Leadership for Lawyers

Gail Lamarche on Social Media

One of the things I like about LMA conferences is the opportunity to hear other people's success stories.  You can always count on Gail Lamarche to tell a story weaved with wisdom and practical advice on leading a marketing effort in a legal environment. Here is Gail's story on encouraging attorneys to engage in social media.

Thanks to ConveyContent.com and Copper Legal for editing and hosting the videos.

Tasneem Goodman on Coaching

Tasneem is a new coach at Akina, a business development coaching firm and a very talented legal marketer.  I occasssionaly compete with Akina for business development training and coaching work. I have great respect for their approach and capabilities in this area.   In this short video, Tasneem talks about what goes into a successful business development coaching program. Thanks again to Convey Content and Copper Legal for editing the videos and hosting the site.

 

The future of law practice

When consulting with law firms, I frequently get asked about the future of law practice.  What will it look like?  How will firms compete?  How will services be delivered? How will it be priced?

I think I saw a glimpse of the future in what Seyfarth Shaw is doing today.  Several of their leaders made a presentation on how they use six sigma process improvement tools to improve efficiency and client service and lower cost to the client. 

They believe that corporate buyers of legal services want high quality legal work and more predictable and lower legal costs.  Cutting rates (and profit margins) is not a sustainable strategy, so they dug in and started to re-design work flows and processes as a manufacturer might value-engineer a production process.  Using "lean" process improvement tools, they found ways to save clients as much as 50% off their bill while maintaining or improving quality.

Think that will sell?

To clients, yes. But to the partners of the firm who realize that they have to produce twice as much work to get the same revenue, well, that's another kettle of fish.  Profit margins increase and client loyalty improves, but the essence of the law firm revenue and compensation model changes significantly.  I have so much respect for any firm who can make such significant cultural change to not only serve clients but to essentially set the standard for a new way think about delivering legal services. 

Interested in learning more? Read these articles:

Re-Engineering the Practice of Law - New York Times

Six Sigma Makes a Comeback - Business Week

Seyfarth Shaw Says Six Sigma Method Has Cut Client Fees by Up to 50%

New Buzz Phrase in Efficiency Efforts: Process Management

Making It Lean: Lisa Damon, Seyfarth Shaw

Top Innovative Law Firm

and information on Seyfarth Lean Consulting.

If Seyfarth Shaw can make the implementation (and cultural change) stick, they will certainly have a competitive advantage serving cost conscious corporations. 

 

Networking Tips from Roberta Montafia

At the 2012 Legal Marketing Association annual conference, I had an opportunity to interview some brilliant legal marketing veterans, including Roberta Montafia.  Roberta is a former CMO, LMA President and a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management.  She is also the founder of an innovative networking training program called Legal Mocktail, where lawyers learn how to network with a purpose.  Here are a few of Roberta's top tips for legal networking.  Thanks to Convey Content and Copper Services for setting up the legalmarketing.conveycontent.com site.

 

My favorite linkedin app

Once a year I get an automated email from linkedin indicating that some of my contacts have changed jobs and to click here blah blah blah...  I probably deleted more linkedin emails than from any other source.  Then last year, I clicked through and found a nifty resource, Year in Review.  Of course, LinkedIn keeps track of every change to a person's profile and broadcasts it through email, status updates and the like.  Year in Review (YIR) culls through all of the changes and reports on everyone of your contacts who has changed jobs over the past year, in chronological order.  Click on the link, sign in and you will see the faces of everyone who changed jobs last year (and prior years). 

Business development nexis?  Right click on a face and open it up in another browser tab.  Do that for the whole row.  Click through your tabs and ask yourself if that person is a potential client, referral source or valued friend.  If so, spend some time reconnecting by email or phone.  Congratulate them on the new gig.  Ask them how it is going?  Learn about their new firm or company.  Look for opportunities to help them or expand their network.  Set up a lunch date.  Don't pitch, just show interest and offer your help and network. 

Done with that row?  Go to the next.  At some point (maybe 6 or 12 months or more) their job is no longer "new" and you might want to change your message. 

Keeping in contact with your network is important.  Use linkedin to identify a reason to email or call and do it. 

Will your Managing Partner Tweet Daily?

Kevin O'Keefe has a great post on how CEOs are increasingly using social media to communicate with their clients, investors, media and other audiences.  Worth a read if you are interested in how social media is chaning how companies (and firms) relate to their external audiences.  What do you think?  Will your managing partner use social media for branding and client communications?

My bet, the more forward looking firms will increasingly use blogs, twitter, linkedin and other social media tools to connect with clients and potential clients.

Summer Reading

Summer is almost here and it is time to think about a summer reading list.  I recently finished teaching a couple of courses on marketing and business development at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.  Here are a few of the books I used as resources for the classes:

"Solo by Choice:  How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be"
Carolyn Elefant (Decision Books)

Carolyn Elefant shares a great deal of practical insight and experience in how to build a solo practice, from markting to how to find work quickly.  You can also read her posts at www.myshingle.com

 

"Rainmaking Made Simple"
Mark Maraia

Mark is a long time BD coach who has put his ideas and weekly email suggestings into this book.  Very practical, Mark helps the reader develop business development into a sustainable habit.

"The Lawyers Field Guide to Effective Business Development"
William J. Flannery

Small book packed with practical tips on consultative selling from Bill's famous seminars.

"Business Development for Lawyers: Strategies for Getting and Keeping Clients"
Sally Schmidt

I used Sally's book as my main text for both business development classes.  Great examples, forms and insights. 

Strategy Books

"Strategy and the Fat Smoker"
David Maister

I used both this book and some great videos on Maister's site in my Master's class.  Both are honest and insightful resources on what it takes to drive change in law firms.

"The Successful Lawyer:  Powerful Strategies for Transforming Your Practice"
Gerald Riskin

Gerry Riskin's work is a handbook for survival and for growing a legal practice.  I used both the book and the extensive articles found on their website, www.edge.ai.

Social Media

"Social.Lawyers: Transforming Business Development"
Jayne Navarre

Jayne gets social media for lawyers, and writes about it frequently at www.virtualmarketingofficer.com.

"Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier"
Carolyn Elefant and Nicole Black

Another very practical resource for lawyers who want to learn all about social media before they start 'a twittering. 

And don't forget to subscribe to attorneyatwork.com for great marketing and practice management tips.  They also offer several online books of tips that I've found very helpful.  Happy reading!

Last Words

It is graduation time.  The season would not be complete with posts and re-posts of words of wisdom found in commencement addresses.  By now, everyone on the planet has watched the Steve Job's speech, so I will omit it.  Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Brad Feld (www.feld.com), an entrepreneur and venture capitalist here in Boulder CO recently addressed a group of graduating MBAs.  Here is his advice:

 

"Imagine that you are 45 and are looking back on your last 15-20 years. Is your work, and life, full of meaning?

Don’t worry about money right now. You can always get a job that pays you plenty of money. Don’t worry about your resume. Don’t worry about “am I positioning myself the right way for something five years from now.” I know way too many 45 year olds who have plenty of money, have done all the right career things, yet are unhappy with where they are in life, where they live, and what they do. Don’t be that guy or gal.

Start by choosing the place you want to make a life. If it’s Boulder, figure out how to stay here. If it’s New York, there’s an easy United flight that gets you there in under four hours – take it the day after you graduate. San Francisco? That flight is only two hours long. Just go and figure it out when you get there. Don’t talk about “I’m going to live there some day” – go get in the middle of wherever it is that you want to build a life. Oh, and Boise is a pretty cool place, as is Austin, Seattle, Miami, DC, and at least 95 other cities in the United States.

Next, choose a domain that you want to dedicate your life to. If you’ve dreamed of being an investment banker or consultant to Fortune 1000 companies since you were 10, then Goldman Sachs or McKinsey is looking for you. If you want to be an entrepreneur, working at an investment bank or consulting firm for a while is pointless. Be an entrepreneur starting now. Pick that domain that turns you on the most – start at a high level (e.g. software, Internet, clean tech) but then pick a thing that you really care about and a set of problems you want to solve. If you aren’t technical, go find a technical co-founder right now – there are hundreds of them on this campus. Get your ass out of your chair and just get started.

Finally, make sure you are living your life. You are young and hopefully have plenty of time on this planet. But don’t wait because you never know when the lights are going to go out.

Ok – that’s more cogent than what I probably said in real time, but it’s what I meant. And I think it applies to anyone about to graduate with an MBA. When I graduated from MIT Sloan with an SM (they didn’t have MBA’s back in 1988) I was already following three of these – I hadn’t focused on where I wanted to live until 1995 when Amy and I moved to Boulder. But when I look back, I didn’t care about money (and subsequently made plenty of it), I focused all of my energy on building a software company (which evolved into helping create software / Internet companies), and I lived my life every single moment – the ups, the downs, the dark depressed days, and the euphoric moments.

Go do something important right now, whatever that is for you. The world needs it and your chances of living a meaningful, happy, and fulfilling life will increase dramatically."

Neil Gaiman gave a commencement speech last week at the Philadelphia’s the University of the Arts. The fiction author famous for "The Sandman" and "Coraline" was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts at the ceremony.  Whatever your work, make good art:

 

The founder of Scouting, Lord Baden-Powell, penned a letter years before his death in the 1940's.  Here are his final words to the Scouts of the world, which now number in the millions:

Dear Scouts,

If you have ever seen the play Peter Pan you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of good-bye.

Remember, it is the last you will ever hear from me, so think it over.

I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too.

I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so can enjoy life when you are a man.

Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.

But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy-- stick to your Scout promise always-- even after you have ceased to be a boy-- and God help you to do it.

Your Friend,
Baden-Powell

InnovAction Awards Deadline 15 June 2012

The College of Law Practice Management is now accepting entries for its annual InnovAction Awards for innovation and excellence in the legalosphere.  Each year the COLPM reviews many programs against a rigorous set of selection criteria, looking for true, cutting-edge innovation in the practice of law.  Past winners have been law firms, law schools, service providers and non-profit organizations.  All of the winners and some of the finalists are featured on their blog and receive international attention.  Winners will present their projects at the COLPM Futures Conference later in the year.  More information can be found at collegeoflpm.org/innovaction-awards. 

September/October Events

September brings a number of outstanding legal marketing events that you might be interested in attending:

LMA Legal Marketing Technology Conference
September 15, San Francisco CA

Great line up of legal marketing veterans and technology thought leaders for this three-track program on how to leverage technology in legal marketing. Information and registration at http://lmatechconference.com

LMA NW: Being the Leader You Would Want to Follow
September 14 (Seattle WA), September 15 (Portland OR)

I’ll be speaking at the LMA meetings in Seattle and Portland (a joint meeting with the Oregon Association of Legal Administrators) on leadership in law firms. Info here.

PM Forum Annual Conference
21 September; London UK

PM Forum’s annual conference focuses on living your brand promise and improving the client experience. http://www.pmforumeurope.com/events/conferences.aspx

LMA CME Conference
September 23, Los Angeles, CA

A full-day conference focused on attracting client’s attention in the new world of social and digital media. Details here.

Future of Law Conference
Oct 28-29, Chicago IL

The College of Law Practice Management holds its annual Futures Conference, featuring brilliant speakers on topics such as alternative fees, changing legal services models and practices without borders. http://www.colpm.org/pdf/2011%20Futures%20Conference%20Brochure%20web.2.pdf

I'll also be speaking to the LMA Chapters in Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis in October. Check my website, www.leadershipforlawyers.com for more details.

Is a top level domain name worth $185,00?

David Snow of ALM polls legal marketers, CIOs and me about the value of TLDs for law firms in his article "How High a Price?"

A Lawyer in Uzbekistan? We’ve Got That

Joining a law firm network can bring you referrals, connect you with co-counsel around the world and even provide a legitimate reason for interesting and productive travel. Sound like it's for you and your firm? Could be. This morning, marketing guy Mark Beese explains the concept, the cost and the upside and downside of the whole law firm network thing.  Read my AttorneyatWork.com Daily Dispatch on law firm networks. More...

Turning a Retreat into an Advance; A Guide for Creating a Killer Retreat

I always thought that the word "retreat" was a lousy moniker for what firms do to reconnect with colleagues, recharge their batteries and plot their next strategic moves.  Dictionary.com defines "retreat" as:

    1. the forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy, or the withdrawing of a naval force from action.

    2. the act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

    3. a place of refuge, seclusion, or privacy.

Instead, I'd like to see them referred to an "Advance".  The definition has a much more productive meaning:

    1.  to move or bring forward: The general advanced his troops to the new position.

    2.  to bring into consideration or notice; suggest; propose.

    3.  to improve; further: to advance one's interests.

As a former law firm CMO and consultant, I've planned dozens of retreats, from all-firm to partner retreats, practice and industry group retreats, associate retreats and marketing/business development team retreats.  Here's a guide for creating an effective and memorable "Advance."

1.  An "Advance" is a retreat with a purpose

Align your retreat objectives with one or more key firm goals for the year, such as increased business development, merger integration, client service focus, changing service delivery models, etc...  Create a theme for the event and tie all elements (keynote, breakouts, recreational activities, dinner...) to the theme. (click below for more...)

Marketing Individual Lawyers

Steve Bell of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and John Hellerman of Hellerman Baretz Communications, working on the premise that clients hire lawyers, not firms, penned an insightful article on why it is good marketing to promote individual lawyers with a few great tips:

• Define what you offer (articulate your Value Proposition)
• Ask for referrals
• Engage in a personal PR campaign
• Speak in small group settings
• Become a point of contact, a connector
• Communicate what makes you successful (My clients would say....)
• Create powerful introductions (Verbal Business Card)
• Repurpose your efforts; recycle every talk, article, blog post, email news item for other purposes.
• Share content through blogs and social media.

 

Lawyers can Benefit from Coaching

Last month I spoke to the Legal Marketing Association Chapter in Denver on coaching lawyers, along with Bob Weiss of Alyn-Weiss Associates and Karen Samuel Jones, a parter at Perkins Coie.  Janet Ellen Raasch wrote a brief article on the panel discussion.  With Janet's permission, here's the article:

Just like athletes, Lawyers can benefit from (business development) coaching

by Janet Ellen Raasch

Professional athletes rely on their coaches – experienced individuals who help them hone their performance skills, create focused competition strategies and maintain a high level of motivation over the course of a career.

Similarly, a good coach can help any lawyer who is thrown into the competitive arena of business development.

Business development skills are rarely taught in law school.  If these do not come naturally to you, a coach can help.

Business development strategy is hard to formulate in the daily scramble to produce quality work for your clients.  If such focus does not come naturally to you, a coach can help.

The motivation to engage in business development activities runs hot and cold.  It may be sparked by a good article, speaker or training session, but can be difficult to maintain.  If you find it difficult to stay motivated, a coach can help. (more...)

A Recipe for Culture Change

Perhaps the greatest challenge to today's law firm leaders is how to change a firm's culture.  In this Strategy + Business article, "Eat Your Peas: A Recipe for Culture Change"  author Rutger von Post outlines the steps a leader needs to take to effect positive change, using Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution TV show as a model.  Oliver set out to change the eating habits in the most unhealthiest town in America.  Here's a summary:

1. Learn and understand the local culture:  The problem doesn't lie with an individual or statistic, rather it is part of the culture.  In your firm, what are the underlying assumptions, beliefs, values and behaviors that drive (or prevent) desired behavior?  Do attorneys avoid cross-marketing because they don't trust their partners?  Do they fail to share information and experience because they feel they need to protect their silo?   Ask attorneys one-on-one about why they do (or don't) engage in certain activities to understand the values and beliefs behind the culture.
2. Communicate a vision of a positive, future reality:  Leaders must repeatedly communicate what the future could be like if goals are met. 
3. Demonstrate success:  Start small and build on successes.  Oliver started with inspiring one family to eat their peas.  Lawyers are more skeptical than most, and a luke-warm success or early failure will doom your efforts to make change.  I encourage leaders to quietly  'beta-test' first, refine and build a series of successes before launching a big initiative.
4. Identify key influencers:  von Post characterizes three types of influencers that are critical to culture change:   (a) Culture Carriers  - well networked, respected and influential people who are seen as informal leaders and "keepers of traditions." (b) Authority Figures - Managing Partners, Department and Practice Group Leaders, Executive Committee members and others with formal management roles. (c) Pride Builders - " people who are respected as peers and are part of the groups where change is targeted.  They embrace new behaviors as early adopters, and influence others in turn."  Once you identify key influencers, meet with them one-on-one to find ways to win support.
5. Formal and informal change:  von Post puts it this way,

"Some elements — defining the aspiration, finding key influencers, targeting behavior — are analogous to the informal elements of any organizational change initiative. Oliver’s success in Huntington came in part from his uncanny ability to energize and motivate the citizens, build informal networks, and help individuals experiment with new healthy eating behaviors. But Oliver also deployed formal mechanisms — the same kind to which executives often turn when embarking on a transformation initiative in a corporate setting — such as redesigning reporting structures, setting goals, and communicating priorities to the whole organization. These top-down, rational activities are commonly seen as primary levers for aligning the organization in the same direction."

Check out the article, then consider your recipe for cultural change.

What is the "WHY" of Your Firm?

This post by Mary Abraham caught my eye about "The Purpose-Driven Organization".  She references this TED talk by Simon Sinek, author of "Start with Why".  Sinek claims that people buy not the "What" of a company or even the "How" of a company, but rather the "Why" of a company.  Most companies (and law firms) have a good grip on what they provide and how they provide it, but struggle with the "Why" of the entity's existence. 

Sinek "The goal is not to do business with people who need what you have.  The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe."  Watch the video:

 

When coaching lawyers - whether in a leadership or business development contact, I often ask them to articulate their vision, purpose and values.  I ask, "What is your cause?  Why are you doing this?  What good things will come from your effort?  What do you believe and how can you attract others who share your values and cause?"

Sinek:

"We follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them, but ourselves.  And it is those that start with WHY that have the ability to inspire those around them, or find others that inspire them."

What is the Why of your firm?  Of your practice?  What ideas and values do you stand for?  How do your clients and potential clients find out about your Why?

Attorney-at-Work: Daily Tips on Client Service, Technology and Lawyer Poetry

If you haven't signed up to receive a daily email by www.attorneyatwork.com, check it out today.  Daily posts are authored by prominent experts in law firm management, technology, marketing and others.  Recently, Jordan Furlong contributed this post:

"Get Your Lawyers to Write Poetry

Specifically, get them to write legal poetry.

Have your lawyers share, once a week, a single poetic expression of legal information. They must write a poem, as short or as long as they wish, that summarizes an important case in their area of practice or expresses practical legal advice for clients. Collect these poems for three months, then publish the collection with appropriate imagery as a small booklet or PDF file, giving copies to all your clients.

The poetic form can be anything the lawyers want.

It can be iambic pentameter:

“Class actions can’t proceed,” the high court found,
“Without an issue common to the class.”
They couldn’t find a unifying ground
Of bias, so they gave Wal-Mart a pass.

It can be a limerick:

A clever young Briton named Max
Thought he lived in a haven for tax.
But some new legislation
Brought much aggravation;
Our update here has all the facts.

It can be a haiku:

The breeze may be free
But you still need a license
For your wind turbine.

And it can be schoolyard doggerel:

If your will don’t have a witness
It’ll fail the test for fitness.

Yes, of course, this is kind of silly. But it’s also kind of fun. And it has a serious purpose: training lawyers to say what they need to say as concisely and effectively as they can. Poetry is condensed prose, expressed lightly and precisely, so that the underlying truth can be more effectively shared. Think your clients could benefit from some of that?"

Check out the archive, and sign up.

49 Sandler Tips on Youtube

Looking for a few quick business development tips?  Sandler Sales Training has posted 49 videos on their YouTube channel.  Most videos are two minutes in length.  Nearly all are applicable to professional service sales.

New FT/MPF Survey Shine Light on Client Expectations

The Financial Times and Marketing Partner Forum recently published two reports (download here - free registration required) of law firms and clients that gives us a glimpse into what clients expect in a post-crisis world.  Some highlights:

• Law firms struggle more than clients with globalization.  Clients rank "International Focus" as second to "Understanding of Industry" in importance when selecting a firm.   Only about 33% of law firms felt confident working with international, emerging markets.
• Clients are increasingly focused on a structured procurement process and on-going performance management.  Clients are looking for new ways to measure and evaluate law firms and their individual lawyers.
• Both firms and clients agree that there is sigificant pressure to move away from the billable hour and move towards other pricing models.  Project management skills and processes are being required by clients to improve efficiency among law firms.  For basic work, the most important criteria is competitive pricing, but it is more of a perceived issue by law firms than by clients.  Transparency of fee pricing was very important to clients. 
• For a healthy client-firm relationship, clients want more communication between their outside lawyers and the C-suite, especially with the CEO, Chairman, and practice leaders.  No surprise, clients want firms to (in rank order)  respond quickly, understand their business, instill trust, communicate frequently, be transparent and open, develop links between 'C-Suites' of firm and client, become embedded and anticipate needs.
• Turn-offs include (rank order) slow response, lack of transparency, inappropriate advice, a sales-oriented approach, lack of attention, inconsistent service and others.
• It appears that while firms are investing heavily in social media and digital media, clients rate those marketing techniques as least effective.  Reports on current legal trends are seen as most effective by clients.followed by seminars and events.
• Want to know how to measure client satisfaction?  Client say an informal meeting is the most effective, followed by a structured meeting with lead partner and a client survey.
• Less than 10% of firms claim that they are highly effective in 'measuring performance and client satisfaction".
• Clients look for their attorneys to be highly knowledgable about their business and industry, but firms "may be neglecting this". 

For lawyers and firms seeking to service corporate clients, it is worth scrolling through "A New Dawn: Lessons for Law Firm Management in the Post-crisis World" and "FT/MPF Roadshow: Putting clients at the heart of your management".

"Transparent Generation" should think twice about what they post

Steven Silvers, on his blog "Scatterbox", writes about how employers frequenly google job candidates as part of the screening process.   Millennials, who grew up using social media before they can write cursive, should think twice about posting their innermost thoughts, feelings and pictures from last week's party.  Silver writes,

"For nearly the last decade my personal thoughts and feelings have been registered on the internet," an intern candidate wrote to me recently. "I have to wonder, do I need to start avoiding message boards I've posted on for years for the sake of an organization I'll belong to?"

It depends on the content and context, of course. But what he and his generation are coming to realize is that their use of the Internet to socialize and explore their innermost selves has created a transparent, permanent record by which complete strangers are making decisions about their future"

I've been googling candidates to learn about their digital reputations for years.  Ten years ago, I did a search on a potential candidate.  Her personal web site appeared on the first page.  One click and I saw that she posted pictures of her latest sonogram.  She was pregnant and wanted to share her new joy with her family (and apparently everyone else, includng potential employers).  I ended up interviewing her and hiring her  - she was a great addition to the team.  But the lesson was clear - everything you post, and posted about you, frames the first impression you make to potenial employers and clients. 

Read Silver's post here. 

 

InnovAction Awards 2011

The College of Law Practice Management has announced that they are accepting nominations for the annual InnovAction Award Program.

This is a world-wide search for lawyers, law firms, law departments and others in the legal services field that have invented or successfully applied new business practices to the delivery of legal services. The goal of the InnovAction Awards is to demonstrate to the legal community what can be created when dedicated professionals with big ideas and strong convictions are determined to make a difference.

If you have developed a new and better way of serving clients, a breakthrough way to find new business, or a truly innovative way to value and sell your services, you deserve the recognition of lawyers and clients worldwide by receiving a 2011 InnovAction Award. In prior years, the InnovAction Awards recognized only unprecedented initiatives, but in today’s rapidly changing environment, that criterion no longer represents the realities of law practice management. Therefore, the 2011 Awards will focus on originality of ideas and approaches, positive market disruption, value to client or industry, and effectiveness of results.

Award entries will be judged on the basis of four primary criteria:

• Originality: is this a novel idea or approach, or a new twist on an existing idea or approach?

• Disruption: does this entry change an important element of the legal services process for the better, and marketplace expectations along with it?

• Value: is the client and/or legal industry better off because of this entry, in terms of the affordability, ease, relevance or effect of legal services?

• Effectiveness: has this entry delivered real, demonstrable or measurable benefits, for the provider, its clients, or the marketplace generally?

The presentation of the InnovAction awards will occur in October at the College’s Annual Meeting and Conference in Chicago, IL. For applications and more information go to www.innovactionaward.com.

2011 Legal Marketing Association Conference Tweet-up

Join young Skywalker, Princess Leia, Asoka and I for the 2011 LMA Conference Annual Tweet-up.  Details:

Who:  Anyone who has -or will - connect with other legal marketers via twitter or other social networks. 

What:  This is a chance to meet people "in real life." This is an informal and unofficial event.  Cash bar and inexpensive eats. 

When:  Monday, April 4th 6:45 - on (following LMA Welcome Reception).

Where:  Crew's Compass Lounge at the Yacht Club (the conference hotel).

Why:  Just to meet cool people.  No guarantee that Princess Leia will show (she has Senate Committee meeting that evening).

RSVP:  None needed - just show up.  Star Wars or Disney costume optional. 

See you there,
Mark
www.leadershipforlawyers.com
mark@leadershipforlawyers.com

 

 

Power of Gratitude

"All we are is a result of what we have thought" - Budda

Harrison Barnes penned a spot-on article on how we can change our circumstance by changing how we think, specifically, on being more grateful:

"In order to be happier, to do better in your current position, and to find new positions effectively, it is essential you learn to be grateful. Gratitude has to do with the sort of emotional energy on which you choose to focus. People who focus on negative emotions and are ungrateful will likely attract more unsatisfactory outcomes. Whether you feel you do not make enough money, resent others, or are dissatisfied with your work, negative emotions will not take you forward. In fact, these emotions will build upon themselves as they attract more of the same negativity over and over again."

Read the entire article on JobsJournal.com

Two tech stories with cultural implications

1. Law Technology News reports that law firm associates suffer from low morale because firms are spending less on technology upgrades and gadgets.  For some, it is a matter of high expectations, for others it is a matter of loss of productivity.  Some firms recognize that technology improvements are not just a function of hardware and software, but of cultural change,

"Michael Chung, Boies, Schiller's director of information technology, says that the firm is in the midst of a document management testing phase in two of its 12 offices and is trying to determine the best vendor for the rest of the firm's offices. But he says that revamping a document management system is easier said than done. "Installing the software is probably the easiest part," he says, noting that teaching work flow changes to attorneys swamped with casework takes time. "It's like asking them to change the way they practice law," he says."

As firms consider how to keep and engage attorneys - not just associates - they need to consider a wide range of technology and productivity factors.  Attorneys increasingly ask, "Can I be more productive, efficient, effective and happy at another firm?"  Their answers are reflected in the increased migration of laterals.

2.  Luis Suarez, blogger of www.elsua.net, gives advice on how to reduce the time we waste on email in this article.  To summarize, he recommends:

1.  Don't reply to everything.  Break the chain. 

2.  Analyze your in-box.  Find ways to reduce redundancy.  For example, if you are replying to inquiries with the same response 40 times a week, set up a blog and post a single complete answer, and refer people to the blog in the future.

3.  Tackle one area a week. Identify time-wasters like e-mail newsletters and alerts that you don't read, and unsubscribe, or send them to an Outlook folder to read when you have downtime.  Or, set up a RSS Feed reader to that type of information.

What are you doing to reduce your inbox?