(This article first appeared in SLAW) Business decisions – especially those involving marketing and branding - require careful consideration. But they also require timely action. Are law firms hurting themselves by being too slow and cumbersome in making business decisions? Within administrative and outside provider circles, law firms are notorious for their slow reactions and [...]
For me, December is a time of reflection and planning. I start by reflecting on my plan and actions for the current year. Did I do all of the things I had committed to doing? If not, why? What can I learn from that? Did I accomplish what I wanted to. If not, why? Did [...]
By definition, make or break decisions occur when we have the least amount of time and emotional control to make them. How can we make the best possible decision in the worst possible circumstances? Management is about dealing with people and things – including events. We can’t possible manage every timekeeper, every moment of the [...]
(This article is for individual lawyers but especially for Managing Partners and Executive Teams, Marketing Partners and Directors, and leaders of practice groups and client teams). We all know that a law firm is hardly the ideal environment for marketing. Typically, lawyers are more on the introverted scale: they don’t like socializing with people they [...]
Earlier this month, I shared a lesson on marketing that I learned from Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast “Revisionist History”. Today, lesson #2 from that same podcast. See if any of these sound familiar: I just saw the client at an event last week. It’s far too early for me get in touch with them again. I [...]
I learn about things that can help marketing from all sorts of interesting sources. For example, I heard about Parkinson’s Law from Malcolm Gladwell in his podcast “Revisionist History”. At first, I thought he was talking about Parkinson’s Disease, the progressive nervous system disorder. But Gladwell clarified that Parkinson’s Law is the belief that work [...]
Having worked in or with law firms for over 30 years now, I can say that in my experience, law firms have a hard time being honest about certain things. I’m not for a minute suggesting that lawyers do not tell the truth. The foundation of every firm I’ve worked with is the personal integrity [...]
The retiring baby boomer generation includes lawyers who were founding partners of their firm. It’s understandable that as they bow out of the profession, they would want to protect the legacy they spent so many years building by ensuring their clients would be well taken care of in the future. It also makes sense that [...]
Most law firms I know are very giving from a charitable perspective. This could include altruistic monetary donations, support for client events, support of charitable initiatives involving the firm’s lawyers or staff, or in-house events in support of a charity. I’m always interested to see where in the budget these activities reside. It says a [...]
When you decided to become a lawyer, you took the time and energy to plot out a pathway. You took the right courses and got the grades needed to get into law school. You participated in extracurricular activities that would look good on your resume to secure summer positions and later, a good articling position. [...]