Blogs

• Top iPhone and iPad Apps for Lawyers See Top iPhone and iPad Apps for Lawyers via Attorneys at Work and also download free bonus App List PDF   ....
• Are you curious about use of Social Media in Law Firms? If you want to compare Social Media perspectives with firms your size, this is a must have infographic - click on it to download (courtesy of Vizibility Inc.)           ....
• 2012 Law Firm Strategy Lessons from the Apollo 13 Moon Mission Your law firm’s success in 2012 may require considerable ingenuity under extreme pressure just as it did from the crew of Apollo 13 for their safe return to Earth. Apollo 13 was the third mission in the American Apollo space program intended to land on the Moon. The number 2 oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded en route to the Moon, approximately 200,000 miles (320,000 km) from Earth.  The developing drama was shown on television and depicted in the Apollo 13 movie based on the mission. If you saw the movie, you may recall that the head of Mission Control assembled a team in a conference room and requested that the materials available to the astronauts in the Service Module be brought to the room because they had but a few hours to learn how to make oxygen to save the astronauts’ lives. By contrast, when the senior leadership team in most law firms meets to explore strategy, there is no sense of urgency. Worse, after extraordinarily bright people come up with ....
• Valorem Lawfirm lives up to its "value" name An article in this month's Corporate Counsel Magazine has the spotlight on Valorem and for good reason.  Author Susan Hansen says: Valorem… now boasts a list of big, brand-name clients, including funeral industry giant Service Corporation International; national shoe retailer DSW Inc.; Veolia Water, a supplier of water and wastewater management services; and the online travel site kayak.com. and later in the article reports:: …clients definitely like the fact that Valorem is more than willing to work out fee arrangements that are at least partially tied to the results they produce. Case in point: a major lease dispute that Valorem is currently handling for DSW that is headed for trial in Los Angeles this fall. As part of its agreement, the company has been holding back 20 percent of Valorem’s billings, with the final payout to be determined by how well the firm meets mutually defined success metrics in the case. Punchline:  in a world where firms and ....
• Law Asia Hong Kong - Session Materials Presentation Materials from the Good to Outstanding, it's all about your people" conference in Hong Kong   For the required PASSWORD, kindly email me. (Your email address must match your registration) To download presentation materials, click on the relevant presentation. ....
• Wisdom from a 92 year-old white-male university professor? No !!     Really ? (No.)     Really ? (Yes.)   How refreshing for Forbes to offer us 26 Lessons from a 26 Year Old CEO, Shama Kabani.  Her wisdom is well-suited for consideration by Managing Partners of the most significant law firms.  Her ideas are extraordinarily mature for her age which may explain her phenomenal business success.  Here are a few examples: …planning (#1): A written vision of what you want your company to look like in 3 years is important. The pen (or keyboard!) has power. It isn’t enough to envision your goals in your mind. You must have a blueprint on paper. Every decision you make, ask yourself: does this help me get closer to my vision? …listening (#2): Learn to listen to your clients. When we started, we were only offering social media consulting services. But, clients quickly demanded more. We eventually ended up serving as their web marketing department. The marketplace will tell you what it needs. You ....
• Angry Birds help with best practices in one of India's most sophisticated law firms I received this correspondence from Hoshedar Wadia, a partner in one of India’s most sophisticated law firms, Juris Corp.  This firm deals in matters that range up to the hundreds of millions of US dollars in sophisticated areas like Capital Markets, Structured Finance, Securitization and so on.  In the spirit of disclosure, I have had the privilege of serving this firm.  Do you believe the protocol contained in the following correspondence could serve your firm as well? "We just shared something with our new recruits as part of their orientation and I thought I would drop you a line cause you have used examples like this very effectively in the past with us.   "There is a game ‘Angry Birds’ that I have on my mobile that is available for PC download as well.   "You have to shoot birds at structures (and at a pig) and make points to go to the next level. Each level is tougher and there seem to be an unlimited number of levels. ....
• Why you need to see Mark Zuckerberg's personal stationery   The irony is too delicious to pass up. Mark Zuckerberg has invented one of the most powerful communication tools ever known to mankind. Facebook has literally started revolutions. Why, then, would the most successful communications entrepreneur in history regress to a pre-internet form of communication? For the same reason Jack Welch did as president of General Electric. Not only is a handwritten letter more powerful than e-mail, but it’s horsepower is increasing exponentially. Why? Because it is ever rarer. If you want to increase your influence and the impact of your important communications,  get some personal stationery suited for the purpose and use it. You may not believe this, but in my experience with powerful members of the executive of many top law firms, personal notes they have received from their colleagues or clients are carefully saved for years along with other precious personal possessions. Image of stationery from THE GRAPHIC WORKS OF BEN BARRY ....
• A Low-Paid Corner -- Stripping Pay and Prestige from the Practice of Law According to NYT journalist, Catherine Rampell, in her May 23, 2011 story: At Well-Paying Law Firms, a Low-Paid Corner,   Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe,  WilmerHale and McDermott Will & Emery are "creating a second tier of workers, stripping pay and prestige from one of the most coveted jobs in the business world". Catherine goes on to comment on the increased challenge of debt repayment: Lower salaries make it even more difficult for newly minted lawyers to pay off their law school debt — like the $150,000 in loans that David Perry accumulated upon graduation from Northwestern University School of Law in 2009. My Opinion:  I understand completely why these and other firms need to cut costs in order to meet the demand from clients to reduce fees.  In a way, this is eminently sensible — move the commodity end of the practice of law to lawyers well-equipped for the task at lower salaries.  In my view, this is not nearly ....
• Recovering from information overload (McKinsey Quarterly) All of the Managing Partners with whom I work are devoured by their "multitasking work environments".  "Recovering from information overload" (McKinsey Quarterly, January 2011) authors Derek Dean and Caroline Webb have succinctly laid out their take on the problems and solutions: Problems (multitasking): slows us down, hampers creativity and makes us anxious and it’s addictive) Solutions (Coping with the deluge): Focus, Filter and Forget Perhaps the most valuable part of the article lies in an exploration of how to hit the "reset button". If you are the Managing Partner (or have any leadership responsibilities in your firm) I suggest you read this article twice, once to assimilate it and next to make your action plan for the parts or pieces you want to implement.  Download the PDF or read online.               ....
• Few Lawyers Have Formal Negotiation Training Most of the top law firms I deal with have armies of lawyers who negotiate all the time whether on deals or resolving disputes.  So when I ask for a show of hands from anyone who has taken a course or read a book on negotiating, the responses suggest that fewer than 5% of lawyers have done so.  Why?  Are we that confident or has the idea simply been off our radar. You might want to sign up for a two day course at Harvard but if you are too busy for that right now, here's a blog post that may whet your appetite for the topic: 27 simple ways to become a better negotiator Bottom Line:  enhancing negotiating skills would provide immediate competitive advantage by helping you prevail on behalf of your client and even increase your client's satisfaction level.   ....
• Presentation Calendar - inspiration for each month   Make your presentations far more effective by drawing on the fabulous ideas in this presentation calendar ....
• Attorney at Work Delivers Daily Ideas for Lawyers I am honoured to be in the esteemed company of the publishers and advisors of Attorney at Work that promises “One Really Good Idea Every Day” There is no cost to subscribe and the ideas will flow starting in January. I recommend that you subscribe now Congratulations in particular to my long time friend, Merrilyn Tarlton who conceived this idea with Joan and Mark Feldman   ....
• Simon Tupman's Future Firm Forum 2010 New Zealand The Management Imperative Download by clicking on image or HERE  Registered participants were provided with Password in session. ....
• "Do, Don't Say !" Seth Godin simply nails it. Sorry for offering the punchline in the title… but Yoda would be so proud (of Seth Godin) Extract from Seth Godin's blogpost: Won't get fooled again  If you catch yourself making a promise that's been made before, stop. Don't spend a lot of time and effort building credibility with this sort of promising, because it doesn't pay off. Make different promises, or even better, do, don't say. Law firm leaders, if you don't know who Seth Godin is, subscribe to his blog and/or read his books. He offers a perspective that you won't get at bar association meetings. ....