A potential new client comes into your office and you can already tell you don’t like him. There’s something about the way he stands, the way he talks, his clothes, the scent of cologne wafting through the air. You can’t pin it down. but his very being puts you off. You’re not conceited – you figure he probably thinks exactly the same of you. At the same time, you know he has a big and interesting case, he can pay, and you want to win him over. What can you do?

Your first reaction may well be to differentiate yourself. “I’m not anything like this person”, you say – and you go about making sure you stay true to yourself. You offer something unique, after all, and this potential client will either like you for you, and if not, it was never meant to be.

But put the je ne sais quoi prejudices aside by mirroring the client’s manner of speech and body positioning. Take advantage of similarity bias – people tend to like those who are similar to them. As you sit down with the client you realize he speaks much louder and faster than you. You slightly quicken your pace of speech and raise your voice just enough – your energy level ramps up accordingly. He sits with his hands in front of him to make a church steeple, each fingertip on the one hand touching the other. You realize your hands are hidden under the table and bring them up on the table. Before you know it, the minutes have flown by and you’ve built rapport. You’re not best buddies but you are both comfortable and respect each other.

Mirroring what your client says is helpful too. If your client doesn’t agree with you, start by outlining the client’s position. This gives comfort to the client and reassures the client that you are listening. It also helps builds a shared foundation from which you can make your recommendations.

Mirroring does not require you to change your personality and become someone you are not. You do not need to act and speak exactly like your client – a little effort can go a long way. And refrain from mirroring an angry and yelling client – that will only escalate the matter. If you have a truly difficult client, one that bullies you or that causes you to consider going against your principles, think hard about whether the client is worth keeping.

Mirroring acknowledges that one person’s way of talking and acting in the world is just one way among many. It would be an unhappy circumstance if valuable relationships are never built because of something as shallow as the way one speaks or sits, but it can happen. Eliminate these barriers and use mirroring to help you build a bond with your client.

A client who likes you is more likely to retain you, accept your recommendations, and not sue you. So handle personality differences by mirroring to help eliminate whatever biases stand between you and your client.

– Ian Hu

What does it mean to be a leader?

And what does true leadership in a law firm context really entail?

Clearly, there is no “one size fits all” answer to these questions. Every leader’s approach and plan will necessarily vary, depending on circumstances, temperament, objectives, opportunities – and practicalities.

But behind any effective plan lies a vision of where you want to get, a framework for getting there, and a well-thought-out gameplan for implementing whatever changes that vision may drive.

I will mark the 30th anniversary of my call to the Ontario Bar in April. I will be 57 years of age in September.

At this juncture in my career, I think about developing my own professional leadership – in a small firm context – quite a bit. And I am starting to think quite differently about what that leadership role means, both to me and to the very good people I am fortunate to work with.

And frankly, one of the most difficult challenges, and perhaps the most rewarding when met with success, is simply getting out of the way, so that those talented people you work with can actually do their own jobs completely and build their own track records of personal growth and professional success.

We have talked about delegation a number of previous times here at SlawTips.

I’d like to add this simple thought to the mix: Effective delegation is one of the highest expressions of true leadership. And the corollary also holds: Any leader who fails to effectively delegate is probably no leader at all.

By delegate, I don’t mean feeding tiny scraps of grunt work down the chain to eager underlings.

I mean incrementally delegating the whole enchilada.

Delegating entire files. Key court attendances and transactions. Entire  projects and departments. And delegating real responsibility for maintaining and building key relationships.

Keeping a finger in, where and when it needs to be, of course, but primarily focusing on the “executive” tasks that maximize what you, personally, can now bring to the table.

The more able you are to do that, the more able you will be to implement the balance of your vision.

And it does start with a vision.

Are you thinking of yours?

(We might as well begin there)

….

I will continue with these thoughts in my subsequent posts. Given the  addition of so many talented, new contributors to the Practice Tips bench, you will be seeing a little less of me here, moving forward.

I will be staying with SlawTips, of course, with my own turn to post coming every two months or so. And I am apparently now an editor here, with respect to our new contributors’ posts.

The good news is you will be reading some really interesting Tips articles from some exceptional, new voices.

And you may be seeing a bit more of me now at my own flagship, Wise Law Blog. That’s not such a bad trade-off, as it turns out, and I’m quite looking forward to it.

So see you again at SlawTips in May.

And Happy Easter to all who are celebrating.

Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Lawyers, you know that if you want your firms to be more efficient and profitable, you need to delegate.

You know that if you want more time with your families and the occasional good night’s sleep, you need to delegate.

You even know that if you want to grow in your role (and to allow others to do the same), you need to delegate.

So, what’s the problem?

Why are lawyers holding back when it comes to delegating?

Lots of possibilities…  You’ve had some bad experiences where you ended up doing the work you had delegated yourself, at the 11th hour. You felt exposed as the work returned to you wasn’t up to your standards. You got a little too comfortable in your role as the doer (it happens). You didn’t feel sufficiently secure in your role to mentor others up your level (also happens).

Whatever it was, the result is the same. If you want to break through the glass ceiling, you need to figure out a way to delegate more.

But, how to delegate so it’s worry free and actually delivers on the supposed benefits, well, that is the question:

1. Write yourself a new job description. Go ahead. Even if you’re a partner or firm principal. Job descriptions aren’t just for staff. What is it that you’d really like to be focused on that you simply cannot get to? Like rainmaking or strategic planning, to name a few possibilities. Or, maybe, dedicating yourself to a single area of practice or specific type of file that holds your interest.
2.  Reevalute your team. Do you even have the right talent and skill on staff to do the work you’d like to delegate? If not, put a plan together. Train. Hire. Fire. Do what you need to do to build the firm you envision, rather than just continuing with business as usual.
3. Reevaluate your structure. What are your team’s expectations about doing work for others? Is the reporting structure clear… to everyone? If not, you (and anyone else that needs to delegate) will be set up for awkwardness and possibly tension. Instead of assigning work to the most appropriate individual, you’ll be asking for favours from whoever happens to be available.
4. Learn how to delegate. It’s an art, from what you assign, to whom you assign it to, the briefing you provide at the outset, the guidance you provide along the way and the milestones you set in place. Seek advice and coaching on how to delegate (or how to be delegated to) from a qualified business consultant.
5. Stop seeing lawyers that run firms as simply senior lawyers. You’re management. That means managing – staff, clients, files… Embracing that reality is the first step towards getting through the learning curve and setting up the systems and processes to help everyone thrive in their roles.

And one final piece of advice. Once you get all that right, don’t take back what you delegate.

Be aware that when you tell someone to leave a file with you for your comments or wait for additional information…, you’re taking back the work you delegated. And the ‘delegated’ is twiddling thumbs waiting (and hoping) that it’ll come back. Just like a boomerang.

So, this week’s tip, delegate more. Besides the improved wellbeing of the practice and your personal quality of life, you might be surprised at how much you enjoy expanding your collaboration and partnership with the rest of the team.

—
For more on the delegation process see SlawTip’s earlier post on this topic:
Delegate, Don’t Abdicate, a guest post from Rachel Spence, a law clerk with Wise Law Office

And Toronto Marketing Blog, for my post: Stop taking back what you delegate! 

-Sandra Bekhor, Toronto

♫ Go, go, go New Justice Team
Go team, go team, team team team
Who’s that newest Justice Team…♫

Music by Christopher Tyng, Lyrics by Ron Weiner, recorded by The New Justice Team.

Changes are coming to SlawTips!  I would like to introduce our new enhanced team of practice tipsters.

Our team will now include:

• Michael McCubbin, Vancouver
• Andrea Cannavina, New York City
• Stacey Gerrard, Halifax
• Sandra Bekhor, Toronto
• Mark Morris, Toronto
• Elizabeth Mah, Vancouver
• Bjorn (Barney) Christianson, Portage la Prairie
• Ian Hu, Toronto

who will be joining Garry Wise and I in posting all the best tips that we can think of to assist you in practising law.

A little about each of our newest team members:

Michael McCubbin:

Michael owns and operates a small firm with a broad focus on civil and administrative litigation and corporate-commercial law. In recent years, he has increasingly focused on regulatory compliance and risk management for businesses. He has run a paperless practice since its inception in the fall of 2011 and is a regular speaker on legal technology matters.

Michael says that the things that he would like to write about are:

• Integration of practice technology with hearing preparation
• Adopting business practices from outside the legal profession to improve service quality and efficiency
• Remote working arrangements and business/employment structures
• Jurisprudential “catch up” with technology (Equustek Solutions?!)

Andrea Cannavina:

Andrea Cannavina is the CEO and founder of LegalTypist, Inc. the premiere legal transcription, secretarial and administrative service to US based law firms. She helps attorneys and other service based professionals upgrade their business processes to digital in order to get more done with less – less cost, less time and less stress!

An executive legal assistant, Andrea worked in various sized law firms in and around New York City since starting her career in the 1980’s. Andrea has been a professional legal secretary/ assistant for 20+ years and a Virtual Assistant since 2001.   ALL Andrea has focused on since opening her virtual practice is help lawyers and other legal professionals upgrade to digital in all the right places.

Her site, LegalTypist.com specializes in providing experienced cyber secretarial services and has serviced law firms of 1-120+ attorneys along with private investigative firms, insurance agencies and other high volume reporting companies.

After putting together LegalTypist’s tech, people and processes, and speaking with 100’s of attorneys, law firm administrators and legal IT types, Andrea expanded her focus in order to help any size practice.  In 2005, her site LawFirmSolutions.com went live to help larger firms looking to incorporate the web into their processes and solos looking for secure technology to use in their day-to-day practice.

Andrea is passionate about digital security and has frequently presented on this and other topics, including e-mail overload and etiquette, website how to’s, projecting a professional image and upgrading to a digital workflow.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Andrea’s family moved to Long Island, New York during her teenage years. She graduated from Glen Cove High School, attended Nassau Community College and SUNY Old Westbury.

Andrea lives and works in Hicksville, New York, is married with two children, and has Rosie, the office dog as her constant companion. Along with making things work, Andrea enjoys camping, cooking and spending time with family and friends in the great outdoors.

Andrea says that she would like to write about:

• Systems, processes and organization of the office – people and tech.
• Law practice management.
• Getting Things Done.
• What’s it’s like being on the other side of the desk.

Stacey Gerrard:

Stacey Gerrard is a practicing member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and joined the Lawyers’ Insurance Association of Nova Scotia (LIANS) as LIANS Counsel in 2010. Graduating from the University of Ottawa’s National Program with bilingual degrees in both Common and Civil Law, Stacey relocated back to Halifax and pursued her interest in civil litigation first in a private firm and then with each of the Federal and Provincial governments until joining the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 2008. In her current role, Stacey manages and handles assigned claims or potential claims against insured lawyers and provides professional support to the Risk and Practice Management program.

Sandra Bekhor:

Sandra Bekhor, MBA, BSc, is a professional practice consultant focused on growing and enhancing Canadian, small to mid-sized law, architecture, accounting, consulting, healthcare and other professional practices. A senior marketing professional since 1992,

Sandra has helped take leading entrepreneurs to a new level in the global marketplace with the introduction of business and marketing strategies as well as the enhancement of company structure and process. In September 2005, Sandra founded Bekhor Management with the intent to apply this acumen in a manner that would enable professionals to realize their vision for their practices.

Sandra Bekhor speaks, teaches and writes about practice development for various professional associations and publications, including: The Lawyers Weekly, The Bottom Line, Investment Executive, Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), Ontario Association of Architects (OAA), Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND), Ontario Society of Chiropodists (OSC) and Canadian Vet.

Sandra says that what she would like to write about, basically, her area of expertise, would fall into these categories:

• Marketing
• Branding
• Online marketing
• Offline marketing
• Firm level marketing
• Personal marketing
• Coaching
• Management
• Planning -strategic plans, succession plans, retreats, marketing plans
• Performance management
• Human resources management
• Partner / management meetings
• Communication
• Delegation
• Leadership
• Coaching

Mark Morris:

Mark began his career working as the Attorney General of Ontario’s Senior Policy Advisor. Following that, Mark founded Slatewood Retail Advisors, a retail consulting firm primarily focused on the restaurant and apparel market space. In that capacity, Mark transformed small local brands into national chain operations and worked to assist growing international businesses with their legal franchise work, their core branding and their operational workflows.

Presently, Mark is a co-founder of Axess Law, one of Canada’s leading retail law firms with 10 locations in the GTA. Last month, Axess Law was selected as one of the Top 5 Canadian Innovative Law Firms by the Financial Times newspaper.

Mark frequently lectures on Real Estate law and regularly teaches Real Estate Law Courses at the Ontario Real Estate College. In 2014, Mark was selected as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers and was recognized as one of the top 5 Legal Change Makers as rated by Canadian Lawyer magazine.

Mark was called to the Ontario bar in 2002 and has an M.B.A. from the Rotman School of Management, a Law Degree from McGill University and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Mark says he likes writing about how Law is changing as we move towards a volume based model of service delivery and about the new entrants that are making their mark on the practice.   On a purely legal level, he likes writing about consumer based legal services (developments in real property conveyance, wills etc) and ways that those changes affect consumers.

Elizabeth Mah:

Elizabeth Mah is the owner of Paperclip Law, a different kind of law firm that helps families and businesses make the best (and biggest) non-litigation decisions of their lives. In her life before her 2 little girls, she enjoyed cooking and eating hot meals, reading and running without interruption, and throwing darts at a map and then travelling to them.

Elizabeth says that since having her 2 little girls, she is  most interested in:

• Time efficiency: in making my (and the team’s) time the most effective and productive that it can be
• Business development/networking
• Firm administration and strategy

Bjorn (Barney) Christianson:

Bjorn (Barney) Christianson is the managing partner of the Christianson TDS offices in Portage la Prairie, MacGregor and Gladstone, offices which have operated with the Christianson name since 1970. His current practice is focused principally on transactional matters in the areas of Farm Real Estate, Corporate, Commercial, Estates, Municipal Law, and litigation relating to those matters.

Bjorn frequently presents on practice management and office technology topics; some of the victims include the Law Society of Manitoba’s CPLED and MCPD programs, the Law Society of Upper Canada SSF Conference, the Lawyers Insurance Association of Nova Scotia, the Manitoba, Central and Western Manitoba Bar Associations, the CBA’s Skilled Lawyer Series, and the ABA TechShow. He provides practice management advice to the members of the Law Society of Manitoba in his spare time. Twitter @Bjornqc

Barney says that the topics that he finds interesting and wishes to write about are:

• time management (many sub-topics)
• creating impressions for clients
• managing expectations
• civility
• importance of clarity in emails
• breaking bad news
• blunt a.o.t nice (and therefore vague)
• planning to buy and replace tech
• staffing issues
• sharpening your axe
• anything to do with running a law office.

Barney has named himself as the curmudgeon of the group; I am not quite so sure about that but I am looking forward to his wise postings!

Ian Hu:

As the face of Claims Prevention and practicePRO at LAWPRO Ian speaks, writes and blogs about practice management, claims prevention and lawyering issues. His mandate is to help lawyers succeed in the practice of law and avoid malpractice claims. Having had experience in private practice under his belt with various sizes of firms, Ian has seen some of the trials and tribulations lawyers go through.

As a former Vice President of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers he has mentored young lawyers and advocated for hundreds of lawyers and students as a group. Ian also has an interest in promoting diversity in the profession and has sat on various advocacy committees.

Ian tells me that the things he is  interested in writing about are:

• cognitive bias
• happiness
• new and young lawyers issues (being a professional, building career, soft skills, survival tips, managing time, etc.)

Of course Garry Wise and I will also be continuing as contributing authors and editors to this amazing team of thoughtful minds. I am very excited about this new phase in SlawTips and I (and I believe I can speak for Garry as well) look forward to seeing the thoughts, ideas and tips from our New Justice Team!

-David J. Bilinsky, Editor, Vancouver BC.

Most lawyers have a profile on LinkedIn and possible one or two other social media sites. Some have made a great success of it. But many aren’t really sure what they’re doing there. So, they pop in once in a while, join some groups, post some news and share some articles, all to try and garner a bit of attention for their firms. They may even have encouraged their staff to do the same.

All the while, that little voice inside their head is asking them why they bother at all. It just seems to be such a waste of time.

And, I’m not going to lie to you. Often it is.

But, don’t blame the site. That’s like going to a networking dinner, speed walking the room in five minutes flat, handing out a deck of your business cards and then leaving because it was a bad event. Well, did you find out who was there? Did you talk to anyone? And, more importantly, did you give them a chance to talk to you?

So, today’s tip is to decide once and for all if social media marketing is a waste of your time. If it is, then stop second guessing yourself. Get on with it and focus your marketing efforts elsewhere. If it isn’t, then get serious. Just as you would for any other aspect of your practice, develop a plan to win… which may just include the need to bring on professionals for strategic advice.

To get you started, here are five steps that break this tip into manageable steps:

1. Assess where you are today. What percentage of your market is on social media? Have you connected with them? Has your team? In particular, take a close look at those individuals that you’d like to build your practice with – whether they be prospective clients, clients you’d like to keep or referrers that have been particularly supportive.
2. Find out what your target market is doing online. Are they participating in discussions? Joining groups? Posting content? What do they respond to? Do they respond to you and your firm?
3. Find out if your competitors are online. Do their posts get any traction? With whom? Why or why not?
4. Take an objective view of your firm’s social media presence, including your own. How do your profiles read? Where do they land on the spectrum, from compelling advertisement to tax form that answers questions as accurately – and dryly – as possible?
5. Be honest. Are you listening? You know the old adage, ‘we have two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak’? Well here’s how it translates for social media (and I wish I knew you wrote this!!), ‘we have two eyes and one mouse, so we can read twice as much as we write’. How much do you read what others post? How much do you respond to them? What have you been posting? Would you respond?

So, now you know who is out there, whether you wish to build or pursue those relationships and how well you’ve fared to date.

Whether social media marketing has been a big waste of time to date, isn’t really the question after all, is it? If you’ve figured out how to size up the opportunity it offers your firm, the real question is, what are you going to do about it?

Sandra Bekhor, Toronto

♫ I know that something has changed
Never felt this way
I know it for real
This could be the start
Of something new…♫

Music and lyrics by: Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, recorded by Vanessa Hudgens.

(Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0)

The American Bar Journal on April 1, 2015 posted an article on “100 Innovations in Law” by Jason Krause.  It is an interesting review (admittedly from an American perspective) of how law has changed over the last 100 years or so. It makes for an intriguing read, but with all due respect to the author, I would list most of the innovations as evolutionary innovation rather than disruptive innovation. I love Twitter, for example, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that it has proven to be highly disruptive on the legal profession. Even LegalZoom.com hasn’t really opened up new markets; it may have made more services affordable to more people but at least so far I don’t see it having a hugely disruptive effect on the profession.

Why is innovation so hard in Law? Many factors can be cited here, such as law is a very conservative profession, that lawyers are not risk-takers, that lawyers have been taught to rely on precedent (old lawyer joke:  “The Managing Partner wants the firm to be innovative, to do things differently” to which the Management Committee asks: “Well, who else is doing it?”) and the like. But the true story is that innovation in most professions is difficult.  In fact it may be more difficult in law than other professions due to the structure of law firms.

My friend Jordan Furlong put it this way in an article entitled “Why Lawyers Don’t Innovate“:

So when managing partners ask me, “How can I get my lawyers to change?” I have to respond: You can’t make your lawyers do anything they don’t want to do. They’ll do something only if they decide they want to do it, and they’ll want to do it if encouraged by those they like, respect and trust. In a number of law firms, I’m sorry to report, building a culture of “like, respect and trust” among lawyers can be considerably more difficult than getting lawyers to adopt a new innovation. It requires a level of effort and openness and generosity that many lawyers these days feel they can’t afford. But I’m coming to think it’s the key to successful, long-term, sustainable law firm innovation. And it can be done.

I think that really the Fundamental Attribution Error is at play here.  Wikipedia states:

[T]he fundamental attribution error, also known as the correspondence bias or attribution effect, is the tendency for people to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics (personality) to explain someone else’s behavior in a given situation rather than considering the situation’s external factors.

In other words, lawyers are reluctant to innovate since the system in which they operate (the modern law firm) does not create a situation of trust that fosters innovation. They behave as they do since that is a rational response to the culture inside law firms.

I have had the great good fortune to be part of a small group tour of Google and Facebook’s campuses in Palo Alto California.  There is no question that innovation is almost palpable in the air at these locations.  They have crafted an environment where innovative thinking is expected and fostered.

If we truly want lawyers and law firms to be innovative, we need to change the culture. We need to know that when we enter an innovative firm, we all know that something has changed, that this could be the start of something new…

-David J. Bilinsky, Vancouver, BC.

♫ This is the end, beautiful friend 
This is the end, my only friend, the end..♫

Lyrics and music by: Bruce Franklin, Eric Wagner, Rick J. Wartell, recorded by The Doors.

(© Copyright Peter Ward and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)

Garry Wise, my co-author in our SlawTips.ca weekly column, had his mother pass away this past weekend.  Extending condolences and sharing his grief is only natural; but it started me thinking about whether there were anything we can take away from the grief and try to find meaning in the loss.

Another friend of mine stated that lives are represented by the dash that appears between someone’s birthdate and the day they passed away, as in [1930] – [2016].  Entire lives, loves, joys, marriages, births, heartbreak are contained in that dash. When someone close to you passes away, can you learn something from the grief? Marsha Tousley, RN, MS, FT, DCC in an article entitled “Finding Meaning in Your Loss” stated that there are lessons to be learned from grief.  She stated:

Losing someone you love teaches you to:

• Stop, examine and appreciate what really matters, what’s important, what’s truly valuable in life.
• Live fully in the present, knowing that the past is gone and the future is not yet.
  Appreciate the value and wonder of every precious moment, without taking them for granted.
• Accept the freedom and joy of spontaneity, to play, to relax and to have fun.
  Find valuable insights buried in the give and take of daily life, to slow down, daydream and fantasize.
• Simplify your life, so you have more time and energy to share with those you love.
  Accept what’s happened to you, roll with the changes and keep on growing, believing that you’ll make it.
• Be patient with yourself, allowing the grieving process to happen in whatever way it will.
• Keep and develop your connections with others, knowing that you are not alone.
• Share your thoughts and feelings with others openly and honestly, and sooner rather than later.
• Rethink your attitude toward death as a natural part of the cycle of life.
• Be grateful for the love you shared, however briefly, and appreciate what you have left.
• Define yourself as a survivor rather than a victim.
• Share what you’ve learned with others. At some point in your grieving process, you may feel the need to channel your pain, as well as the time and energy once devoted to your relationship with your loved one, into something productive and meaningful. As one who truly understands the grieving process, you may feel ready to reach out to others who are suffering the pain of loss. Once you’ve found your own way through grief, you will have a great deal to share with other grievers: you can identify with their struggles, empathize with their sorrows and doubts, and offer valuable information and support.

Joel Readence writing in The HuffPost on “Death, Dying and Finding Meaning in Loss” stated:

For those of us left behind, it’s important we ask ourselves what our loved ones would want for us after they die. Would they want us drowning in the grief and despair of their loss, or would they want us to mourn, make peace with and move past their deaths? We also need to remember our time here is limited. We need to stop putting off until tomorrow, those things that will add value and meaning to our lives today. Don’t let fear of failure, success or judgment by others keep you from realizing your full potential. Give yourself permission to be all that you can be and unapologetically move in the direction of your dreams.

When someone near and dear to us reaches that final end point, realize that we still have some time left.  The passing of another can be used to find meaning and to push beyond the pain to find greater value in our lives.

♫ But the plan won’t accomplish anything
If it’s not implemented…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Built to Spill.

(image used pursuant to Creative Commons CC0 licence)

There are many questions to ask yourself and to think about before you reach your decision as to whether or not you would like to open a law practice. In talking to other lawyers, they will have some very helpful questions that will be very insightful and provide guidance as to whether you are making the right move or not. Owning a law  practice is a huge responsibility, so you want to be very sure of what you are getting yourself into. You want to make sure that you are ready willing and able to do what it takes, and most importantly, you have what it takes to run that legal practice.

Ask yourself – are you are a good decision maker? Part of owning your own business means that you have to be that voice of reason and the ultimate decision maker. The buck, as they say, stops with you. You have to be the one to see that the best interests of your clients are always first and foremost. You also need to do what is best for both your clients, as well as for the practice.

Ask yourself: are you organized enough to run the business? You need many skills including a high degree of organization in order to be successful. This does not mean that you necessarily have to be equipped with those skills yourself. It is quite acceptable to hire someone to do tasks on your behalf, as long as they are going to effectively get the job done. So if that means hiring an extra secretary and an accountant, then so be it. But you are the one doing the management for the practice and as such you are ultimately responsible for everything that happens in your practice.

Ask yourself if you are willing to sacrifice what it takes to properly run your practice? You will be putting in long hours and as a result, have much less of a social life when you are starting a new practice, at least at first. You are going to want to dedicate your time concentrating on your new firm – managing it, marketing it, checking the finances and all that. You need to realize that when a person opens a new law practice, it does take away some of the time that they have with their family and loved ones. You have to be sure that this sacrifice is something that you have thought through, and accept and that your family is willing to make their own sacrifices as well.

Once you have mentally prepared yourself to run a busy law practice, there are more things to think about. You have to organize your office! After carpet and wallpaper combinations are worked out, client seating is considered, office equipment ordered and qualified staff are recruited the legal professional’s office is open for business. Bookkeeping must be done and cheques written.

As time passes, increase in business volume strains the practitioner. Even though managerial ability should be increasing, there is no time to manage effectively. Gone are the days when legal professionals handled every aspect of the day-to-day business. The accountant says business has increased but profits are down. Staff members sometimes do not get along. Information systems do not break out pertinent details of the business. The expensive marketing costs do not seem to be hitting the mark. The community begins to wonder why this educated and apparently capable individual never seems to support enough local projects. At the end of the day, there is very little time for considering the business, let alone family. Often the step overlooked when building a new practice is to develop a practical business plan from the outset.

Planning is perhaps the fundamental function of a manager. It requires understanding the components of a business and how they are interconnected. Planning begins with understanding the value a practitioner brings to their client and how best to satisfy the client’s needs. There is no better use of your time before you open your new practice than planning what it is going to look like, how it is going to operate, how it will be financed, what tools and technologies will you incorporate into your workflows and how will you manage to find time for yourself in order to avoid burnout.

Having a well drafted strategic business plan at hand means that you have a roadmap that governs not only the business direction in which you wish to proceed, it also serves as a governing document, guiding your efforts towards the clients, files and type of practice that you wish to have. It serves as the place where you have listed your business goals (in both qualitative as well as quantitative terms) and when you expect to reach them. It is an analysis of your business from many angles, including how to run the practice (Management), how to reach your chosen markets (Marketing), what systems you will need to make your practice work (Technology) as well as how you expect to be able to raise the necessary capital to start up and run your practice (Finance).

Along the way, you must learn the systems that must be incorporated into your practice to and how to properly run them to ensure that you are practicing professionally, profitably and ethically. You must also decide the legal entity under which you will practice.

Optimally you should do all this planning by crafting a well-thought out business plan before you open your doors. That is foresight. But the plan won’t accomplish anything sitting on the shelf. You must give life to the plan and seek to implement its goals and objectives as well as monitor and evaluate the results of your efforts to make maximum use of your plan.

After all your plan won’t accomplish anything unless it is implemented.

–David J. Bilinsky,  Vancouver, BC.

In the course of your work as a legal professional, you may receive the occasional call from the media, seeking your comments or insights on a recent legal development or issue.

Handling these enquiries with expertise and grace will always be beneficial to you and your practice.

Here are a few tips on working with the media in this context:

1. Generally speaking, media enquiries will initially come by email, with the journalist specifying the topic to be covered and asking for your availability to participate in a telephone interview.
2. If you wish to participate, don’t delay. Journalists work on very tight deadlines, so an immediate response will always be appreciated. It will also increase the odds that you will be included in the article to be written.
3. Do some research before your phone interview. Read up on the topics to be discussed, and ensure that you have the relevant statutes and caselaw at your fingertips during the interview.  The more detail and precision you can provide, the more value you will be adding to the article being written.
4. Be helpful. Most journalists appreciate it if you provide them with links to source materials by email. Remember, you have been contacted because of your expertise. If you can provide helpful background materials to the journalist, this will make  the writer’s job easier, and also make it more likely that you will be called again, next time.
5. Speak slowly and clearly during your interview, to give the writer opportunity to accurately record your comments.  Pause occasionally, to allow the journalist time to catch up.  Ask if you are going too fast, and listen to any cues your interviewer is providing about the pace and content of your comments.
6. Be yourself.  Be engaging and communicate your enthusiasm about your topic.
7. If you are logistically unable to participate in a telephone interview, but still want to contribute, consider sending a comment by email.  You never know – your short blurb could be exactly what the journalist needs.
8. Always be mindful in your dealings with the press of your duty to maintain client confidentiality.  Don’t comment on cases in which you are professionally engaged without your clients’ express permission.
9. Also be mindful of  your various ethical duties when dealing with the press, with special focus on the legal professional’s overarching duty to foster public confidence in the administration of justice.
10. When your telephone interview is finished, always ask the journalist to send you a link to the article being written, once it’s published online.
11. Ask that the online version of the article, where possible, include a link to your website.
12. If you note an error in the article, once published, don’t hesitate be in contact with the writer to request a correction. This can usually be  done expeditiously, particularly with online publications.
13. Consider sending a thank you note or follow up email to the journalist involved with feedback about the completed article, and kudos for a job well done.
14. Once published, leverage the article in your marketing efforts. Post it to your blog. Tweet and retweet it, and share liberally on social media.

– Garry J, Wise, Toronto 

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