Raising the Bar Archives | Page 13 of 19

1 09, 2009

Is “Good Enough” Becoming the Enemy of the Perfect?

2009-09-01T21:41:43+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Is “Good Enough” Becoming the Enemy of the Perfect?

About a year ago Jordan Furlong warned in his excellent article, The Rise of Good Enough, that “clients are coming to see the costs of exactitude in the law as simply too high.” He described how some general counsel look for outside lawyers who weigh the expected risks and benefits of a legal course, rather than always pursuing the exact right answer.

Recently Robert Capps pointed out in Wired magazine that inexpensive but “good enough” technology is revolutionizing industries ranging from the military to legal services. Technology now permits lawyers to provide online “customized mass production” of common documents at rock bottom prices.

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31 08, 2009

How Investors May Impact the Future of Law Practice

2019-02-10T23:15:57+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

Jordan Furlong recently wrote another insightful post relating to the future of law practice in light of the upcoming ability of UK law firms to accept non-lawyer investors in 2011. Furlong summed up the likely impact of non-lawyer investors in law firms this way:

“Equity investment in or outside ownership of law firms will be neither a panacea nor an unalloyed good — mistakes will be made, lines will be crossed, abuses might well take place. No innovation arrives perfectly safe and sound. But what such investment does offer is something the legal services marketplace has needed for too long: law firm management singularly driven to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and above all, client satisfaction, because it makes business sense to do so.”

I also discussed some of the likely impacts shortly after the first Australian law firm public offering in 2007. While non-lawyer investment may result in the decline in professionalism that many lawyers fear, the decline has already been so significant in the last couple of decades that I’m not sure it would be that noticeable. I acknowledged some other detriments, but pointed to these additional benefits:

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22 07, 2009

Alert for Lawyers on Nonprofit Boards

2019-02-10T23:15:57+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Alert for Lawyers on Nonprofit Boards

Many lawyers get invited to serve on nonprofit boards. Of course, the organization hopes to get some free legal advice from you now and then, but they may also be seeking your general worldly wisdom and perspective. Serving on the board for a cause you care about gives you a chance to make a difference in your community, while also doing some much needed public relations work for the legal profession.

Most lawyers work with nonprofits for laudable and generous reasons, but even the curmudgeons among us have found that serving on a such boards can be good for their law practice. Nonprofits usually seek out business leaders and prominent citizens to serve on their boards, so board membership gives you a chance to get to know and interact regularly with quality potential clients and referral sources.

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14 07, 2009

No Lawyer Left Behind: Getting on the Web

2019-02-10T23:15:06+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|5 Comments

Not long ago, I received a request for a lawyer referral. Three lawyers came to mind, so I prepared to pass on their contact information, including website addresses. To my surprise, one of the lawyers did not have a website. Without a website, I feared the lawyer would appear unsophisticated to the client. I calculated the extra effort necessary to describe his qualifications. In the end, I chose to save myself some time and avoid the risk of appearing to give low quality referrals. I passed on contact info for only two lawyers.

Originally published in the March 2007 issue of the Texas Bar Journal.

Referrals Check You Out on the Web

Some lawyers say they don’t need a website because most of their business comes from referrals. According to Margot W. Teleki in the July 17, 2006 issue of the New Jersey Law Journal, “the first thing your referral will do is check out your firm’s web site before giving you a call to see who and what you are and how well you’re suited to meet his needs.” Gerry Morris, a white collar criminal lawyer in Austin, Texas, says “Sometimes clients referred to me by other lawyers come into my office with a printout from my website in hand.”

If your firm doesn’t have a website, could you be losing referral business without knowing it? When your prospective client can’t find you on the web, could that send the message that your firm is too small, too new, too unsophisticated, too unsuccessful, or too behind the times to handle the good quality work you desire to attract?

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30 06, 2009

Unusual Tips for Laid-off Lawyers

2009-06-30T15:56:11+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

Unfortunately, this year an unprecedented number of attorneys have been laid off, and jobs for new law school grads have evaporated. Smart job hunters have already scoured the Internet for employment search tips. In this market, however, you need to get creative. Start now to generate opportunities to distinguish yourself from the competition and widen your circle of connections. Remember, relationships make the difference, especially in a tight market. Here are some tactics you might not have thought of to augment your existing approach.

1. Beef Up Your Resume.

You probably have more time available for research and writing now. Establish your expertise (or develop some), and give your resume some additional sparkle, by writing an article on a legal topic you are interested in. You don’t need to write a law review article. Contact industry magazines, legal newspapers, business journals and online publications. They need new articles every month or even more frequently, and most don’t require blue book citation. Many employers are more likely to read articles in such publications than in law reviews.

Your article will signal that you are an authority on the subject. Don’t be intimidated by lack of experience. If the topic is reasonably cutting edge, after your research you may be as expert as anyone else. As a second year associate, I wrote an in-depth research memo on an emerging legal issue for a client. Later, a partner asked permission to use my memo for his CLE presentation. (Today, I would ask to be a co-presenter with the partner to further establish my expertise.) Regardless of the legal topic, you will still know more about it than your lay readers.

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24 04, 2009

Silver Linings in Recessionary Times

2009-04-24T15:03:13+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Silver Linings in Recessionary Times

The current economic downturn has affected BigLaw to an unprecedented extent, resulting in lawyer layoffs. Many smaller firms, however, have not actually seen a drop in business. This scary economic climate may actually create opportunities for smaller law firms.

Small Firm Opportunities

1. Big companies with shrinking budgets may take a chance on smaller law firms with good reputations and less expensive fee structures. Make sure you keep your corporate relationships current.
2. Your firm may attract higher quality, experienced attorneys or staff at reasonable salaries, as the result of layoffs from corporations or large firms. Some lawyers may be glad to work on an Of Counsel basis or office sharing basis, just to have a respectable place to land with the possibility of referral business.
3. More graduating law students will have difficulty finding jobs, and they may seek positions as law clerks or even unpaid interns, just to get experience. Get some help or delegate tasks you don’t like to do, without over-extending your budget.

Take Advantage of Slower Business

If your business has slowed down, this too shall pass. Take advantage of the additional time you now have available. Do what you kept wishing you had time for, when you were too busy. Here are a few suggestions to consider.

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10 04, 2009

8 Tips for Keeping Your Job in a Law Firm

2009-04-10T16:33:55+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on 8 Tips for Keeping Your Job in a Law Firm

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the legal industry lost 22,300 jobs in the last 12 months, and 2,700 in March 2009. Although more than half of those lost jobs were held by non-lawyers, both partners and associates are getting laid off in unprecedented numbers. What can an associate do to stave off the pink slip?

The only guaranteed strategy is to use a WABAC (or Wayback) machine to erase any of your mistakes or entitled attitude exhibited over the last two years, plus bring in $1 million of business. If those aren’t options for you, try these eight tips. “Results may vary” depending on the culture and financial condition of your law firm, but at least these tips will improve your chances.

1. Be efficient and responsive. Don’t let any projects linger on your desk. Some attorneys are so uncomfortable with having insufficient work to do, that they procrastinate on completing the work they have. Be aware that partners will expect you to get projects done faster than in the past, because they don’t think you have competing demands for your time. Although you will feel pressure to bill more hours, don’t milk your projects or pad your time. Partners feel pressure from clients to keep legal fees down. If there is any fluff, they are more likely to cut your time than their own, so don’t give them an excuse. Write downs don’t look good on your report card.

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16 03, 2009

How to Say “No” to a Partner

2009-03-16T18:45:09+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on How to Say “No” to a Partner

Author Anne Lamott says, “‘No’ is a complete sentence.” When you’re a junior associate facing a demanding partner in a law firm, however, it seems more like the path to a death sentence. How can you “be a team player,” yet protect your vital interests in your own health and well-being? Do you dare say “no” during an economic recession, when you see other lawyers getting laid off? Here are five strategies for taking care of your needs while still taking care of business.

1. Be proactive.

Minimize the number of occasions when you need to be reactive or negative. Do you work with a partner who has a pattern of dumping a new project on your desk on Friday at 3:00 p.m. with a Monday morning deadline? Try dropping by his office earlier in the week to discuss what may be coming up.

You might say, “I have an important commitment this weekend, so I want to make sure I cover all the bases for you by Friday. (Note: It’s important to insert that “for you.” It reassures him that you have his interests in mind.”) Are there any projects that you could find the need to hand off to me later? If so, I would like to know about them now, so that I don’t have to leave you in the lurch.” That last part forewarns him that you intend to stand firm, yet you care about what he cares about…him. […]

18 02, 2009

Creating Your Personal Marketing Plan

2009-02-18T16:15:22+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Creating Your Personal Marketing Plan

In the last article we talked about preparing to create a marketing plan. Now it’s time to write down your plan. A written plan requires you to organize your thoughts, and provides some accountability guidelines for your activities. This article does not address the specifics of advertising, but if you do plan to use advertising, it should be addressed in your plan, too. Here are five steps to create your marketing plan.

1. Budget marketing time. Decide how much time you will commit to marketing activities each week. It’s important to set a minimum so you will develop a regular habit of marketing activity. You can’t postpone your marketing efforts until you are low on work, because marketing legal services is a long-term process. You have to plant and nurture seeds before you can harvest the fruit. You can’t wait until you need the apples to plant the apple seeds.

Budget a minimum of five hours per week. That will allow for 10 to 15 minutes per day for making little connections by emails, notes or phone calls. Your other marketing activities will require time blocks of approximately two hours each. You might choose two per week from the categories of (a) in-person meeting over lunch, breakfast, dinner, coffee or cocktails with a client, prospect or referral source, (b) group networking activity such as a bar, civic, or industry association meeting, (c) writing or blogging, (d) online networking in listservs, social networking sites like LinkedIn, chat rooms or forums, or (e) speaking. Some weeks all of your efforts will fall in one category, but try to diversify your efforts over time.

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9 12, 2008

Holiday Networking Tips

2008-12-09T12:57:00+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Holiday Networking Tips

Many lawyers think of December as a time when people are harder to reach, decisions get postponed and less work gets done. That may be true for some, but it’s also a time filled with opportunities for marketing your practice, looking for new career opportunities, and deepening or expanding your network of useful resources.

No, I am not suggesting that you hawk your wares or pass out your resume at holiday parties. I am suggesting that you take full advantage of this opportunity to meet and reconnect with people who you may not have access to the rest of the year.

Whether you just love socializing or avoid big gatherings whenever possible, here are some tips that can make your holiday networking more productive:

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