♫ Tell her about it
Tell her all your crazy dreams
Let her know you need her
Let her know how much she means… ♫
Words and music by Billy Joel.
As they taught us in typing class, now is the time for all good boys and girls to come to the aid of the party. Or in this case, the BC Courthouse Library Society.
They are undertaking a redevelopment of their website. And in the process of so doing, they wish to hear from lawyers on the potential redesign of their website and the services that they could be providing to you.
The survey is short and only takes about 3 minutes or so. But what is interesting is that this particular survey is open-ended and designed to bring in as much original thought as possible into not only on what they are doing, but what they could be doing with their website.
Think about it. This is the chance to have a voice in designing how you interact with the BC Courthouse Library. Wikis? Blogs? Collaborative spaces? RSS feeds that deliver content tailored to recent developments in your area of practice or interest? The ability to create secure web spaces to collaborate and organize research in developing areas of the law? The ability to be a part of a virtual community of lawyers who exchange ideas on certain areas of the law that are of interest to them? Consider the ability to hold on-line discussion groups around emerging topics….or incorporate knowledge management concepts into their website. What is the best way to facilitate professional development right across the Province, using virtual tools and techniques and how can the Library Society lead that change?
Literally the only limits to the possibilities are the imaginations of the lawyers out there!
I totally applaud the BC Courthouse Library Society, their Board of Directors and Management Team for taking this approach to their future. Johanne Blenkin is to be commended for her vision and foresight.
Oh, the survey can be found at: http://www.bccls.bc.ca/cms/index.cfm?group_id=86472.
And take a moment and tell Johanne and her staff how much we need her and how much she and her staff mean to us!
♫ And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon,
When you coming home, dad?
I don’t know when…
We’ll get together then,
You know we’ll have a good time then…♫
Writer and vocalist, Harry Chapin.
Ah, Monday morning! A fresh start on the week. Good thing that you took that file home to work on over the weekend - just imagine how busy the schedule would have been like otherwise! Let’s see - have to prepare for that big discovery this week. But the phone starts to ring and your secretary brings in the mail and despite good intentions, you are soon lost in the activities of the day. By Tuesday evening, the discovery has been pushed to the back burner of your mind by other pressing demands. On Friday afternoon you remember that the discovery is set for Monday and you still hadn’t prepared your notes. Stuffing the file into your briefcase you have a pang of guilt recalling that you had promised to take your daughter skiing this weekend. Oh well, she will learn that business comes first…
Despite the best security systems and locks on our office doors, time bandits sneak into our lives and steal away our most precious asset. These time bandits learn that certain of us are more vulnerable than others to this capital offense (truly capital, for it robs away our lives). Fortunately there are codes to live by that will stop this crime from occurring.
- Get a head start by taking 10 minutes before you leave the office today and write out your “must do” objectives and priorities for tomorrow. This allows you to come in and hit your desk running with a clear understanding of your objectives for the day.
- Handle a piece of paper once and only once. Having picked up a letter, memo or fax, dictate a reply, write instructions for filing or draft a response WITHOUT letting go and putting the paper back down on your desk. Or, stand at your desk until you have finished going thru your mail. The very act of standing forces you to make decisions and take action rather than procrastinating. Better yet, walk to the scanner and scan the letter so that you can file it into your electronic file and get it off your desk.
- Avoid time-wasting activities, both for you and your secretary. Don’t dictate a letter if a telephone call will do. Use e-mail rather than faxes or letters. If you must write a letter, have standard letters prepared for common situations that take just a moment to be modified, rather than re-creating the wheel. Start a knowledge bank in SharePoint or other collaborative technology.
- Stuart McLean of Morningside once interviewed John Goddard[1] who, at age 15, sat down and wrote out a list of the things that he wanted to do before he died. When he stopped there were 127 items on his list. In his mid-sixties, he had checked off 108 items, and was working on the remainder. Now, sit back and write out your life’s goals. Then imagine that you are looking back on your life and its important moments. How many of these moments were spent working late or on weekends? Consciously take time in your life to schedule in your important goals, and not just those of your clients. Don’t take work home - you are allowing work to take command of your entire life.
- Take a moment during the day and sit down with your secretary and discuss the files in your practice. Try to remove or reduce any bottlenecks that may be slowing the flow. Listen to their suggestions to make things easier for all concerned.
- Recall that activities can be divided into five categories (Bliss): Important and Urgent, Important but not Urgent, Urgent but not Important, Busy Work and Waste of Time. Important and Urgent matters get solved. Urgent but not Important activities clamour for attention, but don’t deserve the time they get. Busy Work and Waste of Time are just that - the sooner you forget these, the better. It is the Important but not Urgent activities that deserve attention, but usually get lost in the shuffle. Create a “to-do someday” list and review that list regularly. After all, on this list you will probably find such things as going on that trip to
- Get an integrated practice management and legal accounting system for your desktop computer such as Amicus Attorney or Time Matters + PCLaw, LawStream, ProLaw and others, and start using them. These programs assist you in creating To-Do lists, creating lists of clients and telephone numbers (so you are looking in only one place for address information), in tracking calls and will create an electronic calendar and *so much more*.
- When you do dictate a letter, file a pleading, delegate a task and automatically create a follow-up entry to check if a response has been produced. This keeps the simmer on and prevents matters from going cold. Moreover, you will develop a reputation in the office for being on top of things.
- Delegate, delegate, delegate. Use the office staff to your best advantage. Refer out files that do not capture your full energy and enthusiasm. Have others do as much on a file as they legally and ethically can. Free up your time and energy for important tasks and files.
- Someone once said that life was a series of interruptions interrupted by interruptions. Take time to concentrate. Block off times to work on matters, close your door, put your phone on “do not disturb” and put your shoulder to the wheel. When the allotted time is over, take your calls, and deal with matters knowing that you have used your time effectively.
- Give yourself a reward for completing a task on your “to-do” list. Get up, take a short walk, grab a coffee, or even just give yourself a mental “way to go” prize. Recall that you attract more bees with honey than with vinegar.
- The most important time-saving tool is liberal use of the word “No”. If you refuse to allow others to take control of your time, you will have kept the time saved for your own use.
Since we all do not know just how much time we have left, each of us can benefit from using our time to best advantage. Hopefully that includes those good times spent watching our little ones take their first bicycle ride or snowplow turn.
[1] McLean, Stuart, The Morningside World of Stuart McLean, Penguin, 1990.
(this post is based on a column originally published in PracticeTalk in the Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch’s newsletter BarTalk)
♫ It’s good for all my people
it’s good for all my people
it’s good for all my people
and it’s good enough for me
Gimmie that old time religion…♫
Words and music anonymous, first published by Charles D. Tillman.
Think of a lawyer and an image of a solo warrior heading off to battle springs to mind. Unfortunately, like most stereotypes, it is increasingly out of touch with reality. Law firms have discovered that to survive and thrive in modern society, they have to reach back to the old-time concept of teams and leaders. Firms have discovered that groups led by effective leaders possessing so-called ’soft’ skills: coaching, counselling, mentoring, tutoring, and motivating – are much more effective than just groups of lawyers and staff working together. A group of people is not a team. A team comes together for a shared goal or task, such as handling a particular client, a file or area of law. What are the benefits to firms and clients from building teams? First, teams outperform groups, team members support each other’s growth and learning, teams maximize the use of human and other resources, there is continuous improvement and knowledge sharing amongst the team members and the output of a team is synergistic – greater than the sum of the individual parts. Furthermore, teams are willing to push work down, allowing firms to not only mentor and grow juniors, they provide head-room for senior counsel to tackle higher-value work and allow a firm to transition to alternate billing methods – having work competently performed at the lowest cost to the firm while maximizing profitability.
So how do you evolve from individuals to groups to teams? Here are some suggestions put forward by Donald Clark and others in this area:
Build the team: The first duty of a leader is to ensure that the foundations for team development have been put into place. This is based on the work by Herzberg on Hygiene and Motivational factors. Any issues lying within the following topics that affect the team must be resolved to the satisfaction of the members in order to take them to the next level: Working conditions, Policies and administrative practices, Salary and Benefits, Supervision, Status, Job security, Fellow workers, Personal life. For example, including someone who for one reason or another will not fit within the dynamics of the team will only frustrate the other members and prevent the team from moving forward. This last factor is so important that elite military teams themselves select their future members from potential recruits.
Communicate the vision: What is the goal to which you are striving? Let the team members know how each of them plays a role in reaching that goal.
Be Passionate!: One of the greatest motivators is seeing a leader’s passion to accomplish the goals of the team. Conversely, a lack of passion sends a message that “this doesn’t really matter all that much”. Get behind your team and radiate energy!
Enable others to act: Give your team members the tools and the space to get the job done. Then get out of the way – micromanagement is not a leadership style. Trust your members to do what is right.
Get Dirty!: You are encouraging the team members to reach beyond their current abilities into new and unknown territory. Leaders are willing to be the first to try something and show that not getting it right the first time is just fine. Stretch and pull others along with you.
Encourage: There are three distinct styles of leadership: Authoritarian, Participative and Delegative. Note that each of these styles is used in different situations and with different people. The Authoritarian tells people what they want done and how. Typically this is used in crises situations when time is short and the team members are already well motivated. The Participative leader involves people in the decision-making process, reserving the right to make the final decision. Typically this style is used where the leader does not possess all the information to make the right decision. The Delegative leader sets the priorities and allows the team members to decide what has to be done and how to do it. The delegative leader remains ultimately responsible for the work of the team and is comfortable with the decision-making ability of the team.
Radiate Values: In facing a decision, there are usually at least two options: doing something right and doing the right thing. You can take the short-term expedient decision or you can take the high road, realizing that this route sows seeds that bear fruit over a longer time frame. As a leader, the decision that you take will say volumes about your values to your team.
Be in Character: Great leaders possess common character traits. The US Army has enumerated 23 Traits of Character. Check this list and reflect how many apply to you and to the leaders in your firm: Confidence, Courage, Integrity, Decisiveness, Justice, Endurance, Tact, Initiative, Coolness, Maturity, Improvement, Will, Assertiveness, Candour, Sense of humour, Competence, Commitment, Creativity, Self-discipline, Humility, Flexibility, Empathy/Compassion. As clothes make the man, then character traits make the leader.
Law firms are catching that old time religion and transforming their firms into well-oiled teams. After all, it is good for all their people!
(this post is based on a column originally published in PracticeTalk in the Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch’s newsletter BarTalk)
♫I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly.
I’ll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away…♫
Words and music by Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne.
Since 2004, the College of Law Practice Management has been recognizing lawyers and law firms who are willing to take risks and who are spreading their wings in looking for ways to improve the business of practicing law. Again this year, the College is looking for innovative and bold entries - the deadline for entries to win one of the 2008 InnovAction Awards is June 2. (Early birds can save a little money by getting entries in before May 1). Click here to learn more about the awards and read about past winners. If you know of someone who is taking a chance and breaking away from the pack, have them submit an entry. Who knows…perhaps they can teach us all how to spread our wings and touch the sky!
♫ What a feeling.
Bein’s believin’.
I can have it all, now I’m dancing for my life.
Take your passion
and make it happen..♫
Music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Irene Cara
Having returned from speaking and attending ABA TECHSHOW 2008, I now have the perspective of time to reflect on what I saw and heard and discern the trends and emerging issues that flowed from the conference.
First off, there were many new faces at Techshow this year, particularly among the speakers. This was a good thing as the introduction of new ideas and perspectives that fresh blood brings to the conference cannot be underestimated and Techshow does a fine job of this. There were also many new vendors on the exhibit floor and that added a degree of novelty to the conference as well!
The social events (Techshow after Dark, the Techshow speaker dinners) were a great success, even if the band at Techshow after Dark was a bit loud. The attendees were wonderful - they came loaded with lots of questions, terrific comments and suggestions and fully contributed to the sense of sharing and knowledge exchange that is so much a hallmark of ABA TECHSHOW.
In terms of the undercurrents running through the educational sessions, certainly e-Discovery continues its relentless march through the legal corridors, transforming everything in its path. It is difficult to believe that there is any litigation lawyer in North America today who is not at least aware of the need to consider the implications of electronic evidence in virtually every case.
It was reassuring to see the emphasis given to two closely-related issues: Records Management and the Paperless Office. These two go hand in hand, in my opinion. Furthermore, I saw a sea-change at this year’s TECHSHOW - and that was the overall acceptance that integrated case (or practice management) and legal accounting software is the foundation on which any law firm should now be built. Virtually all lawyers (at least at TECHSHOW) now recognize that these products are not only getting better and better (Amicus Attorney+ Amicus Accounting, LexisNexis Front Office and Back Office (Time Matters + PC Law), Practice Master + Tabs 3, LawStream, ProLaw etc) but they save a tremendous amount of time and effort as well. Furthermore, they are now being integrated into the paperless office, which only increases the scope of their use and reach.
Two other related issues: IT Security and Privacy were also big and will only get bigger as we move to a fully digital law firm and concerns over personal privacy and identity theft continue.
And lastly I was most impressed by the emergence (or should I say, surge in interest) of using a Mac in a law office. These sessions were very effective in not only demonstrating the usefulness of this platform and the benefits that it offers; they also pretty much debunked most *if not all* of the myths that Windows and IT staff put forward to stop a Mac from being used in a Windows-centric office and network.
A cultural trend was the sheer number of people (mostly faculty!) who were actively blogging as the conference went on. The list included: Kevin O’Keefe (Real Lawyers Have Blogs), Sharon Nelson (Ride the Lightening), Dominic Jaar (Wines and Information Management), Tom Mighell (Inter-Alia), Jim Calloway (Law Practice Tips Blog), and many others! Indeed, I smugly did a blog post on the Keynote Speaker Marc Rotenberg while listening to the presentation right from the ballroom floor, only to find that Reid Trautz (Reid My Blog!) seated right behind me, on his MacBook Pro, had beat me by posting to his own blog moments before on the same topic (if anyone thinks that there isn’t any competition among bloggers, think again!). How cool is that?!!
Notable and cool speakers for me were:
Tom Mighell (*the Chair of this year’s Techshow*) who did a great job in interviewing the great Keynote Speaker Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC.ORG). Steve Best, my co-speaker in Drafting Bills Your Clients Love to Pay was exceptional and made my job effortless. Ben Stevens, who did both sessions in the Mac Track, was terrific.
And of course the speakers on 60 Sites in 60 Minutes (Tom Mighell, Reid Trautz and Craig Ball) and 60 Tips in 60 Minutes (Brett Burney, Barron Henley and Sharon Nelson) were funny, entertaining and also informative in continuing the fine TECHSHOW tradition of these sessions!
This was a wonderful TECHSHOW - and I can’t wait for the 2009 version when my fellow Law Practice Magazine Profitability co-columnist Laura Calloway takes over as 2009 TECHSHOW Chair! This is one conference that is is sure to stoke your imagination and take your passion and make it happen!
♫ So you got the looks but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don’t impress me much…♫
This week I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of distinguished corporate counsel for the Legal Marketing Association - Vancouver Chapter speaking on: How in-house counsel view their lawyers, law firms and their marketing and business development efforts.
Panelists were Marie-France Leroi, Senior Counsel at Terasen Inc, Gigi Chen-Ku, General Counsel for Translink, Heather Northrup, Senior Counsel with RBC Financial Group and Sue Doi, Counsel for Intrawest ULC. There was a great deal of discussion on the topic on how outside counsel can best work with in-house counsel. During the presentation we had a question from the floor that opened up a whole new area of discussion …and that was novel and interesting as well.
The question was in the context of the corporate client wanting to provide feedback to the outside firm - but the outside firm never appearing open or willing to hear the message. Worse, the danger signs are there for the outside law firm - calls by in-house counsel are not being returned promptly, the invoices appear to include ‘education time’ for the associates, the firm now appears to have an attitude of ‘entitlement’…among others. So the question is - what is the best way for the outside firm to hear the message early enough to prevent the loss of the client?
The solution that was proposed from the audience (some of the best tips come from the attendees during presentations!) was for the marketing department to establish one person…call them a client concierge…to establish a line of communication with the client. The client concierge would be there to act in a similar manner to a concierge in the best hotels…to ensure that the questions and needs of the hotel guests are being met. The client concierge can hear the concerns and questions of the client - and ensure that they are directed to the right people in the law firm - and act as an early-warning system to ensure that the law firm is not only attentive to the client but is seen as being proactive and open. This implicitly recognizes that while the legal services may be top-notch, the service levels surrounding the delivery of those legal services may not be.
It is an interesting concept and one that recognizes that the firm as a whole is a team and the team has an overarching reason (*or reasons*) to ensure that the client is happy and has an open channel to raise small concerns before they jeopardize the entire client relationship. It is really a question of client ‘handling’ and ensuring that the firm has the right ‘touch’ for the client and continues to impress the client with all that they do.
♫ The bells are ringing
The song they’re singing
The sound is bringing the people ’round
They hear the instructions
They follow directions…♫
Words and music by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, recorded by They Might be Giants
Tip from Thomas M. R. Irwin, a lawyer in North Saanich, BC, Canada:
Dear Dave:
Just a note of thanks for your feedback and info about an office move. On December 20 I closed my office in “downtown” Sidney and moved it to my home office in North Saanich (10 minutes away). My wife Gillian (who is my conveyancer) and I have been delighted with the move. Yes clients can actually find us at the end of a rural road and they actually seem to enjoy the extra 10 minute drive in the country to come and see us. I am enjoying making house calls to see elderly clients who used to walk over to my office in Sidney.
In your latest BarTalk acticle [editor’s note - I will add in the web link as soon as the BarTalk people take away the password requirement- sigh] about retirement you talked about the change in firm financial models with more of us wanting to work part time - I have the answer - electronic commuting, the part timers don’t need a full time office space at the firm - they can set up home offices, schedule office appointments for specific days that they come into the firm office. Dictation and document work as you know can all be done online/email. The Firm may even be able to downsize because they don’t need as much office space.
I think this is an excellent tip on how to downshift and move into a more flexible work schedule without the overhead of a full-time office constantly hanging over you. Courtesy of the Internet, more and more lawyers will be able to work at least part of the time from their home or other location, meeting the need to see clients at their places of business if necessary. In Tom’s case, the clients hear the instructions and follow directions to his home office!
♫ Here Comes the Night… ♫
Words and Music by Bert Berns, recorded by Them (Van Morrison).
ABA TECHSHOW
Here it comes – ABA TECHSHOW 2008! This is *the* legal technology program for lawyers and anyone involved in the delivery of legal services. For three days,
This year BC Crown Counsel Nils Jensen will be one of TECHSHOW’s new speakers, speaking on his innovative use of technology in the courtroom. Other Canadian speakers (full faculty listing can be found at: http://www.abanet.org/techshow/faculty/index.html will include Dan Pinnington of LawPro, recently appointed Judge Carole Curtis (who was until recently a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada), Dominic Jaar, a litigator with
If you are a Canadian Bar Association member, you can save $100 off the registration fee (the CBA is a program promoter of TECHSHOW). Techshow is March 13-15, 2008 at the Chicago Hilton Hotel.
You will welcome the opportunity to go to a Chicago Blues Bar just to relax by the time Saturday evening hits, and say: “Here comes the night!” For more information go to: http://www.abanet.org/techshow
♫ Make it easy (easy)
Easy to be with you…♫
Words and Music by Steven Page and Ed Robertson, recorded by The BareNaked Ladies.
I had the honour to meet with the Solo and Small Practice Section of the Washington State Bar Association this weekend and participate in their annual strategic planning retreat and renew my contact with friends such as Pete Roberts, the Practice Management Advisor for the WSBA, the Solo and Small Firm Section Chair Dirk Bartram, and the rest of the Executive Committee.
During the meeting, Julie Fowler introduced me to Constant Contact, a newsletter and survey website that is quite simply, a wonderful service for any lawyer looking at developing and sending out an electronic newsletter. Not only is the interface straightforward and easy to use, it is also very powerful and cost-effective. It has many tools that makes the entire process of creating, editing, uploading of images and the creation of links, the sending of the emails and the collection of data following the sending of the email newsletter very straightforward.
These days lawyers need to develop methods to reach out to their clients and potential clients in ways that are user-friendly. While blogs and Web 2.0 tools are receiving a lot of attention lately, there are many clients for whom email is about as far as they wish to go with technology. RSS feeds and such may be too overly complex for many clients. However, meeting these client’s needs by sending out an electronic newsletter is a great way to push out information on you and your practice in a form that is easily understood and read by most clients. I believe that tax, estate planning, wills and estates practices would be a natural for this type of marketing, along with other practice areas.
Tools that makes it easy for clients to be in constant contact with you are always welcome!
♫What’s new pussycat? Woah, Woah♫
by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, sung by Tom Jones.
I gave a TIPS presentation at a CLE in December. During the question period when I asked for TIPS from the audience, a lawyer came up to the mic and said that the *best* piece of technology that he has acquired was a Tablet PC combined with an Aircard for internet access. He stated that he takes it to court and while waiting for his case, he can call up his email and write his replies (that are recognized by the tablet PC’s handwriting recognition software) and draft notes etc. And since it is a a Tablet PC and he is handwriting, he isn’t disturbing the court and the judges leave him be. The Aircard gives him access to the Internet from virtually anywhere.
This is a great adaptation of three different technologies – the Aircard, the Tablet PC and handwriting recognition software – that allows this lawyer to be more effective and efficient wherever he may find himself. And it is also a great example of how we all can benefit by occasionally asking each other: “What’s New, Pussycat?”