Posted by Ed Poll: “In this podcast, Ed continues the interview with Australian-based Winston Marsh. Winston is a professional speaker and a marketing guru who helps businesses make more money ... heaps more money. This segment continues by shedding light on his unique 2 x 2 x 2 formula to substantially increase your revenue.
An important lesson from Winston is that the work we do is what fuels our dreams. He suggests that we must live our life in a way that achieves our dreams before they carry us off, not after. That may be a great reason to listen to Winston again - to achieve greater success sooner so we have the wherewithal to achieve those dreams.
28 minutes, 04 seconds
6.7MB
Click here to listen.
[Part one is here.]
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: LawBiz Blog, 26 February 2007
Posted by Kevin O’Keefe: “Justice Talking, an award-winning NPR program produced by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, has launched a blog and discussion forum called Talking Justice. Justice Talking airs in nearly 100 public radio markets and in 140 countries around the globe via NPR Worldwide and Armed Forces Radio Network.
Each day of the week, a new, timely commentary from a distinguished contributor will be posted at Talking Justice. Bloggers from organizations as diverse as the American Tort Reform Association, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Family Research Council, the National Council of Churches, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the National District Attorney’s Association and the satirical group the Capitol Steps will offer their views about law and American life. Some of the best legal blogs, websites and newspapers, including SCOTUSBlog, FindLaw, the National Law Journal and Jurist will post content as well.
Listeners and readers also are invited to participate in the debate via discussion forums centered around topics aired on Justice Talking programs. In recent months, topics have included issues ranging from the war on drugs to the war on terror, the right to vote to the right to pray.
Justice Talking, hosted by veteran NPR correspondent Margot Adler, has won 18 national journalism awards. Each program features intelligent conversation with activists and analysts, personal stories of those affected by the law, and lively debate on today’s legal issues.
Sounds like an excellent opportunity for lawyers looking to gain exposure for themselves and their blog. Start blogging about issues in your niche covered on the program, referencing the bloggers on the program. The featured bloggers will see you and you'll gradually grow into their network.
Also get to the forum's host via participation in the program's blog and forum. When you've blogged something timely to their program, email the producers/hosts.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 26 February 2007
Posted by Tom Collins: “There is a difference between new fee revenue and new client fee revenue. A law firm has to work harder for the opportunity to earn each dollar of new client revenue. New client revenue is prized all the more because of the difficulty of winning the business and because of the intuitive understanding that without new clients, the law firm will wither and die on the vine.
Nevertheless, we can never forget that for most law firms, each year’s fees will come largely from its existing clients. Existing clients are often taken for granted. New client development and existing client retention each require planning, and for each, the firm must adopt strategies, develop programs, delegate responsibility, set goals, measure performance and hold people accountable.
Here are a few worthy questions important to existing client retention:
To view his questions, visit Tom's blog at the source site listed below.
It is worth knowing that most professional liability claims against midsized firms arise due to lapses in administrative and management systems and not because of the actions of the lawyer. That should bring home how important it is to have the entire law firm team on board when it comes to care and treatment of the firm’s clients. Make them part of the planning and action teams charged with the goal of continuing to improve law firm practices and procedures to better service the law firm clients—to earn excellence in the customer’s eyes.”
You may need to use the REFRESH tool of your browser to view this post.
Source: morepartnerincome.com, 28 February 2007
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “I have had several occasions recently to speak with Jeff Aresty, the Boston lawyer who is the founder and president of InternetBar.org. Although I had known about the organization, hearing what Jeff had to say has convinced me that InternetBar.org could come to serve a central role in shaping the future of law and justice worldwide. This morning, I joined. I encourage others to do the same if you are interested in how technology can transform the practice of law.
Some key points about InternetBar.org:
• Its core mission is to use technology and the Internet to harness "the world's collective intelligence for the support of a fair and accessible global online justice system." That is high talk, but the group truly is devoted to using technology to enhance civil and social justice throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. This means looking at online tools for dispute resolution, law practice, collaboration, communications and training.
• The group is already actively engaged in projects in China, Africa and elsewhere aimed at using justice systems to enhance e-commerce and economic development.
• It recently launched the InternetBar.org Institute to provide education and training in e-lawyering, online dispute resolution and emerging areas of law. Many of its courses are free.
• Its leaders are well-regarded legal and technology professionals with proven credentials. Aresty, for example, has a 30-year track record as a legal innovator, including having co-founded ABA TechShow in 1987, initiating and directing the Computer College Program in the mid-80s, serving as reporter to the ABA's eLawyering Task Force, and currently chair of the ABA's International Services, Technology and Data Protection Committee. Treasurer Ken Vacovec is a well-known Massachusetts tax lawyer and former state bar president who chaired a study on unmet legal needs in the state.
• It is developing alliances with other innovative organizations, such as the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with which it cosponored Cyberweek 2006.
• For lawyers in Massachusetts, InternetBar.org recently formed an alliance with the Massachusetts Bar Association offering special courses through its institute. Aresty is working with the MBA's ADR Committee -- of which I am a member -- to develop programs and training in ODR.
• Last but not least -- it is free to join. In fact -- and frankly this seemed odd to me -- it does not even ask your name or location, just your e-mail address. The organization may charge dues someday, but not anytime this year, Aresty said.
Consider joining. Take a look around the Web sites of the organization and its institute, read Aresty's blog and the blog of the organization's executive director, Susan Waters, and decide for yourself.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites, 27 February 2007
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “Justia Federal Court Filings & Dockets: Legal information Web site, Justia, offers a database for searching federal district court cases. Coverage spans 1 January 2006 to present. The database appears to cover civil cases only. Search party name, court, type of lawsuit or date. Information provided includes case caption, date filed, court, judge, type of lawsuit and cause of action. Justia also provides a link to the docket sheet. To retrieve it, you must have a subscription with PACER.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 27 February 2007, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=feb07/27feb07.xml
Posted by Jim Calloway: "Everyone loves a Top Ten list. After posting about the Top Ten Flicker Hacks a few days ago, I decided I’d spend some time looking for some more Top Ten lists. It has been several weeks since I had time for any semi-pointless Web surfing and it turned out to be fun. There are countless “Top” lists on the WWW, so I decided to limit my collection to lists of either recent vintage or great usefulness (or strangeness.)
Warning: The following links carry lots of useful information, but also the potential for the wasting of a significant number of billable hours. I also have not carefully reviewed all of the linked sites and some may feature content objectionable to some readers. I found so much material that I haven’t had time to read it all myself.
So let’s start with the Top Ten Essential Travel Gadgets. This is great reading for the road warriors. I don’t own most of these, but I do carry a multi-tool in my shave kit and I use it frequently. This is followed by 10 Top Ten Gadget lists, ranging from the ten strangest clocks to the ten strangest keyboards.
Top Ten Largest Databases in the World is from BusinessIntelligenceLowdown.com. I’d never heard of this site before. But they had another interesting feature, How to Be a Manager that Your Employees Respect: 73 Surefire Tips. This is great material for anyone with employees. (I will definitely visit this site again or subscribe to its RSS, but I have to note that a website offering tips to the business community probably shouldn’t have Google ads. It makes it look amateurish.)
PC World has many top ten features, like The Top 10 Tech Stories of 2006. I also must note The 15 Best Places to Waste Time on the Web. (OK, maybe you are better off not knowing of these.) Here are many more PC World Top Ten lists generated by searching the site.
Even though you may have all of the degrees you want, you may still appreciate the Top Web Tools for College Students. If you want to spend way too much time contemplating how to improve the Google ranking for your web site, here are Ten Top Ten Search Engine Optimization lists.
As a dedicated Gmail user, I can’t skip Top 10 Gmail Tips and Hacks. Some of these are at the expert level, but some are for everyone, like “A recent and quietly introduced Gmail feature is Mail Fetcher, which can check up to five other e-mail accounts and download all that mail into your Gmail. To help keep things organized, Mail Fetcher can automatically label and archive all this incoming mail.”
Ten Effective Workplace Habits is maybe a bit mislabeled. It is more about career planning and development than actually getting work done.
OK, I’ve got to stop now. But I’ve accumulated more material. So I will do a follow up next week. I’ve got top 50 and top 25 lists, along with more top 10 lists. But feel free to e-mail more list suggestions to me (except for lawyer jokes.)”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, 25 February 2007
Posted by Cindy Chick: “Sometimes you just want to know when a web page gets updated content. For example, I use TrackEngine to monitor the "Seminars" page for one of my favorite dog agility instructors, so I know when she'll be in California. This kind of monitoring can be done with web services or software that you install on your computer. Tara Calishain reviews the best options, both free and fee, including TrackEngine, WatchThatPage, InfoMinder, and more.
You may not have needed to monitor web pages in the past, you may not need to now, but mark my words, one of these days, you'll need a page monitoring tool. You'd best bookmark this article now! You'll thank me later.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: LawLibTech, 19 February 2007
Posted by Tom Mighell: “A couple of months ago, I had to reinstall Windows to fix a file that had become corrupted. It wasn't terribly difficult -- the only thing that was a pain was reinstalling all my programs. I also had to reinstall something I didn't even think about -- all of the drivers for my hardware -- graphics card, sound card, DVD drive, etc. I wish I had known about Driver Collector -- it's a free program that scours your hard drive for drivers, and allows you to back them up to a CD or thumb drive. What a great way to get all of your drivers together, in one place.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 28 February 2007
In the news: “Handwriting analysis for jury selection has been used for decades, but the number of attorneys who hire experts has remained small. Some remain skeptical about such work, but lawyers who count on it say it gives them a competitive edge. "It's not 100 percent accurate, but if you know some history or a little bit more about a potential juror together with this analysis, it helps a whole lot more," says Bob Marx, who claims handwriting analysis helped him win his last three jury awards totaling $31 million.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 27 February 2007. Copyright 2006. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Anthony Cerminaro: "We've yet to hear advice that tells the whole truth about leadership. Yes, everyone agrees that leaders need vision, energy, authority, and strategic direction. That goes without saying. But we've discovered that inspirational leaders also share four unexpected qualities:
They selectively show their weaknesses. By exposing some vulnerability, they reveal their approachability and humanity.
They rely heavily on intuition to gauge the appropriate timing and course of their actions. Their ability to collect and interpret soft data helps them know just when and how to act.
They manage employees with something we call tough empathy. Inspirational leaders empathize passionately—and realistically—with people, and they care intensely about the work employees do.
They reveal their differences. They capitalize on what's unique about themselves.
You may find yourself in a top position without these qualities, but few people will want to be led by you."
Read more in this article excerpt from HBS Working Knowledge.
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: BizzBangBuzz, 20 February 2007
Posted by Sabrina Pacifici: "NCSC and members of the court and law enforcement communities are concerned about court security. This is an issue that affects us all. This forum was established as a central point of information about aspects of court security. We hope to provide resources, news, and networking opportunities through the Forum."
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 26 February 2007. Copyright ©2002-2006 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: “One sure-fire shortcut: Win the lottery. It worked for Diane Levin of Online Guide to Mediation, but even lottery dollars get you only so far. There remains that nagging need for new business. So how do successful mediators get started? Thanks to the impetus of lawyer and mediator Victoria Pynchon, we are finding out.
At her blog, Settle it Now, Pynchon recently shared her advice for how to start a mediation practice. Pynchon's post inspired another mediator, Tammy Lenski, to write about how she started her practice. She promises a second post on what she would do differently with the benefit of hindsight. Lenski invited other mediators to share their stories, tagging Levin, who told us of her lottery luck, and Dina Beach Lynch, who has yet to weigh in. Levin, in turn, passed the start-up baton to others, inviting them to share their own stories and advice.
Common themes among these successful mediators: Have a plan. Build a network. Pursue training and experience. Take the plunge.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Law.com Blog Network, 26 February 2007
Posted by Tom Kane: “Do you remember when the “M” word was anathema? I sure do. That is why my in-house marketing titles (prior to acceptance of the M word and my CMO title) were Director of Practice Development or Client Relations or Client Services. Well, that abhorrence has been replaced with the “S” word. So, the euphemism “business development” has come into play in order to avoid using the current bad word.
Any lawyer who is concerned about being considered a salesperson needs to truly wake up. Every one us has been a sales wo/man since the day we were born. What else would explain our successful persuasion of our parents, teachers, wife/husband (you did convince her/him to marry you after all), children….you get the point. Each and every human being is a salesperson. So, lawyers need to get over it.
The fact is that much that has been traditionally called law firm marketing is really selling.
A couple of definitions may help us bring the two into focus. Although there are as many definitions of marketing as there are professors at business schools, for years I have defined marketing as the process of:
• determining the firm’s legal services capabilities,
• and the wants and needs of the marketplace/clients, and
• bringing the two together utilizing the 4 “P’s”:
1. Product
2. Price
3. Place
4. Promotion
Lawyers do many different things in promoting their services. Whatever those actions may be, the bottom is that selling is the process of closing the deal with clients in order to become their lawyer.
Next time: Some of those activities that are really selling, but have been traditionally labeled marketing.”
Read full text at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Marketing Blog.com, 26 February 2007
Posted by: John Jantsch: "Not long ago I recall that the Holy Grail of business was something referred to as the Paperless Office. This was the notion that software and computers would allow businesses to operate without printing anything on paper. Funny thing is though it seems that while we are much more efficient and much more global, we still go through lots of paper.
The new Holy Grail, if you follow new things, is something I would like to officially term the Softwareless Office. At present, most any function that you might need a computer or working using that computer to accomplish, can be done with an application that is housed on the web and not resident as software. (Maybe this will lead to the officeless office next.)
Google (Google Apps) is driving this train pretty hard at the moment and Microsoft (Office Live) has taken note - mix in some pretty terrific upstarts like 37Signals and you've got a great environment for more development on this front.
Let's get the list started - an entire list of web based only applications to run your business - please tell me about your favorites
[The post includes examples of: Email, Calendar, Phone systems, CRM, File storage and transfer, Documents, Spreadsheets, Database and Forms, Design, Project management, Presentations, Accounting & Billing, Collaboration, and Office Suites]
Share your favorites!”
Read full text and get active links at the source site listed below. Be sure to read the comments – where there are more gems!
Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 26 February 2007
Posted by Grant Griffiths: “One comment and question I have seen come up a lot lately is, should a blog be integrated into a website? While I have no problem with putting a link on your website to your blog and vice versa. I do have a problem with actually integrating your blog into your website. I actually discussed this with Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog today. Kevin is one of the most knowledgeable individuals I know when it comes to blogging. What follows is a summary of that conversation.
A blog is akin to an educational magazine. If you are updating your blog with new content, as you should be, you are publishing new issues of your “magazine” every time you do. You are providing free information to the public in a form and method people can use and understand. It is not the same type of promotional tool as a website. You are providing updated information on a blog often. You update it daily, weekly or monthly. And a blog is meant to be cited, people don't cite a website. The big advantage of a blog over a static website is just that, it gets cited. Not just from lawyers, but lot’s of other bloggers. If you put your blog inside the website, those cites to your blog will not happen. You will not get the same SEO either. Cites and links are what drive traffic to your blog and in turn drive you business.
Continue reading "Blogs Integrated into a Website?"
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Home Office Lawyer, 26 February 2007
Posted by Sabrina Pacifici: "The Tyndall Report monitors the weekday nightly newscasts of the three American broadcast television networks: ABC World News with Charles Gibson, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams...The Tyndall Blog monitors and comments on each night's newscasts and links to the stories that the networks aired."
• Links to a range of reliable, free and fee-based Television and Radio News Transcripts are available in Competitive Intelligence - A Selective Resource Guide, by Sabrina I. Pacifici.
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 26 February 2007. Copyright ©2002-2006 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Matt Steinke
“Funniest Firm Names
Law Blog Trial Issue of the Day: Attorney Facial Hair
Sense of Humor as an Alternative to Cease-and-Desist Letters
Don't fret -- call the Guitar Lawyer”
Be sure to read the comments to these posts – some are funnier than the post!
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Moritz Legal Information Blog, 23 February 2007
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “Former Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed House Bill 241, adopting Ohio Sentencing Commission recommendations regarding revision of the State’s forfeiture laws, into law on December 29th., and there’ve obviously been numerous posts about it since then.
For those who might find it useful, though, the Sentencing Commission has a post on its website that details the new law from a different perspective than some of the other locations this material appears on.
Most of the revisions go into effect on March 30, 2007.
Ohio Legislative Service analysis of HB 241”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 23 February 2007
Posted by tom Kane: “The more you distinguish yourself or your firm from others, the more effective your law firm marketing efforts will become. Too many firms still sell themselves as generalists, especially smaller firms, or at least capable of handling a wide range of legal matters. Unfortunately, that only continues the problem potential clients have in differentiating one firm from another.
Niche marketing is not a new topic for this blog (as you can see from earlier posts listed below). What got me thinking about the topic again is an article I read by Paramjit Mahli of Sun Communications Group entitled “Know Your Niche” that appeared in the New Jersey Law Journal this month.
Not only does she identify reasons to narrow your niche so you stand out in a particular field or practice, but Paramjit points out that your legal marketing dollars will be better spent. The more you know about the potential clients in a niche market, the better you can direct your lawyers’ business development activities. There just isn’t the time or dollars available to accomplish this in the broad marketplace for an individual lawyer or small firm.
See earlier posts on the topic:
"More on Niche Marketing"
"For Effective Legal Marketing – Focus, Focus, Focus"
"Do You Have a Niche, and What Are You Doing About It?"
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Marketing Blog.com, 23 February 2007
Posted by Sue Altmeyer: “The Ohio State Medical Board issued a new regulation, Ohio Admin. Code 4731-27-01, which creates rules for physicians when a doctor-patient relationship is terminated. There are also rules for when a practice closes. For more details, see: Ohio State Medical Board Issues A New Rule Governing Termination of the Physician-Patient Relationship by The Health Care Department of Bricker & Eckler, L.L.P., Feb., 2007.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cleveland Law Library Weblog, 25 February 2007
From the e-newsletter:
“March 6, 2007 / Webcast
Spoliation is becoming a more frequent issue in litigation, particularly with the importance of electronic evidence, and courts are seemingly being asked to decide an increasing number of sanctions motions related to the destruction of evidence. Litigants and their counsel must ask when the duty to preserve evidence arises and what steps should be taken to insure compliance with preservation requirements.
http://technology.findlaw.com/legal-technology-events/ [Scroll down]
Source: FindLaw’s Modern Practice. February 2007. Copyright © 2006 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
From the blog: “In the recent case, Philip Morris USA v. Williams, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the corporate giant in a punitive damage suit. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, we will discuss the power of the tobacco industry and big business, the Supreme Court justices and this controversial ruling. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi turn to the experts, Michael Gerhardt, professor of law at UNC School of Law, J. David Prince, professor of law at the William Mitchell College of Law and Mark Gottleib, Executive Director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, to discuss this ruling. Don’t miss it!
Click the play button (or choose another way to listen).
>>Play in Windows Media Player
>>Download the MP3”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Talk Network, 23 February 2007
Mary Ellen Bates writes: “This is a great site for surfacing all of Google's features and sites, downloads, and blogs -- both official and unofficial. One column lists all the sites within Google, everything from setting up alerts to the Google Zeitgeist. The next column has search boxes that streamline all the Google search filters, including blogs, stock prices, patents and public source code. As a tip o' the hat to other search engines, there are also basic search boxes for Yahoo, MSN, Ask and several other web search tools. Also included are links to the official Google blog as well as over 20 other reputable blogs that focus on Google.
http://www.usabilityviews.com/simply_google.htm
GooFresh
This cool little API, developed by web guru Tara Calishain, lets you limit a Google search to sites recently added or updated in the Google index. It's particularly useful if you run the same search every week or month to retrieve new information. As with all of Tara's search tools, it's simple, elegant and useful.
http://www.researchbuzz.org/2003/09/goofresh.shtml
SearchMash
This is an unbranded Google site, where Google is trying out a new search engine interface. For starters, it sorts the results by web pages, images, blogs, videos, and Wikipedia entries, all on one screen. The first 20 web pages are displayed in a somewhat abbreviated format, but with a new way to drill down into any of the retrieved web sites. And Google finally has something close to MSN Live's "infinite scroll." When you click SearchMash's link for "More web results", the next 20 results are added at the end of the search results list; you can now scroll through 40 results at a time. Click "More web results" and another 20 are added at the end of the list, and so on.
http://www.searchmash.com
Google's Topic Search
Google has been noodling around with its Co-Op tool since it was first rolled out in May of 2006. It is now being promoted as a way to build a customized search engine (see my December 2006 Info-Entrepreneur Tip for a review of client-based search engines -- http://www.batesinfo.com/ib-tip.html#December2006). Now, though, Google is also highlighting the cooperatively-built search topics on health, travel destinations, cars, gaming, photography and A-V equipment. Click one of its topic searches and run a search. Above the usual Google search results are categories that help you narrow and focus your search. For example, a search in the health topic lets you focus on sites that provide information on treatment, symptoms, prognosis, clinical trials, support groups and so on. Information professionals and experts in the field contribute to the categorization of specific web pages; this combination of a search engine and a human-built directory is an encouraging move toward making search engines smarter and more relevant.
http://www.google.com/coop/topics/?show=all”
Source: Email newsletter: “Bates InfoTip: Little-Known Google Tools”, 24 February 2007
Posted by Al Nye: “You know the numbers. It's projected right now that about half of all new marriages end up in divorce. It's a horrible statistic that doesn't begin to suggest the emotional and financial strain that it puts on families. Other than the death of your spouse, divorce is probably the most stressful event you'll ever face. I've had women discussing their divorce in my office become violently ill. I've seen hardened fishermen cry in open court during their divorce hearing. Make no mistake – divorce is hell.
So what have I learned after being a lawyer for nearly 30 years and helping many folks go through this difficult process? If you believe that a divorce is in your future, here are 12 things think about:
1. Don't do it.
2. Get a lawyer.
3. Kids First.
4. Copy Important Financial Documents.
5. Find out what you own.
6. Find out what you owe.
7. Determine your spouse's income.
8. Figure out what happens when you move out.
9. Divide up bank accounts.
10. Know what you can earn.
11. Take a look at your credit history.
12. Save, save, save."
Read full text at the source site listed below.
Source: Al Nye The Lawyer Guy, 22 February 2007
Written by Wendy L. Werner: "All great lawyers aren't necessarily well-respected lawyers. With such a strong negative stereotype associated with the law profession, reputation management is essential for continued success. Follow these recommendations to attract new business and improve your professional life.
A few weeks ago I was having coffee with an attorney, well respected in his area of expertise, and at the top of his field professionally. What he got around to, after talking about his practice and his firm was this, how can lawyers be more user-friendly? Although happy with both his chosen career and his practice, he said that lately he was feeling more in common with those who are critical of attorneys and their ilk. Why is it, he mused, that lawyers can be so difficult to deal with, and what do they need to think about to understand that this is probably not the best way to attract clients and have a great professional life?
So he asked me to write something about it. His recommendation was to create a list of things that lawyers need to do or think about to not just be tolerated by the rest of the world, but to flourish. This is written as his suggestion.
• Talk less, listen more.
• Sharing information with those around you is not a bad thing.
• Know what your colleagues are working on.
• Being rigorous doesn't mean being a jerk.
• Risk is sometimes necessary to find new opportunities.
• If you only spend time with lawyers, you won't know how to talk to juries or clients.
• Lawyers are frequently smart people – but lots of other people are smart too.
• Diversity is a fact of life. If you want a successful and smart organization, hire and promote a diverse work force.
• Seek opportunities for feedback.
• No matter what your level in the organization, find a mentor, coach or advisor.
• Having fun at work isn't a crime.
• At the end of your life you probably won't say – "I wish I had spent more time at the office."
Read full text of the article at the source site listed below.
Source: Law Practice Today, February 2007
Posted by Tom Kane: “Some professionals think it is enough to be a good lawyer. In fact, in my experience, some think that should be enough for clients to beat a path to their door. Unfortunately, that isn’t the real world. It simply isn’t enough today to be just a good lawyer.
Jim Durham, chief marketing officer at Ropes & Gray agrees. Jim is the author of The Essential Little Book of Great Lawyering. It really is little (about 50 pages), and is advertised as “a classic pocket book, meant to be read on a train ride home from work or on an airplane business trip.” You can get a copy from The Law Marketing Store for $11.95.
In Chapter 4, “Putting It All Together – A Summary of the Characteristics of Great Lawyers,” Jim has a number of examples of good vs. great lawyers. With his permission, the following are the gems from pages 39-41: (Italic emphasis mine)
“Good lawyers return phone calls reasonably promptly;
great lawyers are always available and accessible to their clients. Great lawyers don't just respond when their phone rings, they make other people's phones ring.
“Good lawyers know the law;
great lawyers know the law, but they also know and understand the client's business. Great lawyers know what makes the client successful and they understand the client's preferred form of communication.
“Good lawyers get the legal work done.
Great lawyers get the work done too, but they do it and give practical advice in the context of knowing the client's business.
“Good lawyers do legal work effectively and efficiently.
Great lawyers look for ways to make legal services more valuable to clients. Great lawyers give clients more than they pay for.
“Good lawyers treat the client professionally.
Great lawyers personalize the relationship by recognizing the unique styles, interests, and needs of the individuals with whom they work.
“Good lawyers do their best to keep promises about when work will be completed.
Great lawyers do what they say they will do, and get it done when they said they would. (In other words, good lawyers try to deliver, great lawyers DELIVER.)
“Good lawyers are reasonably comfortable in most settings.
Great lawyers project confidence, but not arrogance, in any setting.
“Good lawyers attend meetings;
great lawyers arrive early-fully prepared. Good lawyers are present at meetings; great lawyers are a real presence in the meeting.
“Good lawyers are thought of as "capable," and are expected to do a good job.
Great lawyers own the client's problem, and engender a belief that they will do everything possible to help the client succeed.
“Good lawyers care about clients.
Great lawyers are loyal to them.
“Good lawyers accept feedback when clients offer it.
Great lawyers seek meaningful feedback from clients and act on it.”
Thanks, Jim."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Marketing BLOG.com, 16 February 2007
Posted by StephanieWestAllen: “Two sharp and savvy bloggers have recently posted about the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity. Diane Levin at Online Guide to Mediation posted "Developing cultural awareness in a global business age." Levin says:
For many of us in the 21st century, the map of our business and social networks has radically changed. Once local or regional, those networks have become global, thanks to digital technology, which has transformed the geography of our professional and personal lives.
Michelle Golden at Golden Practices blogged "Working Globally." Golden writes:
Knowledge of multi-cultural business and social etiquette is increasing in necessity. Living in such an electronically connected time, when even telephone access to the farthest reaches of the world are reasonable (or free with Skype! gotta love Skype...). Even I hardly go a day without speaking to or corresponding with someone from another hemisphere (and that doesn't include blogging).
Both point to a very informative post by Pam Slim at Escape from Cubicle Nation entitled "How not to be a cultural knucklehead in a global business world." Be sure to click on over and read what Slim advises.
Several years ago I conducted a couple of seminars for lawyers in San Francisco on cross-cultural communication. Here's an article I wrote about the programs for Lawyer Hiring & Training Report.
Why I Left My Heart in San Francisco: California Lawyers Expand Their Cultural Awareness
In January if this year, I offered two seminars to lawyers in California about the influence of culture on conflict resolution. One of the training programs was for the settlement attorneys of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the other was for a group of approximately 25 lawyer mediators from various firms.
I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with lawyers who were eager to open themselves up to new information and to shift old attitudes. Learning that many of our ideas are not universal but are instead a function of our culture -- are "culture-bound" -- can be disconcerting, and yet these lawyers were enthusiastic when working with the topics.
In learning about a culture (as well as many other topics), three areas must be addressed: . . . Download the rest of the article."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: idealawg, 21 February 2007
By Julie Fleming Brown: "Most of the lawyers I talk with enjoy practicing law, at least to some degree. They may not love it, but there's some part of practice that works for them, whether it's the intellectual challenge, the stand-up work that can harness the acting bug, or even the money. I don't think I've ever met a lawyer who thinks her practice is just perfect, with no need for growth or adjustment, but the majority of lawyers aren't desperately searching for a way out of the profession.
I find that one trait is almost universal among those who are unhappy in practice, though: a sense of being trapped, with no alternatives, no escape, just a decades-long future in the same miserable position.
The source of the misery varies, of course. Sometimes it's working too many hours, with the accompanying pain of a distant or angry spouse/family, no time to develop a relationship, or feelings of burnout from trying to please clients, employers/partners, family, friends, etc., but lacking time to enjoy personal pursuits. Sometimes it's feeling trapped in a job that doesn't fit, because of the practice type, clients, colleagues, the way the firm (or company) operates, or because the money is an insufficient reward for the effort required and there's no passion to balance it. And sometimes, it's the result of years of academic competition without any particular direction, yielding a terrific but unwanted legal career.
Lawyers talk about golden handcuffs, and especially in view of law school debt, that's a real phenomenon. However, I stand for the belief that no one is ever truly trapped. There's always an option, usually a variety of them, though it may take the help of someone else to see what those options are.
Sometimes the choices only require an adjustment. For instance, burnout can often be countered with rigorous energy management. (If that intrigues you, read The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.) Sometimes, the choices are much more difficult-a new job or practice, perhaps with a pay cut. And sometimes, the path is undefined and the first steps of moving into it are exhilarating and also terrifying.
So, for anyone who's wondering: the trap, though it looks real, is an illusion. In Einstein's words: "The significant problems we face can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them," and "[o]ne cannot alter a condition with the same mind set that created it in the first place."
Julie Fleming Brown provides professional and personal coaching for lawyers on topics such as client and professional development, job searches, career transitions, and work/life balance. She is also certified to provide the DISC® assessment. Please visit www.LifeAtTheBar.com for more information and to arrange a complimentary coaching exploration session.
Source: Solomon, Mark and Lisa. “The Timesheet.” The Billable Hour. February 2007. Subscribe http://www.thebillablehour.com/timesheet.php
In the news: “Many female lawyers eventually leave the law firm world, especially when they realize the work-life balance may not exist to raise a family. But the reasons aren't always straightforward. One former lawyer says she grew disillusioned when she realized law school had nothing to do with justice. And Lauren Drake, now at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., cites billable-hour requirements as her core complaint. "The reward was more work," she says of turning work around quickly. Law firms, are you listening?”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 23 February 2007. Copyright 2006. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Tom Collins: “Last week I had the opportunity to serve on the faculty of a Tennessee Bar session on technology. During the day-long meeting, I served on a panel dealing with case management options. Vendor representatives on the panel included Legal Files, Time Matters™ , Amicus®Attorney, and Prolaw®. All of products represented serve as a depository of case related information and perform the same basic functions:
• Client intake information, including billing arrangement, etc.
• Case information: contacts, counsels, experts, witnesses, facts, dates, issues, strategies,
• Calendaring, docketing, reminders, to-do lists
• Conflict searches
• E-mails and internal documents related to the case
• Discovery documents
• Notes
• Templates of case related information used for document assembly or preparation
Prolaw’s claim to fame is their built-in court rules. While not on the panel, the other court rules provider is Compulaw®. Compulaw is the leading provider of rule-based docketing software; they offer an online service called Deadlines on Demand®. Compulaw does license others to use their rules and may have arrangements with some of the products represented on the panel.
One of the things I found interesting in the Juris Law Firm Economic Survey conducted last year is that case management software was not among the top practice management priorities for most firms. It did make it to the top-three list for the lowest performing 25 percent of firms. I assume that most law firms feel they have case management under control through their existing systems and procedures. That makes sense from the standpoint of a practicing lawyer. You are already managing your cases. Case management software is just a tool for doing so, but so are file folders and day timers. So is the Microsoft® Office Suite including Outlook® — which is the most widely used software by law firms for organizing and managing law firm cases.
Case management systems aren’t just for litigation matters. They facilitate management of any project or activity—for a client or otherwise. The question is, are you better off using a commercial case management system or a combination of general purpose tools to develop your case management solution? The tools you use to get there are less important than just getting there. You need to look at the commercial products related to your particular needs and firm culture. You need to research the existing case management capabilities of your business software in combination with other software such as document management, file management, Microsoft’s Office Suite, etc. You may not be using the case management tools you already have through the connective capability of your existing software.
If your firm has multiple practice areas, keep in mind that trying to fit different specialized practice areas onto the same set of case management tools can create inefficiencies rather than efficiency. To that end, you may need different tools for different folks. For example, there are specialized requirements for intellectual property, immigration and personal injury, among others, and there are products that target these areas. Solutions that facilitate litigation and particularly complex litigation can cause the real estate people to rebel. The objective is to be able to handle the practice areas more efficiently. There is no requirement that everyone use the same case management tool.
Most popular and specialized case management software has taken advantage of the tools Juris, Inc. makes available to all vendors to enable them to interface their products to Juris® law office business software. There are Juris law firms using all of the case management products represented on the panel. Among Juris law firm products represented on the panel, Amicus and Time Matters tend to appear in smaller firms and Legal Files tends to be the choice as firms move up in size. That is one of the nice things about the Juris approach of making “connect tools” available to all vendors. You can have environments where the litigation people are using one solution, the intellectual property group another and the rest of the firm using Outlook, and yet they all connect to the firm’s Juris system.
In many respects, any tool you use for case management is a blank sheet of paper. To successfully implement case management, you have to be committed to training and investing the resources to set up the system to fit your practice areas. You have to continue to invest to keep your system fine-tuned to those needs. It is not something you just take out of the box and start using. What comes out of the box is just the beginning.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below. You may need to use the refresh function of your browser to get to this site.
Source: morepartnerincome.com, 23 February 2007
Looking for Tax Forms?
Posted by Candle Wester-Mittan: “If you are doing your own taxes this year, you may want to check out the IRS Forms and Publications page. The forms and instructions are listed by number and are in PDF. Additionally, the IRS has other helpful information. Including, if you qualify, how to file electronically for free.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Law Dawg Blawg, 22 February 2007
Car Passengers and the Fourth Amendment
From the e-newsletter: “FindLaw columnist and Rutgers law professor Sherry Colb discusses an intriguing Fourth Amendment case that the Supreme Court recently opted to review. The case arose because a police officer stopped a car, based on a false belief that its driver's registration had expired. During the stop, the officer saw substances related to the production of methamphetamine, but was able to connect them not to the driver, but to his passenger -- who was subsequently prosecuted. Were the passenger's Fourth Amendment rights violated? Does the passenger have "standing" to sue in this case? Read more:
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/colb/20070221.html
Traffic Stops and Vehicle Searches
Search and Seizure" and the Fourth Amendment
Expungement (Erasing an Arrest or Conviction)
From the e-newsletter: “Expungement is a legal process through which an arrest or conviction may be erased from a person's criminal record. The new "Expungement" section of FindLaw’s Criminal Law Center has in-depth information on expungement eligibility and the expungement process, as well as state-specific resources on expungement and criminal records.
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/expungement/
Browse the Criminal Law Center
Both items from:
Source: FindLaw’s Public Advisor. 22 February 2007. Copyright © 2006 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by Larry Bodine: “On average, law firms experience a decline in billable hours from existing clients at a rate of 1% a month, according to a new study by Redwood Analytics. Eventually many good clients leave, switching to another law firm.
Happily, research shows that law firms can identify clients that are at-risk of leaving, and that firms can control whether they stay. Here are the four markers that identify whether your firm is likely to retain a client. This client:
1. Provides the firm a large amount of legal work.
2. Has a mature, established relationship with the firm.
3. Sends the firm work in more than two practice areas.
4. Has more than two firm partners significantly involved in the management of the client’s matters.
No. 3 and 4 are the key indicators. Firms that successfully cross-sell clients are going to keep them. On the other hand, firms that allow partners to hoard clients and keep other partners away are likely to lose those clients.
The more varied the legal services provided to a client, the less likely they were to leave. Less than 15% of clients using a firm for three areas of law are likely to leave the firm within two years. Less than 5% of clients that had retained the firm for four or five areas of law are likely to cease using the firm. On the other hand more than 35% of clients that used the firm for only one area of law left within in two years.
For the full story, see "Client Attrition Analytics: Firms Can Control Whether Clients Stay or Go."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Larry Bodine’s LawMarketing Blog, 22 February 2007
Posted by Michelle Golden: “Do you know how to apologize? Anybody who's read my blog for awhile will know that I consider the art of apology to be an essential song in any business person's repertoire.
As I've said in past posts, it's not IF you'll make a mistake, it's how you handle it when you do...
• See Blame Avoidance. Why It's a Fatal Error.
• See Lost Clients? "Reasons" Are Symptoms, Not Cause
I even described in my post about what not to put on your website that instead of just touting your accuracy, a real differentiator would be to say what you do when a mistake does occur. It's particularly engaging these days when we acknowledge that we *are* human, after all--especially in our immensely digital world.
But more on apologies...a post the other day by Seth Godin (he so consistently has gems on his blog, please subscribe if you don't already!) describes apologies that just don't cut it and built up to apologies that do work. He ranks them on a scale of 1-10, 10 being best:…”
Continue reading this great post at the source site listed below.
Source: Golden Practices, 16 February 2007
Posted by Garr Reynolds: “I am a huge fan of TED and truly appreciate their efforts to share their presentations with the rest of the world. Here are a couple of very short TED presentations (only three minutes each) which you will enjoy. Both have good content, a simple and important message, and each presenter uses visuals that evoke emotions. The presentations are not perfect; I think you could offer up several tips to each of these brilliant men that would help them the next time they do a short presentation with visuals. Still, the short presentations provide another chance to learn. Let's look first at the presentation by Richard St. John, author of Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and Rich: Spike's Guide to Success. (The title of chapter one of the book is "My Apologies for the Title). Watch the video below or here on the TED site....”
Continue reading this post at the source site listed below. There is some good information in the comments at the end of the post – don’t miss them!
Source: Presentation Zen, 15 February 2007
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “ BRB Publications makes available a checklist from the 2007 edition of Directory of Local Court & County Record Retrievers. The checklist helps you identify what information you should have in advance of hiring a public records retriever.
"Of course, the one big question not on this list that you will want to ask the retriever is "what is the cost?" This answer cannot be determined until the ten items below are clear to both parties."
SEE: A Checklist to Use Before You Place an Order with a Record Retriever BRB Publications, Inc., 2007”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 22 February 2007, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=feb07/22feb07.xml
In the news: “Law departments, once the hardware and software stepchildren of the legal profession, are steadily, if gradually, adopting more sophisticated ways to aid their work, according to Corporate Counsel's 2007 In-House Tech Survey. And that's made company lawyers even pushier when it comes to outside counsel. In the past, legal departments asked firms in a general way about their tech prowess. Now, it seems that clients are requiring firms to actually implement the technology they've been boasting about.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 21 February 2007. Copyright 2006. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Tom Mighell: “Here's an interesting concept: you decide to sell something on eBay, or post a classified ad on Craigslist, and you don't want your real phone number floating out over the Internet. Enter Craigsnumber -- it's a temporary phone number you can use when listing online. You can specify a number in 16 cities, or just accept the San Francisco area code. Tell Craigsnumber how long you want the number to last -- from 1 hour to 1 month -- and your phone number, and you're set. Whenever your Craigsnumber gets a call, it will be forwarded to you automatically. And don't worry, the folks at Craigsnumber won't sell, rent or lease your phone number to third parties.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 21 February 2007
Posted by Adriana Linares: "I know I don't talk about it much - and it's certainly not because I'm ashamed or looking to keep it a secret. As a matter of fact, all my friends and family are in-the-know and if you've ever been to my house, you've seen her with your own eyes. So being that today is a day to recognize the ones you love I think it's a perfect opportunity for me to pay homage to the other romantech figure in my life. My Mac.
About two years ago, I got sucked into the Mac madness and decided to experiment like a girl gone wild. I didn't really have anything in mind for her, I just wanted to add some spice to my tech life. I wasn't looking to replace my PC, our relationship is still going strong - but I thought, maybe we can add a little excitement to the mix with a third party *wink wink*. My PC brings home the bacon, it's the man in my life; we've been together a long time, we have a groove and we really love eachother - that's not to say there aren't days when I want to ring it's neck - there are DEFINITELY those days! But the Mac, well, I knew she would be my good time girl - always up for some fun - there to help exercise my creative side, listen to music with and really, just available to help me "get away."
Continue reading this interesting and clever post at the source site listed below.
Source: I Heart Tech, 14 February 2007
From the e-newsletter: “New year, new software: Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows Vista, has finally hit consumer desks. Do you need to upgrade, and if so, to which version? Should you get a new desktop or laptop with Vista preinstalled? CNET has your complete guide to Windows Vista: software and system reviews, videos, the latest news, downloads, tips, and a test to check whether your system's ready for the upgrade.
http://www.cnet.com/4520-13111_1-6687520-1.html?tag=bubbl_4
Vista Deployment Tools”
Source: FindLaw’s Practice Paper. 21 February 2007. Copyright © 2006 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “Never assume the best of witnesses. Perhaps you wouldn't try to shade the truth if you were being deposed, but that's not true of many witnesses. When taking depositions, a little cynicism goes a long way. Unless you're certain otherwise, assume the witness is lying.
There are a number of ways witnesses can try to fool you at depositions. Here are just a few:
• The witness can knowingly make a false statement. “The light was green,” he might say, when he knows it was red.
• The witness can state he doesn’t know the answer to your question when, in fact, he knows the answer very well.
• The witness can say “I don’t remember,” when, in fact, he does remember.
• The witness can give one of the words in your question a meaning he knows is false, so that he can answer your question in a way that seems to be accurate, though it really isn’t. “It depends on what the meaning of the word is is,” said one famous deponent.
• The witness can answer a question that you didn't ask, hoping you won't notice.
In one of my deposition podcasts, I noted that you should be on alert for witnesses who give away their deceptions in the way they give their answers. If you think a witness is trying to fool you, don’t be bashful about circling around and starting the line of questions from a new angle. "Muck around in it," a lawyer I know used to say. Wear the witness down by refusing to give up. Make it clear that the deposition won't end until you get full, truthful, and complete answers.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 15 February 2007
ESSAY by Ben W. Heineman, Jr.
"In this Essay, I argue that graduates of law schools should aspire not just to be wise counselors but wise leaders; not just to dispense “practical wisdom” but to be “practical visionaries”; not just to have positions where they advise, but where they decide. Put another way, I wish to re-define (or at least to re-emphasize) the concept of “lawyer” to include “lawyer as leader.” The profession and the law schools should more candidly recognize the importance of leadership and should more directly prepare and inspire young lawyers to seek roles of ultimate responsibility and accountability than they do today. Why do I advance this thesis? First, our society is suffering from a leadership deficit in public, private, and non-profit spheres. The core competencies of law are as good a foundation for broad leadership as other training. Second, the legal profession, by many accounts, is suffering from a crisis of morale, from a disconnect between personal values and professional life. Providing leadership can affirm—and test—our vision and core values. Third, other professional schools—business and public policy—have as their explicit mission the training of leaders for the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The graduates of our law schools are at least as talented as those who enter other professional and graduate schools. And law schools should have a similar vision to enhance the careers of their outstanding students, thus serving society and addressing the values crisis that affects portions of the profession. But today’s law schools are muted or ambivalent about leadership (Yale Law School has no mission statement on its web-site)."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE...
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Pocket Part, 16 February 2007
From the site: “The Plaintiff Bar and the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) have a longstanding relationship critical to helping clients make the best financial choices after an award in a lawsuit. In fact 70% of plaintiff attorneys indicate they retain a structured settlement consultant to assist in the negotiations of claims settlements. Join Ringler Radio host, Larry Cohen and co-host Tom Murray from Ringler Associates, with special guests, J.P. Steele, President of NSSTA and Randy Dyer, NSSTA Executive Vice President. Listen and hear about a new survey NSSTA commissioned on plaintiff lawyers and structured settlements.
Click the play button (or choose another way to listen).
>>Play in Windows Media Player
>>Download the MP3”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source:The Legal Talk Network, 20 February 2007