♫ 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!
♫Don’t take the bait,
Don’t seal the deal,
Don’t buy the hype..♫
Words and Music by The Neighborhoods
The New Jersey Law Journal has posted an article online:
Businesses Hit With E-Mail Blast of Virus-Carrying Pseudo-Subpoenas by Mary Pat Gallagher on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. That article reports that thousands of executives received e-mails on Monday April 14, 2008 purporting to be US federal court subpoenas but which appear to be part of a “phishing” scam to capture sensitive data.
This is another example of a phishing attempt by impersonating a law-related entity, in this case the U.S. District Court. The fake subpoenas bear the seal of the court and docket numbers from real cases, though apparently closed ones, without party names. Mary Gallagher reports that they command an appearance on May 7 before a grand jury in a particular room at the U.S. courthouse in San Diego.
They identify the originating e-mail address as “subpoena@uscourts.com” and contain a link with an instruction to “download the entire document on this matter … and print it for you record.”
“As is typical with these phishing attempts, those who click on the link infect their own computers, and those networked to them, with a virus aimed at gathering passwords, account numbers, credit card numbers and similar information. Matt Richard, of VeriSign’s iDefense Labs, a cybersecurity group, estimates that 1,800 recipients have clicked on the link.”
The phishing emails bear the name of “O’Mevely & Meyers,” a fictitious law firm. But there is a real firm of “O’Melveny & Myers LLP” in LA and the phishing email incorporates the real firm’s address. The name is close enough that O’Melveny has posted a notice on its Web site stating it is not the source of the subpoenas.
Aiside from the usual spelling and grammatical errors, the most significant tip-off was that “federal courts will never send you a subpoena by e-mail,” stated Scott Christie, a former assistant U.S. attorney who once headed up the New Jersey office’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section.
Gallagher quotes Christie as stating that lawyers should be warning their clients, and because unexpected future variants are likely, people should “review their e-mail messages carefully and if there are misspellings or other indicia of impropriety or fraud, immediately contact their attorney.”
http://www.law.com/jsp/nj
It will only be a matter of time before these attempts spread to other jurisdictions and other courts. Lawyers should be notifying their clients of the proper method for informing them as to real court notices and subpoenas. If they do receive such a notice directly, they should be informed to contact their lawyers prior to clicking on any suspect ‘notice’ sent to them directly to avoid taking the bait of the spear phishers.
♫ 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!
♫ Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words!
First from him, now from you!
Is that all you blighters can do?
Don’t talk of stars burning above;
…If you’re on fire, Show me! ♫
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe, from My Fair Lady.
Simon Chester, a good friend of mine, put me onto The 10 1/2 Commandments of Visual Thinking - the “lost chapter” from The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam.
In a nutshell (and I recommend reading the ‘lost chapter’ - it doesn’t take long!) Dan states that we need to ‘rediscover’ the art of visual thinking that we first started to use in Kindergarten - and somehow lost along the way to higher education. His thesis is one to which I can particularly relate , as I studied mathematics before law - and math is heavily reliant on manipulating symbols. The symbols used in math - from algebraic operators to integrals and others - comprise a formal symbolic language that is capable of expressing very complex ideas in a simple and straightforward fashion that is understood by those trained in the notation.
But Dan Roan’s point is that symbolic language (i.e. pictures!) are capable of being used by everyone - and indeed, should be! He states that you should start out by deciding which of the Basic Six” pictures (Who/What, How Much, Where, When, How and Why) is the best one to fit your thoughts - and then anthropomorphize everything - thereby “drawing” people into the problem-solving process.
Litigators have know for some time that graphical evidence is worth its weight in gold when it comes to persuading the trier of fact. Marketers know that brands that have a strong visual element are easily recognized by shoppers (just think of the Nike “Swoosh” or the Macintosh Computer “Apple“). Computer desktops are littered with icons that stand for common applications that we all use every day. Drawing on the “right” side of the brain, pictures and symbols can awaken different pathways in our minds and delve deeper into our consciousness. They can help us reach down and grasp logical relationships that may not be apparent by using words alone. And they can serve as a shorthand for expressing ideas and communicating the need for action.
So the next time you need to work on a problem, rather than using words, draw a picture and show that you are on fire!
♫ What the people need
Is a way to make em smile
It ain’t so hard to do if you know how
Gotta get a message
Get it on through
Oh now mama, don’t you ask me why
Oh, oh, listen to the music…♫
Words and music by Tom Johnson, recorded by The Doobie Brothers.
Kevin O’Keefe’s “Real Lawyers Have Blogs” blog was kind enough to start a series of Q&A posts regarding the upcoming ABA TECSHOW in Chicago on March 13-15, 2008 with yours truly. Rob LaGarta did the interview:
David Bilinsky of Thoughtful Legal Management [LexBlog Q & A]
As the ABA TechShow draws nearer, you’ll start to notice certain LexBlog Q & As that bear the TechShow’s badge (above) in place of our guest’s photo. This is your indicator that the interview you’re about to read is with a legal professional scheduled to present at TechShow, and that at least a portion of our conversation is focused on the event.
Our first guest is David Bilinsky, Practice Management Advisor and staff lawyer for the Law Society of British Columbia and author of the blog Thoughtful Legal Management. Dave will be speaking on two panels at TechShow:
- “Records Management Technology: It’s A Small World After All”, with Jesse Wilkins (3/13, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
- “Drafting Bills Your Clients Will Rush To Pay”, with Steve Best (3/14, 1-2 p.m.)
Find out more about Dave’s blog and his goals for TechShow after the jump.
…
In the interview I talk about new ABA Techshow speakers including Kevin O’Keefe himself, Nils Jensen from Victoria and Dominic Jaar from Montreal, among others.
What is interesting is that Rob asked about where did the idea come from about using music lyrics to start my posts. You have to read the full answer on Kevin’s blog - but: “What the people need Is a way to make em smile
It ain’t so hard to do if you know how..gotta get a message, get it on through..oh oh, Listen to the Music….”
♫ 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.
♫ Ride ride ride let it ride
Would you let it ride?…♫
Words and music by R. Bachman and F. Turner, recorded by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Fellow Blogger Rush Nigut (Rush on Business) has written an imaginative blog post based on the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. In the post he not only describes the race, but has done so in a manner that incorporates legal bloggers across North America as participants into the race. I blushed on reading that he has graciously incorporated your humble scribe into Day 4’s post:
Day 4: Ames to Tama-Toledo - 75 miles
Charlie gets ready to head off to Iowa’s version of the twin cities today. In the pancake breakfast line he meets Connie Crosby who is kind enough to introduce him to David Bilinsky. David tells Charlie all about how there is a great need for law firms to turn their senior partners into business leaders. David Maister overhears them and chimes in that one-firm firms are often quite successful.
The whole blog post is delightfully quirky and fun. Hats off to Rush for thinking of this approach and for allowing his imagination to let it ride….!
♫ So let your light so shine before men
Let your light so shine… ♫
Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
We live in a dark, conflicted and confusing time. On one hand, we have never been so much in need of real leadership. We have international, national and regional corporations, non-profits and other organizations of all sizes looking for leaders. People are bemoaning the lack of enlightened and selfless leadership in politics and government. On the other hand, there has never been a time where so few real people are seemingly coming forward to serve as leaders to light the way. Wirthlin Worldwide (now Harris Interactive) reported in one of their studies that about 60% of current corporate CEO’s did not want to take their present job.
A 2003 Greenfield/Belser survey found that one clearly distinguishing characteristic between extraordinarily successful firms and failed firms was their willingness to be innovative. Successful firms were much more open (in a statistically meaningful way) to implement innovation into their firm. As we all know, willingness to innovate is clearly tied to the leadership in the firm. If the leadership of the firm understands the relationship between strategic goals, innovation and success, if it works at consensus building around those strategic goals and provides meaningful metrics, feedback and mentoring around attaining those strategic goals and encourages all firm members to embrace change, then the firm has taken many of the steps necessary to transform itself into a extraordinarily successful firm.
I have spoken many times of the paradoxes involved in the management of a law firm. Here is another. On numerous occasions I have heard senior partners express the need for training and mentoring for their younger members to bring them up to speed and turn them into successful lawyers and future partners. However, there is an equal need to take senior partners – who are successful in practising law – to train and mentor them to bring them up to speed and turn them into successful business leaders. These partners, in turn, having acquired the vision and the necessary leadership skills, can take the firm and start to transform it from an aggregation of successful lawyers into a cohesive legal team with a shared culture and shared goals that is actively seeking the next level of performance. That skill set is markedly different from the skill set necessary to manage and run your own practice and book of business. In many cases firms have realized that it is more productive for all concerned to bring in professional managers to take over the management of the firm and relieve the partners of this day to day chore. However, this does in no way abrogate the duty resting on senior partners to be active leaders of their firm. As we all know, managers do things right – leaders do the right thing. It is the continued setting and attainment of strategic business objectives that will keep the firm moving in the right direction and continuing to embrace change.
How do you start on the road to change your senior lawyers into leaders? First, no longer be complacent about your current performance. Notwithstanding that your partners may be successful and happy about their current level of income and operating status of the firm, you have to remind them that in spite of the fact that they don’t wish to change, the world (especially their clients) are constantly in a state of change around them. Competitors are constantly working on their own aggressive business plans and are aiming to capture your clients. For example, if you have a dependency on only a few major accounts, then your firm is vulnerable to a major economic upset if one of those major accounts should leave. Your long-term existence as a firm is dependent on your continued development of leadership – just reflect for a minute and you can recall the names of law firms that no longer exist today. There is no law yet written that states that your firm must be in business tomorrow.
Secondly, expose your major partners to new ideas and developments in the business arena that are outside of the law. Lawyers tend to narrow their practice focus – for obvious reasons – but this constant narrowing and development of their legal skills removes them from exposure to bigger ideas and new developments in other fields. Send your people to ‘thought conferences’ – gatherings that are not CLE-oriented but rather are aimed at developing business, strategy or inter-personal skills - that will immerse them in a nutrient-rich environment of ideas. Have them serve in leadership positions in other community-service organizations – where they will come into contact with leaders in other fields - and bring that wealth of experience back to the firm. Have the firm take on an important pro-bono file that serves to benefit both society as well as the partners by connecting to their inner ‘higher calling’ and sense of purpose and serves as a leadership example to other members of the firm.
Thirdly, have your senior partners demonstrate the most important leadership quality of all – to become a living example of the qualities that they wish to see reflected in their associates and junior partners. If we are to develop lawyers into future leaders, we need to foster and encourage those who can clearly demonstrate that they can indeed, walk the talk. This is not a modern management principle. One of the earliest statements of this idea is as follows:
“The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny … it is the light that guides your way.” Heraclitus (?535BC-475BC) Greek Philosopher
Our own collective future is premised in part on senior partners developing their inner leadership skills in order that they can ignite their own light for it to shine before others.
(this post is based on a column originally published in PracticeTalk in the Canadian Bar Association - BC Branch’s newsletter BarTalk)
♫ I would have lost it all,
But I now how I see how you were there for me and I can say
I’m stronger, I’m wiser, I’m better,
much better,
And I can say
Never would have made it,
Never could have made it,
Without you…♫
Words and Music by Marvin Sapp.
In discussing law practice management with lawyers and others in presentations, it has quickly become apparent that the process of sharing information is one of the most beneficial aspects of getting together and discussing matters of common interest. Accordingly, I would like to take this concept and apply it here - and make this forum a place where those interested in law practice management can email to me or post a question. I can take these questions and create a new posting based on the question and see the collaborative results from everyone then posting comments thereto.
So this is the invitation to all readers to post a question, comment or issue by either completing a ‘comment’ or by emailing your question to me at: info@thoughtfullaw.com. It is my expectation that the collection of questions and comments can become a repository of information that is practical and useful to others. I am hopeful that we can create an on-line community whose overriding interest is in sharing information amongst each other in order that all of us can say that we are all stronger, wiser and better!