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advice you can use — short and to the point — every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

technology  practice  research

All Our Tips

Team Up to Improve Cash Flow

Large enterprises typically have entire departments dedicated to maintaining positive cash flow.  They employ predictable, set  billing cycles, procedures that address accounts receivables, and where appropriate, safeguards to ensure that adequate deposits are on hand to secure pending purchases or services to be delivered.

Small businesses and professional practices generally do not have the resources or the know-how to maintain such discrete departments or to otherwise implement such efficiencies.

Nonetheless, with a bit of planning, organization, and structure, businesses and professional practices of every size can adopt procedures that can generate significant improvement in ongoing cash flow performance.

Here are some thoughts on how to improve cash flow in law practices, many of which may easily be applied to any business or service:

1. There are five pillars to maintaining positive cash flow: 1) ensuring adequate retainer deposits are on hand; 2) “doing the work” effectively; 3) accurate, prompt time docketing; 4) regular billing cycles;  and 5) scheduled follow-ups on accounts receivables.
2. Every member of your team has a role to play in improving cash flow by maximizing performance in each of these areas. Identify each person’s role. Include it in his or her job description. Create accountabilities, monitor and address this vital area at performance review meetings.
3. Bill often and bill regularly.  Clients can’t pay bills unless they receive them. They also appreciate knowing where they stand, and frequent billing helps avoid unpleasant financial surprises.  Pick a  date each month that will be your billing date, and if it’s the 30th, make sure bills are done on the 30th.
4. Accurate billing requires accurate, up-to-date docketing. The easiest way to get behind in your billing is to get behind in your docketing. Therefore, whether you do your own time recording or have assistance from administrative staff in doing so, ensure that your dockets are up-to-date, each day.
5. Ensure that your calendar for “yesterday” is checked, each day, to verify that you haven’t missed recording any phone calls, meetings or other docketable events.
6. Make it easy for your clients to pay their bills. That means setting up systems to accept credit card payments, email money transfers, and even online payments.   If your firm is lacking any of these facilities, set up a meeting with your bank and learn about your options and associated fees. You will be amazed at the difference when you no longer have to wait for cheques that mysteriously remain “in the mail.”
7. It’s still all about effective client service. Develop systems to “make things happen” in your practice. Don’t let files sit. Develop processes that help you complete each stage of your clients’ work as quickly as possible.
8. Ensure that there is complete “buy-in”  from all members of your team to this approach, and that each member of your team has an  understanding of how his or her contributions can make a genuine difference in your efforts to have the kinds of happy clients that make it easy to improve cash flow.
9. If you have paid a disbursement for a client, do a “disbursements-only” invoice immediately once the payment has been made.
10. Just as invoicing should ideally occur on a specified date each month, so should follow-ups on accounts receivables. Make the 15th your A-R day. When monies are owed, make telephone contact with your clients, and directly ask for payment via credit card, which can be made right then and there via telephone.
11. Get adequate retainers when you start a matter, and religiously require retainer replenishment when retainer funds are exhausted. Ensure your retainer agreement specifies this requirement and details when you will be asking your clients for additional retainer deposits.
12. Beyond that, be aware of your schedule in the month ahead. Pick a date each month to review whether you have adequate retainers on hand for the events scheduled, and make written requests for replenishment where you do not.
13. Don’t bury your head in the sand when you have a problem account. Your retainer agreement should permit you to terminate service in such circumstances. This should not need to happen, however, except in the most extreme circumstances. Before you get to that stage, particularly in legitimate, demonstrated cases of financial hardship, explore whether payment plan options are workable, or whether satisfactory alternate arrangements can be made.
14. Where you are acting for an out-of-province or out-of-country client, do not perform services without adequate retainers in advance. Inform your clients from the outset of this requirement, and don’t make exceptions. Collections outside your jurisdiction are an uphill and expensive battle.

Above all, maintain good communication with your clients.

While financial issues can be delicate to discuss, the more direct, candid  and approachable you remain, the greater likelihood you have of success in all aspects of your professional dealings, including the financial ones.

Not every example of slow payment results from a client’s financial hardship. If there is an issue with payment, take the time to speak with your client about any service-related concerns that may be at the root of any financial impasse that has emerged.

To state the obvious, happy clients are far more likely to pay their bills promptly than unhappy ones. Listen well, and address any concerns that are raised.

You may be pleasantly surprised at the difference.

– Garry J. Wise, Toronto.

 

We Really Need to Hear From You…

♫  I need to hear from You 
Before this night is through 
I need to hear from You 
So I’m waiting, waiting just to hear from you…♫

Lyrics and music by: Robert Hartman, recorded by Petra.

This week, Garry Wise and I chatted about the possible topics that we could cover in this column over the next while.  Without being exhaustive, I pulled together the following list from our discussions.  Now it is up to you. In the comments section, please indicate which topic(s) are of greatest interest to you!  We really want to hear from you and to write on the topics that you most wish to hear about.

Here is the (incomplete) list of possible topics:

New ways of working:

• Virtual office examples
• Virtual assistants
• Virtual contract lawyers
• Using Skype and other communication methods to reach out
• Portals
• Collaboration tools/applications/websites
• Dragon Dictate and VR on the Mac
• IBM’s Watson and AI: What are the implications?

New Software/web tools:

• Emerging Canadian software
• Apps, Apps Apps!
• Websites: Are they relevant anymore?
• Blogs: Are they relevant anymore?
• Vlogs: Are they the way to go?
• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Sony paper
• Microsoft’s Matter Center
• Why use Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn? Other SM ?
• Windows 10
• OS X El Capitan
• Do Process Software

Capturing, Organizing and Using Information

• Evernote and OneNote
• Don’t Forget the Milk
• Wunderlist
• IFTTT recipes
• Wikis and law firms
• CanLII Connect
• SurveyMonkey and lawyers/law firms
• MindMapping: The New Way of Legal Thinking?

Security and Privacy

• Portals
• Encryption
• Cryptolocker and other ransomware
• Ethical Hacking?
• How do you handle a security breach?
• Canadian Backup and Storage Services
• Canadian Hosted and Managed Services

Practice Management Software Reviews

• CLIO
• Amicus Attorney
• MyCase
• RocketMatter
• PracticePanther
• HoudiniESQ
• LegalFiles
• PCLaw
• ProLaw
• TimeSolv Legal
• Synergy Legal Suite

Legal Accounting Software and lawyers

• PCLaw
• ESILAW
• Brief Legal Software
• Quickbooks
• Sage50
• XERO
• BillQuick
• CosmoLex

Stages in a Lawyer’s Life

• Entering law school
• Finding Articles
• Life as an Associate
• Life as a junior partner
• Life as a senior partner
• Life as a managing partner
• Life as ‘of counsel’
• Going out on Your own
• Moving Firms
• Finding an Associate
• Office Sharing
• Easing into Retirement
• Moving an Office
• Closing an Office

Using Consultants and Service Providers

• Bookkeepers
• IT providers
  • In house IT
  • Managed IT services
  • Hosted services
• Working with Security professionals
• How to use IT Consultants to Max Advantage
• Apple vs Mac vs Does it Matter Anymore?
• Finding and working with an Office Administrator

Setting up in Practice

• Finding the right location
• Finding the right staff
• Working with staff
• Balancing life and work
• Hiring, firing and managing staff

New Ways of Handling Legal Matters

• ADR
• ODR
• Virtual courts and trials
• Setting up a virtual practice/services
• Taking Technology to Court/Mediations/Arbitrations
• Taking Technology to clients

Other Legal Software

• Optinet Systems
• Emergent Solutions
• Tracument
• Triage Data Solutions
• Dye & Durham
• Thomson Reuters
• Lexis Nexis
• Econveyance
• Esentire
• Worldox
• Primafact
• SAI Systems Auditing
• LexBox
• WordRake
• SimplyFile

Innovative ways of Practising:

• Cognition LLP
• Axess Law
• ABS across the world

New Ways of Thinking about Legal Practice

Whatever we have missed.

Please indicate in the Comments (below) the topic(s) that are most important. Or drop me a line at [email protected].  We hope to hear from you!

 

Watch for New Tools

Today’s Tip was inspired by a news release that crossed my email:

Canadian startup launches law search engine
Legal technology puts 5 million pages of laws from around the world

(September 24, 2015, Toronto) – Canadian startup, Global-Regulation Inc., has just launched a law search engine that enables searching 225,000+ laws from the European Union, United States, Canada, China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Germany, Japan and other countries.

“Our software automatically translates laws into English so our users can search the world’s laws,” says Founder Addison Cameron-Huff. “Automatic translation makes the world’s laws instantly accessible to researchers, regulators, lawyers and businesspeople.”

Global-Regulation emerged out of research at Osgoode School of Law (York University) in Toronto, Canada. The two Founders are Nachshon Goltz, an Israeli lawyer turned Ph.D. candidate at Osgoode Law School and Addison Cameron-Huff, a Canadian tech lawyer and award-winning programmer. Mr. Goltz, who is completing his Ph.D. in regulation, knows that, “Google does not cater to government regulators.”

“We are helping the people who write our laws by giving them the tools they know they need but no one is making,” notes Mr. Cameron-Huff.

The founders aim to make the world’s laws searchable in order to help regulators make better regulations and lawyers better understand the international landscape.

Global-Regulation has 100,000 more laws in the pipeline and aim to have more than half a million laws available in 2016. The current database would exceed 5 million printed pages and would be a stack as high as the CN Tower.

The service is available for limited free use by the public at www.global-regulation.com.

If you are aware of new tools you will always be able to judge your efficiency in retrieving an answer to a legal research question.

The global-regulation.com site is pretty cool too.

 

I Don’t Know

They may be the three most difficult words for certain professionals to utter.

The mere temptation to speak them aloud has even been known (among some, it is rumoured), to dredge up sweaty palms, blinding pillars of ego and fortress-thick walls of denial.

I don’t know. 

Or if you prefer, I dunno.

Je ne sais pas.

Or or as it is said in ancient legalese, “a comprehensive answer to this most important enquiry is not yet at my immediate fingertips.”

However you phrase it, get used to saying it.

I don’t know. 

There are lots of things we are all comfortable not knowing.

What will tomorrow’s weather be? Which leaders should we vote for? Does life as we know it exist elsewhere in the cosmos? Will the Leafs ever host another parade on Bay Street?

We just don’t know.  Somehow, we manage to live with that.

And when it involves our professional lives, I’d suggest that comfortably saying those three words is actually in our job descriptions.  And at times, our codes of ethics.

This is not something to worry over.

We can’t expect ourselves to know everything on the spot. We can’t possibly be fully up to speed on every section of every statute or every single reported decision that has emerged in the last 24 hours – or  24 years.  Our duty of care to our clients surely includes a duty, before providing an opinion,  to carefully research and consider all applicable law that will  be relevant to whatever riddles we are unraveling.

That will usually take a bit of time, and that is generally not something to be uncomfortable with.  Given the ample research and networking tools now available, we can all feel quite confident that good answers will never be very far away.

So, when you don’t know the answer, just say “I don’t know (but I will).”

I would suggest that for new lawyers, in particular, doing so is a survival skill.

Now, I am a realist, and understand that it may a hurdle too high for some to utter those exact three words.   In deference to them, I therefore offer my Top Ten* serious ways for lawyers to say “I don’t know” without actually saying “I don’t know:”

1.  That’s a really good question, and I’d like to take a day or two to review the law before I give you a firm opinion.
2.  The law has usually been “x” on this, but I’m pretty sure I came across a case recently that went the other way. I will look it up and let you know.
3.  That’s a very technical question.  As a first step,  I’d like to consult with  a colleague who specializes in this area of the law.
4.  That question may be one that would be better handled by your accountant. Let’s give her a call to discuss it.
5.  That question is  outside my area of practice. I’d like to arrange a referral for you to speak to a specialist who works regularly in this area.
6.  That question is likely governed by the [name of statute] Act.  Let me look it up and get back to you.
7. There’s very good website that addresses this.  Can I send you a link?
8. That question is now before the Supreme Court of Canada. We won’t really know until the court decides, at some point in the next six months.
9. It will be necessary for me to review quite a bit of documentation in order to properly assess this  situation. That will take a little time.
10.  This question is in a gray zone, and I’m not sure if a court  has ruled on it recently. Let me see if I can find a case that will give us some guidance on this.

(*to be used only in circumstances where factually applicable)

So that’s today’s tip.    You may not know the answer immediately, but you will find it. Just keep your clients in the loop. And take the time you need –  to know.

Garry J. Wise, Toronto

 

The Long Tail…

♫ Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead..♫

Lyrics and music by Toni Stern and Carole King, recorded by Carole King.

Lawyers, I surmise, believe with their long history and experience that they are the innovators of any changes in the legal/justice system.  However, that theory may need further examination. In fact it may have to be turned onto its head.

There is a countervailing theory, promoted by Eric von Hippel and others, that users and consumers of services, (in our case, legal services) are actually the innovators of new services rather than suppliers of those services, or in our case, lawyers.

For example:

“User innovation doesn’t only extend to tangible products but also services. von Hippel found that eighty-five percent of individuals self-provided themselves with accounting and banking processes before banks offered this service.”

Imagine. Clients finding and directing the changes that they desire in legal services and providing them to themselves.  How could this happen?

“An extension of user innovations is the idea of lead users. These are the individuals who first feel the need for a product or service and create it for themselves. Lead user identification is an essential method used by companies to identify the newest innovations in their product areas giving them crucial insight on the needs of their users.”

How many lawyers and law firms are focused on the idea of lead users and innovation? How many of us are focused on this innovation segment?   Indeed how many lawyers and law firms are actually focused on innovation in the delivery of legal services?

Professor von Hipple:

“finds it interesting that in the UK, 8% (3-4 million people) of consumers modify the product that they use.”

In fact,

“He stressed the fact that the number of consumers modifying products and thereby innovating outweighs the number of people doing this in companies”

Perhaps we need to be listening to our clients …much more than we are doing right now.  The consumers of legal services may in fact be showing us the innovations that we as lawyers need to make to our delivery of legal services.

In fact, they may just be showing us the way..

 

(Random) Tips for September

September has arrived, ushering in a new season, and, after our summer reprieves, the beginning of a new work cycle.

Whether you are a sole practitioner, a new lawyer, or the managing partner at a large firm, September is also an optimal time for big-picture reflection, planning and setting new goals.

On a smaller scale, however, it occurs to me there are a few simple  things we can all do that could be as positively impactful on our professional successes (and satisfaction) as the most elaborate of strategic plans.

In that vein, here are my tips for September:

1. Help make your office as relaxed and happy as possible. Creating an environment that you and others in your firm look forward to being at will always be a winning strategy.
2. Do it early. Deadlines are rarely a surprise or suddenly imposed.  Trying planning your schedule to leave real breathing space so that tasks can be completed early, not at the last minute.
3. Don’t let that file sit.  One of my first mentors put it this way: “There will always be files you avoid, for good reasons or bad.   If you let them fester, those files will eventually bite you back.  The solution is easy  –  just do something. Make a call, write a letter,  send a memo or schedule an appointment, but just do something on the file.”  It is that easy to change momentum
4. Less is more,  especially in pleadings and argument. Strive for  economy in your use of language.  People – including judges – will probably appreciate it.  And as an added bonus,  you will likely become more effective.
5. Establish a system.  Have a look at your most frequent, typical tasks, and figure out ways to streamline them. Try to organize templates, limit unnecessary steps, and generally, standardize where possible.   This will save time, eliminate guesswork, and reduce the potential for errors and omissions.
6. Take a walk. Build break time into your daily schedule, and try to keep those breaks as work-free as is possible.
7. Say thank you. There are a lot of people contributing to your professional successes. Once in a while, let them know you appreciate them. They will appreciate you back.
8. Listen to an expert.  It’s impossible for any of us to know as much as we would like to know about every thing. You will always have questions about practice-building and technical and factual issues in your files.  You may not know the answers, but someone will. Make it part of your job description to locate and connect with those “someones.”
9. Delegate.  The MBAs of the world are right on this.
10. Participate.  The CBA and law societies, among others, are almost constantly seeking input from the profession  on any number of current topics. Get involved. Let your voice be heard. It will make your job more rewarding and more fun, and you will meet lots of great people in the process.
11. (Bonus tip) Vape, don’t smoke.

Enjoy our new season.  And to those who celebrated this past week, Shana Tova – a happy and healthy new year from all the Slaw Tippers to you and yours.

Garry J . Wise, Toronto

 

Give Feedback

I recently did some work for one of my colleagues and was reminded how great it feels when you do something and get feedback. Today’s tip is to give feedback. Often, legal research is shared among many and giving feedback will reinforce all the positive aspects of sharing access to work product.

If you are using someone else’s prior work as part of your research, let them know that it was helpful. Let them know that by properly citing the cases and legislation you were able to note things up. Let them know that by listing the texts and other secondary authorities they used it made your job easier. Let them know that their efforts at clear writing, using headings, and relying on a standard predictable format for research analysis, it helped you do your job.

 

Understand the Why

Today’s short legal research tip is this:

You will find better answers to questions if you know Why you are asking them in the first place.

Understanding the motivation for an answer that is hidden behind a question helps reveal biases, suppositions, assumptions and missing inputs that, if misunderstood, lead to incomplete, incorrect, and inefficiently gathered results.

I think about this whenever I momentarily worry that artificial intelligence will make librarians obsolete.

 

How Long Should You Wait to Return a Phone Call?

♫ One ringy-dingy…two ringy-dingies…♫

Ernestine/Miss Tomlin (Lily Tomlin on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How long should you wait before you return a telephone call?  According to Debra J. Schmidt, Loyalty Leader:

“Returning phone calls used to be a common courtesy. Now, busy people claim they don’t have the time. I don’t buy that excuse. I’ve found that the most successful, busy people I know are the ones I can rely on to return my call the same day. It’s a matter of setting priorities.”

Indeed! What could be more important that meeting the expectations of those clients that have already sought your services and who are anxious to hear from you?  These are precisely the people who have placed faith and trust in you in meeting their needs and solving their legal problems. What kind of message are you sending them if you fail to return their phone calls promptly?

Susan Dooley of the Dale Carnegie organization states that no response is a response. In fact, in failing to return a phone call promptly, rather than assuming you are busy with assembling the information to return their call (or you are on vacation) the caller may assume something quite different:

[T]here’s a risk that the person feeling “snubbed” by the offender may draw a completely different, and inaccurate, conclusion, such as:

1. This is not a top priority to you
2. You’re not a professional
3. You’re a procrastinator
4. You don’t have the answer
5. I’m not important to you
6. You’re disorganized
7. You can’t be counted on
8. You’re hiding
9. You have bad news, but are not strong enough to communicate it to me

Yikes! No professional would want to be labeled with these character attributes. Unfortunately, the wrong interpretation by the right person can harm business relationships and even careers.

No one would intentionally send these messages to their clients that are noted above.  Yet by failing to return phone calls promptly, we are unintentionally sending these very negative messages…about ourselves and how responsible we are to our clients.

So what to do?  There are a number of very good suggestions in these situations:

1. The first thing is to recover your credibility. Acknowledge that the trust someone has placed in you has taken a hit. Your words and your actions have failed to align.  It is easy to lose credibility and hard to regain it afterwards. You made an explicit or implicit promise to your clients to care about their matter. Failing to return their phone call has broken that promise. Start by apologizing. This is NOT an excuse. Don’t say:  “I am sorry, but….” As soon as you say that word ‘but’ you have demolished any shred of credibility you had. Understand that you need to take ownership of the fact that you have disappointed your client and be real and honest to them. They are owed at least that much.
2. Try to stop this from occurring in the first place by setting exceptions at the outset. If you are away from the office, on vacation, in court or on a personal matter, let your voice mail message shape the expectation of the caller as to when they can expect a call. If you have gone on an 180 day world tour, having your voice mail message state “Hi this is John Smith, I can’t take your call right now please leave a message” is completely different from “Hi this is John Smith. I am out of the office until March 2016. Please contact Jane Doe at extension 123 to discuss your matter or have this call answered by someone else at this office.”
3. Ask yourself: “What kind of message do I want to leave with those who want to reach me?” If the answer to that is one of caring and commitment to their concerns, then you will implement policies such as having your assistant check your voice mail daily for messages and return your calls, if only to communicate that you are in trial and perhaps they could speak to someone else in your absence.
4. Don’t wait to communicate bad news.  Failing to contact people promptly when things don’t go as expected sends a very powerful message – along the lines that  you are weak and don’t wish to face unpleasant facts and situations. Especially when things don’t go as expected is when clients will be looking to you as their source of strength to weather the setbacks.  If you fail them now, you will fail them in the long term.  Be their oak that stands up to the storm and let them know…in fair weather or foul ..that you will be there for them and be their source of strength.

Above all, when that telephone rings…land line or mobile…recognize that you have a golden opportunity. You can build your reputation and your client trust or destroy it, one ringy-dingy at a time.

-David J. Bilinsky, Vancouver BC.

 

Human Rights Search Engine HuriSearch

If you are doing research in the area of human rights, you might find HuriSearch a useful addition to your toolbox.

HuriSearch offers a fairly sophisticated front end, allowing you to query any of four types of source (NGOs, national human rights institutions, academic institutions, and intergovernmental organizations), search in any of sixteen languages, and use word variations if you wish. As well, search results can be filtered by facets: source type, source organization, country, and document format. Furthermore, you’re offered a permalink to your search and an RSS feed, so that you can stay up-to-date.

To my joy (and likely my fellow librarians) there is an advanced search option.

HuriSearch is a product of HURIDOCS, an international NGO helping human rights organisations use information technologies and documentation methods to maximize the impact of their advocacy work.