how to manage change to be successful
Change requires that we be flexible
Life involves continuous improvement
Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity
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Sometimes, in today’s very competitive legal environment, lawyers and law firms must think "outside of the box," beyond the norm. Creating a strategy for your future is mandatory for success, for knowing whether you’ve arrived at "success." Obviously, that is not a "given," not automatic. We must first create, then implement, to be successful.
Other fields of endeavor often provide us with examples of this type of thinking. See below for one example in the art world. I’ve seen this type of approach only twice in my life, once by Salvador Dali in possibly my favorite works of art of all time and once by my sister (also an artist).
See the Cochrane Mural
For those people that live in another part of the world, Cochrane is a community just west of Calgary, Alberta . (Not the one in Northern Ontario.)
This mural was unveiled at the Cochrane Ranche House July 1, 2007. Each tile is 1 foot square, is it’s own individual picture, and each is by a different artist. All of them together form this huge mural. You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail. Check out the horse’s eye and nostril and anywhere else on the mural. Also the two below it.
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In an article written by Richard Gary (Firm, Inc., March/April 2006), he says that "… the principal message that compensation decisions affecting the managing partners should send is: ‘The qualities that will make our firm successful over the long term are superior lawyering, client service, teamwork, and fairness.’ In practice, that means that the (full time) managing partner should not be the firm’s highest paid partner …"
Agreed that the compensation system must appear to be fair. If not, the whole infrastructure of the firm will collapse. But, one must realize the importance of the position. As Gary concurs, managing partners preside over businesses whose revenues are in the millions, even hundreds of millions, of dollars. This is not a position to be taken lightly or to be appointed to just because "you were out of the room at the time of the vote." This is a demanding position, requiring the trust of everyone (lawyers, staff, etc.) in the firm to be successful. This is the CEO of the firm and should be compensated accordingly.
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USA Today said in a recent column that Fridays are going from casual to e-mail-free. That may be the only way to cut down on the excesses of email. Use email at business only for important tasks that cannot be done otherwise, especially communications in the same office. Address important emails first. And don’t procrastinate responding … This may help some.
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While making a presentation about recovering from disasters to the Association of Legal Administrators national conference for financial issues, (see my latest book, Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Planning) I listened to another presenter talking about the insurance aspects of disaster. She noted some frightening statistics: More than 40% of all businesses never reopen after they experience a disaster; of those that do open, more than 30% fail after two more years of operation.
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Gary Chen, Senior Analyst for Yankee Group Enterprise made the following important points in the recent Application Continuity 2007 conference about technology:
- 83% of medium businesses (more than 100 people) have remote or mobile workers
- That means that only 17% of such businesses have no mobile workers at all
- Lifestyles today blend work and personal activities with fluid boundaries between the two
- 15% of our workforce are telecommuters
- 23% of our workforce travel long distance
- 27% of our workforce travel locally
- "Anywhere solutions" can boost productivity and enhance the probability of recovery in the event of disasters
- New technology for unified communications, not yet a driving force, is generally reviewed, if at all, at the time of replacement or updates rather than as an independent purchase now
- One of the greatest challenges facing today’s business is that information is lost or stranded within the head of one individual
That means that technology becomes even more important in the management of a law firm. Technology affects current law firm profitability and becomes essential for survival and continuity in times of disaster. In current terminology, "knowledge management" will be the backbone of the success and survival of a law firm. And knowledge management needs enhanced technology to be effective and readily available. As I’ve said before, I believe law firms of the future will grow or die based on their effective implementation of knowledge management.
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Q: My practice is in a rut and I don’t know why. How can I attract more clientele—both old and new—as well as those who come from diverse backgrounds?
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Q: As a lawyer who runs her own practice, it seems like everything I do revolves around trying to make more money. Is it professional to always be concerned about turning a profit? Or should I focus more on other things?
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While at a recent conference, the speaker mentioned several interesting statistics about the “changing face of America.” In the year 2000, 70% of our population was non-Hispanic White; that percentage will drop to 52% in the year 2050. Similarly, the Hispanic population will double between 2000 (13%) and 2050 (25%). The Asian population will also double from 4% to 8% in the same time frame.
If it is true that people buy from people who mirror them, then law firms’ “cast of characters” will have to change. This is a really strong business case for diversity! Some Corporate America entities have already fired their law firms when they failed to provide the appropriate diversity responses desired by the client. That, more than being the “right thing to do,” will claim the attention of lawyers. And it is happening now.
Good questions to ask yourself, irrespective of the size of your law firm (including sole practitioners):
- What does my law firm look like (color, ethnicity, etc.)?
- What does my client base look like?
- What client base do I want in the future, and what do they look like?
- Is there a match between my law firm and the client base I want?
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Guidelines from North Carolina for billing at hourly rates were recently sent to me by Tom Grella, immediate past chair of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section.
The focus of the opinion is whether it is reasonable to charge for email and other communications among the staff and lawyers about a client’s matter.
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