At the chime of the midnight bell on April 1st, Valorem now has on office in Silicon Valley. We are so pleased to announce that David Bohrer has merged his Confluence Law Partners practice into Valorem. Dave’s addition gives us a powerful patent litigation presence on the West Coast as well as a disciple of… Continue Reading
Category Archives: General
Subscribe to General RSS FeedMaking the most of meetings–Bill Clinton style
Posted in Commentary, General, People, Places and BlawgsScott Curran, the Deputy General Counsel of The Clinton Foundation (yes, that Clinton Foundation), was this year’s first guest speaker at Valorem’s “Lunch With a Cool Person.” The mug presented to Scott confirms he is, in fact, a “Cool Person.” Scott was incredibly gracious with his time and his insights and ideas, and my… Continue Reading
“True and correct” copies
Posted in Commentary, GeneralWhen I was a young lawyer, one of my first disputes was with a partner who asked me to proofread his brief. Presented by the phrase “true and correct copy”, I dutifully struck the words “true and correct”. We fought over that edit–I lost. But I have never been willing to sign my name to… Continue Reading
Wondering on the 4th of July
Posted in Commentary, GeneralI woke this morning wondering whether I would experience the best of America in my lifetime. Certainly, the way we are as a country now is not our best. I thought about how we have divided ourselves into red and blue states, harkening back to a time when the states were union or confederate. … Continue Reading
A Trusted Advisor In the New Normal Must Be Like A Symphony Conductor
Posted in GeneralThis post can be found on the ABA Journal (online) New Normal column that I write with Paul Lippe and others.
New book on customer service
Posted in General, People, Places and Blawgs, UncategorizedComing February 7, Uncommon Service was featured today in the Daily Stat. Here is the write up on the book from the HBR store: Most companies treat service as a low-priority business operation, keeping it out of the spotlight until a customer complains. Then service gets to make a brief appearance – for as long… Continue Reading
Patent Litigator Martin Lefevour joins Valorem Law Group
Posted in General, People, Places and Blawgs, UncategorizedMy partners and I are pleased to announce that patent litigator Marty Lefevour has joined our number (formal bio here). Marty has a wealth of experience, both as an inside lawyer and as a partner at Katten Muchin. The subject matter of the litigation has been quite diverse, including software and internet-based technologies, financial exchange… Continue Reading
The importance of proofreading
Posted in Client Service, GeneralFrom the world of sports: A dispute over contract language that affects seven fired Jacksonville Jaguars assistant coaches for over $3 million may have been one of the factors that led to the dismissal of Paul Vance, the team’s senior vice president of football operations and general counsel, according to league sources. A source said… Continue Reading
Important words to know for great customer service
Posted in General, UncategorizedIn five words or less, courtesy of Tom Peters. A sample: 4 most important words: “What do you think?” (Dave Wheeler @ tompeters.com: “Most important 4 words in organization”) 4 most important words: “How can I help?” (Boss as CHRO/Chief Hurdle Removal Officer) 2 most important words: “Thank you!” (Appreciation/Recognition) 2 most important words: “All… Continue Reading
“Endless Possibilities” discussed in New Normal Post
Posted in GeneralMy latest post on the ABA Journal’s online New Normal column, Making a commitment to change and opening up ‘Endless Possibilities’ is now available. My thanks to ESPN’s John Kincade and Seth Godin for the inspiration.
Writing good insults
Posted in GeneralI received the following from a friend in California, who shares my appreciation of good writing. These are "glorious insults" from an era before we relied so heavily on four letter words: • A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." • "That depends,… Continue Reading
Value Tip of the Day–Courtesy of Valorem App
Posted in GeneralCycle much? Cycle time is one of the most significant drivers of cost. Do you track it? Do you create incentives for your outside firms to lower it? Value Tips of the Day are reprinted here from the Valorem App, available for iPad and iPhone users through the App store.
From Cubs to Valorem: a nice comment on our App!
Posted in GeneralWe received a most unusual email about our App that I just had to share. Here is the body: I saw your cool app and thought I’d send you this note. That pretty much sums it up. I was browsing for a Chicago cubs app and came across the app. As a first year law… Continue Reading
Calling All Innovative Lawyers
Posted in GeneralThe College of Law Practice Management has issued the following call: If you have developed a new and better way of serving clients, a breakthrough way to find new business, or a truly innovative way to value and sell your services, you deserve the recognition of lawyers and clients worldwide by receiving a 2011 InnovAction… Continue Reading
Seasons Greetings–A Must See
Posted in GeneralI just loved this, and in the spirit of the season, wanted to share it.
Inside Counsel Superconference starts today–Follow on Twitter
Posted in GeneralI will be joining Jeff Carr of FMC Technologies, Mary Clark of LexisNexis, and Terry Gavulic of Competitive Advantage on a panel discussing Value Fees and how to make them work. Follow the entire conference on twitter by searching #ICSC10 (which translates into # Inside Counsel Super Conference 2010). This is an example of how… Continue Reading
I’m Back
Posted in GeneralI have been unable to post much lately due to a book commitment, but I finished the last chapter yesterday and I’m back and rarin’ to go. The book, if anyone is interested, will be a thriller on Value Fees (the new name for fees formerly known as alternative). So plan to save on your Ambien… Continue Reading
Peep Voting
Posted in GeneralThe ABA Journal is running its Second "Peeps in Law" Diorama contest. The five finalists have just been announced, and I am proud to say that one of the two Valorem entries (alas, the one I was not involved with) has been chosen as a finalist. The winner will be chosen by popular vote.. So,… Continue Reading
Optimism Trumps Gloom
Posted in General2009 is over. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Friedrich Nietzsche The men and women of the legal profession are stronger today than they have been in quite some time. “I will survive.” Gloria Gaynor So will we all. 2010 is here. Work hard. Life will be better.
10 predictions to welcome the new decade
Posted in GeneralFor most people and most businesses, the end of 2009 and the end of the “aught” decade could not come soon enough. Well, rise and shine, 2010 is here. Time for a positive, upbeat attitude. (If you celebrated the end of the decade last night and “aren’t quite yourself” this morning, you can start having… Continue Reading
I am honored to receive a 2009 “Blawggie”
Posted in GeneralDennis Kennedy, the dean of law blogging, annually (since 2004) awards "Blawggies." According to Dennis: The Blawggies, which honor the best-related blogs as determined from my personal and highly-opinionated perspective, were first unleashed on an unsuspecting blogosphere in December 2004 and are now an annual pre-Christmas tradition here at DennisKennedy.Blog. I’m very pleased that this… Continue Reading
The Season For Wreaths, By Scott Greenfield
Posted in GeneralMy dear departed father served in the United States Coast Guard during WWII, so this request is one I happily accomodate. Scott Greenfield, who writes the brilliant Simple Justice, asked (via Twitter) bloggers to blog about programs that use wreaths to honor those who died in the service to their country. I thought for a… Continue Reading
A day of thanks.
Posted in GeneralI woke up this morning thinking how very lucky I am. Valorem is almost two years old, and my worst day in those two years is still significantly better than my best day in the previous 25 years, at least from the standpoint of practicing law. So I want to take a moment to thank… Continue Reading
Thank You.
Posted in GeneralOver 1,300,000 American soldiers have died in battle. Countless others have served in uniform. Honor them. Thank them.