Raising the Bar Archives | Page 19 of 19

1 04, 2005

Who Says Nice Guys Finish Last?

2005-04-01T11:08:37+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|4 Comments

“He was still talking about that 10 years later!” said Dan Hedges, senior partner at Porter & Hedges, L.L.P. in Houston. Hedges was referring to the time he was waiting for his wife to join him for dinner at one of Houston’s private clubs. He heard that a new member applicant was coming in, so when he saw a stranger hesitating in the foyer, Hedges went up and introduced himself. It was the stranger’s first day in Houston, and he appreciated the kindness. The stranger turned out to be the new CEO of a Fortune 500 energy company, which became a significant client of Hedges’ firm.

A partner in a large Dallas firm was involved in resolving a complicated billing dispute with a client. She suggested that the clients bring in their CPA for the next meeting, if it would help them feel more comfortable. After the matter was resolved, the CPA said he had observed her handling the conflict with such consideration and professionalism that he would send all his future business to her.

A financial planner had a problem getting a carpet cleaning company to settle up on damage done to his furniture. He had met Jim Dunn, a litigation partner in Houston’s Dunn, Neal & Gerger, so he called Jim for a little advice. Jim stepped in, and soon the financial planner received a reasonable settlement, with which he was very pleased. When he offered to pay for Jim’s services, it was a small matter that had not taken much time, so Jim said he was pleased to do it a no charge. Since then the financial planner has referred several clients to Jim and described him in very gracious terms.

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1 03, 2005

Collaborative Law Spreading Like a Virus

2019-02-10T23:15:54+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Collaborative Law Spreading Like a Virus

It’s growing and it’s infectious. Could we be experiencing an epidemic of civility and candor among our fellow lawyers? Collaborative Law, once contained to the family law sector, may be breaking through to the resolution of business and other civil disputes. A recent rash of events evidences the spread of the contagion.

Where Collaborative Law is Spreading

On December 9, 2004, Texas State Representative Toby Goodman filed HB 205 to amend the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code to authorize Collaborative Law procedures in civil litigation outside the family law arena. On January 18, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association authorized the creation of a new Section of the Houston Bar Association called the Collaborative Law Section. The HBA is the first major bar association to establish a Collaborative Law Section, but Dallas is not far behind. The Dallas Bar Association has a newly formed Collaborative Law study group, which is a required precursor to becoming a section of the Dallas Bar Association.The Texas Collaborative Law Council, Inc. was formed in August 2004 as a non-profit corporation by civil attorneys to promote the use of the collaborative process for resolving civil disputes, and to educate lawyers and the public as to the benefits of the process. Collaborative Law also garnered nationwide, mainstream attention in January 2005 when The Today Show, the NBC television morning news program, featured a segment on the positive impact the Collaborative Law process is having on divorcing couples.

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2 02, 2005

10 Tips for Surviving the Email Avalanche

2005-02-02T17:59:17+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on 10 Tips for Surviving the Email Avalanche

Are you buried under an avalanche of email? Do you lose important information hiding among the emails clogging your inbox? Here are 10 tips for digging out of the email avalanche. These tips reference features available in Outlook, but most email programs have similar features.

1. Use automated features to sort your emails into folders as they arrive. The Outlook Rules Wizard (under Tools) will let you create rules for automated sorting of incoming emails by sender, subject, text and other filters. Incoming messages are routed to the designated folders, which change to bold print to indicate an unread message. Set up folders (select File, New, Folder) for your clients so that you can see at a glance that you have email from them, and keep all your correspondence together. Replies to an email in that folder automatically will be stored in that folder as well. You can also route newsletters, listservs and other high volume, low priority emails to special folders to keep them from clogging your inbox until you have time to read them.
2. Drag and drop emails to your task icon if they have “to-do” items associated with them. The task will be included in the task list, and a copy of the email will be visible in the details window for the task. You can set a due date and reminder for the task. Delete the email or move it to a storage folder. You will get a pop-up reminder at the designated reminder time, even if you have deleted the original email. If the task is not marked as complete by the due date, it will turn red in the task list as a further reminder.
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1 02, 2005

Returning Civility to Your Civil Practice:

2019-02-10T23:15:54+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Returning Civility to Your Civil Practice:

“When I graduated from law school I was proud and excited to be a lawyer, but 20 years later I leave the office every day feeling battered and bruised I feel like the proverbial kicked dog.” Those were the words of one of my clients, a bright and successful trial lawyer.

Are you on the verge of burnout from the escalating incivility in your civil practice? Thanks to the pioneering efforts of some family lawyers, there may be a solution on the horizon.

Minnesota lawyer, Stuart Webb, the “Father of Collaborative Law”, was burning out after 8 years of civil practice followed by 17 years of family law practice. Before giving up and shutting down his firm, however, he began experimenting with new ways of trying to resolve family law disputes, and Collaborative Law was born.

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1 01, 2005

Secrets to Actually Accomplishing Your Goals

2005-01-01T11:11:09+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|3 Comments

It’s the start of a new year. Time to set new resolutions and goals that, if history is a predictor, will be off track and broken by the end of February, despite our best intentions now. Want to make this year different?

Let’s take a look at why our goal setting hasn’t worked in the past, and what we can do about it.

Not Our Goals

One reason why we often fail to accomplish our goals is that they weren’t really our goals in the first place. They were “shoulds” impressed on us by our spouses, parents, children, business partners, or society in general. So ask yourself, “I want this goal for the sake of what?” Why do I want this? If it’s to get my spouse off my back, I might be better served by choosing a more direct goal for improving my relationship with my spouse.

Do I want it badly enough to really change the way I behave? Do I want it badly enough to get out of my comfort zone and do something kind of scary? Am I willing to work for it? Do I want it enough to persevere and restrategize if initially I do not succeed?

If you cannot honestly answer “yes” to those questions, you would probably be better served by choosing another goal that is closer to your heart. If we keep our same old patterns, we will probably get our same old results.

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1 12, 2004

Delegation: A Powerful Time Management Tool

2004-12-01T11:12:52+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

This post has been updated on 8/16/10.

“I’ve tried delegating more. It doesn’t work.” That’s a common lament I hear when I work with overwhelmed lawyers. Yet, the quickest way to reduce your workload is to pass some of it off to someone else. It’s true that ineffective delegation doesn’t work. So how can you delegate more effectively?

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1 10, 2004

DISCover the Behavior Patterns of Clients, Potential Jurors

2019-02-10T23:15:54+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on DISCover the Behavior Patterns of Clients, Potential Jurors

Does someone in the firm just rub you the wrong way? Tempted to snarl, “Get to the point!” to that smiley, gabby assistant? Does it drive you crazy that someone works slowly and methodically on one project at a time? Or do you feel like firm co-workers are cold and abrupt? You may be experiencing the friction of your firm co-workers’ differing behavioral styles.

In 1928, William Marston, a Harvard University psychologist, published a study that demonstrated that most people tend to have behavior patterns that fall into one or more of four different categories, together known as DISC: D for dominance, I for influence, S for steadiness and C for conscientiousness. The DISC behavior patterns are easy to learn and easy to recognize. Lawyers who understand DISC behavior patterns are better able to eliminate some of the friction in working relationships at the firm, enhance jury selection and improve rainmaking skills.

Here’s an example: By understanding DISC, John Doe, one of my lawyer clients, revolutionized a struggling relationship with his boss. The boss rarely had time for Doe to brief him on the status of projects. Then he would appear unexpectedly, ask a lot of pointed questions and tell Doe to change his course of action. The boss seemed suspicious and distrustful of Doe, who in turn felt boxed in, criticized and undervalued. Doe’s dominant DISC behavior pattern style was influence. T folks are people-oriented, talkative and friendly. They like to motivate and persuade. Often, they are good communicators, although they may tend toward telling long-winded stories. In fact, Doe’s boss once complained to him, “I ask you what time it is, and you tell me how to build a clock.” “people like flexibility and freedom from control. They dislike following up on details, and their greatest fear is personal rejection.
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1 08, 2004

Small Firm Marketing Continued: Creating Visibility and Credibility

2004-08-01T11:15:46+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

An important axiom of marketing is: “Customers do business with people they know, like and trust.” The significance of that axiom mushrooms when you market a professional service instead of a product, because your potential clients can’t see, touch or taste your wares in advance of the purchase. You can achieve that coveted status of being known, liked and trusted in advance of the service, when you pursue marketing strategies that create visibility, credibility, personal relationships and referrals. This article will discuss why a small law firm practitioner should strive to create visibility and credibility, and how to go about it.

Visibility. When you increase your visibility, you increase your name recognition. People gravitate toward names they recognize, even when they don’t remember why they recognize the name. The “I’ve heard of her somewhere” factor pays off. Not long ago I read an article reporting the polling results about the best lawyers in another city. I recognized the names of many of the lawyers selected, and could confirm the quality of a number of them from personal experience. I also recognized the name of one lawyer in a category that I didn’t have much knowledge about, but I assumed he was good because I had heard of him. Later I saw his name selected in several other categories requiring dramatically different skill sets and knowledge bases. Something seemed awry. With today’s in-depth specialization, rarely can a generalist truly excel in multiple legal practice areas, and this fellow was named among the best in four areas! On reflection, I recognized that he had been very active in leadership roles in bar and community activities, and was a former State Bar President. He may be a genius and a multi-tasking time management pro, or he may be benefiting from name recognition. After all, I myself had assumed […]

1 07, 2004

Toward the Humane and Ethical Treatment of Lawyers

2004-07-01T11:16:34+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Toward the Humane and Ethical Treatment of Lawyers

This new column seeks to raise the bar on the ethics and quality of life of lawyers. Many lawyers today suffer a growing malaise. As Steven Keeva, editor of the ABA Journal, says in his book Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life, lawyers feel “trapped in lavishly furnished cells” in a “culture that values winning to the exclusion of almost everything else.” Keeva comments that collegiality and civility are “two much-mourned casualties of contemporary law practice.” A 1990 ABA Young Lawyers Division Survey of Career Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction found that ” increasing hours worked and resulting decrease in personal time have become a major problem.” and dissatisfaction in the legal profession has increased. The unhappiness of young lawyers (and consequent law firm attrition) reached such epidemic levels that the Association of the Bar of the City of New York formed a Task Force on Lawyers’ Quality of Life in 1996. The Task Force’s 2000 report reflects the results of focus groups and surveys of lawyers in 17 of the largest firms in New York City. The report summarized the price of lawyer malaise: “While at the firm, unhappy associates fail to achieve their full potential at a cost to them, their firms, their clients and their families. Invariably many lawyers leave the law firm, and even the practice of law, prematurely, resulting in undesirable and costly turnover.”
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