What Law Firms Should Be Focusing On in 2021

(This article first appeared in SLAW.  While it's no longer a "first of the year" piece, it still have value for those firms wondering if the pandemic will ever end, what business will look like on the other side, and whether they should be doing things differently now).  Despite hiccups on vaccine receipt and distribution, [...]

The Secret to Getting Things Done in a Law Firm

Law firms are getting better at planning.  This includes a strategic plan, and marketing plan, plans for practice groups, even plans for individual lawyers.  Firms can feel pretty sanctimonious about having taken the time (and money) to develop such plans.  But more often than not, by the end of the year the plan has been [...]

By |2021-03-20T16:22:30-04:00March 20th, 2021|Business Management, Firm Management|0 Comments

Harnessing the Power of Practice Groups

(This post first appeared in SLAW) Most firms have come to appreciate the value of practice groups in their management and marketing; but not everyone knows why they are more powerful than operating without them, which may result in their under-utilization.  In this post I’ll explain the evolution of practice groups, what they look like [...]

Dealing with an Employee Shortage

Aside form the obvious challenges facing firms in a global pandemic, the next biggest concern for my clients is their inability to find and keep good staff.  Here are my suggestions for addressing this concern. Hire better: The first step toward repairing a high attrition rate is to improve your hiring process.  Can’t find qualified [...]

By |2021-01-15T12:28:54-05:00January 15th, 2021|Business Management, Firm Management|0 Comments

A US/BC Comparison of the Law Firm Zeitgeist

I have a lot of time for Law Firm Marketing Researcher Michael Rynowecer. So, when his blog “The Mad Clientist” arrives in my inbox, I usually read it. The latest edition highlights recent research his company, BTI Consulting, regarding the current US law firm mood, seven months into the pandemic. For fun, I thought I’d [...]

Rethinking the Trajectory of an Associate

(On October 21st, I’ll be presenting a session on how to use the pandemic as a catalyst for positive change in law firms, through CLEBC. Find information on that session here: https://store.cle.bc.ca/productdetails.aspx?title=Using-COVID-19-and-other-Challenges-to-Progress-Your-Firm&cid=1821 . In this blog post, I’ll highlight one element of that presentation). When he first took office, Obama suggested that the only time [...]

The Importance of Multiple Perspectives in Law Firm Decision-Making

I’ve taken advantage of the relative quiet of the end of summer to take the free University of Alberta Indigenous Canada course.  The course provides a summary of life and history in Canada according to those where were here first.  I’m about halfway through as I write this blog post, and I’m finding it both [...]

By |2020-08-31T14:05:12-04:00August 31st, 2020|Business Management, Leadership|0 Comments

Make Your Communications Meaningful (or Risk Losing Power)

I recently received an email from an organization in which I used to be quite active.  The purpose was an announcement of an amalgamation of segments of the organization.  The message was well-written in a technical sense.  It included a summary of the change, some of the activities leading up to the decision for the [...]

By |2020-08-16T13:31:29-04:00August 16th, 2020|Business Management, Communications|0 Comments

Lessons Learned from a Law Firm Breakdown

(This article first appeared in SLAW)  The line between bad strategy and a law firm collapse is as thin as a noose.   Yet law firms practice bad strategy on a regular basis.  Take heed from the lessons of a very public breakdown. A client recently gave me a copy of Norman Bacal’s book “Breakdown, the Inside [...]

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