Law firms and law department can earn recognition for their innovations.
The College of Law Practice Management sponsors the InnovAction Award to identify and honor innovation in law practice management. The application deadline is June 1st.
Paraphrasing the popular NBC television show, defense counsel are increasingly coming to believe that the California State Bar (and its prosecutorial trial counsel) is less willing to bargain plea settlements with lawyers today than in the recent past, according to Amy Yarborough, Los Angeles Daily Journal Staff Writer (May 9, 2007).
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Ed Poll graduates from the Million Dollar Consulting College™ Graduate School and has been inducted into the Million Dollar Consultant™ Hall of Fame.
We are proud to announce that Ed Poll is one of only 14 consultants in the world to have completed the inaugural Million Dollar Consulting™ Graduate School held in Naples, Florida in April 2007. “These people represent the finest talent in the profession,” noted Alan Weiss, Ph.D. who conducts the Colleges three times a year. “They are the best of the best in terms of methodology, integrity, client satisfaction, and contributions to the profession. And they are highly innovative, as attested by their enrolling the first graduate school of its kind.”
Five outstanding consultants from diverse disciplines have been inducted into the Million Dollar Consultant™ Hall of Fame.
LawBiz Management’s new Special Report, Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Planning for Law Firms is en route to the printer.
Michael Hirsch, former FEMA Deputy General Counsel, said: "I highly recommend it for attorneys and law firms as a basic document on how to be prepared to respond to and recover from disasters."
Tom Edwards, Executive Director of Munger, Tolles & Olson, said: "… Ed deserves much of the credit for the plan you’ll read about. Ed is the primary architect for my colleagues’ and my firm’s disaster recovery plans … For that, we are deeply indebted."
Pre-publication discount of 20% is available to all who contact our office, (800) 837-5880 or edpoll@lawbiz.com, to place a "hold" on the new book. This special offer will remain in effect until May 31, 2007.
In today’s Los Angeles Times, front page, there is an article ostensibly about the House of Representatives enactment to require public companies to put executive pay packages before shareholders for an advisory vote. The enactment faces an uncertain future in the Senate and a certain veto by President Bush. (more…)
A Princeton prof of noted repute in constitutional law was labeled a terrorist when attempting to board a plane. He was delayed and ultimately his luggage was "lost." Is this paranoia or a true incident. (more…)
Yesterday, Josh Wolf, a blogger, was released from prison in Northern California. He spent 226 days (7 1/2 months) in prison for refusing to testify or turn over videotape he had taken of a San Francisco street demonstration where a police officer was injured.
Law management lessons learned:
• Disruptions can be a major disruption or a minor event, depending on whether someone needs to be “right”
• Resentment about being right without recognition from others does not produce productive results
• Success results when all parties are flexible enough to work toward a successful resolution and then move on
Life lessons to be learned:
• Communication is essential but can create uncertainty if not done right
• Active listening … and clarification always help ensure that all parties mean
the same thing
• Never argue with your spouse – She’s always right, even when not (more…)
Is this true or not? If not, it’s a great story.
Lessons from our first real test that apply to the management of a law practice:
Challenges
• Hitching the trailer to the truck, or getting the right team together, working on the same agenda
• Getting the truck and trailer to work seamlessly as one unit, or making sure that separate agendas don’t pull the firm apart
• Organizing the inside of the trailer, or creating the firm culture of harmony and esprit de corps that encourages your lawyers and staff to work together, even in hard times
Opportunities
• Moving outside of one’s normal urban comfort zone, or seeking and obtaining new clients
• Exploring new geographic areas, or increasing your practice by enlarging your practice areas of emphasis
• Obtaining new knowledge as we begin our travels, or developing a system of knowledge management that will create greater efficiencies for the practice
Conclusions
• When you add a trailer to the back of your truck, you travel more slowly, use more fuel, but have more support and resources for longer travels. As you grow your firm and add lawyers and staff, you will experience some difficulties (travel more slowly). This will require greater communication (more fuel) to keep your firm working smoothly. But, you will also experience greater revenues and profits (with your increased support and resources).
• When backing up (plan ahead), you are able to make small corrective actions rather than be forced into major efforts.
• When you are authentic and walk your talk, others will respond and your business will grow. Being a coach to and for lawyers, our instructor’s behavior resonated with me. I can see why he is successful and is far busier than he wants to be in his retirement.