♬ we never say no
satisfaction guaranteed
superior quality
we innovate, never imitate
unrivalled, unparalleled
at your service
we aim to please
we never miss a trick…♬

Lyrics, music and recorded by CLIEИT.

This is another great guest post by Bob Denney.  In this post he is focusing on the importance of client service.  Years ago, Milton Zwicker, a good friend and colleague in Ontario wrote about ‘the client-centered law firm’. It is great to see Bob pick up on this idea and run with it. Accordingly, here is Bob’s post:

In today’s extremely competitive legal market, many firms talk about the importance of cross-selling – or cross-marketing if you prefer – their clients. The problem is that you must serve the client before you can cross-market the client. Too many firms fail to realize this. As a result, their cross-marketing efforts often fail. The first step in developing additional business with clients is client service. Here’s a brief list of some of the more important points to keep in mind in developing and implementing a successful client service program.

• The goal should be outstanding client service. “Satisfactory” or “good” isn’t good enough. Many clients can’t evaluate the quality of legal work. Therefore, the level and quality of service is often the only factor that distinguishes one firm from another. (more…)

♬ If you wish to be the first you must seek
To be a servant, to be a servant of all…♬

Lyrics, music and recorded by David Haas.

This is a guest post from Beth Flynn’s Leadership Moments newsletter at the OSU Leadership Center.  It deals with a concept that I personally see offering a great deal of personal growth and possibility for real change:  servant leadership.

Wikipedia defines servant leadership as follows:

Servant leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, coined and defined by Robert K. Greenleaf (Born 1904 in Terre Haute, Indiana; died in 1990) and supported by many leadership and management writers such as James Autry, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max DePree, Scott Greenberg, Larry Spears, Margaret Wheatley, James C. Hunter, Kent Keith, Ken Jennings, Don Frick and others. Servant-leaders achieve results for their organizations by giving priority attention to the needs of their colleagues and those they serve. Servant-leaders are often seen as humble stewards of their organization’s resources: human, financial and physical.

Accordingly, here is Beth’s post on servant leadership:

• All growth and most good things come from paying attention.
• Use every experience.
• Never think of employees as “labor,” as a commodity.
• Avoid the tyranny of technocracy.
• Abandon the career planning traps.
• Avoid “building” a resume.
• Expect the unexpected and be ready to embrace change.
• Take the work seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.
• Do not use long-term solutions to short-term problems.
• Never run away from anything (Ray Ferch & Spears, 2011, p. 133-134).

From:  Ray Ferch, S. & Spears, L.C. eds. (2011).  The Spirit of Servant-Leadership.  Mahwah, NJ:  Paulist Press.

The Spirit of Servant-Leadership is available from the OSU Leadership Center.  Click here to borrow this resource or any other resource.  Once you are on the OSU website, click on the Spectrum icon. Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is inspiring others to take a leadership role that empowers the world.

To begin receiving Leadership Moments newsletter, please click on Join Our Mailing List.

Thanks Beth for another great leadership post on how we can be a leader by exercising servant stewardship of our organization’s resources.

♬  Now, you got it, you’re wow, wow, wow, wow
You got it; you’re wow, wow, wow, wow…♬

Lyrics and music by: Kylie Minogue, Greg Kurstin and Karen Poole, recorded by Kylie Minogue.

This is another great guest post from Drago Adams from his Adams Ad Group Monday Morning Motivator email newsletter.  I loved the message in this post and thought of sharing it with all.  It is contagious.  I hope you enjoy it.

This week we share a message from Tomas Lydalh. Tomas’s message will not only help you in business, but will also make you the kind of person that people will just naturally gravitate to.

We’ve all heard about how important attitude is and how it affects us. I am sure you’ve heard of how much better you will feel when you look at the positive side of things… when you think positive thoughts, you will become a positive person. It is not always easy, however, to just change your attitude by trying to think positive thoughts. What if you did certain things, instead, that created positive feelings inside you?

Here is a short story that shows how certain actions will ensure a YES! Attitude - even if your day doesn’t start with a WOW! (more…)

♬  Hey, look around it’s all so clear
Hey, wherever we were going, well we’re here
Hey, so many things I never thought I’d see
Happening right in front of me..♬

Lyrics and music by Chris DuBois and Brad Paisley, recorded by Brad Paisley, “Welcome to the Future”.

2012 Happy New Year

In this third and final collection of tips and predictions for 2012, we turn first to my good friend and colleague, Steve Gallagher. Steve has been one of those rare individuals who has kept a perspective on where the legal profession is and is going.  Accordingly, I though it was appropriate that we start with his views in this final post of 2011 on what will be happening in 2012:

Stephen P Gallagher: “Coping with Change”:

(a)  A Law Practice Management Perspective:

My primary business these days is coaching Lawyers in Transition, so from my vantage point,  I see large geographic areas throughout Canada and the United States that will have no practicing lawyers within hundreds of miles. At the same time, law school graduates will cluster around metropolitan areas looking for entry-level positions primarily to pay off law school debt. I would like to think that our talented young professionals will start looking for opportunities with baby boomers, particularly in more rural areas of the country to continue the tradition of serving the public.

(b)  Legal Technology:

I’ve follow the writing of Sherryl Turkle, a psychologist and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Initiative on Technology and Self.  Professor Turkel is concerned about how we may be losing things that Thoreau thought were essential to discovering an identity. Professor Turkle claims to be teaching the most brilliant students in the world (at MIT). She claims that they have done themselves a disservice by drinking the Kool-Aid and believing that a multitasking learning environment will serve their best purposes.

I too am concerned about this “multitasking learning environment” for lawyers.

For a Frontline interview, Digital Nation, Professor Turkle was quoted as saying, “She thinks that we’re living in a culture where we’re really not sure what kind of attention we owe each other. People put their cell phones on the table now. They don’t turn them off.” She goes on to say that, “One of my students talked about the first time he was walking with friends, and they received a cell phone call, and they took the call. And he said: “What was I, on pause?” I felt I was being put on pause.” Sheryl Turkle thinks that we’re socially negotiating what kind of attention we feel we owe each other.”

This flat out scares me. We owe each other more. (more…)

♬ See your heart will lead you where you want to be, but your head will lead you where you ought to be.
But which will lead you where you’re meant to be? ♬

Lyrics, music and recorded by K’LA.

2012 New Years

This is Part 2 in the 2012 Tips and Predictions series where I have asked my good friends and colleagues to contribute their best ideas for the New Year. Accordingly without further ado:

Dr. Frank Fowlie: “Future Shock” predictions:

1. Consumers will no longer be forced to call their credit card company  to deal with “unknown” charges.  No more phone tress, no more wait times…You’ll be able to go to your bank’s credit card website and fill in a form online, the bank will handle it from there.
2. When you buy something online and there’s something wrong with the purchase, you’ll be able to go to a single portal for goods sold in Canada, and start a redress process online, at your convenience.  This is less Future Shock, as the European Union has already created a regulation which makes this possible across Europe.  Like “chip” cards did in the past, the technology will migrate from Europe to Canada.
3. Small Claims Courts in Canada will move towards Online Dispute Resolution to more effectively and efficiently manage the court processes.  There will be a new wave of computer literate judges who hear and settle cases online.
4. Courts of equity will look to technology to handle small value claims.  Online Dispute Resolution will replace hearings in matters where the value is the same or lower than the Small Claims Court limit.
5. Law firms will publish hourly rates on their websites to allow for consumer choices.  Consumers will be able to search out legal services in  the same way they look for other commodities online.
6. Lawyers will begin to sell “Boutique services” allowing consumers to handle some part of their own legal matters.  Some lawyers will develop practices which simply “guide” lay litigants, as opposed to forcing the lay litigant into court with representation.
7. Legal Zoom, or some like entity, will set up shop in Canada.  Legal services outsourcing becomes a market drive out of India and Ireland.
8. The public can make complaints against lawyers using an online platform, perhaps to an independent body.

Dr. Frank Fowlie, www.internetombudsman.biz.

Judge Monty Ahalt ( Ret.): “Warp Speed”:

As the year closes out and some say the decade there is always a clamour for the folks to know what is in store for the next year. Some will look at last year and make resolutions. My Life now breaks down into three areas:

1. Court centered ADR and case management as a recalled Circuit Court Judge now counting 30 years.
2. A Mediator/Arbitrator now counting about 45 years – www.montyahalt.com.
3. Founder and CEO of VirtualCourthouse.com – leading ODR provider – now counting 10 years -   www.VirtualCourthouse.com

Each area has it’s unique challenges and will experience new horizons in 2012. While I do not pretend to be Carnac the Magnificent of Johnny Carson days  there are some new happenings that seem to be clearly presenting themselves for the coming year. (more…)

♬ What’s happenin brothers and sisters?
Welcome to our time…♬

Lyrics, music and recorded by NAS.

Happy New Year 2012

Last year on Dec. 31, 2010 I posted a Top 10 Legal Tech Predictions for 2011.  This year I asked my very good friends and colleagues to contribute their top Tips and Predictions for 2012 thinking that this would be a great way to get some perspective on the New Year. The response has been overwhelming! Accordingly, here is Part 1 of a three-part blog post containing their top advice and predictions for the coming year.  But this isn’t the end – I will add in my own tips and predictions for 2012 at the end of Part 3 (can’t help but go out on a limb as well) and ask that you, good readers, add in your own tips and predictions by way of comments on the three blog posts.

Accordingly, here are Part 1 of the Tips and Predictions for 2012!

Karen MacKay:  Change is Neigh…

There will be more change in Canadian law firms in 2012 than we have seen in the last 3 years. In Canada, we will see more mergers and spinoffs.  Lots of change happened in the USA in 2011 that was forced on them by the economy.  The difference between what happened in the USA and Canada will be: The change in Canada will be created by strategic decisions within firms seeking opportunities rather than the financial change that was forced on the American firms.

Karen MacKay MBA CHRP, Phoenix Legal Inc., direct 416.657.2997, mobile 416.904.4848, e-mail kmackay@phoenix-legal.com, www.phoenix-legal.com.

Mitch Kowalski: 2012 – A Turning Point for the Canadian Legal Profession?

When I ran for Bencher in Ontario earlier this year (and was utterly thrashed at the polls!) I did so because I believed that the next ten years are critical to the future of the legal profession. Six months later, my view has not changed.

All over Canada, the legal profession faces challenges it has never faced in the past – and the challenges will only become more numerous. Richard Susskind was right on point when he wrote, “Law does not exist to provide a livelihood for lawyers any more than illness exists to provide a livelihood for doctors. Successful legal business may be a by-product of law . . . but it is not the purpose.”

As lawyers we must constantly earn our right to retain a monopoly over the practice of law. It should never be assumed that we will always have the exclusive right to give legal advice, prepare legal documents, close transactions or even appear in court. One just has to look to the U.K.’s Legal Services Act which is dramatically transforming that jurisdiction’s legal profession. Or, take a look to Australia with Slater & Gordon being the only publically-traded law firm in the world – a firm that was once based on a strong litigation practice but is now aggressively moving into commercial practice areas.

Canada cannot remain an island of lawyer-exclusivity for long – particularly if the legal profession shows itself to be incapable of coming up with creative and efficient ways to make legal services better, faster and cheaper. The commercial pressures of the global economy are too great to ignore and lawyers who stick their heads in the sand will become the dodo birds of the 21st century.

I hope that 2012 will be a watershed year in which meaningful change will finally commence to surface throughout Canada’s legal profession. The following are eight predictions of what can (and should) occur over the next 12 months. (more…)

♬ Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more…♬

Music composed by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Ralph Blane, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”.

At is my tradition at this time of year, I would like to take a moment and wish each and everyone the Best of the Holiday Season and a Wonderful and Happy New Year. We are living in difficult and challenging times and I think it is more important that ever to keep our friends and those dear to us close and remind them how they bring meaning to our lives.

To all I hope for Peace, Hope and Happiness. I hope your dreams become goals and your goals become realities in the New Year.

As my gift to you, I offer a few minutes of music and images, a time of solitude and reflection. This slide show combines two of my loves – music and photography. All images have all been taken during the last 12 months and on a variety of cameras, including an iPad2.

I hope this slide show and music (please turn your speakers on) brings to you a time of calm, joy and peace. The music is: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”; music by Hugh Martin, lyrics by Ralph Blane, and is performed by the Argyle Alumni Choir, Argyle Senior Secondary School, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, copyright Frances Roberts, Director. Used with permission. I hope you enjoy the combination of the music and the images. If you have difficulty playing the video, you can always click here and go to the video on ScreenCast.com.

Best wishes for a safe holiday filled with warmth, comfort, friendship and good cheer!

(For those interested, the slide show was created originally in PowerPoint then turned into a video file using Camtasia 2 on a MacBook, then uploaded to ScreenCast.com).

♬ …I care for you… I’m there 
… I’m there for you…I care… ♬

Lyrics, music and recorded by Wolfsheim.

Jay Fleischman in a blog post entitled: “Is the Virtual Law Firm Model Coming up Short?” opines that lawyers practising in a virtual practice are ‘missing an ingredient’. Mr. Fleischman continues:

Those who offer the virtual law firm are selling something most people don’t want.  People want to be able to make a personal connection with other people, to build trust in a lawyer’s expertise.  They don’t want to be met with a password-encrypted firewall and triple-redundant backup systems.

Mr. Fleischman and I agree on at least one point thou:  it isn’t about the technology.  Most certainly!

But with respect, we differ on where to take it from there. In Mr. Fleischman’s view:

You need to figure out how to connect with people who are not necessarily in front of you.  In fact, you’ve got to determine when being face-to-face is best for the client.

Yes, but … that is only part of the picture.  In my view, Mr. Fleischman fails to take his argument to its logical conclusion. Why would face-to-face be best for (some) clients?  Not because “people want to make a personal connection” (per Mr. Fleischman) but because they have to know – trust – feel – that you care. (more…)

♬ Tell me what you want and i’ll give you what you need… ♬

Lyrics and Music by Patrick Simmons, recorded by The Doobie Brothers.

PLTC 2011 Logo

The 2011 Pacific Legal Technology Conference will be held Friday October 7, 2011 at the new West wing of the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center.

The Pacific Legal Technology Conference is a bit different from other legal technology conferences due to the fact that attendees can take the conference survey and tell us which courses, issues and topics they would like to see in the program. The survey contains the ‘short list’ of topics that the Advisory Board pulled together in their preparations and deliberations.

So: Welcome to the 2011 Pacific Legal Technology Conference Survey – where you can design the conference that you wish to see! I invite you to have a hand in designing this year’s Conference by indicating to us which proposed sessions are of most interest to you.

This survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete and we ask that you complete the survey on or before JUNE 30, 2011.

Here is a link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NN3PKZF

Furthermore, at the end of the survey you will receive a web address entitling you to a special survey respondent admission rate for this year’s conference. This special rate of $325+ HST CDN ($325 USD) (or $225+HST CDN for law students/staff ($225 USD)) is our way of saying ‘Thanks’ and represents a $50 savings off of our Early Bird Rate!

This special survey rate is only good until July 31, 2011 – you have to complete the survey by June 30, 2011 and send in the registration by July 31, 2011 to be eligible for this offer.

Furthermore, by completing the survey you are eligible for a draw for one of two free admissions to the Conference.

Thanks for your participation!

Tell me what you want and as Chair of the Conference, I will endeavor to give you what you need…

♫ We have the right combination, we got everything.
And to strike faster than lightning, we raise what we bring.
We have the right combination,
..
Give it all! Give it all! Give it all! Give it all!
Do it! Do it! All right! ♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by The Go! Team.

This is another guest post by Drago Adam (drago@AdamAdGroup.com).  This one really struck a nerve with me since lawyers have to try to define value by delivering the intangible.  This post on how to make your strategic differentiation real has particular meaning for lawyers as they try to distinguish their services from the law firm down the street  - or over the Internet. So here is Drago’s advice:

This week after interviewing some new clients we were struck by how many businesses seem to think their customer service is their differentiator. What’s worse is that they want to tell everyone to do business with them because of their customer service. What businesses fail to realize is that their messages sound like blah, blah, blah to the marketplace. The following message from author John Warrillow will help show us how not to fall victim to this mundane marketing strategy.

Lacking the courage or creativity to come up with something unique, a lot of businesses claim they offer “great customer service” as a point of differentiation. Well, it’s not. (more…)