Self-Improvement and flat fees. What do these two topics have in common? Not much except that they were both the subject of good articles in June’s Law Practice Today.

Tom Mighell’s Strongest Links column is about web sites that help you improve. But these are not, for the most part, self-motivational websites. Rather as Tom says, "one way or another, these sites will definitely help you with something, whether it’s getting your job done faster, de-stressing from the hassles of the day, or taking a vacation." Several sites and services I use frequently are listed here and this is definitely worth a read.

I recently got to meet Christy Burke of Burke and Company LLC of New York. At the time I didn’t knwo she was an alternative billing believer. Read her article "Flat Fee Nation," focused primarily on one law firm’s experiences. The "money quote" is from Carol Cummings, Managing Director of South Carolina-based Rogers Townsend & Thomas:  "Unless you have your process systematized, you cannot survive and you cannot make money – it’s that simple."

I believe that this is critical for law firm success. There are many things in the mix for success; good client service, relationsships, and results, to name but a few. But tight, efficient and well-managed systems to deliver the work and the client communications are key for a Twenty-First Century law practice.