♬ Your a mean one, Mr. Grinch
You really are a heel
Your as cuddly as a cactus
Your as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch…♬
Lyrics by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, music by Albert Hague, performed by Thurl Ravenscroft.
Mr. Grinch by Dr. Seuss
Anyone who runs a business knows that it is profitable only if you have funds left over after paying all the bills. This enforces a common-sense mentality in ensuring that your costs don’t get out of control. However, in some offices the principle of saving money is taken to such an extreme that their frugality is actually costing them money. Here are some examples (drawn from the collective experiences of my fellow Practice Management Advisors and myself): (more…)
♫ Stand by your belief and have faith in this sound
You know that you can always turn it around
Feel the rhythm and its healing remedy
Listen to the sweet melody
Feel the rhythm and its healing remedy
RISE TO THE CHALLENGE! ♫
Bob Denney
Once again it is time for Bob Denny of Robert Denney Associates, Inc. [bob@robertdenney.com] to report on What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession. With Bob’s kind permission, we are reproducing his latest report here:
In our 2009 year-end report, we said 2010 “will be a year of continued challenge and change.” It is proving to be so although the challenges may be greater than the changes. We cannot cover all the developments in this Update. These are the ones we believe are the most significant – or interesting.
PRACTICE AREAS
Hot
- Health Care. Of course, involving many areas: regulatory, transactional, employment, et all.
- Bankruptcy. Still. Pre-packaged bankruptcies are raising the temperature even more.
- Trusts & Estates. The temporary lifting of the “death tax” is raising the temperature here too.
- Regulatory. In many industries, not just health care, banking and finance.
- Commercial Litigation. Particularly “bet the company” cases, patents and labor.
- Employment Law. That’s why major L&E firms are opening new offices.
- Emerging Companies. It is surprising but the number of former big company executives starting new businesses hit a four-year high in 2009 and continues to increase. (more…)
♫ I know his journey ends never.
His Star Trek will go on forever…♫
Music by: Alexander Courage, lyrics by: Gene Roddenberry.
Sooner or later, every firm must deal with the issue of succession planning. Given that the ‘boomers’ are all nearing retirement age, this is a looming – and lurking – issue for most firms.
This issue can arise in several ways. One major way this issue comes to the forefront is the lease for the office is coming up for renewal. At that time the partners who really don’t wish to keep practising for another 5 years refuse to sign onto the lease. This throws the partnership into a crises and most likely leads to the firm going ‘supernova’ – the firm explodes and a group of partners leave (usually the ones with the biggest book of business) and the remaining ones are left to try to pick up the pieces (or most often, simply close the doors and turn off the lights on their way out).
More subtle ways of this occurring happens as major keystone partners start to leave – one by one – until what is left is a shell of the former firm. This is death by a thousand cuts as the major income earning assets of the firm depart leaving only the liabilities of the old firm in the hands of those remaining. (more…)
♫ Hold you in his arms yeah, you can feel his disease
Come together, Right now, Over me..♫
Lyrics and Music by Lennon & McCartney.
There is a conference going on in at Duke University School of Law on May 10/11. Judges, lawyers and others are going to be gathering to see if they can ‘fix’ the US federal civil justice system.
Seems that they see a bit of problem:
“To prepare for the meeting, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System canvassed chief legal officers and general counsel who are members of the Association of Corporate Counsel from around the country. Fifty-five percent agreed the civil justice system is “too complex,” while 97 percent agreed that it is “too expensive.” In addition, 80 percent disagreed with the statement: “Outcomes are driven more by the merits of the case than by litigation costs.”
This sounds eerily familiar, considering our new BC Supreme Court Rules coming into effect on July 1. One can ask: If the same symptoms are felt in different jurisdictions, perhaps all of the jurisdictions are feeling the same disease? (more…)
♬You’re my latest, tell you you’re my greatest
My latest, my greatest inspiration
You inspire me, inspire me…♬
Lyrics and music by: Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, recorded by: Teddy Pendergrass.
2010 Techshow logo
This column was written for the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia’s magazine “The Verdict” immediately after ABA TECHSHOW in March. That edition of The Verdict has just hit the streets (print publication lags being what they are…) so here is the column on ABA TECHSHOW 2010:
Well the three days of the 2010 edition of the American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW wrapped up on March 27. This leading legal technology conference had three major themes this year.
Theme One: The Cloud
Ethics, security and privacy concerns aside, the cloud has arrived. Whether it is using SaaS applications (software as a service) or law firms building virtual deal rooms using SharePoint, working on the cloud is now a reality for virtually all law firms. (more…)
♬ With bits of memories scattered here and there
I look around and don’t know where to start…♬
Lyrics and Music by: Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel.
My good friend Robert (Bob) Denney has just issued his April 2010 Legal Communique: Addressing Challenges and Making Changes Requires a Thoughtful Approach.
Aside from the use of the word “thoughtful” (which I always appreciate!) the advice that he has packed into his Communique is top notch and timed for firms coming out of the current economic malaise. With his permission, here is Bob’s latest advice:
“Now that the economy is in the process of recovering, forward-thinking law firms are shifting from survival tactics to strategic planning as they begin to address, not only the challenges they face, but also the changes they may have to make. However, as discussed in our February Communique, the list can be long and there are few, if any, precedents for addressing many of the issues. (more…)
♫ When the walls come crumblin’ crumblin’
When the walls come tumblin’ tumblin’ down…♫
Lyrics and Music by: George Green, J. Cougar Mellencamp
As of March 4, 2010 (the day of originally writing this column for the Canadian Bar Association) the Canadian legal competitive battlefield changed. Dynamic LawyersTM, led by Michael Carabash, B.A., LL.B., J.D., M.B.A., Founder/President, formally launched their website: www.dynamiclawyers.com.
Have a look – Carabash, a Toronto business lawyer, is one of a growing list of new entrants into the area of online legal services. What makes his web services a bit different is the use of online video guides that aid purchasers to complete the legal forms that he has made available. He also has a blog and an “online legal health checkup”.
Dynamic LawyersTM joins other online legal service providers such as LegalZoom that are seeking to tap the “do it yourself” legal consumer market. (more…)
♫ One by one
Only the Good die young
They’re only flying too close to the sun
And life goes on -
Without you……♫
Lyrics and Music by Brian May, recorded by Queen.
Ed and Karen Flitton
Friendship, over all…thoughts and memories of Ed Flitton (1942 – 2010)
I am trying to remember when I first met Ed..it seems like he has been a part of my life for so long. I hated to see the end of any meeting with Ed and eagerly looked forward to the next.
Many others have written on Ed’s qualities and character (on the College of Law Practice Management’s blog). I echo all those thoughts and would add one further: over everything, Ed was a teacher. He was constantly giving of himself and showing us all how we could reach higher. And Better. And Deeper. I wanted to say thank you – somehow – for all those lessons. I know that Ed would not have wanted any payback for those lessons other than to say to go out and pay it forward. So the final lesson that you left us Ed, would be, I believe, to go forward and teach others as you have done.
Your legacy is to have planted these ideas in everyone who came into contact with you. I count myself among the fortunate ones who had been able to have spent some great times with you. Thank you for everything Ed. I hope to put those lessons to good use in the years to come and seek to follow your example. I will greatly miss our talks and your friendship.
David J. Bilinsky
(cross-posted from the College of Law Practice Management Blog, where Ed Flitton was the President)
♫ If we put our heads together our hearts will tell us what to do…♫
Lyrics and Music by Lorene Allen, Loretta Lynn, recorded by Loretta Lynn and Ernest Tubb.
Now that the 2010 Olympics and Para-Olympics in Vancouver are over and ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago is concluded for another year, it is back to business!
My overview of Techshow 2010 is being published concurrently by the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia in their manazine “The Verdict” as well as here, so there will be a short delay while the print version comes out. That post will cover the themes and tips that I garnered from ABA Techshow this year. It was a fabulous program and kudos to all who had a hand in organizing it. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, I thought I would try to highlight one theme that struck me when talking to the lawyers and others who were at Techshow this year. One factor that became apparent was the openness of some lawyers to bring in consultants to assist in the tweaking of the management of their firms versus the (apparent) reluctance of others to do the same. (more…)
♫ We are the champions
No time for losers
Cause we are the champions
of the world… ♫
Music and lyrics by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by Queen.
When thinking of the Olympics, an image of a breathless young person comes to mind who is standing on a podium, smiling the smile of a lifetime as someone places a ribbon-bound medal around his or her neck. While lawyering may not be an Olympic sport, there are no shortage of awards and recognition that lawyers and law firms may win in the international, national, provincial and community levels, aside from the coveted QC.
There is the Gruber Prize for Justice. The Gruber Foundation Justice Prize is presented to individuals or organizations for contributions that have advanced the cause of justice as delivered through the legal system. The award is intended to acknowledge individual efforts, as well as to encourage further advancements in the field and progress toward bringing about a fundamentally just world. In 2003, Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella and Madam Justice Bertha Wilson, both of Canada, were recipients (okay, they are judges but they were lawyers at one point too).
(more…)