Posted by Michelle Golden: “My friend Ron Baker taught me about HSDs. HSDs are the days when something happens that makes you swell with sense of accomplishment and think, "this is why I do what I do!" - your raison d'être.
Ron credits John Heymann, founder of NewLevel Group in Napa, CA, as the creator the High Satisfaction Day (HSD) term which Ron wrote about in one of his books: Measure What Matters to Customers.
Some companies and firms encourage employees to note their HSDs on a calendar in the employee lounge. Others, like Brendon Harrex's accounting firm, use technology to capture HSDs with a computer desktop button that, when pressed, launches a celebration fanfare and notes, somewhere, who had an HSD today.
Companies can keep an eye on increases or decreases in HSDs to get a sense of morale or personal fulfillment. This is why Ron calls it a KPI: or Key Predictive Indicator. No HSDs could imply an unhappy team member...someone who may not enjoy their job, or want to stay.
Anyway, Ron recently posted one of his HSDs which inspired me to post my best HSD ever. It's an email I received in May from a new client's lovely wife (edited a little for privacy) after my first project with the firm.
Michelle,
I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that, even though you aren’t aware of it, you’ve made a tremendous difference in my life in the last few weeks!! It seems funny because we don’t really even know that much about each other, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you and your professional contribution to the marketing efforts at M's firm….
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Golden Practices, 27 July 2008
Posted by John Jantsch: “There’s a lot of talk these days in marketing circles about “green business” practices and marketing. I spent some time talking about this very thing with Tim Sanders whose upcoming release - Saving the World at Work - dives into the topic in a very smart way. (Look for our chat on the Duct Tape Marketing podcast)
Being green isn’t just about recycling, it’s about nurturing, growing things, instead of just using them. In fact, being green has as much to do with purpose and people as it does plastic and paper.
Companies that want to lean on their greeness as a marketing advantage need to do three things, in this order:
1) Grow and nurture their people - hire people who think green, empower and inspire them to make wise choices
2) Grow and nurture their community - involve the purpose of the business in the local community
3) Grow and nurture their planet - only now does recycling and carbon exchanging make a true difference
The beauty of this somewhat expanded view is that even the smallest business can do this and make a meaningful difference”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 29 July 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “In my last Do Something! post, I talked about why you should delegate, what do delegate, and to whom. Once you've made those decisions, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty of delegation.
Give clear, comprehensive instructions
This may be the single most crucial component of effective delegation. It's harder than it sounds, and may require some trial and error.
1. Try creating checklists…
2. Be specific about the scope of the project…
3. Communicate why this assignment is important and how it fits into the overall work of the firm:
· How does it affect clients?
· How does it help the firm function?
· How does it fit into the overall strategy of a particular case?
Ensure that you’ve been understood
Miscommunication is inevitable. ‘Memo’ to one lawyer might mean a short, one page, bulleted document setting forth the current state of the law. ‘Memo’ to the newly minted associate may mean a legal brief complete with case citations, discussions of individual case facts, etc.
· Encourage questions…
· Ask the person you’re delegating to repeat back to you their understanding of the project…
Set a definite deadline and establish priority
Much delegation fails because no deadlines are set for completing the project or the delegatee has no idea whether this project is a priority.
· Set a deadline and write it on your calendar..
· Communicate the deadline to the delegatee..
Check in
Don't wait until the deadline to determine whether your delegatee is on track, particularly if you're new to delegation or to working with this particular delegatee.
· Schedule a time to check in..
· Don't micromanage..
Evaluate and share the outcome
Completion of the task by the delegatee or return of the work to you isn't the end of the delegation process.
· Feedback is an important part of good delegation…
· Praise your employees/delegatees for a job well done…
· Share the outcome of the overall case or project with thse that worked on it….
Follow the steps to effective delegation and you may be surprised at what you can accomplish.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 30 July 2008
By Kevin Fayle: “It seems that everyone is a member of a social network these days. Whether it's your kids on MySpace and Facebook, or your colleagues on LinkedIn, people are taking advantage of these new online meeting spaces to make friends, communicate and expand business opportunities.
But what are the legal obligations that arise out of the use of social networks, both for the user and the sites themselves? The law in this area is still relatively unsettled, but some recent developments have created intriguing precedent, and legislation in motion promises to keep things interesting for the foreseeable future.”
Topics include:
Laws Pertaining to Social Networking Sites
Legal Considerations for Social Networking Users
Related Resources:
· The Law of Social Networking Sites: a Primer
· Ninth Circuit Decision Creates Liability Risk for Social Networking Sites
· MySpace Defeats Spammer
· A Fourteen-Year-Old Girl's Suit Against MySpace
· Are The Online Kids Alright?
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: FindLaw’s Tools of the Trade: Legal Technology News. July 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted By Rob Millard: “During the opening of Cisco’s Globalization Centre East in Bangalore, India, Cisco CEO John Chambers, who was live on the Bangalore stage, ‘beamed up’ Martin De Beer, the Senior Vice President of emerging Technologies, and Chuck Stucki the General Manager of TelePresence, live from San Jose, California. Chambers was then able to have a ‘face to face’ discussion with De Beer and Stucki (see the pic above) on the future of Cisco TelePresence, demonstrating first hand the potential capabilities of the system in front of the watching audience.
Watch .... be amazed .... think what this is going to do for videoconferencing .... and then, think where this technology is likely going to be five to ten years from now. Here's the link.
Thanks to Ross Hollman at Strategize for the 'heads-up.'”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Adventure of Strategy, 25 July 2008
From the e-newsletter: “This overview of best security practices is designed to help all employees understand how to protect computer networks from misuse and attack. Topics include password protection (complex passwords, changing passwords often, and single-use passwords), not leaving logged-in computers unattended, performing backups, e-mail security, use of mobile devices, and how to handle a security emergency (such as losing your laptop). From a computer software company.
URL: http://www.microsoft.com/midsizebusiness/security/network-security-for...
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26576”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: LII Librarians' Index to the Internet. NEW THIS WEEK for 31 July 2006. Copyright 2006 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, LII. Subscribe <http://lii.org/search/file/mailinglist>.
Posted by Dennis Kennedy: “I'll get back to my blog series, "My New Laptop Computer is an iPod Touch," tomorrow, but wanted to point you to my latest technology column in the ABA Journal, which has an iPhone theme.
My editor, Reg Davis, had been suggesting a column that explained some of today's telcom and wireless acronyms. I liked the idea, although I was not quite as enthused about the topic as he was, in part because telcom acronyms are a world of their own.
However, when the new iPhone launched with all the hoopla over 3G access, I realized that I didn't have a very good idea about what "3G" really. The timing seemed right for the topic.
So, I took a stab about putting together a short primer to help people try to understand the arcane, daunting and confusing world of wireless acronyms, and the differences between services and generations of wireless standards, both voice and data.
The column, called "Learning 3G-Speak," takes you on a tour through the sometimes wacky world of wireless standards. Once you get the idea that 3G refers to third, it follows what 2G and 4G must refer to, but what the story about 2.5G and even 2.75.
The column should help you understand whether you really can take advantage of higher data speeds or not and aid in navigating the wireless world. Learning to speak the language will be a benefit in this area.
Let me know what you think of the article.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 22 July 2008
From the e-newsletter: "’Employee resignations and layoffs raise questions about network security and data security. Here are 7 ways to protect your small or midsize business." Tips include having a detailed and signed security policy, not signaling cutbacks in advance (to reduce the chance of cyber-theft or sabotage), cutting access immediately on termination, and monitoring remote access. From bMighty, a website on information technology for small businesses.
URL: http://www.bmighty.com/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202101445
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26574”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: LII Librarians' Index to the Internet. NEW THIS WEEK for 31 July 2006. Copyright 2006 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, LII. Subscribe <http://lii.org/search/file/mailinglist>.
Posted by Julie Fleming-Brown: “I’m attending a conference this week, so I thought I’d load up a few links to good articles and blog posts some of you may not have seen.
Seven Simple Suggestions for Success and Happiness in the Law The JD Bliss Blog recently posted a summary of a commencement speech by Stephen Ellis, a lawyer who has happily practiced for 36 years. The suggestions are deceptively simple:
Be there for your clients when they need you.
(Read the rest of the entry…)”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Life at the Bar, 29 July 2008
Posted by Tom Kane: “An article (available to Association of Corporate Counsel members) by Susan Jacobsen that appears in the April 2008 issue of ACC’s “Hands On” addresses some “Lessons for Law Firms” as a result of a GC panel discussion at the 15th Annual Marketing Partner Forum this past January.
Fred Krebs, the president of ACC, was moderator of the panel and cited results from the 2007 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey, specifically
“…noting that half of the survey respondents terminated relationship with some of their outside counsel during the prior year, citing failure to perform according to client expectations, high costs, and poor work product or results.”
Krebs then asked the three panelists (GCs from General Electric Company, Royal Bank of Canada, and Hasbro, Inc.) to address a number of topics relating to outside law firms, including communications, cross-selling (two examples cited turned out to be disasters), conflicts, marketing activities, knowing the client’s business, satisfaction interviews, use of websites, views of $180,000 starting salaries, and loaning associates to clients.
The lessons learned (or should be) that particularly stood out for me relating to marketing and business development include:
• Constantly communicate with your clients (about their matters, problems, etc.),
• Learn all about their business (“More than anything,…the firms that stand out are the ones that know our business,” according to one GC),
• Seek client interviews to obtain feedback (all three GCs were in favor of doing this), and
• Higher associate salaries are not favored (“…the rise in associate salaries in the larger firms provided a good opportunity for smaller, regional firms to be positioned for the business”, according to Jacobsen).
Main Lesson: Don’t be one of the law firms that clients show the door.
For Survey’s table of contents and benchmarks...
Continue Reading”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 29 July 2008
Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: “Another terrific post from Men with Pens addresses a very big issue solo practitioners face; too many things to do, not enough time. The end result, lost time, brain drain and at a significant cost to your business and personal life:
Seven Ways to Battle Productivity Brain Drain
Too many ideas at once dig into your mental and physical energy resources just as credit cards dig into your money. Too much mental spending creates debt, leaving you with a mess and feeling overwhelmed trying to stay afloat.
Financial advisors have the perfect solution. These number-crunching pros have strategies that reduce conventional debt, and these can also help reduce and eliminate idea debt and brain drain. You’ll restore some balance in your life and actually get things done with these seven adapted strategies.
1. Cut up your mental credit cards…
2. Uncover the real expense…
3. Budget your mental spending…
4. Pay more than the minimum…
5. Reduce one debt at a time…
6. Don’t spend what you don’t have…
7. Pay yourself first…
Solo practitioners, entrepreneurs in general, do not 'pay' themselves first. I'm not talking about money, I'm talking about time, attention to health, family and more.
And the most recent phenomenon with progressive solo practitioners: they are into TOO much, excited by so many potential opportunities the internet has provided, they are like octopi, their hands into so many things they end up with a lot of nothing, at least nothing of real or lasting value. Great ideas wither and die on the vine from lack of consistent attention because other fanciful ideas distract them from the money-making ones. Whether it is marketing or a new source of revenue, it doesn't matter. We are distracted and wasting time with too many 'opportunities.' And worse yet, we defend our actions by categorizing them as necessary.
Step back, assess what is working for you today and what isn't. Prioritize your revenue generating (or pleasure generating) activities, shelving those which simply cannot be accommodated today, and then focus on what is most important. This can't be overstated. Or done too soon. Look at which activities promise the greatest return or greatest opportunity to leverage to help you achieve your goals and stay focused.
I know I am sometimes a victim of overwhelm and certainly of brain drain. I have to believe you have been, too.
I know this post is resonating with many of you. What have you done when you feel overwhelmed by too many great ideas and not enough time to fully explore them? What has it cost you? How did you fix it?”
Full text and the active link are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 30 July 2008
Posted by Raymond Ward: “If you’re telling a story involving many players, how do you help the reader keep the players straight? You might do what Judge John R. Brown did in Grigsby v. Coastal Marine Service of Texas, Inc., 412 F.2d 1011 (5th Cir. 1969) (copy in Word format here). In a case involving 17 characters, he listed the entire cast in footnote 3, providing each player’s full name and shorthand name used in the opinion. For individuals, he also listed each one’s employer. This technique yielded two benefits. First, it spared readers the dreaded parenthetical accompanying each character’s introduction (e.g. “... Coastal Marine Service of Texas, Inc. (“Coastal”)”). Second, it gave readers one sure and easily accessible place to find who’s who.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: the (new) legal writer, 22 July 2008
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “In a response to my earlier post, The Well Drafted Retainer, my blogging colleague Enricho Schaefer ponders whether the traditional retainer is outdated. Schafer argues that the complexity of retainer agreements complicates relationships with clients rather than facilitating them. Schaefer explains that his firm memorializes the attorney-client agreement with an email listing the tasks to be performed and the flat fee, which clients can pay via Pay Pal and thus commence the relationship.
To my mind, what paves the way for Schaefer's type of retainer agreement isn't so much the electronic nature of the transaction, as he suggests. After all, in an internet age, even a "paper agreement" can be scanned and signed or acknowledged by email. Instead, what really enables Schaefer's agreement is the flat fee and the way that it liberates lawyers from the attendant protections required when they bill by the hour. When lawyers charge a flat fee, they merely need to state what work they will perform and (if they choose to be overly cautious) what tasks are not covered. Clients do not care how many hours each task will take or what each task involves because they have already agreed to a sum certain and understand that the lawyer will perform all work needed to complete the task. In short, they pay an end product, not hours billed.
Continue Reading...”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: My Shingle, 29 July 2008
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: “Reference from Coast to Coast: Summer Musings - Jan Bissett and Margi Heinen provide a timely and valuable refresher on a range of well-sourced, reliable, topical websites, guides, print and program materials useful for summer associate legal research training.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 29 July 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
From the site: “Risk at home: privacy and security risks in telecommuting (PDF; 602 KB)
Source: Ernst & Young
Personal and private information related to both employees and their employers may be compromised by telecommuting staff if privacy risks are not dealt with effectively. This is according to a new report from Ernst & Young and the Center for Democracy and Technology. “Risk at home: privacy and security risks in telecommuting” identifies such issues in work-from-home arrangements. Read about effective approaches — as well as areas in need of improvement in how organizations protect personal and other sensitive company-related information.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Docuticker, 29 July 2008
Posted by Mary Ellen Bates: “I've been getting a lot of emails lately asking for alternatives to NetSnippets, a nifty software tool for saving and organizing content from web pages, which is no longer being supported. Following are some of your choices:
Furl.net
Evernote
Surfulator
Onfolio
ScrapBook (Firefox browser extension)
Zotero (another Firefox extension)
Endnote
FastStoneEasyWebAction
Note that the only one of these I use regularly is Furl...”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Librarian of Fortune, 29 July 2008
In the news: “Professional coach/psychotherapist James Dolan sees it quite often: lawyers who say they're going to do what they want with their life when they retire. Dolan calls it Preparing to Live Syndrome, and it causes suffering, depression, anxiety and may require medication. The sufferer sees life as an endless chain of meaningless experiences that lack passion but that he must tolerate, because those experiences lead to some future point when all will come together. Dolan explains what actions lawyers can take.”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 29 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: “Blume, John H., Johnson, Sheri Lynn and Sundby, Scott E.,Competent Capital Representation: The Necessity of Knowing and Heeding What Jurors Tell Us About Mitigation. Hofstra Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2008
"This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases. The complete text of the issue, which also contains the Guidelines themselves, is available online at www.law.hofstra.edu/DeathPenalty
Capital defense counsel have a duty at every stage of the case to take advantage of all appropriate opportunities to argue why death is not a suitable punishment for their particular client. But that duty can hardly be discharged effectively if the arguments are made in ignorance of available information concerning how persuasive they are likely to be to their audience.
Heeding that simple proposition we present lessons from the work of the Capital Jury Project, an ongoing empirical research effort built upon extended interviews with people who have actually sat on capital juries. We find that the standards for mitigation investigations contained in the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003) and in the Supplementary Guidelines that are the subject of this issue are on firm empirical ground, both in their specific aspects and in their overall approach of encouraging counsel to be creative in building a coherent mitigation theory that is advanced consistently throughout the proceedings.
We then describe particular defense themes and approaches that Project data show are likely to resonate favorably with jurors as well as the most potent prosecution arguments for death and how they might be most effectively rebutted. We conclude by describing the current research findings on the demographic and attitudinal characteristics of those jurors most likely to vote for life, and offering pointers on how to best ameliorate the scandalous but well-documented reality that many jurors simply do not understand the task they are being called upon to perform."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 July 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Wayne Schiess: “Your indoctrination into the movement for plain legal writing could begin here:
Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language by Joseph Kimble
Professor Kimble is the foremost expert on plain legal writing in the United States, and this book collects his best writing. All of us would do well to follow his advice and mimic his clear, direct, and readable writing style.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: legalwriting.net, 24 July 2008
Posted by Jim Hassett: “If you coach lawyers on business development, you probably think you could do better. Everyone can. But how? Exactly what should you do to increase results?
In other professions, trainers and coaches answer that question through train the trainer workshops and certification programs. Now legal marketers can too.
LegalBizDev has just introduced two new programs built around ten key proficiency factors that increase coaching results. The most critical factor is time efficiency.
Above everything else, lawyers are busy. If a lawyer bills $600 per hour, one minute spent chatting costs $10. So legal coaches must take time very seriously. When people sign up for our Certification Program, Download CertificationOverview2008k.pdf, one of the first things we do is to send each person a digital timer to help make sure that 30 minute calls do not take 31 minutes (unless the client wants them to).
…
Similarly, we believe that coaches should make a show about their devotion to time. If they schedule a telecon for 10:00, they should call at 10:00, not 10:01 or 9:59. And if the call is scheduled to end at 10:30, the first question they should ask is: “Do you still have 30 minutes for today’s call, or should we go faster today?” Lawyers love it.
I wish I could say they love all ten factors, but lawyers are not always thrilled when we urge them to prioritize relentlessly. Sometimes a lawyer wants to start a blog or look up old colleagues with LinkedIn when they would be much better off spending that time taking top clients to lunch, to strengthen relationships and learn how to increase the clients’ perception of value.
…
What should a coach do if he makes his case against the blog, and the lawyer still wants to do it? Give in. Then monitor the results. At the end of the day, coaches must defer to the lawyer’s judgment and avoid an argument. But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we failed to urge each lawyer to prioritize.
I started by mentioning ten key proficiency factors, but so far I’ve only talked about time efficiency and prioritization. It would be natural to ask what the other eight are. I hate to be coy here, but I’m not saying.
I don’t want to give the impression that the eight remaining factors will amaze you with secret magic formulas. But they do represent the result of our proprietary analyses, and the hard earned wisdom from over 20 years of experience with a variety of professions. So if you want to make your own judgment about the other eight factors, you’ll just have to sign up for our Train the Trainer workshop or the Certification Program.”
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Business Development, 23 July 2008
From the site: “This edition of The ESI Report, features a member of the federal judiciary and an international computer forensics expert, along with recent e-discovery case law. In the Buzz, Chief Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm discusses adequate keyword searches, inadvertent waivers of privilege and Victor Stanley v. Creative Pipe with Special Correspondent Gina Jytyla, Kroll Ontrack Staff Attorney. In the Bits & Bytes Legal Analysis segment, Meridith Socha, Kroll Ontrack Legal Correspondent, focuses on e-discovery issues examined in In re Intel Corp. Microprocessor Antitrust Litigation. Want to know more about international e-discovery and forensics? In the Spotlight, Michele Lange, Attorney and Director of Legal Technologies at Kroll Ontrack, talks with Ben Pasco Managing Director of Legal Technologies, Kroll Ontrack in the Asia Pacific region.
Right Click and Download
Play Windows Media”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Talk Network, 28 July 2008
In the news: “Kilpatrick Stockton's IT team takes a multipronged approach to a greener law firm, with Web and videoconferencing to reduce travel; a software-based cost recovery system; systems to manage copiers, printers and scanners and other hardware; server virtualization; and e-billing.”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 29 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by: Tom Mighell: “I've been remiss in mentioning this, but the great folks at TechnoLawyer posted an excerpt from the book Dennis Kennedy and I wrote, The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together.
The excerpt they chose to reproduce is from Chapter 17, simply titled SharePoint. It gives what we think is a good basic overview of the collaboration tool, for lawyers who might not know a lot about SharePoint.
While you're at the TechnoLawyer blog, make sure you sign up for their free newsletter. They consistently deliver fantastic legal technology news all week long -- not just from experts, but also reviews from lawyers who are using these tools in their practice. It's a don't-miss subscription.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 29 July 2008
Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: “Well there is a product which is highly rated (I'm sure there are others) called Echosign.
Imagine:
• Type up fee agreement.
• Upload into EchoSign.
• Email agreement to other party through EchoSign.
• Other party gets the email and e-signs.
• EchoSign notifies you that it's your turn to sign.
• Once all signatures are in place, all parties get a fully signed PDF emailed to them.
Your documents get saved in your account online, and you can instantly see what is waiting on who to sign. You can also have stock agreements in
the system as forms that you prefill online before sending out. You
get to choose whether or not you sign each agreement. And there is an
option to print out the agreement, sign on paper, and fax into EchoSign.
There's a free trial for 4-5 signatures. Give it a try with a friend as a test.
Sounds worth trying out to include in your arsenal of services to make life easier for the client.
If you are concerned about legalities, Echosign addresses with a full FAQ on the topic.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 27 July 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “Since clients are the most important people in your practice, it makes sense to ensure that they understand you.
Cheryl Stephens, of Building Rapport, the plain language blog, is a leader in the field of plain language communication. Cheryl provides training and workshops to clients all over North America. She is making a guest appearance today promoting her new book, Plain Language Legal Writing:
In the early 90s, a survey by the British Columbia Plain Language Institute discovered that the more experience a person has with lawyers and legal documents, the more likely it is that the person is frustrated and angered by incomprehensible legal language.
Someone who has a lot of experience with lawyers and reading legal documents has reason to expect they will gain skill in deciphering them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually happen. Legalese seems inherently indecipherable.
As a result, the clients lose confidence in the whole process, in the lawyer, and in their own ability to function effectively in legal situations.
When you provide plain, clear documents for your clients to sign, and they find they can actually understand those documents, it increases the clients' confidence in you as their lawyer.
Plain language means that when you advise your clients, they can understand and act upon their rights and obligations. They can make informed decisions and avoid legal complications. This inspires self-confidence and confidence in you.
But plain language is more than just writing clearly. The process involves considering your client's needs, abilities, and interests when you choose what and how to communicate, and it means being open to evaluating your services and your documents once they're created.
Using plain language for your clients’ benefit reduces clients’ frustration and increases their confidence and rapport with you.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 28 July 2008
Posted by Jordan Furlong: “I received a package the other day from a prominent law firm announcing a rebranding, which seemed to consist of a shorter name and a clever new logo. There didn’t seem to be anything otherwise new or different about the firm, so the brochure went straight into the blue box. But I was reminded of a remarkably similar mailing I received, something like eight years ago, from a big firm that, like this one, had shortened its name, come up with an abstract logo, and called it rebranding.
So it might be time to review what a brand is and is not. This is important, because right now, we’re on the verge of a major shift in the law firm brand landscape.
1. A new name and a new logo do not constitute a new brand. A brand is a promise — a guarantee of identity, reliability and/or quality. A brand is what your customers come to expect about your product’s or service’s performance and delivery.
2. Whether your brand is a good one or a bad one depends almost entirely on how well or how poorly you perform that function and delivery.
3. An effective brand is unique, or at least easily distinguishable and differentiable from the competition, and is aligned with your actual conduct. An ineffective brand is one that’s belied by what you actually do — a company that doesn’t follow through on its brand promise hollows out the brand’s effectiveness.
Now, law firms are, generally speaking, terrible at branding, for a couple of reasons. First, most firms don’t stand out from their competition in terms of the services they offer, the solutions they recommend, the rates they charge and the manner in which they bill. So it doesn’t matter how they brand themselves, they all act essentially the same way and are effectively indistinguishable from clients’ points of view.
Secondly, when law firms do make brand promises, they don’t keep them consistently, if at all. Partly this is because their promises are abstract and extravagant — how can every law firm have “top-tier practitioners” with “leading litigation and corporate abilities” who “provide the highest quality legal services” (quotes taken at random from law firm websites)? Here’s a fun exercise — read 50 law firm sites and count how many firms work for “many of the leading corporations and financial institutions in the world.”
And partly it’s because most law firms have no mechanisms to enforce follow-through on their brand. How can clients expect a consistent type of service when every partner is effectively autonomous, project management templates are rare or non-existent, and key talent leaves and enters the firm like a carousel? So most law firms suffer from the twin brand defects of not offering anything uniquely distinguishable from the competition, and not offering it in a reliable fashion.
That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news: the range and types of brands available in the law are exploding as we speak.”
Read more »
Continue reading this interesting post at the source site listed below.
Source: Law 21, 16 July 2008
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “In the new book, Your Witness: Lessons on Cross-Examination, there is a chapter titled "Cross-Examining the Liar" by Chicago lawyer Dan Webb.
Webb, who has cross-examined scores of liars during his long career, begins the chapter by describing the two requirements that must be present before you even begin to think about trying to take on a liar at trial--
• First, you must be certain that you can establish that the witness has a "clear-cut motive to fabricate that the jury will understand";
• Second, you must be certain that you have at least one "clean substantive line of cross-examination" during which you can establish that the witness probably lied.
In one of Webb's examples, he tells of a medical expert who was clearly biased against his client, but whose testimony was so technically complicated that Webb wasn't sure he could make it clear to the jury that the expert was lying about the results of certain scientific studies. As a result, Webb chose not to confront the expert.
Webb also discusses the proper demeanor to use when cross-examining a liar at trial. You should be aggressive--"firm, confident, and assertive." Yet you should never raise your voice, at least not in an over-the-top way. "Anytime I hear a lawyer scream and yell in the courtroom," writes Webb, "then I know the lawyer is a failure."
Related Post: "A Book All Trial Lawyers Will Want to Read."
Related Post from Legal Underground: "Being Dan Webb=Tons of Good Press."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 24 July 2008
Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: “This very interesting article from the Psychology Today blog confirms that the quality of our work, more than our interpersonal relationships, determines our happiness:
One factor towered over relationships in its connection with happiness. That factor was work. The evidence, for example, demonstrates that people who have jobs distinguished by autonomy, meaning and variety – and who show superior performance, creativity, and productivity – are significantly happier than those who don’t.
"Why does our work make us happy? Because it provides us a sense
of identity, structure to our days, and important and meaningful life
goals to pursue. Perhaps even more important, it furnishes us with
close colleagues, friends and even marriage partners."
This revelation, that quality of work more than anything else influences happiness, shocked even those doing the study. But it is work distinguished by AUTONOMY and which provides meaning and variety that does the trick. Self-directed meaningful life goals are key. Welcome to the world of the solo practitioner.
Interestingly, those who are seem to be happiest (from my unscientific observations) are those who do not separate work life and personal life. They just have 'life". In order to feel successful work is an integral part of their everyday. And from this relationships blossom.
Anita Campbell, a very successful entrepreneur and author of the popular Small Business Trends blog, Tweeted once,
My work is part of who I am. I'm not defined by my work, but it is integrated into the whole.
I think she states it very well. I feel the same way. Always have.
And you?”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 25 July 2008
In the news: “A common provision found in many law firm partnership agreements can have calamitous results, particularly when combined with the competing fiduciary duties partners owe to their partners and clients. Such provisions often place the departing partner in a state of limbo because during this interim period the rights and obligations of the departing partner and the partnership are unclear. Attorney Arthur Ciampi discusses notice provisions and analyzes the practical and ethical dilemmas they often raise.”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
From the e-newsletter: “ Is your eDiscovery vendor your weakest link when it comes to data security? Should this consideration not yet exist in your mind, start thinking fast. Many courts have ruled that chain of custody issues, as they relate to eDiscovery vendors, can and will adversely affect your lawsuit.”
Related Resources
• FindLaw's Interactive Guide to E-Discovery
Source: FindLaw’s Modern Practice: Law & Technology. 25 July 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by Ed Poll: “Bruce Callow a CPA and partner in the Seattle, WA accounting firm of Clothier & Head talks about the "dashboard." His comments were made to the Financial Core Group of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association. His comments identify the new "dashboard" concept of having important financial metrics for a law firm displayed in an easy to understand format. Bruce discussed the most meaningful law firm financial measurements and how to show them to law firm management.
16 minutes, 44 seconds
6.9MB
Click here to listen.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: LawBiz Blog, 24 July 2008
In the news: “Search engine optimization helps a law office develop a Web site that allows search engines such as Google or Yahoo to find it and rank it high in search results. The higher you climb in search ranking, the more likely you will bring in business from the clicks of potential clients.”
Topics include:
THE POWER OF SEO
OPTIMIZATION 101
THE POWER OF KEYWORDS
ENCOURAGE INCOMING LINKS
DON’T WEAR THE BLACK HAT
FARM IT OUT, OR DO IT IN-HOUSE?
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: “Mark Beese has been an infrequent poster lately at his blog, Leadership for Lawyers, which, like this blog, is part of the Law.com Blog Network. This is understandable, given his day job as head of marketing at Holland & Hart. So I was glad to see, via Larry Bodine's Law Marketing Blog, that the latest issue of the business development newsletter Originate! includes a piece by Beese on the why and how of building relationships.
In the article, Beese tells the story of his encounter many years ago with a top rainmaker at his firm. Curious about the lawyer's success in developing business, Beese asked his secret. The lawyer traced it back to early in his own career, when he made himself a list of people he thought would someday be successful. "My goal was to develop a relationship with each person so that when he or she needed a lawyer, I would be the first person they called," he told Beese. Initially, he built relationships with 40 people. Over time, the list grew to more than 100. As predicted, some of the people became quite successful and developed into major clients.
So what did Beese learn from his conversation with this senior rainmaker? Several lessons, and I urge you to read his article to get all of them. But the overarching one, of course, is that relationships are the key to success and that developing relationships takes planning and work. "Always look for a way to help others, even if it doesn't immediately benefit you," Beese writes. "Believe in karma."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 24 July 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “The 'green' movement is everywhere. Suddenly, we're becoming a bit more environmentally conscious. What are some ways that you can make your law practice more environmentally friendly? Think about the 3 Rs that you've seen everywhere: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Here are some thoughts to get you started:
Reduce
• Is your law firm consuming too much?
• Be more mindful of the supplies you're using, how you're using them and whether they're necessary.
• Are you using two or three pages of a legal pad and then leaving it in a file, never to be seen (or used) again?
• Do you really need to have 4 copies of that document in the file, or is one sufficient?
• …
Reuse
• When a case is over, do you archive the file with all of the interior folders, dividers, and the file folder even if they're in good condition? Consider re-using those files and archiving just the necessary paperwork from the file;
• Just because file folders may be the norm in your practice area doesn't mean you can't switch to a new system that can be re-used, such as binders…
• Instead of buying boxes of disposable pens, encourage those in your firm to use a pen that takes refills instead…
• Get two uses out of one piece of paper…
Recycle
• Lawyers generate tons of paper…
• You may be recycling bottles and cans at home, but what happens to the bottles and cans that get used in your office or by your employees?...
• Think creatively about recycling other items in your office as well…
Besides the benefits to the environment and the community, there are other benefits to making your law firm more 'green.'
Some of those benefits include:
• Reduction of clutter in the office;
• Increased efficiency and productivity;
• Cost savings from reduced expenses;
• Good PR and marketing for the firm - creating a recycling program may even be newsworthy;
• Getting clients involved means stronger client relationships and more opportunities for contact with clients.
What other ways can firms contribute to the environment by employing the 3 Rs? What other benefits can you seen to making your law firm 'greener?' Let us hear your comments and suggestions.”
The full text of this post is available at the source site listed below
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 24 July 2008
Posted by Tom Kane: “Can’t imagine anyone arguing with the statement that lawyers are happiest when they are doing the work they enjoy for clients they like. Although I have covered this topic more than a half-dozen times, it is worth mentioning again. Especially when you run across a succinct article that emphasizes the point so well.
Chuck Newton’s Ride The Third Wave blog has such an article about chasing cases and clients you don’t want. His point is that when you are working on cases you dislike, you’re missing opportunities to develop the business you do. Your attention is diverted, and you won’t do as well taking those “skanky cases” (I was sure he made the word "skanky" up, but lo and behold, one definition of it is “arousing aversion” which pretty much sums it up). He concludes:
“It is really a self-fulfilling prophesy. You chase the other cases and clients because you are worried about not succeeding with the cases and clients you want, and as a result you do not succeed because you have diverted your attention and divided your efforts.
….
“So, stay focused. Niche it.”
Thanks, Chuck.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 24 July 2008
Posted by Matt Steinke: “Two librarians from Stanford Law School, J. Paul Lomio and Erika V. Wayne, have published their study analyzes law librarian’s opinions of LexisNexis and Westlaw. Bottom Line: law librarians prefer Westlaw, by a lot. Read the study to find out why.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Moritz Legal Information Blog, 24 July 2008
From the site: “Viacom accused Google's video sharing website, YouTube of violating its copyright in a $1 billion lawsuit. And as of last week, Google and Viacom reached an agreement to allow Google's YouTube to mask important user information from records before the handover to Viacom. Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi welcome Attorney Kevin A. Thompson from the firm Davis McGrath LLC, and Lauren Gelman, Executive Director of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society to discuss this case. They will discuss the legal issues, privacy rights, piracy issues and what this case means for the users, the source of business for these companies.
Right Click and Download
Play Windows Media”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Talk Network, 24 July 2008
In the news: “Recently, while enjoying a five-minute lunch break of chips and a beef stick at his desk, humor columnist The Snark heard the joyful laughter of a group of summer associates and their mentors heading off for an afternoon of lunching. Was he jealous of their frivolity? Nope, The Snark accepts that the days of daily group lunches are a distant memory. An associate's place in the lunch cycle can be articulated by a simple analysis of five factors at any one stage of a big-firm career, The Snark explains.”
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
In the news: “Ultraportable laptops may travel easily, but they often sacrifice key features, such as optical drives or keyboard size, necessary for long stretches of work. Alan Cohen reviews the latest models, which, despite some hits and misses, still offer advantages to the mobile lawyer.”
Cohen discusses:
THE AFTERTHOUGHT LAPTOP: ASUS EEE PC 900
THE REPLACEMENT LAPTOP: ASUS U2E
THE DESTINATION LAPTOP: MACBOOK AIR
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: “A Review of Zotero, the free, Firefox extension to assist in collecting, managing and citing research sources - Stacy Bruss focuses on specific and practical examples of using this flexible application to organize and manage current collections of resources as well as citations to documents, web sites, and blogs. — Published July 24, 2008"
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 24 July 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007. BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
In the news: “The Assistant-at-Law has heard dozens of boss horror stories. With all those lawyers who carp, cavil and condescend, she counts herself lucky to have had bosses who were mostly fine people. Recently, The Assistant-at-Law wondered what all those good bosses have in common. Surely, there must be some archetypal "great boss" personality. Always smiling? Understanding to a fault? Never runs behind deadline? But a careful analysis surprised her: Her favorite bosses are as different from each other as can be.”
Topics discussed include:
Keep it real.
Time is (more than) money.
Chew the legal fat.
Set high expectations.
Let us make you look good.
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 24 July 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “For most lawyers, the phrase "corporate workout" describes a complex financial transactional process, which brings to mind images of stressed out lawyers shuffling through documents or pedaling different versions of an agreement during negotiations. But at the Boston office of Roseland, N.J.-based law firm Lowenstein Sandler, corporate workouts have a more colloquial meaning, with lawyers shuffling on treadmills or pedaling on exercise bikes installed in their offices.
As this news video shows, Lowenstein has gone the extra mile to help lawyers and staff incorporate exercise into their day-to-day work routine. The video portrays lawyer Sarah Reed, dressed for success in a smart dress and two inch heels, striding on a treadmill that incorporates a stand fashioned for her computer, while another lawyer breathlessly chugs away on a recumbent bike while reading legal material. There's also a paralegal who jumps on a trampoline while discussing her cases. Admittedly, these lawyers look a little foolish working up a sweat in their business clothes or doing doorway chin-ups in heels and a dress, but more power to them. After all, getting fit at work beats having fits at work.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 23 July 2008
Posted by Susan Cartier Liebel: “It took this post by Christopher S. Penn to make me realize that with the technology we have at our disposal today to educate our prospects, we can all be superheros. With technology today can't we literally 'fly' around the globe, see through walls, hear conversations across the planet and deliver help?
Think about all of the power technology gives you. Google Maps lets you walk around at ground level or from 30,000 feet over a huge chunk of the inhabited planet. Google itself gives you incredible reach, access to more knowledge in the palm of your hand or in your lap than any human being has ever had. A simple cell phone lets you talk to someone in real time on the other side of the planet.
We forget we have these “powers” because we take them for granted. We grow up with them, and once the novelty of a new device, technology, or service wears off, we forget to explore what we can actually DO with them.
Take a step back. Look at the technology that surrounds you as traits of a comic book superhero. If a superhero had the powers you did, what stories would be written about them? What crimes would they solve, what lives would they save with your powers?
What if podcasting, instead of being a discussion about MP3 vs. M4A, RSS vs. Web, audio vs. video, was a discussion about how to get the best teachers in the world to every student who wanted to learn? What if social networks, instead of debating the merits and features of X platform, was a community trained in early awareness and intervention for things like teenage suicide? What parent wouldn’t encourage their kids to be a part of a social network if they knew that others were ready to lend a helping hand in troubled times?…
Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Build a Solo Practice, LLC, 23 July 2008
From the blog: “Here is an interesting post from the eBiz Insider titled “Why “SMALL” is BIG in E-commerce”. I have often said that small law firms have a tremendous advantage in the current market because the can deploy technology and rework their internal processes in such a short period of time. Large law firms are typically stuck with their software purchases and attendant process for three to five years after commitment. Then they have the nearly impossible task of getting everyone to buy into the new system and use it.
Here are the seven reasons noted by eBiz Insider as to why small is big in e-commerce:
Reason #1: Now the big boys are playing by YOUR RULES!!!
Reason #2: You are more motivated…
Reason #3: You are more fluid.
Reason #4: They never EVER have good ideas.
Reason #5: When someone has a good idea—they don’t stop until they screw it up.
Reason #6: You listen. They don’t.
Reason #7: You know the Internet shopper better than they do.
I would say that this is very interesting reading for large and small law firms as well as any e-commerce business. As you know, we represent e-commerce companies in a variety of transactions. It is amazing how quickly a small e-commerce company can grow and drive revenue. Once they get to a certain size, it is much harder for them to change.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 22 July 2008
Posted by StephanieWestAllen: “Start your reading with my column "Reading Minds" to see what three lawyers with a combined longevity of over a century of law practice advise young lawyers. Take a look to see what books Brooke Wunnicke, Linda Kornfeld, and the anonymous editor of BlawgReview recommend to those just entering the practice of law.
Then browse among articles in this edition of Law Practice. The focus is international practice and includes:
• Global Rainmaking Tips
• Collaborative Technologies: Working with Others Around the Corner or Around the World
• Growing Successful International Offices: 10 Key Steps for Law Firms
• Case Study: Pursuing International Business
Many more articles to be found online. See what meets your needs or fits your interests.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: idealawg, 23 July 2008
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “Over at Law Marketing Blog, Larry Bodine references a new study by eMarketer showing that reporters rely heavily on blogs for a variety of tasks, including finding new story ideas and locating industry experts. Bodine explains that reporters will typically find legal experts by running a search using Google Blog Search, using terms that describe the subject matter of the story. When report