“Hire Slow, Fire Fast” is an often-used phrase when it comes to hiring new staff. Like many clichés there is a lot of truth in this phrase. In my Practice Management Advice column for the new Law Practice Magazine, I  ask whether there is a better strategy: “Hire Slow, Fire Fast” or “Hire Smarter, Fire Less”? I interviewed Bjorn Christianson, Managing Partner of Christianson TDS, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba for some of his ideas about skills testing before hiring and shared some of my own ideas as well.

The November/December 2014 issue of Law Practice Magazine has the theme: From Workaholism to Work-Life Balance. That is certainly a timely subject for many attorneys and I hope you find time to read the articles on that topic. LP Cover NovDec 2014

But today I want to highlight a couple of the other regular columnists in this publication.

Tom Grella’s Managing column is titled “Change, Uncertainty and Law Firm Management.” This is a great opportunity to read about change management from a former law firm managing partner.

Tom Mighell’s column focuses on “Supercharging the Humble To-Do List.” We lawyers live by our to-do lists (aka task lists) and most of us think the one we use could be improved. Tom takes us through his thought process in selecting a good to-do list app and shares the tool that he chose to use as well as the runners-up.

Linda Klein, immediate past chair of the ABA House of Delegates, writes about how, even in these days of a buyer’s market for new law firm talent, it is critical to think of “Professional Development: Now More than Ever.”

Lawyers are serious about our work. It involves important matters on behalf of our clients and can have significant and serious consequences. But it’s important to keep everything in perspective. Here’s a Just a Danged Ol Lawsuit from the October 2014 Oklahoma Bar Journal from a “former” young lawyer who remembers his first time dealing with former Oklahoma Bar President, Doug Sanders of Poteau, Oklahoma. (We all call him Dougal.) Obviously the words of wisdom that were shared with him made a lasting impact. Just a Danged Ol Lawsuit October 2014 Oklahoma Bar Journal

To have a long-term career in the law it is important to keep things in perspective and sometimes you may have to teach yourself to say “It’s just a danged ol’ lawsuit.”

 

Our Digital Edge podcast Lawyers Love New Apple Products: iPhone 6, Apple Pay, and Apple Watch featured Jeff Richardson of iPhoneJD.com fame. Sharon Nelson and I had a lot of fun talking about all of the new Apple products with Jeff. He knows the product line and, more importantly, how lawyers like to use their "iDevices." iPhone users, we hope you enjoy this informative podcast. On a personal note, I am really enjoying my iPhone 6 and am looking forward to the day that Apple Watches go on sale.

What if you were asked to design a complete continuing legal education program about a very important topic where you thought you knew a fair amount about the topic? Well, here’s mine – Tools for Tomorrow’s Lawyers — and you are welcome to attend, either in person or via webcast November 12, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Tulsa.

Tools4TomorrowsLawyers

We are all excited to have well-known futurist Richard Susskind, author of Tomorrow’s Lawyers, speaking at our Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Meeting. Our day-long CLE in advance of his program will discuss in depth the tools I believe lawyers need to use to more positively shape their futures. Our faculty includes Donna Brown of Beyond Square One, a software consulting, implementation and training services firm, OBA Ethics Counsel Travis Pickens and Doug Sorocco, a partner with Dunlap Codding, PC, in Oklahoma City. If you have never met Doug, check out this online profile, Douglas Sorocco, Enterprising Lawyer, that which was published this week by AttorneyatWork.

I was very pleased to have been interviewed for the cover story of the October 2014 Illinois Bar Journal titled Alternative Billing Comes to Main Street. Patrick Lamb of Valorem Law Group in Chicago, the author of the recently released Alternative Fees for Litigators and their Clients (American Bar Association, 2014) is also interviewed, as is Patricia A. O’Connor, a partner in a 60 lawyer Chicago firm.

This is a very well-written piece on this critical topic for the legal profession. While this is a much-discussed topic in our profession, I think you may find some new ideas here. It also seems increasingly clear that document assembly and law office automation are now an even bigger part of this discussion.

Witness Preparation: Best Practices for a Successful Deposition is a really nice article by Tulsa, Oklahoma attorney Robert P. Redemann. I strongly recommend it to any lawyer, even those who might not be involved with depositions. Sometimes it is good to understand best practices in our profession. Share the link with a young lawyer you know. Witness Preparation Best Practices for a Successful Deposition Oklahoma Bar Journal Sept 2014

I would add one other item. Have you looked at the materials you routinely give the client to prepare for a deposition recently? Surely all law firms have progressed past the point of giving clients photocopied deposition tips in favor of custom-prepared materials with the law firm’s name, address and logo. But if you have not reviewed your handouts lately, take a look. A good proofing and freshening is often in order. Use some different sized fonts, headers, text boxes or insert a small graphic or two to increase readability. You never know who may be looking at this document sometime as a representation of your firm’s work product. Make this a professional document you are proud to have carry your firm’s name.

Some lawyers and I recently were discussing the problems of family law cases in which the parents are paying for a child’s attorney’s fees. It is a very common situation, given the finances of many young married couples. Parents are usually quite willing to pay for attorney’s fees in family law matters to make sure their children and, often, grandchildren are protected. But they also may have other goals. They could be very intent on their child being awarded “full custody.” They could be overly hostile in their attitude toward their child’s spouse since they knew the person was a poor choice from the beginning. But those parents, with their greater life experiences, can also be a calm voice of reason during emotional and turbulent times.

That is the opening paragraph for my Oklahoma Bar Journal Law Practice Tips column this month- Client: ‘Can My Parents Pay for My Attorney Fees?’ Lawyer: ‘Yes, but…’

Third payment payment or guarantee of payment of attorney’s fees is not rare, but there are some potential problem areas, which I discuss in the piece. But I also decided to get a little out of my comfort zone and draft a form for lawyers to use in preparing their own Agreement For A Third Party To Pay Attorney Fees. No warranties or guarantees are expressed or implied. It is just my form. So use it at your own risk. (The download link is in the online version of the article.)

But I think one thing is for certain. After you read the column and think about it a bit, if you don’t have such an agreement and your firm allows third party payments or guarantees, particularly in family law matters, you will very likely decide you do need such an agreement for the future.

So what do you know about Microsoft Office 365? It is a way to convince you to get Office with an annual subscription payment instead of buying the software when you choose, right? It is in the cloud, right? Well, you may know some truths about Office 365, but you probably don't know "the whole truth."

This month, Ben M. Schorr, author of Microsoft Office 365 for Lawyers (and a ton of other ABA books about Microsoft tools as they are used by lawyers) joins Sharon Nelson and me for the Digital Edge Podcast, Microsoft Office 365 for Lawyers is Here! Trust me. You may not know all that you think you know about Office 365 and, since this appears to ne Microsoft's plan for the future, you do need to know about it.

Electronic data discovery (EDD) and computer forensics are not areas where I claim expertise. But Craig Ball is an expert and his new column Dem Phones, Dem Phones, Dem iPhones is worth a read for anyone involved with the litigation process, whether they deal with preservation and EDD or not. I have linked to the version with comments expanded as I think the “one phone or two” debate is of interest. Warning: This post may cause an emotional reaction, perhaps excitement that your expertise in this areas is so valuable, or maybe fear at the future complications you see ahead. Maybe it will just give you a headache.

Since I don’t claim expertise in these areas, I can share the parts that gave me a headache.

  1. The “we already know” part that I *don’t* already know.
  2. Empathy for the headaches that the trends he discusses are going to give lawyers and EDD professionals.
  3. That it ends with a three question quiz on technology that I would score a zero on! That’s unaccustomed territory for me.

But take a read! It is a well-written article and you do have aspirin in your desk drawer.

Rarely would I do a blog post just to point out two other writer's blog posts. But there is such a nice connection between today's blog posts from my friends and colleagues, Sharon Nelson of Sensei Enterprises and Bob Ambrogi, writing on his LawSites blog. Short summary: Whether it is Google, Apple or someone else, your activities are being tracked and recorded much more than you might think, and it is very likely that will just increase in the future. Lawyers need to understand new types of evidence are now being created and that could be very critical for a future client someday. If you can prove someone's mobile phone was in a particular city all day and four or five people recall talking to that person at the time that phone made calls to their numbers, it is very good proof as to their whereabouts.

Ambrogi – Everywhere You Go, Google is Watching — and Mapping Your Location

Nelson – Will Apple Products Come to Rule Your Life?