Tag: lawfirmmanagement

Categories
The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers

Living Paycheque to Paycheque on $6,574,000

A chest full of American Dollars.
Photo by Pixabay at Pexels.

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 instead of defending the rule of law. Their Managing Partner said that they were facing an existential crisis and that they took reasonable steps to survive and protect their clients. He also mentioned that their peers in the legal industry offered little support, and in fact targeted their clients.

read more about money and principles “Living Paycheque to Paycheque on ,574,000”
Categories
Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Working From Hell

Call Centre Workers.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko at Pexels.

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.

read more about working from home “Working From Hell”
Categories
Legal Tech

Where There’s A Will

Woman working at computer.
Photo by Rdne at Pexels.

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

Categories
Legal Tech

Raiders of the Lost Art of Practicing Law the Old-Fashioned Way

A Camel.

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, only to come face to face with some scary looking natives with bows and arrows. Things only got worse for him from there.

read more about why lawyers fear adopting legal tech “Raiders of the Lost Art of Practicing Law the Old-Fashioned Way”
Categories
Law Firm Management

Poison Darts

Soldier in red uniform.
Photo by Cottonbro at Pexels.


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 before slinking away. Those outside of the firm would never have guessed at the internal dysfunction.

read more about looking past a law firm’s external image “Poison Darts”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Partnership, Not the Holy Grail, Part 9: She Left The Suds In the Bucket and the Clothes Hanging Out on the Line

Woman holding a basket and hanging clothes on the line.
Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev at Pexels.

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.

read more about planning your way out before you get in “Partnership, Not the Holy Grail, Part 9: She Left The Suds In the Bucket and the Clothes Hanging Out on the Line”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Partnership, Not the Holy  Grail, Part Eight:  All for One,  but Me for Me

Large meeting of professionals around a boardroom table.
Photo by Pexels.

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.

read more about different types of partnershipss “Partnership, Not the Holy  Grail, Part Eight:  All for One,  but Me for Me”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Partnership – Not the Holy Grail, Part Seven: One Size Does Not Fit All

Group of business people at a boardroom table, two of whom are shaking hands.
Photo by Pexels.

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 their incompatibility with their partner.

read more about being selective about which partnershp you join “Partnership – Not the Holy Grail, Part Seven: One Size Does Not Fit All”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Partnership, Not the Holy Grail, Part Six: The Non-Equitable Type

Three business people looking at a computer.
Photo by Pexels.

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.

read more about the nonsense of non-equity partnershps “Partnership, Not the Holy Grail, Part Six: The Non-Equitable Type”
Categories
Law Students and Young Lawyers

Partnership – Not The Holy Grail, Part Five: Why, Oh Why, Do Things Have to Change?

Group of young business people, two of whom are shaking hands.
Photo from Pexels

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, you will not be content to let things be. No, the firm must grow and increase its profits and the prestige of each of its partners. You need more partners!  And to be fair, you don’t want to lose your bright young associates who are chasing the Holy Grail, and you cannot keep all of them satisfied with non-equity partnership gimmicks indefinitely. So, grow you must.

read more about being careful about how the partnership culture may change “Partnership – Not The Holy Grail, Part Five: Why, Oh Why, Do Things Have to Change?”