Dispatches from a legal profession on the brink
Filed under: Publishing
Stop. Time out. Stop doing what we’ve always been doing. Put aside the deadlines and schedules for a moment. Put down the pen, those of us still using one. Push back from the keyboard, take a deep breath, and close our eyes. Make a mental list of all of our longstanding assumptions about this industry… Read more »
Filed under: Innovation
Head over to the College of Law Practice Management’s blog at your earliest opportunity and check out the rolling list of entrants for this year’s Innovaction Awards now being posted. As is the case every year, law firms around the world (and for the first time, an in-house law department) have submitted accounts of their… Read more »
Filed under: Management, Talent
Boston-based Goodwin Procter seems to be one of the more innovative and forward-looking firms out there (how many law firms have not one, but two people blogging on knowledge management?). They solidified that reputation earlier this week by announcing the appointment of a director of professional development and training for professional staff (HT to Legal… Read more »
I received a package the other day from a prominent law firm announcing a rebranding, which seemed to consist of a shorter name and a clever new logo. There didn’t seem to be anything otherwise new or different about the firm, so the brochure went straight into the blue box. But I was reminded of… Read more »
Filed under: Technology
There’s been enough written lately about the iPhone 3G release to choke a broadband stream, especially here in Canada. I ended up reading most of the coverage because I happened to be looking for a smartphone for my wife’s birthday last week (I eventually went with the Treo 755p), and you’ll thank me not to… Read more »
Filed under: Innovation, Talent
I missed this story when it first came out in May, so I’m now belatedly noting a new talent recruitment company called Bohire. Its business model is simple: every time you successfully suggest a person who lands a job with a company, the company will pay you a reward in the hundreds or the thousands… Read more »
Filed under: Billing, Clients, Innovation, Technology
There’s a process revolution underway in the legal marketplace, and yesterday brought two more reports of cannon fire. The ABA Journal published a primer (HT to Legal Blog Watch) by Boston lawyer Jay Shepherd on how to establish a flat-fee billing system. It’s not an airy, wouldn’t-it-be-nice piece; it’s a practical guide borne of his… Read more »
Filed under: Purpose
Seth Godin served one up on the legal profession last week, and he wasn’t even trying. He was writing about marketers and their responsibility to serve a greater interest than the narrow, short-term goal of increasing a client’s sales. He identified two points at opposite ends of an aspirational spectrum — statesmen and lawyers —… Read more »
Filed under: Clients, Collaboration, Competition, Management, New Lawyers
Up till now, the necessary and sufficient skill set for lawyers has looked something like this (in alphabetical order): Analytical ability Attention to detail Logical reasoning Persuasiveness Sound judgment Writing ability (okay, that one’s apparently optional for some) This list doesn’t include such characteristics as knowledge of the law, courtroom presence, or integrity — these… Read more »
Filed under: Clients
American Lawyer magazine has released the 2008 edition of its A-List — its ranking of the firms that “best embody what it means to be a success in the legal community.” If you’d like to know about the cream of this particular crop, here’s the top 20 (registration required). To produce the A-List, American Lawyer… Read more »
