Firm of the Future Conference

After hosting the Future Firm Forum in Ohakune the last two years, it is good to see the theme is catching on overseas.
On 23-24 October, The Law Firm of the Future conference will take place in San Diego, California. The conference has a stellar line up of speakers including Ron Baker and Chris Marston.
If you are in the area, then do yourself a favour and attend this conference. It'll be unlike any other you have attended (except, of course, the Future Firm Forum!!!).

Do downunder firms care enough about the environment?

Recently, I learned first-hand about the progress of the UK-based Legal Sector Alliance, an inclusive movement of law firms and organisations committed to working collaboratively to take action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprints and adopting environmentally sustainable practices. Created in October 2007, it now boasts over 90 member firms who are committed to taking action on its principles.
Seeing as there appears to be no similar organization 'downunder' I recently did a snap-shot survey of my subscribers to assess their commitment to acting on climate change. Although a small sample, the results suggest that firms downunder are lagging behind their UK counterparts. Over 80% of respondents were from Australia and New Zealand).

69% of respondents consider their firm has a responsibility to measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions.
44% of respondents are taking steps to reduce carbon emissions.
Only 2% of respondents are actively seeking an accreditation such as the UK's ISO14001 or the US' B corporation status.

Those who stated they are taking steps to reduce carbon emissions voted the following as their top 5 initiatives:

Turning lights off (89%)
Recycling (84%)
Reducing paper production (73%)
Turning off computers when not in use (68%)
Using environmentally friendly products (52%)

For the next 48 hours Paula Black will be offering an impressive opportunity to anyone who purchases “The Little Black Book: A Lawyer’s Guide To Creating A Marketing Habit in 21 Days.” Readers who purchase the book will receive “The Smart Lawyer’s Toolkit,” a compilation of advice from more than 30 of the most sought-after experts in the legal arena (including myself!). Click here for details.

The Business of Law now available

The Business of Law 2009, authored by Ron Pol and Ashley Balls, with contributions from David Maister and Professor Stephen Mayson, provides an in-depth analysis of the trends affecting the legal sector in New Zealand. I believe this report will not only provoke debate about the shape and future of the legal industry in New Zealand, but also stimulate better business practice in the legal profession generally. This is a 'must read' for anyone operating in the legal sector in New Zealand. To order your copy, click here.

Time to innovate

These are exciting times, for lawyers and law firms. Yes, exciting. Perhaps not the first word that comes to mind for many managing partners at the moment, given the downturn in business and the consequential squeeze on law firm profits. Yet I do believe that this slowdown is a blessing in disguise for many firms of all sizes and in all locations, providing them with the impetus and the incentive to really think differently about their businesses and to make lasting changes so that they can emerge from this downturn stronger, leaner and more effective than before...(Read more here).

What Susan Boyle Can Teach Us

The meteoric 'success' of Susan Boyle, the Scottish 47 year old spinster who was 'discovered' on talent show, 'Britain's Got Talent' last week is a heartwarming story indeed. From anonymity to global media sensation in just 5 days.

For me anyway, the episode teaches us three lessons:
1. Talent is right under your nose if you go looking for it;
2. You may be surprised by who has the talent;
3. The internet has the power to change things overnight; Susan's clip has had 25 million hits on You Tube in just a week!

Congratulations Susan on breaking the stereotypical mould.

What Managing Partners Can Learn From President Obama

President Obama’s inaugural address has been applauded around the world. And, I believe, deservedly so. As I studied the words of the speech, it struck me that not only did the speech capture the mood of the United States and world generally; it also captured the mood of the legal profession too. This could easily have been an address from a visionary Managing Partner to his colleagues upon his election.

Similar themes: ‘in the midst of a crisis’, ‘a sapping of confidence’, ‘an inevitable decline’ and ‘a future generation that must lower its sights’. While recognising these challenges, President Obama went on to offer hope pointing out that previous challenges in history were overcome by the ‘risk-takers, the doers and the makers of things.’ In outlining his ambitious plans for his presidency, he acknowledged that there were ‘some who question the scale of our ambitions....what cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them ..that stale arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.’ Sound familiar?

If President Obama were a Managing Partner, his call to action might also be very similar (allowing for one or two word changes): ‘What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, - a recognition, on the part of every lawyer, that we have duties to ourselves, to the firm and to our clients, duties that we would not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and promise of partnership.”

Managing Partners take note.

Magic circle firms in the money

No sign of a slump at the top end of the legal sector! The Times online today reports an increase in revenues and profits for 'magic circle' firms in London.
Clifford Chance heads the list of high performers reporting record revenues of £1.3billion and profits per equity partner last financial year of £1.15million. To read the Times' report, click here

Escaping the Billable Hours Trap

The crusade against the billable hour continues. This week Jeff Bleich, President of the State Bar of California added his name to the list of advocates who want to get rid of the billable hour in the California Bar Journal The point of this debate is neatly summed up in the conclusion to his article:

"The point is that as a profession, we need to start finding billing methods that will reduce distrust and damage to our client relationships, that will refocus young lawyers on being problem-solvers again, and that will remind us of — rather than distract us from — why we are lawyers in the first place."

And so say all of us. Well, nearly all. Ron Baker of the Versage Institute has a few words words to say here.

Legal Department Benchmarking Report 2008

What are the largest organisational users of legal services in Australia and New Zealand spending..and on what?

What are the most pressing issues facing legal department leaders?

What are General Counsel looking for from their external legal providers?

What do they think of hourly billing?

What are the barriers to changing law firms?

The answers to these and other questions are contained in the recently released Legal Department Benchmarking Report 2008. This report contains detailed information from than 125 corporate and government organisations that could help save millions of dollars in legal costs. Plus there's a wealth of information for law firms on what in-house counsel are looking for from their external providers and on how they select and manage law firm relationships.

To order your copy, click here

Year in review

How quickly the year has gone! Here are some of the highlights (and lowpoints!) It started off for me in London after my mother was taken ill at Christmas and admitted to hospital. Fortunately after several weeks, she made a remarkable recovery and is in much better health this Christmas! Long may it continue.

In February I visited a law firm client in Christchurch, the first of several visits there in 2007. In March, I was able to attend the Byron Bay Blues and Roots festival and listen to many fabulous artists including one of my long term favourites, Larry Carlton.
In April I paid my first ever visit to Lisbon to address a law conference for a UK law group on the topic of 'Pricing Strategies'. After an enjoyable trip to California and New Zealand on the way home, I returned to Portugal to discover the translated version of my latest book 'Why Entrepreneurs Eat Should Eat Bananas' had made the top ten best selling business book list in that country. After giving the keynote at a conference on Entrepreneurship in Lisbon, I returned to Australia. The Dalai Lama visited in June and I was one of 12,000 odd to attend his talk in Brisbane.In July, my partner Sue and I drove up the east coast of Australia to Port Douglas and back. A round-trip of 4,500kms. Quite a trip but large parts of the trip were uneventful. The town of 1770 stands out as the highlight. In August, I launched this blog! In September, after addressing the NZ Mortgage Brokers Annual Conference in Rotorua, I hosted the Future Firm Forum in Ohakune New Zealand. About a dozen people attended what turned out to be an outstanding event thanks to the contributions of various facilitators including Gerry Riskin. The event will be repeated next year. Not for the first time, Sue and I were charmed by Ohakune and so we decided that towards the end of the year and over the summer period we would move across to New Zealand for the summer. Before then in October, here were a couple of major conferences to 'MC' in Australia. After a client visit to Melbourne in November, it was time to pack up and leave for New Zealand. So, here we are standing at the foot of volcanic Mt Ruapehu on a beautiful sunny December day! Wishing all clients, lawyers, law firms and visitors to my blog a happy festive season!

A great night in Auckland!

Thursday 8 November saw the cream of the New Zealand Legal Profession gather at the stylish Auckland Museum Event Centre for the 3rd Annual Law Awards. It was a terrific night expertly 'MC'd by the queen of Kiwi comedy, Ginette McDonald. I was privileged to be there. Special congratulations to Lawyers With A Life subscribers Lane Neave of Christchurch who took out the Concordia Employment Law Award, to BlackmanSpargo of Rotorua who walked away with the CCH Regional Law Firm of the Year award for the second successive year and to Fortune Manning of Auckland who took out the ASB mid-sized law firm of the year award. Well done to all the other winners and finalists.

Will lawyers exist in 100 years?

Extracts from Richard Susskind's forthcoming new book 'The End of Lawyers?' are being published in The (London) Times over the next 6 weeks. Have a read and join the on-line debate. Professor Susskind is a futurist and visionary and, as usual, provocative. Have a read here.

Future Firm Forum Wins Praise

"The forum was simply outstanding. The presenters were excellent. The intimate, informal sessions generated some great ideas. I came away more confident in my ability to add value to my firm and help it to move to the next level of its existence. I am also delighted to have made new friends and contacts that I know I can call on for advice and support." -Richard Hobson, CEO, Mason Sier Turnbull, Melbourne.

Yes, it was the first of its kind..but it turned out even better than expected at the Powderhorn Chateau, Ohakune, New Zealand. Guests from Sydney, Melbourne, Christchurch and Rotorua enjoyed presentations by and conversations with special guest Gerry Riskin, via video conference from his home in Anguilla, former Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand President Ron Pol, Maria Masterantonio, Hayley Nicholls and Canadian innovation guru Ed Bernacki.

The venue has been booked and the event will run again next year 20-22 September 2008. Mark the date in your diaries now!

City lawyers still have their heads in the sand!

Legal Week in Britain has just announced the results of its EJ Legal Biq Question survey about the standards of management in law firms in the UK.

This article highlights a problem that is endemic in the legal profession: many lawyers are still completely ignorant about management; they only appreciate management when
a. when times are tough;
b. when they want to copy their competitors;
c. clients demand it (thankfully)

Cornelius Medvei, Eversheds' London chief comments: “Many lawyers see management as a necessary evil and the vast majority are still not interested. The biggest challenge of all for law firms is finding the people who have the requisite skills to be able to do it well.”

I agree with the first half of his comment, not the second. There are plenty of good managers out there; the challenge is to educate lawyers to appreciate that management is an essential and valuable function of any successful business, including a law firm. Only then will surveys like this have more relevance.

Want to create an extraordinary practice?

Stunning location, log fires, great food, New Zealand wines, and fantastic ideas from people like Gerry Riskin and Ron Pol to develop your practice. Sounds too good to be true? Read on.

How not to blow it with clients

7 Client Interaction Blunders That Blow It Every Time

Thanks to Gerry Riskin and Brad Isaac for this contribution.

Nurture + Support + Flexibility = Advantage

A flexible, supportive working environment is the number one factor that voters (predominantly from Australia and New Zealand) considered to give them a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining the best people to their firms according our recent on-line talent survey. Of course, if all firms consider that to be the source of their advantage, then one might argue that there is, in fact, little to differentiate one firm from another and so no advantage is actually gained! However it is encouraging to see more firms placing value on having lawyers with a life on their team!

For firms that are not focussing on developing a flexible, supportive workplace, the following comment from one voter may act as sufficient incentive:

"The principal of this firm is clueless about how to manage or retain people. I am the senior lawyer here and am leaving shortly and happily. The management practices at this firm involve bullying, devaluing and denigrating staff in a way that is very arguably a breach of OH&S/professional misconduct."

Thanks to all those subscribers who took the time to vote.

Welcome to my blog!

Finally technology has caught up with me (or is it the other way round?).
Welcome to my blog which I hope will complement the community of high calibre bloggers out there. Feel free to post your comment or email me at any time.