My colleagues and I have developed a set of writing guidelines over the years. After hearing last night about the “complexification” of transaction documents to the point the clients could not fully understand them, I thought it was a good time to share these.
Design thinking is essential to providing effective solutions
I saw something online the other day that attempted to answer the question, “how is innovation related to design thinking?” The response, written by John Coyle, a former Olympic speed skater and CEO at Speaking Design Thinking, caught my eye. He began his response by reversing the question to “how is design thinking related to innovation?” I thought that was insightful, but my appreciation for his answer ended there. Coyle defined design thinking as “a process and a mindset used to solve complex problems in unique and innovative ways.” In other words, unique-ness and innovation are inherent attributes of design thinking. I see design thinking a bit differently.
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Corporate Counsel single out Valorem as a “Mover & Shaker”
BTI Consulting Group reports that corporate counsel have singled out Valorem Law Group as a “Mover & Shaker”–“firms disrupting the legal industry by make strategic and tactical moves others don’t.” We are honored to be singled out in this fashion. From our founding in 2008, we’ve led the move to the New Normal, been named as one of 22 firms “best at AFAs,” and regularly have been recognized by corporate counsel for our brand excellence and extraordinary client service. What sets this recognition apart, however, is its validation of our move earlier this year to create ElevateNext Law and align ourselves with Elevate Services. I wanted to spend a couple of paragraphs describing what prompted this major move by my Valorem partner, Nicole Auerbach, and me.
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How a vision happens
Many people have views on how to develop a vision of change, of disruption. Having just created ElevateNext Law (with the incomparable Nicole Auerbach) and created a vision with Elevate Services and Univar, I wanted to share my “recipe.” It is a combination of George Bernard Shaw and Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Says Shaw: Some see things as they are and ask why. I dream things that never were and say why not.
Says Picard: Make it so.
So, to capsulize: Dream. Execute.
Patrick Lamb named a 2018 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Award winner
On March 19th, JD Supra announced its 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards, which recognized 240 authors from among 50,000 who published on JD Supra’s platform this past year. I am deeply honored to have been named a Readers’ Choice winner in the Marketing and Business Development category.
As described by JD Supra, the methodology for selection is:
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The Law Firm of the Future
Several news items, reports and articles in recent weeks have provided insights that should make traditional law firms nervous. Here’s what caught my eye:
The underlying connection in my most-read posts of 2017
Courtesy of JD Supra, I get data every month on how many times my posts are read. I thought it might be an interesting exercise to identify the 5 most-read posts of 2017 and see if there is any common thread. It turns out there is. Here are the most-read posts:
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Valorem honored to be named to BTI Client Service A Team for 6th Straight Year. Why it matters to us.
For the 6th straight year, Valorem was named the BTI Consulting’s Client Service A Team. We were recognized in these areas:
Renter v. Investor? Buyer v. Builder?
I have been a renter. I have been an investor in homes. I have been a buyer of homes and I have worked with a builder to design and build a home. Each experience has its pros and cons. The critical thing to making each role a successful one is to decide in advance what role you want to play. The same lesson holds true for operating a business and for operating a law department.
Justifying shadow billing as promoting diversity? Much better ways exist.
Earlier this year, Vincent Cordo, the Global Sourcing Officer for Shell, and Casey Flaherty, a consultant to law departments, wrote an article for the ACC Docket, Shell Legal—Shadow Billing. Let me begin by disclosing that I have enormous respect for the work Vincent Cordo has done at Shell and that Casey is a friend whose work I also respect greatly. However, respect and friendship do not translate into complete agreement on all issues, and this article presents an area where I disagree. I know Casey won’t be surprised.
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