Tag: lawfirms

Categories
Law Firm Management

The Smart/Stupid Dichotomy in Law Firms

Twin men working on computers across from each other at a boardroom table.
Photo by Cottonbro Studios at Pexels.

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.  They would then jump off of the cookie sheet and immediately start billing hours.  I bet that there is at least one law firm Managing Partner who has fantasized about how great it would be if all of their Associates just fit the cookie-cutter mould that the firm wants, did what they were told, did not try to disrupt the system, and never complained.

read more about treating associates like future partners “The Smart/Stupid Dichotomy in Law Firms”
Categories
Client Development

I Care Very Little About What You Think of Me

Photo by Mike van Schoonderwalt at Pexels. man flashing the thumbs down sign.

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 Ziglar

A 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 nature is inappropriate, bad, and blameworthy, and that by extension I am a bad, bad, man.

read more about the advantages of being authentic “I Care Very Little About What You Think of Me”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Observing Plans For Your Demise

A sad looking dog
Photo by Alexandru Rotariu at Pexels.

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 his final resting place in the woods.

While Jim was building his coffin, Henry would see him working on it. After it was finished, Henry could see the coffin, just sitting there and waiting for him.

read more about knowing when the end is coming “Observing Plans For Your Demise”
Categories
Legal Tech

Death and Other Inconveniences

A skeleton.

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 on Appara’s website. You can access it here:

https://www.linkedin.com/safety/go?url=https%3A%2F%2Fappara.ai%2Fnews-and-insights%2Fdeath-and-other-inconveniences&trk=flagship-messaging-web&messageThreadUrn=urn%3Ali%3AmessagingThread%3A2-Zjc3ZjcyZTYtMzliOS00OTkzLTg2MzMtYjkyNzI5MTU4ZmZmXzAxMA%3D%3D&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_messaging_conversation_detail%3BPqfBAfhDSzyi%2Bw%2FVj1tSNw%3D%3D

Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

A Sad Tale of Love Gone Bad

Two hands, each holding half of a broken heart.
Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com at Pexels.

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 would respect and adore him. They were both in love with the idea of moving on to the stage of life that today’s young people call “adulting.”

read more about newcomers to the legal profession being ill-equipped to decide where to practice “A Sad Tale of Love Gone Bad”
Categories
Mentoring

Micromanagement *

A man instructing a woman who is working at a computer.

“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 the kitchen frequently. So frequently, in fact, that she has accused me numerous times of cleaning stuff up before she has finished with it. 

read more about micromanagement “Micromanagement *”
Categories
Client Development

This Phone is Made for Answering

An old-fashioned rotary dial phone.

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 not call them?

read more about how to develop a client base “This Phone is Made for Answering”
Categories
The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

Ill Winds That Blow No Good

Sail boat battling the wind.
Photo by Mike Bird at Pexels.

“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 past my editors without a problem.

read more about Murray’s Solution to the ills that beset the legal profession “Ill Winds That Blow No Good”
Categories
Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Head of a white dairy cow, showing its nostrils.
Photo by Jan Koetsier at Pexels.

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 mental health crisis in the profession.

read more about why the law society still falls short on the mental health file “Alternate Nostril Breathing”
Categories
Firm Culture

I Heard it Through the Gripe Vine

Grapes on the vine.
Photo by Julia Volk: at Pexels.

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 was a contractual obligation to come forward to management to address issues that they might have, and to help us to resolve them. They were not supposed to just whine about whatever issues they encountered.

read more about whose fault it is that associates do not come forward with constructive criticism “I Heard it Through the Gripe Vine”