Category: Uncategorized

Follow the Money … Act Based on the Evidence

Jerry Maguire said “Follow the Money. A former labor union leader said “Follow the bank account, not the budget, to see how much money is really available to offer union members-employees.

Why is it, then, that some politicians are attacking the Affordable Care Act, originally a Republican proposal, and many economists are saying there is hardly an economic ripple? They cannot both be right?

As attorneys, we’re taught to argue both sides of the equation. As citizens, it would seem that we need to focus on the truth and follow the evidence


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Malpractice and Bar Discipline May Not Be the Same

Today, Ed will be talking with Cindy Shapiro. Cindy is a partner at Reback, McAndrews, Kjar, Warford, Stockalper & Moore LLP. She’s practiced professional liability defense since 1994. Her practice includes defending professionals from malpractice and related claims.

Our conversation today will focus on risk management to prevent lawyers from getting involved in the first place. An ounce of prevention is much better than a pound of cure.

20 minutes, 10 seconds
4.7MB


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Value of Human Assets vs. Value of Capital Assets

John Claassen, in a “guest column” in the February 4, 2015 edition of the Los Angeles Daily Journal entitled “PROTECT THE VALUE OF HUMAN ASSETS,” quoted Bill Gates’ opposition to increasing the federal minimum wage as follows: “If you raise the minimum wage, you are encouraging labor substitution, and you’re going to go buy machinery and automate things.”

The tension between machinery and labor is an age old issue. This precedes the development of the cotton gin and other industrial revolution equipment. In a 1983 trip to China, I observed hundreds of laborers sweeping the streets with bamboo brooms; in my community, this work was then being done by street cleaners driving trucks. More territory could be covered, with greater effectiveness and less labor. China understood that, in 1983, if they automated this task, they would have an even higher unemployment rate, risking such dissatisfaction which might cause an overthrow of the then current government.

Owners and employers in a private enterprise economy are always seeking greater efficiency and profits. They make the choice between labor and technology based on many factors, only one of which is return on investment. To say that increased mandated compensation such as a minimum wage would promote automation is no doubt true; however,  it was also true in the 1930s, the 1800s, the 1700s and likely will be true in the future. It is true in every industry and profession.

Society in the past has focused on the well-being of its populace, not just the numbers. This includes healthcare, minimum wages, regulations of civility toward one another and other aspects of human endeavor. We value human assets. We value new technology and research and development. New technology and increased efficiency improves our life and increases the well-being of all our citizens. We encourage the growth in each area of endeavor by tax policies and other approaches. If I read Mr. Claassen correctly, he suggests there is a tension between the two, and policymakers should not ignore nor discount the value of “lower wage workers.”

The legal profession understands this process. Thousands of lawyers have been laid off, fired or encouraged to retire since the Great Recession. Many of them were document review lawyers or lawyers with little or no marketing skills. In Mr. Claassen’s terminology, these were the “lower or middle income” lawyers of the profession. Such economic disruption never happened in the profession before. Despite the economic improvement of our economy, and law firm profitability, most of those jobs will not return. Why? Because technological improvements have made many obsolete or more expensive than clients want to pay. Discovery search technology is far more efficient and accurate than hundreds of document review lawyers. These jobs will not return. This is progress. Does it come with some pain to individuals? Yes. Should there be an economic soft landing for those affected? Perhaps. That is a matter for society to determine, but it is not reason to limit wage increases or disfavor research and development.

 


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Disaster Preparedness Always Needed

Disaster Preparedness Always Needed

Within the last few days, a major law firm’s (Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP) Los Angeles office has been severely impacted.

One of the largest fires seen in the Los Angeles area (Da Vinci Apartment project) also damaged 8 of the adjoining building’s 16 floors that housed the firm’s Los Angeles office with 250 lawyers and staff. The office’s managing partner, Timothy R. Graves, put the best face on the situation by saying their experience in New York (Hurricane Sandy) gives them some advantage in dealing with the Los Angeles experience.  Technology further helps alleviate potential damage that might otherwise have been experienced.  Remotely working, however, does not remove the consequences of significant water damage to paper files and client unease … When one goes to sleep, one doesn’t expect a 1 a.m. fire to change your life, but it can happen.


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Speak and Write for Success

Gary Kinder, founder and CEO of WordRake® writes the following:

“…Each of us has three vocabularies:

  1. our reading or comprehension vocabulary – by far the largest;
  2. our writing vocabulary – in the middle; and
  3. our speaking vocabulary – the smallest and least grammatical.

When speaking, we use, and tolerate (to a point) others using, ers and uhs and sos and wells and likes, and confusing who with whom and lay with lie because most of us can’t think fast enough when we speak to get it all grammatically correct; plus we have tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language to help us communicate. Our writing must be more precise than our speech because we have only words to convey meaning.

Email is a weird hybrid existing between speaking and writing. In that gap, our email mindset might be loose and informal, but our business recipients do not forgive our typos, grammatical slips, and bloated, unnecessary, abstract, sometimes nonsensical phrasing. That’s where the tension lies: we write it as though the message is impermanent; they judge it and us as though it’s permanent….”

When in business, we know the validity of “dress for success.” So, too, when communicating even in e-mail, write/speak commensurate with your market, the recipients of your communication. “Talking” with personal friends is a different matter.

31 minutes, 23 seconds
4.6MB


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CALBar annual conference in San Diego

I attended the CALBar annual conference this past weekend in San Diego.  Great learning and networking all in one place.  I was there for a meeting of the Law Practice Management & Technology Section of the CalBar, and since this was my last meeting with them, I was honored with kudos for my many years of service to the group.Ed Poll - Wife

Over the years of my involvement with this group, we have provided many education programs for the benefit of the lawyer in his/her client relations and law firm operations.  The section was responsible for a major writing effort and has thus far contributed significantly to two books, one on starting law practice and one on law firm operations.  Much has been accomplished and I am proud to have had a share.  A special cake was brought in with much hoopla ….


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7 Easy Steps to Getting Paid

You’ve worked hard to address the challenges brought to you by your client.  You’ve put other matters aside to deal with his or her crisis.  You‘ve achieved their desired results.  And now, they’ve become a slow payer or non-payer.  Why?  What could you have done to prevent this, to know from the very beginning that they would not pay you as agreed, and to assure that you will finally get paid?  Failure to get paid, or low realization rate, is the bane of most lawyers.

See Collecting Your Fee: Getting Paid from Intake to Invoice, written by Ed Poll at the request of the American Bar Association.  Learn what to do at the very beginning to assure you get paid, learn how to anticipate whether your client will pay in accord with your agreement and learn what you can do if the client suddenly becomes a slow payer.

 


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Is the Bar Prosecutor Alleging Murder When Only Manslaughter Is Appropriate?

“The state bar is overcharging its cases.” Thus started the commentary by Carol M Langford, in the newspaper, The Recorder, in San Francisco. Langford is a defense counsel and former chair of the State Bar’s Law Practice Management and Technology Section. She quotes the California Supreme Court to the effect that “bar matters are ‘quasi criminal’ in nature.” She asserts that respondents before the State Bar Court have none of the usual constitutional safeguards in a normal criminal proceeding.

She further asserts that the Chief Trial Counsel (Jayne Kim) commented that the bar had to be “tougher” as evidenced by the Supreme Court’s rejection of 24 stipulations in 2012. Ms. Kim responded to Langford’s August 28th Viewpoint column, claiming she was misquoted.

This sounds a bit like the classic prosecutor/defense counsel “difference” of opinion. Ms. Langford would obviously prefer more stipulations that favor respondent attorneys; Ms. Kim would obviously prefer that those attorneys being “charged” be locked in jail and the key thrown away. The bottom line is that the general fund of the State Bar of California is $64 million, 75 to 80% of which goes to fund the bar’s disciplinary system. That is a whopping $48 million, give or take, that is expended to discipline attorneys who allegedly violate the rules of professional conduct.

I have watched this scenario for more than 40 years. In that time, there is only one State Bar president who indicated that the goal of the State Bar was twofold, one to protect the public and two to educate lawyers in more effectively running their law practice. By doing the latter, we do achieve the former as well. But for Jim Heiting, the president who suggested this, the State Bar is now in an adversarial position with its members, lawyers.

Langford suggests that the State Bar should make “real offers to respondents to settle matters…”  A lawyer signs a stipulation still receives punishment. In none of the comments made by Langford did she suggest that the respondent lawyer not receive discipline. The focus is whether there be a stipulation without a trial (and the concomitant additional cost to both the State Bar and to the respondent) or whether all matters need to go to trial. Why does the State Bar trial department not focus its energies against lawyers who turned down good offers reflective of the misconduct at issue.

This is a good question and one that is not answered merely by suggesting that the current legislation in California mandates that the public be protected. “Cleaning out a backlog” by offering reasonable stipulations, educating lawyers (members of the bar) on client relations and economics of the practice of law and developing a mutually respectful relationship between the Bar and its members will go a long way toward reducing the cost of attorney discipline and (Heaven help us) reducing the cost of membership in the State Bar.


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Blawg 100 Amici

ABA Journal has just opened it’s 100 best legal blog list. 
This is an annual list, compiled on the basis of votes by readers, of the best blogs that lawyers should know about.  If you enjoy my blawg, please follow this link to nominate it!  Of course, you can also vote for other blog authors too, but please consider voting for mine, and let the editors know why you appreciate it!

Ed


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