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# Law & Disorder Inc.

Murray Gottheil Speaking Up From the Safety of Retirement

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## Posts

- [Blog](https://www.murraygottheil.com/blog/)
- [I may be right, you may be crazy: Vacationing from the law firm](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/07/30/i-may-be-right-you-may-be-crazy-vacationing-from-the-law-firm/) - "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" ~ from the movie The Princess Bride. In a recent post on LinkedIn, the author explained that she checks her work email every day while on vacation, and that doing so allows her to relax. Others chimed in to
- [Nickle and Diming Our Clients](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/07/12/nickle-and-diming-our-clients/) - Clients do not like being nickeled and dimed. They can get their heads around paying $750 an hour, but charging them for photocopies annoys them. Back when I participated in the management of a law firm, I used to look for ideas on how to annoy clients less. My greatest management idea was never implemented.
- [Losing Our Heads Over AI](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/07/08/losing-our-heads-over-ai/) - This Article resides on the Appara Website. Click here to read it: https://bit.ly/4ypG5iD
- [How Plain Old Bad Luck Ruins Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/07/08/how-plain-old-bad-luck-ruins-law-firms/) - There is an old story about a farmer who was training his horse to eat less food so that he could increase his profits. He gradually reduced the amount of feed that he gave the horse, until it was eating a small fraction of what horses usually eat. He was on the verge of a
- [Are you calm tonight?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/07/06/are-you-calm-tonight/) - It is 9:45 pm on a Sunday night in the summer, six years into retirement. I have just completed a day of doing exactly what I wanted to do, which was not much. Saturday was much the same. This weekend was nothing like my weekends when I practiced law. On a typical weekend when I
- [A Perspective on Law Firm Perspectives](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/04/10/a-perspective-on-law-firm-perspectives/) - My cruise took me to Saigon the other day. My tour guide was an enthusiastic young man named Hung. He explained that his generation wants to focus on making money and supporting their families, rather than dwelling in the past. When it comes to what the Vietnamese refer to as the “American War,” he said
- [Rich or Poor, It’s Good to Have Money (Leverage in Negotiations)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/29/rich-or-poor-its-good-to-have-money-leverage-in-negotiations/) - The first part of the title of this article is a quote from my mother, who has repeated these words as far back as I can remember. However, my minimalist effort to conduct research before I write stuff uncovered that the quote is attributed to some fellow named Alan Sheinwald. I really don’t know who
- [Bad For Lawyers – The Downside of Relying on Referral Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/19/bad-for-lawyers-the-downside-of-relying-on-referral-firms/) - There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” ~ Milton Friedman I have a theory about lawyers who do not have much of their own client base, and that is that they would be better lawyers if they did have a client base. I say this despite having run across quite a few lawyers
- [Lessons Learned From My COO](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/26/lessons-learned-from-my-coo/) - When I became the managing partner of my firm, we hired an excellent general manager, who ultimately became our COO. I will call her Bev. Bev had a background in business, significant experience in human resources and a great capacity for emotional intelligence, all of which were in short supply among our partners. I was
- [Rich People Have Problems Too](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/22/rich-people-have-problems-too/) - I articled for the now defunct law firm of Goodman and Carr. It was a well-regarded firm in its day. Wolfe Goodman was a senior partner and a leading tax lawyer of his era. In my tax rotation, I spent considerable time with him. He made tax sound so interesting that there was even a
- [Oh Well, I’ll Be Dead – Attitudes About Long-Term Investments in Professional Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/17/oh-well-ill-be-dead-attitudes-about-long-term-investments-in-professional-firms/) - “I'm so old, I don't buy green bananas anymore.” ~ Lou Holtz From my 71-year-old vantage point, I have come to realize that our perspective on many issues is often affected by where we are on our journey through life. For example, a few years ago, it was raining inside of my house, and I
- [Up or Out is Down and Out in Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/15/up-or-out-is-down-and-out-in-law-firms/) - Back when law was primarily a profession, and only incidentally a business, if you were not invited to become a partner in your law firm after seven years or so, you were expected to hang your head in shame and slink out of the firm. The system was called “Up or Out.” You either graduated
- [How to Apply Your Legal Training to Address Gratuitous Negativity](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/10/how-to-apply-your-legal-training-to-address-gratuitous-negativity/) - My good friend Felicity had a problem. Her relatives were making comments about how she takes care of her elderly father, who I will call Allan. She gave me the example of an aunt who asked, “Why is Allan still driving?” and expressed her opinion that Allan is too old and ill to be driving.
- [Half Measures Availed Us Nothing](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/08/half-measures-availed-us-nothing/) - Some of you will know the origin of the title of this article. The rest of you will have to look it up. These famous words convey the notion that when you are facing an existential crisis, you must devote yourself completely to the task of surviving. Other priorities become irrelevant. I can think of
- [Who Are You Again?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/06/05/who-are-you-again/) - My partner Sid was great at remembering names and faces. At one networking event, 15 people introduced themselves, spoke about their area of specialty, and shared something about their personal lives. After everyone had spoken, Sid said something like, “Let’s see if I have got this right,” and then repeated the details that everyone had
- [Should lawyers be buying their AI lunch?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/05/28/should-lawyers-be-buying-their-ai-lunch/) - Frank Ramos, a Miami litigation lawyer, writes intelligently on LinkedIn. Recently, he posted that potential legal clients are moving away from using Google searches, and toward AI, to find lawyers. His conclusion is that lawyers should stop worrying about SEO and start writing intelligent commentary so that AI will identify them as an expert and
- [Same Big Law lawyers, Same Old Nonsense](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/05/20/same-big-law-lawyers-same-old-nonsense/) - An American poet and critic named James Russell Lowell once said, “The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.” He forgot someone: Big Law lawyers. Allow me to elaborate. Although I retired six years ago, I am still plugged into the legal community through my work with mentees and my contacts in senior
- [Is AI Taking us to Heaven or to Hell?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/05/13/is-ai-taking-us-to-heaven-or-to-hell/) - I once had a client who told me that what he really wanted was a one-armed lawyer, because he was fed up with lawyers saying, “on the one hand everything is going to be peachy keen, but on the other hand, the world is going to end.” I was thinking about that confused client as
- [The Benefit of Being Sane in the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/05/08/the-benefit-of-being-sane-in-the-legal-profession/) - Newly qualified lawyers are not known for being mature, confident, well-rounded, and psychologically sound. And why should we expect them to be? Most of them are young, having just emerged from years of student life. Few have had a significant prior career. They have likely graduated, with substantial debt, from schools that have not adequately
- [Might Means Right](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/08/might-means-right/) - By Maureen T. McKay and Murray Gottheil Recent events in Venezuela have us thinking about the expression, “might means right,” and what it means for our legal systems. Some years ago, a small client of ours had a cool trademark, which they properly registered and were actively using. Along came a multinational corporation, which we
- [Gotta Love the Banks, Part One](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/05/04/gotta-love-the-banks-part-one/) - I am not one of those people who rail against the Banks. But I do wonder whether they have a department in charge of making things difficult for their customers. Today I will tell you about CIBC. Next time, it will be TD’s turn. I had too many credit cards, so I called to cancel my
- [Gotta Love the Banks, Part Two](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/05/04/gotta-love-the-banks-part-two/) - I am just back from a two-month cruise, which started with a few days in Santiago, Chile. You may not know this, but in Chile, when you use a foreign credit card, you have to select an option on the machine to indicate that you are a foreigner. It has something to do with taxes.
- [Is it Time To Deconstruct Your Career in Law?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/04/30/is-it-time-to-deconstruct-your-career-in-law/) - Back when I was practicing law, I was so clued out about physical work that I thought that Manual Labour was the President of Mexico. After I became a lawyer, the only work that I did with my hands was typing. For many years I was thoughtful, creative, and strategic. I hired people to do
- [Flawed Young Lawyers Meet AI](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/04/27/flawed-young-lawyers-meet-ai/) - Vicky was my associate many years ago. She was bright and ambitious. She wanted to learn and she worked hard. If you taught Vicky how to do something once, she would get it right every time after that. But Vicky had a flaw. You always had to tell Vicky things once. Even after years of
- [It Was A Dark and Stormy Night](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/04/23/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/) - Do you remember the old stories about coal miners forced to rent their homes from the company they worked for? The tech industry is pulling the exact same scam on your firm today. We happily traded ownership of our software for the convenience of the cloud. We are stuck renting our own data back from
- [Lawyers: Get on the AI Program!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/04/19/lawyers-get-on-the-ai-program/) - Some years ago, I visited the Kennedy Space Centre and learned that our mobile phones have more computing power than the roomful of computers that launched the first spacecraft to the moon. That got me thinking about some people who I know who use these technology powerhouses for nothing more than checking their email, playing games,
- [Resigning as a Shareholder](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/17/resigning-as-a-shareholder/) - I had only been a lawyer for a few months when I had my first shareholders dispute to deal with. My boss told me to take the position with opposing counsel that his client’s resignation from “all positions with the corporation” included his resignation as a minority shareholder. I told him that his argument was
- [Your Trusted AI Advisor](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/04/06/your-trusted-ai-advisor/) - I did great legal work for Dr. Bob. He even said so. My service was impeccable. My fees were reasonable. It was a great relationship. One day, Doctor Bob called to tell me that he had sold his clinic, and he asked me to provide the deal lawyer with any required assistance. And just like
- [The Rule of Law - It Even Matters in Business Law](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/03/30/the-rule-of-law-it-even-matters-in-business-law/) - by Maureen T. McKay and Murray Gottheil Our background is in business law. Imagine our surprise when our editor suggested we write about the rule of law, which you might have heard is currently on life support. This foundational principle of democracy is the stuff of inspirational speeches by lawyers of the constitutional, criminal and
- [You Can’t Take a Taxi Off-Roading](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/03/21/you-cant-take-a-taxi-off-roading/) - Chris was a client of mine who was in deep, deep trouble. I was brilliant, as usual. Following a period of intense stress for us both, Chris escaped with his business and fortune intact. He paid me handsomely, and without question. Seeing how appreciative he was of my efforts, I took the opportunity to ask
- [The Problem With Great Expectations](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/03/12/the-problem-with-great-expectations/) - I am on a slow boat to Tokyo. Over the last few weeks, I have come to know Bill and Paul, both good looking guys in their early eighties. Bill is a pianist and music aficionado. He wears a baseball cap that says, “I’m old, but I’m cool,” which pretty much sums things up for
- [Hansel and Gretel in the Age of AI](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/03/05/hansel-and-gretel-in-the-age-of-ai/) - You will all remember Hansel and Gretel. Abandoned by their stepmother, they left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way out of the forest. Birds ate the crumbs, and Hansel and Gretel got lost, and eventually fell into the clutches of an evil, cannibalistic witch. Imagine, with me if you will, that AI was
- [Gutless Partners Tell H.R. To Fire Lawyer  ](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/31/gutless-partners-tell-h-r-to-fire-lawyer/) - I recently met with a law firm Associate of a recent vintage, whose employment was terminated after a short tenure at her firm. She has no idea why she was fired, for the simple reason that the firm has not told her. She had received no complaints about her work and had even been given
- [Lawyers Cruising For a Bruising](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/29/lawyers-cruising-for-a-bruising/) - Back when I was still willing to set foot in the United States, I booked a cruise from L.A. to Dubai. But then war broke out in the Middle East, and the cruise line eliminated several ports from the itinerary, shortened my cruise by six days, and dropped me off in Cape Town. For those
- [What I learned About Artificial Intelligence in the 1990’s](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/24/what-i-learned-about-artificial-intelligence-in-the-1990s/) - My firm had a thriving real estate practice in the 1980’s. When the real estate market tanked from 1989 until about 1996, they were not happy times. We did not hire any real estate lawyers in those days. When the work started flowing in again, we realized that what we needed was a real estate
- [Macro Marvellous, Micro Miserable](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/17/macro-marvellous-micro-miserable/) - Bob told me about his law firm exit interview with Joan from H.R. When Bob said that he was leaving due to the unreasonable workload, Joan was curious, because Bob was one of several associates who had left that department for the same reason. What surprised Joan was that in other departments, the associates were
- [Predatory Compensation Arrangements For Junior Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/15/predatory-compensation-arrangements-for-junior-lawyers/) - Say what you will about Big Law (and I say plenty of unflattering things about them), at least when they hire a junior lawyer, they give them a generous salary and benefits, and more often than not, appropriate training and mentoring. What has caught my ire today is at the opposite extreme of the spectrum.
- [An Attitude of Gratitude](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/13/an-attitude-of-gratitude/) - “Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.” ~ Melody Beattie. An old man takes his seat on an airplane. The attendant offers him a blanket and a pillow, and helps him settle in. She asks, “are you comfortable?” The old man
- [Churn Through Your Associates if You Must, But At Least Do it Well](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/09/churn-through-your-associates-if-you-must-but-at-least-do-it-well/) - "Prepare the clone army!" ~ Dr. Evil Back before today’s young lawyers were born, law firms and new lawyers had an unwritten social contract. Firms were prepared not to make much money on newcomers. They made an investment to mentor, supervise, and train them. If the firm was lucky, it could cover its costs in
- [Chat GPT Promotes Murray Gottheil to Big Law Partner](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2026/01/04/chat-gpt-promotes-murray-gottheil-to-big-law-partner/) - Career Announcement - Chat GPT is pleased to announce that Murray Gottheil has finally achieved his life-long ambition to be a partner in Big Law!I was bored this morning so I entered the following prompt into Chat GPT: "Create a biography for Murray Gottheil Canadian lawyer."This is what it told me: Murray Gottheil is a
- [Legal Problem or Leadership Problem?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/12/12/legal-problem-or-leadership-problem/) - I am going to tell you a story that was told to me by a law firm partner who cannot risk telling it herself. Somewhere in the world of Common Law, a rainmaker partner in a huge firm did dreadful things and was pushed out. A scandal ensued. The details were sketchy. Among those trying
- [Things That Get Better With Age: Fine Wine, Cheese, and Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/12/05/things-that-get-better-with-age-fine-wine-cheese-and-lawyers/) - One of my favourite mentees made the long drive to the country for lunch with Maureen and me the other day. I will call her Sara. We enjoyed the lunch, and Sara’s company was delightful, as always. I mentioned my advanced age, as I frequently do now that I am old. In a well-intentioned attempt
- [Behold, the Powers of Attorney!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/27/behold-the-powers-of-attorney/) - One upon a time, I had a client named Jack, whose mother had granted him a Power of Attorney (“POA”). Some years later, Mom’s capacity became questionable. Jack’s sister, Jill, wanted to have Mom create a new POA in her favour that would terminate Jack’s POA. The future of a family business hung in the
- [Family Business Succession – Don’t Send in the Clowns](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/10/08/family-business-succession-dont-send-in-the-clowns/) - In an earlier article in our series, Murray Gottheil quoted these words from Leo Tolstoy: “all happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The sad truth is that there is unhappiness in all families, and many families do not like to share their secrets. Working with these families
- [The problem with ‘fairness’ in family business succession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/27/the-problem-with-fairness-in-family-business-succession/) - “Being good is easy — What is difficult is being just.” ~ Victor Hugo The worst business succession plans that I have ever seen were created by good people who were trying to treat their children equally. Unfortunately, “equal” does not necessarily mean “fair.” Example #1. This is the story of Mike and Carol, who
- [The Law 360 Canada Pulse Survey: Murray Says WHAAAAAT?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/27/the-law-360-canada-pulse-survey-murray-says-whaaaaat/) - The good folks at Law 360 have produced their annual survey of what lawyers think about their profession.Here is the part that I don’t get.60% of Associates (and 44%) of partners say that they either feel stressed most of the time or all of the time.At the same time, 63% report being satisfied, or very
- [Humans Practicing Law Inhumanely](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/26/humans-practicing-law-inhumanely/) - It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. ~ Edmund Burke Today I would like to weave together two disparate stories to make my point. The first is the story of my client, Sam, who was the CEO of a
- [Refresher on Legal Ethics For Unscrupulous Litigators – Part One](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/20/refresher-on-legal-ethics-for-unscrupulous-litigators-part-one/) - I am going to tell you a true story from out west. The names and a few details have been changed to protect me. Bill is fairly new to the profession. Bill works for Sue, who has been around quite a while, has a boutique practice, and has made a name for herself handling high
- [Refresher on Legal Ethics For Unscrupulous Litigators – Part Two](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/22/refresher-on-legal-ethics-for-unscrupulous-litigators-part-two/) - In Part One, I told the story from out west of a lawyer who I called Bill. Bill, apparently at the urging of his boss (who had bigger fish to fry), tried to dump a client by making a motion to get off the record a few days before the trial date, and returnable on
- [Deny, Deny, Deny - Right Up to the Breakdown](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/16/deny-deny-deny-right-up-to-the-breakdown/) - “Denial ain't just a river in Egypt." ~ Mark Twain I was speaking to a mom of three children the other day. She drives them to their different schools every morning and ferries them to sports activities after school and on the weekends, while trying to advance her career in the remaining time. She was
- [A.I. is No Substitute for a Determined Soul](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/07/a-i-is-no-substitute-for-a-determined-soul/) - My wife likes to tell the story of the first file that she worked on for me when she articled for my firm. (Those were in the days when she did what I told her to do, because I was the boss. Things have changed.) I had her work on a financing file. Back in
- [Business Succession a la Hallmark](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/07/business-succession-a-la-hallmark/) - I love watching Hallmark romance movies. (Yes, I am a guy.) My wife and former Associate, Maureen McKay, does not. They are too sicky sweet for her taste. I watch these films because, after a lifetime of stress in the legal profession, I find that thrillers and suspenseful stories trigger my self-diagnosed and made-up condition,
- [Turning the Screws Because You Can](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/04/turning-the-screws-because-you-can/) - I recently observed a transaction from afar. It was the sale of a small retail shop - a tiny deal for a few hundred thousand dollars. The seller was getting out because they had to. There was not a tonne of money to go around. The biggest problem for the seller was obtaining the landlord’s
- [Toxic productivity update](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/11/01/toxic-productivity-update/) - Coming on three years ago, I wrote about toxic productivity. Among my pithy comments were the following nuggets: "I am retired. I live in the country near a lake and the weather is lovely. I could be going for a walk, reading a book or paddling my canoe. I could be sitting on the dock
- [AI: Ask a Stupid Question, Get a Stupid Answer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/10/28/ai-ask-a-stupid-question-get-a-stupid-answer/) - Martin is a lawyer who has closed many residential real estate transactions. Back when he was starting out, Martin read the relevant statutes and regulations and prepared all the documents himself. For each transaction, Martin drafted a Statement of Adjustments, adding numbers in his head. Eventually he used a calculator, and then a software program.
- [Meet Marta - The Ideal Law Firm Partner](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/10/27/meet-marta-the-ideal-law-firm-partner/) - Back when I was attending Vanier College in Montreal, I met a girl named Marta who was quite beautiful. I could see myself dating someone like Marta, so I tried to get to know her. I was very happy when Marta told me that she thought that I was a nice guy, she liked me
- [We Are Not in the Results Business](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/10/19/we-are-not-in-the-results-business/) - Back in law school, my criminal law professor told us that our job would be to use every bit of our intelligence, ingenuity, and strength, and to work tirelessly, to deliver the best possible outcome for our client. “But,” he told us, “if at the end of the day, someone has to go to jail,
- [Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/10/17/pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later/) - “Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value." ~ Joe Biden. It used to make sense to me to try to scare businesspeople into wanting to pay legal fees. I would tell them one of my many stories about clients who started a business without including
- [Stabbing Back in the Law Firm](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/10/14/stabbing-back-in-the-law-firm/) - I liked some of my partners all of the time; most of my partners most of the time; and one or two, almost never. I suspect that my partners, as a group, had similar sentiments about me. The first thing to know about being a partner in a law firm is that you do not
- [Family Business: Team Sports in the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/25/family-business-team-sports-in-the-legal-profession/) - “A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.” ~ Mary Karr "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” ~ Leo Tolstoy "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” ~ Abraham Maslow We
- [Laughing About Death, Taxes, and Other Sad Stuff](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/22/laughing-about-death-taxes-and-other-sad-stuff/) - My wife, Maureen McKay, is the love of my life, so it is only natural that I want to be sure that she will be well taken care of when I pop off. And since I am now 70 years old and she is quite a bit younger than I am, it only makes sense
- [It’s Not Business, It’s Personal](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/22/its-not-business-its-personal/) - In an earlier article, I wrote about taking responsibility for planning for the succession of our personal and business affairs and threatened that Maureen McKay and I would write subsequent articles to explore this topic. I am going to start part two of our series by telling you a story. Back in the days when
- [Resolving Disputes in Family-Owned Businesses - A Lawyer's Approach for Achieving Happy Endings for Unhappy Families](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/09/resolving-disputes-in-family-owned-businesses-a-lawyers-approach-for-achieving-happy-endings-for-unhappy-families/) - by Maureen T. McKay and Murray Gottheil "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina Introduction Resolving a dispute among shareholders of a family-owned corporation is entirely different from resolving a dispute among shareholders who are not related. Professional advisors who want to help resolve disputes
- [Murray’s Musings About Family Business Succession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/30/murrays-musings-about-family-business-succession/) - I have many thoughts about family business succession. Here are a few of them: Let’s say that Mom and Dad started a business many years ago and built it into an enterprise worth $20 million. They have two children who are working in the business (the “Active Kids”) and two who are not (the “Other
- [More of Murray’s Musings on Family Business Succession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/01/more-of-murrays-musings-on-family-business-succession/) - Leo Tolstoy said, “happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Mary Karr wrote: “a dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.” Perhaps Karr was exaggerating and there are some families that are not dysfunctional, even if I have never come across one. However,
- [Family Law and Family Business](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/10/family-law-and-family-business/) - Spouses often both own shares in a corporation that operates a family business, sometimes because they are both active participants in the business, and sometimes as part of an income splitting or creditor protection plan. Spouses rarely enter into shareholder's agreements, which is quite understandable from a family perspective, but not so much from a
- [The Truth About Consequences](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/12/the-truth-about-consequences/) - Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things. ~ Bruce Barton I used to ask my litigation partners how it felt to issue a Statement of Claim and ruin someone’s day. Mainly I wanted to annoy them, but I also thought
- [Who Do You Want To Be in the Legal Profession?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/10/who-do-you-want-to-be-in-the-legal-profession/) - There was once a mid-sized law firm that wanted to develop a specialty in a niche area of litigation. At the bottom level of that specialty, there were general commercial litigation lawyers who wrongly thought that they knew enough to be competent. One step above, there were lawyers with a decent reputation who gave good,
- [Tell Me What You Really, Really, Want](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/09/05/tell-me-what-you-really-really-want/) - “So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want “ ~ Spice Girls Have you thought about what type of people law firms really, really, want to hire? I mean, after you drill down past the marketing and human resources departments, and contemplate the type of things that even the Partners are afraid
- [On Being an Old White Guy Commenting on Legal Issues](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/28/on-being-an-old-white-guy-commenting-on-legal-issues/) - I got into a bit of a dust-up with a lawyer on LinkedIn the other day. She wrote something that I did not agree with, which was clothed in reverence for human rights, so I countered with my usual intelligent and incisive commentary, informed by my long history in the legal profession. My comments were
- [There is No Such Thing as a Free Ice Cream Cone](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/27/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-free-ice-cream-cone/) - Those of you who read my stuff know that I am not the world’s biggest fan of law firms who address mental health issues by offering pizza and yoga classes, while refusing to acknowledge that the principal cause of their people’s suffering is overwork. On the other hand, my faithful readers also know that I
- [Media Manipulation](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/21/media-manipulation/) - So, this employment lawyer leaves her firm and sues, as she has the right to do. She makes scandalous allegations (including racial discrimination and harassment) against her former employer, as she has the right to do. Then she and her lawyer go to the media, and a story is published in the Law Times featuring
- [C’s Get Degrees](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/17/cs-get-degrees/) - I was spending time with some young folks the other night. I heard a phrase which was new to me, but apparently not to the rest of the world. “C’s get degrees” has something to do with prioritizing the enjoyment of life, and physical and mental health, over stressing out to achieve high grades. Are
- [Being Smart is Not What it is Cracked Up to Be](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/10/being-smart-is-not-what-it-is-cracked-up-to-be/) - You, who are on the road; must have a code you try to live by; and so become yourself; because the past is just a goodbye; teach your children well. ~ Graham Nash Parents teach their children about success by reference to how things were during their productive years. To my grandparents, success was a
- [Shit Rolls Downhill](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/08/shit-rolls-downhill/) - Out here in the country where I now live, it is a good thing if your septic tank is located on a lower elevation than your house. If it is not, you need something called a macerator to grind up the poop so that it can be pumped up to your septic tank, because as
- [Travelling for Parties Instead of Funerals](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/08/01/travelling-for-parties-instead-of-funerals/) - I recently attended a party in Toronto for my buddy Billy’s 70th birthday. It was a low-brow event at Dave & Busters, perfectly appropriate for a bunch of guys from what was, when we were young, a low-rent suburb of Montreal. Billy’s children and much beloved young grandchildren were also among the revellers. Billy’s friends
- [Advice From the Beyond – You CAN Take it With You](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/07/30/advice-from-the-beyond-you-can-take-it-with-you/) - Let’s say that you are a moderately successful lawyer and have spent a few decades toiling in the trenches and building up a respectable client base. You get paid 40% of your billings and 10% of your client origination credits. You bill $600,000 which nets you $240,000 (40% of $600,000) and your client origination credits
- [Citiots in Suburbia](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/07/26/citiots-in-suburbia/) - Dictionary[dot]com defines a “Citiot” as follows: “a city dweller who, when visiting or vacationing in the country, is perceived as being condescending to the locals and generally ill-equipped to be in a suburban or rural setting: applied especially in upstate New York to a tourist from New York City.” It then gives two examples of
- [Let’s Kill Their Ambition and Blame it on Them](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/07/24/lets-kill-their-ambition-and-blame-it-on-them/) - This is my very first article that is not about the legal profession – but it might as well be. I know a recently graduated professional, finally free to make his mark on the world, and eager as hell to go out and make something of himself. It is not an easy job market out
- [The Implications of My Ice Cream Diet for Law Firm Management](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/07/17/the-implications-of-my-ice-cream-diet-for-law-firm-management/) - I have been over-weight for a good long while. My wife, Maureen, is not shallow. She loves me exactly as I am. But she is smart, beautiful and talented, and her marketability far exceeds mine, so why take chances? For about 15 years, I stopped eating chocolate, cake, pie, muffins, ice-cream, fudge, etc., etc., but
- [If You Love Me,  if you Ever Loved Me:  Pay Me Faster](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/07/09/if-you-love-me-if-you-ever-loved-me-pay-me-faster/) - I pay my bills quickly. It is my way of telling the people with whom I deal that I value their services. I want my suppliers to remember that I am the guy who pays them the same day that I receive their invoice. I figure that there will be days in January when the
- [Show Me The  Money](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/07/02/show-me-the-money-2/) - For smart people, when it comes to getting paid, lawyers can be stupid. When I was a young lawyer, Gordon was a senior partner who had a client named Len who provided the firm many hours of billable work, all of it urgent. Len wanted every invoice reduced for some reason or other, and paid
- [The Smart/Stupid Dichotomy in Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/24/the-smart-stupid-dichotomy-in-law-firms/) - You don't get to insult my intelligence and depend on it at the same time. ~ Rachel Wasserman Imagine that you could bake up a bunch of perfect gingerbread cookies in the shape of a lawyer wearing a suit and holding a briefcase, and then say a few magic words and breathe life into them.
- [I Care Very Little About What You Think of Me](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/21/i-care-very-little-about-what-you-think-of-me/) - Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember ~ the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you. ~ Zig ZiglarA friend of mine told me that my name had come up in a conversation with another lawyer, who said that some of what I have posted of a personal
- [Observing Plans For Your Demise](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/11/observing-plans-for-your-demise/) - My friends Jim and Sheila love dogs. They used to share their residence with a rescue dog named Henry. Dragons live forever, but not so little dogs. So when Henry got sick and his demise was imminent, Jim built a coffin for Henry so that it would be ready when needed to carry Henry to
- [Death and Other Inconveniences](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/09/death-and-other-inconveniences/) - This article is about what I want to see from the Legal Tech industry. My basic message is: You technology folks are bringing our profession to its knees. Now we need you to sort out the mess and chart a way out for us. The clock is ticking. Get on with it! The article resides
- [Micromanagement *](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/01/micromanagement/) - “Micromanagement is like cutting grass with scissors; it's tedious, ineffective, and a waste of time." ~ Lisa McLeod, author and keynote speaker My wife’s name is Maureen. I love Maureen more than I love life itself. I also annoy her a fair bit. One of the things that I do to annoy her is clean
- [A Sad Tale of Love Gone Bad](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/09/a-sad-tale-of-love-gone-bad/) - Many years ago, I knew a young couple who were very much in love. The young lady loved the idea of pleasing her parents and impressing her friends by marrying a good-looking boy with a promising career. The young man was in love with the idea of having a pretty girl on his arm who
- [This Phone is Made for Answering](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/06/01/this-phone-is-made-for-answering/) - There is a plumbing company out in the country where I live, whose slogan is, “We answer the phone.” It should not be a big differentiator, but it is. I have no idea how good they are at plumbing, but they answer the phone. That tells me that they care about their customers. So, why
- [Ill Winds That Blow No Good](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/05/23/ill-winds-that-blow-no-good/) - “It is an ill wind that blows no good.” ~ John Heywood I recently wrote what I thought was a rather nifty article about the ills in the legal profession, and concluded, as I often do, that many of them can be traced to a culture of greed in Big Law. I got that part
- [Alternate Nostril Breathing](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/05/15/alternate-nostril-breathing/) - Those of you who have read my stuff before may have seen my article titled, “Beyond Pizza and Yoga: Let’s Get Serious About Mental Health for Lawyers,” in which I advanced the theory that billable hour expectations, a dearth of mentoring, cultures of disrespect, and lack of transparency around career paths, all contribute to the
- [I Heard it Through the Gripe Vine](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/05/10/i-heard-it-through-the-gripe-vine/) - Back a long time ago when I had a modicum of influence in a law firm, I used to include a sentence in every offer letter to associates to the effect that we expected our lawyers to be part of the solution to issues that they encountered at the firm, not part the problem. This
- [Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/05/09/lead-follow-or-get-out-of-the-way/) - “Lead, follow, or get out of the way” is an expression which some attribute to Thomas Payne. Tommy died in 1809, so this is hardly a new turn of speech. And yet, back in my law firm (and I suspect in many others), there were partners who never came to terms with it. Sure, we
- [Goldilocks and the Three Bears of Artificial Intelligence](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/05/08/goldilocks-and-the-three-bears-of-artificial-intelligence/) - It is virtually certain that every lawyer with real intelligence who plans to stick around the profession for at least another five years is going to use artificial intelligence in their practice. (Unfortunately, so will every lawyer without real intelligence, but that is a topic for another day.) As I look back on my forty-year career
- [More Sinister than Just Hatred](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/05/01/more-sinister-than-just-hatred/) - I recently wrote an article titled “Hate Everything or Risk the Consequences,” in which I lamented that law firms restrict the social medial activity of their lawyers. But then I spoke to Tony Albrecht, who knows a lot about this stuff and I now realize that I understated the problem. I thought that this was
- [Happiness May Buy You Money](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/28/happiness-may-buy-you-money/) - A holocaust survivor who I know once asked me, “who says you are supposed to be happy?” The question was posed in response to my argument that in the pursuit of happiness, it is sometimes a reasonable choice to deviate from your duty, as defined by religious or cultural norms. My reaction to the question
- [Hate Everything or Risk the Consequences](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/25/hate-everything-or-risk-the-consequences/) - I would have to guess that at the law firm where I toiled for 34 years, some people like what I write on LinkedIn, and some do not. The reason that I have to guess, is that with the very occasional exception of one Associate, none of them ever react or comment. Now you might
- [It’s Deja Vue, all Over Again](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/24/its-deja-vue-all-over-again/) - In the mid-90’s, someone called a recession, and everyone showed up. We had one lawyer who did nothing but enforce mortgages for a Bank. I was a junior partner who fancied myself as a business promotor, and I suggested that we use the slogan, “[name of our firm], kicking more people out of their houses
- [Alice in Slumberland](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/24/alice-in-slumberland/) - I met a lawyer named Alice the other day, who does a lot of unsophisticated work, as well as a bit of higher-end work. Through her looking glass, Alice does not spy Wonderland. Instead, she fears that much of the work that she is doing will become a commodity, and her competitors will flock to
- [The Greatest Golfer Ever](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/18/the-greatest-golfer-ever/) - There have now been several reports in Canadian media about travellers being asked at the border what they think of the U.S. President and being denied entry when they did not express their unqualified approval of Mr. Trump. (Apparently, American citizens returning from abroad have also been asked this question, which is even more shocking.)
- [Pro Bonzo](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/16/pro-bonzo/) - A brave articling student once quipped about me that, “if you say, ‘pro bono’ near Murray, you’d better be talking about Sonny and Cher.” Now that was a tad unfair. It was not that I was against our firm doing pro bono work, but I did want us to be doing it for people who
- [Is it Me, or is it Us?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/06/is-it-me-or-is-it-us/) - My neighborhood was hit hard by the ice storm. We have been without power for eight days now and counting. Some of my neighbours have generators. Some don’t. Some have heat and water. Some do not. Gary, Rob, and John have cleared downed trees so that people can drive out to the main road. Jack
- [Living Paycheque to Paycheque on $6,574,000](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/04/02/living-paycheque-to-paycheque-on-6574000/) - It’s Not a Principle Until it Costs You Money ~ Bill Bernbach We have all been reading about the law firm of Paul Weiss having settled with the Trump Administration to get out from under an Executive Order, the legality of which is to say the least, questionable. Some say that Paul Weiss buckled under
- [Splinters From Sitting on the Tech Fence](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/26/splinters-from-sitting-on-the-tech-fence/) - Stephen Shapiro is a speaker and advisor on business transformation. He wrote an article titled, “The Art of Decision Making” after the publisher rejected his preferred title of, “When You Sit on the Fence, You Get Splinters in Your Ass!” In his article, he argues that “movement in any direction is better than stagnation or
- [Working From Hell](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/21/working-from-hell/) - I was at the receiving end of a rant from a young associate recently, who I will call Mike. I don’t mind when Mike calls me to rant, usually late at night on his commute home from work. He needs to unload, and I am happy to be a sympathetic audience. This time, Mike’s s
- [Where There’s A Will](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/14/where-theres-a-will/) - This Article is about what lawyers need from LegalTech providers. I use Wills and Estates as an example, but the principles apply to many areas of practice. You can read the article here: https://appara.ai/news-and-insights/where-theres-a-will
- [Raiders of the Lost Art of Practicing Law the Old-Fashioned Way](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/14/raiders-of-the-lost-art-of-practicing-law-the-old-fashioned-way/) - Do any of you old-timers remember the first ten minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark? Let me refresh your memory. Dr. Jones retrieves the golden idol and tries to escape the cave. A giant boulder rolls towards him as he frantically tries to get out of its way. Finally he jumps over a cliff,
- [If You Pay Peanuts, You Get Monkeys](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/14/if-you-pay-peanuts-you-get-monkeys/) - We all know that when it comes to hiring people, “if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.” But what about when it comes to buying technology? In a recent survey conducted by Appara about the State of Canadian Legaltech, eleven factors were identified as being important when law firms evaluate Legaltech, and cost was the
- [Law Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/14/law-means-never-having-to-say-youre-sorry/) - The old timers among us will remember the 1970 movie Love Story, which featured what may be the stupidest line of dialogue ever. I refer to the statement that “love means never having to say you’re sorry.” It would take a lawyer to build upon that bit of nonsense and make it into something even
- [I am Perfect. Why Aren’t You?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/03/06/i-am-perfect-why-arent-you/) - Paul is a junior lawyer. His supervising lawyer expects every document that Paul creates to be perfect. In order to ensure that this standard is met, all of Paul’s draft documents, no matter how routine, are reviewed and often revised. Paul resents the extra time that is required to achieve that standard, especially since he
- [Cruising with Bill W. and Doctor Bob](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/28/cruising-with-bill-w-and-doctor-bob/) - I have been on many cruise ships. On every single one there was a daily meeting listed in the schedule of events for the Friends of Bill W. and Doctor Bob. After my first 10 or 12 cruises, I remarked to someone that these fellows must cruise a lot, because they have been on every
- [Poison Darts](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/27/poison-darts/) - My friend Peter was an accountant. He told me that at his partners meetings there were partners who worked hard to build the firm for the benefit of all. Then there were others who stayed mostly quiet and out of sight, but every so often rose silently and blew a poison dart into the discussion
- [Sharing Tips](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/23/sharing-tips/) - I am spending this winter on cruise ships, trying to escape the cold, the snow, and everything back home that reminds me of working in a law firm. With a cruise ship comes shore excursions, and with shore excursions come busses, and with busses come bus drivers and tour guides. With tour guides and bus
- [Partnership – Not The Holy Grail, Part Five: Why, Oh Why, Do Things Have to Change?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/01/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-five-why-oh-why-do-things-have-to-change/) - In this Part, I would invite you to live in an imaginary world where you respect and appreciate all of your partners, each of them is a phenomenally talented lawyer, who is also productive, respectful, collaborative, ethical, and has an amazing client base. And they all love you too. If you are a typical law firm
- [Partnership, Not the Holy Grail, Part 9: She Left The Suds In the Bucket and the Clothes Hanging Out on the Line](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/06/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-9-she-left-the-suds-in-the-bucket-and-the-clothes-hanging-out-on-the-line/) - Getting into a Partnership can be exciting. Staying in one is often more of a mixed bag. But exiting a partnership? Now we have something to talk about! Some of my best client work involved partnership break-ups. They can become very nasty, very quickly. The most memorable involved a dentist who wanted to break up
- [Partnership, Not the Holy  Grail, Part Eight:  All for One,  but Me for Me](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/06/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-eight-all-for-one-but-me-for-me/) - Back in the days when everything seemed to be a binary choice, I was a young man who saw many things in black and white. At the time, I would classify law firms as being one of two types. Type One were “real” partnerships, where people were building a firm with a common culture and
- [Partnership – Not the Holy Grail, Part Seven: One Size Does Not Fit All](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/06/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-seven-one-size-does-not-fit-all/) - We all know people in a wonderful marriage. We also know people in terrible marriages. Sometimes we attribute this to them having been so desperate to have a life partner that they rushed into things without taking the time to really get to know their partner, or even having been negligent or willfully blind to
- [Partnership, Not the Holy Grail, Part Six: The Non-Equitable Type](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/02/06/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-six-the-non-equitable-type/) - In prior parts of this series, I wrote about the advantages and disadvantages of becoming an equity partner in a law firm. In order to complete the picture, I really should address the fantasy of a non-equity partner (“NEP”) as well. Some years ago, law firms decided that they were not profitable enough to continue
- [Whose Client is it Anyway?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/12/06/whose-client-is-it-anyway-2/) - The people who make the most money in law firms are not necessarily the smartest lawyers, or the most strategic lawyers, or even the highest billing lawyers. It’s the lawyers who bring in clients who rake in the largest slice of the profit pie. We call these people the “client lawyers.” There is nothing wrong
- [Moving on Up](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/01/05/moving-on-up/) - One of my former partners checked out my profile on LinkedIn the other day. Since he is a litigator, my paranoid streak honed to perfection during my forty-year career got me thinking that perhaps he was trying to find an address for service. More likely, he was just checking to see if I am still
- [Partnership - Not The Holy Grail, Part  Four: The Beginning of the Journey](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/01/19/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-four-the-beginning-of-the-journey/) - Becoming a partner in a law firm is easy enough. You pay your money, you take your chances. But what exactly have you bought into? We all know that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Partnership meetings are much the same. Partners can disagree in a meeting but when you leave the meeting room,
- [Partnership –  Not  The  Holy Grail, Part One: Introduction](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/01/10/partnership-not-the-holy-grail/) - At my first law firm, there were three partners. When one of them moved on, and the other one passed away, the remaining owner announced to all of the associates that he had no intention of making anyone a partner any time soon. So I left. At my next firm, it was my job to
- [Partnership –  Not  The  Holy Grail, Part Three: The Disadvantages](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/01/16/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-three-the-disadvantages/) - In Part One of this series, I said that becoming a partner in a law firm is no longer the goal of every young lawyer. In Part Two, I wrote about the advantages of equity partnership. Now, let’s talk about the disadvantages of equity partnership. To start with, there is joint and several unlimited personal
- [Partnership –  Not  The  Holy Grail, Part Two: The Advantages](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/01/13/partnership-not-the-holy-grail-part-two-the-advantages/) - In Part One, I explained that when I was a young buck, becoming a partner was the ultimate goal of every young lawyer. I suggested that this type of thinking is, for good reason, falling out of favour. There are both good and bad things about being a partner in a law firm, and today’s
- [You Can Measure My Career in Games](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2025/01/11/you-can-measure-my-career-in-games/) - When I was younger, and did not have a house or a family or need to fund my children’s education, or want to travel the world, I used to say that if I was a professional athlete who was awarded a contract for some multiple of $10,000,000, you would be able to measure the length
- [Is it the Lazy Junior Lawyer’s Fault?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/03/16/is-it-the-lazy-junior-lawyers-fault/) - Tali Green recently (sarcastically)asked the following question on LinkedIn: “Are lazy and sub-par juniors contributing to the mental health crisis in the legal profession?” She quoted the following from an article suggesting that this is the case: "The pressure is particularly high on law firm partners, who as owners of the business carry the responsibility
- [An Action Plan for Becoming Less Miserable](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/12/01/an-action-plan-for-becoming-less-miserable/) - I understand that newbies to the legal profession who have student debt and no client base often feel locked into jobs that they hate. I do not understand mid-level and senior lawyers who are financially stable and have a client base who stay in law firms that make them sick. I should understand them because
- [It is Okay to Put Up With Some Injustice](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/30/it-is-okay-to-put-up-with-some-injustice/) - [Note from Murray: Many of my readers are younger professionals. They may not be crazy about the content of this article. In my defense, I can be a curmudgeon sometimes, but that does not necessarily invalidate my old-fashioned opinions!] After much thought, I have concluded that young people should be more willing to put up
- [Knowing What Type of Clients You Want](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/30/knowing-what-type-of-clients-you-want/) - I think that lawyers should know who they are and what type of clients they want (and the answer is not "any client with a pulse.")Here is a great example from Maureen Mckay's website (www.mckaylegal.com): McKay Legal® has a select clientele.You are the right type of client for McKay Legal® if you: 1. Want your lawyer to be
- [Law Firms Marching Obliviously into Oblivion](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/25/law-firms-marching-obliviously-into-oblivion/) - Back in the old days when law school cost very little and you could rent an apartment in Toronto for a reasonable amount, law firms hired newly qualified lawyers at modest salaries and gave them simple assignments. The firms also provided mentoring and training, so that the juniors could learn to do more challenging work.
- [How Can I Help You?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/20/how-can-i-help-you/) - One day, quite a few years ago, I was out for lunch with a banker who I will call Neal. Neal was a commercial account manager at a large Canadian Bank. As I always did at such meetings, I asked Neal, “how can I help you?” (For those of you who need a masterclass in
- [Scrambling for the Largest Piece of Pie](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/scrambling-for-the-largest-piece-of-pie/) - Law firms being partnerships, someone must decide how to split the pie at the end of the year, and except in some small firms, the pie is rarely split evenly. The task of deciding how large a slice of the profits should be given to each partner in medium and large firms usually falls to the
- [Yes, You Can! (Maybe)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/14/yes-you-can-maybe/) - In my heyday of clients and billings, my largest client asked me to handle an outsourcing transaction. I would hazard a guess that had it been completed, it would have made quite a ripple in the business community. A Bay Street firm was the client’s corporate counsel. The client may have been my biggest client,
- [How I Almost Failed Out of Law School Taking Accounting 101](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/12/how-i-almost-failed-out-of-law-school-taking-accounting-101/) - I did pretty well in law school. I studied all of the time, had no life, and got great marks. By my final year, I may have gotten just a little bit full of myself. When selecting my courses for my final year of law school, I needed one more credit. So, devoid of any
- [Look at Me, I’m Murray N.D.](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/12/look-at-me-im-murray-n-d/) - Aaron Baer sent me an invitation to speak at the Authentic Legal Professionals Summit. He said, and I quote, “I’m going to gamble and say that you’re able to speak about one of those (autism, ADHD, Tourettes, or other neurodivergences.)” All of this was a bit of an eye-opener to me, because at 69 ¾
- [The Latest Law Firm Scam](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/02/the-latest-law-firm-scam/) - There is an old story about a young man who, after finally meeting the love of his life following years searching the globe for his one true soulmate, took his girlfriend’s hands in his own one starlit summer evening, stared deeply into her beautiful eyes, and whispered to her in a husky, excited voice: “since
- [Capitalism Run Amok in the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/11/01/capitalism-run-amok-in-the-legal-profession/) - There were good things about the old days when law was primarily a profession, and lawyers joined law firms with a view to learning, working hard, and becoming partners. One of them was that law firms cared about their associates progressing, developing clients, and becoming self-sufficient. When we decided that the practice of law is
- [Abandoned Intelligence](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/10/25/abandoned-intelligence/) - There is no shortage of talk about the importance of lawyers delegating legal work to other lawyers and paralegals. Despite that, I have always believed that lawyers should not delegate work that they do not know how to do themselves. I questioned how anyone can check the quality of work done by their law clerks
- [The Battle of the Brands](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/10/24/the-battle-of-the-brands/) - Law firm marketing comes in two flavours. First, there is firm marketing which is designed to promote the firm’s brand. The firm sponsors events, advertises, and engages in a myriad of other activities, all designed to convince their target market that Super Duper LLP is a fantastic law firm. Their lawyers are the brightest and
- [Let the Games Begin](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/10/20/let-the-games-begin/) - An important element of a law firm’s culture is the manner in which it designates ‘client lawyer’ status, or ‘client origination credits’ (“OCs”). By way of background, there are three ways to earn money in a law firm. One is by being absolutely brilliant. Few lawyers qualify, and even those who do are not well
- [From Big Law to Law School and Back: Follow the Money](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/10/16/from-big-law-to-law-school-and-back-follow-the-money-2/) - One cold December evening when I was twenty-two years old, I lined up outside for almost an hour to get into an exclusive club in Montreal. The gatekeeper allowed the beautiful people in and passed over the others. I would still be waiting if I had not pretended to be part of a group that
- [A Tale of Two Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/10/09/a-tale-of-two-law-firms/) - Let me tell you about two different law firms. Big Law Group One is a well-respected Canadian firm with many hundreds of lawyers, some of whom appear to be happier than others. Some of their dearly departed professionals have told me distressing stories about their lives at that firm, and the effect that the work
- [Be Careful What You Wish For](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/10/02/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/) - Those of my era may remember the comic book character known as “Richie Rich.” Nice little kid, but being brought up by wealthy parents, he was not on the same wavelength as some of his friends. My friend Stan had a law partner who was kind of like a wannabe Richie Rich. He wasn’t rich
- [To Everything There is A Season](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/09/28/to-everything-there-is-a-season/) - I was the managing partner of a law firm for a while. At that time I saw myself as being something like Cassandra, who the Gods punished by giving her the ability to foresee the future while dooming her to never be believed. I used to try my best to convince my partners to see
- [Pivoting From Big Law](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/09/23/pivoting-from-big-law/) - Sometimes I meet a young lawyer whose career goal is to work in Big Law. That path might not be my first choice, but as long as they know what they are getting into, they should go for it. This article is not about those folks. Instead, I am writing about the young lawyers who
- [Pay For Play](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/09/17/pay-to-play/) - A friend of mine, who I will call Bill, was named as a Best Lawyer. Bill is a sole practitioner in a narrow specialty, and I am inclined to believe that having his peers vote him that award is meaningful. Unlike some of the multitude of lawyers in large firms who won similar awards, Bill
- [Guarding Your Sanity](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/09/17/guarding-your-sanity/) - I was pushing my wife’s buttons the other day when she shoved back and explained, “I am diligently guarding my own sanity.” I replied, “you may be guarding it, but I think that it has escaped.” The rest of the argument did not go well for me. When it comes to disagreements with my wife,
- [Enough Already, You Greedy Billionaire Wannabe!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/09/13/enough-already-you-greedy-billionaire-wannabe/) - “Work hard, earn a great living, get whatever you want out of life, have all the stuff you want. But there should be a ceiling on it-enough is enough!” ~ Sandy Duncan I used to think that I was a fairly sophisticated guy. I got me an education. I was a partner in a law
- [Sometimes, I Just Don’t Care About The Client’s Damn Budget](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/09/01/sometimes-i-just-dont-care-about-the-clients-damn-budget/) - A young lawyer named Eve called me today about a fee dispute. She had quoted an hourly rate without providing an estimate and had issued an interim bill for the time that she spent. The client did not think that it should have cost that much but was willing to pay it. However, the client
- [A Masterclass on Quoting Fees For Lawyers Who Bill by the Hour](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/31/a-masterclass-on-quoting-fees-for-lawyers-who-bill-by-the-hour/) - “Estimating is what you do when you don't know.” ~ Sherman Kent A young lawyer named Eve called me today. She had made the same mistake that I made numerous times in my first few years of practice. She had quoted an hourly rate for reviewing and reporting on a draft agreement without providing an
- [A Matter of Trust](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/30/a-matter-of-trust/) - Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. ~ Stephen Covey A Canadian grocery chain has just announced that it will launch a new brand to sell low-priced groceries in Canada. Their announcement is being greeted with great skepticism. The reason?
- [My Cousin the Watchmaker](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/28/my-cousin-the-watchmaker/) - Click here to read about why your future success as a lawyer will depend on you being able and willing to keep up as technology changes:
- [Soaked to the Skin](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/26/soaked-to-the-skin/) - I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin. ~ Leonard Cohen I have a friend who is a Dermatologist. I will call him Howard. Howard knows a great deal about skin cancer, so he worries about
- [Murray’s Masterclass in Managing Client Expectations](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/20/murrays-masterclass-in-managing-client-expectations/) - Murray (M) at my first rodeo: Client (C): We need to close this transaction in two weeks. M: That is impossible. C: The Vendor said that his lawyer told him that deadline is perfectly reasonable. Why are you creating roadblocks? If you cannot get it done, I will find someone else who is willing to
- [To Thine Own Self Be True](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/09/to-thine-own-self-be-true/) - “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” Hamlet - William Shakespeare. I drove into the Big City the other day and had brunch with an old friend who I will call Sandy, because that is
- [Gladly Suffering Fools](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/17/gladly-suffering-fools/) - Back in the day, before I became as warm, compassionate, empathic, and all-around loveable as I am today, I had something of a reputation as being someone who did not suffer fools gladly. There were even a few people around the office who found me to be intimidating. Of course, self-awareness not being my strong
- [When Does Size Matter?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/when-does-size-matter/) - I practiced with a medium sized firm in Mississauga, Ontario, which many of you may be surprised to know is the sixth largest city in Canada, just after Edmonton and ahead of Winnipeg and Vancouver. Back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s several Toronto firms opened offices there. At that time, the buzz in the legal
- [A Sucker’s Game](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/13/a-suckers-game/) - Imagine the following scenario: Jordan is a third year Associate with a mid-sized firm in Calgary who has a billable hour target that is somewhat reasonable compared to the targets in Big Law. He typically achieves that target and receives a bonus of $18,000. He is also paid 10% of the billed and collected business
- [Titles are the Opium of the Masses](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/11/titles-are-the-opium-of-the-masses/) - Unsuccessful people are the ones who are impressed by celebrity, by people's names and titles. ~ Robin S. Sharma In the old days, there were Associates and Partners. Every lawyer planned to work ridiculously hard as an Associate for about seven years, after which the firm would invite them to become a partner. Or not.
- [Murray’s Random Thoughts About In-House Counsel](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/05/murrays-random-thoughts-about-in-house-counsel/) - I never worked in-house. Of course, having no experience working in-house is not going to stop me from spouting off about in-house counsel (“IHC”). So, here we go! CYA Some IHC strive to avoid personal risk. They may always hire Big Law as outside counsel so that if something goes wrong they can say “well,
- [Clowns To the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/04/clowns-to-the-left-of-me-jokers-to-the-right/) - Last week I was at the Barnstable County Fair in Cape Cod. At the midway, there was a game called “Dunk the Clown.” Let me describe it for you. A clown sat on a ledge over a tank of water. People paid a few dollars and received three baseballs to throw at two large buttons
- [Zero is the Loneliest Number](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/08/01/zero-is-the-loneliest-number/) - In law firms, more zeros are better than fewer zeros. For example, announcing, “look at me! I just closed a $100,000,000 acquisition” impresses your colleagues more than saying, “I just did a deal worth $10,000,000.” A deal that was only worth $965,000 is not even worth mentioning. There just are not enough zeros. Frankly, it
- [It Just Doesn’t Matter](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/07/31/it-just-doesnt-matter/) - When I had been practicing for about six years, I attended a meeting with two more senior lawyers to pitch a potential client on leaving a Big Law firm and coming to our mid-sized suburban firm. The other two were: (1) Sam, who was our managing partner, very business savvy, and a great marketer; and (2)
- [Twenty-Four Hundred Hours](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/07/14/twenty-four-hundred-hours/) - I spoke to two law firm partners this week, both of whom told me that their hourly expectation was 2,400 hours per year, consisting of 2,000 billable hours and 400 non-billable hours (administration, firm events, continuing education, business promotion, and mentoring). I set about to do some math and determine how many hours these people
- [Have I Got Your Number?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/21/have-i-got-your-number/) - When you get old like I am and hang out with people who are also getting long in the tooth, the question, “What’s your number?” is frequently asked. No, this is not about getting picked up. I am not talking about phone numbers. I am referring to the amount of invested assets that folks who
- [Believe in Yourself or Perish!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/07/05/believe-in-yourself-or-perish/) - I have something important to say. It is so important that I will say it three different ways in the hope that those of you who are too busy trying to achieve your ridiculous hourly billing target to do anything other than skim read will not miss it. Here I go: It is virtually impossible
- [Big Law Does It Better](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/29/big-law-does-it-better/) - I am willing to bet that you did not expect that headline from me! And to be fair, I do not intend it as a general statement. What I am going to talk about is legal research, and it is a fact that Big Law does that better than the rest of us. While Big
- [If You Feed Them, They Will Come](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/23/if-you-feed-them-they-will-come/) - When I articled, if lawyers or law students worked past 6 pm, they were welcome to dine at the firm’s expense, as long as they returned to the office to work after dinner. That sounded like a great deal to a lowly paid student, and I was impressed with how considerate the firm was. Being
- [Let’s Talk About Recruiters](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/19/lets-talk-about-recruiters/) - Lawyers struggle to attract talent who are both capable and a good fit for a firm’s culture. If only there were consultants who firms could retain and candidates could work with, who understand the market, the culture in different firms and practice groups, the current salaries being paid by firms of all sizes, and the
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part Eight – The Final Chapter](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/17/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-eight-the-final-chapter/) - I'm not sure I can say there is a clean line between me as an individual and me as a lawyer. ~ Anita Hill Retiring from the legal profession will be difficult for some of us, because too often it is not only what we do, but it is who we are. You cannot retire
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part Seven](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/13/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-seven/) - In Part Four I wrote about the dread that some of us experience when we contemplate the fantasy Number that we think that we have to save in order to retire. Once I abandoned my original demented plan to work as long as it took to achieve my Number, I asked my financial planner to
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part Six](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/09/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-6/) - Husband: “Green Acres is the place to be…keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.” Wife: “New York is where I'd rather stay. I get allergic smelling hay. I just adore a penthouse view. Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.” ~ Lyrics by Vic Mizzy My older readers will recognize the lyrics above.
- [Retirement for Young and Old Lawyers: Part Three](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/03/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-3/) - In Part One, I told you to figure out what you want your retirement to look like. In Part Two I advised you to get to know yourself. This time, a cautionary note. You need to figure out if you really want to retire or whether you are just burned out. Dr. Google defines burnout
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part Four](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/06/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-four/) - This is Part Four of my series on retiring from the legal profession. In the first three parts, I did not even mention “the Number.” We all know what the Number is. That is the amount of investments that you supposedly require so that you can retire. I spent many years waiting to finally
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part Five](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/08/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-five/) - Way back in 1997, my firm had an existential crisis when our three largest rainmakers decided to ditch private practice to chase the really big money. And of course, they all wanted their capital back. At the same time. So, brilliant lawyer that I was, after surviving that crisis I revised our partnership agreement to
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part Two](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/06/01/retirement-for-young-and-old-lawyers-part-two/) - In Part One of my series on retirement, I defined retirement as being “when you are doing exactly what you want to be doing,” and I wrote about needing to figure out what exactly what that is. In order to do that, you need to know yourself. For some of us that is easy. For
- [Retirement For Young and Old Lawyers: Part One ](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/31/2813/) - “I look in the mirror and wonder who the little old lady staring back at me is.” Doris Gottheil, age 95 What a strange title. Everyone knows that it is only old lawyers who have to worry about retirement, not young ones. Right? I think not. Life is kind of like Tetris. The pieces fall.
- [Retired Mentors.com](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/01/retired-mentors-com/) - This page is intended to help Mentors meet Mentees. It is sponsored by Law & Disorder Inc. on a non-profit basis. New Mentors are welcome and encouraged. For more information and a list of Mentors, click here: www.retiredmentors.com
- [That Whooshing Noise](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/18/that-whooshing-noise/) - Let’s talk about deadlines. Here are two quotes to get us started: From Douglas Adams, we give you the light-hearted Associate’s perspective: “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security, because the truth comes from Amit Kalantri, who
- [Changing Law Firms for the Worse (Yet Again)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/25/changing-law-firms-for-the-worse-yet-again/) - I was speaking to a recent retiree from a Canadian Big Law firm the other day, and she introduced a new law firm concept to me, being that of the “Practice Assistant.” Apparently at her firm they did away with the concept of Legal Assistants (formerly, a “secretary” for you very old folks) and replaced
- [Users and Mentors](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/11/04/users-and-mentors/) - This is an abridged version of one of my first posts from several years ago. Supervising lawyers fall into two groups. Those who will devote no effort to training Associates beyond what is necessary to get their work done. They may teach their Associates how to do things but will not take the time to
- [You are Old. We are Greedy. Get the Hell Out!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/27/you-are-old-we-are-greedy-get-the-hell-out/) - Since professional firms are usually partnerships, the well-compensated people at the top of the pyramid are partners, not employees. As a result, all of that stuff that protects employees from discrimination on the basis of age in the Human Rights Code does not apply to them, at least where I live in Ontario, Canada. With
- [Math at the End of Days](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/27/math-at-the-end-of-days/) - Let’s say that Michael is a partner at his firm. He stays for many years and builds up a substantial client base. And while we are making things up, let’s assume that Michael has been a team player and introduced his clients to his Partners and Associates, so as Mike comes close to retirement age,
- [Reap What You Sow](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/11/23/reap-what-you-sow/) - Hey law firms! Have you given much thought to your partners approaching retirement, and calculated what their retirement may cost you? I reckon that there are at least five different types of attitudes that a retiring partner (“RP”) may have. Here they are: Strategic Break. The RP wants to leave the firm and recoup the
- [A Retirement Primer for Slow Partners](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/08/a-retirement-primer-for-slow-partners/) - I recently wrote an article titled, “You are Old. We are Greedy. Get the Hell Out!” In that article, I lamented the fact that law firms often nudge (or push, or shove) lawyers out of their firms when they hit their sixties. If you did not like that one, you probably will not like this
- [Beyond Pizza and Yoga: Let's Get Serious About Mental Health For Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/17/beyond-pizza-and-yoga-lets-get-serious-about-mental-health-for-lawyers/) - Click here to read the article: https://bit.ly/4dIx21M
- [Consistently Chaotic](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/15/consistently-chaotic/) - Early in my articles, a senior partner named David asked me to draft a document and gave me a precedent to use. David approved my draft but asked me to show it to Bob, a more junior partner. Bob told me that I had left out an important clause and asked me if David had
- [Greed](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/05/07/greed/) - Whoever Dies With The Most Stuff Wins –David Mitchell The other day someone asked me why so many lawyers work excessive hours on the road to mental and physical health issues, divorce, and addiction. The answer is simple. It is greed. By this I do not mean that all of the hard-working lawyers are greedy.
- [Vacation Frustration](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/26/vacation-frustration/) - A junior Associate at a law firm called me the other day to complain. There is nothing unusual about that. Associates complain a lot, often with good reason. Her complaint this time was that she told H.R. that she needed to take a day off for a personal reason and was informed that she had
- [What Does Loyalty Have To Do With It?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/24/what-does-loyalty-have-to-do-with-it/) - “Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down.” Grace Murray Hopper I thought that it might be fun to test my skills as a writer, by writing about two things that have virtually nothing to do with each other. I considered writing about mosquitos and energy drinks, flags and ostriches, or trees and
- [Understanding Crazy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/19/understanding-crazy/) - According to the fictional Professor Kingsfield in the movie “The Paper Chase,” law students “come in … (to law school) … with a skull full of mush and … leave thinking like a lawyer.” I have often wondered whether I would have been better off keeping my mushy mind so that I could think like
- [Chasing Unicorns: Changing Law Firm Culture](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/15/chasing-unicorns-changing-law-firm-culture/) - “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Peter Drucker Back when I was a Managing Partner in a law firm, I did not think nearly enough about law firm culture. I really should have, but not only because it is the secret to business success. No, I should have thought more about firm culture because it
- [Compelled Speech and the Last Bencher Election](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/12/compelled-speech-and-the-last-bencher-election/) - I am retired. I did not have a vote in the last Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) election, at which party politics showed up for the first time. Although I did not have a horse in the race, I did follow the nastiness from afar. Various candidates were not satisfied with debating ideas. They found
- [When Mentoring Disappears](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/09/when-mentoring-disappears/) - Many new lawyers start their own practices soon after graduation or join firms that offer little mentoring or training. I attribute this to a number of factors, including the law firm model falling into disfavour over issues of work/life balance and mental health, and prejudice encountered by internationally trained lawyers. On the positive side, it
- [Desperately Seeking More (Billable Hours) - Abridged Version](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/04/02/desperately-seeking-more-billable-hours-abridged-version/) - One of the values that drove me for a good long time was the importance of working hard and generating many billable hours. I have concluded that there are three reasons that many lawyers work long hours. Some do it to serve their clients well. Others do it because they are workaholics. And finally, there
- [Quirks and Quacks – The Challenges of Selling Software to Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/03/12/quirks-and-quacks-the-challenges-of-selling-software-to-lawyers/)
- [Living in an Institution](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/03/12/living-in-an-institution/) - Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution? Groucho Marx I am a great fan of the institution of marriage. (Second marriages actually, but that would make for a much longer post.) Anyone who has been married understands the concept of ‘institutional memory,’ which encapsulates your spouse’s recollection of why
- [The Simple Yet Unacceptable Answer to the Mental Health Crisis in the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/03/12/the-simple-yet-unacceptable-answer-to-the-mental-health-crisis-in-the-legal-profession/) - By the time that I figured out that I could no longer cope with the pressures of the legal profession and that something had to give, I had been practicing business law for thirty-three years. What can I say… I am a slow learner. It took me almost another seven years to get out. I
- [The Business Development Question](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/03/01/the-business-development-question/) - I speak to a number of newly called lawyers looking to secure a job as an associate. I tell these applicants that they should be ready to answer a question about business development. Here are my tips: No one expects you to have a solid plan for developing business at this stage of your career.
- [You Need a Shrink](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/22/you-need-a-shrink/) - For years I delegated work to Mindy, who was very competent, productive, generous, and warm. I never knew when I walked into Mindy’s office to ask her to do something whether she would be her usual lovable self or would bite my head off. Although Mindy had a heart of gold, her stress came out
- [Keep it Simple, Start With the Statute, Stupid](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/20/keep-it-simple-start-with-the-statute-stupid/) - You may be familiar with the “KISS Principle” attributed to one Kelly Johnson, a renowned aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin. It turns out that the concept of “Keep It Simple, Stupid” applies whether you are designing aircraft or solving legal issues. There is nothing simpler than starting your legal analysis by figuring out if there
- [Being Brilliant is Over-Rated](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/19/being-brilliant-is-over-rated/) - Way back before the cell phone, we had a telephone in our reception area for clients to use. At the same time, my doctor had a sign in his reception area advising patients that the doctor’s phone was for his staff’s use and clients could use a payphone in the lobby. The difference? We lawyers
- [Aren’t Non-Equity Partners Really Just Glorified Associates?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/16/arent-non-equity-partners-really-just-glorified-associates/) - With a nod to the danger of generalizing, I would have to say that as a group, I like non-equity partners (“NEPs”) just as much, if not better, than I like equity partners. They are often people who are primarily interested in practicing law and doing well by their clients, as opposed to promoting themselves
- [Could Someone Please Pay Me Off Already?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/16/could-someone-please-pay-me-off-already/) - I have been railing against the establishment in the legal profession for going on four years already. You would think that by now I would have annoyed at least a few well-established lawyers with deep pockets. It seems to me that by this time someone would have offered to pay me at least six figures
- [Selling Software to Teckified Companies](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/14/selling-software-to-teckified-companies/) - Yes, I made up the word “teckified” so I suppose that I have to make up a definition as well. It means “to use technology efficiently, including having databases which talk to each other, or better yet, a single database.” If you are in the medical profession or the legal profession, you are likely not
- [There Is Enough Work For Everybody](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/10/there-is-enough-work-for-everybody/) - Someone once told me that if your family is poor when you are twelve years old, then no matter how much financial success you have, you will always be fearful that you might lose it all. On the other hand, the theory goes that if your family was rich when you were twelve years old,
- [I’ll Tell You What He Didn’t Do](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/07/ill-tell-you-what-he-didnt-do/) - Those of you who read my stuff from time to time know that when I retired, I moved to the country, bought a pick-up truck, and started listening to country music. One song I like is by Carly Pearce, and it has the following lyrics: “… Everybody's asking what the hell happened Wonderin' why it
- [What is the Left Hand Doing?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/30/what-is-the-left-hand-doing/) - Ogilvy, Cope, Porteous, Montgomery, Renault, Clarke & Kirkpatrick was the first law firm that I worked for. It is now known as Norton Rose Fulbright. The law firm where I spent most of my career was once called Pallett, Valo, Barsky, Kuzmarov & Keel. It is now Pallett Valo LLP. What is with all of
- [Career Quiz for Law Students and Young Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/02/02/career-quiz-for-law-students-and-young-lawyers/) - So you went to Law School and participated in the legal clinic at the Fasken Building at University of Toronto or won a scholarship from Davies at Osgoode Hall. Somehow you were given the impression by your Law School experience that if you did not get yourself hired by a Big Law firm (“BL”), you
- [To All the Law Students Who I have Loved (or Just Liked a Bit)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/25/to-all-the-law-students-who-i-have-loved-or-just-liked-a-bit/) - I write a lot about work/life balance, mental health, and the pursuit of things other than money in the legal profession. My wife (and lawyer) Maureen McKay has laughed at me about this (among other things.) She has said, “Murray, if any of the young people who you counsel to pursue a balanced lifestyle were
- [My Journey To the Land of Setting Expectations](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/21/my-journey-to-the-land-of-setting-expectations/) - Back in the good old days, I used to bill by the hour, just like every other lawyer. I had a simple retainer agreement with my clients which essentially provided that they agreed to pay my hourly rate for all of the hours that I spent on their matters. When the work was done, I
- [Reflections on M&A, Musical Chairs, and Mental Health](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/18/reflections-on-ma-musical-chairs-and-mental-health/) - People of my vintage remember playing musical chairs at birthday parties, back before the days when money was so plentiful that it seemed to be important to impress the neighbours by hiring clowns and musicians or renting bouncy castles to entertain five-year-olds. For those of you who did not have the pleasure of being pushed
- [Another Law Firm Just Went Down](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/10/another-law-firm-just-went-down/) - “Write what you know.” Mark Twain I know absolutely nothing about the collapse of Minden Gross LLP beyond what I have read in the Globe & Mail. However, I did hang around the legal profession for a long time, and I figure that qualifies me to comment. My best guess is that contributing factors include
- [Gratitude and The Appreciation Deficit](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/10/gratitude-and-the-appreciation-deficit/) - "I am happy because I'm grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy." ~ Will Arnett The other day I received a private message from a lawyer who I have never met in person. She expressed her appreciation for my contributions to the profession in my retirement and did so
- [Be Wrong, Confidently!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/05/be-wrong-confidently/) - I came across a lawyer the other day who makes mistakes in his communications with clients and the other side. None of the errors will likely land him in too much trouble. They may even be excusable based on the theory that spending too much time trying to be ‘perfect’ is unhealthy and expensive for
- [Living in Different Worlds](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/03/living-in-different-worlds/) - I believe that lawyers should not compete based on price. I tell this to my mentees, and sometimes the response is, “that is easy for you to say from a cruise ship in the Pacific. I’m struggling to get files in the door and pay my rent.” I also think that new lawyers should avoid
- [Money, Money, Money](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2024/01/01/money-money-money/) - “I love money. I love everything about it. I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. Got a fur sink. An electric dog polisher. A gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I bought some dumb stuff, too.” Steve Martin I like money as much as the next guy. Actually,
- [My WFH (or WTF) Journey](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/12/29/my-wfh-or-wtf-journey/) - They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. When I started practicing law in 1981, I went to the office six days a week. Sometimes six and a half. I never used my computer at the office, mainly because I did not have one. Nor did anyone else.
- [Ordering Off Menu](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/12/23/ordering-off-menu/) - I like eating out, but I don’t always like what is on the menu. I have been known to explain to the server that I consider a menu to be merely an indication of which ingredients the Chef has in the kitchen, together with samples of some of the ways that they can be assembled.
- [Shutting Down The News](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/12/19/shutting-down-the-news/) - I stopped reading the news this week. It has been affecting my mental health. No more scrolling from CNN to Associated Press to Apple News to Google News to National Post, to Jerusalem Post. I am even trying to scroll past posts on Facebook and LinkedIn which address hate around the world. Should I be
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Eight: The Chief Marketing Officer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/12/12/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-eight-the-chief-marketing-officer/) - Those of you who have been following this series know that I said that Part Seven was the final article in the series. It turns out that I lied. The purpose of the series is to set out the questions which Articling Students and new Associates should figure out about their firms when deciding whether
- [Feminists – Honesty Is Not Always The Best Policy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/12/07/feminists-honesty-is-not-always-the-best-policy/) - I was speaking to a newbie lawyer the other day. I am going to call her Sue, which is definitely not her real name. Sue is an intelligent young woman, but like many of us when we are starting out, is perhaps just a tiny bit naïve. Sue told me that she was applying to
- [Figures Don’t Lie…](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/12/03/figures-dont-lie/) - The following recent headline in Law360 caught my attention: “Law360 Canada Pulse survey shows strong satisfaction among lawyers with their jobs.” Although I love Law360 and think very highly of their writers, the headline took me aback because it does not ring true with my lived experience or what I am hearing from the trenches.
- [Show Me the Money](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/11/15/show-me-the-money/) - “Youth is always impatient, even though, ironically, youth alone has time for patience.” Lucilla Andrews In my new pastime as a cynical commentator on aspects of the legal profession which I whole-heartedly embraced and profited from for many years, I speak to quite a few folks at the early stages of their careers. I try
- [Reading Between The Lines](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/11/12/reading-between-the-lines/) - At my law firm, we had great human resources management. It was so good that information was hard to come by. In fact, it was just about impossible to get any really good gossip out of management until it had made its way down to the partners, after which it became more readily available. Since
- [How Strong Are Your Roots?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/11/04/how-strong-are-your-roots/) - The image that accompanies this post is of a massive tree in the forest behind my house which came down in a storm, bringing down another tree, which brought down a third. As you can see, the root system was wide, but shallow. These trees might have looked majestic, but when force was applied, their
- [When The Time Comes, Get The Hell Out](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/10/21/when-the-time-comes-get-the-hell-out/) - The worst partners meeting that I ever attended ended with me storming out, telling one of my partners to fuddle-duddle off (not in those exact words), and threatening to leave the firm. I was the managing partner and highest earning partner at the time. You would think that I should have been happy. Some of
- [A Sweeter World?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/10/14/a-sweeter-world/) - I was speaking to a university student the other day who I will call Lara. Lara told me that she occasionally has a super nice dinner at her friend Kim’s expense. It seems that sometimes Kim meets a Sugar Daddy who treats her to a nice meal at a fine restaurant. Kim is just a
- [Emily Two – A Tale about Sun Visors, Money, and Ego](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/10/07/emily-two-a-tale-about-sun-visors-money-and-ego/) - When automobile manufacturers first put vanity mirrors on sun visors, they only put them on the passenger side. Their reasoning was that the passenger was usually a woman who had makeup to apply. The car was being driven by a man and men did not wear makeup. Why do you figure that the manufacturers eventually
- [How Quickly My Good Idea Becomes Your Great Idea](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/10/02/how-quickly-my-good-idea-becomes-your-great-idea/) - Now and then I will tell a story about something that I did back in the day when my wife Maureen and I practiced at the same law firm. Typically my story involves a brilliant legal strategy that I developed, a big win, and a grateful client. Occasionally Maureen will observe, “how quickly my good
- [Worrying For Godot](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/30/worrying-for-godot/) - When I practiced law, I worried a lot. I worried about making a mistake on my files. I worried that I was too busy. I worried that I was not busy enough. I even worried for the people at my firm who were too busy to worry for themselves. It was sort of a free
- [Somebody Hates Chat GPT](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/24/somebody-hates-chat-gpt/) - The more seditious and outrageous stuff that I write usually originates in my own tiny little brain. Occasionally the creative spark comes from another lawyer. This is one of those times. This particular lawyer sent me a rant about Chat GPT which I have edited slightly. For context, this lawyer’s firm loves Chat GPT, and
- [Time To Go](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/28/time-to-go/) - “There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go.” Tennessee Williams On the day that the love of my life and I first told each other that we loved each other, we were, unfortunately, both married to other people. It was a pretty rough journey from then to now (together
- [Believe Them the First Time](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/18/believe-them-the-first-time/) - “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Maya Angelou I have observed that in the legal profession there are a great number of pitifully unhappy folks whose irrational hopefulness is downright impressive in a kind of twisted and sad way. I am talking about the type of hope that lawyers
- [Is Someone Out to Get You?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/23/is-someone-out-to-get-you/) - “Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Joseph Heller In some law firms there are politics among the Partners. Someone wants to be the managing partner or to win the compensation committee contest, and they need to win friends and influence people to get what they want. I know, I know.
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Seven: The Supervising Lawyer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/14/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-seven-the-supervising-lawyer/) - This is the last in a series about the questions which Articling Students and new Associates should figure out about their firms when deciding whether to stay there over the long-term. This time, I will speak about supervising lawyers (“SL”). I was an SL for more than a few lawyers and law clerks. There were
- [Grilled Cheese, Please](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/13/grilled-cheese-please/) - There is a restaurant in Lakefield, Ontario called the Canoe & Paddle. On their regular menu is a panini called the “Ultimate Grilled Cheese” which comes with smoked bacon, cheddar, asiago, tomato, and garlic butter. On their Kids & Seniors menu they offer a grilled cheese sandwich for which the ingredients are listed as “white
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Six: The Law Clerks](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/12/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-six-the-law-clerks/) - This is the sixth in a series about information that Articling Students and new Associates should have before deciding to stay at a firm for the long-term. Today it is about some of my favourite people in law firms – the Law Clerks (“LC”) (aka Paralegals). Why do I love the LC? It is mainly
- [Hawkers and Hookers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/11/hawkers-and-hookers/) - In 1971, Xaviera Hollander published her first book titled, “The Happy Hooker: My Own Story.” It sold twenty million copies. In 1972, I was a student at Vanier College in Montreal, and Xaviera Hollander came to speak about her career. Xaviera’s attendance was the highlight of my school year. The auditorium was packed to the
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Five: The Chief Financial Officer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/09/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-five-the-chief-financial-officer/) - This is the fifth in a series about questions that Articling Students and new Associates should consider when trying to size up their new firm. This time I will address the most senior person in charge of the money. In your firm, this person could be called any of the following: Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”),
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Four: The Chief Technology Officer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/07/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-four-the-chief-technology-officer/) - This is the fourth in a series about questions that Articling Students and new Associates should ponder while trying to determine whether they have landed in the right place. This time I will address the Chief Technology Officer (the “CTO”). Of course, being lawyers we need a definition, so let’s use this one from Alexander
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Three: The Chief Operating Officer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/06/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-three-the-chief-operating-officer/) - In Parts One and Two, I set out some questions that articling students and young lawyers should ask about their firm’s Managing Partner and Practice Group Leader. Today I will tackle the much trickier issue of the Chief Operating Officer (the “COO”). The first challenge is to figure out whether your firm has a COO.
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part Two: The Practice Group Leader](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/05/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-two-the-practice-group-leader/) - In Part One, I set out some questions that articling students and young lawyers should ask about the Managing Partner. This time let’s talk about your Practice Group Leader (the “PGL”). Here is a list of questions to help you start figuring out the truth: Is your PGL really a leader or is their title
- [Law Firm Primer For Articling Students and New Associates – Part One: The Managing Partner](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/04/law-firm-primer-for-articling-students-and-new-associates-part-one-the-managing-partner/) - When articling students or young lawyers enter a law firm of any size for the first time, they see the carefully cultivated image that the law firm promotes and are often thrilled to be part of a legal fantasy world where every lawyer is dynamic, brilliant, experienced, strategic, and practical. Over time they get to
- [The Ethics of Dictating Work Ethic](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/09/02/the-ethics-of-dictating-work-ethic/) - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Later he kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and decreed that from that date forward, people would have to work very, very hard, just to survive. From then until recently, if you chose Law as your profession, you did not have
- [That’s A Little Bit Too Thinky For Me](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/29/thats-a-little-bit-too-thinky-for-me/) - A young lawyer asked me for advice. He was contemplating making a jump from Big Law to a smaller firm, for the usual reason that he wanted to work less and enjoy life more. I was not completely sure that it was the right move for him. I hesitated because the young man in question
- [Stupid, Stupid, Stupid](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/23/stupid-stupid-stupid/) - I once proposed raising our hourly rates and was met with furious resistance by the head of our litigation department who assured me that no assessment officer would ever permit lawyers to charge the amounts that I had proposed. He was a brilliant litigator and he was completely correct. However, he was not much of
- [Would You Rather Die or Give a Speech?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/14/would-you-rather-die-or-give-a-speech/) - “According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld Early in my career I spoke to a
- [Artificially Human?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/19/artificially-human/) - I have a theory about life which I espouse in my less optimistic moments. My theory is that for many people, things become less and less familiar as they age. What is socially acceptable changes, people dress and act differently, friends and family move away and pass away, technology changes, and so on. Eventually everything
- [The Zero You Deserve is Finally Here](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/16/the-zero-you-deserve-is-finally-here/) - The title of this post is taken from an advertisement for Dr. Pepper’s zero sugar soft drink and is a nifty introduction to the topic of entitlement. One of my minor pet peeves is advertisements that tell me that I “deserve” things. How do people trying to sell me stuff know what I deserve? On
- [Just Sit Home and Eat Doritos](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/15/just-sit-home-and-eat-doritos/) - I was telling my wife about the recent post by Frank Ramos about LinkedIn having an AI product to help us write our posts. Those of you have followed me for a while know that I think that I am kind of smart, but I know for a fact that my wife, Maureen McKay, is
- [Real Friends and Friends Light](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/14/real-friends-and-friends-light/) - Most of us consider ourselves to be lucky if we have a handful of real friends. Usually these are people who we know from way back. They know who we really are, and they want nothing from us. If we need them, they will be there for us. When we get busy with our careers,
- [They Care… in Their Spare Time](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/05/they-care-in-their-spare-time/) - The other day my wife, Maureen, told me about a friend who was complaining that his busy adult children do not call him very often. Her friend asked Maureen, “Don’t they care about their dad?” To which Maureen replied, “they care… in their spare time.” Maureen had it exactly right. Busy people tend to focus
- [Bad and Worse Advice for Law Firm Associates](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/08/03/bad-and-worse-advice-for-law-firm-associates/) - “Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” Chinese proverb The Chinese were on to something. We all make the mistake of teaching things to younger generations based on our own experience. Here is some of the bad advice that I gave to my Associates: Never hire
- [Men Talking About Moms at the Partnership Table](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/30/men-talking-about-moms-at-the-partnership-table/) - Those of you who do not attend partners meetings may not know that a common agenda item is why the associates are not working hard enough. And those of you who follow the statistics are aware that only 25% of partners in Canadian law firms are female. This means that the problem is primarily defined
- [Talking to Partners about Problems](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/28/talking-to-partners-about-problems/) - Since I retired, I do not speak to law firm partners very often, which is just fine with me. For one thing, I cannot afford to speak to them about professional matters. For another, I have had quite my fill of speaking to partners about topics that they know precious little about, such as how
- [I Give this Post a Five Star Review](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/26/i-give-this-post-a-five-star-review/) - I was a super-fantastic lawyer. Really, almost everyone says so. And yet, there were a few clients who did not appreciate what I did for them or what it cost to have me do it. Luckily for me, during most of my career Google Reviews were not much of a thing. And until they were,
- [There is More to Life than Hard Work](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/26/there-is-more-to-life-than-work/) - I was a socialist at age twenty. I went to law school because I wanted to help the poor and the oppressed. By the time that I was thirty I was a business lawyer. Stuff like that happens to people. Over the years I developed something of a reputation for being focused on making money
- [There Seems to be Some Confusion – I Loved Practicing Law!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/25/there-seems-to-be-some-confusion-i-loved-practicing-law/) - This morning someone remarked that much of my writing about the legal profession is a tad negative. She said, “you practiced law for a long time; you were good at what you did; you made enough money to retire and travel the world. Surely you must have liked something about being a lawyer, didn’t you?”
- [On the Outside Looking In](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/22/on-the-outside-looking-in/) - Susan and Bob are unhappy spouses who own and operate a business. Sue enacts some resolutions to remove her husband as a director and officer of the corporation. Then she goes to the office before business hours, changes the locks, tells Bob that he is fired, and hires a security guard. Bob shows up for
- [Slow Death by Normal Crazy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/19/slow-death-by-normal-crazy/) - There is currently a great deal of talk about mental health issues in the legal profession. It remains to be seen whether the profession will finally take mental health seriously, or whether the topic is simply the ‘flavour of the month’ and useful material for recruiting and marketing. Much of the talk is about burn-out,
- [Loose Lips and Sinking Ships](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/15/loose-lips-and-sinking-ships/) - Law firm partnerships like to project the image of a cohesive unit. One strategy that they employ is to insist that although Partners may disagree with each other in a Partners’ meeting, once they leave the room, they all must support the group’s decision. Another is to require that Partners act as though they like
- [Reporting to the Lawyer From Hell](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/13/reporting-to-the-lawyer-from-hell/) - So imagine that you are a newbie lawyer working for a firm. When looking for your first job, nobody told you that the most important consideration was to work for a competent person of good character, so you chose your job based on other factors which seemed important at the time, like prestige or money.
- [Who Is The Smartest Lawyer in the Room (or on Zoom)?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/who-is-the-smartest-lawyer-in-the-room-or-on-zoom/) - I am, of course. But I don’t have to make sure that everyone else knows it. Whenever I forget this simple truth, the client ends up paying for it somehow. Since I am the smartest lawyer in the room, there is only one perfect way to draft a document: my way, and when I get the opportunity to
- [Some Stuff Matters. Some Not So Much.](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/07/some-stuff-matters-some-not-so-much/) - This is for the young folks looking for jobs in private practice early in their careers. Here is what matters and what does not matter so much. Ignore this at your own peril (and I am sure that a great many of you will both ignore it and eventually be in peril.) Very Important 1.
- [Lawyers: Take Risk To Have Clients](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/lawyers-take-risk-to-have-clients/) - I once had a partner named George. George had many very loyal clients, and I asked him to explain to me how he did it. This is one of the lessons which George taught me and which I integrated into my own philosophy about being an effective lawyer. Clients understand risk. They take risk every day. Lawyers, on the
- [Alone Again, Naturally](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/07/02/alone-again-naturally/) - I speak to many lawyers who strike out on their own soon after being called to the Bar. They have various reasons for doing this. Some cannot obtain positions at established firms. Others get positions that come with no mentoring and abominable working conditions and decide that they would be better off on their own.
- [Advice From The Uninformed](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/29/advice-from-the-uninformed/) - Let’s say that you get arrested and are in deep doo-doo. Would you rather ask for advice from an experienced criminal lawyer or a recent graduate? The answer sounds obvious, doesn’t it? And yet, when I was practicing law, I would often see articling students and junior lawyers ask for help from other junior people
- [Of Boomers and Beemers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/27/of-boomers-and-beemers/) - “It just doesn’t matter.” Bill Murray in Meatballs I am a Boomer who never owned a Beemer. The best that I ever did was a Honda Accord and I had to make my way through a Chevy Citation, Dodge Aries, and a couple of Pontiacs to get that far. I had a few partners who
- [The Year Was 1995](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/21/the-year-was-1995/) - One of the many nice things about being retired is that I feel free to write about topics that I would not have had the guts to speak up about back in the day. So, here we go again! The year was 1995. It was one of my first forays into law firm management. I
- [In Defense of the Billable Hour](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/19/in-defense-of-the-billable-hour/) - The other day I heard a story about a furniture store in Toronto that was known to cater to the wealthy. The owner purchased an unusual item in Vietnam for twenty dollars. He brought it back to his store and promoted it as a one-of-a-kind item from an exotic destination. He sold it to someone
- [Yoga, Mental Health, and Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/16/yoga-mental-health-and-law-firms/) - If any among you have not yet happened upon the writings of H.L. Mencken, you should correct that. Among his many pithy quotes are the following gems: Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. Conscience is the inner voice
- [Call ME, Maybe!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/13/call-me-maybe/) - There once was a law firm which marketed itself as being a team of lawyers with deep expertise in different areas of the law who worked together seamlessly to deliver the best possible outcomes for the clients. Let’s call them “Super Team Lawyers.” Super Team compensated its lawyers for bringing in business by awarding origination
- [Welcome to the World of Clients](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/09/welcome-to-the-world-of-clients/) - Back when I practiced law, it had been drummed into my head that every mistake was a potential catastrophe and a source of shame. I was a perfectionist and proud of it. I was also a little bit intense and not particularly healthy. I taught my Associates and Law Clerks to be just like me!
- [Justifiable Paranoia - Nothing New Under the Sun](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/07/justifiable-paranoia-nothing-new-under-the-sun/) - “All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.” Battlestar Galactica, Peter Pan, and Ecclesiastes 1:9 It is not often that I quote the Bible, but when the Bible is validated by both Peter Pan and Battlestar Galactica, it has to be right. In 1994, which may as well be back before
- [Never Trust a Lawyer Who Doesn’t Make Mistakes](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/02/never-trust-a-lawyer-who-doesnt-makes-mistakes/) - Back in the day, I would have an Associate join a client meeting with instructions to speak up if they thought I was getting something wrong. Of course, they would only do so occasionally because I was not wrong all that often. When they did, if their point was not so great, I would respectfully
- [The More Things Change, the More Lawyers Still Screw Up Marketing](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/06/06/the-more-things-change-the-more-lawyers-still-screw-up-marketing/) - “Either you follow-up or you fold-up.” Bernard Kelvin Clive I recently observed a law firm doing some impressive online marketing. At the same time, to quote Shania Twain, when it came to the follow-up, “that [didn’t] impress me much.” Here is my story: I was doing a bit of research, hoping to find an answer
- [Silent Stupidity](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/24/2233/) - “Fools believe silence is a void needing to be filled; the wise understand there's no such thing as silence.” Michael J. Sullivan, Age of Myth Client: Why do I want to pay for two lawyers to be in this meeting? Acceptable Answers: You don’t. My Associate is here for his education at my cost; or By
- [Too Nice For This World](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/20/too-nice-for-this-world/) - Before you read this story, I should let you know that this is a sad story which does not end well. Long ago I had a great professional relationship and friendship with Laurence. I liked Laurence a lot. He was honest and ethical. He cared about his clients, his family, and his relationships. He taught
- [Musings of a Medium-Tech Lawyer about Cruise ships, Technology, and Mental Health](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/11/2224/)
- [Bah, Humble](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/11/bah-humble/) - I spoke to a young lawyer the other day who hails from another country. I will call her Natalie. Natalie explained to me that where she comes from, the culture is such that self-promotion is frowned upon. In her country, people do not think much of braggarts and blowhards. They respect people who are humble.
- [What Danger Lurks in the Shadow of Brilliance?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/07/what-danger-lurks-in-the-shadow-of-brilliance/) - Now that I have been retired for a few years, I sometimes wonder whether my experience as to how law firms work remains valid. Also, since I spent my days with medium-sized firms and not in Big Law, I occasionally worry that my view of what goes on in Big Law is not correct. But
- [A Good Day at the Office](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/03/a-good-day-at-the-office/) - “If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else.” Yogi Berra. I was speaking to an unhappy lawyer the other day, which is typically the only type of lawyer that calls me. This particular fellow has been practicing law quite a long time and makes decent money. His unhappiness stems from his
- [Enough Chatter About Chat GPT: Time to Move on Up](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/02/enough-chatter-about-chat-gpt-time-to-move-on-up/) - So, so much chatter about Chat GPT. I believe some of it. I think that some of it is nonsense. Here is the bottom line: Lawyers did not go out of business when computers were invented and we lost all of those hours reviewing draft after draft of retyped documents. We were still able to
- [Buying Clients](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/05/01/buying-clients/) - Back when I was practicing law, ignoring my health, and always exhausted, there were oh so many things to think about. One of them was referral fees. Of course the Law Society has rules about referral fees, as they should. (There are a whole bunch of other things that they have rules about which they
- [Keep it Stupid, Simple](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/28/keep-it-stupid-simple/) - Back in 1996 my sister became a doctor. No, not the type that the cabin crew calls for desperately at 35,000 feet when some overworked lawyer has a heart attack. One of the other kinds. In my sister’s case, she holds a Doctorate in Psychology, which is often quite useful given the level of crazy
- [Hey, Young Folks - Are You Buying What the Law Firms Are Selling?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/04/hey-young-folks-are-you-buying-what-the-law-firms-are-selling/) - It is an incontrovertible fact that young lawyers destined for private practice arrive at law firms without much clue as to how to practice law. A lucky few are welcomed into a structured environment where good quality training, mentoring, and resources are provided to teach them their craft and to maintain quality control and client
- [Look Before You Leap](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/24/look-before-you-leap/) - In the early 1980’s, just about the time that I was looking for my first permanent job in the legal profession, someone had called a recession and everyone had shown up. The pickings were slim for first year lawyers. Luckily for me, there was Don, a lawyer with over 25 years’ experience in the profession,
- [The Slow Game](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/23/the-slow-game/) - You think that baseball is a slow game? It has nothing on networking. Here is a story for you. Many years ago I met a tax accountant named Michael. Capable guy. We built up a trusting relationship and referred business back and forth from that day forward to my retirement. Pretty close to the
- [How To Raise a Baby Lawyer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/11/30/how-to-raise-a-baby-lawyer/) - Those who know me would not be surprised to learn that I think that I was a brilliant supervising lawyer and mentor. Not necessarily because I was, but because I had a fairly high opinion of my own skill set. Many of us lawyers do. Not all of us are right, although I am. If
- [What If?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/02/what-if/) - Many of us think that the legal profession is broken, because too many lawyers are stressed out and miserable. Law firms are throwing money at the problem. Apparently unsuccessfully. A few brave souls are attempting to start solo practices or small firms which operate on different, and more humane and sustainable principles. But apart from
- [When it Comes to Mentoring, Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/when-it-comes-to-mentoring-dont-drink-the-kool-aid/) - Some years ago, there was an automobile manufacturer whose products had developed a reputation for breaking down. Rather than re-engineer the products, it launched a major advertising campaign touting the quality of its vehicles. There is a parallel in law firms, where there is a real issue with how young lawyers are trained. Accordingly, we hear a
- [Lawyers Whining About Mentoring](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/21/lawyers-whining-about-mentoring/) - Those of us who hang out with lawyers know that there may be some wine involved, but more often, there will just be whining. Lawyers complain about many and varied things, such as how hard they work, the stress, their demanding clients, their Associates, and their Partners. The list of gripes goes on and on.
- [Goldilocks and the Real Mentors of Beverly Hills](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/06/goldilocks-and-the-real-mentors-of-beverly-hills/) - New lawyers need real mentors. Not the type of mentors who are assigned by the firm to be sure that you know what is expected of you in terms of docketed hours and evening and weekend work, but the type of mentors who care about your success and your progression in the profession. Here are
- [The Importance of Asking The Right Questions](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/19/the-importance-of-asking-the-right-questions/) - This is a true story, even though it may not sound like one. Chris was a law partner who joined a new firm. Two of his new partners were named Angela and Martin. Soon after Chris joined the firm, Angela cancelled out of a promotional ski trip, leaving a gap to be filled. So Martin
- [Huh, Really?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/30/huh-really/) - A short while ago I was contacted by a junior Associate who I will call Jennifer. Jennifer was looking to move to a well-established Vancouver law firm. The interview with the senior partner went well and Jennifer received an offer which was more than acceptable. She was very excited about taking the next step in
- [The Iceman Cometh](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/16/the-iceman-cometh/) - Long ago I used to work with a great lawyer named Ed. Ed was calm, at least compared to me. When I was freaking out about my files and my workload and certain that I was going to get myself sued for something or other, Ed just did his work, calmly and professionally, no matter
- [Act Your Wage](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/14/act-your-wage/) - Veronica is my Gen Z stepdaughter. She knows a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff and is not shy to educate me on just about everything. Most recently Veronica taught me the expression ‘Act Your Wage’ and then explained to me what it means. Apparently, it means that when employees are being required
- [Musings on Trust Funds and Ethics](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/13/musings-on-trust-funds-and-ethics/) - If you are not in that part of the legal business which involves representing Banks on lending matters, you may not know that Banks love trust deposits. They pay a ridiculously low amount of interest on them, and while the firm’s mixed trust account (the “General Trust Account”) requires some managing, it does not take
- [That Don’t Impress Me Much!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/11/that-dont-impress-me-much/) - I know a young doctor who I will call Stephanie, whose approach to her career impresses me quite a bit. She graduated at the top of her class, became a specialist, and had many choices open to her. Stephanie chose to settle in a small city because she preferred the lifestyle that it offered to
- [Cowboys and Aliens](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/10/cowboys-and-aliens/) - In the movie Cowboys and Aliens, the cowboys band together to vanquish the big, bad, powerful aliens. When I retired, I moved to the country and tried to fit in with the country folks after having spent a lifetime in the Big City. I soon met Jack, who told me that winter was his favourite
- [Look Over Here!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/07/look-over-here/) - There is an old story about a fellow who was searching for his lost keys under a streetlight. Various people came over to him, asked what he was looking for, and joined in the search. Eventually a lawyer came by and asked the same question but then followed up and asked him where he had
- [Adapt or Perish](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/04/06/adapt-or-perish/) - Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.” – H. G. Wells I can mount a persuasive argument that I had a successful career practicing law. Although it is unlikely that in a hundred years anyone will be writing about my contributions to the Law, some of my clients likely have fond memories
- [Know Your Snack Bracket](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/31/know-your-snack-bracket/) - One of my best clients was a very large privately owned corporation. I had a great relationship with Steve, the majority shareholder/CEO. Our firm was the ‘go-to’ corporate counsel for the company. The first time that Steve’s company was looking to handle some acquisitions, the CEO asked me, “What is your snack bracket for this
- [You’re Still Not Fired!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/30/youre-still-not-fired/) - Let me tell you about annual reviews for Associates in law firms. Let’s start with the word “annual” which suggests that the review will take place around the same time every year. In most firms, it will not, if a lawyer is conducting it. Doing that would require that billable work be put aside. That
- [Breaking Up Is (Not) Hard to Do](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/25/breaking-up-is-not-hard-to-do/) - Rob was one of my favourite clients. He had intellectually challenging work, treated my whole team respectfully, gave me reasonable deadlines, and promptly paid all of his bills without question. Yet, there were lawyers in my firm who did not like working for Rob, who, being smart and creative, would frequently propose unusual business structures
- [Different Types of Smart](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/12/different-types-of-smart/) - At my high school, athletics were valued above academics. I am pretty sure that we had the only ‘Reach for the Top’ team (an academic competition) which had a student who failed a grade one year and returned to the team the next year. Needless to say, our team did not win. On the other
- [Don’t Be Just One More Corporate Lawyer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/09/dont-be-just-one-more-corporate-lawyer/) - I went to high school so long ago that personal computers were not yet a thing. All of the students were required to take typing, which did not sit well with Gerry. He announced on the first day of class that since, as a man, he was never going to be a secretary, he did
- [The View From Under The Bus](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/03/07/the-view-from-under-the-bus/) - So, here is the situation. I am closing a deal with a senior partner from one of Canada’s largest law firms. Let’s call him “Big Law Guy.” I am a senior partner myself, but with a medium-sized suburban law firm. By definition, he is supposed to be smarter than I am and his junior
- [The Me Generation](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/24/the-me-generation/) - I am on a fifty-five day segment of a one hundred and eleven day geriatric world cruise. That is not the official title – the cruise line just calls it a ‘world cruise.’ But if you think about who can afford the time and money to be on vacation for that length of time, you
- [Houston, We Have A Diversity Problem -  Call Marketing!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/22/houston-we-have-a-diversity-problem-call-marketing/) - When I entered law school, each year the most powerful law firm in Montreal would obtain from McGill Law School the names of the ten students with the highest grades in their first year of law school and write to them to offer them summer jobs. I received such a letter when I completed my
- [I Can See Clearly Now](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/21/i-can-see-clearly-now/) - You may have heard the story about the flight attendant who assisted an elderly gentleman by giving him a pillow and a blanket, and then asked him if he was comfortable. The man replied, “I make a living.” When I was young, my parents were not comfortable, but they insisted that I obtain a university
- [Write About What You Don’t Know](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/16/write-about-what-you-dont-know/) - We have all heard the expression, “write about what you know,” usually attributed to Mark Twain, who knew a thing or two about writing. I don’t do that. I often write about work/life balance and mental health in the legal profession, topics about which I know precious little, having never achieved them. Why people read
- [The Client’s Damn Legal Budget](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/15/the-clients-damn-legal-budget/) - Sometimes clients call lawyers and announce what their legal budget is for a proposed project. New lawyers sometimes struggle to handle the situation because the scope of the work is uncertain or the proposed budget is insufficient to do the job properly. As an example, consider a client who calls to say that they want
- [The Engagement Ring](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/12/the-engagement-ring/) - The other day, my friend Martin, who was recently involuntarily retired from his law firm, was waxing eloquently, albeit somewhat sadly, on the topic of engagement rings and portable client bases. According to Martin there is a connection. Bear with me and I will try to explain. It seems that when Martin was first engaged
- [Uncle Willie](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/12/uncle-willie/) - I am on a cruise. A few days ago I was doing the tourist thing in Kauai, by which I mean that I was on a bus being driven around to see the sites and the sights. The driver was an older gentleman who invited us to call him “Uncle Willie.” Uncle Willie gave us
- [In Memoriam – Mindy Dodds](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/10/in-memoriam-mindy-dodds/) - I spent most of my career at Pallett Valo LLP, a medium-sized law firm in Mississauga, Ontario. On my first day at the office, I met Mindy Dodds, a young woman who was initially assigned to be my Legal Assistant, but who soon became my Corporate Clerk. In the early days, I taught Mindy about
- [The Story of Mark and Mary](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/07/the-story-of-mark-and-mary/) - Once there was a lawyer named Mark who considered himself to be an ‘idea man.’ Mark had a whole bunch of non-billable projects on his list of things to do, and he was always adding items to it. Mark’s list included ideas to improve all sorts of things, such as quality control, profitability, knowledge management
- [On Being Decisive. Or Not.](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/25/on-being-decisive-or-not/) - In the 14th century, the philosopher Jean Buridan told a story about a donkey who, equidistant between two piles of hay, starved to death because he could not decide which one to eat. We occasionally come across clients who are like that. You give them a couple of strategies to get out of the mess
- [Bread and Circuses](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/02/04/bread-and-circuses/) - I keep reading about mental health issues in the legal profession. Too many lawyers are terminally unhappy. The problem appears to be impossible to fix. Even The Washington Post just ran an article titled, “Want to be happy? Then don’t be a lawyer.” I am willing to bet that it is only impossible for lawyers
- [Emboldened Articling Students](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/30/emboldened-articling-students/) - Warning This article has three parts. Do not act on the suggestions in the first part until you consider the advice in the second part and the rebuttal in the third part. Part One: Murray’s Recommendations Murray strongly recommends that articling students ask these probing questions and many similar ones before accepting a position: How
- [All Hail the Rain Makers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/28/all-hail-the-rain-makers/) - For today’s diatribe, we are going to need a definition of ‘success.’ Although the traditional definition which relates primarily to making a lot of money is deficient in more than a few ways, since it seems to be the standard used by so many in the legal profession, I am going to choose that one.
- [A Feminist Perspective on Carbon Taxes](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/26/a-feminist-perspective-on-carbon-taxes/) - With this post I venture onto dangerous ground, but what the hell. Some years ago I came across a Canadian law school which was offering a course on “A Feminist Perspective on Corporate Tax.” More recently, I came across a law school course on “A Feminist Perspective on Carbon Taxes.” It all struck me as
- [Lawyers in Love](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/21/2009/) - Somewhere in some law firm’s ‘closed files’ archive, there is probably a file with my name on it. The subject matter line likely reads something like, “Possible Sexual Harassment Claim.” Now to be clear, I do not believe that I sexually harassed anyone, and if I am wrong about that, the one potential claimant I
- [Homegrown Ignorance](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/20/homegrown-ignorance/) - When I retired from the practice of law in 2020, I could not have told you what NCA stands for. I am willing to bet that the majority of home-grown Canadian lawyers in private law firms are just as ignorant about this as I was. On the other hand, I have never met an internationally
- [Biased Much?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/13/biased-much/) - I recently went for a ‘preventative health examination,’ which is code for ‘private healthcare,’ which is something that is in fact available in Canada - to those who are willing and able to pay for it. I was given a stress test which involved having me walk on a treadmill while hooked-up to a computer.
- [Timebombs in the Garden](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/12/timebombs-in-the-garden/) - By now everyone on LinkedIn has heard about Jon, a Cleveland lawyer who wrote a rather nasty email to a recently departed colleague who, having returned from her maternity leave, gave notice that she was leaving for another firm. The backlash was furious. Jon lost his job rather quickly. From the flood of comments on
- [Lies We Tell Our Associates](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/10/lies-we-tell-our-associates/) - My wife says that I am pathologically honest. I even have trouble bringing myself to tell little white lies (except when writing on LinkedIn where I may fib about the identity of some of the characters, and that one time I forgot to mention to my ex-wife that I had fallen in love with my
- [Does Gender Equality Die on the Shoals of Originating Credits?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/07/does-gender-equality-die-on-the-shoals-of-originating-credits/) - Back when I was practicing law, now and then I would get a call from a client who needed a litigator. But not just any type of litigator. A male litigator. (Interestingly enough, every such call was from a man. I never did have a woman request a litigator of a particular gender.) He would
- [What is the Best Use of My Time Right Now?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/06/what-is-the-best-use-of-my-time-right-now/) - Some years ago my firm had a lawyer’s retreat. We invited a speaker who gave a philosophical presentation about being mindful about how you use your time. His theme was that you have to constantly ask yourself, “what is the best use of my time right now?” I suppose that the partners thought that the
- [Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2023/01/03/questions-and-answers/) - Here are some of the questions potential clients asked me back when I was practicing law and the answers that I wanted to give them, but never did: Q. How much will it cost to draft a shareholder’s agreement? A. If you are shopping for professional services based on price, I really do not want
- [The Tip of the Articling Iceberg](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/31/the-tip-of-the-articling-iceberg/) - There is a fair amount of talk right now about whether law firms should be required to pay articling students a minimum wage. But isn’t this so-called ‘debate’ about whether the Law Society should legislate a minimum wage for articling students just the tip of the iceberg? What about the institutionalized discrimination created by the
- [The View From The End of the Road: Part Two – The Later, Still Ignorant Days](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/28/the-view-from-the-end-of-the-road-part-two-the-later-still-ignorant-days/) - In Part One of The View From The End of The Road, Old Murray (“OM”) went back in time to speak to Young Murray (“YM”) about the beginning of his journey in the legal profession and concluded that Young Murray just did not get it. Now, Old Murray is going to check in to see whether
- [Band-Aids For Burnout](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/24/band-aids-for-burnout/) - My partner Gordon used to travel to Florida each winter on vacation with his biggest client. Gordon would pay for every meal for both families and submit for reimbursement from the firm. When asked by the Managing Partner whether he had any friends who were not clients to vacation with, he answered rhetorically, “what better
- [The View From The End of the Road: Part One – The Early, Ignorant Days](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/23/the-view-from-the-end-of-the-road-part-one-the-early-ignorant-days/) - The thing about starting a new career is that we often do it when we are young and have little experience in life or in business. So, we look to those who came before us to show us the path to success. We assume that the older and wiser folks know what they are doing.
- [A New Year’s Resolution For Grape Popsicles](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/04/grape-popsicles/) - I like orange popsicles. The cherry flavoured ones are also okay. The grape flavour is terrible. This is one of the few topics upon which everyone in my household agrees. It is really hard to find a box of only orange popsicles. Trust me, I have looked. So, we always end up buying a box
- [Nothing to See Here Folks](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/15/nothing-to-see-here-folks/) - My friend Martin called me the other day. He was a tad upset. Having been a partner in one law firm for most of his career, Martin had withdrawn as a partner and continued to work with the firm in his pre-retirement years as “Counsel.” As Counsel, he was an independent contractor and his agreement
- [Lawyers Without Borders](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/17/lawyers-without-borders/) - As an Anglo born and raised in Montreal and living in Ontario for many years, I consider myself to be a political refugee from Quebec. (Some would say that I overstate my immigrant credentials somewhat.) I moved from Montreal to Toronto in 1979 at twenty-four years of age with my brand-new law degree in hand
- [A Parable Dripping With Sarcasm](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/16/a-parable-dripping-with-sarcasm/) - Early in my career, one of my clients was the owner of a chain of retail bakeries. One day I attended at one of the stores with the President of the corporation, whose name was Stewart. When we were ready to leave the store, Stewart remembered that he was out of bread, selected a loaf,
- [Paralegals Jumping on the Technology Bandwagon](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/16/paralegals-jumping-on-the-technology-bandwagon/) - Many of you know that I have deluded myself into thinking that I am some sort of an ‘internet influencer’ (like the Kardashians, only better looking and not as rich). In this exalted role, I try to stir up thought about legal tech on behalf of Appara, which sells records management and document automation software. One
- [Running and Throwing](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/15/running-and-throwing/) - I have been reading about Deshaun Watson’s return to the NFL after serving a suspension as a result of allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Normally I do not like to rush to judgment when a person has been accused but not convicted of a criminal offence, since I believe in the presumption of innocence
- [The Devil is in the Details](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/09/the-devil-is-in-the-details/) - I spent some time speaking to one of the founders of Appara to better understand how using their software would have made my life easier back in the day. You can read my thoughts on their site by clicking the link below.
- [Field of Dreams](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/06/field-of-dreams/) - Bob was a brilliant lawyer. He loved technology and was a wizard at math. Back in the day when we used fax machines and they stood alone somewhere near the photocopier, Bob became enamoured with the idea of software that would allow the assistants to send faxes from their desktop. Bob ran various scenarios to
- [Who Really Built The Pyramids?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/03/who-really-built-the-pyramids/) - I have heard it said that “an expert is someone from out of town with Power Point.” This expression has some old roots. When I originally heard it, it was “someone from out of town with overhead slides.” Apparently nowadays you do not even have to travel to become an expert. A young lawyer contacted
- [Murray's Marketing Missives](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/02/murrays-marketing-missives/) - Give a damn about your clients. They will refer other clients to you. 2. Take your law school friends to lunch. They will be handing out work in a few years. 3. Hold your glass in your left hand when you are at a cocktail reception so your right hand won’t be clammy when you
- [The Worst People to Run Law Firms are Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/12/01/the-worst-people-to-run-law-firms-are-lawyers/) - I was the managing partner of a law firm once. I came to the job with little aptitude for management and even less experience and training. Of course, I was qualified to be the managing partner because I had high personal billings and a whole whack of originating credits. My most brilliant management decision was
- [Building a Team of Partners and Losers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/24/building-a-team-of-partners-and-losers/) - We live in a hierarchical world. In a law firm, the levels are pretty clear. From top to bottom it goes something like this: Managing Partner, Other Partners (ranked in order of billings and client originating credits), Senior Associates, Professional Managers, Junior Associates, Law Clerks, Legal Assistants, Clerical Staff, Articling Students, and Cleaners. Everyone in
- [Selling Out For the Price of a Postage Stamp](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/24/selling-out-for-the-price-of-a-postage-stamp/) - Just about everything that I learned about stupidity in the realm of managing people, I learned from lawyers, much of it from my own mistakes. However, this time I will write about the failures at my friend Martin’s law firm instead. At Martin’s firm, the Human Resources Manager convinced the Partners that it would be
- [The Evolution of a Question](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/21/the-evolution-of-a-question/) - When I first attended partners meetings, “what are other law firms doing?” was a question that I heard over and over. Whether the topic was a billable hour requirement, parental leave policy, marketing initiative, or just about anything else, the question of what other law firms were doing always seemed to be relevant. There is
- [The Lunatic Fringe](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/14/the-lunatic-fringe/) - Back in the day, there was a law firm in which the partners were – how do I say it sort of nicely – not ‘culturally aligned.’ Sam was the Managing Partner. He was charming and charismatic, and nice to everybody, at least most of the time. Aligned with him were enough partners to vote
- [Stupid Talk](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/16/stupid-talk/) - Lawyers (other than litigators, I suppose) don’t like public speaking much more than other people do, and most people rank public speaking as their greatest fear, just before death. As best as I can tell, there are two potential audiences for lawyers to speak to. The first group is comprised of potential clients. The reason
- [Living Well in the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/12/living-well-in-the-legal-profession/) - Doug was an Associate at my first law firm. Martin was our boss. Just after lunch on my first Friday at the office, Doug said to me, “Any minute now Martin is going to come into my office with a file that absolutely, positively, has to be completed by Monday morning. He does this every
- [Technology Levels the Playing Field](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/10/technology-levels-the-playing-field/) - Back when I was a teenager, I worked in a warehouse with Warren. Warren and I unloaded trucks. Warren would stand in the truck and toss boxes to me which I would stack on the floor. A truck might contain boxes of various sizes and weights. One small box might contain screwdrivers that weigh a
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/28/translations-from-lawyer-talk/) - As a public service, I offer the following translations from Lawyer Talk to Plain English:
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk: Part Two](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/05/translations-from-lawyer-talk-part-two/) - As a continuation of my public service, I offer the following additional translations from Lawyer Talk to Plain English:
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk:  Part Three](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/01/legal-translations-part-three/) - Due to popular demand (I have now asked myself to do this ten times) and as a continued public service, I am providing some more translations from Legal Talk to Plain English. In deference to my highly intelligent wife who has told me that these are getting pretty cynical, even for me, I do want
- [Translations from Lawyer Talk  Part Four: Speaking to The Other Side (Deal Making)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/01/translations-from-legal-talk-part-four-speaking-to-the-other-side-deal-making/) - Once again, since I am all about giving back and public service, I offer these translations from legal talk (“LT”) to plain English (“PE”) to help lawyers communicate effectively with opposing counsel. I hope that you find them helpful. LT: I have made some minor changes to your draft to clean up a few things.
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk Part Five: Partner Talk](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/08/legal-translations-partner-talk/) - You know me. Always giving back to the profession. Today I want to help associates understand what the partners mean when they use certain phrases. Here is your handy, dandy guide to some translations of partner talk (“PT”) to plain English (“PE”). PT: Your research does not seem correct to me. Go back and do
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk Part Six: Associate Talk](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/17/translations-from-lawyer-talk-part-six-associate-talk/) - Partners need to understand what their associates are saying to them, but Associates do not always have the gumption to express themselves clearly and partners don’t always listen so well. Here, as yet another extension of my desire to give back to the profession, are some translations from Associate Talk (“AT”) to Plain English (“PE”):
- [Translations from Lawyer Talk Part Seven:  Client Talk](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/27/translations-from-lawyer-talk-part-six-client-talk/) - How we interact with clients sometimes differs from how we interact with other people. For example, I used to have a partner who played golf with clients. His name was Drew, and he was an excellent golfer. We always had to remind Drew that when he golfed with clients, he had to play Client Golf,
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk Part Eight:  Talking to Your Corporate Law Clerk](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/08/translations-from-lawyer-talk-part-eight-talking-to-your-corporate-law-clerk/) - Every corporate lawyer knows that a great corporate clerk is essential to running their practice. However, in order to work most efficiently with their law clerks, corporate lawyers need to be able to communicate with them effectively. Here are some translations from Lawyer Talk (LT), which is the language that lawyers use to speak to
- [Translations From Lawyer Talk Part Nine: Talking to the Newbies](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/08/translations-from-legal-talk-part-nine-talking-to-the-newbies/) - Beginner lawyers need to understand Partner Talk (“PT”), which is the language that law firm partners use. Here to help the newbies are some translations from Partner Talk to Plain English (“PE”): PT: Your first few years of practice is the time to learn your craft. You do not have to worry about business promotion
- [Mental Health:  Marketing or Operations?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/11/05/mental-health-marketing-or-operations/) - I like to bake bread. In my opinion, and in the opinion of a family member named Aidan, the crust is the best part of my bread. When he was younger, Aidan would sometimes help himself to both end pieces. I did not like that. Once, Aidan asked if it was okay for him to
- [A Feminist Rant from an Old White Guy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/05/a-feminist-rant-from-an-old-white-guy/) - Erin Durant of Durant Barristers recently posted the following on LinkedIn: “A pain point for women who create firms is the narrative that they have quit rather than have built something. I did not quit my practice. I took my practice and built something better for my clients. I agree with a mentor who says
- [Mansplaining About Women in Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/21/mansplaining-about-women-in-law-firms/) - [The events described in this article are true. However, some details have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty.] My wife says that I have more guts than brains for daring to write about the female experience in law firms. But here goes anyway. Way back around the dawn of the current
- [Ode To Dan and Mara](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/29/ode-to-dan-and-mara/) - This is a story about a boy named Dan who never cleaned his room. Dan’s mom tried the three ways that she knew to get Dan to clean his room. She threatened him. She bribed him. She tried child psychology. Nothing worked. Finally, she ordered Dan’s little sister Trish to clean Dan’s room. Trish was
- [Danger Ahead!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/19/danger-ahead/) - Back in the day, I used to teach junior lawyers how to practice law. I had me some rules. They went something like this: Do not delegate something that you do not know how to do yourself. If you do, how are you going to know if the work product is correct?Do not include anything
- [Hammers and Nails](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/19/hammers-and-nails/) - I am not the handiest person in the world. In fact, my toolbox only has three tools in it, being a phone, a pen, and a cheque book. For this reason, I may not be the best person to be writing about hammers and nails. But I will anyway because I really want to use
- [The View From the Bottom of the Pyramid](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/17/the-view-from-the-bottom-of-the-pyramid/) - Throughout my years as a partner, managing partner, practice group leader and supervising lawyer, I used to speak to young lawyers who told me what they thought that I wanted to hear. Things like how much they loved their jobs, how supportive the firm was, and how they loved working evenings and weekends. They were
- [Evolution of the Billing Committee (Sounds Dull, But it Isn’t)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/21/evolution-of-the-billing-committee-sounds-dull-but-it-isnt/) - The Rules of Professional Conduct for Ontario lawyers say some stuff about how lawyers are to set their fees. The guts are that: 1. Lawyers should charge reasonable fees. 2. What is reasonable depends on a number of things, the most important of which are the following: a. the time and effort spent; b. how
- [Those Who Got Away](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/08/those-who-got-away/) - Let me tell you about a lawyer named Josh. Josh was not very good. Everybody said so, especially the partner who was his practice group leader. Eventually the firm redirected Josh’s career path. He moved on and started his own practice. Josh did very well on his own. He developed a great reputation in the
- [My Journey From Law To Mental Health *](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/07/my-journey-from-law-to-mental-health/) - It took me eight years after I first realized that my life in law was not working for me until I was fully retired. It went like this: 2012: Best financial year ever. Worked incredibly hard in the last quarter. My hours in November and December were insane. I was so proud of myself. Got
- [The Difference Between a Rut and A Grave](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/06/the-difference-between-a-rut-and-a-grave/) - When asked about my complaints about the legal profession, I am forced to admit that back before I escaped the profession and became happy, I did in fact have some good days. Three of them. (Okay, I am kidding about that last bit. There were more good days than that.) The best days had: (i)
- [Tell Me Another Story from the Old Days, Grandpa](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/06/tell-me-another-story-from-the-old-days-grandpa/) - As a recession may be looming and Banks may be enforcing their mortgages, I thought that I would share this story from the recession in the early 1990’s. There was a law firm that did volume mortgage remedy work for a Canadian Bank. A somewhat junior real estate lawyer who I will call Barbara managed
- [Paperwork, Practitioners and Panties](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/04/paperwork-practitioners-and-panties/) - Some years ago I went off on a cruise and took the opportunity to have some renovations done at my house while I was away. George did a great job on the drywall, but when he sent me the invoice, he made one tiny little mistake. Instead of giving me the invoice for the construction
- [You Can’t Fix Crazy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/04/you-cant-fix-crazy/) - “Lawyers make wonderful (psychiatric) patients: they have excellent health insurance and they never get better.” Niles Crane on Frasier As a completely unqualified, amateur mental health consultant, I have diagnosed myself with post-professional stress syndrome which I believe results from my forty-year legal career. My symptoms are not sleeping well and worrying too much, even
- [My Summer With the Great White Sharks](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/10/02/my-summer-with-the-great-white-sharks/) - In 2014, I was pretty fed up with life and I decided to do something different. Since my years practicing law had not prepared me to take any really big risks, I decided to take a small one. I rented a cottage on Cape Cod for the summer and set out to prove that I
- [If You’re So Smart, Why Ain’t You Rich?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/25/if-youre-so-smart-why-aint-you-rich/) - My father used to ask, “If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?” There are probably a million things that are wrong with that question, but his basic point is worth considering. He was asking why it is that some people believe that they know better concerning just about everything, but they do not generate
- [Things I Used to Think Were True](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/24/things-i-used-to-think-were-true/) - I said and thought a lot of stuff while I was practicing law. I believed every single bit of it. Over time I figured out that some of it was kind of dumb. Here are some of those gems: 1. If an applicant cannot be bothered to make their application letter and resume perfect, they cannot
- [Let’s play Jeopardy: I’ll take ‘Expert in Ottawa’ for $300](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/23/lets-play-jeopardy-ill-take-expert-in-ottawa-for-300/) - When I practised law in Mississauga, Ont., our fees were cheap compared to the Toronto firms, and kind of expensive compared to firms in places like Guelph, Belleville and Kingston. I occasionally wondered whether my clients might prefer to deal with firms in smaller cities at lower rates. Then I would reassure myself that doing
- [Rearranging The Deck Chairs on the Titanic, LLP](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/23/rearranging-the-deck-chairs-on-the-titanic-llp/) - In the old days, lawyers joined firms and stayed there, progressing from Associate to Partner. Nowadays there is a great deal of lateral movement among firms. Law firms do not seem to have figured out that they have to do something to manage their business in the face of this constant change of personnel. Appara
- [Who You Gonna Call?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/20/who-you-gonna-call/) - My father told me about a dad who told his son to jump from a roof top, and that he would catch him. The son jumped. The dad stepped aside and let him fall. When the injured boy demanded an explanation, the dad replied, “I have just taught you a valuable lesson. Never trust anyone,
- [Searching for the Off-Ramp from the Expressway to Crazy Town ](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/18/searching-for-the-off-ramp-from-the-expressway-to-crazy-town/) - My legal career drove me crazy. Granted, it was not a very long drive, but I suspect that with a bit of knowledge and a great deal of counselling, perhaps I could have taken an off-ramp before I got there. In a better world, people contemplating a career in law would be told that: (i)
- [Be Sure You See the Candy First!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/17/be-sure-you-see-the-candy-first/) - From time to time I hear stories about Big Law offering Big Money to attract first year lawyers to sign away their souls in Toronto, or U.S. firms opening the vaults and waving around signing bonuses to lure Canadian legal newbies south of the border. While throwing money at junior folks can be a good
- [Try Being Right Once in a While](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/14/try-being-right-once-in-a-while/) - The other day my wife purported to correct something I said. I asked her how I could get her to stop doing that. She replied, “You could try being right once in a while.” I just told my girlfriend, “I have written the first paragraph of my latest post, but I have nothing of value
- [Playing the Long Game](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/12/playing-the-long-game/) - Entrepreneurs should always aim to play the long game. Instant gratification cannot build a legacy. — Andrena Sawyer, business consultant Matt is a rather humble business owner. He recently told me that, “the thing about bringing more intelligent people into the room is that it is so easy for me.” Matt is also a very
- [Away “On Business”](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/09/away-on-business/) - Legal clients tend not to know the law, so they cannot judge their lawyer on how well they know their stuff. Instead, they judge them on things that they do understand. Chief among those will be how they communicate. In the picture that accompanies this post you will see a rather nice-looking boat which is
- [Skiing While Submerged](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/05/skiing-while-submerged/) - When I was a teenager, my buddy Bill took me waterskiing. For those of you who do not water ski, you learn to ski on two skis which is easy, then to ‘drop a ski’ which is harder, and finally to start on one ski. That was what I was trying to do. Bill
- [Culture Murders, Decimates and Destroys Strategy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/09/02/culture-murders-decimates-and-destroys-strategy/) - You may be familiar with the expression, “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast,” a quote from Peter Drucker. As the title of this post implies, I not only agree with that sentiment, but I believe that it is drastically understated. Back in 1987, I attended my first partners’ retreat. We had the mandatory big-name, expensive consultant
- [Sh*t My Partners Told Me](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/27/sht-my-partners-told-me/) - In some law firms there is the ‘Go Big or Go Home’ faction (and by “Home” I mean to a firm where lawyers work reasonable hours and people care about each other and their physical and mental health). For this faction, it is all about improving earnings and damn the lifestyle. There is often
- [There’s No Accounting for Distaste](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/27/theres-no-accounting-for-distaste/) - When I started practicing law, I joined a firm which had one exceptionally large client and very many small clients. The large client needed help with interesting transactions, sophisticated corporate reorganizations, financings with lots of zeros, and creative corporate structures. Large files with large billings. The smaller clients brought simpler work such as incorporations, small
- [Finders v. Grinders](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/20/finders-v-grinders/) - Let’s cut to the chase: Law firms compensate lawyers for two things: (i) fees billed for their own work; and (ii) fees billed for work that they introduce to the firm which is done by someone else. (In theory there are some other things that matter also, but in practice you cannot get rich by
- [Lawyers are Fools When it Comes to Hiring People](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/20/lawyers-are-fools-when-it-comes-to-hiring-people/) - You would think that in a profession where people are the most valuable asset, employers would develop some expertise around human resources. And yet, most lawyers know squat about it. That is not surprising. Most H.R. professionals do not know much about practicing law. The difference between H.R. professionals and lawyers is that the vast
- [Justice vs. The Golden Rule](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/19/justice-vs-the-golden-rule/) - I have written about the Golden Rule before, but it is so crucial to the functioning of our legal system that it is worth looking at again. For those of you who are not aware of the Golden Rule because you have made the unforgiveable and unfathomable mistake of not reading everything that I write,
- [You may be Incompetent, but Potential Clients Don’t Know That](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/15/you-may-be-incompetent-but-potential-clients-dont-know-that/) - “You look like you don’t have a clue what you are doing,” said absolutely nobody the first time that they met their Dentist. Or their Surgeon. Or their Accountant. Most people tend to assume competence when they meet a professional. Perhaps they are stupid for doing that. That thought first occurred to me as I
- [Business Development Is Easy-Peasy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/12/business-development-is-easy-peasy/) - One of the most shocking things that young lawyers in private practice learn is that they are required to sell themselves. After all, if they wanted to be salespeople, they probably would not have gone to law school in the first place. Once upon a time, I was exactly that type of young lawyer. I
- [Chutzpah](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/12/chutzpah/) - A man murders his father and his mother and is prosecuted for both crimes. He is hauled up in front of the judge and pleads guilty. When it comes to sentencing, he begs for mercy because he is an orphan. That is the classic explanation of what constitutes chutzpah. If you are looking for other
- [Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/09/midnight-in-the-garden-of-good-and-evil/) - There is nothing funny about child abuse, so I hesitate to tell this story. But there is a point to it, so please bear with me. Back in the day when parents did not see anything wrong with occasionally giving their kids a smack, there was a very young boy who believed that if he
- [Ten Days to Close](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/06/ten-days-to-close/) - One of my best clients was a partnership between two men who I will call Ken and Gordon. Ken was the sales guy. Gordon was the strategic thinker and administrator. The company had offices in several Canadian cities and a few U.S. states. There were a good number of companies and trusts on the corporate
- [I Want My Parents Dead](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/06/i-want-my-parents-dead/) - Many years ago when I was working 1,000 hours a week and my daughter was very young, I was trying to get her to eat an apple after a busy day at work. She was having none of it. Frustration levels were rising on both sides. Finally, with tears streaming down her face, she blurted
- [A Piece of the Big Blue Sky](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/08/01/a-piece-of-the-big-blue-sky/) - “Blue Sky Law” refers to securities regulation. The expression is said to have originated in Kansas and refers to hucksters who could sell ‘a piece of the blue sky’ to unsophisticated farmers. Back when I was more impressed with Big Law than I am now, we were approached by a senior lawyer who I will
- [Old Law, New Law: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/29/old-law-new-law-looking-for-love-in-all-the-wrong-places/) - In the old days, the path to success in the legal profession seemed fairly straight forward: Get top marks; article for a good firm (the larger the better); get hired back; work a tonne of hours; become a partner. With success came prestige and money. In my early years I met a lawyer who left
- [Partners Be Crazy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/26/partners-be-crazy/) - “It had evidently not occurred to her as yet that those who consent to share the bread of adversity may want the whole cake of prosperity for themselves.”― Edith Wharton I cannot think of anything more important in a law firm partnership than associating yourself with partners who share your values. If you want to be
- [Why are You Wasting Time Reading this Drivel?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/25/why-are-you-wasting-time-reading-this-drivel/) - Back when I was practicing law, I considered publications like The Lawyer’s Daily to be an unwelcome but necessary evil. I would skim the headlines and case digests looking for information that I had to know to remain competent. There were many times that I did not even read news about upcoming legislation. I figured that it
- [I Want to Be a Fire Truck](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/19/i-want-to-be-a-fire-truck/) - Adults often ask young children what they want to be when they grow up. I knew one child who insisted that he wanted to be a fire truck. Nobody could convince this fellow that he could not be a fire truck. You can be a “firefighter” they told him. But no, he insisted that he
- [Hiring Grandma and Grandpa](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/18/hiring-grandma-and-grandpa/) - My friend Steve tells a story about the loss of his uncle at age 58, when Steve was 18 years old. While Steve’s parents were aghast at the tragedy of losing their relative at such an early age, Steve remembers thinking, “what are they talking about, the guy was 58 years old. He had a
- [What I Would Have Done Differently](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/13/what-i-would-have-done-differently/) - I whine a fair bit about the legal profession. Occasionally someone asks me what I would have done differently if I could go back and start over. Of course, the trite answer is “be an optometrist.” (Some neat things about being an optometrist: (i) you get to wear a white coat; (ii) the hours are
- [Ignorance is not Bliss](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/23/ignorance-is-not-bliss/) - One of the most intelligent lawyers who I ever met tells a story about the early days of her marriage as she adapted to the daily routines of domestic life while balancing the pressures of law school. One of the chores which she attended to every week was defrosting her freezer and throwing out the
- [Kentucky Fried Lawyers, Anyone?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/09/kentucky-fried-lawyers-anyone/) - The magic of a franchise system is that someone brilliant develops a business system and then documents every step that must be taken to permit someone less capable to follow the system and replicate the results. So, wherever you go in North America, someone much less accomplished than Colonel Sanders can sell you a bucket
- [Toxic Productivity](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/07/08/toxic-productivity/) - In 1639, John Clarke said, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." I go to bed early and like other older folks I can no longer sleep through the night, so I suppose I wake up early. So, I should have it made. But I don’t. I am
- [Don’t Miss the Tipping Point](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/29/dont-miss-the-tipping-point/) - Back when I started practicing law, fax machines were just coming into vogue. This was an extremely useful development, especially since email had not been invented yet. The timeline for the introduction of fax machines into law offices had two distinct markers. The first was when clients or other lawyers would ask, “Do you have
- [Do Lawyers Suck at Business?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/24/do-lawyers-suck-at-business/) - I am of the opinion that, generally speaking, lawyers are not particularly good businesspeople. I attribute this to the following: Lawyers often have little formal education in business. In fact, they often choose law because they see it as an alternative to going into business, instead of seeing it for what it is, which
- [I Did it My Way](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/21/i-did-it-my-way/) - Some lawyers are killing it marketing their practice through social media. Some are not. When it comes to marketing, there are different strokes for different folks. This is important for young lawyers to know, because they sometimes look at what the partners are doing to generate business and cannot see themselves doing those things. They
- [Screwing Up](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/22/screwing-up/) - On a clear summer day, my father carefully drove his car out of his narrow one-car driveway past the retaining walls on either side and onto the street. He then turned to the right and parked the car in front of our house. Or so he thought. After he exited the car, he found out
- [Murray’s Musings About Character](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/10/murrays-musings-about-character/) - Once upon a time, there was a lawyer whose practice was reliant on one huge client. His junior associate made a mistake on the client’s file. The client demanded that the lawyer fire the associate. The lawyer refused to cast aside a young associate for having made one mistake. The client fired the lawyer. The
- [Sue the Bastards](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/19/sue-the-bastards/) - Abraham Lincoln said, “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser — in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.” In
- [Doing Less, Thinking More](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/15/doing-less-thinking-more/) - My stepson once explained to me that his career goal was to be paid a great deal of money to sit at a big desk in a private office and think about things. I tried to explain to him that on the path to his dream job he would have to pass obstacles such as
- [In Praise of Articling Students](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/10/in-praise-of-articling-students/) - It is a slow news day in my retirement world, so I thought that I would break from my own tradition of writing lengthy posts and just post a brief thought. I need an articling student. You know, those law students who we hire to write articles for us which we can publish under our
- [Goodbye Earl – A Legal Fairy Tale](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/07/goodbye-earl-a-legal-fairy-tale/) - Once upon a time, in a common law jurisdiction not that far away, there was a partner in a law firm who did what all good law firm partners do. He billed a lot. He brought in many clients. He trained the junior lawyers. He supervised the clerks. All in all, he was somewhat of
- [Beware of Lawyer Math](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/01/beware-of-lawyer-math/) - Lawyers typically bill in 6-minute intervals (one-tenth of an hour). So, a lawyer with a $500.00 hourly rate bills $50.00 for 6 minutes of work. Say a lawyer billing $500.00 per hour spends 6 minutes for a client on one day, consisting of four tasks, being a two-minute phone call, one minute reading an email, one
- [Going Over to The Light Side of the Force](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/04/going-over-to-the-light-side-of-the-force/) - Since I retired, I have entertained myself by writing about the legal profession, mentoring a few lawyers, and teaching some classes about business law. None of these are particularly remunerative activities. Now and then someone suggests to me that I should write a novel, or at least compile my articles into a book. And sell
- [The End of Days](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/04/the-end-of-days/) - “Review this agreement and provide me with your comments” is usually the first introduction that young business lawyers are given to the topic of reviewing contracts and the sum total of the training that they receive about how to do it. So off we go and comment on the scourge of typographical errors, the horror
- [Empowering Law Clerks](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/15/empowering-law-clerks/) - During my career, I was fortunate to work with three phenomenal law clerks. I trained two of them. The third was trained on Bay Street. Each of them was exceptional because they were intelligent, capable, motivated, well-trained, and empowered. Rarely accused of being overly immodest, I will take credit for empowering them. How good were
- [All Flash, No Cash](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/02/all-flash-no-cash/) - There was once a law firm with a small corporate department consisting of a law clerk and one senior corporate lawyer who I will call Carl. The partners of the firm had tired of Carl’s antics so they hired a bright young corporate lawyer who I will call Martin. The idea was that if Martin
- [The Button](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/06/01/the-button/) - In my second year of practice, word processing was just becoming a thing. My firm had fourteen lawyers but no word processor. Fred was the senior partner. I told him that we really needed one of those new-fangled machines. Fred was not much of a numbers guy. He was an old-timer who made good money
- [Introducing The Dumbies](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/31/introducing-the-dumbies/) - Lawyers are avid fans of awards, so much so that they sometimes even pay to get them, which is a topic for another day. I was thinking (because I have time to do that now that I am retired) that perhaps we should create a new award program which we could call the “Dumbies.” We
- [The Storm (or Just Grow Up Already)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/27/the-storm-or-just-grow-up-already/) - There is a young adult in my life who, as he breezed through his teenage years, could not understand the stress that I experienced as I managed a busy legal career and all of the other aspects of ‘adulting’ that each of us grown-up people have to deal with. When, in my stressed-out state, I
- [Murray’s Rant About Partners Meetings](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/25/murrays-rant-about-partners-meetings/) - I hated partners meetings. Not because I did not like most of my partners. In fact, I quite enjoyed spending time with the majority of them. But there were always one or two… After many years of contemplating why I disliked partners meetings so much, I developed a theory. Here it is. Lawyers are the
- [Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/19/mary-mary-quite-contrary/) - I have observed that it is not only Mary who was quite contrary, but rather that the character flaw of contrariness is innate to all of us. I offer as an illustration of my belief that people are either born contrary or become so at an incredibly young age, a story about my very, very,
- [My One and Only Karate Lesson](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/16/my-one-and-only-karate-lesson/) - I know absolutely nothing at all about Karate. I am about to prove that. I had only one Karate lesson in my life. Actually, it was my young son who had the Karate lesson. I was along as part of one of those “Dad and Son” programs. Apparently, I was not particularly good at my
- [The Quebec Shuffle](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/03/the-quebec-shuffle/) - Many years ago, Maurice called me to complain about a legal bill that he had received. Fortunately, it was not me who had drawn his ire, although I was his primary legal counsel. Maurice’s accountant had convinced him to go to a meeting with Peter, a very sophisticated tax lawyer, to discuss something called the
- [How Much is Enough?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/15/how-much-is-enough/) - I accumulated some money practicing law. Not as much as I may have put away if I had practiced on Bay Street. Less than I would have held onto if I had not had a domestic reorganization. Not quite as much as I would have had if I had not made a few stupid financial
- [Murray’s Rant About Rights of First Refusal](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/09/murrays-rant-about-first-rights-of-refusal/) - Bob, Ted, Carol, and Alice own a company. They have a shareholder’s agreement. The only divorce mechanism is a right of first refusal (“ROFR”). Bob wants out. He goes to Ted, Carol and Alice and asks them to buy his shares. They refuse. They tell him to use the ROFR. So Bob goes out and
- [Lessons Learned from Boston Legal](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/14/lessons-learned-from-boston-legal/) - For those of you who never watched Boston Legal, my all-time favourite television show about lawyers, Denny Crane was the senior partner of Crane Poole & Schmidt. Denny had a bit of an ego, summed up pretty well in his pronouncement that, “as God-like as I seem to you and other people, I am mortal
- [Why I Hate the Law Society](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/14/why-i-hate-the-law-society/) - Obviously, it would be utterly impossible to comprehensively address the topic of ‘Why I Hate the Law Society’ in the depth that it so richly deserves while complying with the LinkedIn limit on the length of a post. So, I will try to just hit the high points. So, what exactly do I hate about
- [On Being Easily Inconvenienced](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/14/on-being-easily-inconvenienced/) - I met more than a few lawyers who were ‘easily inconvenienced.’ For these individuals, any challenge, no matter how inconsequential it might have appeared to be to others, was a major problem. It was never a good time for their associates or assistants to take a vacation. Their work not being given top priority by
- [How To Be a Great Law Firm Client](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/14/how-to-be-a-great-law-firm-client/) - I suppose that the initial reaction of a law firm client to the question of how they can be a great client may be, “Why should I care?” I certainly met my fair share of clients who could not possibly have cared less about whether their lawyer thought that they were a great client. So
- [Lawyers Know Everything](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/12/lawyers-know-everything/) - Since lawyers tend to think that they know a great deal more than they do about just about everything, they often choose to do things themselves rather than pay money to experts to do them. One of the things that lawyers typically do poorly is performance reviews. A few observations: Lawyers are busy. They have
- [Selling Out?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/10/selling-out/) - When I retired and the pandemic put my travel plans on hold, I started writing to amuse myself. I soon found that I enjoyed the freedom to say whatever I wanted to say without having to worry about whether it would please my partners, other lawyers, or the Law Society. I also discovered that I
- [Okay, Boomer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/25/okay-boomer/) - Many years ago I hired a young lawyer who was not really named Tom. Tom had a few years of experience at one of the large Toronto law firms. This was back in the days when I actually believed the hype that the lawyers in Big Law were smarter than the rest of us, and
- [Is My Wife Right (Yet Again)?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/09/is-my-wife-right-yet-again/) - In the first draft of this post, I set out as a fact that I had a question which would stump 95% of all lawyers. My wife read the draft and said that I was wrong. There is nothing unusual about that. I am wrong plenty and she is quick to notice when I am.
- [An Alternate View of the Legal Universe](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/07/an-alternate-view-of-the-legal-universe/) - When I was young, so much younger than today, I completely bought into the fairy tale that the best and brightest lawyers are all at the large law firms and that everyone else is just not that good. After all, they practically teach you that at law school, although they never quite say it aloud,
- [Breaking The Rules](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/24/breaking-the-rules/) - Near the end of my career, at a time when I frequently congratulated myself (since no one else would listen) about how brilliant I was at dealing with clients, I lost a long-standing client who I will call Charles. I should have fired Charles years before and was holding onto for some twisted sentimental reason.
- [The Hat](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/05/05/the-hat/) - My father had a rocky start to his career. There were many years at the outset of his working life when he did not make much money and struggled to pay his bills. When creditors would call, he would explain to them about the payment hat. He would tell them that once a month he
- [It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/14/when-short-term-gain-brings-long-term-pain/) - There was once a medium-sized law firm in Ontario which had two bright, young, industrious associates. Both of these associates were being considered for partnership, back in the day when all young lawyers wanted to become partners. One of the two associates, who I will call Richard, was a shoe-in. The other associate, who I
- [We are Too Small to Spend Money on That](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/30/we-are-too-small-to-spend-money-on-that/) - I have been known to be critical of large law firms. Not today. Say what you will about Big Law, at least large law firms are smart enough to hire professionals to manage their businesses. For that reason, I am going to leave them out of today’s rant. Instead, let me turn my wrath on
- [Let’s Make New Law!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/28/lets-make-new-law/) - Back in the 1990’s, the Standard Chartered Bank out of the UK opened a subsidiary in Canada called the Standard Charted Bank of Canada and set about making commercial loans. One of the Bank’s customers was a client of mine who I will call Sol. Sol had a line of credit for his business of
- [Dancing Close to the Ethical Line](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/26/dancing-close-to-the-ethical-line/) - Since I moved to the country after spending most of my life in the big city, I fashion myself as something of a country type. I drive a pick-up truck and I listen to country music. So, it should come as no surprise that I am drawing inspiration for this story from Johnny Cash who
- [The Golden Rule](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/26/the-golden-rule/) - There are two rules which young lawyers have to learn to be successful. Strangely enough they do not learn either of these rules in law school. Luckily, they have me to fill in this gap in their education. The first rule is ‘The Golden Rule.’ It has absolutely nothing to do with saying please and
- [My Dream Job in Law](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/24/my-dream-job-in-law/) - Last night I worked on a trademark file. It was a disaster. The application had been filed incorrectly and the Trademarks Office had cited a long list of issues and demanded a response 9 years ago. It seems that for some reason no one had looked at the file for quite some time. I needed
- [The Power of Walking Away](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/18/the-power-of-walking-away/) - Herb Cohen, the author of ‘You can Negotiate Anything’ and once labelled ‘the world’s best negotiator’ tells a story about negotiating the purchase of his own house. Apparently, his family was so intent on acquiring this particular home that he feared being divorced and having his children never speak to him again if the deal
- [Happy Law, Sad Law](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/17/happy-law-sad-law/) - I often find myself speaking to law students and young lawyers who are having difficulty deciding what area of law they should practice. I also hear from older lawyers lamenting their original choice and thinking about making a change. For a bunch of smart people, many of us lawyers choose how to spend most of
- [Leverage](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/17/leverage/) - Early in my career, I represented a franchisor of retail bakeries. As is commonly done, my client leased premises from commercial landlords and subleased them to its franchisees. Since my client was not particularly good at what they did, they frequently made mistakes. On one occasion they missed the deadline to give notice to renew
- [The Big Picture](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/13/the-big-picture/) - At one stage of my career I did a great deal of work for a franchisor of bakeries. If the truth be known, my client was not exceptionally good at the franchisee selection process. The franchisee qualification process consisted of providing evidence of a bank account and a heartbeat. One of its less than stellar
- [Professional Negligence 101](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/11/professional-negligence-101/) - Once upon a time, one of my litigation partners had a field day suing a very senior partner of a reputable law firm in the Toronto area. I will call that defendant “Max.” The crux of the matter was that our client, who I will call Sue (appropriately, because that is what she ended up
- [The Narcissist](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/15/the-narcissist/) - There was once a law firm which had a particular department which experienced some turn-over in its associates. Lots of turn-over, actually. The department in question was headed by a lawyer with a ‘strong personality.’ I am not qualified to give a psychological diagnosis of this lawyer, but if I were, I would probably say
- [Murray’s Handy Dandy Guide to Becoming a Partner](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/08/murrays-handy-dandy-guide-to-becoming-a-partner/) - I once had a partner who was a “heads down, get your work done” type of guy. Knew his law. Billed like a fiend. Not much of a people person. Let’s call him Ken. Coming up for consideration as a partner was a woman who worked in a different department. I will call her Anne.
- [Who's Zooming Who?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/07/whose-zooming-who/) - Long ago, when it came to billing, lawyers addressed precedents in one of two ways: Some lawyers saw a precedent as their intellectual property which they should charge for in addition to billing for the time that they spent tailoring it for a specific client. So, if I had a great precedent for a confidentiality
- [Existing In Our Own Psychological Prisons](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/05/existing-in-our-own-psychological-prisons/) - I recently celebrated the 17th anniversary of one of the most significant events of my life. Back on March 21, 2005, I came to what was, at the time, a stunning realization. I had accidentally fallen in love with a woman with whom I had been working very closely for six years. Luckily for me
- [Danger Lurks in Dark Places and Purchase Orders](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/04/danger-lurks-in-dark-places-and-purchase-orders/) - Here are some of the provisions which I have found lurking in purchase orders (a “PO”): 1. The P.O. replaces every provision in the vendor’s quotation and invoice. 2. The provisions of the P.O. include terms set out on the purchaser’s website, which the purchaser may change at any time. All changes will be binding
- [Accountants: Stay in Your Lane](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/04/03/accountants-stay-in-your-lane/) - I like accountants a lot. Most of them. But as for the others, here is something that I always wanted to say when I was practicing law but it seemed like a bad idea at the time while I was looking for referrals: Stay in your bloody lane! Good accountants do accounting, tax, business consulting
- [What's Law School Have to Do With It](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/30/whats-law-school-have-to-do-with-it/) - Few lawyers would disagree with the statement that “law school does not teach you what you have to know to be able to practice law.” I imagine that the general public would find that to be surprising. It is called “law school” after all. Law schools say that they teach us how to think a
- [Landlord Waivers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/27/landlord-waivers/) - Banks financing a borrower operating from leased premises typically ask for a waiver from the borrower's landlord of certain rights under the borrower's lease. Landlords typically either refuse to give the waiver, resulting in a reduction of the credit available from the bank, or negotiate the terms of the waiver, driving up legal costs for
- [Racing to the Bottom of the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/27/racing-to-the-bottom-of-the-legal-profession/) - Many of you will be familiar with the old saying (sometimes attributed to John Adams and other times to Winston Churchill) to the effect that “if you are not a socialist at age 20, you have no heart, but if you are still a socialist at age 30, you have no brain.” I was a
- [Yet Another Way for Business Lawyers to be Negligent](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/25/yet-another-way-for-business-lawyers-to-be-negligent/) - Let’s say that you represent a 40% shareholder in a corporation. You are reviewing a shareholder’s agreement which says that in certain circumstances (death, disability, termination of employment) your client is required to sell his or her shares at fair market value. So far, so good. The stipulated event happens. The valuator determines that the
- [How To Lose Your License to Practice Law in One Easy Step](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/23/how-to-lose-your-license-to-practice-law-in-one-easy-step/) - Let me start by saying that I really, really, like accountants. I had deep and valued relationships with a number of accountants when I practiced law, and they were by far my best referral sources. Many became good friends. So, the negative stories which I am about to tell relate to a tiny minority of
- [A Few Interesting (Sort of) Things About Interest](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/22/a-few-interesting-sort-of-things-about-interest/) - Here is a conversation that I had with lawyers from time to time. I would provide in a contract that interest would be payable at 18% if my client was not paid on time. The other lawyer would tell me that 18% was an outrageous interest rate, that Prime was only 2.45% (or whatever) and
- [Two Stupid Clauses Dumb Lawyers Put in Shareholders Agreements](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/20/two-stupid-clauses-dumb-lawyers-put-in-shareholders-agreements/) - Over my many years practicing business law I formed some strong opinions. Here are two of them which relate to shareholders agreements: 1. When a shareholder is required to sell their shares under a shotgun buy-sell clause, the agreement must provide that the purchaser and the corporation are required to obtain a release of any
- [The Power of Doubt](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/16/the-power-of-doubt/) - Back when I was practicing law, I used to say that my greatest skill was doing lunch. I did an awful lot of lunch with some pretty good business development results. I have previously written about how I used my lunch meetings to develop personal relationships. You can read about that here: Eating Your Way
- [The Only Two Things That I know About Franchising](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/18/the-only-two-things-that-i-know-about-franchising/) - I only know two things about franchising. Here they are. While I was practicing law, I often came across clients who operated a successful business that they wanted to franchise. They had the idea that they could sign some agreements and then other people would send them money, with very little effort being required on
- [Of Death and Taxes (And Shareholders Agreements)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/17/of-death-and-taxes-and-shareholders-agreements/) - Death: My favourite topic in a shareholders agreement. What I like about the death provision is that it is usually not controversial, especially if the shareholders do not have an inkling about who is likely to die first. Say that Susan and Pamela are 50/50 shareholders in a corporation. If Pamela dies: (i) Susan does
- [Tales of Fundamentally Flawed Founders](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/16/tales-of-fundamentally-flawed-founders/) - I have decided not to pick on Big Law today for a change. Let’s talk about smaller firms with entrepreneurial founders instead. Sometimes lawyers call me and tell me about how they feel about their law firms. They don’t call me if they are happy. They call me when they want out. Out of the
- [Resentment and My Robot Vaccum](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/15/resentment-and-my-robot-vaccum/) - Saint Augustine is reported to have said that “resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” One of my many personal flaws is that I don’t get over things easily. And unfortunately, I am no Saint. You know how according to posts on LinkedIn, everyone leaving their job thinks that
- [Selling The Extended Team](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/14/selling-the-extended-team/) - Back when I was practicing law, I was responsible for bringing in business to feed myself and a nest full of hungry associates and law clerks. In my early days I was not able to do that using LinkedIn, because someone had forgotten to invent social media. By the time that LinkedIn was in full
- [How Not to Screw Up Offering Shares to Employees](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/12/how-not-to-screw-up-offering-shares-to-employees/) - Here is a warning for Canadian business owners and their lawyers. Your plan to motivate and reward your employees may backfire if the messaging is not correct from the outset. There is no better way for an owner to screw up the morale of its most valued employees than to start talking about offering them
- [Citiots](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/06/citiots/) - Prior to retiring from the practice of law, I lived in big cities for my entire life. Upon retirement I moved to the country. Due to Covid and people learning that they can work from home, moving to the country is now something that many people are doing. In any event, there are a lot
- [Shotguns](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/11/shotguns/) - Lawyers use shotgun provisions in shareholders agreements way more than they should. Good lawyers recognize when the shotgun is not favourable to their clients. Shotgun provisions in shareholders agreements work on the cake theory. You have one slice of cake and two children. One child cuts the slice in half and the other child chooses
- [You May be Negligent if...](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/03/10/you-may-be-negligent-if/) - Canadian Business Lawyers: You may be negligent if you don’t know that: stipulating a rate of interest of 2% per month without setting out the annual equivalent rate in most contracts will result in interest not being collectible at more than 5% per annum. See Section 4 of the Interest Act (Canada).providing that the interest
- [Knowing Your Audience](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/22/knowing-your-audience/) - My father used to tell a story about when he was a young man with a young family. Unlike many people of his age at that time, he had an automobile since his job was travelling the countryside selling stuff. One day he was pulled over for speeding. He tried to talk himself out of
- [Docketing For Dummies](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/18/docketing-for-dummies/) - I never met a lawyer who loved to docket their time, but I have met a number of lawyers (myself included) who were very good at it. I met many, many more lawyers who were not so good at it. Maybe someday we will be completely rid of the billable hour, but even if that
- [Things are Better When Someone Else Pays](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/11/18/things-are-better-when-someone-else-pays/) - Years ago, a young person I know was quite proud to show me his first credit card. I was underwhelmed and said: “Big deal. Anyone can get a credit card with their own name on it. The trick is to get a credit card with someone else’s name on it.” I was reminded of that
- [On Being Perfect(ly) Insane](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/15/on-being-perfectly-insane/) - When I was just a wee lad, my father instilled in me the need to be perfect. If I scored 98% on an exam, his only comment was “What happened to the other two marks?” On to university and law school I went, avoiding sports and social pursuits to excel in my studies, striving to
- [Whose Client is it Anyway?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/12/whose-client-is-it-anyway/) - In law firms, most lawyers typically get paid for two things: (1) billings; and (2) bringing in clients. Of course, there are a few lawyers here and there who get paid just for being brilliant, but then again, too few to mention. Today I want to focus on lawyers who get paid for bringing in
- [Speaking Goodly](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/09/speaking-goodly/) - Many years ago, someone who I was related to was arrested on a relatively minor charge, but one which had potentially devastating consequences for his professional reputation and career development. Having access to money, he hired the late great criminal defense lawyer, Austin Cooper to defend him. That is how I found myself sitting through
- [Living La Vida Loca (Stressed Out in the Legal World)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/06/living-la-vida-loca-stressed-out-in-the-legal-world/) - I like being retired. I really do. But someone called a pandemic and everyone showed up. My plans to travel the world have been on hold for a while. So, now and then I get bored. When that happens, I think about whether I should go back to work. Thankfully, the thought usually passes quickly.
- [Playing The Price is Wrong](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/08/playing-the-price-is-wrong/) - “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” is a quote frequently attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Quite true, but it is more complicated than that when we are dealing with things, such as legal services, that the consumer often does not understand. I spoke to a lawyer the other
- [Trust Me, You Want to be the Trusted Advisor](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/02/04/trust-me-you-want-to-be-the-trusted-advisor/) - There was this one time that an accountant called me to let me know that our mutual client had called him for advice about firing one of his employees. The accountant suggested that the client give me a call, seeing that what the client needed was legal advice. My first reaction was to wonder what
- [Competing With the Big Guys](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/31/competing-with-the-big-guys/) - Over 20 years ago, the flavour of the month in the legal press was that medium sized firms were doomed. The big firms were coming after our clients and we were going to lose them all. We had to merge with bigger firms or die. And yet, medium sized firms continue to flourish. I practiced with a firm
- [People I Met Practicing Law Episode Seven:  The Super Star](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/19/people-i-met-practicing-law-episode-seven-the-super-star/) - Let me tell you about a real person, whose real name is not Emily. Emily is a superstar. She does it all and has been doing it all for an awfully long time. She brings in clients. Lots and lots of clients. She does the work. Many, many billable hours. She dockets her time. Every
- [Truth In Advertising Part Two](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/18/truth-in-advertising-part-two/) - I have written before about how lawyers are usually fairly good at dealing with their clients in a truthful manner in the course of providing legal services, but not quite as accomplished when it comes to their marketing. Let’s look at this in the context of the most basic element of law firm marketing –
- [Keeping Your Options Closed](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/11/keeping-your-options-closed/) - I was born and raised in Montreal. I started my legal education at the Faculty of Law at McGill in 1975. My plan was to obtain my Bachelor of Civil Law and practice law in Quebec. In 1976, the Parti Quebecois was elected in Quebec for the first time. As an Anglo in Quebec, I
- [Timeless Wisdom (Or Get Out of the Way Grandpa)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/17/timeless-wisdom-or-get-out-of-the-way-grandpa/) - I became a partner of a law firm and attended my first partners meeting many years ago. Since my firm was a medium sized firm, partners meetings were important since the participants actually made decisions (as opposed to what happens in large firms where an executive committee makes most decisions.) Each partner had an equal
- [Lawyers:  Understand the Math](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/09/lawyers-understand-the-math/) - I sometimes hear from young (and sometimes not so young) lawyers who do not understand the math that supports their compensation in a law firm. They know that they are unhappy and they believe that deserve more. They are thinking of answering the romantic call of the recruiter. However, they often do not have a
- [The Litigator’s Dream Client](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/13/the-litigators-dream-client/) - Back in grade two, the class bully and I got hauled off the principal’s office who demanded to know why we were fighting in the school yard. I explained, “he said shut up. I said make me. He was making me.” I learned fairly early in life that our words and actions have consequences. Some
- [Lawyer, Know Thyself](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2022/01/02/lawyer-know-thyself/) - One of my favourite clients was an engineering firm. I once wrote a letter of intent for them concerning the purchase of a business. They only had one comment on my draft document. They asked me why I had only taken the numbers to two decimal places, which is not a surprising question coming from
- [Targets (On Our Backs)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/30/targets-on-our-backs/) - Law firms give lawyers minimum billable hours targets to meet. There is nothing wrong with setting expectations, I guess. The theory is that you make the lawyers aware of the firm’s expectations, and they then work to achieve them. Transparency is good. I am sure that this system works well in some firms and for
- [New Year’s Resolutions for Lawyers… And Likely Outcomes](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/26/new-years-resolutions-for-lawyers-and-likely-outcomes/) - Yet another public service. Lawyers are busy people and often do not have the time to get to personal stuff, so I thought that I would help by providing a first rough draft of New Year’s Resolutions for you. Of course, feel free to use this as a precedent and edit for your personal circumstances.
- [More About Compensation Systems](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/24/more-about-compensation/) - I recently authored an article about law firm compensation systems, lamenting how they are usually laser-focused on billable hours and business brought in, but not so much on all of the other skills required to build a great firm. Of course, there is a great deal of lip service paid to the so called ‘soft
- [People I Met Practicing Law Episode Two:  Ethically Challenged](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/09/people-i-met-practicing-law-episode-two-ethically-challenged/) - Patricia was a good lawyer. She knew her law. She worked hard. She produced billings. She brought in clients. We all have character flaws. Even me. However, Patricia had more than most of us. She was uber competitive. She liked to win. She hated to lose. Patricia and others saw these attributes as positives. If
- [People I Met Practicing Law  Episode Three: Zero Trust](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/13/people-i-met-practicing-law-part-three-zero-trust/) - Eleanor practiced family law. She was pretty smart, and she knew all of the technical stuff cold. What Eleanor was not that good at was the part about dealing with clients. Especially vulnerable clients. Such as people going through a separation or a divorce. Although I never practiced family law, I certainly learned a fair
- [People I Met Practicing Law Episode One: Tough Love](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/08/people-i-met-practicing-law-episode-one-tough-love/) - They say that the Americans are tougher than we are when it comes to business. I think that it is probably true. I met John in the early 90’s, shortly after he had arrived in Toronto to set up a Canadian branch of his large Buffalo law firm. John was a very senior lawyer by
- [People I Met Practicing Law Episode Four:  The Jerks](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/11/people-i-met-practicing-law-episode-three-the-jerks/) - Quite a few years ago, I really ticked off a lawyer at one of the major firms. It was the early 1990’s, someone had called a recession, and everyone had shown up. This big firm lawyer was acting for a bank trying to put the squeeze on a delinquent debtor. My client was the delinquent
- [People I met Practicing Law Episode Five:  The Good Lawyer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/11/23/people-i-met-practicing-law-episode-five-the-good-lawyer/) - I was once hired by a dentist to help him disassociate from his partner. I will refer to my client as the “Good Dentist” and to his partner as the “Dentist from Hell.” At the time that this story took place, many dentists in Ontario financed the equipment required to operate their dental practice through
- [People I Met Practicing Law Episode Six:  Tragically, Terminally, Toxic](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/15/people-i-met-practicing-law-episode-six-tragically-terminally-toxic/) - I met Paul at my very first job as a lawyer. Paul was a commercial real estate lawyer. He was hard-working and extremely capable. Paul thought quite a bit of himself and other people who he considered to be intelligent and diligent. However, Paul did not suffer fools gladly. Back in the day when there
- [All About the Lead Dog](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/07/law-firm-leadership-a-we-business-not-a-me-business/) - Many years ago, the managing partner of my firm, who I will call Sid because that was his name, had on his desk a replica of a dogsled with a team of dogs in single file. There was a pithy saying attached to the sled which read, “if you are not the lead dog, the
- [A Business Lawyer’s Take on Criminal Lawyers](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/12/03/a-business-lawyers-take-on-criminal-lawyers/) - I practiced business law for 40 years. I never knew much about criminal law. In fact, I knew so little about the subject that I used to tell my clients that if they got arrested, they probably should not use their one phone call to call me because all that I could do for them
- [Law Firm Compensation Systems: Getting What You Pay For](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/11/10/law-firm-compensation-systems-getting-what-you-pay-for/) - I was once hired at a firm to replace a much more senior corporate lawyer who I will call Carl. One of a number of things which Carl had done to cause the firm to search for a replacement was that he had gamed the compensation system. Under that system, Carl was paid a bonus
- [Truth In Advertising](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/11/22/truth-in-advertising/) - I expect that “honest” would not be the first word that comes to mind as a general description of the business culture in Canada, or anywhere else for that matter. The idea of “buyer beware” (or “caveat emptor” as we lawyers like to say) is well ingrained in our business culture, and we all expect
- [Lamenting Never Having Found the Legal Dream Team](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/14/lamenting-never-having-found-the-legal-dream-team/) - You may have heard the saying that ‘If you owe a $100,000 to the Bank, you have a problem; but if you owe $100,000,000 to the Bank, the Bank has a problem.’ The first time that I saw this principle in action was in the case of a rather large company that became insolvent years
- [Always Failing at Something](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/11/17/always-failing-at-something/) - When I practiced law, I was fairly good at doing the many things that a lawyer has to do in order to deliver great client service. I always offered to meet at the client’s office. I listened carefully to the clients to ascertain their goals and concerns. I insisted that I work to a deadline
- [Why Can’t You Make My Open-Heart Surgery Shorter?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/14/why-cant-you-make-my-open-heart-surgery-shorter/) - At my first firm, Eric was a client lawyer. He was not much for reading legal documents, but he knew how he wanted them to look, and that was short. One day, Eric gave Howard, a junior real estate associate, instructions to draft a sophisticated purchase agreement for commercial real estate. He told Howard that
- [The Best Article Ever Written (by me) About Retiring from Law Firms](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/23/the-best-article-ever-written-by-me-about-retiring-from-law-firms/) - Let’s say that a partner at a law firm has been there for quite a while and is getting older, a situation in which I once found myself. And let’s say that the partner is done with working lots and lots of hours and wants out. Perhaps the partner has become tired or has had
- [A Lawyer’s Perspective on All that Hourly Rate Nonsense](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/21/a-lawyers-perspective-on-all-that-hourly-rate-nonsense/) - “Our policy is to push the work down to the least expensive professional resource who can provide an excellent work product, and by doing so you get the best value for your money.” Said every partner in a law firm, ever. And they mean it when they say it. That is in fact their policy.
- [Estimates or Guesstimates?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/19/estimates-or-guesstimates/) - Every time I phone a call centre for just about any company, it turns out that they are experiencing a higher volume of calls than anticipated, and although my call is important to them, they must keep me on hold for a very long time. It really makes you wonder why, after all of this
- [Let’s Pretend that the Closing Date is Realistic](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/10/03/lets-pretend-that-the-closing-date-is-realistic/) - My many years of practice taught me that clients usually want to close their transactions quickly. You would think that they would want to close when everyone involved has had the time to do the job properly, but that does not seem to be the case. Apparently, ‘quickly’ is when deals have to close. Now,
- [Where Have All The Bullies Gone?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/26/where-have-all-the-bullies-gone/) - We lawyers like to use definitions in our writing. It makes the substance of the document easier to read because it allows the drafter to avoid repeating things or using terms in an inconsistent manner. I am going to try that here, knowing that I may offend someone or other. In this article, ‘marriage’ means
- [Live and Die by the Immoral Sword](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/24/live-and-die-by-the-immoral-sword/) - When I completed my Articles long ago, I was not hired back. It was a time of economic recession and jobs were difficult to come by. I sent out many application letters and eventually accepted an offer at a small suburban firm. The day after I accepted the job, I received a phone call from
- [Game Over](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/16/game-over/) - I met Maria when she landed her first job as an associate at a medium sized law firm in the Toronto area. She was capable, intelligent, and eager to learn. However, just how hard lawyers work in law firms seemed to catch her by surprise. I guess that they don’t tell you about that in
- [The Geese Are Coming After Your Clients](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/10/the-geese-are-coming-after-your-clients/) - Every so often law firms hold lawyer retreats, which are generally broken into three segments. Part One is usually about working harder, billing more and bringing in more clients. During this portion of the retreat, every individual lawyer reflects carefully on the contribution that they have made to the firm in the past year and
- [Billings First, Babies Later](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/12/whose-baby-is-it-anyway-not-my-problem-say-law-firms/) - Some forty years ago, I knew a young lawyer in her third year of practice. My acquaintance had just given birth to her first child. She took what was then considered to be a lengthy maternity leave of 6 months (3 months being standard) before returning to work at a mid-sized downtown Toronto law firm,
- [Write-Downs and Rip-Offs](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/10/write-downs-and-rip-offs/) - I have two stories to tell. One of them is 40 years old. The other is 4 weeks old. They are remarkably similar and do not reflect well on law firm cultures. Unless, of course, you think that these two stories are atypical. I will leave that to you to decide. First, for the very
- [Desperately Seeking More (Billable Hours)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/09/02/desperately-seeking-more-billable-hours/) - “Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o'nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I used to think too much. About my files. About my billable hours. About marketing. About how to run
- [About Those Soul-Sucking Jobs](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/28/about-those-soul-sucking-jobs/) - I once represented a doctor who wanted to stop being a doctor. He absolutely hated it. He was a nervous type, and he just could not cope with the responsibility of practicing medicine. The stress was killing him. I helped him disentangle from another doctor with whom he had set up a clinic. As far
- [David and Goliath in the Legal Profession](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/17/david-and-goliath-in-the-legal-profession/) - In my early years of practice, I received a phone call from a friend who practiced union side labour law. He had a question about Civil Law and having recently graduated from McGill with a Civil Law degree in addition to my Common Law Degree, I was able to answer his question. He appreciated my
- [Seeing Around Corners](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/25/seeing-around-corners/) - One of the best compliments that I ever received when I was practicing law was that I had the ability to ‘see around corners,’ meaning that I was often able to predict where problems were going to arise out of a proposed course of action. That comes with general knowledge, thoughtfulness, experience, and a healthy (or
- [A Long Night’s Journey Into Day](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/19/a-long-nights-journey-into-day/) - I used to be the type of lawyer who woke up early and headed into the office. On my commute, my head would be full of ideas about my files, firm management, and marketing. I would call and leave messages for my staff and associates or call clients and referral sources to say hello and
- [Of Sisyphus and Speakerphones](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/08/04/of-sisyphus-and-speakerphones/) - When I started out in the legal profession many years ago, becoming a Partner at a law firm was the dream of every new lawyer. At the firm where I articled in 1979, each new Partner received two gifts from the firm upon being admitted to partnership. The first was a gold sculpture of Sisyphus,
- [Ethics Matter, But Don’t Be Naive About It](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/05/13/ethics-matter-but-dont-be-a-fool-about-it/) - In my first year of practice, a client asked me to advise him concerning his plan to build a sign for his restaurant. The sign was to sit at sidewalk level and would be 6 feet high and 20 feet long with flashing neon lights. It did not take long for me to determine that
- [Time Travel on the HMCS Document](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/23/time-travel-on-the-hmcs-document/) - I attended my first closing of a commercial transaction when I was an articling student. It was a rather large share transaction. The closing started around 2 pm and I imagine that the lawyers thought that they would be done by late afternoon. It was not to be. The Vendor was selling a business empire
- [Putting In Time](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/25/putting-in-time/) - Back when I started practicing law, I used to record my time on a docket sheet stapled to the inside front cover of each file. When it came time to bill the file, all of the information that I needed was there for me to use, but I was the only one who had it.
- [What Have You Done For Me Lately?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/28/what-have-you-done-for-me-lately/) - In the summer of 1976, I worked for the largest law firm in Montreal, which was Ogilvy, Cope, Porteous, Montgomery, Renault, Clark & Kirkpatrick, as a student doing research. You likely do not know that name, but you may recognize the name of its successors Ogilvy, Renault and Norton Rose. My ‘office’ was the firm
- [Ten Things I Liked About Being a Lawyer](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/26/ten-things-i-liked-about-being-a-lawyer/) - Since I retired, I have been writing articles about the legal profession “from the safety of retirement”. It occurred to me recently that many of them may have been a bit negative in tone. Someone carefully studying my growing body of work (and I do realize that absolutely nobody is doing that) might conclude that
- [Got Ya!](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/18/got-ya/) - Quite some time ago in Toronto, there was a major retail landlord who had some very desirable space in the downtown core past which walked thousands and thousands of commuters on their way to and from the subway every working day. The space was leased to a large number of small boutique tenants who were
- [Finding Your Path (Or Stumbling Along in the Legal Profession)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/21/finding-your-path-or-stumbling-along-in-the-legal-profession/) - There is a well-known quote which has been attributed to various people to the effect that “if you are not a socialist at age 20, you have no heart, but if you are still a socialist at age 30, you have no brain.” Having worked for capitalists as a business lawyer for my entire career
- [Has the Legal Profession ‘Souled’ Out?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/13/has-the-legal-profession-souled-out/) - Back in the day, the practice of law was considered to be a profession first, and a business second. Over the years, there was a great deal of talk about how lawyers had to recognize that the practice of law was also a business, and to become more business-like in their approach. I expect that
- [Working To Be Relevant](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/17/working-to-be-relevant/) - I first met Lauren when he was a partner in a large Buffalo law firm which had a significant cross-border practice with an office in Toronto. Lauren practiced business law, although by the time that I met him he was spending a great deal of time on business development. His job involved significant travel between
- [Getting Out Of Your Own Way To Succeed in Law and Life](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/11/getting-out-of-your-own-way-to-succeed-in-law-and-life/) - I once had a partner who I will call Marvin. Marvin was a capable lawyer who had a specialty in a particular area of litigation. Marvin was personable. He could bring in lots of work in his specialty and hold onto clients. Marvin was also smart. He could look at a complex problem, boil it
- [Law Firms: Happy, Healthy and Relaxing Places to Work ?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/02/law-firms-happy-healthy-and-relaxing-places-to-work/) - The “organizing principal” and basic building block of law firm economics is the billable hour. For the most part, law firms usually charge their clients by the hour, and whether or not the client is billed by the hour, law firms measure and reward the productivity of their lawyers based upon the billable hours that
- [The Path to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/the-path-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions/) - Whenever someone makes a pop culture reference to the 80’s, 90’s or 2000’s which I don’t get, I always say, “I was busy working.” I think that I was a good lawyer, but then again even the really bad lawyers who I met during my career thought that they were pretty good lawyers. I do
- [Caution:  Law Firm Built On Quicksand Ahead](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/07/03/caution-law-firm-built-on-quicksand-ahead/) - (A Cautionary Tale For Lawyers of All Ages) Back quite a while ago somewhere in Ontario, a fellow who I will call Sam started a law firm, which he quickly grew to be a decent firm of about 20 lawyers. Sam was a fairly progressive guy for his time, in a number of ways. One
- [Bullies in the Boardroom](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/11/bullies-in-the-boardroom/) - In my 6th year of practice, I represented an insolvent client in his negotiations with his Bank. The retainer came upon me suddenly as the client was summoned to a meeting with the Bank and its lawyers on virtually no notice and told to bring counsel. I met the client for the first time just
- [Twenty-Two Tips for Keeping Legal Clients Happy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/20/twenty-two-tips-for-keeping-legal-clients-happy/) - Legend has it that years ago in Toronto there was a law firm which embarked on what was then a somewhat unusual exercise. At the urging of their marketing consultant, this firm surveyed their clients to ask them what they thought of how the law firm delivered its services. When the marketing consultant delivered his
- [Sometimes Law Firms Do Not Tell the Whole Truth](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/29/sometimes-law-firms-do-not-tell-the-whole-truth/) - Some time ago there was a fellow who I will call Jack. Jack had invented a product and had found a large company to be his partner and finance the start-up of a business to manufacture the product. The business did not do well. The partnership did worse. The day came when a deal had
- [Negotiating With Idiots](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/27/negotiating-with-idiots/) - Back quite a few years ago, I was out for lunch with one of my associates who for today will be called “Samantha”. We were having a quick meal at one of those sandwich places where you line up at the counter and order your meal and then take it to a table, gobble it
- [The Games That Lawyers Play](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/12/the-games-that-lawyers-play/) - When negotiating an agreement, clients are often happy to hear that the other side’s lawyer is going to do the drafting. They assume that their lawyer will spend less time reviewing an agreement than he or she would have spent drafting the agreement in the first place, and that allowing the other side’s lawyer to
- [An Article About Articling Students](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/08/an-article-about-articling-students/) - I write this from the perspective of retirement after having practiced law for four decades and having had what I believe was a successful career. I articled in 1979 for the now defunct firm of Goodman & Carr which at the time was an excellent mid-sized Toronto law firm. I was not a great articling
- [Ten Things that They Don’t Teach You in Law School](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/01/ten-things-that-they-dont-teach-you-in-law-school/) - It is common knowledge that you do not learn anything about the business of practicing law in law school. So, here are ten things that every law student or recent graduate should know: 1. If you are a top student, throughout law school you are likely to have developed an unconscious bias toward practicing with a
- [Lessons from my Loony Early Days of Practice](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/05/25/lessons-from-my-loony-early-days-of-practice/) - When I started practicing business law immediately after being called to the Bar, I had just been rejected for hire-back with the firm where I had done my articles. I was told that the reason that I was not hired back was that I had not shown sufficient self-confidence. Compounding my insecurity was the fact
- [The Sharp Employ The Sharp](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/06/01/wrestling-with-pigs-in-the-mud/) - “The sharp employ the sharp; verily, a man may be known by his attorney.” Douglas William Jerrold Criminal lawyers are often required to represent those among us who are morally and ethically challenged. Their role as guardians of the rights of all of us is crucial to our democracy and their choice of clients does
- [Is Your Lawyer Any Good?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/05/28/is-your-lawyer-any-good/) - It is a poorly kept secret in the legal profession that some lawyers are much better than other lawyers. Marketing would have you believe that the lawyers at large firms are better than lawyers at smaller firms, which is sometimes true and sometimes not true, and belies the fact that incompetence can hide in a
- [What, Me Worry?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/05/20/what-me-worry/) - In my first four years of practicing law, I learned how to be a lawyer through the “sink or swim” approach. I did this by working 12 hours a day and 6 ½ days a week, without supervision, mentoring or training. I was also worrying 24 days a day, 7 days a week, and waking
- [We Are All in This Together (Except When We Are Not)](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/05/09/we-are-all-in-this-together-except-when-we-are-not/) - In law firms, partners are represented by two separate yet equally significant groups. The innovative partners who drive the firms forward, and the old guard who advocate for the status quo to protect their incomes. These are their stories. Lawyers are not generally known for their accounting expertise. It is not that accounting concepts are
- [How I Was ‘WIP’D Into a K Car](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/28/how-i-was-wipd-into-a-k-car/) - Warning: The article below contains 30 seconds of material about accounting. Please power through and do not tune out. In 1987 I was admitted as a partner to my mid-sized law firm. (At the time, I thought that being a partner in a law firm was a good thing.) Back then, the firm was a
- [Managing the Unmanageable](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/16/managing-the-unmanageable/) - Law firms can be peculiar work environments. To start with, lawyers tend to be quite intelligent and very independent, and often have very well-developed egos. Add to that mixture that lawyers are professionally trained to argue with each other and usually work in a high-stress environment for multiple clients with competing priorities. Finally, keep in
- [What’s Law Got To Do With It?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/24/whats-law-got-to-do-with-it/) - There is an old saying that a jury consists of twelve people who are selected to determine who has the better lawyer. Whatever the truth of that saying, there is no doubt that the people who prevail in legal disputes are not necessarily the people who are legally “right”. I learned this in my first
- [Law Firms:  Are You Getting What You Are Paying For?](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/20/law-firms-are-you-getting-what-you-are-paying-for/) - How can you possibly explain why a lawyer at a substantial firm took on a file that was outside of his expertise and made a costly mistake, when that very same lawyer had three partners and two law clerks in his department, all of whom would have easily spotted the error if consulted? To make
- [My Brilliant Marketing Mind](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/14/my-brilliant-marketing-mind/) - Young lawyers often think that there is some magic secret to building a client base, and that marketing is a mysterious and complicated endeavour. I disagree, and I say that as a lawyer who did not really “get” marketing until I had been practicing for quite a long time. Someone much smarter than me once
- [Bad Clients Can Derail Your Practice](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/12/bad-clients-can-derail-your-practice/) - Early in my career, a senior partner in my firm, who I will call Greg, was arguing with the managing partner of the firm because the managing partner wanted Greg to fire one of Greg’s clients. The client in question was a real estate developer for whom Greg and other lawyers in the firm did
- [Marvin’s Fish Theory of Legal Marketing](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/10/marvins-fish-theory-of-legal-marketing/) - I once had a law partner named Marvin who taught me what he called the “fish theory” of marketing. According to Marvin, marketing was simply a matter of throwing a fish back to every referral source who threw a fish to you. If you were referred a file from someone, you owed that person a
- [How Law Firms Drive Associates Crazy – Part 2](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/07/how-law-firms-drive-associates-crazy-part-2/) - (About the Marketing Thing) New lawyers have a lot to learn about both the law, and how to practice law. Typically doing that will take up their entire workday, and then some. At some larger firms, the “marketing thing” is not really a thing at all, because those firms are looking to serve existing institutional
- [Eating Your Way to A Great Client Base](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/eating-your-way-to-a-great-client-base/) - There is an easy way and a hard way to develop a good client base in the legal profession. The hard way is to work extremely long hours and be phenomenally good at what you do. I have met a few people who have done it this way, but not very many. In fact, I have met
- [Our Firm Needs More Lawyers Who Are Just Like Me](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/03/our-firm-needs-more-lawyers-who-are-just-like-me/) - I have observed over the years that it is an interesting aspect of human nature (or at least the nature of lawyers) that people tend to value most what they themselves do well. Those who are knowledgeable in the law cannot conceive that you can be a good lawyer unless you have an encyclopedic knowledge
- [How Law Firms Drive  Associates Crazy](https://www.murraygottheil.com/2021/04/05/how-law-firms-drive-associates-crazy/) - (Part 1 of Many) Law firms like to encourage their lawyers to produce as many billable hours as possible. In order to keep the lawyers ‘motivated’, law firms usually set a target number of hours that they expect each lawyer to bill. Some firms like to set the target at a number which is higher

## Pages

- [](https://www.murraygottheil.com/) - Law & Disorder Inc. Murray Gottheil Having (more or less) survived the legal profession with my physical and mental health intact, I write about lawyers and law firms from the safety of retirement, usually with a healthy dose of cynicism and sarcasm. I try to shed light on systemic issues which impact the family relationships, physical and mental health,
- [Teaching](https://www.murraygottheil.com/teaching/) - Courses Business Law Basics This is an eight part course designed for corporate lawyers who are early in their career, articling students, law clerks, and lawyers practicing in other areas of the law. Topics covered are: Corporate Structures Shareholders Agreements Corporate Reorganizations Business Transition Contracts Share and Asset Transactions Lending and Security Shareholder and Other
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- [About Murray Gottheil](https://www.murraygottheil.com/about/) - I practiced law for 39 years, primarily in a medium sized law firm in Mississauga, Ontario. I was the practice head for the corporate department for much of that time and the managing partner of the firm for 5 years. I started my practice with no natural inclination towards marketing and over time developed a
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