Tag: lawstudents

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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

A Long Night’s Journey Into Day

The sun rising over the ocean.

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 stay ‘top of mind.’  My commute was part of my workday, and I tried to make it as productive as possible.  When the calls were about files, I would be sure to remember to docket the time when I got back to the office.  I would do the same on the way home and put my dockets in remotely when I arrived.  

read more about there being a better way to live “A Long Night’s Journey Into Day”
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People I Met Practicing Law

People I Met Practicing Law Episode Three: Zero Trust

A kite that looks like a shark.

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.

read more about lawyers who care more about protecting themselves than their clients “People I Met Practicing Law Episode Three: Zero Trust”
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People I Met Practicing Law

People I Met Practicing Law Episode Two: Ethically Challenged

A fox by the side of the road.

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 she had been able to keep them under control, they might indeed have been assets.  She was not, so they were not.  

read more about ethically challenged lawyers “People I Met Practicing Law Episode Two: Ethically Challenged”
Categories
Law Firm Management

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

An old fishing boat abandoned on the side of the road

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.

read more about the loyalty problem “What Have You Done For Me Lately?”
Categories
Legal Fees

Putting In Time

Building with clock tower in Peru

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.  Firm management did not have it.  They could not tell me that my docketed time for the month was too low, or that I had recorded less time than last month or how my work in process compared to the same month of the year before.  They could not easily compare my docketed time to what I had billed and tell me that my write-offs were too high, and they certainly could not look at my work in process and easily tell me how I was doing compared to other associates.

read more about the pressure on lawyers to bill their recorded time “Putting In Time”
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The Practice of Law

Got Ya!

Confused looking squirrel

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 quite delighted to be allowed to locate their business there.

read more about ethics in negotiation “Got Ya!”
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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Getting Out Of Your Own Way To Succeed in Law and Life

Speedboat with twin engines named Fast Forward

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 down to its essentials and identify the most practical solution.  Marvin was particularly good at developing litigation strategies and he was also very good at negotiating with other counsel and at persuading judges to rule in his favour on all sorts of issues. 

read more about practicing law and having a life “Getting Out Of Your Own Way To Succeed in Law and Life”
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Mental Health and Work/Life Balance

Caution: Law Firm Built On Quicksand Ahead

A building damaged by an earthquake and covered with tarps.

(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 of Sam’s philosophies was that it takes all types of personalities to build a successful law firm.  When other partners would complain that some partners brought in more clients or produced more billable hours than other partners, Sam would say “we need to have diverse personalities and skills to build a strong firm.  We can adjust for differences in productivity in compensation.”

read more about the conflict between having money and having a life “Caution: Law Firm Built On Quicksand Ahead”
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The Practice of Law

Sometimes Law Firms Do Not Tell the Whole Truth

A bull standing in a field

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 to be struck for the partnership to be dissolved.

read more about what law firms lie about “Sometimes Law Firms Do Not Tell the Whole Truth”
Categories
The Practice of Law

Negotiating With Idiots

A replica of Fred Flintsone's car with cartoon characters in it.

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 down for 15 minutes and get back to work as quickly as possible so that you do not waste too many billable hours.

read more about negotiating with unreasonable people “Negotiating With Idiots”