One of our fellow PMAs recently shared a group photo that was taken almost 15 years ago.  It prompted us to think about that meeting, and some of our former colleagues who have gone on to other employment in other industries.  One such person is Diane Ellis, a brilliant lady who once worked with the Arizona State Bar and is now a successful psychologist and counselor.  The following is a tip that she was the mastermind behind, and it’s probably even more useful now than it was when she first coined it.  We’ve spiffed it up a little to take …

In writing this tip, we are cognizant that today is American Thanksgiving and that Canadian Thanksgiving was not all that long ago.  Of the authors, one of us is American and one is Canadian. Accordingly it seemed appropriate to focus today’s tip on the act of giving thanks.

What is giving thanks?  It is also called gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness or appreciation. It is a feeling of genuinely and positively acknowledging the acts of another.  It costs nothing but means everything.  In some cases it can never be felt or acknowledged by those whose acts you are appreciating – such as …

There are many ways to orient your practice.  Many lawyers set up their practices around their needs in terms of producing legal work. This is all quite natural since you need to be working in this environment at all times – it makes sense to set things up so you put your needs first so you are working as effectively and efficiently as possible – right?

Wrong.

Advisor after advisor states that to exceed client expectations – to have clients who truly sing your praises to others – you need to place your own needs second behind those of your …

There is much interest in taking a law firm paperless today and for good reason.  Moving to the digital or paperless practice of law offers many benefits and cost-savings in addition to being *green*.

We find that when starting to talk about going paperless, the discussion typically becomes mired in details such as: ­e-document formats (Adobe Acrobat PDF/A — the archival PDF format), the media on which the electronic documents are to be stored (locally? backed up onto a remote device? on the cloud?), scanners, remote access, security  and the like. Some firms want to discuss using  electronic storage only …

As Hurricane Sandy barrels down on the east coast and BC is still gently trembling from last week’s earthquake, we can’t help but advise you to think about what would happen if a disaster were to take place in your city, to take a look at what plans you currently have in place to cope, and to make changes if needed.

Busy law firms  seldom think about the possibility of an office fire, but the effects of a fire could devastate your law practice.  The fire doesn’t even have to start in your office suite; down the hall or one …

While there is something to be said for a face-to-face meeting, you can get just as much or more done at a virtual meeting, especially if you use some of the new tools that let you collaborate across the web. Virtual meetings have several benefits: you can hold them on an ad hoc basis without leaving your desk, and you don’t incur the time and expense of traveling to an in-person meeting.

You can easily “meet” your clients virtually, either by phone or by video. The phone is effortless – everyone knows how to use a phone. Video conferencing, too, …

Many lawyers are fearful of moving away from hourly-rate billing because they are concerned that alternative-billing will be a risky bet.  Is there a way to ensure that you, the lawyer (or the “house” in betting parlance) will win the majority of the fixed-fee bets?

Of course there is, but you have to lay the groundwork before moving to this type of billing.  Here is one suggested method.

First, track or review your actual time and amount billed for all files of the type for which you are considering moving to fixed rate billing.  You should probably review not less …

Someone once said: “Life is a series of interruptions interrupted by interruptions.” No one recorded who said it… the person doing the recording was probably interrupted when they were about to write that down…

But as practising lawyers, we are interrupted all the time.  When it comes to recording your billable time, being interrupted before you capture that time can be costly.

You get to the end of a crazy day. You’re wiped. You’ve been running around like a maniac all day, responding to and sending e-mails, talking with clients on the phone, putting out fires and drafting …

Are you making the most out of your voicemail system?

As Joe Walsh of The Eagles once sang:

So I got me an office, gold records on the wall.
Just leave a message, maybe I’ll call.
…
Life’s been good to me so far

How many times have you called someone only to be greeted by a message that says: “Hi. You have reached Joe.  I am unavailable. Please leave a message.”

What is wrong with this greeting?

First, if you don’t know Joe you have no idea if you have reached the right person or even the right organization. …

These days it seems that many young people are reconsidering a decision to enter or stay in law.  The authors think that there are many reasons to still value a legal career.  But there are also some important questions to ask of yourself in considering a career in the law.

For one, a career in law offers you not just a job – it offers you much more.    Your legal career has the possibility of offering you novel and fascinating work that continually changes and brings you in touch with bright and interesting people. Your skills will be challenged at …