Category: Law Office Management

Attend NAMWOLF’s 2016 Annual Meeting, September 14-16 in Houston, Texas

Join NAMWOLF at the 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo in Houston, Texas. The Annual Meeting is a great opportunity to increase your participation and relationships with NAMWOLF Law Firm Members. All attendees further benefit by attending CLE sessions specific to Law Firm Member practice areas, which provides greater insight into each Law Firm Member’s experience and capability to handle complex legal matters.

NAMWOLF Annual Meeting

The NAMWOLF Annual Meeting & Law Firm Expo is a three-day conference providing unique opportunities to connect corporate counsel from Fortune 1000 companies and minority and women owned law firms. The conference features NAMWOLF’s signature event, the Law Firm Expo, which provides an opportunity for In-House Counsel to meet with the Nation’s top minority and women owned law firms in a relaxed networking environment. We provide top notch continuing legal education and networking.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit www.namwolfmeetings.org  for the conference schedule, room block information, and registration information.

Gamification in Thought Leadership; not Just a Game: Education, Good Habits and Competition

gamification in thought leadershipFor the past few weeks, Pokémon Go has been a conversation starter.  The game has made headlines for getting kids out of the house bike riding and taking walks, and everyone seems caught up in the craze.  If you’ve been to a museum, or a park, or a shopping mall lately, you’ve most likely seen people bent over their phones wandering around talking about Pikachus and Rattatas. If the game has taught us anything, besides the location of the nearest PokéStop, it’s the motivational power of games.

It’s no secret that it can be a challenge to get attorneys to commit to a thought leadership strategy. It takes time away from billable hours and it can take awhile to see results. One intriguing strategy is gamification—game mechanics applied to non-game situations to encourage users to behave in a certain, desired way—to get marketing initiatives off the ground. Heather McCullough1 of Society 54 is an expert on gamification platforms, so NLR reached out to her to get our questions about gamification and thought leadership answered.

An important ingredient in any gamification initiative is buy-in. Heather says, “It is important to have an internal champion who will help to lead the effort and encourage participation. I have seen time and again efforts fail because they are being led by the Marketing or Business Development department with little to no visible support from management or other attorney(s).”  It is key that firm leadership indicate their support for the efforts, and nothing communicates that better than consistent, active participation in the efforts.  This visible approval and leadership can help encourage buy-in.  Having an enthusiastic participant in a leadership role can encourage participation firm-wide. This helps get the ball rolling before the fun of the game –and the spirit of competition– takes over.  Heather shares, “ We have a client whose managing partner is the champion for their gamified business development efforts and he communicates regularly with the attorneys about the competition – who is doing well, who needs to improve and then sharing some best practices which can help everyone improve their efforts. This firm not only seen tremendous buy in from the attorneys but also are realizing real monetary returns from their efforts.”

McCullough made it clear that any gamification strategy had to be clearly thought out—it is not just a game. It is important to understand your goals: what do you want the final product to be?  McCullough  says, “It is incredibly important to know what the firm is hoping to accomplish with the increased effort around writing thought leadership and design the gamification strategy with that at the center.”

For a thoughtful, effective, educational gamification strategy, it’s important to remember the unique challenges of thought leadership development, as well as the best practices for content.  Folding good thought leadership principles into any game is an important tool to maximize the efforts.  Heather says, “When we design gaming platforms for our clients, we always include thought leadership efforts into the activities available. . . this includes research, writing, publishing, repurposing and educating his/her peers on the issues discussed.”  Breaking down a large task—like writing for a blog—into smaller pieces—and rewarding those pieces can make it easier to get started.  If it’s easier to get started, more content is created.  Additionally, breaking the process down allows attorneys to see opportunities to create content on their own, again increasing the amount of content produced.  As McCullough points out, “The effort of writing is most important because there are many avenues to distribute content, even simply adding it to the individual attorney’s bio. With more content for a firm to choose from for distribution, the success will come.”

Creating thought leadership can be a very solitary process–but that doesn’t mean that it can’t get competitive. Heather says, “Attorneys are amazingly competitive and while the actual act of writing is a solitary endeavor, game-like elements can be incorporated into the process and competition can happen among the individuals and points can be awarded for a variety of different components.”  What those components are can be up to the individual goals of the firm–but it is a solid strategy to reward good habits so the game encourages good habits–and also educates attorneys about what those good habits are.  For example, McCullough says,

There is a plethora of ways that writing can be rewarded and rewarding for the attorneys involved.  For example, writing for a business audience vs. a legal audience (no legal-ease, please), keeping the article under a certain number of words, writing one article and then providing the specific content that can be used on various platforms (e.g. condensing the message to 140 characters for Twitter and also providing a solid synopsis to be included on LinkedIn), or co-writing with an attorney from another practice area.

Along with encouraging behavior, gamification is a great way to encourage attorneys to educate themselves about good practices.  Heather says, “I believe that you could use gamification elements, such as badges and status symbols, to ‘reward’ attorneys for participating in educational sessions. Additional badges and status symbols could be provided to attorneys who chose to lead the educational sessions which encourages enhanced participation and preparation.”  The educational sessions are great chances for top-content producers at the firm to share their secrets, and to share the firm’s overall strategy for content production.

As with any initiative, gamification is not something to set into motion and then walk away.  It requires nurturing and re-evaluation to make sure your original goals are still being met by the game.  Heather says, “Many companies who have used game elements to improve or increase desired behaviors have reported  fantastic results. The gamification aspect served to not only motivate the individual(s) initially but also proved to help sustain the efforts longer term. That being said, there is a natural fatigue that happens with any new effort so steps should be taken to regularly shift the parameters of any of game, reset certain elements and also maintain consistent dialogue with participants to uncover areas of improvement.”

Understanding your goals and defining them can simplify the design process and bring your efforts to bear on the behaviors you want to encourage.  The sky’s the limit–creativity is a tremendous asset in designing a gamification program, and generating something that helps meet your needs and brings fun, excitement and competition into the firm is completely within reach.

ARTICLE BY Eilene Spear of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
Copyright ©2016 National Law Forum, LLC

1 Heather McCullough is Certified in Gamification by the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.  She has spoken about Gamification within law firms, along with her business partner Jill Huse, from coast to coast.  The National Law Review had the opportunity to hear Heather and Jill speak at the recent LMA Midwest Legal Marketing Technology Conference.

Time Management for Lawyers: Did You Have a Week or Did the Week Have you?

time managementAs a business development coach for attorneys, no one understands the stress and demands placed on a legal practitioner better than I do. Imagine spending your entire day listening to multiple people complain about the demands being placed on them and additional stress that’s created when we discuss investing time in business development. It makes perfect sense why most attorneys shy away from their marketing activities.

Time challenges aside, you must know by now that nothing will have a greater impact on your personal and financial freedom than having your own book of business. Therefore, it’s never been more important to effectively manage your time to ensure you can fit in the billable hours and business development, while still having the balance with your family or personal time. Here are three key tips to ensure you have the growth and balance to create the career you’ve been dreaming of:

Time Tip #1:  Have a solid plan for business development

Other than doing nothing, the worst thing you can do as a lawyer is to approach business development willy-nilly.  Attending events, writing articles or even speaking can be ineffective if your audience isn’t aligned with your goals. You need to have a plan in place to ensure you are spending your time in the right places with the right people. Think about the types of buyers and strategic partners you need to meet. Ask yourself, where do they spend their time?  How do I get in front of them?  How many do I need to build relationships with to grow my book?

A good plan should lay out your goals, strategies and tactics to accomplish your objectives in the fastest time possible. Think of the plan as a GPS. Before we had this tool, we would drive miles out of our way before turning around. Now the GPS tells us when we made a bad turn, but how to get back on track. This is what a good plan will do for you.

Time Tip #2: Use your calendar to schedule time for business development

We schedule our meetings for a closing, deposition or a trial, then why not schedule time for business development. They are all important and need to get done, so treat them with equal importance. Based on where you are in your career, how much time you need to carve out and your goals to grow your book, there needs to be an emphasis on carving out time daily or weekly for business development. Here are a couple of thoughts and best practices to think about:

  • Look at your calendar to find times when you are less likely to be distracted by email, phone calls or other people in your office. Not to boast, but I get into my office three days a week at 6 am. This gives me a solid six hours a week when I can get emails out, leave voice mails or make contacts through LinkedIn. If you’re a night owl, that might be better for you.
  • Once you do get meetings on your calendar, be sure to use the meeting invite tool to ensure that these meeting stick.  Changing schedules and cancellations are sometime inevitable; however we can curtail them slightly by getting into someone’s calendar right away. If you’re not sure how to use this tool, ask the person in the office next to you. It’s become as popular as emailing.
  • Use the calendar to schedule EVERYTHING! If you have to make a call, write an email or follow up with someone, schedule it. As I mentioned earlier, you need to start treating your marketing activities the same way you treat the law. Think of your schedule like an advanced “to-do” list. The more you use your calendar to schedule things, the more you will actually do. Just seeing a follow up call from a networking event up on your screen will prompt you to follow through.

Time Tip #3: Always pick the low-hanging fruit first

With all of the networking groups, associations and coffee meetings to choose from, you may quickly find your time drained away from you. One of the first things I suggest to attorneys is to look closely at your network and find the easiest way to obtain new business. This might include meeting with existing clients to cross-sell, up-sell or find quality introductions. You also might have some family or friends who are in power positions, but you haven’t tapped into that yet. Whatever the situation, it’s critical to leverage these contacts first.

A few concerns that you might have with this approach is the possibility of “blowing” the opportunity or “disrupting” the relationship. While this is always a remote possibility, here are some soft and gentle approaches that might ease your mind when venturing into uncharted territory:

  • Be curious. You’re a lawyer right? Use that as your excuse to ask a thousand questions about this person’s business. Everyone has goals and challenges that they’d be more than happy to share with you. Just be a great listener and ask deeper open-ended questions to find a way to add value. Value might be discussing the law in your office over coffee and value might be referring them to someone who can help solve a problem today. Either way, you will have a much better idea of the opportunity for you to do business now or in the future.

An example of this would be at a family function where you see Uncle Dan every year. He owns     a $20 million dollar website company. You can ask him, “What do you love about your business?” and “What types of challenges do you have running a company of that size?” Once     you start Uncle Dan talking about his favorite subject, himself, you can keep asking deeper questions to identify a possible need or a question he might have for you on the legal side.

  • Ask for Advice. In this scenario, you are looking to better understand the mindset of a business owner or GC as you are working to grow your own practice. Ask some great questions to obtain their advice and help. It’s then possible that they might try to help you with your goals, make an intro to someone they know or allow you to share your knowledge to help with a problem within their own company.
  • Look to obtain an introduction from an existing client. Look, you’re good at what you do and your client is very happy. In addition, you’ve invested time taking her to lunch, a game, golfing, etc.  Maybe it’s time to ask for a high level introduction to someone in her network that might want to have a similar experience.

It might make sense to schedule a lunch with your client, and before getting off the call say, “I’m looking forward to our lunch on Friday. I do have a favor to ask that would be really meaningful to me. I know you are well connected and have been very happy with my work. Would you be open to introducing me around to one or two of your business associates?” This type of question is permission based and should be received positively. The worst that can happen is that she will say “no.” The best thing can be an intro to a new client that could make your year! Plus, if she does say “no,” it might be a wake-up call that you might need to work on your relationship building skills.

One way or another, you have to get your time under control. You can create a more focused approach to business development, utilize your calendar at a higher level or focus on low-hanging fruit. Whatever the case, don’t wait. Sometimes you just have to draw a line in the sand and say, “no more.”  The best thing you can do is to schedule time to get organized with your time.

ARTICLE BY Steve Fretzin of Sales Results, Inc.

Copyright @ 2016 Sales Results, Inc.

Building a Book of Business and Advancing to Law Firm Leadership: Women who Have Navigated the Course Discuss Core Elements of Success

law firm leadership

At a time when only 4 percent of the 200 largest U.S. law firms have women in firm-wide leadership positions[1], only 19% of the equity partners at the “50 Best Law Firms for Women” are women and 96% of AmLaw firms report that their highest paid partner is male[2],  it seems opportune to see what women in leadership roles have to say about advancing to firm leadership, strategies for building a book of business, mentorship, and ways they have found and nurtured success. The National Law Review connected with attorneys Ann Zucker[3] and Anthoula Pomrening[4] at this year’s Managing Partner Forum’s Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA.  We recently had the opportunity to speak them, as well as attorney Paula Fritsch, regarding their leadership roles at their firms.

Communication, Transparency and Trust Building at all Levels of the Firm

Navigating a leadership role can be a challenge, but communication and transparency go a long way.  Zucker, of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP, points out that “Trust among the lawyers in our firm is based upon predictability, transparency and forthrightness….the leadership team can foster that atmosphere by modeling those traits.”  Along those lines, Fritsch of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP[5] says ” Communication is key . . . I’ve seen the biggest strides when the partnership can have open and frank discussions about an issue.  Issues that are decided through back channel and closed door discussions can result in division.” Zucker agrees, saying “Communicating with the partners and employees frequently about what is going on at the firm encourages an atmosphere of trust.”

But, trust building and effective communication doesn’t happen overnight; it is a long, strenuous process.  points out that it is not too early to begin building the trust, even if you aren’t in a position of power in your firm.  She says, “The trust building process is long term, it doesn’t begin when you start work on the Executive Committee.” Earlier leadership positions help build the trust, but being a presence at the firm and having relationships with colleagues, no matter where you are in the firm or where your career is at the moment is important.  As Pomrening,  of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP, points out, “I began as a law clerk 19 years ago; I have known many of these people for almost 20 years.”

In any leadership role, however, being able to tune into what is best for the firm as a whole is crucial.  Zucker says, “decisions in a law firm are tough because sometimes there are conflicts among what’s best for the client, what’s best for the firm and what’s best for the individual lawyer.  I think some of the blurriness disappears if you can identify the answer to each of those questions.”  Pomrening agrees, saying, “You have to think about the whole–what’s the best thing for the clients and the firm, rather than an individual attorney?  I try to stress that in whatever I do on a daily basis.  Whether it’s a pitch or identifying a leadership position for somebody else, I’m always looking at it in terms of what is best for the whole.”

Own Your Destiny – Build a Book of Business

One important thing for all attorneys and success in a law firm environment is being able to find ways to nurture and build your own book of business.  Being able to successfully generate new matters for the firm is an important step in finding success, wherever your career takes you.  Fritsch says, “You have to get yourself out there and make yourself visible.  Pick an area that interests you and become an expert in that area, and if that is in a niche space, even better.”   Ann Zucker emphasizes that the best way for individuals to generate business is to do what they like to do.  She says, “You have to do what you are comfortable doing.  If you do something you are not comfortable doing it’s going to show and it’s not going to be useful.  For example, if your thing is talking on panels on a specific topic, then do that. If you like to write articles, then focus your time on that. You don’t have enough time to do things that you don’t like or that you are not good at. But you need to figure out what’s best for you, where do you shine and focus your efforts there.”

Find Someone or a Group of Someones Who Can Help You Through the Process – Keep up Your End of the Relationship

Mentorship is also important when establishing yourself in a law firm, both in honing legal skills and building the relationships that are so crucial to generating business.  Though it can be tricky for some younger female associates to develop such relationships as the vast majority of practice groups leaders and other law firm management members are older males.  Zucker says, “A good mentor puts you in a position where you can grow and learn, and they are always going to be cognizant of that–if it’s taking you to court, bringing you to a client pitch, taking you along even if you are not necessarily needed–so you can develop relationships.  These are opportunities to develop legal skills, but also business–Clients get to see you and you have to get out there for people to get to know you.”  In order to make a mentor relationship work, it takes effort on both parts.  Paula Fritsch says, “A mentee should be open with the mentor about what they want out of the relationship, and the mentor may have different ideas for the relationship.”

As with everything, communication is key.  Zucker points out that the relationship requires time and effort, saying, “Both the mentor and the mentee need to take time to nurture the relationship.  Whether official or unofficial relationships, you need to spend time–lunch, cup of coffee, to check in to see how things are going, what opportunities they are looking for.”  As with any meaningful relationship, sometimes things need to be said that are hard to hear.  Fritsch suggests, “as a mentee, be prepared to take some criticisms from your mentor – they may have some things to share that are hard to hear, but a good mentor shares the good and the bad to help you grow.”

Another strategy Anthoula Pomrening suggests is to have a group of trusted colleagues as a sounding board.  These are individuals you can run ideas by, and try things out on to see how they sound or how to approach a problem.  By trying different approaches–out loud, you can get a sense of what resonates and perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t. Pomrening says, “This group can help you address certain situations that you aren’t sure how to approach, and it is very useful.”

Even though women and men enter law school in equal numbers, and work next to each other as associates in equal numbers, a huge disparity in leadership positions and income still exists at law firms. Women who have moved up in the ranks despite the odds, build trust and relationships early in their careers and as they advance. Young female law firm associates who want to advance and prosper generally do best when they find not only a mentor, but a sponsor or community of advisors who can help them navigate the hidden rules of advancement in their firm’s hierarchy and discover the tools necessary to build a book of business.

It’s been noted in numerous surveys and articles that female attorney’s median billable and total hours generally lag male attorneys at all levels.   However, for nonbillable hours, women above the associate level record significantly more hours than male attorneys.[6]    Many thanks to the women who took the time to contribute their thoughts, suggestions and nonbillable time to this article.

ARTICLE BY Eilene Spear & Jennifer Schaller of The National Law Review / The National Law Forum LLC
Copyright ©2016 National Law Forum, LLC

[1] Large Law Firms are Failing Women Lawyers, the Washington Post, February 18, 2014

[2] Catalyst.org March 3, 2015 Women in Law in Canda and U.S.

[3] Ann Zucker is the Managing Partner of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP,  a  Connecticut-based business law firm.

[4] Anthoula Pomrening is an Intellectual Property partner with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP.

[5] Paula S. Fritsch, Ph.D. is an Intellectual Property partner with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP in Chicago.

[6] National Association of Women Lawyers and NAWL Foundation Releases Seventh Annual Survey, ABA Young Lawyers Division, October 22, 2012

Retaining Millennials at Law Firms Requires Change

Millennials law firmManaging attorney departures at a law firm can be a daunting task, especially if a departing attorney has a book of business and takes clients along when leaving the firm. Although it can be difficult for the firm, a practice area and, often, the attorneys who remain, it has been a fairly rare occurrence in the past, particularly for equity partners.

That rarity is changing at an increasing rate as baby boomers have phased out of the workforce, leaving millennials to become the largest percentage of the U.S. employee pool. In fact, millenials are expected to make up 75 percent of our nation’s workers by 2030. They bring a different attitude regarding their careers and longevity with a particular company than we have become accustomed to, especially in a law firm culture.

As most business professionals are aware, it takes much more money to hire and train a new employee than to simply retain astute professionals. And, with millennials’ perceptions of how office life should be, law firms will need to pay much more attention to those ideals in order to keep excellent talent, which is imperative for a successful firm.

Millennial Expectations

So, what do millennials expect in the way of work life? This is a frequently discussed topic in the media, at companies and within law firms throughout the world. I’ve read several good articles on the subject lately and will share from one in particular written by Jeff Fromm for Forbes magazine.

Fromm, who consults on the “Millennial Generation” or “Gen Y,” often speaks about the attributes these employees want from their companies, and it’s not all about salary and benefits.

Although there is no precisely defined birth date range for this segment of the population, it is often described as people reaching young adulthood around the year 2000. These individuals were raised with technology and gadgets at a time when developing a child’s self esteem and individuality was a predominant theme in educational and behavioral methodologies.

Other attributes discussed include:

    1. Millenials want to be a part of  “the process.” They have strong entrepreneurial tendencies and desire growth. If they do not feel they are growing at a company or firm, they are much more likely to move to another than their older peers.
    2. Millenials prefer to be coached and mentored instead of “bossed” or just told what to do. Interestingly, this does not mean that they want to work independently with little supervision; it’s quite the opposite. They actually prefer more interaction and feedback than the typical baby boomer.

Conforming to the Millennial Way of Life

So, what does this mean for law firms and particularly law firm management, practice area leaders and the like? It means an almost 180-degree change in the way associates have been managed in the past.

Millennial attorneys will want to be part of the process from the beginning. They are not content to receive a directive such as, “Research a particular point of law and prepare an annotated brief on the subject.” Instead, they want to know about the case, why the research is important for the case and how it will be used to benefit the case.

Likewise, instead of just receiving a red-lined document back with few instructions regarding how to improve the work, millennials will prefer to discuss how the work product was perceived, why changes were made and how the changes make the information better in relation to the case. They want to learn and grow from the process; i.e., from performing their work.

These types of processes will, indeed, make for a better learning experience for associates, enhance their skills and grow more capable team members. However, this approach will also take more time and patience on the leader’s behalf. Just a “do as I say” directive, without an explanation of why to do it, doesn’t sit well with a millennial. Over time, such treatment will erode the associate’s desire to stay at the firm.

Millennial Mentoring

Remember, these younger attorneys need to feel included and that they are growing and making a difference to be motivated and engaged. Just receiving a good paycheck and the chance at equity ownership isn’t a long-term motivator for them. That really is a cultural change in how many, if not most, young associates used to be trained to be the future leaders of a law firm.

Also, consider that dramatic change in a firm’s processes can’t happen all at once, or else the culture will implode. Instead of instituting entirely new training and evaluation programs, try adding in or updating your firm’s processes. As a start, adding a strong associate mentoring program with real checks and balances will go a long way toward including associates in the process. And know that opening up the lines of communications top-down and bottom-up at any organization also will result in better operations and more-satisfied employees. If good communication isn’t standard at your firm, offer training across the board.

The impact the changing workforce has had on law firms isn’t just beginning … it is happening and must be addressed now to avoid major business operational issues for law firms. Take note of this growing trend and make the necessary changes to ensure your firm has the best talent today and in the future.

ARTICLE BY Sue Remley of Jaffe
© Copyright 2008-2016, Jaffe Associates

12 Tips for Getting the Most Business Out of Speaking Events

speaking eventsSpeaking provides credibility and visibility, both of which are very helpful in terms of acquiring new clients. Yet, despite the significant time and effort that it takes to prepare presentations, many attorneys find that speaking events are not producing as much business as they had hoped. The following tips are intended to help lawyers identify areas to fine-tune their approach, in order to produce better results going forward.

  1. Find the Best Audience – Speaking to a wide range of groups just to get experience can be a very good idea. However, once an attorney becomes more comfortable and skilled at communicating to groups and managing the dynamics of a room, it is important to start actively seeking the ideal audience. This may take some trial and error. The best organizations for reaching a particular niche may not be as obvious as one might think. If you are not getting the business you want, this is the first place to look.
  2. Choose a Critically Important Topic – Even if you are speaking to an ideal audience, you may not be addressing an issue that would inspire them to hire you. They may attend simply because they are curious about the subject and want to be prepared for the future, rather than because they view the issue as a serious concern on which they are willing to spend money. It may take some experimentation in order to identify topics that hit the sweet spot, both resonating with the audience, and showcasing your passion and expertise.
  3. Choose an Enticing Title – A well-crafted title increases attendance and enthusiasm for the topic dramatically. On one hand, this could be seen as superficial; but on the other hand, if a speaker goes out of her way to choose an amusing or compelling title, it is reasonable to assume that she made similar effort with the entire presentation.
  4. Make Sure the Description Accurately Represents the Content of the Presentation – There are two major ways this can go awry.  First, sometimes an event organizer will write the program description for you.  If you do not control the way the program is being advertised, it is very likely that the “wrong” people will attend or that they will come with expectations that are at odds with what you actually provide. This can lead to a confused or disappointed audience and a lot of frustration for the speaker. The second common way this happens is when the speaker writes a program description before designing the presentation. While content may evolve through the preparation process, it is important to keep the program in alignment with the description.
  5. Come Across as Personable – While an attorney’s experience and expertise are important, clients are a lot more interested in doing business with those whom they like. Public speaking does not come naturally to everyone, and even people who are usually genuine and charming may not come across as their usual likeable selves, due to nervousness, a believe that they “should” act a certain way in front of a group, etc. Some of this comes with practice, but getting feedback and simply putting greater attention on connecting with the audience can be immensely helpful.
  6. Put Aside the Perfectionism – There are a lot of variables at play when speaking to a group, and circumstance will not always go as planned.  If you are at a conference, the previous breakout session can run late, cutting into your perfectly timed presentation. The audience may turn out to have a dramatically different level of knowledge about the subject than you expected. There could be an unusually difficult audience member who won’t shut up about his own agenda. You could fall suddenly ill and have intense nausea or a hoarse voice. The list of unexpected challenges is long. Flexibility is your friend.
  7. Make Sure Your Biographical Descriptions are Consistent – If your biographical descriptions say different things about your expertise, you may be inadvertently undermining your credibility. Audience members frequently research speakers on the Internet and through social media to determine whether or not to attend a presentation, or to evaluate a speaker’s level of expertise. Thus, it is important that your law firm biography, speaker’s biography, and LinkedIn and other social media profiles all send a consistent message.
  8. Tell Them the Types of Law You Practice – Based on your presentation topic, audiences often make inaccurate assumptions about the scope of work that you do. If you offer a presentation about regulation of the electric grid, they may not realize that you also work on other types of energy or regulatory issues. Simply telling them at some point in your presentation, or using a range or examples, helps people recognize opportunities for working with you.
  9. Have a Structure for Gathering Contact Information – Asking for business cards from those who wish to receive client alerts, or offering to send out slides or other supplementary materials related to your topic is a great way to gather contact information from audience members. It is important to know the policies and procedures for the particular host organization, as some provide materials to participants electronically, others will offer the speaker a list of attendees, etc. Once you know the particulars, you can make a plan for how to request contact information from participants in way that is both inviting and appropriate.
  10. Follow up – The people who attend your program are leads, and turning them into clients generally requires follow-up. While some people who attend your presentation may immediately express interest in hiring you, most will not be shopping for an attorney right away. However, that could easily change down the line, and you want to still be in contact when it does. Therefore, it is important to have a good system in place for following up and staying in touch.
  11. Offer Insights as Well as Information – Lawyers are great at providing information on developments in the law and other technical details, but often do not offer the type of insights and generalizations that audiences find most valuable. Such comments may require caveats, but this is where your expertise becomes most evident. In a world where it’s not that hard to look up regulations, it is the context and broader implications for which clients are paying you.
  12. Make Content as Engaging as Possible – It is not always obvious how to liven up a presentation on a dry legal topic. However, one of the best ways is to use stories. Every case has a story behind it, and although the exact details may not be relevant to your audience, simply fleshing out the situation, and explaining a little bit about the characters, groups or context helps people to process and later recall the information. Don’t be scared to err on the side of being a little too interesting. If the audience can’t stay awake, they are a lot less likely to remember, let alone hire you.

Even highly effective and experienced speakers will likely be able to identify areas for improvement.  Becoming truly great at anything, from football to parenting to business development, requires constant practice, evaluation and adjustment.  The key is to just choose one or two areas to focus on at time.  Progress in any of these areas is likely to increase the number or quality of your prospects.

ARTICLE BY Anna H. Rappaport of Excelleration, LLC

© 2008-2016 Anna Rappaport. All Rights Reserved

Audience Polling Results from MPF 2016 Leadership Conference: Building for the Future

MPF Leadership ConferenceOn May 5, 2016, more than 100 managing partners and law firm leaders gathered in Atlanta for The MPF 2016 Leadership Conference. During the opening session, we distributed audience polling devices and asked participants to weigh in on a variety of issues important to leading a successful mid-size law firm. The polling technology is fun, and the results are anonymous and instantaneous. Looking at the data, here are a few highlights from this year’s Conference:

  • Ten percent (10%) of firm leaders report that their firms use psychological assessment tools as part of their hiring and recruiting process. With few exceptions, Fortune 1000 companies use these instruments routinely as they onboard and assess talent. Given the importance of recruiting and retaining top legal talent, shouldn’t your law firm be using them as well?
  • Thirty-eight percent (38%) of firm leaders say their law firms provide leadership training to junior partners and associates. Sixty percent (60%) say their firms provide training in marketing and business development. To be competitive in the long run, law firms must invest in the “soft skills” of their young lawyers.
  • Seventy-three percent (73%) of firm leaders report that that their firms are doing a “fair” or “poor” job when it comes to grooming future leaders. Just two percent (2%) say “excellent.” If your firm’s owners care about succession, here’s an area where most firms can improve.
  • Forty percent (40%) of firm leaders say their law firms are proactively dealing with underperforming equity partners. Fifty-nine percent (59%) report that they want to act, but have yet to do anything about the situation. Healthy and successful law firms recognize the importance of dealing with partners who aren’t pulling their weight.

As always, this year’s MPF Audience Polling Results provide great benchmarking data to share with your colleagues. Click here to see the full results of the MPF Audience Polling presentation.

ARTICLE BY Managing Partner Forum of The Remsen Group

Copyright 2016 The Remsen Group

The Evolving Role of Today’s Law Firm Leaders

The National Law Review is in attendance at the 23rd Managing Partner Forum today in Atlanta, Georgia. NLR Managing Director Jennifer Schaller is moderating a collaborative panel discussing investing in clients. Check out the below article by founder of the Managing Partner Forum, John Remsen.

We all know that the legal profession has changed dramatically over the past two decades, resulting in a new set of challenges that yesterday’s firm leaders never had to confront. There’s an oversupply of lawyers. More demanding and less loyal clients. More demanding and less loyal partners and associates. Staggering advances in technology. Tort reform in many jurisdictions. Skyrocketing operating expenses. Mergers and acquisitions and unprecedented competition. Certainly these and other trends have created tremendous pressures for law firm leaders—who must change the way they operate if their firms are to remain viable in the long run.

Yet most aren’t keeping pace. In the midst of all the change, far too many firms haven’t changed much at all. They run essentially the same way they did 20 years ago—like loose confederations of solo practitioners sharing office space.

Why? According to nationally known lawyer-psychologist Dr. Larry Richard and his groundbreaking research on the subject, most lawyers hate change. They also love autonomy and resist rules and structure. They have little patience and want immediate results. They don’t like risk and shun the unknown. So for many firms, it’s easier just to leave things alone.

On the other hand, some firms “get it.” These firms are fundamentally changing the way they do business, with streamlined governance, standardized systems and procedures, strategic plans, and marketing and business development programs. They enforce minimum performance standards for partners and associates. Many are also divesting themselves of low-profit clients and practice groups. They are deequating underperforming shareholders and asking disruptive lawyers—even those with big books of business—to leave. These firms are emerging as the front-runners in the market because their top levels of leadership have the moxie and vision to make change happen.

The Firm Leader as Change Agent

In today’s most successful law firms, the role of managing partner has evolved significantly, from that of a “caretaker” trying not to rock the boat to that of a dynamic consensus builder and change agent. Today the managing partner is the CEO of a multimillion-dollar entity in a rapidly changing industry and needs to exercise critical leadership skills to set the example for leaders at all other levels of the firm and thus ensure the organization’s success.

Of course, knowing that you need to set the course to success and actually doing it can be difficult, given the press of countless to-dos firm leaders tackle every day. Consider this: Last year TheRemsenGroup surveyed more than 170 managing partners from firms ranging in size from 10 to 2,200 lawyers. Of those firms, 60 percent had more than 50 lawyers. When they were asked what their most important contributions were in their roles as managing partner, building consensus among shareholders and initiating change topped the list of responses. In contrast, when asked where they spent most of their time, day-to-day administration ate up way too much of it.

We also asked if these managing partners had a job description: 74 percent did not. In addition, 76 percent did not have a clearly defined exit strategy.

What can we take from this? Too many leaders at the top levels of law firms are winging it.

Steps to More Effective Leadership

A successful firm leader must be a visionary, a communicator, a negotiator, a coach, a disciplinarian, a cheerleader and a psychologist all wrapped up in one person. Needless to say, it’s not an easy job, especially when you add management responsibilities to the mix.

There are, however, steps that the top levels of firm leadership can take to enhance their effectiveness and improve the performance of their organizations. Here, in a nutshell, is the guidebook.

  • Codify the Top Leader’s Job

Every managing partner should have a well-defined job description. It should set forth the primary responsibilities of the position, the amount of time required, and how the partner will be compensated for his or her nonbillable contributions. Also, it should account for the fact that a managing partner’s time should be spent mostly in the areas of planning, communication and consensus building. Day-to-day administration functions should be delegated to a capable administrator.

  • Appoint Strong Group Leaders

A firm needs strong leadership at all levels. Unfortunately, departments and practice groups are too often led by the most senior lawyer or the lawyer with the biggest book of business when, in fact, that may not be the right person for the job. Passion, commitment and leadership skills are required for these important roles. To help ensure the right people are put in the right positions, department heads, practice group chairs and branch office managing partners need job descriptions, just like the managing partner does.

  • Develop a Firmwide Strategic Plan

The evidence is clear. Firms that have plans outperform those that do not. Planning helps to bring everybody onto the same page, sharing the same vision for the future. Firm leaders have to embrace and encourage the planning process and the plan’s implementation at the firm, practice group and individual lawyer levels.

  • Build a Firm-First Culture

Leaders should always encourage and reward a “firm-first” mind-set and attitude among all the firm’s members. There are a variety of ways to do this, including through compensation mechanisms, but even simple steps can prove very effective. For example, insist on the term “our” clients instead of “mine” and “yours.” Leaders must do everything possible to promote trust, teamwork and fairness within the firm.

  • Lead by Example

Managing partners and practice group leaders cannot be hypocrites. They must “walk the talk” by being first in submitting their individual marketing plans, getting their time records in, mentoring younger colleagues, returning client phone calls and otherwise setting the standard for everyone in the firm.

  • Invest in the Future

According to LexisNexis’s 2007 Juris Law Firm Economic Survey, the top performing and most profitable law firms spend more per person than underperforming firms do. They are investing in the future. The lesson: Resist the temptation to enhance profitably through cost cutting. That’s a short-term fix. Profitable firms look at long-term impacts.

  • Groom Successor Leaders

The best leaders are wise enough to identify and mentor a successor for their roles. They give that person important, high-profile assignments so that the firm’s people gain trust and confidence in the successor’s leadership skills well before the torch is actually passed. In addition, managing partners in particular should have a well-defined exit strategy that is communicated to all shareholders.

  • Be Passionate

They sure don’t teach much about leadership in law schools. But that’s not an excuse for failing to strive to be the best firm leader you can be. There are many intricacies involved in steering a firm toward top performance in times of change. To learn more about them, you should attend leadership conferences and ask your firm for training. Read books and articles. Learn from other managing partners and practice group chairs. It’s important for leaders to demonstrate that they’re devoted to excellence. -After all, if the leader isn’t committed, there aren’t likely to be many followers—and the firm will stagnate as a result. Those firms with strong, passionate and committed leaders, on the other hand, will emerge as the most successful law firms of the future.

Article By John Remsen, Jr of The Remsen Group
Copyright 2016 The Remsen Group

The Evolving Role of Today's Law Firm Leaders

The National Law Review is in attendance at the 23rd Managing Partner Forum today in Atlanta, Georgia. NLR Managing Director Jennifer Schaller is moderating a collaborative panel discussing investing in clients. Check out the below article by founder of the Managing Partner Forum, John Remsen.

We all know that the legal profession has changed dramatically over the past two decades, resulting in a new set of challenges that yesterday’s firm leaders never had to confront. There’s an oversupply of lawyers. More demanding and less loyal clients. More demanding and less loyal partners and associates. Staggering advances in technology. Tort reform in many jurisdictions. Skyrocketing operating expenses. Mergers and acquisitions and unprecedented competition. Certainly these and other trends have created tremendous pressures for law firm leaders—who must change the way they operate if their firms are to remain viable in the long run.

Yet most aren’t keeping pace. In the midst of all the change, far too many firms haven’t changed much at all. They run essentially the same way they did 20 years ago—like loose confederations of solo practitioners sharing office space.

Why? According to nationally known lawyer-psychologist Dr. Larry Richard and his groundbreaking research on the subject, most lawyers hate change. They also love autonomy and resist rules and structure. They have little patience and want immediate results. They don’t like risk and shun the unknown. So for many firms, it’s easier just to leave things alone.

On the other hand, some firms “get it.” These firms are fundamentally changing the way they do business, with streamlined governance, standardized systems and procedures, strategic plans, and marketing and business development programs. They enforce minimum performance standards for partners and associates. Many are also divesting themselves of low-profit clients and practice groups. They are deequating underperforming shareholders and asking disruptive lawyers—even those with big books of business—to leave. These firms are emerging as the front-runners in the market because their top levels of leadership have the moxie and vision to make change happen.

The Firm Leader as Change Agent

In today’s most successful law firms, the role of managing partner has evolved significantly, from that of a “caretaker” trying not to rock the boat to that of a dynamic consensus builder and change agent. Today the managing partner is the CEO of a multimillion-dollar entity in a rapidly changing industry and needs to exercise critical leadership skills to set the example for leaders at all other levels of the firm and thus ensure the organization’s success.

Of course, knowing that you need to set the course to success and actually doing it can be difficult, given the press of countless to-dos firm leaders tackle every day. Consider this: Last year TheRemsenGroup surveyed more than 170 managing partners from firms ranging in size from 10 to 2,200 lawyers. Of those firms, 60 percent had more than 50 lawyers. When they were asked what their most important contributions were in their roles as managing partner, building consensus among shareholders and initiating change topped the list of responses. In contrast, when asked where they spent most of their time, day-to-day administration ate up way too much of it.

We also asked if these managing partners had a job description: 74 percent did not. In addition, 76 percent did not have a clearly defined exit strategy.

What can we take from this? Too many leaders at the top levels of law firms are winging it.

Steps to More Effective Leadership

A successful firm leader must be a visionary, a communicator, a negotiator, a coach, a disciplinarian, a cheerleader and a psychologist all wrapped up in one person. Needless to say, it’s not an easy job, especially when you add management responsibilities to the mix.

There are, however, steps that the top levels of firm leadership can take to enhance their effectiveness and improve the performance of their organizations. Here, in a nutshell, is the guidebook.

  • Codify the Top Leader’s Job

Every managing partner should have a well-defined job description. It should set forth the primary responsibilities of the position, the amount of time required, and how the partner will be compensated for his or her nonbillable contributions. Also, it should account for the fact that a managing partner’s time should be spent mostly in the areas of planning, communication and consensus building. Day-to-day administration functions should be delegated to a capable administrator.

  • Appoint Strong Group Leaders

A firm needs strong leadership at all levels. Unfortunately, departments and practice groups are too often led by the most senior lawyer or the lawyer with the biggest book of business when, in fact, that may not be the right person for the job. Passion, commitment and leadership skills are required for these important roles. To help ensure the right people are put in the right positions, department heads, practice group chairs and branch office managing partners need job descriptions, just like the managing partner does.

  • Develop a Firmwide Strategic Plan

The evidence is clear. Firms that have plans outperform those that do not. Planning helps to bring everybody onto the same page, sharing the same vision for the future. Firm leaders have to embrace and encourage the planning process and the plan’s implementation at the firm, practice group and individual lawyer levels.

  • Build a Firm-First Culture

Leaders should always encourage and reward a “firm-first” mind-set and attitude among all the firm’s members. There are a variety of ways to do this, including through compensation mechanisms, but even simple steps can prove very effective. For example, insist on the term “our” clients instead of “mine” and “yours.” Leaders must do everything possible to promote trust, teamwork and fairness within the firm.

  • Lead by Example

Managing partners and practice group leaders cannot be hypocrites. They must “walk the talk” by being first in submitting their individual marketing plans, getting their time records in, mentoring younger colleagues, returning client phone calls and otherwise setting the standard for everyone in the firm.

  • Invest in the Future

According to LexisNexis’s 2007 Juris Law Firm Economic Survey, the top performing and most profitable law firms spend more per person than underperforming firms do. They are investing in the future. The lesson: Resist the temptation to enhance profitably through cost cutting. That’s a short-term fix. Profitable firms look at long-term impacts.

  • Groom Successor Leaders

The best leaders are wise enough to identify and mentor a successor for their roles. They give that person important, high-profile assignments so that the firm’s people gain trust and confidence in the successor’s leadership skills well before the torch is actually passed. In addition, managing partners in particular should have a well-defined exit strategy that is communicated to all shareholders.

  • Be Passionate

They sure don’t teach much about leadership in law schools. But that’s not an excuse for failing to strive to be the best firm leader you can be. There are many intricacies involved in steering a firm toward top performance in times of change. To learn more about them, you should attend leadership conferences and ask your firm for training. Read books and articles. Learn from other managing partners and practice group chairs. It’s important for leaders to demonstrate that they’re devoted to excellence. -After all, if the leader isn’t committed, there aren’t likely to be many followers—and the firm will stagnate as a result. Those firms with strong, passionate and committed leaders, on the other hand, will emerge as the most successful law firms of the future.

Article By John Remsen, Jr of The Remsen Group
Copyright 2016 The Remsen Group

Lessons for Lawyers from Steve Jobs [VIDEO]

Apple LogoThis is Small Business Week and I’m going to share with you some inspiring talks by business visionaries in this week’s blog posts.

The first is one of the most famous commencement speeches ever given — the 2005 Stanford commencement address by Steve Jobs. One of my favorite lessons from Jobs’ talk is “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.”

The most successful lawyers I know have followed the less-traveled road to success. They have freed themselves from conventional thinking within the legal profession. They have marketed when others have not. They were among the first to adopt alternative fee structures while others lost clients to the hidebound billable hour. They have recruited Superstars for their firms while others were happy just to fill office chairs.

Our success in helping more than 18,000 lawyers grow their firms has always been rooted in contrarian thinking.   When firms have believed that the best path to fill their coffers was to be everything to everyone, we have demonstrated the profitable power of specialization. When firms have clung to traditional advertising, we have shown lawyers that the road to better ROI lies in isolating a target market and reaching out to them one-on-one for a more engaging experience. When the legal professional scoffed at Internet marketing and social media, we proved how having a strong online presence led to more leads.

Steve Jobs was a contrarian his whole life. Listen to Jobs speak about seeing opportunities in setbacks — even his own death, which was much closer than he knew at that time:

Article By Stephen Fairley of The Rainmaker Institute
© The Rainmaker Institute, All Rights Reserved