Tag: lawfirms

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Law Firm Management

We Are All in This Together (Except When We Are Not)

People with musical instruments in a canoes at sunset

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 too difficult for lawyers to learn.  In fact, a lawyer can be a very quick study when working with accounting concepts which are relevant to their files.

The problem arises when it comes to matters which affect their own income. In these cases, lawyers tend to apply their creative talents and their persuasive skills to cloud the issues in their favour.

read more about the tendency of lawyers to advocate for the status quo when their income is at risk “We Are All in This Together (Except When We Are Not)”
Categories
The Practice of Law

What’s Law Got To Do With It?

Court House in Ecuador

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”.

read more about what really matters in a legal dispute “What’s Law Got To Do With It?”
Categories
Law Firm Management

Managing the Unmanageable

An iguana standing on a rock next to a sign which says not to stand on the rocks

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 mind that law firms typically operate as partnerships, without the more hierarchical and well-established structure of corporations.

read more about why lawyers should not be running law firms “Managing the Unmanageable”
Categories
Client Development

My Brilliant Marketing Mind

A very poorly worded and confusing advertising sign

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.

read more about why marketing is easier than you think “My Brilliant Marketing Mind”
Categories
Client Development

Bad Clients Can Derail Your Practice

Old fashioned train looking precarious on a narrow mountain pass

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.

read more about when it is necessary to fire your client “Bad Clients Can Derail Your Practice”
Categories
Client Development

Lawyers: Take Risk To Have Clients

Man hanging over a horizontal wire under his knees over valley.

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.

read more ABOUT TAKING RISK TO HAVE CLIENTS “Lawyers: Take Risk To Have Clients”
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The Mentality and Attitudes of Lawyers Uncategorized

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. 

read more about how firms and clients benefit when lawyers bring different skills to the party “Our Firm Needs More Lawyers Who Are Just Like Me”
Categories
Mentoring

When it Comes to Mentoring, Don’t 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.

read more about the truth about mentoring “When it Comes to Mentoring, Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid”
Categories
Firm Culture Uncategorized

When Does Size Matter?

A snowy mountain in Austria.

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 profession was that there was no future for medium sized law firms, and they would all be wiped out by the larger firms with their greater expertise. In fact, almost all the Toronto firms closed their offices in Mississauga after a short time, and the local firms have been doing just fine ever since. 

read more about why big law is not always the better experience “When Does Size Matter?”