The Mad Clientist – the blog of the BTI Consulting Group – has diagnosed a growing epidemic among law firms: complacency. “Wishes do come true,” they write. “Legal spending is up. The existential crisis is over. And urgency is retreating as success is just a little easier to come by.” The result, they say, is…… Continue Reading
Why is Alcohol Abuse such a Problem among Lawyers? What Can We Do About It?
As this blog and many other law-related publications have reported, a 2016 study sponsored by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association found that more than 20% of lawyers are problem drinkers – a rate that is higher than that of any other profession. The study also showed that those in private…… Continue Reading
Keeping the Customer Satisfied
Keeping the customer satisfied should be an important of every business today. This includes law firms, even though we refer to our customers as clients. My column in the Oklahoma Bar Journal, Keeping the Customer Satisfied, outlines some ideas to…
Slicing and Dicing the Demographics of Law-Firm Surveys
As my clients and those who have listened to my presentations are well aware, I am an avid proponent of the use of demographics as an analytic tool by law firms. I had the opportunity to expand on this stratagem in the most recent issue of Edge International Communique (EIC), in an article I entitled “Slicing and…… Continue Reading
Jim Calloway: Takes on the future of the profession at the Bar Leader Institute
There have been a number of recent conferences focused on the future of law practice and the delivery of legal services. It’s too bad I can’t attend them all! Someone recently reminded me of a time I was invited to…
The Ethics of E-mail Tracking Software and Web Bugs: More Complicated Than You Might Think
Yesterday’s feature on Attorney at Work was Does Email Tracking Violate the Rules of Professional Conduct? It was written by Mark C. Palmer, who is Professionalism Counsel for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. He cites a recent Professional…
Managing a Law Practice in the Age of Intelligent Machines
Managing a Law Practice in the Age of Intelligent Machines represents my attempt to speak to those lawyers who are perplexed by the number of things they are reading and hearing about law office automation and artificial intelligence replacing lawyers….
Unity of Direction
Leadership and management are two different concepts. But both involve working with others to reach common goals. Leadership in a law firm is challenging because lawyers are by their nature very independent and once a law firm has more than…
