The Importance Of Being First & Magellan’s Lesson To Law Firms

Ferdinand Magellan was the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe. During his expedition from 1519–1522, Magellan sailed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Magellan, named in his honor.

Magellan was the first European to discover the Magellanic Penguin and Magellanic Woodpecker. He was the first to take note of Magellanic clouds (now known to be dwarf galaxies).

Later, astronomers honored the seaman’s other skyward discoveries by naming twin lunar craters Magelhaens and Magelhaens A.

The second European to circumnavigate the globe was Sir Francis Drake. Who, other than earning the pejorative name El Draque by the Spaniards, left no other lasting legacy than piracy.

See, sometimes being first means everything.

In the modern world, being first in business also leads to a lasting legacy. Scotch tape, Kleenex, Xerox, Slinky, the names of these brands are synonymous with their function. Read Forbes’ article “The Importance of Being First,” and you’ll find that this is no accident.

A company’s reputation—as often reflected through its brand name—is the key to attracting new clients and boosting your firm’s bottom line. So, to corner the market on your niche legal service, think about what your law firm can do to be first.

Be the first in a legal niche.

Although a recession increase unemployment, it also increases opportunities. Think about what niche technological or policy areas your law firm can reach.

For example, the new patent law provides an opportunity for law firms to become experts in their field.  Why should this client hire you? Because your firm knows the most about what changes in patent law means for corporate clients—from large engineering business to the small entrepreneur.

Be the first in a technical expertise.

Technology provides firm with a competitive edge. Electronic filing and the latest legal software make your firm most efficient at what it does. That translates into lower billable hours for the client.

It’s not enough to purchase the newest technology, make sure your employees know how to implement it their daily tasks. Prove to your clients why your firm is the most productive, and how technology translates into better strategies, more filtered information, and higher rates of courtroom wins.

Be the first in alternative fee arrangements.

Most firms advertise alternative fee arrangements, but few actually employee them. Customize your services and your service fees to clients.

Be the first to offer contingency fees on all types of cases for all types of clients. Differentiate your firm by being the first to use creative billing methods that benefit the client and boosts your visibility in the region.

When clients need flexibility in fees, aim to be the first name that comes to mind.

Be the first in employee services.

Internally, differentiate your firm to attract employees. Whether it’s flexible schedules, paternal/maternal leave policy, or faster partnership tracks, decide what sets apart your firm from the rest.

Then, make sure you communicate this competitive advantage to potential candidates. You’d be surprised at how seemingly small but undeniably unique benefits for employees will attract the market’s best candidates.

Magellan gets credit for being the first to circumnavigate the globe even though technically, technically he didn’t complete the journey. In a way, Magellan receives credit for being the first simply because of the exploration effort he initiated.

In the end, sometimes just the attempt to be first gives way to the position.

-WB

What Is Project Management & Should Your Firm Care?

Three men, a project manager, an engineer, and a lawyer, traveled to the Grand Cayman Islands to conduct business there.

Although the Grand Cayman Islands are known for their bustling financial industry, they are—of course—also hub of tourism. So, the three men walk along the nearest beach until one of them stumbles upon a lamp buried in the sand. He rubs it and a genie appears. The genie says “Normally I would grant you 3 wishes, but since there are 3 of you, I will grant each of you one wish.”

The software engineer went first. “I would like to spend the rest of my life living in a huge house in St. Thomas, with no money worries.” The genie granted him his wish and sent him on off to St. Thomas.

The accountant went next. “I would like to spend the rest of my life living on a huge yacht cruising the islands around St. John, with no money worries.” The genie granted him his wish and sent him off to St. John.

Last, but not least, it was the project manager’s turn. “And what would your wish be?” asked the genie.

“I want them both back after lunch,” replied the project manager. [1]

Now, you may have already heard this joke. Surprisingly, it makes fun of somebody other than the lawyer.

Project management, in general, is not typically associated with legal work. In fact, most lawyers would have a hard time defining the term. Is it case management? Is it human resources?

The Project Management Institute defines a project as “the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. It’s a strategic competency for organizations, enabling them to tie project results to business goals—and thus, better compete in their markets.”

Reading between the lines, project management adds value to a firm. Law firms are no exception.

“Until very recently, lawyers that did recognise the term have considered the concept of project management beneath them. After all, lawyers were artisans not merchants or manufacturers. Each matter was unique and required the utmost flexibility. But the topic has been getting growing attention, especially from clients who have seen internally how important project management can be to efficient operation. Many outside lawyers are, as a result, starting to realize the ‘artisan’ argument does not hold water. Much of what lawyers do is a commoditised process. Even within highly customised bet-the-company cases, there are elements of commodity work and the process is similar from one case to the next, even if the facts are not,” explains Patrick J. Lamb, author of Alternative Fee Arrangements: Value Fees and the Changing Legal Market. [2]

These days, during a recession, it’s even more important to streamline operations and ensure each department adds value. Thus, law firms can no longer ignore project management. It is necessary for firms to succeed.

So, how do you apply project management to case matters within law firms?

According to Jim Hassett, author of The Legal Project Management Quick Reference Guide, there are 8 project management tasks for law firms [3]:

1. Set objectives and define scope
2. Identify and schedule activities
3. Assign tasks and manage the team
4. Plan and manage the budget
5. Assess risks to the budget and schedule
6. Manage quality
7. Manage client communications and expectations
8. Negotiate changes of scope

On the other hand, project management is only as good as its tools. Assigning tasks, planning the budget, and assessing risks require data collection and analysis. For law firms, there’s no better tool than Excel.

Excel can be used as a method to effectively organize case assignments and avoid duplication of work effort. For example, when a senior attorney wants to know who is creating the timeline (in Excel, of course) for his case matter, the information, including the name of the assigned associate and the status of his or her work, is quickly and clearly accessible.

Excel is also a financial tool that can conduct risk assessments and managing accounting books. Luckily, Excel comes free on most computers, and there exist a myriad of help tutorials to get you started. In fact, here are all the MS Office tips and tricks that every lawyer should know.

At the same time, there is a plethora of legal software available to firms with programs customized to your needs. Have your IT Department education you on your options.

Finally, the question remains, if project management is necessary, who then is best at becoming project managers?

For starters, all senior partners should feel comfortable with the tools used to manage projects. There are a lot of time constraitns on the “boss”, but ensuring he efficiency, productivity, and profitability of every firm activity is of primary importance.

Next, consider using your legal librarians as project managers. There’s nobody better suited for a job surrounding organization than a person intimately familiar with the Dewey Decimal system.

Finally, make sure all employees take project management seriously. Whether you increase the managing responsibilities of current managing partners or hire a separate project manager, your law firm should place project managers in a position of authority and respect.

Achieve your wish of “no money worries.” Implement strict project management practices today.

-WB

Need help? Follow C4CM’s guide, Effective Time Management: Take Control, Tackle Work Flow Chaos and Overcome Productivity Challenges.

References:

1. The Joke Index
2. Jim Hassett, The Legal Project Management Quick Reference Guide: Tools and Templates to Increase Efficiency,  2d ed (Boston, MA: LegalBizDev, 2011), 3.
3. Patrick J. Lamb, Alternative Fee Arrangements: Value Fees and the Changing Legal Market (London, UK: Ark Group, 2010), 52.

What Is Project Management & Should Your Firm Care?

Three men, a project manager, an engineer, and a lawyer, traveled to the Grand Cayman Islands to conduct business there.

 Although the Grand Cayman Islands are known for their bustling financial industry, they are—of course—also hub of tourism. So, the three men walk along the nearest beach until one of them stumbles upon a lamp buried in the sand. He rubs it and a genie appears. The genie says “Normally I would grant you 3 wishes, but since there are 3 of you, I will grant each of you one wish.”

The software engineer went first. “I would like to spend the rest of my life living in a huge house in St. Thomas, with no money worries.” The genie granted him his wish and sent him on off to St. Thomas.

The accountant went next. “I would like to spend the rest of my life living on a huge yacht cruising the islands around St. John, with no money worries.” The genie granted him his wish and sent him off to St. John.

Last, but not least, it was the project manager’s turn. “And what would your wish be?” asked the genie.

“I want them both back after lunch,” replied the project manager. [1]

Now, you may have already heard this joke. Surprisingly, it makes fun of somebody other than the lawyer.

Project management, in general, is not typically associated with legal work. In fact, most lawyers would have a hard time defining the term. Is it case management? Is it human resources?

The Project Management Institute defines a project as “the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. It’s a strategic competency for organizations, enabling them to tie project results to business goals—and thus, better compete in their markets.”

Reading between the lines, project management adds value to a firm. Law firms are no exception.

“Until very recently, lawyers that did recognise the term have considered the concept of project management beneath them. After all, lawyers were artisans not merchants or manufacturers. Each matter was unique and required the utmost flexibility. But the topic has been getting growing attention, especially from clients who have seen internally how important project management can be to efficient operation. Many outside lawyers are, as a result, starting to realize the ‘artisan’ argument does not hold water. Much of what lawyers do is a commoditised process. Even within highly customised bet-the-company cases, there are elements of commodity work and the process is similar from one case to the next, even if the facts are not,” explains Patrick J. Lamb, author of Alternative Fee Arrangements: Value Fees and the Changing Legal Market. [2]

These days, during a recession, it’s even more important to streamline operations and ensure each department adds value. Thus, law firms can no longer ignore project management. It is necessary for firms to succeed.

So, how do you apply project management to case matters within law firms?

According to Jim Hassett, author of The Legal Project Management Quick Reference Guide, there are 8 project management tasks for law firms [3]:

1. Set objectives and define scope
2. Identify and schedule activities
3. Assign tasks and manage the team
4. Plan and manage the budget
5. Assess risks to the budget and schedule
6. Manage quality
7. Manage client communications and expectations
8. Negotiate changes of scope

On the other hand, project management is only as good as its tools. Assigning tasks, planning the budget, and assessing risks require data collection and analysis. For law firms, there’s no better tool than Excel.

Excel can be used as a method to effectively organize case assignments and avoid duplication of work effort. For example, when a senior attorney wants to know who is creating the timeline (in Excel, of course) for his case matter, the information, including the name of the assigned associate and the status of his or her work, is quickly and clearly accessible.

Excel is also a financial tool that can conduct risk assessments and managing accounting books. Luckily, Excel comes free on most computers, and there exist a myriad of help tutorials to get you started. In fact, here are all the MS Office tips and tricks that every lawyer should know.

At the same time, there is a plethora of legal software available to firms with programs customized to your needs. Have your IT Department education you on your options.

Finally, the question remains, if project management is necessary, who then is best at becoming project managers?

For starters, all senior partners should feel comfortable with the tools used to manage projects. There are a lot of time constraitns on the “boss”, but ensuring he efficiency, productivity, and profitability of every firm activity is of primary importance.

Next, consider using your legal librarians as project managers. There’s nobody better suited for a job surrounding organization than a person intimately familiar with the Dewey Decimal system.

Finally, make sure all employees take project management seriously. Whether you increase the managing responsibilities of current managing partners or hire a separate project manager, your law firm should place project managers in a position of authority and respect.

Achieve your wish of “no money worries.” Implement strict project management practices today.

-WB

Need help? Follow C4CM’s guide, Effective Time Management: Take Control, Tackle Work Flow Chaos and Overcome Productivity Challenges.

References:

1. The Joke Index
2. Jim Hassett, The Legal Project Management Quick Reference Guide: Tools and Templates to Increase Efficiency,  2d ed (Boston, MA: LegalBizDev, 2011), 3.
3. Patrick J. Lamb, Alternative Fee Arrangements: Value Fees and the Changing Legal Market (London, UK: Ark Group, 2010), 52.

Legal Conversations: How To Know When In-Person, Phone or Email Responses Are Appropriate

Communication has never been simple. Think about those difficult relationship conversations or heated workplace debates. But, in today’s modern world, communication problems are exacerbated by technology.

Templates for thank-you notes and get-well-soon cards used to be the source of discussion. Now, it’s hard to know when to pick up the phone or a pen.

Worse yet, it’s nearly impossible to derive tone from an email. And, efficacy comes into play. Especially within law firms—do I call my colleague or email him? How much will I have to charge the client for a phone call when just a quick email will suffice?

It’s hard to know when replying to a client, colleague, or superior, whether am in-person conversation, phone call, or email correspondence is enough.

Here’s a quick guide for legal conversation that hopefully clears up any conversational etiquette problems for the modern professional.

1. In-person conversations

Nobody wants to bother the boss. But, sometimes it’s important to put in face time. For important conversations—urgent casework issues, problems with coworkers, quitting, or promotion requests—an in-person conversation is a must.

It can also be helpful to pop-in a supervisor’s office if you haven’t seen them in awhile. Although there are some benefits to remaining invisible at work, it’s also a sure-fire way to stay invisible during year-end bonus allocations or promotion opportunities.

However, don’t be an annoying brown-nose. Also, don’t pester superiors with minor issues (like you need a new office chair). A quick “I got your email, the answer is yes,” merits an in-person interaction; a long-winded (and likewise costly) conversation detailing your every move for the week does not.

2. Phone call

First, to be clear, unless you are friends outside work (you have nicknames for each other) or operate in a small company, always introduce yourself with your full name. This clears up any confusion and also establishes boundaries for the phone conversation—it’s work related, professional, and brief.

Second, these days workplace etiquette regarding phone calls is complicated. Many people prefer in-person visits—they’re more personal—and others choose the efficiency of email. Phone calls lie in the gray area in-between.

So, conduct phone calls wisely. Phone calls can be useful between colleagues in offices in different geographical locations. Phone calls are a friendly way to contact clients.

Phone calls (or, especially, in-person meetings) are also a great way to keep conversations private. Beware of creating a paper-trail from confidential or sensitive statements. Or, you may, one day, have to pay the piper, like DLA Piper.

Within the same office, phone calls are useful to schedule a time for in-person meetings (to avoid back-and-forth email chains or the always awkward “just stopping by to ask when I can stop by…”). Be aware of the norms and routines of your particular office. For some, calling a colleague in the next room is considered time-conscious and productive. For others, it’s just plain lazy.

3. Email correspondence

Finally, email is the primary method of communication these days. It’s quick, immediate, and sensitive to other people’s time and work priorities.

However, be sure you follow proper email etiquette: don’t put the body of your emai; in the subject line ; practice high-tech politeness; stop calling every email and task “urgent”; and don’t be so efficient with your words (and abbreviations) that all meaning is lost.

These days, you usually can’t go wrong with e-mail.

At the same time, don’t forget the power of handwritten letters. Special occasions, thank-you notes, and anything important is worth the wait.

-WB

 

What’s the most difficult conversation to have with employees? Communicating Compensation. So, use C4CM’s essential guide to facilitate the conversation. Communicating Compensation to Employees will provide your firm with a powerful resource that gives you clear communication guidelines to manage difficult conversations and improve existing systems.

Microsoft Office (Even Excel!) Tips & Tricks That Every Lawyer Should Know

When you type, “are lawyers scared of technology?” in a Google search, you get a surprisingly large number of results.

The first result is a website devoted to paralegals working for attorneys who suffer from Technophobia. What’s the first sign of technophobia, you ask? Slow to adopt the hardware—laptops, iPads, or smartphones, for example.

If you don’t own any of these gadgets, you may suffer from technophobia (and, shame on you!).

But, never fear. There are a few treatments, such as focusing on the positive, educating yourself, and seeking a support group. At first glance, these suggestions seem farcical. But they create, in fact, the perfect vaccination.

First, stay positive. Attitudes are contagious.

Law firm professionals at every level should lead by example. Each time a law firm partner disparages technology or refuses to make even the smallest edits on PPT (unless it’s a billable-hour issue), it’s a symptom of technophobia. And people aim to emulate their superiors.

So, even if you don’t understand it, don’t put it down. There’s no doubt about it—the future of every industry is in technology. Law is no exception.

Second, educate yourself. Take a class or read up online. In the least, be familiar with terminology.

Did somebody in the office mention a “pivot table”? Look it up. In Excel, a pivot table helps summarize, analyze, and present data.

“In plain English, it means, you can take the sales data with columns like salesman, region and product-wise revenues and use pivot tables to quickly find out how products are performing in each region,” explains Purna “Chandoo” Duggirala in his online tutorial.

For corporate litigants, pivot tables can be quite useful. So, next time your financial consultants are explaining their data methods, you may not understand how to duplicate it, but you can at least define it.

See? That wasn’t so scary…

Third, seek a support group. There may not be a Technophobe Anonymous meeting in your area, but your firm can certainly create one. Law firm managers should provide year-round training for legal technology. Make attendance to at least one mandatory to encourage participation (and boost curiosity).

Employees in your IT department are familiar with the idiosyncrasies of your firm’s technology. And, a technology seminar increases the awareness by employees of software and tools available to them. Finally, a technology class at your law firm provides an efficient one-stop shop for all the questions employees were either afraid to ask, or who asked in 100 separate “help!” emails to their colleagues.

To get you started, check out the following must-follow features for lawyers in Microsoft Office. 

1. Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT)

A bit better corporation has everything you need to know about PPT. Check out the following suggestions, particularly useful for law firm professionals, like trial lawyers:

Save Your Fonts with Your Presentation

If you’re preparing a presentation that you plan to distribute to others, be sure that you check this option by clicking on the Tools button in the File/Save As dialog box.  This will work for most TrueType fonts on the Windows platform.

Displaying Keyboard Shortcuts in Tool Tips

If you’d like to see the available keyboard shortcuts for menus, commands, and toolbar buttons, go to Tools/Customize, click on the Options tab, and click on “show shortcut keys in screen tips.”

Making Auto-Fit Text Stop Auto-Fitting

Turn this feature off by going to Tools/Options, click on the Edit tab, and uncheck “autofit text to text placeholder”, click OK.

Getting Rid of Tri-Pane View

Unfortunately there is no way to permanently avoid this improvement, but you can quickly get rid of it by holding down the CTRL key when you click on the Slide View button.

Using Ctrl-Drag to Copy

You can quickly make a copy of any object by holding down the CTRL key while you drag on the object.  You will then “drag off” a new copy.

Making Slides Print Correctly

PowerPoint has certain defaults to determine how it prints each object on the page.  You can see over-ride these defaults. Go to View/Black and White; this will show you a gray-scale preview of how your slide will print.  To change the print settings for any given object, right-click on it, then click “Black and White”, and then choose the appropriate print option for that object.  Master objects can be selected by going to the Master page View.

Preview Slide Show Effects

While editing a presentation, hold down the CTRL key while clicking the slide show view button; this will open a tiny preview window showing that slide in slide show mode

For many more tips, visit PowerPoint Tips & Tricks.

2. Microsoft Excel

Use the following short-cut keys after reading exactly how lawyers use Excel for timelines, timesheets, and casework, here.

KEY

DESCRIPTION

CTRL+(

Unhides any hidden rows within the selection.

CTRL+)

Unhides any hidden columns within the selection.

CTRL+&

Applies the outline border to the selected cells.

CTRL+_

Removes the outline border from the selected cells.

CTRL+~

Applies the General number format.

CTRL+$

Applies the Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers in parentheses).

CTRL+%

Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places.

CTRL+^

Applies the Exponential number format with two decimal places.

CTRL+#

Applies the Date format with the day, month, and year.

CTRL+@

Applies the Time format with the hour and minute, and AM or PM.

CTRL+!

Applies the Number format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values.

CTRL+-

Displays the Delete dialog box to delete the selected cells.

CTRL+*

Selects the current region around the active cell (the data area enclosed by blank rows and blank columns).

In a PivotTable, it selects the entire PivotTable report.

CTRL+:

Enters the current time.

CTRL+;

Enters the current date.

CTRL+`

Alternates between displaying cell values and displaying formulas in the worksheet.

CTRL+’

Copies a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar.

CTRL+”

Copies the value from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar.

CTRL++

Displays the Insert dialog box to insert blank cells.

CTRL+1

Displays the Format Cells dialog box. 

3. Microsoft Word

Ribbons. Have multiple documents open at once? Want to save them all? Save time by making this a ribbon.  The Save All and Close All commands are not part of the default Ribbon, but they’re easy to create. you can easily add them to your Ribbon.

Go to File –> Options –>Customize Ribbon. Select Commands Not in the Ribbon under Choose commands from column. Presto! Add it to your Quick Access toolbar and never worry about accidentally closing unsaved documents.

Oops. Did you accidentally close unsaved documents?

Recover unsaved documents with File –> Info –> Manage Versions. Then, click on the little dropdown and select Recover Unsaved Documents.

Lawyerword. This ad-on software steamlines MS Word for lawyers. LawyerWord software includes specific time-saving features, such as: firm templates, firm style sets, advanced document clean-up features, batch printing, layout tools, field tools, legal numbering tools, simplified markup tools.

Microsoft OneNote. MS OneNote is not, technically, MS Word. But, it may surprise lawyers to know that the MS OneNote program offers law firm professionals powerful ways to divvy up information and rapidly locate documents, photographs, and other electronic files.

“My opposing counsel kept looking at me with obvious envy as I made my argument to the judge why certain key evidence should be excluded from the trial we were involved in. I could tell from the look on the attorney’s face that he was puzzled how I could refer to portions of the record, prior witness testimony, exhibits, case law, and a brief that I had previously submitted, all without a single piece of paper in front of me,” reports one trial lawyer to Microsoft.

“The only thing I used was my laptop and a mouse. He sat at a table with loose papers piled haphazardly, manila folders strewn about, and a Bankers Box on the floor, stuffed to overflowing.”

Throw out clutter along with your technophobia.

As a law firm professional, you need to crunch loads of data in a short amount of time. You may already know a great deal about MS Word and PPT. Excel, however, reamains the most misunderstood and under-utilized arrow in a lawyer’s quiver.

So, educate yourself about Excel in C4CM’s 90-minute interactive webinar, Excel for Financial Reporting: Shortcuts, Tricks, and Time-Saving Tips.

By the end, you will be able to:

1. Construct an integrated financial model – from scratch!
2. Utilize new techniques that help you build spreadsheets effectively
3. Use the What-If data analysis tool, and
4. Applying tips that minimize errors, save time, and store information.

There will always be Google search inputs like the question, “are lawyers scared of technology?” But, hopefully, your firm won’t reach top of the list of results.

-WB

Lawyers Unhappiest Workers In America–But Can Your Firm Be An Exception?

Lawyers have been vilified for their professional choices since the Middle Ages; and the number of lawyer jokes has tripled since the 1960s.

So, it’s no wonder that lawyers now rank the highest among America’s unhappiest employees, according to a recent survey.

Jacquelyn Smith of Forbes recently posted a new survey from a firm known as CareerBliss where “Associate Attorney,” was ranked as having the lowest employee satisfaction, reports Above The Law.

Unsurprisingly, a close second to Associate Attorney was “Customer Service Associate”—you know, that person who takes your angry phone call about product quality or that person behind a desk in the convenience store who hears how inconvenient your shopping experience has been.

So, what variables have led associates to be so unfulfilled in the workplace?

According to Smith’s article (via ATL), CareerBliss conducted their research by asking over 65,000 employees to use a 5-point scale:

“to evaluate ten factors that affect workplace happiness. Those include one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and control over the work one does on a daily basis.”

Luckily, the survey unwittingly provides law firm managers with ten ways to improve the employee experience:

1. Create mentorship programs for associates. Having a poor relationship with one’s boss and co-workers is one of the leaders in office dissatisfaction. So, start a mentorship program between associates and senior attorneys.

Create a unique lunch roulette game. Offer after-work activities—yoga, soccer, or other team sporting events.

2. Increase workplace resources

One of the sources of dissatisfaction for associates is job resources. Although compensation is also a complaint, sometimes employers forget that money isn’t the only way to increase productivity. Increasing the tools of the job will ensure employees are properly equipped.

And, when employees feel they are able to do a good job, then they enjoy their job.

3. Give growth opportunities

In the same survey, ranked number seven in unhappiness are legal assistants. Perhaps one of the reasons why both lawyers and legal assistants are dissatisfied with their positions is that there is no room for growth.

Employees are more likely to invest in their work if they feel the firm is investing in them, in return. The possibility for career advancement is key—especially for staff. So, make sure that every position has the possibility for expansion (if not in title, then in compensation or skills-gained), from legal assistant to senior partner.

4. Provide autonomy.

Finally, employees are happiest when they’re autonomous. Autonomy doesn’t necessarily mean decision-making power. After all, associates are still low on the law firm hierarchy.

However, it does mean a modicum of control over the work an associate does on a daily basis. For example, if your firm is rigorously controlling the case matter assignments, meeting times, deadlines, scope of the project, etc., it’s likely that your subordinates are super bored.

Allow your associates a bit of freedom in their cases. Lawyers as a whole may not be able to move down in the ranks of America’s unhappiest employees, but employees at your particular firm can.

-WB

DLA Piper To Pay The Piper? How Your Law Firm Can Avoid Fee Disputes

Last week the New York Times exposed the intimate e-mails of one of America’s largest law firms:

“’I hear we are already 200k over our estimate—that’s Team DLA Piper!’ wrote Erich P. Eisenegger, a lawyer at the firm.

Another DLA Piper lawyer, Christopher Thomson, replied, noting that a third colleague, Vincent J. Roldan, had been enlisted to work on the matter.

‘Now Vince has random people working full time on random research projects in standard “churn that bill, baby!” mode,’ Mr. Thomson wrote. ‘That bill shall know no limits.’”

Although a spokesman for DLA Piper said the firm did not comment on pending litigation, in light of the recent overbilling lawsuit, a reader asked Slate Magazine, “How did lawyers get such a bad reputation?”

It turns out, the answer is: The Middle Ages.

During the Greek and Roman empires, lawyers were revered and respected for their work toward the public good. In fact, they often refused or collected only limited fees.

But, after the Dark Ages, lawyers were called upon to navigate the increasingly cryptic and complicated Catholic codes of the medieval era. As a result, the church started vilifying them for greed and “venality,” explains Slate.

So, lawyers went from judicious to Judas in a few hundred years, earning lowly places in literature, like Shakespeare’s plays King Lear (“when Lear tells the Fool that his speech is “nothing, fool.” “Then ’tis like the breath of the unfeed lawyer,” the Fool replies, delivering the equivalent of the aphorism “A lawyer’s opinion which costs nothing is worth nothing.)

This reputation continues to fester in culture throughout the 19^th and 20^th century. And, according to Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes and Legal Culture, the number of U.S. lawyers tripled between 1965 and 2000, and the number of lawyer jokes surged along with it, writes Slate.

Lawyers, for their part, are fighting this stereotype—if not for reputation, for its repercussions. Lawyers face disbarment, suspension, and even jail time if caught for fraud or theft.

Since it’s not in the client’s or the attorney’s best interest to be caught overbilling, what can law firms do to prevent fee disputes as plagued by DLA Piper?

Provide price-for-quality transparency.

Websites like LinkedIn, GlassDoor.com, nolo.com and avvo.com automatically increase the transparency of legal rates—from the salary a lawyer earns to the rate of service quality of firms.

Today, clients are better informed about the market price for line items like one hundred photocopies or one hour of partner time. As a law firm, it’s important to maintain this transparency.

Transparency in billing is not just about keeping the costs down. For firms, it’s also about justifying why they are up. For example, if your firm is rated “superb” on avvo.com’s scale, your high-than-average rate coincide with the higher-than-average service you provide.

When clients have access to relevant billing information, they’re less likely to dispute charges or be surprised at the size of their invoice.

Discuss fees up front.

Meeting with your lawyer is not a date. It’s acceptable etiquette to discuss money. In fact, it’s imperative to avoid potential conflict in the future.

Be clear from the beginning what your billing rate will be—contingency fees, hourly, or flat rate. Estimate the number of billable hours and number of attorneys who will be on the case. Finally, be clear about when bills will arrive and when they should be paid.

Simplify your fee agreement.

Just because lawyers are fluent in legal jargon, doesn’t mean every client retainer must be full of it.

Simplify your fee agreements—or, in the least, sit down with each new client and explain the terms in layman’s language. If you don’t simplify the process, you’ll likely end up with a client who decides to fight it.

Justify your staffing.

Create a “staffing” sheet for each client matter. Provide a detailed description and biography for every associate and staff member who will be working on a client’s case.

Distribute this list in advance so there’s no confusion regarding the qualifications—and related fees—for each person involved in the case matter. For clients, the degrees and pedigrees of associates should put their minds at ease. For firms, this list will provide pause for managers to ask—are each of these employees the best fit for this job?

Justifying your staffing decisions is a great way to increase your billing credibility to clients, and to provide an extra measure of internal check against overstaffing.

Justify your expenses.

Did your first-year associates stay at a five-star boutique hotel when a Sheraton was available? If you don’t want to fight about your expenses, then make sure you’re not embarrassed to justify them to your clients.

Keep track of client-specific rates

Finally, don’t treat clients like a one-size-fits all customer. Legal fees are made to order.

With this in mind, keep a detailed record of the stipulations for billing; for example, Client X only approves 3 associate per matter, n-number of partner hours per month, or maximum billing per year of $$. Here’s one more example of how lawyers can use Excel.

As soon as law firm managers make one billing mistake, clients begin to doubt every transaction and invoice in the future.

So, be transparent, be credible, and be consistent about your legal billing practices to avoid fee disputes. Or, be a part of a stereotype meant for the Middle Ages: “There are only three lawyer jokes. The rest are all true stories.”

-WB

The Debate On Discounting: Why Your Law Firm Should Care More About Value, Not Price

With the emergence of online shopping has come the advent of online savings codes.  In fact, in the UK, nearly 10 million consumers used an online savings code in the past year, according to Nielsen and This Is Money.

A myriad start-up websites, like Groupon, have also cropped up to show us the way toward increased savings. These websites offer vouchers and coupons for cheaper services and products to consumers, while making money in affiliate marketing schemes on the side.

It seems nothing is full-price anymore. Except, perhaps, law services.

Discounting within the field of law is, for some reason, frowned upon.

There’s no “black Friday” for attorneys fees or coupons for half-price on your next court case.

Lawyers are concerned that price equals value—that clients will believe the quality of services rendered were as low as the bill for them. Lawyers are also concerned that clients will become accustomed discounting and will eventually refuse to pay full-price for attorney’s fees or choose alternative representation in the event these fees rise.

As a result, discounting is strategy for attracting new clients or retaining old ones in a competitive market. In the recession, with an overabundance of attorneys, this type of corporate strategy of price differentiation was key.

Luckily for lawyers, however, times are looking up and fees are going up with them.

“The end of 2012 saw increased optimism among law firm managing partners, whose renewed faith in the overall economy mirrored gains in their confidence in business conditions for the legal profession,” The AmLaw Daily concludes from the latest Law Watch Managing Partner Confidence Index survey.

According to the survey, confidence in the broader economic, and particularly in business conditions for the legal profession, jumped 18 points in the last quarter of 2012. Although confidence in discounting rates was poor, an improvement in the demand for legal services will go a long way in abolishing this fee-reduction trend.

“A lot of the discounting pressure that we’ve seen over the course of a number of years now, postrecession, has been driven by the fact that there’s not enough legal work to go around,” explains Citi senior client adviser Gretta Rusanow to The AmLaw Daily.

“So, where firms have excess capacity, they are more inclined to discount their fees in an effort to keep their lawyers busy.”

Nevertheless, increased confidence in the market is a good sign for lawyers.

In the end, discounting won’t be necessary as long as your firm can offer clients:

1. Evidence of the value

Have a new client one-page summary sheet that lists your firm’s case wins, satisfied client testimonials, and the profiles of your qualified employees. Provide a short cost-benefit analysis that shows your fees are appropriate, as well as important to stave off the possibility of higher costs in the future.

2. Consistency in work product

Consistency equates to quality. Provide regular case matter updates, personal and electronic communication, and billing. Clients are less upset by invoices that they are already expecting.

3. Confidence

Increased confidence about the market or the future of the field of law is good news on the whole. But, retaining confidence in the high quality of your practice will also help your firm retain its clients. Discounting is a legitimate corporate strategy. But, does your firm care more about its price than its value?

The economy is uncertain. But, with comprehensive and confident work on a client’s case, your performance doesn’t have to be. Discounting or no discounting, a law firm’s value and ability to attract clients is created by a rock-solid reputation, time-proven results, and high human capital—not simply the price tag.

-WB

How To Manage Your Law Firm’s Reputation Like A Fine Wine

The Judgment of Paris sounds like a dramatic WWII movie.

But, the only battle in the Judgment of Paris was between bottles of wine. It was, of course, neck to neck.

On May 24, 1976, a British wine merchant Steven Spurrier organized a wine competition in Paris. French judges, in addition to carrying the weight of the world’s best wine producers on their shoulders, carried out two blind tasting comparisons.

After high-quality Chardonnays and then red wines (Bordeaux from France and Cabernet Sauvignon from California). To the surprise of all, a California wine rated best in each category.

Soon the names of American regions Napa and Sonoma, including their wines, were on the tip of everybody’s tongues. Prices for California wines skyrocked and bottles shot off the shelves.

One win can mean everything for your reputation.

Reputation can make or break the bank for law firms. Establishing your business as high-quality, hardworking, and consistent is difficult. New firms lack in legitimacy and experience while incumbent firms find it difficult to change their longstanding reputation.

“Reputations have a strong geographic component,” says Ed Wesemann for Edge International Review.

“A business that is a household name with a strong reputation may never have been heard of in any other.”

Vinyards, like American wines vs. French ones, are also handicapped by their location.

For example, in an old potato field off the highway in New Jersey, Lou Caracciolo planted his first grapes. He was ready to bring the Judgment of Paris to the east coast of New England. He even crafted his cellar in an authentic European style.

Unfortunately, Lou Caracciolo is not a first mover in the market. And, New Jersey has already seen vinyards dating back to prohibition. New Jersey style wine is fruity to a fault. Overly sweet, New Jersey wine is low-cost and low-brow.

Next door, Lou Caracciolo is trying to fight this reputation.

He wants to sell dry, French-tasting wines in an area off the map for those in the market for high-quality, refined, and expensive wine products.

This is an economic phenomenon called a collection action problem, explains NPR Planet Money. Sometimes your rivals make your reputation.

So how does Lou and law firms get out of this reputation glut?

Choose a new marketing scheme. Lou Caracciolo markets his wine as “outter coastal plain.” That is, after all, also south Jersey. Next, he officially certified this region as an officiall wine-cultivating area (“viticultural area”), according to U.S. rules and regulations.

Next, create a public voice.

For Lou Caracciolo, it is important that the public taste his wine to understand its depth and quality. He started a campaign to build reputation and prestige off sales pitches and in-person sales operations.

Law firms should consider writing an official Public Relations (PR) policy and hiring a PR rep. With law firm websites, media coverage of cases, and social media abreast, it’s important that the public view your law firm according to the principles and standards it espouses.

As a start-up law firm building its reputation, don’t be afraid to offer contingency fees for new clients. For particularly high-profile cases, a win may not lead to high rents, but it will likely yield a higher reputation to attract prospective clients.

For incumbent firms, manage your new reputation or reframe your old one through meticulous public profiling. Don’t let rumors of embezzlement, severe layoffs, office closings, or lawsuits against the firm spin out of control.

Manage the external communication, internal communication, and media statements that reach the ears of your clients and society at large. Meticulously plan your internal policies to increase productivity. And, refuse to permit rivals—their poor standards or reputation—to determine your future.

Of course, in a blind test, quality matters more than reputation. Nevertheless, since only justice (not potential clients) is blind: beware of sour grapes.

-WB

Listen to the full story of Lou Caracciolo and his wine on NPR’s podcast Planet Money.

Employee lawsuits are the worst kind of publicity for law firms. When tough conversations are poorly managed, problems fester, productivity plummets, and your risk for an employee lawsuit increases.

Introducing, Handling Difficult Conversations: Communication Strategies for the Workplace– your practical, hands-on guide to managing the most challenging employee and management conversations that may just save your reputation.

This information-packed, 108-page guide provides practical and realistic solutions for tackling the hardest elements of workplace interactions, including:

• Job Performance
• Disciplinary Action
• Termination of Employment
• Employee Complaints about the Workplace
• Disabilities (Related to Job Accommodations)
• Personal Presentation/Hygiene

What Law Firms Need To Know About The Computer Fraud & Abuse Act

Earlier this month, during the opening day of the Austin music festival South by Southwest, an audience gathered to commemorate the life and achievements of Reddit founder Aaron Swartz, who—faced with serious computer-related charges—recently committed suicide with the weight of litigation and public pressure on his shoulders.

Aggressive prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act has become the rule rather than the exception in the U.S.

Earlier this week, a federal judge sentenced notorious hacker Andrew Auernheimer to 41 months in prison for illegally accessing email addresses and other data belonging to more than 120,000 iPad subscribers from AT&T’s networks, reports Computer World, in conjunction with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

AT&T alleged it spent more than $73,000 for breach notifications as a result of Auernheimer’s actions. However, in addition to full restitution for damages, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton of the District Court in New Jersey also attached a prison term.

The breached email addresses belonged to many high-profile names: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Times CEO Janet Robinson, ABC’s Diane Sawyer, movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel, to name a few.

But, the true high-profile matter at hand is neither the fame of the hacker nor the celebrity of his victims. It’s the law regulating Internet use and its huge consequences for all world-wide-web users today.

Both private and public lawyers, including the Department of Justice, have been using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to prosecute computer hackers and laypersons alike. Anybody who violates the “terms of service” policy is at risk.

These days, a terms of service policy is more prevalent on websites than legal disclaimers, which only increases your risks of being in violation. Unfortuntately, people are unaware of the law, as well as the fine print it’s regulating.

“When judges or academics say that it is wrong to interpret a law in such a way that everyone is a felon, the Justice Department has usually replied by saying, roughly, that federal prosecutors don’t bother with minor cases—they only go after the really bad guys,” writes Tim Wu in an op-ed for The New Yorker.

“That has always been a lame excuse—repulsive to anyone who takes seriously the idea of a ‘a government of laws, not men.’ After Aaron Swartz’s suicide, the era of trusting prosecutors with unlimited power in this area should officially be over.”

Although the constitutional implications of this law are vast, it’s really the pragmatic ones that are of concern for law firms.

Law firms should take the time to understand this law before creating internal Internet policies. For example, what is your law firm policy on Internet use on company time? What about for desktop computers in the office vs. laptops that employees take home?

Under the Computer Abuse and Fraud Act, employees potentially face criminal sanctions by merely checking the latest Facebook posting or sporting events scores at work when it is not “authorized” by the firm (although more recent cases of litigation are going the other way).

Who is liable for potential breaches of the “terms of service” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act when employees use firm laptop computers out of the office?

Furthermore, are your clients aware of all the implications of this law for their business and home life?

In light of Aaron Swartz’s suicide, law firms should start to consider providing counseling for those clients who are being prosecuted. Swartz’s suicide is an apt reminder that while you—as a lawyer—may be comfortable with the progress and success of a case, your client may feel uncertain about both its future and his own.

What routines and practices has your law firm put in place to put at ease the minds of its clients?

Whatever your view on the legitimacy of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, it’s important to keep up with its most recent developments. The Volokh Conspiracy Blog provides occasional updates on its status in courts and Congress here.

Some argue, like Wu for The New Yorker, that America’s Common Law ancestry leads to a “rule of a lenity”, where ambiguous criminal laws should (de jure and de facto) favor the defendant.

The Supreme Court states, “When choice has to be made between two readings of what conduct Congress has made a crime, it is appropriate, before we choose the harsher alternative, to require that Congress should have spoken in language that is clear and definite,” (via The New Yorker).

However, if this week’s events surrounding iPad hacker Andrew Auernheimer and his 41 months in prison is any indication, a rule of lenity doesn’t seem to be much of a rule these days at all.

For more information on the Computer Fraud And Abuse Act, and its implications for your law firms, click here.

In 2011, over 100 employers were accused of improper social media practices or policies, according to The Center For Competitive Management. If not to protect your employees from strict law enforcement, protect your firm.

If you’re unsure where to start, try research and a round-table discussion with a mix of junior and senior attorneys. Along with administrators, ask the group to create a social media policy that reflects their own opinions on the matter. Most likely, your employees will know best what types of social media uses actually constitute abuses.

A round-table discussion will also ensure your employees take the time to read workplace policy; after all, they helped write it.

Finally, if you’re still stuck finding solutions, start by attending C4CM’s course on audio CD, Developing a Social Media Policy: Clear Guidelines to Prevent or Reduce Employment-Related Problems.

-WB