Category: Personal Thoughts
I just received this note from a Michigan Circuit Court Judge … Her comments are well taken.
I am a Circuit Court Judge in Lenawee County. I want to thank you for your comments in the May 18, 2009 Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly Coach’s Corner encaptioned "Arrogance Of Lawyers."
I grow increasingly concerned about the inability/unwillingness of people to accept responsibility for their actions or their failure to act in many cases. I served as a Probate Judge before being elected to the Circuit Court. I know our adults are sending a dangerous message and setting a bad example for our children. I have often said "accept responsibility for your actions, put on your big girl/boy pants and move on."
Thank you for summing it all up. I will investigate your other writing at the Lawbiz website.
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What do you do when you reach 60 years of age, are a partner in a major law firm, and suddenly get laid off? More than 4,000 lawyers and 6,000 staff persons are facing this dilemma.
One such lawyer went to the extreme. As I’ve said previously, we are in a depression, not just a recession. And with that, as in the 1930s, people take drastic steps, even life-ending steps, when the one involved sees no way out of the depression. Heather Milligan puts a gentle spin on this; she suggests that we are more than economics … we are people with hopes, fears and aspirations. How does the organization meld all of this during hard economic times? A tough challenge for all.
(more…)
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Recently, I had cause to complain to the Motel 6 chain.
I had requested a non-smoking room. Yet, it was clear that many people had smoked in this room before. On departure, I complained to the agent at the desk. She expressed her sympathy with my failed expectations and said that she had proposed to management that they assess a penalty against anyone who smoked in their room. But, her idea had been rejected.
So, I wrote a letter to both the president of the parent company, Accor, and to their customer service department. Quickly, in the same day, I received a response. In fact, two responses, one from the corporate headquarters and one from the regional supervisor. Both, however, were form and electronically generated letters. I have yet to hear from the president.
It is clear that I am not the first person to complain about this … and it is also clear that this hotel chain is not willing to follow other major chains that have converted all their properties to non-smoking venues. The light of Motel 6, Tom Bodett notwithstanding, will no longer be lighted for me, however.
I’m reminded of a sales mantra by this exchange between me and the hotel. An objection or complaint is a way to further engage the customer; it’s a way to learn what the customer really wants and to provide it. Here, by merely sending form responses, Motel 6 has missed an opportunity to engage me in a serious way. They do not feel my pain, they do not understand the seriousness of their action to my health and they have done nothing to make me want to return to do business with them.
What are you doing in your law firm to engage your clients? What are you doing to understand what your clients want? And how are you handling any complaints that the clients might be raising for your consideration?
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It’s that time of year again, April 1st.
The greatest April Fools’ Day joke was the Swiss spaghetti harvest. In 1957, the BBC said Swiss farmers ere harvesting a huge spaghetti crop due to the near-elimination of the spaghetti weevil. Coverage showed peasants picking spaghetti from trees.
I believed this hoax. As a kid, what did I know? And, if it were on television, it had to be true! I’ve learned a lot since then. But, I believed this story for years ….
What hoax’s are floating around in your law office on this day? How long have they been floating around? Do you want to perpetuate them, or clean them up and enhance the morale of your colleagues? You do have the choice on how your firm operates, even in a depressed economy.
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The other day, I was cycling up Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas, NV.
I went from about 2500 feet to 4713 feet. En route, the road was rolling hills. So, sometimes I went down, but then there was an ascent next … all the way to the top, about 7.75 miles from the start.
Before I reached the top, however, I was complaining to myself about how hard this ride was … and whether I could complete the ride as I had intended. When I reached the final plateau, not having ever ridden there before, I was not sure that was the top. I thought there were more rolling hills ahead of me. I asked a couple of cyclists who were descending. When they told me this was the top, I was elated I had made it to the top, relieved that the pain of the trek was over and quite surprised at how hard I had fought with myself.
How many of our clients don’t realize or appreciate the success we bring to the table for them? What have you done to educate them about the process of your representation? I was fighting myself because I had never been in Red Rock Canyon before. Most of your clients have never been involved in the judicial process before. And even sophisticated clients with previous involvement don’t truly appreciate what lies ahead. What have you done to show them a preview of what’s to come? What have you done to make their journey easier? What have you done to shine a flashlight on the road in front of them?
When you shine the flashlight, and they still agree to move forward, the likelihood is that they will pay you your full fee without question and promptly in accordance with your engagement agreement.
Use the flashlight!
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Seth Godin suggests an interesting question:
"Travel agents… gone.
Stock brokers… gone.
Real estate brokers… in trouble. Photographer’s agents, too.
Literary agents?
The problem with being a helpful, efficient but largely anonymous middleman is pretty obvious. Someone can come along who is cheaper, faster and more efficient. And that someone might be the customer aided by a computer."
We’ve seen this happen in the legal community. Many more people are representing themselves, pro se, because they can’t afford lawyers or … heaven help us … they can serve their own interests just as well as the lawyer.
Lawyers must bring creativity, judgment and experience to the table to maintain their position in the affiars of business. Being a commodity, or being "run of the mill," just isn’t enough anymore. And a major differentiating factor for most clients is the "care and feeding" offered by lawyers. Impersonal and expensive (a relative term) is no longer accepted. We’ve got to move past the point where the single largest complaint against lawyers is their failure to return phone calls, the failure to respond quickly to the concerns, wants and needs of the client. Until that happens, the legal profession is in jeopardy of losing its franchise.
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I knew there was a reason for us to get into an Airstream. For those who have followed our adventures, here’s how we now feel.
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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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Our economy is in the doldrums … or better said, we’re experiencing a depression. Signs abound. From unemployment exceeding 10% and more in some areas, to now thousands of lawyers and staff terminated from the large firms. Who knows how many more there are in small firms …
One large firm managing partner cited an even more frightening fact: Many lawyers have been given generous severance packages in order to obtain liability waivers/releases and to keep the goodwill of those departing. In other words, they won’t feel the impact for 6 to 12 months after leaving. We will see a ripple effect. As bad as it is now, it will get worse …. Unless the federal government is able to pull the rabbit out of the hat.
Our country was built with credit. One of the major thrusts for the Obama administration is to get banks to start lending again. Banks didn’t do this with the first half of the major funding passed in the Bush administration. They horded the money to protect their own balance sheet. Will they do it with the second half, and with other bailout handouts?
Today, I had a conversation with a banker. He said that the federal regulators are requiring a higher capital input from the buyer than ever before. "In the old days" (not that long ago), one could buy a building for very little down payment (10%, e.g.), Today, loan to value ratio has to be 30% and in many cases 40 and 50% This is not the way to growth.
With this type of stagnation of credit, one can be assured that the prices for real estate will continue to slide downward with ever greater consequences. And with continued worsening of our finances, law firms and lawyers will be further impact. If we have too many lawyers today for the work available (as discussed in an earlier post), demand will continue to shrink, and additional law firm layoffs will result.
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Wearing the Bruins logo, I "trucked" up a canyon in the Buellton, CA area last week. It was a great riding week.
Pushing oneself to improve is the essence of our journey here. Helping others is the essence of being a lawyer. And continuing professional education enables us to be better qualified to help others. In one survey after another, staff have said that they make job decisions, all other things being equal, based on the availability of paid education support by the firm for staff as well as for lawyers.
Think about what skills your staff should have to better serve your clients; how can you provide more education to your staff to enhance these skills?
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