♬ 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Legal Zoom, or some like entity, will set up shop in Canada. Legal services outsourcing becomes a market drive out of India and Ireland.
- 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:
- Court centered ADR and case management as a recalled Circuit Court Judge now counting 30 years.
- A Mediator/Arbitrator now counting about 45 years – www.montyahalt.com.
- 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…)
♬ 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…)
♬ It won’t be long yeh, yeh,
It won’t be long yeh, yeh…♬
Music and lyrics by Lennon & McCartney.
This interview is with Paul Hergott of Hergott Law, a solo practitioner in West Kelowna, BC. This interview forms part of the “30 Questions for Busy Lawyers who use Technology” thread on this blog in advance of The Pacific Legal Technology Conference, to be held in Vancouver on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Center:
1. Could you briefly describe your firm (number of lawyers, staff, areas of practice etc):
We have one lawyer – doing real estate and personal injury. In the personal injury area, we have 4 staff. Conveyancing has 1 staff member.
2. When was your firm established?
In Sept 2007.
3. Where do you practice (one office, multiple offices, virtual offices, regional, national, international)?
Regarding the conveyancing side of the practice, the admin is done in an electronically linked home office. Everything else is done in the main office.
4. What are the demographic backgrounds of the lawyers and staff in your firm?
Most senior staff been at it for 30 years…probably early 40 legal assistant and mid 30’s secretary and receptionist is early 50’s. Wife mid 40’s. I am a very old dog!
5. What prior degrees and/or experience do the lawyers and staff bring to your firm?
Staff has long standing legal experience. I have a business admin degree where I took high level programming (C++ and Pascal), quantitative analysis, and 400 level business admin courses. My wife entered the legal world with a computer programming course and started in the area of real estate conveyancing. She was a programmer of Blue Screen, a word perfect based conveyancing package. 3-4 months ago she took training in HotDocs and uses MS Word and HotDocs. (more…)
♫ It’s just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man….♫
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin, music and recorded by Reginald Kenneth Dwight, aka Sir Elton Hercules John CBE.
Simon Fodden, writing in Slaw.ca discussed the new Novatel MiFi – which is a cellular modem that does not need to be pushed into, slotted, USB’d or otherwise wired to your laptop to link you to a cellular-hosted internet service. What is the MiFi? It is a router and modem all combined, which allows you to create a portable WiFi cloud that can be shared by up to 5 people. There is *only* one problem with the MiFi – and that is, alike many other technological developments, it is not (yet) available in Canada. It operates in the USA on the Verizon network. The touted benefits of the MiFi is that it is always with you – there is no need to have internet service at home etc…
So what is a Canadian lawyer to do? Seek a typical Canadian compromise – a Roger’s Mobile Hi-Speed Rocket Internet Stick. This little device will allow you to connect to the internet wherever you can find a cellular signal. It connects quickly and easily, the initial configuration is not difficult, it works for PCs as well as Macs and there are corporate data plans that are a bit easier on the pocket compared to the consumer plans (call Rogers and ask to speak to their corporate sales department).
OK, this is a compromise – so you have to connect the Rocket modem to your USB port for it to work (unlike the MiFi which can be inside your computer bag all the time). You can’t automatically share the Rocket Stick’s internet (unless you can master the intracies of sharing an internet connection in Windows or OS X) as you can with the MiFi.
But similar to the MiFi – you can connect and work from virtually anywhere (well, not the Yukon since Rogers doesn’t have any coverage there…or indeed from anywhere else where Rogers doesn’t have service). I have a Rocket Stick and absolutely love it – as I can grab my MacBook and work from almost anywhere and not have to worry about finding a Wi-Fi cloud. Talk about convenient! And I find that the benefit of being able to work here and there when I need to far offsets the $35-40/month that I find the Rocket Stick is costing me in terms of data use, fees and taxes. But I am not sure about this type of service replacing my home internet service – after all, on the Rocket Stick I still have to watch the amount of data being downloaded in order to keep the charges reasonable.
Since I think its going to be a long long time before we get around to finding the MiFi in Canada, the Rocket Stick is about as close as we are likely to get in Canada to carrying the internet around with you.
♫ Thunder and Lightning
I tell you it’s frightening
It’s thunder and lightning
And you’re in control… ♫
Lyrics and music by Chi Coltrane, “Thunder and Lightning”
A funny thing happened on the way to ABA TECHSHOW – perhaps it was the effect of the downswing in the economy – but a real emphasis at this year’s show was how technology can produce real returns for real lawyers.
One of the great themes was the power of Web 2.0 and how it can be levered to reach out to clients, to build dealrooms and reach out to clients in new ways. Another theme was how social networking can be used to produce a great ROI for your marketing spend. Richard Susskind, in his keynote, noted how the web is a disruptive technology. The web can be equally viewed as a threat or it can be embraced as a way for lawyers to craft their own future. He challenged lawyers to exercise leadership and figure out how to break your legal service into discrete parts and send these parts out to contract suppliers to reduce the cost of the overall legal service.
One of the other important trends at the show was the extensive use of Twitter (www.twitter.com) and the continual posting of tweets by attendees.
There was a specific Twitter feed (#TECHSHOW) that allowed any twitterer to post and have their tweet seen by anyone who subscribed to the hash feed. This resulted in a metric of sorts: You could judge the most exciting presentations by the volume of tweets that referred to that session!
Furthermore, the bloggers were busy – aside from looking at attending the social event such as Beer for Bloggers sponsored by Kevin O’Keefe of Lexblog and the ABA Journal – they posted to their blogs during the show. Examples were:
- Sharon Nelson: Ride the Lightning Blog post on MonetaMail.
- Kevin O’Keefe: LexBlog (Real Lawyers have Blogs) interviewed a number of people at ABA TECHSHOW and posted the interviews as podcasts.
- Rex Gradeless: Social Media Law Student blog on All things ABA TECHSHOW – with his overview of the events at ABA TECHSHOW.
- Rick Borstein: Rick’s slides from ABA TECHSHOW are posted on ACROBAT FOR LEGAL PROFESSIONALS blog.
- ABA TECHSHOW: Techshow ran its own blog with great tips and ideas leading up to the show.
- Jim Calloway: Jim’s Law Practice Tips Blog featured the highlights of Richard Susskind’s keynote address.
and many many others.
It highlighted that if you add real content to your blog that provides value to your audience, they will keep coming back! Furthermore, as a lawyer you can promote your value and expertise by blogging and indicating your interest in and awareness of current events and their implications for your clients. After all, aren’t you trying to attract clients by demonstrating your insight into those changes that affect your clients? A blog is an excellent way of doing so. So as a lawyer – if you attend a CLE event – blog about it and the implications of the new developments for your clients. You will show to your clients that you, too, are riding the lightning!
By the way, this blog post was written right at ABA TECHSHOW during the 60 Tips in 60 Minutes presentation by Dan Pinnington, Reid Trautz, Nancy Duhon and Ben Schoor. Great Stuff!~
♫ Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah yeah, I’m the Taxman…♫
Lyrics and music by George Harrison, recorded by The Beatles: “Taxman”.
The Vancouver Sun reported today that Ontario is set to harmonize the PST and GST.
Final details will have to come from the Budget once announced this week, but this could signal that Ontario will join BC in having legal services taxed at both the Federal (GST) and Provincial (PST) levels. At a time when the economy is in a downswing, this cannot be good news for lawyers in Ontario. Furthermore, if Ontario implements this, will the rest of the country be far behind?
While tax news is never good, at least if Ontario makes all professional services taxable, then at least all professionals will be on the same playing field. BC has long suffered under the fact that legal services were taxable Provincially but services by other professionals were not.
This had strange implications: when mediation services were rendered by a lawyer, in some cases they were classified as being taxable, but the same mediation services rendered by a mediator who was not a lawyer were not. There were other similar distortions that placed BC lawyers at a disadvantage – arising under the Interjurisdictional Practice Protocol. Perhaps Ontario lawyers can avoid the strategic disadvantages that have occurred in BC by the uneven application of the provincial taxation rules.
One thing is for certain: It appears that Ontario lawyers cannot avoid the two great certainties in life: dealing with death and dealing with the Taxman.
♫ Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
Ill be watching you…♫
Words and Music by Sting, recorded by The Police.
‘ “This is the time to get rid of the billable hour,” said Evan R. Chesler, presiding partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, one of a number of large firms whose most senior lawyers bill more than $800 an hour.’
When the managing partner at Cravath says the billable hour is dead, the paradigm has definitely shifted.
‘Mr. Chesler, who is an advocate of the new billing practices, said that instead of paying for hours worked, more clients are paying Cravath flat fees for handling transactions and success fees for positive outcomes, as well as payments for meeting other benchmarks.’
I have been a long-time advocate of changing the way lawyers bill, for reasons that are connected with improved client satisfaction, increased efficiency and tying the fee closer to the results achieved for the client (output-based measurements) rather than effort (input-based measurements). I have seen firms achieve increased effective hourly rates and increased lawyer and client-satisfaction by adopting fee arrangements that reward the law firm for increased efficiency. By allowing law firms to reap the benefits of investing in technology, knowledge management and efficiencies of scale, both the law firm and the lawyers come out ahead.
However, apparently not everyone sees the shift away from the billable hour in the same light. The NYT continues and states:
‘Greed may also encourage lawyers to change their payment plans. Law firms are running out of hours that they can bill in a year, said Scott F. Turow, best-selling author of legal thrillers and a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago.’
With respect to Mr. Turow, perhaps greed works well for book plots, but I find the vast majority of lawyers are conscientious, hard-working, caring and very concerned about the welfare of their clients. After all, I am a lawyer that deals with thousands of inquiries a year from other lawyers who are looking for ways to serve their clients better. I think that not enough discussion has taken place to date on what alternative billing could look like and how firms go about implementing it. Most, if not almost all, of the lawyers out there today have been taught to bill by the billable hour, except for certain files that are billed on a fixed fee, a contingency fee or a success-based fee. If we open up the dialogue then we can come up with creative solutions that meet the needs of the client as well as those of the law firms.
I recently moderated am ABA CLE teleconference presentation by:
Christopher B. Marston, CEO, Exemplar Companies, Inc., Boston, MA, and
Mark Robertson, Robertson & Williams, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK (the co-author of Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour, 3rd Edition, published by the ABA)
entitled Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour. This presentation highlighted how legal engagements can be restructured to allow for greater satisfaction, effectiveness and efficiency for both the lawyer and the client.
The best part of adopting these new billing models is being freed from a system where the client is watching every word you say and every night you stay….
♫ We’re in the money, we’re in the money;
We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along!
We’re in the money, that sky is sunny,
Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong…♫
Lyrics by Al Dubin, music by Harry Warren, from the film Gold Diggers of 1933.
The signs are clear. The world is definitely in a recession even if the tsunami has not yet washed over B.C.’s shores. Forestry, high tech, manufacturing – all will be affected as the waves crash through B.C. law firms.
So what can law firms do – now – to prepare for the hard times? Here is a list of steps that you can take: (you can read the rest of the article that was published in the December 2008 issue of BarTalk here.)
♬ But its gonna take money
A whole lotta spending money
Its gonna take plenty of money
To do it right…♬
Words and Music by Rudy Clark, recorded by George Harrison.
The FP Legal Post on Nov.21, 2008 in an article by Julius Melnitzer entitled: “DLA Piper seeks millions in capital from partners” reported that the largest law firm in the USA has asked 275 income partners to contribute up to $150,000 US each (which could top out at $41, 250,000) to bolster the firm’s finances.
The ABA Journal in a similar article on Nov. 19, 2008 by Martha Neil entitled: “DLA Piper asks 275 Non-Equity Partner to Ante Up, Goes to 1-Tier Structure” quoted Crain’s Chicago Business in stating:
“By raising funds from a new crop of equity partners and compensating them with a share of the profits, DLA would eliminate income partner salaries and trim payroll costs and borrowing needs,” the business publication explains. It would also likely put more pressure on the new equity partners to bring in business, and put associates into an “up or out” model that requires them to generate clients or find another job as they become seasoned attorneys, legal recruiters say.”
It seems that by eliminating non-equity partners, the firm ensures that all partners ‘have some skin in the game’. Furthermore, it ensures that the firm does not have to go to banks looking for debt to finance their business. Such a move also ensures that all partners become strongly focused on client and business development.
I rather suspect that this will not be an isolated incident as firms seek to reduce their debt/equity ratio. So long as this infusion of capital is subsequently used to finance operating activities that lead to greater income generation, the entire firm should be better off. However, as we all know, its gonna take a whole lotta spending money to do it right…