Tag Archive: Personal Thoughts
I recently returned from a week in the Santa Ynez Valley, CA area. The purpose of my vacation was to ride a bike with 35 others from around the world who were similarly enthusiastic about cycling, plus coaches and staff. The Amgen Tour of California started in Northern California and went south, passing through this area (Solvang, Los Olivos and surrounding communities). I watched the Tour’s time trial held in the valley. It was exciting to see Lance Armstrong and other elite cyclists pitting themselves against the clock to see who was the fastest.
Armstrong finished 12th in the time trial, one of his specialties before retiring 4 years ago. And he finished the overall Tour in 7th. In other words, in two races he’s entered (the other last month in Australia), he’s finished in the top 10 … after only a few months of training … and 2 competitive races! And he is 37 years old, an age past which most cyclists are not seen in competition. What a remarkable achievement.
From a psychological perspective, the man is unhappy at not finishing higher up the ladder, because he has such high expectations of himself. He has to continually be coached to greater success as well as to recognize his progress, to keep reality in place. His plan is working and is on target.
Trust the plan. Work the plan. Good advice for Lance Armstrong, a winner in all respects. And good advice for lawyers wanting to achieve greater success.
Prepare a plan. Work the plan. Trust the plan. Make adjustments where and when appropriate as you progress through the benchmarks of your plan.
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I’m in Cycling Camp this week, a camp run by Chris Carmichael, the former and current coach of Lance Armstrong. This is my 6th year at the camp … a remarkable experience, run just like the pros.
Today, we rode in the rain and cold, just like the pros did in the Amgen’s Tour of California. Being from Southern California, it was particularly hard for me since we have so many warm, sunny days – so few rainy days that I stay in when it rains. Even had to go out and buy rain gear!
But, it’s great … the people are outstanding professionals who understand their customers pleasure in cycling and do everything in their power to address the wants and needs of the customers. Boy, what a lesson lawyers could take from this experience.
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In the State Bar meeting referred to in a recent post, I was the one who raised the issue … who are we talking about when we ask questions like "affordability" and "availability" of malpractice insurance? These folks were not mentioned by name … it’s the approximately 18% of the California Bar, 30,000, who have no malpractice insurance. If we don’t mention them specifically, we can draw all kinds of conclusions … they’re not good lawyers, they’re marginal folks, they are the ones clogging the disciplinary system, etc. Yet, there is no empirical data to this effect.
The Bar wants to survey lawyers to determine why they don’t have insurance (they’ll never send surveys to these people, I’ll bet!). They want to find out what lawyers think is affordable malpractice insurance … how much are you willing to pay to be covered against claims against you from clients. Response to this question should be interesting, though I’m not sure how illuminating, since the market place will govern anyway. And there seems to be no political will to create a mandatory State-wide program.
I was invited to join this group because of my original vocal opposition to the concept of forcing lawyers (these very same 30,000) to affirmatively tell their prospective clients (the word used is "disclose," as though it otherwise were a deep, hidden secret) that they have no malpractice insurance.
Someone referred to this group, after a bit of discussion, as "Ed’s People." I was flattered to be their representative. But, throughout the conversation, I think it was intended as a pejorative, as though these 30,000 lawyers were not successful … and perhaps didn’t deserve the same protection and service as other lawyers in the Bar. Rather, it is the "public" that deserves the protection of the Bar. Who will preserve the rights of these 30,000, "Ed’s People?"
Am I being paranoid?
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I came from an immigrant family as many people in my generation did, and still do. Growing up, my parents were involved in the labor movement and unemployment insurance was a big deal. In today’s context, unemployment insurance s hardly significant. But, don’t tell that to the many who are seeking this benefit and can’t crash through the long lines and busy telephone lines.
NPR did a piece today on what unemployment insurance is today and what it means.
Here are some statistics that I find fascinating, and which I did not previously appreciate. There are about 10 million unemployed workers, about half of them being in only eight states including California, Florida, Michigan and New York. There are millions more who don’t even qualify because they were self-employed or have been out of work too long … they sort of get lost in the system.
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For those who don’t yet subscribe by RSS feed or direct e-mail, our current edition of LawBiz® Tips for this week is now posted.
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The Edge Annual Question Center asks the question for 2009: What will change everything?
Profound question, indeed. And the answers are equally profound. Scroll down the pages and see the responses from the brightest minds of our time … my head was swimming just reading the titles of the responses.
Thank you Matt Homann for bringing this to my attention.
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Bankruptcy will be an important practice area for the legal profession, obviously, in 2009 and 2010, as we continue to move through the major upheaval in our economy. And our law firms will benefit. Many are now seeking to bolster their bankruptcy practice groups.
However, one aspect I did not expect was that lawyers and law firms will likewise face economic hardships … And I’m not addressing the obvious issues coming from the collapse (for other reasons of the large firms such as Heller, et al.).
I’m addressing the more mundane, the traditional, average lawyer, the lawyers that make up the bulk of our profession. When these lawyers are in trouble, the entire profession needs to wake up and pay attention.
I was just contacted by an attorney asking me to value a law firm for purposes of the lawyer’s personal bankruptcy. His law practice is an asset of his personal estate. Times are hard when the helpers need help themselves.
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I like Seth Godin’s response to this question:
"We spend so much time smoothing things out, we lose the opportunity for change, or for texture or creativity. Instead of working so hard to make everything okay, perhaps it is more helpful to work hard at living with a world that rarely is."
When things are out of sync, that is the time to seek change for improvement … what a concept!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really been taught how to live with tumult and "not o.k." Another term for this is conflict avoidance, a phenomenon that most people understand and seek to emulate. How do we live in a world with conflict and still be o.k.?
What is the normal state of affairs in your law office? Piled on top of the anxiety of your clients and the pressures of seeking the best results possible for your clients, how does your team fare? Do you have a peaceful place of work where everyone likes and respects one another, treats one another as a healthy family? Or is there something missing from this picture? And, if yes, what can you do to change the picture? That might be a good project for 2009!
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Forty years after the Pueblo was captured by North Korea, the sailors received judgment for damages. This merely gives the sailors a piece of paper. Go collect! Not, that’s the rub. And ask the Goldman family how much of their 33 million dollar judgment they’ve received from the assets of O.J. Simpson.
In the beginning of 2009, we need to hearken back to the words of Rodney King, "Can’t we all just get along?" The obvious answer is "no." But, litigation may not be the best answer either; it’s certainly not the only answer.
Law firms, even the major law firms (like Heller used to be), whose litigation work makes up more than 50% of their revenue, will need to focus on greater diversity in their offerings if they want to protect their future. More than 10% in any one area always puts a business at risk. Sometimes the risk pays well; sometimes it doesn’t. Just ask the lawyers who were at Heller about the high times and then the implosion.
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AmLaw Daily, in an article by Susan Beck, writes about a recent conference on innovation and the law. Here is an excerpt from that article, the third in a series of three:
Several professors complained that the American Bar Association–and its outdated accreditation standards–is the main bulwark against innovation.
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