I am a huge fan of Tom Peters. Not a mindless disciple, mind you, but he is provocative in the best way. He makes me think. Tom’s recent rant about the healthcare system is worth reading, but in your mind, substitute the word "legal" for "healthcare." Pretty ugly, isn’t it? As with customer-care and people… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2008
Trust. Earned Or There Until Lost?
Posted in CommentaryI have frequently used a pair of boots to illustrate the notion of perspective. Boots are one thing is you’re wearing a nice pair of broken in boots, quite another if you’re looking at the bottom of a boot as you’re being stepped on. Same object, different perspectives. This notion of perspective applies equally to… Continue Reading
An Email Pet Peeve: Auto-reply
Posted in Client Communications"I will be out of the office until Tuesday, August 19. If your matter is urgent, please contact my assistant, Robin Hood, at 222-555-7777, or reach me on my cell phone at 222-555-9999. Thank you." You have a Blackberry–everybody does. Use it. This is the 21st Century. We have technology that allows people to communicate… Continue Reading
Great Billable Hour Joke
Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesDid you hear the one about the General Counsel who went shopping for hours? " I’ll have a dozen of the $380 hours and half a dozen of the $500 hours. The $250 hours are looking particularly good this morning, so I’ll have twenty of those." Have you heard it? Neither have I, actually. I… Continue Reading
Clients schmients. Do Firms Really Care About Their Clients?
Posted in Client Service, CommentarySuzanne Lowe of Expertise Marketplace reports here on the results of work by Patrick McKenna. Here are three findings regarding law firms and their use of client teams: 63% of all firms (of all sizes) reported having NO budget specifically allocated to support their client teams Only 4% of firms (none over 500 attorneys) identified… Continue Reading
The World Lost A Good Man Today
Posted in CommentaryRandy Pausch died today. I feel terribly saddened. On the other hand, I can’t help but feel enriched by the enormous grace with which Randy led his life even as he knew death was on his doorstep. If you haven’t yet watched it, you owe it to yourself to watch The Last Lecture.
We need zero-based thinking.
Posted in CommentaryI just came out of a meeting that included by inside and outside lawyers. I was stunned by the lack of self-critical thinking on the part of the outside counsel. Not that inside counsel were immune to the notion, but I was hearing a lot "we’re not the problem, it’s other firms" or "the problem… Continue Reading
Both sides: you reap what you sow
Posted in Client Communications, Client Service, Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesFor you GCs in the audience: how is it possible for this to happen? How is it possible a firm can spend that much money and you don’t know the detail of what the firm is doing? On a matter of this importance, where the fee is going to be large, you would have a… Continue Reading
End Of Billable Hour Caused By Sensitive Workplaces?
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesIn an article sure to drive Dan Hull crazy (go here for Dan’s thought on sensitively accommodating the needs of Gen-Y-ers), The AmLaw Daily has published "Lawyers and Pros Say Flex Schedule’s Time Has Come." Here’s the line that caught my attention: Lawyers won’t have to be slaves to the billable hour for much longer,… Continue Reading
Should We Value Collaboration?
Posted in CommentaryAre two heads better than one? Four better than two? I am sure there are exceptions, but frequently the answer is yes. But let’s sharpen the question, shall we? If your client has a tough problem that she wants your help to solve, will you come up with the best ideas by yourself or working… Continue Reading
Shouldn’t Money-Back Guarantees Be The Norm?
Posted in CommentaryWhy don’t lawyers provide this for their clients? If you’re a great lawyer, or even if you’re just fairly good, why not provide this guarantee? Surely you cannot guarantee an outcome, and your client must understand that, but the level of your service, effort and commitment certainly goes a long way toward creating a… Continue Reading
Legal On Ramp: The On Ramp To The Future?
Posted in CommentaryI joined Legal On Ramp. I know this isn’t "call CNN and issue a press release" kind of stuff. But it does afford me the opportunity to offer some thoughts on the future of how we provide services to our clients and how are clients are likely to evolve as consumers. My good friend Jeff… Continue Reading
CNN’s Zakaria: Perfect storm hitting U.S. economy
Posted in CommentaryYou can read an interesting interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria here. I was interested to see his use of the "Perfect Storm" metaphor to describe what is going on with the economy. CNN: How bad is the U.S. economy right now? Zakaria: It almost looks like a perfect storm. We have a collapsing housing market,… Continue Reading
Lake Wobegon Effect Alive And Well
Posted in Client Service"It turns out that managing the relationship between in-house counsel and law firm attorneys is a lot like dating …." Ughhh. I had just eaten dinner. But with that … er ….eye-catching introduction , Inside Counsel begins its report on the 19th Annual Survey of General Counsel. For those of us who blog in… Continue Reading
Is Mr. Rogers really Dan Hull in disguise?
Posted in Client ServiceSeparated at birth? Or maybe the son of Rogers? You be the judge. Seriously, Dan is much better looking (and younger too!). But Dan disclaims any relationship, including personality-wise. And in the context of client service, that’s a good lead-in to a terrific analysis of client selection. Dan’s fabulous post, Does client service mean "being… Continue Reading
Voicemail Greetings and TMI
Posted in Client CommunicationsWe’ve all experienced this. You call someone. The message starts. "Hi, I’m away from my desk…." And it goes on and on. And on some more. Ever hear this kind of message: " I’m visiting a really important client in a really exotic city and won’t be back in the office for several days. However,… Continue Reading
“Teach A Person To Fish ….”
Posted in Client ServiceFrom the "did-I-read-that-headline-correctly" file comes this post from Gerry Riskin: "When Better Service Is A Bad Thing." Gerry Riskin saying better service is a bad thing? Say it isn’t so! Well, as always, Gerry has a compelling point to make. Be sure to check it out.