Dispatches from a legal profession on the brink
Filed under: Innovation, Technology
I received a press release today for a lawyer social networking site called LawLink, which apparently aims to be LinkedIn for Lawyers, or maybe Facebook Without the Kids. Free registration allows you to “network with other attorneys, develop new business leads, share information with other attorneys, develop new business leads,” etc. A lawyers’ social network… Read more »
Filed under: Purpose, Satisfaction
I don’t have much to say about “the Maclean’s cover” that hasn’t already been said, eloquently and accurately, by the CBA’s current and past presidents. The CBA was right to defend lawyers’ good name against an offensive piece of hack journalism. The less said about that article and the book that inspired it, the better…. Read more »
Filed under: Billing, Careers, New Lawyers, Satisfaction
Somebody asked me, after I returned to the office following three months’ parental leave, “Did you enjoy your time off?” “I enjoyed the last three months immensely,” I said. “But trust me, ‘time off’ does not in any way describe it.” If you’ve spent more than a few weeks raising a child hands-on, you’ll probably… Read more »
Filed under: Publishing
Here’s a neat thought: disaggregation of legal texts. Law books probably lend themselves better to this approach than other disciplines precisely because of the law’s extreme specialization. I can see a defence lawyer downloading only those entries in Martin’s Annotated Criminal Code that deal with DUIs, entirely bypassing the sections dealing with murder, aggravated assault… Read more »
Filed under: Governance
For your consideration: here’s a list of all the governing and/or regulatory bodies for health-care professionals in the province of Ontario: College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists College of Chiropodists College of Chiropractors College of Dental Hygienists Royal College of Dental Surgeons College of Dental Technologists College of Dietitians College of Massage Therapists College of… Read more »
Filed under: Leadership, Purpose
Maybe not quite, but in the context of most professional law firms with more than just a handful of partners, it’s on life support and the priest has been called in. I honestly don’t know of any midsize or larger law firms, at least, that operate other than “to maximize the wealth of the current… Read more »
Filed under: Careers, Competition, Generations, Small Centers
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the numerous factors leading to the continuing contraction of the legal profession in smaller urban centers and in rural outposts. Here’s another one: competition for legal talent. Large-center practice is operating at unprecedented levels of profitability these days; even if small-center practices were still reasonably feasible, large-center… Read more »
Filed under: Billing, New Lawyers, Satisfaction
Big news: most law firms no longer consider a lawyer’s decision to start and raise a family to be an implicit violation of the employment contract. Many women lawyers can now take nine months or more of maternity leave and return to find their jobs still waiting for them and their career prospects not greatly… Read more »
Filed under: Clients
Probably you were expecting a greeting card from me — ‘tis the season, after all. The standard wintertime scene on the front, generic wishes inside for a joyful holiday, peace on earth, that sort of thing … you probably get one from your dry cleaners and your local MP, too. Well, I’m not doing that… Read more »
Filed under: Competition, Generations, Globalization, Small Centers
This article was first posted at Slaw on September 29th, 2006. Earlier this month, I visited San Francisco for the first time. I’d long been fascinated by the thought of a city built on a geological time bomb, and walking its streets was quite an experience. Everyone knows there’ll be a massive seismic rupture underneath… Read more »
