tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54932953891720020992024-03-06T14:01:06.950-06:00The Practice ManagerA newsletter by the State Bar of Texas Law Practice Management ProgramLaw Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-53442042507207710742011-09-16T13:44:00.002-05:002011-09-16T13:48:36.840-05:00Returning to Your Office After a DisasterBy: Gisela B. Bradley, CEO<br />Law Practice Management Consulting<br /><br /><strong>Where , oh where do I begin?</strong><br />This is what many of you will be asking yourself if your office has been struck by a disaster. For purposes of this article disaster is defined as a fire, tornado, flood, hurricane, or other natural occurrence.<br /><br />If you have never experienced a business disruption of any magnitude, it will be difficult to know where to start. Even if your firm has an emergency response plan, it is not a recovery plan. Recovery is yours, even after the Red Cross serves you food, and you hold your insurance check in hand – it is up to you to get back to some level of normalcy as quickly as possible. Unfortunately you will need to work on recovery and resurrection of your firm as it was – at the same time. Following are some suggestions on how to accomplish that.<br /><br />At your first visit to your office after the disaster, briefly assess the extent of damage to your property. How much clean up is needed? What type of damage has your office suffered i.e. water, smoke, fire or wind damage? Are the premises usable to an extent that will allow you to begin the clean-up? If so, make sure that you have potable water, sanitary facilities, protective gear such as masks, gloves, boots etc. to protect workers from mold and other toxins. Before you begin any clean-up efforts, take photographs of damaged areas and property, you may need them for insurance purposes later. You may also want to first assign someone to be in charge of the recovery of your practice and someone else to start setting up temporary operations.<br /><br />The next step would be to take inventory of all your equipment, furniture and fixtures. Determine what is usable and what needs to be replaced. Remember not to plug in any computers or other electronic gadgets if they are wet, as data may be lost or damaged.. Examine your files and records (take pictures of destroyed files) and document their condition. This inventory is needed for two purposes: to asses the damage, and to establish how much money is needed to replace unusable items.<br /><br />If you have lost power, water, telephone or any other utilities, communicate with the landlord or the utility companies to find out when the utilities will be reconnected.<br /><br />Some of the supplies you will need for facility clean-up will be: tarpaulins and plastic sheeting to protect materials from water, to insulate windows, and to cover desks during salvage operations. Interlocking plastic crates to pack materials in, because cardboard boxes will weaken from the moisture in the materials if you had water damage. Generators to power equipment such as emergency lights, air conditioners, fans, etc.; waterproof and grounded heavy duty extension cords for fans and dehumidifiers; washing tanks or large plastic garbage containers, along with sponges, brushes, and hoses to wash materials; freezer paper, wax paper to keep items from adhering to each other in a freezer, and last but not least, cellular or satellite telephones or ‘walkie-talkies’ to coordinate the process, portable battery operated 2-way radios and petty cash in case the ATM does not work.<br /><br />While your recovery team is taking care of the impacted location, your organizing team looks after finding temporary space to work out of, and rent needed equipment and furniture, coordinate staff and work schedules, and contacting clients to let them know that you are still in business and how and where you can be contacted.<br /><br />Contacting your clients is the most crucial aspect of your business continuation. If your clients have been impacted by the disaster as well, they will be happy to hear from you and know that you are concerned about their well-being. At the same time, they can tell you if they have new needs for your services. You will want to get an idea of the work that is coming in, and what kind of cash flow it will create. Prioritize the work to most urgent, somewhat urgent, and can wait a while, until your practice is fully functional again. It is important to know how much money you will need during the recovery period, and knowing what type of work is coming in, will help determine that number.<br /><br />Technology can play an important role in disaster recovery. The first is to realize that the physical location of your office is no longer as crucial as it once was. You can have several ‘virtual’ offices to work out of, i.e. associates’ homes, secretaries’ homes, etc. by utilizing technology to communicate the written and spoken word. You can dictate your work into a telephone and your assistant can email the work product back to you almost as easy as if she/he were sitting outside of your door. If you are working out of several locations, plan on having regular conference calls (your telephone company can set that up for you) to promote the feeling of working together. At the same time, if your computers have suffered during the disaster, this may be a good time to upgrade to newer technology for a more efficient practice.<br /><br />It is possible that you will be in more than one temporary location before your office is settled again in a more permanent facility. It is my opinion that the two most important things in getting back to work as it was before the disaster are to remember : communicating with your staff and communicating with your clients. The first facilitates a quicker return to normal operations by keeping everyone informed of the progress of recovery and the need for all to return to work as quickly as possible, the latter is to assure your clients that you are still there to serve them and that you will continue to provide the same quality work as before.<br /><br />If you cannot reach your clients, please remember to document every effort you have made to contact them, just as you need to document every step you have taken to get your practice back in operation.Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-1590744250846250432010-09-14T16:08:00.003-05:002010-09-14T16:19:23.398-05:00QuickBooks Online - How the CLOUD Works With Your BOOKSBy <a href="mailto:%20djf@elpasolaw.com">David J. Ferrell<br /></a><br />I began using QuickBooks on my office computer in 1997 when I learned that my $1,000 a month accounting firm was using this program to do my books and payroll. I researched in-house use of this accounting software because of frequent payroll mistakes made by that accounting firm and a major foul up in the trust account. I learned that our payroll and trust account was being administered by the most junior non-CPA secretary of the accounting firm. I went to the firm with a box of floppy disks and “acquired” my law firm’s data. I then went to Computer City and purchased QuickBooks for less than one hundred dollars and within two hours I setup the law firm’s books on my computer and discovered what a horrible job the accounting firm had done with my firm. As I remember it, we had been set up as a trucking company, that was why our trust account was fouled up. QuickBooks had/has a module that sets up a business with the regular accounting codes for certain types of businesses, INCLUDING law firms.<br /><br />As good as QuickBooks was/is I became disenchanted with the frequent need to update the tax tables for payroll. QuickBooks required that I purchase a “plug in” module for my desk top version for payroll tax computations and the yearly fee began at $249 and went up every year. QuickBooks also kept “upgrading” the desktop software, when the old version worked perfectly well for my small firm, but there were veiled threats that my QuickBooks software would be inadequate soon, and more onerous, it would not be supported by “tech support” which I used occasionally but when I did, it was critical.<br /><br />In January, 2010 I got my bill for the yearly renewal of the tax tables and it was about $350. I was also informed that I needed to upgrade the desktop software again. I was irritated, to say the least, so, I began researching other ways to keep my books. I did not want to go back to an accounting firm, bad memories don’t go away easily. So I went to QuickBooks online and downloaded the free trial version of their “cloud” accounting software.1<br /><br />Initially, I was worried about having my books in the “cloud” where maybe the world had access to my accounting information but having read the QuickBooks online materials and being assured that my data was secure, confidential and protected I decided to go ahead. QuickBooks Online is a VeriSign Secured™ product, which means they use the same data-encryption technology that banks rely on for data security. I was able to setup an online account, upload my law firm’s data and my accounting codes and try the software FREE for 30 days. The transition was simple and I kept my desktop version and data (just in case) and began using the online version. My main motivation was to eliminate the incessant update and plug in costs AND the time I had to put in each time the updates/plug in’s were needed.<br /><br />I did not need 30 days to evaluate the online version, I was sold after just a week. I still got my first month free but I did not have to use my desktop version anymore. I did not have to pay the $199.95 for 2010 QuickBooks Pro (upgrade to the desktop) and I applied for a refund of the $350 that had been automatically charged to my credit card for the tax table plug in. I saved $549.95 for 2010.<br /><br />What did it cost me? QuickBooks online charges a monthly fee which includes updates to the software and for the payroll tax tables plug-in. AND, I don’t have to install the upgrades nor the new tax tables, QuickBooks does that. What do I pay now? $46.82 a month.2 That’s for three users, I only use two, myself and my administrative secretary. So, in reality, I would have paid $549.95 for the new desktop 2010 version of QuickBooks and the tax table plug-in, but now I am paying $46.82 a month which totals $561.84 a year, a difference of $11.89. AND, I don’t have to bother with updates, they come with the online version automatically.<br /><br />I have an accountant that prepares my 940 and 941 reports and my annual tax return and she has access to my QuickBooks online from her home office, and she is not counted as one of the three users. If I have a question about some tax/accounting issue my accountant can get online while I am online and we can discuss these issues on the phone. When she prepares my 940/941, W2's and my tax return she can do it from her home office. With QuickBooks, I can prepare these documents myself BUT I feel better having a CPA review what I am doing.<br /><br />The online version of QuickBooks has many bells and whistles that are easy to use and the software adapts to the user’s needs. It works for small firms and large firms and tech support can help you set up how you want the program to display. A detailed log is created showing who is using my accounting software (me, my secretary and my accountant) and what they did (write checks, make a deposit, review my data, etc.) and when. I can access my QuickBooks from any Internet enabled computer and I often review/work on my books at home. As a matter of fact, I created my payroll checks from home for the April 15th payday, went to my office at 6:30AM, printed the checks and put them in my secretary’s drawer and proceeded to the courthouse where I had hearings for most of the morning and my staff had their paychecks when they came to work. This software computes the tax payments and sends me an e-mail of when they are due. Tax payments are made online the day before they are due.<br />1. <a href="http://quickbooksonline.intuit.com/">http://quickbooksonline.intuit.com/</a><br />2. Base Product for up to 3 users $34.95<br />Online Payroll: $19.95<br />Subtotal: $54.90/month<br />20% off QuickBooks Plus<br />20% off Online Payroll<br />Current price: $43.92<br />Tax $2.90<br />Total: $46.82/monthLaw Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-66130217658268607602010-09-14T16:04:00.002-05:002010-09-14T16:07:45.771-05:00Publicity: Letting Others Know About Your Firm!By John Meredith<br /><br />Many firms do not have a budget for advertising, so they must rely on other forms of lower-cost publicity to get the word out about their firm and services. As background for where publicity fits among the well-known “Four P’s” of marketing -- Product, Price, Place and Promotion -- publicity is a type of promotion.<br /><br />Publicity can be called “free” advertising because publicity is usually obtained at no cost or at a discounted cost. While some firms have marketing personnel on staff or are able to retain PR/Advertising firms, publicity can provide law firms without a marketing budget a means to let others know about their firm.<br /><br /><strong>Why Publicize?<br /></strong><br />One of the main reasons to obtain publicity is that it increases the number of persons who are aware of your law firm. Another reason is that clients feel more comfortable hiring your firm if they have heard about it before and are familiar with it in the general community.<br /><br />A final valuable reason for publicity is that it can provide a third-party endorsement. Third-party endorsements, such as newspaper articles, are from persons not on the payroll and are viewed as more objective and credible.<br /><br /><strong>What is Your Message and Who will receive the Message?<br /></strong><br />The basic steps to effective publicity are (1) Research, (2) Plan, (3) Implement, and (4) Evaluate. The research and planning phases should begin with an idea of which “public” or audience you are trying to reach with your message. Potential audiences include current and potential clients, new attorney and staff recruits, referral sources and others. Each audience has different methods for receiving and absorbing publicity. Through this audience-focused planning, you can work back to the best method for targeting each intended audience.<br /><br />One common mistake is forgetting internal publicity and communication with attorneys and staff at your own firm. The internal audience may need to be notified first, so they are not caught off guard by publicity dispersed outside the firm. Further, your attorneys and staff can give their initial impressions, so that you have a first glimpse of the effectiveness of the publicity. Your ultimate goals are to consider what impression you want to leave and what action you want the person or entity to take as a result of receiving the publicity.<br /><br /><strong>How to Publicize your Message?<br /></strong><br />There are many publications that are looking for information to publish. For example, if an attorney joins your firm, then the Texas Lawyer, your local newspaper, the Texas Bar Journal and other sources will publish this information. In addition, the attorney’s law school and college may publish the information in their sources.<br /><br />For formalized publicity attempts, prepare a press release. Consider using different press releases for each type of media outlet. Make a list of media contact names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses and strive to develop a relationship with these sources.<br /><br />In the press release, include the who, what, when, where, why and how. Also, list a contact person with the first and last names and business title, a physical address, phone numbers (work and mobile) and email address. Next, include the release date (e.g., “For Immediate Release”), which lets the media know when they can publicize the information.<br /><br />Make sure the overall theme of the publicity is concise enough to pass the “elevator ride” test -- meaning the publicity should be succinct enough to describe it in a short elevator ride. Start your press release with this primary message and do not hide it in the body of the text. Most importantly if you want to have a reporter publicize your message, make the press release creative and interesting. Since media sources want the news to be “new,” a press release with a catchy title or exciting theme increases the chance that the media will follow up on the story or publish the press release.<br /><br /><strong>Republicizing Your Message<br /></strong><br />Most people do not realize that publicity can be reissued, so consider repackaging the information and sending it out again to clients and others who may not have seen the publicity the first time. You can also include the information on your firm’s webpage.<br /><br /><strong>Putting It All Together</strong><br /><br />Most importantly, the publicity message should fit with your firm’s overall theme. While getting your firm’s name in the media is usually valuable, part of the planning is to determine if the publicity moves your firm’s overall image in the right direction.<br /><br />Finally, without effective legal services, all the publicity in the world is not helpful. There are times when you should refrain from publicizing programs or events if it would not be beneficial for your firm. In the end, Starbucks has to have good coffee, not just good publicity.<br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">John Meredith is the Business Director for the Houston Office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP.</span></em>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-27458639967486163002010-05-28T09:47:00.001-05:002010-05-28T09:53:27.537-05:00To Hire or Not to Hireby Antony P. Ng<br /><br />When starting a solo practice, you are likely to be responsible for performing such tasks as preparing documents, docketing, maintaining an appointment calendar, tracking time and billing, etc. In fact, it is fairly common nowadays even for many experienced solo practitioners to type documents and post accounting information themselves. This is because current technology allows many solo practitioners having well-equipped offices to operate an effective law practice with no support staff at all. For example, a lawyer can perform legal research via online services, generate documents and correspondence on a word processor, transmit documents and/or correspondence via facsimile machines or e mail programs, and answer phone using an automated telephone system. <br /><br />However, there comes a time when doing everything oneself can become very cost ineffective, especially for do-it-all solo practitioners. Of course many do-it-all solo practitioners often balk at the idea of hiring a staff person, thinking they just cannot afford one. But before reaching such conclusion, let's examine the situation again.<br /><br />Do-it-all solo practitioners often reduce their fees to ridiculously low levels in order to attract legal work. When they start to generate legal work, they think they are busy because they work so many hours, but in fact they are just inefficient. They soon find that they do not make enough money to properly compensate themselves for the hours they put in, and they do not understand why they work so hard but take home so little.<br /><br />In addition, do-it-all solo practitioners often fill their time with typing, filing, etc. when they do not have enough legal work to keep them occupied. Since do-it-all solo practitioners do almost everything themselves, they typically have low overhead; but interestingly, their operations may actually have high costs. The reason for this apparent paradox is that a high-cost personnel, i.e., a lawyer, is relegated to doing low level clerical work. So instead of functioning as the proprietor of a business, do-it-all solo practitioners choose to bury themselves in mindless clerical drudgery.<br /><br />Quite often, lawyers view staff as a cost of doing business, i.e., an expense. However, this characterization may not always be true. Generally speaking, an expense is an expenditure for a good or service inherent in the process of dispatching work. For example, rent is an expense; paper clips and staples are also expenses. Needless to say, expenses should always be controlled carefully. On the other hand, an <span style="font-style: italic;">asset</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">investment</span> is an expenditure that substantially enhances the value of a business. An asset has the capability of amplifying profits by multiples of the investment's cost, and investments should be judged by their potential return. If properly utilized, a staff person can be a lawyer's most important asset. A staff can support the legal work as well as non-legal work the lawyer needs to do, with the non-legal work being entrepreneurial, organizational and marketing work needed to grow the lawyer's practice. <br /><br />If you finally come to a realization that a staff person may actually be beneficial to your practice, the next logical question would be "How much business should I have before hiring a staff person?" You are not ready to hire a staff person until your gross revenue is at least four times the cost of the staff person. So before you hire an assistant at $30,000 per year, you should have a gross revenue of at least $120,000. An assistant should be able to provide you with about 500 extra hours of capacity, but you will need about 250 hours of extra work to cover the additional overhead. Anything you generate over that will go to the bottom line. Thus, a good assistant can increase your profit by about double what you pay the assistant if you get work at a new capacity. The only way to get your hourly rate up is by increasing your marketing activity and effectiveness.<br /><br />Your decision to add staff will also generate questions such as: What type of support staff is needed to accomplish the tasks in my office? Will a paralegal or legal assistant be more beneficial to my work? The answer to these questions is usually hinged upon the type of practice you are in, the location of your office, the extent to which you use technology. You also have a wide array of personnel choices, such as a staff employee, leased employee, or contractor. Each of these choices has its own advantages and disadvantages.<br /><br />A <span style="font-style: italic;">staff employee</span> is the traditional and perhaps the most obvious solution. Since a staff employee should be available to you on a relatively long term basis, you can build your corporate knowledge with in house expertise. However, adding a staff employee can be very expensive, and to maximize the benefit to your practice, you should hire carefully with the expectation of a long term relationship to the staff employee.<br /><br />Alternatively, you can pay a staffing agency to provide you with a<span style="font-style: italic;"> leased employee</span>. Since the leased employee is an employee of the staffing agency, you have no payroll headaches and no benefit expenses. However, you will have to pay the staffing agency a premium for this convenience. Because of the high mark-up from the staffing agency, some people tend to avoid this option.<br /><br />With a staffing agency, you may also consider hiring a "temp to perm" staff person. Basically, after a set term indicated in your contract with the staffing agency, you can then hire the leased employee as your staff employee. This arrangement lets you see a person in action before you make a hiring decision.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Contractors</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Freelancers</span> are available for contract work, but generally not for permanent employment. They are often described as independent contractors, and independent contractors are subject to heavy scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service as to their employment status.<br /><br />In the beginning of your law practice, it is often more cost-effective to make use of personnel such as secretaries, bookkeepers, title searchers, etc. on an as-needed basis. The cost may be slightly higher on an hourly basis, but can be geared to specific tasks at specific times. However, when you have more work than you can handle and you are billing at a sufficiently high rate to apply the four-to-one hiring rule, you should begin looking for a more permanent staff.<br /><br />Reference<br />Paul McLaughlin, Practice Management Consultant<br />Art Italo, Hiring Staff for Your Law PracticeLaw Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-70990645887846971022010-05-28T09:32:00.004-05:002010-05-28T09:45:44.872-05:00How to Fire a Client: Replace a Bad Client with a Better Client!By <a href="mailto:Newman@TopLawyerCoach.com">Martha Newman</a>, J.D., PCC<br /><a href="http://www.toplawyercoach.com/">www.TopLawyerCoach.Com</a><br /><br />Talking about dropping clients may seem like a strange topic in this economic climate where ADDING CLIENTS is what all of us are focusing on.<br /><br />We need to build that client base no matter what, right?<br /><br />Wrong!<br /><br />Tough times make <span style="font-weight: bold;">SELECTIVITY</span> crucial.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Troublesome Traits</span><br /><br />Troublesome clients are not only energy drains, they can literally suck the life out of your practice.<br /><br />So, which clients generally fall at the bottom?<br /><br />David Leffler, a New York City-based lawyer, lays out some troubling characteristics in a recent <a href="http://new.abanet.org/divisions/genpractice/Pages/GPSoloMagazine.aspx"><span style="font-style: italic;">GPSolo Magazine</span></a> article.<br /><br />• Constant complaining about your work, your availability, your bill, etc.<br />• Doesn't heed your advice - ever!<br />• Skips out on a bill or is slow to pay.<br />• Is unreachable until a day before trial.<br /><br />Wasted time. Wasted energy. Personal misery aside, these types of high-maintenance, low-return clients are bad for your practice...and for your HEALTH.<br /><br />Think about it. All the time you spend with a huge headache of a client who drives you nuts or doesn't pay on time could be otherwise devoted to a better-quality client who follows your advice, pays your bill, and is a pleasure to work with.<br /><br />In addition, Leffler writes:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The amount of time and emotional energy taken up by this [bad] client is way out of proportion to the amount of revenue brought in. Not to mention, you're affected when you're NOT working with them. Trouble clients can challenge your self-esteem, making it harder for you to do well with other clients."</span><br /><br />While it's hard to actually cut a client loose, it's important to understand that doing so will most likely lead to <span style="font-weight: bold;">more work</span>. Once you fire a counter-productive client, you'll have:<br /><br />• More time to devote to your professional relationships with existing clients.<br />• More time for <a href="http://toplawyercoach.com/category/marketing/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">lawyer marketing</span></a> and <a href="http://toplawyercoach.com/category/rainmaking/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">business development</span></a>.<br />• More time for <a href="http://toplawyercoach.com/category/networking/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">networking</span></a> and<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://toplawyercoach.com/category/relationship-building/">pinging contacts</a></span> and referrals.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How to Delicately Fire a Client</span><br />Once you've determined which clients are weighing you down, it's time to give them the boot!<br /><br />Termination of services should always be carried out politely and in person. Never do it by e-mail!<br /><br />Leffler reminds attorneys to keep malpractice in mind as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"You can't just leave a client high and dry in the middle of a lawsuit. Be sure to observe all local rules in this regard."</span><br /><br />Finally, be courteous enough to make yourself available to the next lawyer. Make sure the client's file is ready and waiting for new counsel ASAP! Be proactive!<br /><br />A proactive lawyer is a productive lawyer.<br /><br />Don't be bogged down by unhealthy attorney-client relationships.<br /><br />Cut <span style="font-weight: bold;">bothersome clients</span> loose and start reaping the rewards!Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-48035544619427941392010-05-28T09:23:00.002-05:002010-05-28T09:31:23.643-05:00Trillium 15 Laptop Carrying Caseby Al Harrison, Harrison Law Office, P.C., Houston<br /><br />Trillium 15 Laptop Carrying Case<br />Shaun Jackson Design; www.SJDesign.com; 888-662-4300<br />Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price: $149.95<br /><br />Attorneys who use a notebook or laptop or a netbook computer (referred to herein as a "laptop" for convenience) when out of the conventional brick-and-mortar office or while traveling or who rely upon such a portable computer as a crucial cog of a virtual law practice, will appreciate the need for having a convenient, lightweight and protective carrying case or carrying bag for porting a laptop along with its essential accessories. Nevertheless, most users just accept whatever carrying bag is packaged with a laptop at the point of purchase or just do not bother to carefully select a carrying bag for promoting laptop longevity. This product review discusses several advantageous features to be gained by protecting your laptop with a convenient and secure, feature-rich carrying bag and illustrates this approach to laptop longevity with Shaun Jackson Design computer-safe bags.<br /><br /> The initial entry into the Shaun Jackson Designs (“SJD”) carrying case product line was aptly named the “LapDog” which was uniquely configured to be efficiently unlatched and metamorphosed into an ad hoc desktop by being conveniently emplaced in situ upon a user's lap (as if it were a pet dog). Hence, this LapDog bag, when opened, transformed a portable computer into a mobile desktop, i.e., into a true "laptop," the quintessential ingredient of a virtual law practice. Since the LapDog computer bag was commercially released prior to the advent of X-ray machines at airport checkpoints, the bag was not designed to be expeditiously opened while waiting in line and quick removal of your laptop at security checkpoints. Accordingly, several unclicks of plastic hinges were prerequisite for opening the bag so that it's contents could be examined by Xray machine and possibly manually too.<br /><br />The current vintage SJD carrying case, the "Trillium," is convenient, practical and versatile especially for frequent airport travelers. It may be invoked in three distinct modes: (1) a comfortably-padded backpack; (2) a briefcase having a shoulder-strap; and (3) a lightweight, protective padded sleeve. While initially introduced as the "BackOffice" indicative of its profound functionality as a virtual office, its name was changed to "Trillium" to emphasize its innovative threefold functionality. See, images depicted at www.hggear.com/trillium.html.<br /><br />In its basic configuration, the Trillium may be instantly unlatched by a single click to form a compartmentalized mobile virtual law office situated on your lap as a lapdesk or for use atop an available horizontal surface. Thus, to work directly from the fully-assembled Trillium, you just unclick the securing hardware and then expose your well-protected laptop by unzipping the padded sleeve that encases the laptop so that the top of the sleeve may be raised. This single unclicking and subsequent unzipping occurs in mere seconds, thereby exposing the laptop contained within. As deemed appropriate, the computer's lid may then be raised in situ, i.e., while it is still seated within the sleeve, or it can be physically removed from the sleeve and emplace the laptop directly atop your lap, or on a tabletop or desk, or on a tray-table or the like.<br /><br />The 15" model comfortably accommodates a laptop sized up to 14.5" x 10.7" x 1.75". A larger model is also available for accommodating a 17" laptop. Constructed with "Cooldeck" non-slip riser pads, your laptop is situated within the sleeve in an elevated position, inherently benefitting from natural airflow cooling. Incorporated into the Trillium are two large zippered side pockets (11" x 7.5" x 1.5") with each pocket being located on either side-flap for convenient storage of ancillary items such as writing implements, notepads, AC adapters, paper clips, business cards, cables, iPod, laser pointer, CDs, thumb drives, etc. One side pocket has a slightly smaller zippered pocket juxtaposed upon its upper surface. The other pocket has an organizer panel configured with variously-sized compartments that are juxtaposed upon its upper surface. If you opt to invoke this basic Trillium arrangement, then each side flap of your lapdesk hangs downwards outside each of your thighs. with the compartments' contents being immediately accessible while you conduct your business.<br /><br />To accommodate its padded backpack configuration, the Trillium provides a special, barely-visible zipper compartment for storing, easily removing, and then attaching a pair of (backpack) straps via secure and convenient hinging hardware. The shoulder straps may optionally be secured to each other via a cross-strap which is situated across your chest and which is affixed to each shoulder strap — assuring that your laptop will be quiescently situated on your back. Using this backpack arrangement, of course, frees your hands to deal with situations that may arise while checking in at an airport or a hotel, without your setting it down, thereby unnecessarily jeopardizing your care and control.<br /><br />When a more professional appearance is sought, e.g., when you are dressed formally for court or for an in-person client conference or the like, wherein the functionality of a backpack is not appropriate for carrying your laptop, the pair of (backpack) straps simply remain hidden within the allocated zipper pocket, and a handle and/or a single shoulder strap may be used when the briefcase configuration is invoked. While used in this briefcase configuration, the Trillium provides a second rear pocket which has greater capacity for storage than the shoulder strap pocket and, indeed, affords ample storage for files and documents within a 12.5" x 11.25" x 1.5" space. It should be noted that this supplemental rear pocket is also available in the Trillium's backpack configuration.<br /><br />In its isolated sleeve configuration, the Trillium provides a removable laptop inner sleeve section which is securely attached to the Trillium's undersurface with military-strength Velcro. This sleeve section may be carried by either its own rubber handle at one end or by a single shoulder strap. The Trillium's functionality as a mobile housing for your portable office remains with the sleeve's non-slip, rubberized bottom surface and combined Cooldeck - gripdeck interior. It is recommended that your laptop be kept within this custom-tailored cushioned sleeve while emplaced upon the conveyor belt traveling along the security Xray-checkpoint at airports.<br /><br />The Trillium 15 accommodates laptops up to 15"wide and is constructed with a rigid frame and securely-fastened, high-quality hardware; the case is enclosed with shock-absorbing foam padding throughout for lining external rugged, expedition-grade fabrics — with all stress points being reinforced to assure uninterrupted protection of its sensitive contents.<br /><br />Thus, the SJD Trillium laptop carrying case or carrying bag can serve as your first level of protection to your mobile or virtual law practice. The central internal portion affords a well-padded and secure resting place for your laptop which may be transported either as a backpack, as a briefcase, or as a padded sleeve. Obviously, this is the raison d’etré for any carrying case: routinely and reliably waterproofing and insulating your laptop or the like from movement and (mild) shocks, to assure its physical longevity.<br /><br />Attorneys should give serious consideration to how best to sustain the longevity and security of client data stored on their laptops or the like. As discussed in this review, the structural and physical integrity and outstanding functionality of Shaun Jackson Design computer bags have established a high standard of care for the mobile law office. The Trillium not only affords superior protection for notebooks, netbooks and laptops alike, but also provides handy accommodations for concomitant miscellaneous accessories and law practice-related papers and references. Providing adequate physical protection for your portable computer both promotes its longevity and assures that stored files are immediately accessible when needed.Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-48186498351983241662010-02-09T14:51:00.002-06:002010-02-09T15:12:47.423-06:00Social Media Primer for Lawyers (Part 3)By <a href="mailto:debra@lawyer-coach.com">Debra Bruce, J.D.</a><br /><br />In the <a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2009/09/social-media-primer-for-lawyers-part-1.html">first post</a> in the Social Media Primer for Lawyers series, we covered an overview of blogging and Facebook. In <a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2009/11/social-media-primer-for-lawyers-part-2_24.html">Part 2</a> we introduced LinkedIn and Twitter. In this Part 3 of the series, we’ll give an overview of several social media sites especially designed for lawyers.<br /><br />5. Legal OnRamp <a href="www.LegalOnRamp.com">www.LegalOnRamp.com</a><br /><br />Legal OnRamp describes itself as “a Collaboration system for in-house counsel and invited outside lawyers and third party service providers.” Think of it as a LinkedIn for the legal industry. You can request an invitation to join Legal OnRamp from a link on the homepage, where you will be directed to complete and submit an application. Don’t hold your breath waiting for a response, however. It’s more effective to find someone you know who is a member of Legal OnRamp, and ask them to send you an invitation to join.<br /><br />The site has a number of features that lawyers may find useful:<br /> a) profiles of the members<br /> b) display of several legal blogs<br /> c) discussion groups<br /> d) a section for posting news and updates<br /> e) a collaborative wiki for posting templates, sample agreements and surveys<br /> f) links to articles on Law.com and InsideCounsel<br /> g) a rolling job posting display<br /><br />While Legal OnRamp has only about 10,000 members, it has a concentration of in-house counsel, which makes it a valuable networking site for both inside and outside counsel. In May 2009, FMC Technologies announced that its RFP process for litigation counsel would be coordinated on Legal OnRamp, with all its responses to questions about the process being provided only in its discussion group created there.<br /><br />6. Texas Bar Circle <a href="https://texasbar.affinitycircles.com/sbot/home">https://texasbar.affinitycircles.com/sbot/home</a><br /><br />Texas Bar Circle is the social media network restricted to members of the State Bar of Texas. It also resembles LinkedIn. It contains discussion groups, job postings, event announcements and opportunities to connect with other Texas Bar members. Any user can start a discussion group, which can be open or restricted. Groups have formed based on practice areas, geographic regions, law schools and interests outside of law. Bar Circle members report that they appreciate the opportunity to ask questions of other lawyers, engage in professional discussions, share resources and develop relationships with lawyers they didn’t know before.<br /><br />7. Martindale-Hubbell Connected <a href="www.martindale.com/connected">www.martindale.com/connected</a><br /><br />Martindale-Hubbell Connected is another LinkedIn-like social network targeted specifically for attorneys. In fact, there is a feature to allow you to see which of your LinkedIn connections are also members of Connected, so that you can invite them to join Connected. Any attorney can join for free, and other legal professionals are also permitted to join. It is not necessary to have a Martindale.com subscription. <a href="http://blog.martindale.com/martindale-connected-hitting-15000-members">Martindale announced</a> in September 2009 that Connected had achieved 15,000 members.<br /><br />The site sports member profiles, blogs by members, affinity groups, discussion forums and legal news updates. There is a place to make announcements, as well. None of these features are very actively used as of this writing, at least by comparison to LinkedIn and other more established networks. A quick perusal of the attorneys in Houston, Texas on Connected in October 2009 revealed that the majority of them had 0 connections established. Some conferences are creating private groups for their participants to download documents and connect with each other on Connected.<br /><br />8. AVVO<br /><br />AVVO describes itself as a website to provide guidance to consumers in choosing a lawyer. AVVO compiles profile information and ratings of lawyers from state bar records, self-disclosure, peer reviews and client reviews. AVVO has its own formula for calculating its ratings, which range from 1 to 10. It also has<br /><br />It also has how-to legal guides for consumers, and a question and answer section where lawyers answer consumer questions. Attorneys have the opportunity to showcase their expertise through posting guides and answering questions. AVVO also awards attorneys “levels” based on how active and helpful they are on the site.<br /><br />AVVO is not really a networking site, but it is based on user-generated content. It does give lawyers a chance to connect with other lawyers by posting endorsements of them, and to interact with potential clients by answering questions. Lawyers should check their profiles to make sure they are aware of what clients and other lawyers may be saying about them.<br /><br />The AVVO site and its rating system have been controversial. A number of <a href="http://blog.larrybodine.com/2009/01/articles/current-affairs/avvo-has-lost-its-credibility/">commentators have criticized</a> AVVO for giving poor ratings to prominent attorneys, and “no concern” ratings to lawyers who have been sanctioned by their bar association or convicted of a crime. It also has its <a href="http://www.myshingle.com/2009/02/articles/trends/why-in-an-economic-downturn-is-the-dc-bar-trying-to-kill-one-tool-that-can-help-lawyers-find-clients-and-jobs/">proponents</a>, who laud the free directory listing. It provides an inexpensive opportunity to establish an Internet presence to small firm attorneys, in contrast to the expensive directories like <a href="www.lawyers.com">www.lawyers.com</a> and <a href="www.findlaw.com">www.findlaw.com</a>.<br /><br /><br />9. JD Supra <a href="www.JDSupra.com">www.JDSupra.com</a><br /><br />JD Supra is an online repository of legal documents, forms and articles. Why would you want to post anything there? Here are a few reasons:<br /><blockquote>a) <a href="http://kmspace.blogspot.com/2008/08/jd-supra-revisited.html">Some lawyers</a> who have posted articles have been contacted to write a similar article for a legal publication, garnering more publicity and name recognition.<br /><br />b) JD Supra has an application that can make your publications come up in a list in your Facebook profile, thereby making it easier to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise to your Facebook connections.<br /><br />c) <a href="http://scoop.jdsupra.com/2009/05/articles/content-marketing/twitter-for-lawyers-one-benefit-you-might-not-have-considered/">JD Supra tweets</a> about postings on Twitter in subject-specific newsfeeds. That enhances your reach to your target audience. JD Supra already has established followers in the relevant industries on Twitter, and they retweet what they like, to their network of followers.<br /><br />d) JD Supra feeds articles into relevant LinkedIn interest groups, as well.<br /><br />e) It helps to level the playing field, showcasing solo and small firm articles right along with those of the BigLaw firms. A number of BigLaw firms post their firm newsletters and alerts on JD Supra.</blockquote><br />For more information about the benefits of JD Supra, Gina F. Rubel wrote a good article in <a href="http://thelegalintelligencer.typepad.com/tli/2009/04/social-media-for-lawyers-part-7-jd-supra.html">The Legal Intelligencer Blog</a>.<br /><br />10. Lawlink <a href="www.LawLink.com">www.LawLink.com</a><br /><br />LawLink bills itself as “the first social network for the legal community.” The members are restricted to lawyers, law students, expert witnesses and law professionals. Members can post documents, like at JD Supra, and link to their blogs, similar to LinkedIn. They can also participate in discussion groups and post or answer questions, like on LinkedIn.<br /><br />LawLink incentivises participation by giving points for posting documents, questions, answers, and other items. Members of LawLink are listed in order of their accumulated points. The home page showcases four “featured attorneys” for a month, who gain that honor by being the most prolific poster of the month.<br /><br />The features are actually pretty nice on LawLink, but the participation is not very robust. At the time of this writing, lawyers looking for a social medium designed for lawyers would find more action at Legal OnRamp.<br /><br />We have discussed the “Big 3” of social media networking: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. We’ve also discussed social networking sites especially relating to lawyers. And yet there’s more. So much more. Keep watching for another post about social media sites attorneys may want to know about.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Debra L. Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (<a href="www.lawyer-coach.com">www.lawyer-coach.com</a>), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach. She is a former Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and past leader of Houston Coaches, Inc., the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your comments below.</span></span></span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-61139898992355117882010-02-09T14:48:00.001-06:002010-02-09T14:50:55.389-06:00iPhone3GS or Palm Pre?By <a href="mailto:%20dferrellelpaso@gmail.com">David J. Ferrell</a><br /><br />This summer we have seen the greatest evolution of mobile technology in world history and the greatest competition is between the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. Both are cell phones BUT they are much more. They are hand-held gateways to the almost infinite knowledge/data that is archived on the internet. Besides bestowing very useful, informative and fun applications, the cell phone revolution has spawned a very mobile communication system that boggles the mind of those who bought those BRICKS ie. the first handheld cell phones. Today, teens text at 75 words a minute, their parents do the same at 8 words a minute. You can email an astronaut in space as you drive through a school zone, if you know her e-mail address, at least before September 1, 2009 when that behavior will get you a ticket (see Texas Transportation Code Sec. 545.425). And, she can respond at the speed of light; don’t worry, Texas has no jurisdiction in space.<br /><br />Well, now which cell phone should you get if your old contract is about to expire? The iPhone 3GS is a marvelous device. It has access to nearly 50,000 applications, it is sleek and powerful. I will not articulate a thorough evaluation here but I will point out the main difference between the two heavy weight competitors for mobile technology dollars.<br /><br />I chose to purchase a Palm Pre on June 6, 2009 (first day available). Some people will joke that I was the first nerd in line at Best Buy. That’s not true!! I was the second. Anyway, I bought the Palm Pre and almost took it back three times. Then, as the haze of 3G technology lifted and I began to understand the miracle of 4G I saw the genius of WebOS and knew I would not go backwards in my quest for the best mobile technology for now on the market.<br /><br />The iPhone can run one application at a time, the Palm Pre multitasks, I have been running my calendar, my GPS, my contact list and memo pad as I was sending an email and an instant message while listening to a music stream from Pandora, all at the same time. This was a test I was conducting I wouldn’t normally do all that especially while driving to the courthouse. BUT, it is possible and the implications are enormous.<br /><br />A big drawback to the iPhone is its only carrier, AT&T. There are dead spots in many different places. The Palm Pre’s exclusive carrier, Sprint has its problems too. Another big problem with the iPhone is the word PROPRIETARY. That means Apple has its hand in almost everything that the iPhone does. Here is where the Palm Pre will excel, and if you can wait until early 2010, Verizon will become a Palm Pre carrier.<br /><br />The Palm Pre Mojo SDK (Software Development Kit) enables anybody to create, install, and debug locally hosted Web applications. This SDK puts the Palm Pre into FREE Developer Mode, which opens Pre's Linux developers to remote login. Once your genius kid in India or El Paso gets in the Pre's command shell, they will discover how robust and open the Linux OS at WebOS' base really is. I predict WebOS will be used on netbooks, notebooks , and desktop computers and even on the CPU (computer) in your refrigerator etc. in your house of the future.<br /><br />Once Pre developers get into the SDK, they will exploit the easy access and use of the command line, shell script, and C. There isn't another mainstream mobile phone that is as effectively rooted at the factory. So, even though there are few applications for the Palm Pre right now, as compared to the iPhone, get ready, I predict a tsunami of Palm Pre NONPROPRIETARY applications will emerge AND, they will be free or cheap. Imagine this, you will be able to hire a geek kid somewhere to write an application for you that does what you want EXACTLY and you might spend fifty bucks for the programming. The program (application) is yours! Then share or sell that application to others who want that application but didn’t think about it until YOU did.<br /><br />As a postscript to this article which I wrote in July 2009, a final comment: Just recently, Motorola and Google have teamed up and released “The Android” or “Droid” smart phone. Since it is so new, I would investigate this new communication system that could eclipse all other smart phones and devices. Google the term “ANDROID SMART PHONE” and read the articles. This is Android 2. Google has been very successful in its ventures to provide technology FREE OR CHEAP. That alone is worth further investigation.Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-485226778332911912009-11-24T15:56:00.000-06:002009-11-24T15:20:42.994-06:00Social Media Primer for Lawyers (Part 2)By Debra Bruce, J.D.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">In the last post we began an introduction to various social media from the perspective of lawyers. </span><a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2004/09/social-media-primer-for-lawyers-part-1.html"><span style="font-family:Arial;">That post</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> discussed blogs and Facebook. This post continues the series by introducing lawyers to LinkedIn and <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">3. LinkedIn</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">www.LinkedIn.com</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p>Although LinkedIn has a smaller membership (</span><a href="http://blog.linkedin.com/2009/10/14/linkedin-50-million-professionals-worldwide/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">over 50 million</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">) than Facebook, the members are </span><a href="http://operationredstate.com/whos-who-in-social-media-demographics-part-3-of-6-linkedin.html"><span style="font-family:Arial;">primarily white-collar business professionals</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">. A LinkedIn profile looks like a resume on steroids. You are invited to post your current position, former positions, and education. You can fill the summary section with a search-term rich description of your practice, and you can incorporate your blog, slide show presentations and other features. Your LinkedIn page may get better search engine ranking than your website! If you still don’t have a website, get on LinkedIn so that at least you will <i>exist</i> when prospective clients or referral sources search for you on the web.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Like Facebook, LinkedIn has a place to post short status updates. Because it is entirely appropriate to toot your own horn on LinkedIn, this is a good place to publicize an award you just received, a trial you won, an article that got published or anything else that enhances your professional reputation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Like Facebook, you can invite people to link to you, but with a kicker. When your old classmates or colleagues connect to you, there’s a good chance they will review your profile. If you have constructed it carefully, they will be reminded of the ways you can help them. Then your status updates will help keep you top of mind when they have a need. A lot of people have gotten business just from reconnecting with old contacts as they built their LinkedIn network.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Once you get about 100 connections, LinkedIn becomes even more valuable because it operates on the “six degrees of separation” theory. Let’s say there is a company that you want to do a little reconnaissance on. You might want to know how to best approach them as a prospective client, get a job there, or find their weak spots as a litigation opponent. When you search on the company name, LinkedIn will not only show you everyone you are connected to who works there or used to work there, it will also show you which of your friends knows someone like that.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Like Facebook, LinkedIn has groups that you can join that share common interests. In those groups you can raise your visibility among potential clients and referral sources who are members of the group by answering questions or posting some of your own to get a discussion going. Keep in mind the usual ethical caveats if you answer legal questions, and shy away from posting questions about legal issues in a public forum. Examples of a few questions that might generate discussion without making you look bad include (i) how have you found LinkedIn to be beneficial, (ii) if you have used a virtual assistant, what was your experience, and (iii) what positive trends or changes do you see coming out of these challenging times.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">4. <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname></span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">www.Twitter.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> is called a micro-blogging site because posts cannot exceed 140 characters, and the user’s profile description can’t exceed 180. It </span><a href="http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">evolved from</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> a mechanism for people to text multiple friends at once to keep tabs on each other, so they could meet up or alert each other to something cool going on. Today, however, <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> is has become the fastest way to get up-to-the-minute news on any topic. Observers “tweet” the news as it happens, as </span><a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2004/09/social-media-primer-for-lawyers-part-1.html"><span style="font-family:Arial;">previously described</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> regarding the June 2009 Iranian election. It also </span><a href="http://jprof.blogspot.com/2009/01/writing-for-twitter-good-journalism-in.html"><span style="font-family:Arial;">garners attention for newsworthy</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> events that mainstream media may have ignored.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><st1:personname st="on"><br /></st1:personname></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:personname st="on"><br /></st1:personname></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname>ers share information, often with links to blog posts with more in-depth discussion. If your followers find your comment interesting, amusing or informative, they will “retweet” it to their followers. Thus, your posts can very quickly go viral, and if it contains a link to related information on your website or blog, <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> can drive a lot of traffic there. If you have a message you want to get out to a lot of people, or if you want more traffic to your website, it pays to develop a lot of <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> followers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><st1:personname st="on"><br /></st1:personname></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:personname st="on"><br /></st1:personname></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> can help lawyers to build a reputation for expertise and create valuable relationships with potential clients and referral sources by joining conversations in an arena with very few barriers. <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> has been described as a giant cocktail party where you can join a conversation on any subject that interests you. Just like at a cocktail party, you make new acquaintances and can follow up with them later in a more private forum. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">The culture of the “<st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname>verse” is open and collaborative, allowing you to connect with (or at least eavesdrop on) people who probably wouldn’t take your phone call. For example, on July 10, 2009, the new CEO of General Motors, Fritz Henderson, spent half an hour </span><a href="http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=137358"><span style="font-family:Arial;">answering questions on Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> about the products and direction of the “new” post-bankruptcy GM.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">The <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname>verse has its own etiquette, which frowns on flagrant self-promotion, and favors helping others and reciprocation. Since those values support relationship building, and relationship building lies at the core of effective marketing of professional services, <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> can be a valuable tool for lawyers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><st1:personname st="on"><br /></st1:personname></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:personname st="on"><br /></st1:personname></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> neophytes often find it confusing. That’s mainly because the <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> structure is actually rather skeletal, and users rely on a myriad of external applications to make it function in the way they want to use it. Just enter “top <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> apps” into your favorite search engine, and read a few blog posts to find some applications that will make <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> easier to understand. For some quick guides, check out </span><a href="http://www.legaltypist.com/inc/files/editor/files/LegalTypistTwitter101.pdf"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Twitter 101</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;"> by LegalTypist, Inc. and </span><a href="http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/"><i><span style="font-family:Arial;">The Ultimate Guide to Everything Twitter</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></i><span style="font-family:Arial;">by Webdesigner Depot. To really learn about the power of <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> in detail and in an efficient manner, read the book </span><a href="http://twitterpower.com/"><i><span style="font-family:Arial;">Twitter Power</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></i><span style="font-family:Arial;">by Joel Comm.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">The most common misconception about <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> is that you will just waste your time reading about what someone had for breakfast. Yes, some foodies and narcissists will post about what they eat. However, you won’t “hear” what they have to say, unless you follow them. If their conversation bores you, walk away! Only follow people (your “tweeps”) who tweet on topics you care about. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Here is a brief list of essential applications and sites for attorneys experimenting with <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname>. This list just scratches the surface, but it’ll help you get off to a good start.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://tweetdeck.com/beta/"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://tweetdeck.com/beta/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Tweetdeck</span></a><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">. </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">This popular application helps you manage the conversation flow of the people you follow. You can segregate tweeters into columns by interests, locations, friends, favorites, or any other category that helps you sort for the tweets you really want to read. This becomes more important as you increase the number of people you follow. Tweetdeck also has an iPhone app to keep your tweets organized on the road.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://tweetbeep.com/"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://tweetbeep.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Tweetbeep</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">. You can use this app to alert you by email when someone sends you a message, mentions your name, or mentions any other subject you want to react to promptly. This tool is essential for lawyers who don’t check <st1:personname st="on">Twitter</st1:personname> frequently, and might miss someone’s effort to contact them or compliment their tweet.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://www.lextweet.com/"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://www.lextweet.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Lextweet</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">. A site that follows the tweets of lawyers and other members of the legal community who register with the site. See what your peers are saying.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://www.twellow.com/"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://www.twellow.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Twellow</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">. Breaks tweeters down by industry based on what they registered under. Find people to follow in your clients’ industry or in the legal industry.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://wefollow.com/"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://wefollow.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">WeFollow</span></a><span style="font-family:Arial;">. Another service that categorizes twitterers to help you find who to follow.</span><o:p></o:p></p> <u1:p></u1:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><u1:p></u1:p><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">By now you have plenty to experiment with, and yet “social media for lawyers” encompasses so much more. The next post will discuss some social media venues that specifically relate to lawyers.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Debra L. Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (www.lawyer-coach.com), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach. She is a former Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and past leader of Houston Coaches, Inc., the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your comments below.</span><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-3979243656731554962009-11-24T15:18:00.001-06:002010-02-09T14:26:36.217-06:00Three Steps to Take When Planning to Return to Work After a DisabilityA long term disability can be life altering – for yourself and for your family. It can impact<br />your livelihood and your ability to continue to earn an income. That’s why a long term<br />disability (LTD) income insurance plan that offers a return-to-work option can be such an<br />important part of your financial plan. It offers a measure of security that will allow you to<br />concentrate on your first priority – getting well – without worrying too much about how<br />you’ll meet your financial responsibilities. But perhaps just as important, it can help you<br />to get your life back to as normal a routine as possible by allowing you to resume<br />working while still receiving benefits.<br /><br />Returning to work while receiving disability benefits can be rewarding, but it will take<br />some coordination between your LTD provider, your employer and yourself.<br /><br />Here are three important steps you should take when you return to work:<br /><br />1. Inform your LTD provider you wish to return to work. In most cases, once your<br />provider offers a “return to work option” and approves your return, your benefits<br />will continue after you re-enter the workforce. Benefits may be reduced to take<br />into account your new income, and may cease all together if you begin earning an<br />income comparable to your pre-disability income. Make sure to keep your<br />provider abreast of your plans – going back to work without your provider’s<br />consent may jeopardize your LTD benefits.<br /><br />2. Contact your HR department (if applicable) to find out what requirements they<br />have regarding your return. For instance, you may be required to submit release<br />forms from your medical care provider clearing you to return to work. HR may<br />also be able to offer you “light duty” or a transitional position as you readjust to<br />the workforce.<br /><br />3. Alert your manager of any special accommodations you need. You may find<br />that you have special needs such as ramps, more frequent breaks or a specialized<br />keyboard to help you perform your job.<br /><br />Depending on your LTD plan, you may have access to services that can help you get<br />additional training if you want to get back to work, but are no longer capable of fulfilling<br />the duties you previously held. Many LTD plans offer assistance obtaining vocational<br />training needed to re-enter the workforce.<br /><br />Returning to work after a disability can be an uplifting experience that can help you<br />physically, emotionally and financially. Make sure you have the option to get back on the<br />job by choosing an LTD plan with a return-to-work option.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Long Term Disability Plan, endorsed by the State Bar of Texas Insurance Trust and<br />issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, offers LTD protection<br />designed specifically with Texas bar members in mind. The Plan provides money you can<br />use to pay your mortgage, buy groceries and meet your everyday expenses while you’re<br />disabled. Go to www.sbotit.com /ltd to learn more about the Plan and how it can help you<br />make sure you are protected.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-4989635864007105942009-11-24T15:06:00.001-06:002009-11-24T15:09:29.991-06:00Virtual Assistance Can Help Your Law Firm Manage A DownturnBy Mike Lewis<br /><br />Using a virtual assistant can reduce your firm’s overhead costs.<br /><br />In the midst of an economic downturn are you doing everything you can to cut costs and stay afloat?<br /><br />Many companies are now using an innovative service provided by virtual offices that enhances productivity and creates value in the global downturn—virtual assistance. A virtual assistant handles all the administrative tasks that take time away from your ability to focus on what you do best.<br /><br />A virtual assistant helps you manage your professional and personal tasks just like an on-site administrative assistant, but without the overhead. The difference is you pay virtual assistants for time actually worked, opposed to a salaried administrative assistant who needs health insurance, vacation, and other employee benefits.<br /><br />Pofessional virtual assistants conduct internet research, manage your personal and professional calendars, format MS Office applications, book your travel plans, coordinate events, speak multiple languages, and perform many other services—they are well-resourced to manage all your administrative needs.<br /><br />Maria Flores, a virtual assistance user, says, “Since I decided to hire a Virtual Assistant, my life has been so much easier. Now I don't have to worry about time-consuming administrative tasks, and I have more time to dedicate to…my business and to my family.”<br /><br />If only 5% of your time is spent on administrative tasks, that is 4-6 hours of time you are not able to bill a client for.<br /><br />There are many virtual assistant firms and it is important you choose the correct one. Quality firms provide you with a dedicated virtual assistant, instead of farming out your work to whoever is available, and they work with you to find a virtual solution that best meets your needs.<br /><br />Once you get used to using a virtual assistant you will forget how you operated without one.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">For further information please contact: Mike Lewis, Principal, mlewis@excend.com. About EXCEND Consulting Group: EXCEND has provided consulting services to over 170 clients worldwide. The firm advises leading businesses on penetrating the Hispanic market in North America, as well as consulting international businesses on entering the North American market. Clients of EXCEND penetrate new markets at rates up to 3 times faster than their competitors.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-68547759158878283232009-09-04T13:52:00.001-05:002009-09-04T14:14:25.710-05:00The Art of Hiring and Firing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XRTJKEbTMP1DVQucjtNsdDJBTQR0rHki8jX52lUgRTyh1jYVN3tJAVQn6zo2Xsd_mWtOTS6TMNFFCVg6_ETuieMS5RJAoCXmVpTHC26m2DUq1V2X89Io5JQAp6gun-Nmi-06Tdb_Iyk/s1600-h/Barbara+Gardner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 75px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XRTJKEbTMP1DVQucjtNsdDJBTQR0rHki8jX52lUgRTyh1jYVN3tJAVQn6zo2Xsd_mWtOTS6TMNFFCVg6_ETuieMS5RJAoCXmVpTHC26m2DUq1V2X89Io5JQAp6gun-Nmi-06Tdb_Iyk/s200/Barbara+Gardner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377671812467369410" border="0" /></a><br />By Barbara J. Garder, J.D.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HIRING – EMPHASIZE THE POSITIVE</span><br /><br />Hiring well is a talent and firing effectively is a skill. If you hire well, you will have to engage your firing skill less frequently. Eagerness to fill an opening should not prevent you from performing a thorough consideration process to hire the best choice for your firm.<br /><br />Following are some practical pointers regarding handling the hiring process and a variety of issues to consider prior to making the decision to terminate an employee’s employment...<br /><br /><a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2004/09/art-of-hiring-and-firing.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click here to read the full article.</span></a>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-20795128004915965242009-09-04T13:09:00.000-05:002009-09-04T14:15:50.042-05:00Social Media Primer for Lawyers (Part 1)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-H2giJ-bv9CPfEP5SbJUs8C4gktfDXtPhHEH9JjEI2ytHeTPd2owWYVsm5FoQAEyLCvuu_1r3mOEfu-TDg6PF6_1oe9kraFzpsQUDIvTWHL2aW-xl3O4icrwnWNqojOg1z-QNxHmoLVM/s1600-h/Debra-+small+pic.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 60px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-H2giJ-bv9CPfEP5SbJUs8C4gktfDXtPhHEH9JjEI2ytHeTPd2owWYVsm5FoQAEyLCvuu_1r3mOEfu-TDg6PF6_1oe9kraFzpsQUDIvTWHL2aW-xl3O4icrwnWNqojOg1z-QNxHmoLVM/s200/Debra-+small+pic.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377691518252122018" border="0" /></a><br /><br />By Debra L. Bruce, J.D.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Unless you live in a cave, you have probably been hearing about social media lately. Many lawyers dismiss social media as just something that kids do. Others recognize that many adults use social media, but claim that it’s a waste of time for lawyers. Some lawyers even concede that using some social media might benefit their practice, but assert that there are too many risks associated with it.<br /><br />Lawyers made similar claims about the internet and email in the 1990’s. Today most of us can’t even practice, if our access to internet and email goes down...<br /><br /><a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2004/09/social-media-primer-for-lawyers-part-1.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click here to read the full article.</span></a>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-8358097288932612742009-09-04T12:07:00.000-05:002009-09-04T14:18:00.504-05:00Thomson Reuters Westlaw Research Tools: Graphical Statutes & Graphical KeyCiteReviewed by <a href="mailto:Patent.Trademark.Lawyer@hlopc.com">Al Harrison</a><br /> <br />Legal research frequently commences with assessing underlying federal and/or state statutes. Researching statutes has traditionally been both a laborious and a challenging aspect of legal research, regardless of whether being undertaken by law clerks, paralegals, professional researchers, or by attorneys themselves. While paper-based law libraries have become largely superseded by universally-available electronic libraries, researching the statutory basis for legal controversies has largely remained a daunting chore. Consider and contrast the functionality and feature sets of two popular but diametrically opposed currently-available protocols for performing statutory research: MyTexasBar and Westlaw Graphical Statutes.<br /><br /><a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2004/09/thomson-reuters-westlaw-research-tools.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click here to read the full article.</span></a>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-3162623406346555802009-04-06T09:03:00.005-05:002009-04-06T09:18:49.630-05:00Silver Linings in Recessionary Times<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBctC7_85xwfZe6pB-lHxEDAUqsaISx-MSOqj1MqUXhtzTyRBzMcSe0Z7cU4b31k2G-LHeddlSSeD4-4aTokM0VQz7On86wB1X-J2wsjzpuskgp1nZV4HUHPxOV02S-O9aeb0oKdzusC8/s1600-h/Debra-+small+pic.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 60px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBctC7_85xwfZe6pB-lHxEDAUqsaISx-MSOqj1MqUXhtzTyRBzMcSe0Z7cU4b31k2G-LHeddlSSeD4-4aTokM0VQz7On86wB1X-J2wsjzpuskgp1nZV4HUHPxOV02S-O9aeb0oKdzusC8/s400/Debra-+small+pic.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321582644710956386" border="0" /></a><br />By <a href="mailto:debra@lawyer-coach.com">Debra Bruce</a>, JD<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The current economic downturn has affected BigLaw to an unprecedented extent, resulting in lawyer layoffs. Many smaller firms, however, have not actually seen a drop in business. This scary economic climate may actually create opportunities for smaller law firms.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Small Firm Opportunities</span><br /><br />1. Big companies with shrinking budgets may take a chance on smaller law firms with good reputations and less expensive fee structures. Make sure you keep your corporate relationships current.<br /><br />2. Your firm may attract higher quality, experienced attorneys or staff at reasonable salaries, as the result of layoffs from corporations or large firms. Some lawyers may be glad to work on an Of Counsel basis or office sharing basis, just to have a respectable place to land with the possibility of referral business.<br /><br />3. More graduating law students will have difficulty finding jobs, and they may seek positions as law clerks or even unpaid interns, just to get experience. Get some help or delegate tasks you don’t like to do, without over-extending your budget.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Take Advantage of Slower Business</span><br /><br />If your business has slowed down, this too shall pass. Take advantage of the additional time you now have available. Do what you kept wishing you had time for, when you were too busy. Here are a few suggestions to consider.<br /><br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">Take a vacation</span>. Make it up to your family for all those nights and weekends at the office. If you are concerned about expenses, there are some good travel bargains now, but you don’t have to leave town. Be a tourist at home and pay attention to those you love. As a lawyer, I found that one way to generate additional business was to book a vacation with non-refundable tickets. Perhaps it was the perverse humor of the Fates, or the fact that I informed clients I would be unavailable for a week. Business almost always ticked up. Hint: notify your clients enough in advance that you have time to complete those “can’t wait” projects.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">Clean up your office</span>. You always intend to get more organized, don’t you? This is your chance. Don’t waste it.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-style: italic;">Enhance your business relationships</span>. Rekindle relationships with former clients, law school classmates, and referral sources that you haven’t talked to in a while. Check in to see how the economy is affecting someone today. Call your former client to ask how things are going after the completion of that trial or deal closing. Pass on useful articles to referral sources and prospective clients. Most people appreciate help in keeping up with our rapidly changing world. The recent legislative developments provide ample opportunity to benefit them while showcasing your expertise.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-style: italic;">Write an article or prepare a talk</span>. Think of 10 tips or 10 traps for the unwary that you can share with your prospective client audience. Contact organizations that your prospective clients may be involved in, to see if they would be interested in your article for their publication or your talk at an upcoming meeting.<br /><br />5. <span style="font-style: italic;">Attend meetings of client industry associations and bar associations</span>. Get involved, so that more people will get to see how responsible and trustworthy you are. Once you build up that trust, they will assume they can count on your legal work, too. You’ll build new relationships with potential clients and referral sources. You will probably learn something valuable, too.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;">Catch up on CLE requirements</span>. Don’t wait until your birthday month this year. If your area of practice looks like it will be down for a long time, take courses in a new practice area to add to your repertoire.<br /><br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;">Do some pro bono work</span>. Most unhappy lawyers have lost the sense of meaning and purpose in their work. Reignite your passion for the law, and feel good about yourself, by making a difference to someone who really needs legal services, but can’t afford them. Some volunteer lawyer associations provide training and mentoring, in case your expertise doesn’t lend itself well to pro bono work. You may even get training in a new practice area, if you need some.<br /><br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">Catch up on technology</span>. Explore the unused capabilities of your case management software; learn how to have a less-paper office; find out the benefits of online social media; create or update your firm’s website; start a blog; find useful new apps for your iPhone or Blackberry; or test out speech recognition software for your dictation. You can’t outrun (or out-retire) the tsunami of technological advances in the legal world, so you better learn to swim!<br /><br />9. <span style="font-style: italic;">Mentor newer lawyers</span>. Young lawyers wish they had more mentoring, and older lawyers wish the younger ones were more experienced or more professional. Increase the value of your firm and the productivity of your less experienced lawyers by teaching them what they need to know. If you don’t have any younger lawyers in your firm, raise the quality and perception of our profession by mentoring a recent law school grad. Just contact the nearest law school to let them know you are available.<br /><br />10. <span style="font-style: italic;">Take care of yourself.</span> For once you have time to exercise. Besides improving your health, it will reduce stress, anxiety or the blues. Sleep late a few mornings. What can feel more luxurious? Actually prepare a healthy meal for yourself and your family. Get your kids or spouse to join in, and you can turn a chore into a time of reconnection and bonding. Spend some quiet time alone each day. That will increase your resilience, lower your blood pressure, and open your mind to creative solutions that didn’t occur to you before.<br /><br />Every cloud has a silver lining. Look for opportunity in adversity. Enjoy your new-found flexibility. If nothing else, call your mother. You know you never do that enough!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2009 Debra L. Bruce<br /><br />Debra L. Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com">www.lawyer-coach.com</a>), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming the first Texas lawyer to be credentialed by the International Coach Federation. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas and a past leader of Houston Coaches Inc. You can email her at <a href="mailto:debra@lawyer-coach.com">debra@lawyer-coach.com</a>.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-45970762564127404482009-04-03T10:40:00.005-05:002009-04-03T10:56:11.082-05:00E-Book Review: Spam-Proof Your E-mail AddressBook: 2nd Edition By Brian Livingston<br /><a href="www.WindowsSecrets.com">www.WindowsSecrets.com</a><br />31 pages, $9.95<br /><br />Review By Al Harrison and Randy Claridge<br /><br />Brian Livingston, a highly-regarded expert of matters pertaining to any and all incarnations of Microsoft Windows and the author of the well known Windows Secrets series, has written an informative “e-book” that reveals modus operandi for protecting website-published e-mail addresses from exploitation perpetuated by purveyors of junk e-mail. Known as “spammers” in the electronic vernacular, such purveyors of spam are responsible for consuming daily significant attorney-time which tend to undermine the efficiency of e-mail communications.<br /><br />A recent estimate of the profitability enjoyed by spammers by Ciphertrust (see, www.ciphertrust.com) is that a return of a mere single spam out of a population of 50,000 e-mails justifies this heinous procedure. That is, if only one spam-recipient unknowingly or inadvertently responds to a junk e-mail, while contemporaneously approximately 50,000 co-recipients properly reject the same junk e-mail, the spammer typically can realize a profit. Furthermore, according to data compiled by the SpamHaus Project, an anti-spam service (see, www.SpamHaus.org) which tracks spammers and also shares its findings with law enforcement, fewer than 200 spammers generate at least 80% of worldwide spam. The urgency for seeking “spam-proofing” protocols is evident.<br /><br />Mr. Livingston’s thesis for foiling spammers’ dastardly exploits is for the user to affirmatively create an environment that inherently reduces spam. His ideal electronic landscape minimizes or avoids spam-flow on the basis of e-mail addresses being rendered invisible to spammers. Thus, spam-proofing may be achieved by hiding e-mail addresses from the robotic eyes of automatic e-mail “harvesting” applets that collect e-mail addresses for sale to a plethora of exploitative spammers.<br /><br />He observes that harvesting applets focus on spam targets having predictable format: character strings having the format “your-id@domain name.” Accordingly, search criteria invoked consists of an algorithm that: (1) seeks occurrences of the special character “@”; (2) confirms that this “@” is followed by a domain name having a “.” delimited format such as “isp.com” or “YourDomain.com”; and then (3) copies the (non-blank) characters that precede the “@.” Of course, other top-level domains (besides the com-domain) such as net, org and edu would typically be included in this search strategy.<br /><br />To prevent harvesters from electronically cumulating email addresses, the author suggests several approaches which he classifies as “Super-Simple,” “Simple,” Moderately Simple,” and “Advanced.” While not assuring success, these methods may significantly improve the usability of preferred e-mail addresses. When posting an e-mail address on a website, the most rudimentary deterrent to being placed upon a spam distribution list is to modify the way the e-mail address is conveyed to the reader. Rather than specifying “myname@isp.com,” it is preferable to present the address as “myname(at)isp(dot)com.” This approach foils harvesters by not displaying what is predefined as constituting a valid e-mail address. A spam bot does not copy every bit of text on a website, but rather scans millions of websites looking for the familiar “@” and “.” combination associated with conventional e-mail addresses. Unfortunately, the author concedes, spammers are beginning to include e-mail address variations such as “myname(at)isp.com” in e-mail scanning algorithms.<br /><br />Another recommended method involves posting an e-mail address as a graphical image file instead of a textual string. Image files cannot be read by text-scanning routines, but, images provide website visitors a familiar e-mail address. Harvesters are not programmed to perform optical character recognition (“OCR”) on billions of web pages in the pursuit of collecting myriad e-mail addresses. Analyzing the enormous number of images encountered would drastically undermine the bots’ productivity. The primary drawback to relying on image files to depict an e-mail address is that visitors must manually type the address rather than just hot-linking via a single click.<br /><br />As an aid to enabling website visitors to invoke the familiar point-and-click experience, Mr. Livingston refers to a free applet that embeds an encrypted “mailto:” hyperlink on a website. Then, once incorporated into a website, an email address may be invoked by visitors who can view an e-mail address as an image and establish contact by clicking on the encrypted hyperlink. The invoked hyperlink triggers a new e-mail message in the visitor’s default e-mail program and automatically populates the “To:” field with the e-mail address. Adding the prerequisite code to a website is more technically involved than the previous methods, but it affords website visitors easy e-mail access while simultaneously hiding the e-mail address from nasty bots.<br /><br />The author introduces the most technically sophisticated method for spam-securing an e-mail address, while still affording convenience to website visitors: incorporating an interactive form into a website. Most website visitors are familiar with web forms, usually found on service support websites and the like. Nevertheless, as Mr. Livingston correctly notes, many businesses fail to design a visually-appealing form. Website visitors may acquire a subpar first impression of a business based upon what appears to be an amateurish form. Cost-effective web-design tools for generating web forms and website designers are available but should be carefully selected.<br /><br />As yet another approach to avoiding spam, he suggests creating “disposable” e-mail addresses whereby each recipient of an e-mail is allocated a different address. Under this schema, if one such disposable e-mail address is compromised, the user simply ceases any further use, i.e., turns it off. The e-book includes a list of available disposable e-mail services, some of which are free.<br /><br />Brian Livingston’s “Spam-Proof Your E-Mail Address” is an excellent way to not only become conversant with techniques for avoiding being inundated by spam, but also to experience the nuances of the e-book genre.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Al Harrison is a member of The Law Practice Management Committee and a former Chair of the Computer & Technology Section of the State Bar; he is a patent attorney and intellectual property lawyer practicing with the firm of Harrison Law Office, P.C. In Houston.<br /><br />Randy Claridge is a recent graduate of South Texas College of Law who is an associate attorney practicing with the firm of Harrison Law Office, P.C.; he has extensive background in computer and Internet technology.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-79094419709013989062009-02-18T10:08:00.000-06:002009-04-03T10:38:27.714-05:00Creating Your Personal Marketing Plan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQErXyWnPsliysW-Cdqwa-3eE_-ypiUoz7gn9tZrP9Q7f4id12gXg50DiwqmL-Vnv1FCR9uVf27TWSpwlIcWiyeNM_3UfaulfRboJTRoGSABMdKrcgGOd8x4Imuu2GI5QSuh2JVyhgic/s1600-h/Debra-+small+pic.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 60px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 90px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304171417325537394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQErXyWnPsliysW-Cdqwa-3eE_-ypiUoz7gn9tZrP9Q7f4id12gXg50DiwqmL-Vnv1FCR9uVf27TWSpwlIcWiyeNM_3UfaulfRboJTRoGSABMdKrcgGOd8x4Imuu2GI5QSuh2JVyhgic/s200/Debra-+small+pic.JPG" /></a><br />By <a href="mailto:debra@lawyer-coach.com">Debra Bruce, JD</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In the last article we talked about preparing to create a marketing plan. Now it’s time to write down your plan. A written plan requires you to organize your thoughts, and provides some accountability guidelines for your activities. This article does not address the specifics of advertising, but if you do plan to use advertising, it should be addressed in your plan, too. Here are five steps to create your marketing plan.<br /><br />1. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Budget marketing time.</span> Decide how much time you will commit to marketing activities each week. It’s important to set a minimum so you will develop a regular habit of marketing activity. You can’t postpone your marketing efforts until you are low on work, because marketing legal services is a long-term process. You have to plant and nurture seeds before you can harvest the fruit. You can’t wait until you need the apples to plant the apple seeds.<br /><br />Budget a minimum of five hours per week. That will allow for 10 to 15 minutes per day for making a little connections by emails, notes or phone calls. Your other marketing activities will require time blocks of approximately two hours each. You might choose two per week from the categories of (a) in-person meeting over lunch, breakfast, dinner, coffee or cocktails with a client, prospect or referral source, (b) group networking activity such as a bar, civic, or industry association meeting, (c) writing or blogging, (d) online networking in listservs, social networking sites like LinkedIn, chat rooms or forums, or (e) speaking. Some weeks all of your efforts will fall in one category, but try to diversify your efforts over time.<br /><br />2. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Set monthly goals and action plans for developing relationships within your target audience. </span>Choose just one target market to start. Begin building a relationship with at least one new person in that market per month. Experiment with strategies to come in contact with new prospects. If your clients are companies, what industry associations do they belong to? Can you attend their meetings? What conferences or trade shows do they attend? Can you take on a leadership or other visible role in the industry organization once you attend consistently for a while? Can you blog, write articles for their publications, or speak at their conferences? Write down the actions you plan to take.<br /><br />If your clients tend to be individuals, what problems or other characteristics do they have in common? What groups do they join? Who else serves the same types of people? For example, if you have a wills, trusts and estates practice, can you speak to organizations that financial planners belong to? Can you be a speaker at an event a financial planner hosts for her clients? Can you be an invited guest? Can you speak to retirement or assisted living associations or organizations for new parents or for caregivers of aging parents?<br /><br />Personal injury lawyers and other litigators often find this step difficult because most people don’t expect to need their services. You may need to focus on developing relationships with referral sources. Can you speak to or write for consumers’ rights groups, union organizations, safety councils or organizations that provide support or resources for people with related problems or injuries? Who else serves the same people – hospitals, doctors, clinics, chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists, community services, psychologists, credit counselors, auto repair shops? Are there close knit groups of people who share information and resources with each other, like neighborhood associations, ethnic associations, or religious associations? Can you be a part of and play a helpful role to any of those groups, and thereby become a trusted resource whose name would get passed around? Can you educate them about the legal issues that may affect their members or customers?<br /><br />Set goals to regularly attend meetings in organizations where you can build relationships with referral sources or potential clients. Designate at least one meeting that you will attend every month. Sporadic attendance gets associated with unreliability, and won’t give you enough exposure to build relationships. You may need to visit several organizations before you find the best ones for you. Look for meetings in which you are interested in the topics discussed, the cause they support, and the people who attend.<br /><br />3. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Set goals and action plans for repeatedly connecting with <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">existing</span> clients and prospects.</span> When a need arises, people prefer to take their problems (or stake their reputation on a referral) to someone they trust. Trust takes time to build, and if you don’t connect with them sufficiently often, they may not think of you when a need arises. Create your reserved parking spot in their brain on the subject you can help with. Set goals regarding how often you will contact them or show up where they show up.<br /><br />You can connect in many ways. Send a newsletter with useful information. Give them a resource for help with their non-legal problem. Call to check on how the economy is affecting them and their business. Invite them to a social event related to their interests. Share a restaurant review for their favorite food. Keep them abreast of cases or legislation affecting them. Bump into them at meetings they attend. Send a birthday card or holiday card. Send condolences when their team loses a big game, or congratulations if they win. Ask them to be a speaker at an event you help plan. Interview them for an article you write. Every time you connect again, you are reinforcing that reserved parking spot. If you are genuinely interested in helping them with their concerns (regardless of whether they relate to legal issues), you build trust.<br /><br />4. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Track your efforts and your next actions. </span>You may have a distorted picture of what works if you don’t keep records. Make a note every time you connect with your targeted prospect or referral source. When your record shows that it took 12 “touches” to get that new piece of business, you won’t stop at 3 next time.<br /><br />Your record should also capture your plan for the next action to take. Did you promise to send something? Will you need to set up another meeting when you get additional information? Are you waiting on a response from them? Are you both planning to attend the same conference? When will you touch base with them again?<br /><br />Choose a recording method you are comfortable with. You can use case management software, a three-ring binder, a chart in Excel or WordPerfect, or even a legal pad. Some attorneys keep a notebook with a page for each prospect and a running narrative of their goals and the actions they take toward them. Some create a prospect chart with names, contact information, decision makers, the needs they have uncovered, results of meetings or calls, and next action steps. You can email me for samples of some tracking charts in Excel.<br /><br />5. <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Review your goals, plans and results regularly.</span> That will help you keep a marketing focus and show you where to make course corrections. Over time you will get a better sense of what works for you and how long it takes. Be patient and persistent!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2009 Debra L. Bruce<br /><br />Debra L. Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com">http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com</a>), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming the first Texas lawyer to be credentialed by the International Coach Federation. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas and a past leader of Houston Coaches Inc. You can email her at <a href="mailto:debra@lawyer-coach.com">debra@lawyer-coach.com</a>.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-60442709464047769132009-01-21T13:41:00.000-06:002009-02-18T10:50:46.167-06:00Preparing to Create a Marketing Plan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQy8g3Zr-M3C112r-edwfcHwZg776jx-xFRrRcVlx7nqc6_TojfQlFI0oS0QDgR2blissSGYBww2F2gWGpO7H0ytedrP7co63a68ADgg9JSqcexMAPUWgI_fU7H4LaYcfLvYqf4xGNfms/s1600-h/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 60px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQy8g3Zr-M3C112r-edwfcHwZg776jx-xFRrRcVlx7nqc6_TojfQlFI0oS0QDgR2blissSGYBww2F2gWGpO7H0ytedrP7co63a68ADgg9JSqcexMAPUWgI_fU7H4LaYcfLvYqf4xGNfms/s400/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293837432646414386" border="0" /></a><br />By <a href="mailto:debra@lawyer-coach.com">Debra Bruce</a>, JD<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The beginning of a new year is a good time to set a marketing plan for your legal services. Many lawyers don’t have a marketing strategy, much less an action plan. They use the “Threshold Method.” They take any business that crosses the threshold into their office.<br /><br />Some attorneys write down marketing goals, but they put about as much thought into them as they do their new year’s resolutions. They resemble a wish list more than a plan. A wish list is better than nothing. At least if you stumble onto one of your goals, you’ll recognize it.<br /><br />Some lawyers actually write down a plan of marketing activities for the year. This year they plan to give four speeches, attend three conferences and take four clients to lunch per month. At least they have some activities to aim for. They get off to an optimistic start, but their efforts tend to dwindle in a couple of months. Their numbers are specific, but their target audience is not. They lose momentum because they don’t have a focus.<br /><br />A good marketing plan works like a treasure map, guiding you toward your goal. It gives you specific instructions, with landmarks that will help you gauge whether you are making progress toward finding what you are looking for. You know what you are trying to get to because “X marks the spot.”<br /><br />You need to do some preparatory work, surveying the landscape before you create your treasure map. Get clear about the treasure you are seeking, and what kind of “X” it will be buried under. The steps described below will get you ready to map out a good plan.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 1 – Analyze your existing business.</span><br />Give a grade to your existing and former clients. We want to find more of the “A” and “B” clients, and figure out how to avoid the “C” and “D” clients.<br /><br />“A” – Wish they could all be like this.<br />Interesting work. Good volume and ongoing. In my sweet spot of expertise and interest. Pleasant and reasonable people to deal with. They appreciate my efforts. They pay promptly and don’t quibble over the bill. Give referrals.<br /><br />“B” – Good clients, but something is off a little.<br />Perhaps their work is not in my sweet spot, or it’s low fee or boring work. Perhaps they are unsophisticated users of legal services and are surprised at the bill or the time involved. They pay, but don’t really have an appreciation for the value they are getting. May give referrals.<br /><br />“C” – Several things don’t fit.<br />Very fee sensitive. I wind up writing off some of my time. They pay but not timely. I have to dun them. I don’t really enjoy their work, or never know whether there will be more. I get last minute notice of their needs. If I were flush with business, I would refer them to someone else.<br /><br />“D” – Pain in the neck.<br />High maintenance. Unreasonable expectations. Self-created crises. Frequent phone calls. Want the lowest rate. Pays slow. Client creates a lot of stress on our office. Tries to renegotiate the fee. Doesn’t give me all of the info I need.<br /><br />Where did the “A” & “B” clients come from?<br /><br />If networking or advertising, what kind? How long were you involved with that group or campaign?<br /><br />If referred – what kind of referral source? Other attorneys? Former clients? Friends or family? Other vendors of products or services to same market?<br /><br />How did you get to know the referrer?<br />If speaking or writing – what venue? What topic?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Step 2 – Describe your ideal client.</span><br />What kind of work do you do for them?<br /><br />How else do you really serve them?<br /><br />What industry are they in?<br /><br />What title or level does the hiring decision-maker have?<br /><br />What size is the company in terms of annual revenues? Number of employees?<br /><br />If an individual, what income level, estate size, injury level, or other threshold does the client exceed?<br /><br />What feels good about working with that kind of client?<br /><br />How does working with them align with your passions or interests?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 3 – Identify your client’s need or desire.</span><br />What complaints, worries or problems do your best clients bring to you? What do they say? What questions do they ask? What is their pain?<br /><br />What is your client’s dream? What are they hoping to achieve that you can help with? How do you make that individual’s life better, easier, less stressful or more fun?<br /><br />If the client is a company, answer the above about the hiring decision-maker personally first, then about the company.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 4 – Identify what sets you apart from your competition.</span><br />List special expertise, experience or background that you have, connections you have.<br /><br />What is the niche of service you provide? Determine the niche you will market to. You don’t have to turn away business outside that niche, but you need a market focus. Make the marketing niche as narrow as you can.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 5 – Develop your marketing answer to “What do you do?”</span><br />“I help <span style="font-style: italic;">(type of person or company)</span> with <span style="font-style: italic;">(their problem)</span> by<span style="font-style: italic;"> (what you do for them)</span>” or “I help <span style="font-style: italic;">(who)</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">(what they want to achieve)</span>.”<br /><br />Example: “I help parents get through divorce without making it even worse.”<br /><br />For tips on crafting your statement, read “<a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2007/06/get-remembered.html">Get Remembered</a>” in the archives of The Practice Manager.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 6 – Identify where to come into contact with people in your niche market.</span><br />What industry organizations or trade associations do ideal clients in your niche market belong to?<br /><br />What country clubs, sports clubs, social clubs, online networks or special interest groups do they belong to?<br /><br />What articles, magazines, trade publications, Listservs or blogs do people like them read?<br /><br />What conferences, seminars, conventions or trade shows do they attend?<br /><br />What non-profit boards are they on? What non-profits do they support?<br /><br />Who do they turn to for advice or referrals?<br /><br />Who are the blabber-mouths that love to tell everyone about the best restaurant, the best movie, the best hair stylist, the best lawyer?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Step 7 – Identify where to come in contact with referral sources.</span><br />Where do they work? What do they do?<br /><br />What organizations do they belong to?<br /><br />What conferences and trade shows do they attend?<br /><br />What blogs or Listservs do they comment on?<br /><br />What networking groups (in person or online) do they get involved in?<br /><br />What needs do they have? How can you help them? What referrals can you give them?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 8 – Identify the most comfortable/enjoyable marketing activities for you that will put you in touch with potential clients and referral sources.</span><br /><br />What hobbies or other activities do you enjoy that can be done regularly and in large groups?<br /><br />What organizations can you become active in and consistently attend which have potential clients or referral sources attending?<br /><br />Do you like to write? What are some frequently asked questions can you answer? What developing issues or current events can you discuss? What innovative ideas or perspectives can you share? What publications might be interested in your article? Trade journals are always looking for free articles by reliable sources. Newspapers need new articles daily.<br /><br />Are you comfortable with public speaking? What organizations and venues would be receptive to your talks?<br /><br /><br />If you have answered all the questions above thoughtfully, you now have some good clues to finding your treasured clients. With this preparation, you are ready to write a real marketing action plan with step-by-step instructions. Happy hunting!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2009 Debra L. Bruce<br /><br />Debra L. Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (<a href="http://www.lawyer-coach.com/">www.lawyer-coach.com</a>), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas and past leader of Houston Coaches Inc., a chapter of the International Coach Federation.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-52747140829113986432008-12-16T13:58:00.000-06:002009-01-21T13:34:55.537-06:00Holiday Networking Tips<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiac-Tq4txtJWz8o0cofY4v9-xUSsEKWmhDhD-LQQJheuUcFYUwIDVh1SwAsdXYXaDh2Y21qIPRjAnm7vt4Ls9Wd9fIGCASRuehBftyVCnX_jRzp05Vbdn2DRI0_VhyphenhyphenMXDVE-sg7kt8-8/s1600-h/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280482642737020722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 60px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiac-Tq4txtJWz8o0cofY4v9-xUSsEKWmhDhD-LQQJheuUcFYUwIDVh1SwAsdXYXaDh2Y21qIPRjAnm7vt4Ls9Wd9fIGCASRuehBftyVCnX_jRzp05Vbdn2DRI0_VhyphenhyphenMXDVE-sg7kt8-8/s400/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />By <a href="http://www.blogger.com/debra@lawyercoach.com">Debra Bruce</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Many lawyers think of December as a time when people are harder to reach, decisions get postponed and less work gets done. That may be true for some, but it’s also a time filled with opportunities for marketing your practice, looking for new career opportunities, and deepening or expanding your network of useful resources.<br /><br />No, I am not suggesting that you hawk your wares or pass out your resume at holiday parties. I am suggesting that you take full advantage of this opportunity to meet and reconnect with people who you may not have access to the rest of the year.<br /><br />Whether you just love socializing or avoid big gatherings whenever possible, here are some tips that can make your holiday networking more productive:<br /><br />1. Plan ahead. To optimize these opportunities, think now about how you might answer some of the typical questions, such as “What do you do?” Re-read my article <a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2007/06/get-remembered.html">Get Remembered</a> published in The Practice Manager in June 2007 so you won’t give a dull and forgettable response. Don’t lead with “I’m a lawyer.” People tend to stop listening after that because they’ve filed you in a category in their brain. Lead with who you help and how. Have one or two very brief (two sentence) success stories in mind that you can use to illustrate how you do that.<br /><br />2. Dress well. If you want to court business and instill confidence in your abilities, look successful and even festive, but not flashy. Don’t wear a slinky, low cut dress if you want people to pay attention to what you have to say. Wear something with pockets, if possible. Store your business cards in one pocket and stash cards you receive in the other.<br /><br />3. Ask thoughtful questions. People who dread large parties and networking events usually fear awkward or shallow conversations. You can avoid that by thinking ahead about a few questions you can ask to stimulate a more interesting and in-depth conversation. You might ask a variation of one of these:<br />a. What changes have occurred in your business (or industry) as a result of<br />1) Hurricane Ike;<br />2) the economy;<br />3) fluctuating gas prices;<br />4) the recent election;<br />5) the holidays: or<br />6) other current events?<br />b. How do you like to celebrate the holidays? What’s one of your favorite childhood memories of the holidays?<br />c. How did you get started in your business?<br />d. What do you enjoy about your work?<br />e. What kind of challenges or opportunities do you expect the new year to bring you (or your business or industry)?<br />Notice that questions about work or business may lead to information indicating how you can be of service.<br /><br />4. Have the intent to help someone. You’ll feel more at ease and have more fun if your focus is on being helpful, rather than on how you look to others. You can make introductions, point out the bar or the tastiest hors d’oeuvres, or share information about useful resources when needs surface in a conversation. You can start a conversation with someone standing alone. Imagine that you are the host to get in the right frame of mind for being helpful and at ease.<br /><br />5. Take notes and follow-up. If someone gives you a business card, discreetly write on the back of it. Occasionally step around the corner or into the restroom if necessary. Write the date and occasion where you met and reminders of interesting conversation. Have your assistant record that information when adding them to your contact database. Hopefully you will be able to follow-up within the next week with an article, a website link or some other useful information relating to your conversation. Then you can include an invitation for lunch or coffee to continue the conversation.<br /><br />6. Ask for introductions if necessary. If you see someone you want to know, and don’t have an easy way to get into conversation with them, ask a friend to introduce you. You may need to give them some information to share in the introduction that will facilitate the conversation.<br /><br />7. Scope out future activities. If you are considering getting involved with an organization for business connections, the holiday party can give you a good view of who is connected to that organization. You can ask people about the organization’s culture and their activities. You can ask them what they like most about being involved.<br /><br />8. Invite clients and prospects to your home. An intimate dinner for six to ten people in your home can really deepen your connection with them. If you just can’t stomach big parties, this is an excellent alternative for getting involved in the holiday. Cook it, cater it, or serve take-out from your favorite restaurant in your own dishware. Just make sure you have plenty of time for sharing conversation with your guests.<br /><br />9. Don’t conduct business at holiday functions. Don’t spoil the holiday sentiments by selling yourself. Just mention that you have enjoyed the conversation and would like to follow-up for more discussion in the new year.<br /><br />10. Personalize your holiday greetings. Even if you get sick and miss all the parties, you can still send out New Year’s cards. Be sure to include something more personal than a signature. For ideas, check out my December 2007 article called <a href="http://lpm-newsletter.blogspot.com/2007/12/send-holiday-greetings-that-really.html">Send Holiday Greetings That Really Connect</a>.<br /><br />Don’t miss the chance to connect during the holidays. Accept as many invitations as you can. People are open and receptive at this time of year. May you have some fun, make new friends and renew your relationships with old ones this year!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2008 Debra Bruce<br /><br />Debra Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com">www.lawyer-coach.com</a>), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas and a past leader of Houston Coaches Inc., the Houston chapter of the International Coach Federation.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-18350377922013921742008-11-24T09:04:00.000-06:002009-01-21T13:38:39.199-06:00Data Recovery: What to do When all Else Fails<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXXsvZ01h5bDtWBvB8G1fiEe8q8NxN1px-1276oK_zadFB3icPbDlCctwbTt_UFjSuCAMTnAOh85h9uqKD0WHSAaqWRDcWtFRbO5Mxs3uZIC6K1tQFdsFiNloNGGOO7pHYPbJHNBOAD8/s1600-h/gerrymorris.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272240299995279490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 61px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 85px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicXXsvZ01h5bDtWBvB8G1fiEe8q8NxN1px-1276oK_zadFB3icPbDlCctwbTt_UFjSuCAMTnAOh85h9uqKD0WHSAaqWRDcWtFRbO5Mxs3uZIC6K1tQFdsFiNloNGGOO7pHYPbJHNBOAD8/s200/gerrymorris.png" border="0" /></a><br />by <a href="mailto:egm@egmlaw.com">Gerry Morris</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Let’s say you’ve read my previous columns, listened to your consultant or come to the conclusion on your own that you need to protect your data with a redundant RAID array and utilize an offsite data backup service or system. Or maybe you’re backing up to tape or other removable media. Or, it could be that you’ve been meaning to establishing a reliable backup routine but just haven’t gotten around to it. Hardware failures which result in data loss are increasingly more rare these days, but they still occasionally happen. The more layers of backup used the more things have to go wrong before data is completely lost. But, in theory everything could fail at once. If a hard drives fails and there is no backup, it still may be possible to recover the data.<br /><br />Hard drives consist basically of magnetic disks where data is recorded and the motor that spins them; a set of mechanical heads that move across the disks reading and writing the data as they go; and the software (firmware) that controls the disk’s operation. The components are assembled inside a “clean room” to prevent dust or other contaminants from finding their way into the disk’s enclosure. The disk operates at such close tolerances that even small particles of dust could interfere.<br /><br />When a hard drive malfunctions to the extent that data can no longer be retrieved from it, the problem could be with one or more of its components. It could be that the disk will no longer spin because the motor has gone kaput. The mechanism that moves the heads across the disks may have fallen into disrepair causing the heads to bang against the disks or not move at all. Or, the problem could be corruption of the firmware. With either category of problem, it may be possible to recover all or part of the data from the failed drive.<br /><br />If a critical drive on your system has failed and there is no backup, Google “data recovery” in the city where you are located. If you are in a metropolitan area, you’ll come up with pages and pages of hits. It’s big business to retrieve data from inoperable hard drives. This may give you comfort to know that there are thousands if not millions of other computer users with no usable backup of their data.<br /><br />Data Recovery firms, like any other businesses, vary in costs and capabilities. A full service data recovery service would have access to a clean room. If the problem with the drive is mechanical, its enclosure might have to be opened for repair. This must be done in a dust free environment. This would be the most expensive type of data recovery because of the cost allocated to the use and maintenance of the clean room. If the disk failure is the result of a firmware problem or some other issue that involves retrieving the data without opening up the drive, the cost is substantially less. However, data recovery even without the use of a clean room is not cheap. Prices for more or less simple procedures may run up around $1,500.<br /><br />Price shopping may be risky. This is your last chance to save years worth of data. Check references and testimonials. Also, the firms usually charge a fee to determine if the data can be recovered with a price quote for full recovery. If one firm cannot recover the data, usually nothing has been done to the disk that would prevent getting a second opinion.<br /><br />If the data can be recovered it will be returned to you usually on the medium of your choice. It may be loaded onto a new disk or burned to multiple DVD’s so you can transfer it to your new system.<br /><br />Of course we all want to avoid having to avail ourselves of this last resort. The best way to do that is by using more than one backup method, with at least one storing the data offsite. A RAID array won’t help if your building burns or floods. Also, a representative from a data recovery firm recently told me that her firm gets about one case a week where both drives of a RAID array have failed simultaneously. It is important to check your backup system regularly to make sure it is functioning properly. Unfortunately, the more automatic and transparent a backup system becomes, the more likely were are to forget to look in on it occasionally.<br /><br />Also, at the first hint of a problem with a hard drive such as noise or read write errors, the drive should be replaced. The quicker Hard drives are a lot cheaper than data recovery.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 30 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at <a href="mailto:egm@egmlaw.com">egm@egmlaw.com</a>.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-69106344213915632642008-11-24T08:56:00.000-06:002009-01-21T13:36:59.492-06:00Successful Lawyer Time Management<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSorBdWA7yh7jKJ1fhdV21q51i38nS-F8jG70iwcZwPNLakbmNZF_BRqQ8Gs8zo_U-kDW3au-XhTjIp3bp4aflfwOCqr4da0MXHOY1mgDOAXcUhqE2OiIi-9316CKTI99BMpBSUo5kCKo/s1600-h/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272239021246920498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 60px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSorBdWA7yh7jKJ1fhdV21q51i38nS-F8jG70iwcZwPNLakbmNZF_BRqQ8Gs8zo_U-kDW3au-XhTjIp3bp4aflfwOCqr4da0MXHOY1mgDOAXcUhqE2OiIi-9316CKTI99BMpBSUo5kCKo/s200/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />By <a href="mailto:debra@lawyercoach.com">Debra Bruce</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A lot of lawyers struggle with time management. Many lament the unpredictability of their schedules and the volume of last minute client “emergencies.” Some get so many interruptions during the day that they don’t actually get a good start on their most important projects until after 5:00 pm. They work long hours just to make a little progress.<br /><br />Some attorneys want to please their clients, so they promise to deliver the client’s work at the earliest date they can get it out. Unfortunately, they usually make the assessment in a vacuum, without first assessing the other commitments they have already made, and without allowing space for unexpected contingencies.<br /><br />There are many such issues that affect an attorney’s productivity. Here is my top ten list of time management behaviors of productive lawyers.<br /><br />1. Update your to-do list daily. Of course, that first requires that you keep a written to-do list. Attorneys who keep their upcoming tasks in their heads tend to feel more stressed and frazzled. They’re also more likely to overcommit themselves, get started too late, or forget things.<br /><br />2. Prioritize your 3 most important tasks. Lawyers who don’t keep the focus on what’s most important to get done today get distracted by the papers on their desk or the latest email. You can’t afford that with so many genuinely urgent matters also derailing your plans during the day.<br /><br />3. Delegate as much as possible. Savvy lawyers push the work they don’t enjoy off their desks and onto someone else’s. Chances are, if you procrastinate on it, it’s not your strength or it’s too far below your competency level. Either way, it’s better for you and your client if you can delegate it.<br /><br />4. Identify activities slipping through the cracks weekly. Effective lawyers take a strategic approach. That includes stepping back regularly to assess where they are. At either the beginning or end of the week, make a brief review of all your projects. Catch what you missed and make a plan for the week ahead.<br /><br />5. Keep a sacred uninterrupted productivity hour. Lawyers who allow everyone else to determine their schedule have trouble getting anything finished, and run up the client’s bill unnecessarily by working inefficiently. Your co-workers and your clients really can manage without you for one hour a day.<br /><br />6. Limit returning phone calls to twice per day. Unless those calls relate to the hot project you’re working on right now, they’ll distract you. Bunch your telephone calls together at a time when you typically need a break from focusing on the computer screen. Give your assistant a script that includes the hour your caller may expect you to call back. Most clients are satisfied if they just know when they will hear from you today.<br /><br />7. Track all time, whether billable or not. Some firms require their lawyers to account for at least eight hours of activity per day. Tracking all your time keeps you honest with yourself and shows you where the leaks are.<br /><br />8. Train subordinates to do more complex work. The most efficient attorneys recognize the value of investing in the development of those who help them. Attorneys who say, “It’s just easier to do it myself,” also say “I’m just barely keeping my head above water.”<br /><br />9. Let go of controlling how work is done. Effective managers give clear instructions about the expected results, and then get out of the way. That allows those you supervise to choose production methods that capitalize on their particular talents and abilities. You can require quality and timeliness without micromanaging. Keep your focus on your own work.<br /><br />10. Fire or refer clients you don’t enjoy working with. Difficult clients tend to demand a lot more attention than our best clients, then complain about the service and the bill. They leave us distracted and weary when we turn to the clients we should be giving our best service to. Put your attention on what you want more of.<br /><br />Do these 10 productivity pointers sound hard to implement? Are you good at some of them and lousy at others? Are these things you know you should do, but somehow you still don’t? You may need a buddy to encourage you or to hold you accountable. You may need more resources on how to go about some of them. You may need a way to make routine behaviors more interesting.<br /><br />How big a problem do you have? If you are wondering how likely you are to successfully improve your time management habits, you can go to my <a href="http://www.lawyer-coach.com/raisingthebar/index.php/tools/">website</a> and take a five minute survey to get some feedback by clicking here. I encourage you to experiment with trying out at least one of these tips for 3 weeks. I would be delighted to hear how your experiment works out.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2008 Debra Bruce<br /><br />Debra Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com">http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com</a>), a law practice management coaching and training firm. She practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas and a past leader of Houston Coaches Inc., the Houston chapter of the International Coach Federation.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-54194481809385785392008-11-23T17:07:00.002-06:002008-11-25T10:16:37.889-06:00Record Retention: How Long Should You Store Old Files?by The Law Practice Management Program of the State Bar of Texas<br /><br />The question most frequently asked in Law Practice Management is "How long do I keep my client files?" The State Bar of Texas does not have any set rules or policies on how long to actually keep them. However, here are some articles to download that offer advice and suggestions in establishing your own retention policy.<br /><br />* <a href="http://texasbarlpm.110mb.com/EthicallySpeaking-FileRetention-DelawareState%20Bar.doc">Ethically Speaking</a><br /><br />* <a href="http://texasbarlpm.110mb.com/Documents%20Retention%20A%20Component%20of%20An%20Effective%20Risk%20Management%20Program.doc">Documents Retention: A Component of An Effective Risk Management Program</a><br /><br />* <a href="http://texasbarlpm.110mb.com/Records%20Retention%20in%20the%20Private%20Legal%20Environment.pdf">Record Retention in the Private Legal Environment</a><br /><br />* <a href="http://texasbarlpm.110mb.com/Ownership%20and%20Disposition%20of%20Client%20Files%20-%20Jimmy%20Brill%20-%20TBJ%20April%202008.pdf">Ownership and Disposition of Client Files</a><br /><br />* <a href="http://texasbarlpm.110mb.com/Records%20Management%20in%20Law%20Firms%20-%20Resources.doc">Resources</a>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-80566084943188317682008-10-17T10:09:00.002-05:002008-10-17T15:27:32.758-05:00Disaster Recovery Reminders from Ike<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboEtfWz4HoJ72kJk9sf53hw9dZK3MzUGfCZQKmZATmoTxiFYQJXGKqAzu9kRHzOiys62CiYLp7KxmTa_YeCxaXlgPoVNYxAjJSLwDN7FOoEh0xro4zNE0XYEd0fx391LgkSMx4ENyBGM/s1600-h/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboEtfWz4HoJ72kJk9sf53hw9dZK3MzUGfCZQKmZATmoTxiFYQJXGKqAzu9kRHzOiys62CiYLp7KxmTa_YeCxaXlgPoVNYxAjJSLwDN7FOoEh0xro4zNE0XYEd0fx391LgkSMx4ENyBGM/s200/Debra-+new+pic+-+Aug+08.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258141848011268162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />By <a href="mailto:debra@lawyercoach.com">Debra Bruce</a>, J.D.<br /><br /><br /><br />Hurricanes, tornados, mudslides, firestorms, ice storms, blizzards, riots – there are many different kinds of disasters that can affect a law firm. Savvy lawyers create a disaster preparedness plan before trouble strikes, and then do their best to cope with the ultimate results. There are two things you might not think to include in your disaster survival kit, however – humor and gratitude.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gratitude as a Survival Tool</span><br />I began writing this during the 12th day without electricity following Hurricane Ike, which knocked out electric service to 90% of Houston. Even though personally I was fortunate to sustain only a minimum of damage, trying to live and conduct business without electricity (and therefore air conditioning, refrigeration, lights, microwaves, stoves, computers, Internet, email and sometimes telephones) creates challenges that fray the nerves. When I found myself feeling irritable, I knew that I was starting to engage in a futile internal battle with “what is.” That’s when turning to gratitude saved the day for me.<br /><br />In the midst of the chaos and frustration of coping with the aftermath of Ike, I found a lot to feel gratitude for. I remembered that I was not one of the people with a tree through my roof or the mucky residue of flood waters in my home. I felt grateful for little things like a sudden breeze, or the fact that I don’t live in this hot and humid climate without air conditioning all the time, like people in the previous century did. I felt gratitude for big things like the fact that all of my loved ones, even my pets, were safe and sound. I didn’t live or work in Galveston or on Bolivar peninsula, where many lost their homes and others still struggle without basic services more than three weeks later. I expressed gratitude over how the problems I worried about last month now seem small.<br /><br />Each time I ticked off a few things I felt grateful for, I felt a little more peaceful, a little more relaxed. It turns out that there is scientific support for the benefit of gratitude lists. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and by Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami researched the impact of listing gratitudes.<br /><br />Emmons and McCullough compared people who kept a weekly record of hassles or neutral life events to people who kept a weekly gratitude record. Those who expressed gratitude reported fewer physical symptoms, exercised more regularly, and felt better about their lives. They were also more likely to make progress on their goals, whether academic, interpersonal or health-based, over a two-month period.<br /><br />Whether dealing with daily hassles or a genuine disaster, it is pretty common to want sympathy and to play “ain’t it awful” by recounting everything that has gone wrong. Consider the effect that you are having on your own health and the success of your practice, however. Be sure to at least include an equal dose of gratitude for what’s going right.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Healing Quality of Humor</span><br />Your grandmother probably told you that “laughter is the best medicine.” Studies validate her wisdom and demonstrate that humor and fun strengthen your immune system, stabilize blood pressure, stimulate circulation and increase the flow of oxygen to muscles. Humor relieves stress and helps us cope, so be sure to pack a funny bone into your disaster preparedness kit.<br />Here are a few of the ways that survivors of Hurricane Ike have used humor to cope.<br /><br />• Several homeowners posted “Yard of the Month” signs on their debris-strewn lawns. Photo at <a href="http://www.scrapjazz.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/217834/">http://www.scrapjazz.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/217834/</a><br /><br />• One home had a boat lodged against it in the front yard. Propped against the boat was a displaced harbor sign that read: “No wake zone. 5pm strictly enforced.”<br /><br />• A home had clothes and other ruined items piled by the street. A mattress leaning against the stack had a message painted on it: “I’ve had women treat me worse than this Ike.”<br /><br />• A truck had a sign on the back that read “Go home Ike. Tina’s not here.” Photo at <a href="http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/09/hurricane-ike-h.html">http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/09/hurricane-ike-h.html</a>.<br /><br />• Khyber restaurant’s marquee said “Not gone with the wind!” Photo at <a href="http://web.mac.com/icecarvingsecrets/ics/secrets/Entries/2008/9/17_elephant_%28sitting%29_design.html">http://web.mac.com/icecarvingsecrets/ics/secrets/Entries/2008/9/17_elephant_(sitting)_design.html</a> .<br /><br />• A stack of discarded appliances and other junk from Ike clean-up bore a sign: “Got mud?” Photo at <a href="http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2008/09/hurricane-ike-eight-days-later.html">http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2008/09/hurricane-ike-eight-days-later.html</a>.<br /><br />Some hardy survivors have parodied Jeff Foxworthy’s “You know you’re a redneck when” humor with “You know you’re from the Gulf Coast when…” You can see one of the lists at <a href="http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=132573">http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=132573</a>, but here are a few of my favorites:<br />• You have FEMA’s number on your speed dialer<br />• You catch a 13 pound redfish – in your driveway<br />• You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner’s insurance policy<br />• Having a tree in your living room does not necessarily mean it’s Christmas<br />• A battery-powered TV is considered a home entertainment center<br />• At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw<br />• Your child’s first words are “hunker down”<br />• The dogs got out and you have been swimming around the neighborhood looking for them<br />Here are a few of my favorite “lessons from Ike” that circulated:<br />• People will get into a line that has already formed without having any idea what the line is for<br />• No matter how may times you flick the switch, lights don’t work without electricity<br />• What looks acceptable by candlelight in your bathroom will scare you when you look at yourself in the mirror at the office.<br />• There were a lot of dang trees in Houston<br />• Laundry hampers were not made to contain such a volume<br />• There are a lot more stars in the Houston sky than most people thought<br />• Hair will dry without blow dryers – it just won’t look like you planned<br />Disaster recovery is a serious matter, but taking ourselves a little less seriously can help us cope. I will echo how one author of hurricane humor signed off: “This is sent because we are in need of a smile, but you who have lost so much are in our prayers.”<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">© 2008 Debra L. Bruce<br /><br />Debra Bruce (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lawyer-coach.com">www.lawyer-coach.com</a>) practiced law for 18 years before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach for lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and board member and past leader of Houston Coaches Network, the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She welcomes your questions and comments at <a href="mailto:debra@lawyercoach.com">debra@lawyercoach.com</a> or in the comments section of this newsletter.<br /></span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-25766632640427875412008-10-17T09:57:00.001-05:002008-10-17T11:48:12.031-05:00Text to Spoken Word, It’s Here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihUCWMPURVuJcPNJ7Dkek10SsaoMZaj2-NEUCVBZ7cuoLa9Mps3yRXCa4WAyFnG2p_5kmdMxYbIhnex1Lw_Mw4n4up0RKTVNteHL0jHH-weaa9EgzkJp6k3A6T45IEwXECCpNaTwafG4/s1600-h/David_000.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 54px; height: 76px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihUCWMPURVuJcPNJ7Dkek10SsaoMZaj2-NEUCVBZ7cuoLa9Mps3yRXCa4WAyFnG2p_5kmdMxYbIhnex1Lw_Mw4n4up0RKTVNteHL0jHH-weaa9EgzkJp6k3A6T45IEwXECCpNaTwafG4/s200/David_000.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258137657746834354" border="0" /></a><br />by <a href="mailto:%20djf@elpasolaw.com">David J. Ferrell</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Richard Bandler and John Grinder wrote a book called Frogs into Princes in 1979 where they discuss the three main ways humans receive information. These are VISUAL, AUDITORY and KINESTHETIC (feelings). The theory they assert is called NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is a valuable tool when you are picking a jury. Just imagine being able to get your message into the minds of different people on the jury in their dominant method of information reception.<br /><br />The language we learned first, the spoken language, remains our base throughout life. We use the model of spoken communication as the basis for much of our inferences when we read.<br /><br />Ultimately, the underlying reason for relying on speech as a model for writing may actually lie in the nature of human understanding.<br /><br />Did you get goose bumps reading that speech or hearing it?<br /><br />The reason I prefaced this article with NLP is to have the reader evaluate which method may be useful to his/her reception and retention of information. When we read something we are using our VISUAL data acquisition mode, when we feel something we are using our KINESTHETIC mode and when someone speaks to us or reads to us we are in AUDITORY mode.<br /><br />When we were children our parents, teachers, and others read us stories and word pictures were generated in our brains. To many of us this AUDITORY channel of communication is our best. Isn’t this the way most information was passed on prior to modern times when the plebeian masses learned to read? So, how many of us have listened to that contract we are preparing? How about that voir dire examination or final argument?<br /><br />As lawyers we all have prepared our work product in written form. Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Word are the main word processing programs used by law firms across the country. Wouldn’t it be nice to listen to your speech, motion, or legal memorandum as you drive from point A to point B? And, how about your appellate argument being spoken to you as you walk the treadmill at the fitness center? And, what if this oral presentation could be generated from the written material you already have?<br /><br />All this is possible with inexpensive “text to spoken word” technology. Computer programs now convert any text into understandable voice wave files or MP3 files. We can listen to email, web pages, eBooks and our own generated documents on our computers and our portable MP3 players.<br /><br />“MP3" is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals. The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD by a factor of 12 without sacrificing sound quality.<br /><br />Because MP3 files are small, they can easily be transferred across the Internet and/or they can be stored and played on inexpensive, small MP3 players that can accompany us wherever we go. You can put enormous amounts of music/data on a CD (up to 40 hours and more) and play many hours of content on an MP3 enabled CD player. Controversy arises when copyrighted songs are sold and distributed illegally off of Web sites.<br /><br />I can read much faster than I can listen but I can’t read during my commute to the courthouse which takes thirty minutes on a good day and 1 hour when the traffic is bad. Besides listening to my written work product(s) I can download the newspaper in print form, convert it to MP3 and listen to it on the way to the courthouse.<br /><br />The State Bar is now publishing those great CLE articles in Word, WordPerfect and PDF formats (<a href="http://www.texasbarcle.com/">http://www.texasbarcle.com</a>). I predict that someday they will publish those same articles in MP3 format. You will be able to go to the State Bar website, find that article you need and download it not only in written form but also in AUDIO - MP3 format to play as you commute or workout or whatever.<br /><br />Although music is the predominant audio format published in MP3, there's a wealth of spoken word content on the web. Audio books have been around in cassette and CD form for a long time, and now you can listen to books online and download them for play on your own MP3 player. Many texts are free (Project Gutenberg - <a href="http://promo.net/pg/">http://promo.net/pg/</a> & The Literature Network - <a href="http://www.online%20literature.com/">http://www.online literature.com/</a>) and a few sites let you download whole audio books for less than the cost of buying the CD or tape (<a href="http://www.audible.com/">http://www.Audible.com</a>).<br /><br />More literature is accessible in the form of audio dramas or poetry readings. Radio plays have gone digital with both new interpretations of classics like Shakespeare and new original productions. Poets and authors of all description can be heard over the internet.<br /><br />Educational and informational audio is also abundant. You can take language lessons, listen to lectures from universities or take in speeches from famous personalities (<a href="http://odin.himinbi.org/speeches/">http://odin.himinbi.org/speeches/</a>). Audio programming about health, fitness, business, technology, news and travel is readily available from various sites. For rest and relaxation, you can kick back and listen to coverage of different sporting events or find a good laugh online with stand up, sketch or musical comedy. AND, with “text to speech” technology any written material can become an auditory experience.<br /><br />If you want to hear this article in MP3 format go to <a href="http://www.elpasolaw.com/">http://www.elpasolaw.com</a> and click on the Spoken Word button on the left side of the page.Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5493295389172002099.post-89393203415646641602008-09-17T11:35:00.000-05:002008-10-17T11:41:38.108-05:00Communicating After A DisasterBy Dan Steppick<br /><br />If in aftermath of event it is important to maintain appropriate and effective communications with employees, clients, vendors, opposing counsel, the court system and other persons and entities with which the firm interacts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Client communications:</span><br />1. Maintain effective and appropriate communications with clients to reassure them that their files are intact, court dates will not be missed, operations will continue and the firm will survive.<br />2. Maintain off-site mailing lists so that clients can be notified in writing if possible.<br />3. Try to contact clients within 48 hours.<br />4. If possible, develop one appropriate letter for clients so that the firm speaks with one unified and forward-thinking voice.<br />5. Keep clients posted as firm recovers and/or relocates.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Employee communications:</span><br />1. Maintain off-site employee contact and phone list.<br />2. Immediately notify employees of contingency plans and temporary facilities.<br />3. Try to keep in communication with employees throughout aftermath in order to maintain morale and preserve relationships with valuable employees.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Court system/opposing counsel:</span><br />1. Notify appropriate court systems and opposing counsel of situation as soon as possible.<br />2. Court system and opposing counsel may provide support or backup in aftermath of event.<br />3. Cooperate and support other firms affected by events in community. Someday you may be looking for their support.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Public relations:</span><br />1. Maintain open and positive communications with press to maintain firm’s image.<br />2. Press may provide opportunities for good advertising and public relations moving forward<br />through feature articles or quotes.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dan Steppick is a partner in the Denton firm of Shipman Steppick, PC, who practices civil litigation. Mr. Steppick has had first-hand experience in dealing with disaster recovery as his firm at the time was impacted by a devastating Fort Worth tornado several years ago.</span>Law Practice Managementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02618873721300750890noreply@blogger.com0