♫ 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).
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♫ What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and south
and east and west of your life? ♫

Lyrics and music by: Alan Bergman, Michel Legrand, Marilyn Bergman, recorded by Barbara Streisand.

Robert (Bob) Denney of Robert Denney Associates, Inc. has just released the February 2010 Communique on What Firm Leaders Should Focus on Now.

With Bob’s permission, here is his communique, which I think is excellent in terms of strategic planning and vision for the year to come:

The economy is recovering although not as rapidly or steadily as we would all like. It is already apparent that this recession will have a far greater impact on the legal profession than any previous recession. Now it is time for firm leaders to shift from survival management to recovery and strategic management. Firms face challenges they have never faced before and for which there are few, if any, precedents. These are some of the areas where these challenges will occur and where firm leaders should now focus their attention.

Leadership and Management: Managers have a short-range perspective. Leaders, on the other hand, need to have a long-range perspective and a vision. They also need to build consensus throughout the firm for achieving that vision. Leadership is different from management. Right now both are critical.

Firm and Practice Management structure: The Managing Partner/President/CEO should focus on strategic issues and external factors – especially clients. But, in BigLaw firms and in many MidLaw firms, this top level manager should focus solely on running the firm and should not have any personal client responsibilities. There should be a senior management team including an Executive Committee, a Chief Operating Officer (or co-Managing Partner) and Practice Group Leaders. All positions should have job descriptions and the partners in these positions need to be given sufficient non-billable time to fulfill their management responsibilities. (more…)

♫ A moment of despair
That forces you to say that life’s unfair
It makes you scared of what tomorrow may bring
But don’t go giving into fear ..♫

Lyrics and music by: Stone, Greenberg, Daniel Pierre, recorded by Joss Stone.

This is a post on Slaw.ca today:

You may wonder what human rights has to do with Internet Explorer. Prior to the earthquake in Haiti, the news was filled with the cyber-attacks on Google. The latest attacks on Google’s network appear to have originated in China, reported ComputerWorld in a post dated Jan 12, 2010 and were directed at the Google accounts of human rights activists in China. ComputerWorld stated:

In a blog post Tuesday, David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, said that attacks have forced the company to “review the feasibility of our business operations in China.” Google, continued Drummond, is “no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all.”

Read more here: http://www.slaw.ca/2010/01/19/human-rights-google-and-internet-explorer/

♫ Baby, baby, I’m out on a limb
I’m giving in to you again…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Teena Marie.

I wanted to say a most gracious thanks to Steve Matthews and his crew at Stem Legal (Jordan Furlong, Emma Durand-Wood, and Laurel Fulford) for my 2009 Clawbie in the area of Practice Management (tied with Avoid A Claim Blog – Dan Pinnington the Director of PracticePro’s new risk management blog). I also wanted to say a hearty “Congratulations” to all those who won and who were nominated (a complete list of winners can be found here). Well Done!

I didn’t want this to be a typical acceptance speech (which can be rather boring) so I am giving into the urge to go out on a limb (which usually means someone comes after me with a chainsaw….but I digress…) and make some predictions for what will be seen in the 2010 ClawBies and legal blogs in general.

First of all, I think 2010 will be the year of the collective blog. www.slaw.ca is one shining example of what can be achieved by a powerful group of bloggers who have multiple eyes and ears and who are watching the world. Slaw has been recognized internationally for the quality of its work. Frankly I don’t know how a Canadian lawyer can practice today without following it – it is a great way to stay on top of current developments not only across Canada but in the international legal world as well. Hats off to Simon Fodden for herding this particular group of legal cats!

Another great group blog is Lawrence Gridin and Omar Ha-Redeye’s Law is Cool.

Second, individual bloggers will make more extensive use of guest bloggers on their sites. This adds variety and new voices to the mix (and also helps create cross-links). It also builds on the social aspect of blogging.

Third, 2010 will also be the year that legal organizations recognize the value of a blog. The Stream, a collective blog hosted by the BC Courthouse Library Society, illustrates what happens when an organization recognizes the informational value in hosting a blog and looks at how it can provide information differently. Johanne Blenkin and Mandy Ostick are leading the way here. Lang Michener LLP, Davis LLP, Clark Wilson LLP and other law firms fall into this emerging category.

Fourth, I would like to mention a few people to watch in the Canadian legal blogging community:

Doug Jasinki’s new blog: http://legalmarketing.ca/ is one to keep an eye on (disclaimer: Doug and his team designed my blog for which I am eternally grateful). Doug is a very bright light when it comes to online legal marketing and he and his company Skunkworks Creative Group Inc. are doing some truly innovative things in the legal marketplace (see his list of clients here).

Individual bloggers that I find particularly inspiring: Erik Mcgraken, Donna Seale and Jordan Furlong are three to watch, in my humble opinion.

Lastly, there is Steve Matthews. He is a true Canadian visionary when it comes to understanding the entire online social matrix in which lawyers and law firms are working. His work is international in scope and light-years ahead of the competition. He senses oncoming transformation from the briefest puff in the winds of change.

So there they are…baby, baby I am out on a limb again…

♫ It takes two, baby,
It takes two…♫

Music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman.

A couple of updates:

One:  OnPoint Legal Research’s Take Five Newsletter is now up for November, summarizing the 5 most interesting cases for BC:  November Take Five

Of course you can access past issues on their website as well as sign up for their newsletter by email.

Two:  Bob Denney’s November 2009 Legal Communique has now been released:

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING MAXIMS

‘Maxim: General truth or rule of conduct expressed in a sentence.”
The Oxford Dictionary

1.   Be the best lawyer you can be.
2.   Be afraid. Fear of failure guarantees success.
3.   Don’t sell. Educate. No one wants to be sold legal services. Ask clients and
prospects what their problems are, then educate them on how you can help them.
4.   Focus. Specialize. You can’t be all things to all people.
5.   Have a marketing plan and follow it. Hell is paved with good intentions – and
marketing plans that were never implemented.
6.   Market like you were a sole practitioner. If you don’t, you may become one –and
then you’ll have to.
7.   Everyone in the firm must be a marketer, from the Managing Partner all the way
down to the messenger.
8.   Current clients are your best sales agents.
9.   Word-of-mouth is still the best form of marketing and business development.
10.  Your friends may not become clients, but your clients can become friends.
11.  Your next client may be across the table.
12.  To get and keep your client’s business, know his or her business.
13.  Treat every client as if he or she were your only client.
14.  The three keys to delighted clients:
• Listen and communicate
• Listen and communicate
• Listen and communicate
15.  Under-promise. Over-deliver.
16.  Don’t be afraid to say “yes” – but have the courage to say “no”. The
magic words to a client are: “Yes, if . . .” or “No, but . . .”
17.  Be a problem-solver, not a problem-maker.
18.  Give the client alternatives but don’t stop there. Say, “It’s your decision but
I think this is what you should do and these are the reasons.”
19.  Know your competition. It’s just as important as knowing your client.
20.  Ask for the business.

Robert Denney Associates Inc. has provided strategic management and marketing counsel to law
firms throughout the United States and parts of Canada for over 30 years. Reports and discussions of
other timely issues are posted on his web site, www.robertdenney.com. His annual report on “What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession” will be coming in December…visit his website to sign up for his newsletters.

When it comes to this post, it takes two!

♫ I’ve seen the future, baby:
it is murder.
Things are going to slide …♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Leonard Cohen.

I had the pleasure of attending The Futures conference in Denver CO recently that was part of the College of Law Practice Management’s Annual General Meeting.

Several themes were developed during that conference, some of which took some time to fully appreciate. Certainly there was a healthy divergence of opinion on the future of lawyers, being the theme of the conference. However, I thought I would take a moment and encapsulate my thoughts on some of these ideas based on the forces that are presently shaping the legal profession. Certainly central to my thoughts are the Legal Services Bill in the UK as well as the power of the Internet as a disruptive technology. Together these, as well as other underlying forces, in my opinion, will change the legal profession as we know it.

ODR:

Online Dispute Resolution is one technology that is not present even on the radar of most lawyers or law firms. Certainly they do not see it as a threat or even an opportunity. However, in my view, it has a huge potential to change the legal profession. In my opinion, it is certainly being looked at by court administration officials and governments anxious to cut costs and provide greater access to dispute resolution services.

What are the trends that we see? Every court registry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of self-represented litigants. How much longer will they seek to use a system that has been designed to work for lawyers rather than have a system that has been designed to work for them? So many litigants today are self-represented since they cannot afford to hire a lawyer to economically handle their case. Online dispute resolution offers the promise of a system where they are in greater control of not only their own case but also the process surrounding that case. In other words, the laws of economics have driven litigants to find a different solution – and sooner or later they will demand that the system change to meet their requirements…for easier access (by the web rather than in person), for access on their schedule (asynchronous communication rather than synchronous), for a flexible process and procedure (they have input into how their dispute is resolved rather than dealing with a rigid court process) and a process that is both seen as being fair and inexpensive.

The world of ODR is only starting to develop. But if lawyers do not embrace ODR and shape it to be a part of the justice system, it will instead develop in parallel to the justice system and eventually compete with it. In my opinion, ODR will have the laws of economics on its side, and as well all know, it is the laws of economics that eventually win out over all others.

Access to Justice = Access to Lawyers?

Most lawyers view access to justice as being equivalent to increasing the access to lawyers. However, if you talk to a member of the public, I believe they would say exactly the opposite – that lawyers in many ways impede the access to justice.

However right or wrong that view may be, the legal profession has not (yet) realized that a sizable part of the public do not see the legal profession as necessarily being part of the solution to increasing access to justice. And that is more than just troubling. It is downright scary. While the legal profession stands for strong principles of fairness, equity and justice, the public views lawyers as being barriers to these same values and principles.

So the future of lawyers lies in our own hands…the question is, what are we going to do about it? We can seize the initiative and build our own future…or we can let events continue as they have been…in which case I think I see the future baby, and it is murder…things are going to slide…

♫ In elementary I used crayons, even chalk
I learned to count money before I could read and talk
And my mama told me son, you need to shine
I couldn’t stand at the back, I had to lead the line..♫

Lyrics and Music by Wesley Weston Jr. and Tommy Granville, Jr, recorded by Li’ Flip.

This post is another great Leadership Moment by Beth Flynn of the Ohio State University Leadership Center on how to market yourself graciously to your superiors:

1. Instead of talking about what you did, talk about the difference it made.
2. Instead of talking about what you can’t do, talk about what you can do and what you are learning to do.
3. Talk about your goals and how they will measure your success.
4. Debrief results with your boss candidly and without apologies.
5. Quantify your results whenever you can – I saved the organization $10,000.
6. When you fall short of your goals, ask for feedback, and talk about what you learned about the experience and how you will apply those insights in the future.
7. Talk about your weaknesses differently. Say I want to strengthen my analytical skills rather than I need to be more analytical.
8. Even your challenges are opportunities to demonstrate creativity and problem-solving skills (Scumaci, 2008, p. 33)

Reference: Scumaci, D. (2008). Designed for success. Lake Mary, FL: Excel Books.

Designed for Success is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.

Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow’s leaders today at http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu. To subscribe/unsubscribe from the Leadership Moments list, send e-mail to: flynn.61@osu.edu.

To be an effective leader, we all need to shine in our own gracious but effective way.

♬ This magic moment
So different and so new
Was like any other
…It took me by suprise
I knew that you felt it too
I could see it by the look in your eyes …♬

Lyrics and music by: Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.

This is a post of the latest Leadership Moment by Beth Flynn at the Ohio State University Leadership Center.   I thought it was excellent and I hope you do to.

Civility (or lack of civility) has been featured in the news this week as we have experienced rude behavior in the government, in sports and at the music awards.  Lack of civility is on the increase – and it does need to be addressed before it gets out of control.  In today’s Columbus Dispatch, Amy Saunders wrote an excellent article on civility titled Rude awakening: Outbursts are in vogue.  Click here to read Amy’s article

If we do not know how the events of the day will unfold, if we cannot see into the future, when does leadership happen?

Answer:  It happens at The Magic Moment.

A Magic Moment is any time we receive information and face a choice – a choice in determining what actions we will take and what we will say.

In working with business people around the world, we have conducted research which shows that just over half of us will say or do something destructive when faced with a stressful situation.  At that critical point, in that “Magic Moment” when people discover that things have not gone the way we wanted them to, their words and body language lash out with harmful messages.

Another large group of people do nothing.  They simply ignore the situation.

These two types of leaders miss the most important decisions that take place during a day.  When missed these Magic Moments, which number in the thousands, breed and feed office elephants.

But other people seize such Magic Moments and use them in their favor.  Life happens (Read: Competition happens, market conditions happen, personnel and supplier issues happen, and so forth).  These leaders recognize an opportunity and leverage the moment to deliver results now – and guarantee greater results in the future (p. 114-115, Vannoy and Ross, 2008).

The Elephant in the Office is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page

Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow’s leaders today at http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu.

To subscribe/unsubscribe from the Leadership Moments list — send an e-mail to: flynn.61@osu.edu.

–

Thank you Beth for all your great work at the U. of Ohio and for reminding us about those magic moments!

Simon Chester, a partner at Heenan Blaikie since 2004, is a member of their Toronto Litigation and Business Law groups. His practice focuses on knowledge management, research and legal opinions specifically. He has been a pioneer over the past 25 five years in the application of technology to the practice of law.

Simon studied Jurisprudence at University College, Oxford, and on winning the Canadian Rhodes Trust Scholarship did post-graduate work at Osgoode Hall Law School. After a decade in the Ontario government, he joined another major Toronto law firm as research partner. His earlier career included work as a faculty member at Osgoode Hall, on the research staff of the Ontario Law Reform Commission, and as Executive Counsel to the Attorney General of Ontario.

He has extensive experience in privacy and e-commerce.

Simon has held leadership positions in professional organizations and was the first non-American to chair the American Bar Association’s Tech Show. He chairs the ABA Law Practice Management Section’s Editorial Advisory Board. He served as President of the College of Law Practice Management and as President of the Oxford University Society in Toronto; he is a director of the Canadian Rhodes Scholars’ Foundation.

Simon has often testified before House of Commons and Senate Committees and is a frequent speaker at American, Canadian, Asian and European conferences on technology, international law and law practice management issues. He has contributed articles to the American Lawyer, International Business Lawyer, International Financial Law Review, Law Practice Management, CAMagazine, CBA National, Business Law International and the ABA Journal. He has written chapters for Winning with Technology, The Quality Pursuit, Environmental Rights in Canada and Canadian Legal Practice.

We welcome this opportunity for Simon, a perennial speaker at The Pacific Legal Technology Conference (including the upcoming 2009 version on Oct 2 in Vancouver) to answer 30 Questions for Busy Lawyers who use Technology:

1. Could you briefly describe your firm (number of lawyers, staff, areas of practice etc):

Heenan Blaikie is one of the ten largest law firms in Canada, although it is likely the youngest, since the firm was only formed in 1973. Practicing in four provinces, we currently have 495 lawyers, 6 Patent Agents, 67 Paralegals and 519 Support Staff : (which includes legal assistants and administrative staff (Accounting, Human Resources, IT, etc.). The firm’s historic strengths have been in labour relations, film, media and communications, public law litigation, pharmaceutical litigation and business law, but we have lawyers specializing in a vast number of areas from aboriginal land claims, mining project development, to atomic energy to minority language rights litigation. With the exception of the occasional white collar/regulatory defence, we eschew criminal work, and will refer out all family law work. The firm also has an active pro bono practice, and has been involved in a number of high profile recent constitutional challenges. In addition, the firm has an extensive international consulting practice, although this is generally conducted using advanced telecommunications and fly-ins. (more…)

Nils B. Jensen B.A.Sc., LL.B., LL.M. answers 30 questions for busy lawyers who use technology:

Nils Jensen is a senior litigator at the Victoria Crown Counsel Office. His innovative use of technology in the courtroom has gained him a reputation as a leader in the field.   He has used technology before judges and juries in cases ranging from murder to impaired driving.

While seconded to the Court Services Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General he led the award winning expansion of the video conference network now used widely in British Columbia courts and correctional centres. He was also the driving force behind the ground-breaking adjudication system used to resolve municipal bylaw disputes. The project received a Premier’s Award.

He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law where he has developed inventive new ways for teaching advocacy skills.

He holds law degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School and London School of Economics and an Engineering degree from the University of Ottawa.

Nils looks at using technology from the perspective of a Crown Counsel:

1. Could you briefly describe your firm (number of lawyers, staff, areas of practice etc)

I work at the Crown Counsel Victoria Office which is composed of 25 lawyers. Our practice is restricted to criminal prosecutions and appeal.

2. When was your firm established?

Early 1970s.

3. Where do you practice (one office, multiple offices, virtual offices, regional, national, international)?

The Crown has offices throughout BC – there are approximately 400 lawyers.

4. What are the demographic backgrounds of the lawyers and staff in your firm?

We span the whole spectrum of ages and backgrounds: from right out of law school to 30+ years experience.

5. What prior degrees and/or experience do the lawyers and staff bring to your firm?

Some have LLMs – some come from the private sector to join us.

6. How would you describe the culture of the Crown?

We pride ourselves on striving for excellence and conducting our prosecutions impartially, effectively and respectfully, on behalf of the whole community. (more…)