Make More Rain : operations, legaltech 2008

LegalTech 2008 Wrap Up

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:11:54 GMT

Wrapping up the first major law-related technology show of the year (and my first live blogging event), I have taken some good and bad things with me.

The good:

It's always good to stay in touch with the trends each vendor is promoting. Based on the sessions, I think vendors may have been more reactive than trailblazing - or it could have been that the vendors that were more relevant to the topics in the sessions were prominent. Either way, I think the tone is set for a year of vendors promoting themselves as having the best E-Discovery solution.
If you are an attorney who wants to knock out CLE credits as well as get your head spinning around the hundreds of technology solutions available to meet nearly any need your firm could require, this ain't a bad place to be.
Live blogging is possible in a large tech show with the right amount of focus and determination and hopefully gives readers some value for the toil.
This show is a great place to network if you are any way affiliated with the legal profession.

The bad:

Live blogging without consistent internet connectivity is difficult. I spent my time in sessions sitting with my laptop writing the blog entries in Windows Live Writer (my current experimental desktop blogging tool), then doing a mass post when I got back to the suite where I had reliable wireless access. This is a challenge I can't believe will be remedied without more demand for live blogging and will be dictated by the luck of whether there is good wireless access at the location of the show.
There was precious little focus on financial management in the show (qualification - I am biased). One session on firm profitability (hosted by Thomson West) but that was it. On the other hand, there were 6 sessions with the word E-Discovery in the title alone! I think some wanted to make sure we understood the theme of the show - the beast in the jungle was no ordinary gorilla - it was the many faces of e-discovery.

I hope my fractured writing wasn't too much of an irritant. Please feel free to give me feedback on what you liked, disliked, or would like to see me focus more on in the future.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

LegalTech 2008 Day Three - Traffic Eases

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:56:10 GMT

Traffic is much lower this morning. Mostly consultants and other vendors running around the exhibit hall.

I asked some of those walking through about the e-discovery choices they are seeing - it seems that different vendors tackle different things under the banner of "E-Discovery". For some it is as limited as getting headers from a Lotus Notes email so you can track the origination of the email thread.

It is apparent that vendors are trying to find the right formula for selling e-discovery tools to lawyers. And at LegalTech, you will have lots from which to choose.

Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris®. For information about Juris products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income contact Juris National Sales Center:

877/377-3740, e-mail info@juris.com or go to www.Juris.com.

Rick Borstein (Adobe Systems) Podcast

Admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:48:39 GMT

Rick Borstein is a Business Development Manager specializing in the Legal Market for Adobe Systems Incorporated. Rick is a veteran of 20 years in the software business, the last fourteen with Adobe. During his tenure at Adobe, Rick has had broad exposure to all of Adobe's products including intelligent documents, digital imaging, publishing and digital video.

Rick is an Adobe Certified Expert in Acrobat and a member of the American Bar Association and International Legal Technology Association. Over the years, Rick has presented hundreds of talks targeted to the legal industry.

He has been a featured speaker at the American Bar Association’s annual Techshow, LegalTech East, LegalTech West, the National Solo and Small Firm Conference, International Legal Technology Association Conference and a variety of state and local bar conferences including the California Bar Association Conference, Missouri State Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference and many others.

Rick’s AcroLaw Blog is a popular destination for those interested in the legal application of Adobe Acrobat. The blog may be found at http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw and contains more than sixty illustrated how-to articles. Rick has contributed articles to Legal Technology News and various legal-focused websites.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Adobe Systems Incorporated is a $3B, Fortune 500 company with over 6000 employees. The company's popular Adobe Reader software is installed on over half a billion PCs around the world.

To listen to the podcast, click on the player or download link below.

Law Firm Management ABC's: Manage Your Associates

Admin — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:00:20 GMT

Management is achieving objectives through others. It's a continuing process of receiving input, processing input, taking action, receiving feedback, and repeating the process. It requires KASH in a real-time environment. It is a cycle of planning, organizing, actuating and controlling.

Prior to 1828, the path to becoming an attorney required not only to obtain a degree, but to serve several years as an apprentice before being able to practice law. President Andrew Jackson changed these requirements to break up the elitist methods of choosing attorneys (only attorneys could choose who the apprentice would be, much like real estate appraisers of today). By the end of the 1800's, apprenticeship programs for attorneys were well in decline and after the introduction of the American Bar Association in 1878, a more standardized formal process to becoming an attorney was introduced (Source: Bar Examination: Further Readings). An unintended consequence of this action was to lessen the importance of mentorship to young attorneys-in-waiting.

Today, the only qualifications (not to lessen their importance) to becoming a lawyer is a good dose of book smarts, focus and an ability to not crack under stress. Law school does much to help you think like a lawyer, but does nothing to help you act like a lawyer. Mentorship helps associates to learn from seasoned attorneys how to act as well as how to best service clients.

Management ensures that the value of mentoring is set as habit, achieving professional objectives not only for the individual, but for the firm. Unfortunately for some firms, management is treated much like strategic plans: either you spend time developing a plan but don't stick to it or you don't do it at all.

Good management starts by receiving input. Actively solicit feedback from your associates. Karen Asner wrote an article for Law.Com (Law Firm Partners Find Out What Associates Really Think of Them) regarding establishing an "upward review process":

Upward reviews give associates the opportunity to evaluate and provide input on the management and leadership performance of partners with whom they regularly work on deals, cases, committees or pro bono matters.

Law firms aiming to create an outstanding working environment for their associates and attract prospective recruits should seriously consider implementing an upward review process.

It's a good bet that associates, if put in a non-threatening environment to speak frankly, would have some pointed views on their plight. Some may be warranted; some may not, but if you want to consistently increase partner income, knowing what associates are thinking can be invaluable, especially if you are considering them as future partners. You don't want to find out after the attorney leaves how disaffected he/she was towards the shareholders. Plus, in an ideal environment, the associates are bearing the brunt of most of the work - you want to make sure they are well incented to be proper representatives of the firm, inside and outside of the office.

Implementing an upward review process is only the start: next, you have to process the input. The management committee or equivalent must review the results and develop a plan of action that will address concerns and further the firm's objectives. Accountability must be delegated to every member of the firm. Clear and concise roles and goals need to be communicated.

Then you must take action. Talking about management and goals is a waste of time otherwise. Taking action means mentoring associates - not only as to how to practice law, but how to act. Mentoring is a way to reclaim the lost art of apprenticeship. Not only will it allow the partners to dictate how the associate acts, but it also creates a bond of acceptance within the firm that the associate is part of the team. That can only help in fostering trust, a central component in management.

Measurement improves results. Always measure the effectiveness of your plan by again receiving feedback. Keep the upward review process going - quarterly, semi-annually, annually, whatever time frame will maximize the effectiveness of the campaign (understanding the resource drain on the review process - you don't want to lose productivity as a result of processes established to improve productivity). My suggestion is semi-annual.

Measure and adjust, then repeat the process. Nothing is gained by doing something only once. Consistency is the name of the game if you want to affect the habits of others. Don't let up, don't get down, never give up. Over the long run, your efforts will be rewarded with a smooth running operation that will scale with your profits.