TechnoLawyer: BiglawWorld

Originally published on March 29, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

I have previously written in the BigLaw newsletter about the benefits, as well as the drawbacks, of developing mobile apps for both marketing purposes and in-firm use. I have also discussed the app development and approval process.

Today I'll share my recent experience and the challenges I encountered developing my own commercial iPhone apps for lawyers. Even if your firm does not yet develop mobile apps, I believe you'll find these lessons useful for all your technology initiatives.

Focus on Essential Tasks and Avoid Feature Bloat

When I first started developing apps two years ago, I heard an Apple executive say that the best mobile apps do one thing and do it well. What I garnered from this advice is that an app should be developed from the get-go with a singular purpose in mind.

Ask: What will users want to do with the application and what is the most efficient way to offer this functionality? The Swiss Army Knife approach to app development or development in general rarely works, as it grows too cumbersome (feature bloat). Users should be able to start the app, use it for a single purpose, and quickly get out.

I took this approach when I developed my first iPhone app — Court Days. It started with the simple idea that an attorney should be able to quickly calculate the number of court days or calendar days from a given date. At the time (when there were a mere 50,000 iPhone apps), a few date calculators already existed on the App Store, but all of them calculated the number of calendar days between two dates. None excluded weekends and holidays — an essential feature for lawyers. I wanted such an app for use in my own law practice so I believed in the concept.

Once I overcame a fairly steep learning curb associated with mastering my first programming language, the actual "coding" of the app was not very difficult. Like writing a letter or brief, if you follow the basic rules of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax, the device will do what you tell it to do. Mix in a little bit of elementary school math (in my case, adding and subtracting court or calendar days), and you have a simple and useful tool.

You May Not Know What's Missing Until You Build Version 1.0

That is not to say I didn't encounter hurdles, the most significant of which I anticipated but grossly underestimated in terms of the amount of time and resources necessary to overcome. The problem is that every jurisdiction within the United States, at the federal, state, and local levels, observes different court holidays. For example, Alaska observes Alaska Day, Hawaii observes King Kamehameha Day, and Louisiana and two counties in Alabama observe Mardi Gras Day. Many of these regional holidays change from year to year and in some states, such as Massachusetts, individual courts set their own court holiday schedules.

Once I collected holiday data for 63 different jurisdictions and completed the app, I felt satisfied with the experience. The Court Days app was well received by the public and I received lots of constructive feedback from lawyers — much of which I incorporated into future updates to the app.

As time went by, however, I was troubled by the fact that I did not use Court Days in my own practice as much as I originally anticipated. It's not that the app did not work as intended — because it did. Rather, I found that it slightly missed the mark in terms of being a tool that I wanted to use in the ordinary course of my practice.

It dawned on me that lawyers do not perform date calculations in a vacuum. The date calculations are always performed in context with a future and pending action, such as a hearing date or filing deadline. The app, on the other hand, performed simple date calculations without context. In other words, litigators need triggered calculations (e.g., 16 court days before a certain date) before starting up the app. It was just as efficient to manually count days on a paper calendar. The app was designed to be simple, but it turned out to be a little too simple. And I suspected that other attorneys had reached the same conclusion.

An Essential Function Trumps Simplicity

I began to reevaluate the Court Days app to find a solution that I could promote as a viable tool for practicing lawyers. After experimenting with a number of different concepts, I finally settled on a solution that tested the boundaries of my number-one rule — simplicity. The new app, Court Days Pro, would still calculate court days, but would do so using a rules-based approach.

For example, in Court Days, if you want to know the deadline for opposing a motion a motion for summary judgment in California, you would first have to remember that the opposition must be filed 14 days prior to the hearing, and then enter both a target date and the number 14 into the calculator.

By contrast, with Court Days Pro, you would have the primary triggering event (the hearing on the motion for summary judgment) and all the associated rules-based deadlines (dates for moving papers, opposition briefs, reply briefs, etc.) preprogrammed into the app — eliminating the need to remember and manually enter the counting information.

Although this functionality seemed like a good idea, I didn't want to release the app absent real world testing. Once app development was complete, I gave the app to 20 practicing litigators through an ingenious free service called TestFlight, which enables developers to overcome some of the hurdles that exist when beta testing iOS apps. After several weeks of real world testing, I collected the beta testers' comments and suggestions, many of which I incorporated into the final version of Court Days Pro, which is now available on the App Store.

Emulate Apple's Iterative Approach

Every few years, Apple unveils a new product category, but thereafter it refines these products — most recently with the iPad 2. This iterative process and attention to detail has made it the most valuable technology company in the world.

App development is similar. It requires you to constantly reevaluate and refine the product to meet the needs of end users and stay ahead of the competition. Just a couple of weeks out from Court Days Pro's release, I'm already working on an update that will add feature requests (e.g., a help screen). I have certainly learned a lot, but the learning process never ends. I expect to push out updates and revisions as I continue to receive feedback from real world users. I suspect the same is true of the technology initiatives currently underway in your law firm.

Written by Dan Friedlander of LawOnMyPhone.com.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on March 15, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Think of a vehicle's instrument panel. With a car, the data points you need most are your current speed, engine revolutions per minute, engine temperature, and gasoline level. Other data exists, especially nowadays, but these are the essentials you really need to watch to stay out of trouble.

On the instrument panel of an airplane, however, you have a lot more going on — and more opportunities for getting yourself in big trouble fast. In addition to the same data points found on a car's dashboard, you also need to track attitude, altitude, rate of acceleration, compass bearing, rate of climb, etc.

Carry this analogy to its logical conclusion and you'll find yourself contemplating whether running a law firm without instant access to key metrics — in one location — is like trying to fly a plane with a collection of printed reports.

Houston, Our Dashboard Indicates That We Have a Problem

Okay, you get it. And because dashboards group related data collections together on the same Web page, trends and interrelationships become easier to discover. Consider this common example.

Looking at WIP (rolled up to the client and sorted by total unbilled time, fees, and costs), Aged AR (sorted by Total AR > 30/60/90/120+ days by client), and Client Funds Available in a single dashboard can give you a sense of just how much trouble that one big client could cause you.

Nothing in retainer? $1,250,000 of AR beyond 120 days? And $750,000 in unbilled time and costs? You'd better get that unbilled time and cost invoiced pronto. And you'd better light a fire under that billing attorney to get on the phone with the client.

What Dashboards Does Your Firm Need?

Let's start with three:

1. Billing Attorney/Collections Dashboard

Start with the scenario described above: AR aged, rolled up to the client level. Billers will only see their own time. But the Treasurer/Practice Group Chair/Collections Team/Executive Management will see everything rolled up across all timekeepers for a given client. WIP next, also aged. Finally, Client Funds Available.

2. Profitability Dashboard

Start with billing efficiency by Practice Group, client, client size, and attorney — then add leverage.

3. Performance Dashboard

Start with timekeeper calendars, both billable and non-billable, by working timekeeper and Practice Group.

Variations on these three themes will probably keep you busy developing, in all seriousness, for the next two years. For what it's worth, they'll also keep you on the Christmas list of the CFO, Collections Team, and Executive Management!

What Technology Should You Use to Create These Dashboards?

Any Web-based architecture in which your firm has already invested is probably a fine choice. But I propose SharePoint as an affordable framework easy for consumers to use and relatively easy for administrators to implement and maintain. That is a big reason why so many large law firms have already implemented SharePoint. But technology platform-wise, SharePoint alone is not quite enough to get started.

Several facilitating technologies can provide your firm with significant savings in development time and costs over creating your own Web parts from scratch (e.g., Visual Studio). Many law firms have implemented toolkit/connector technology solutions "on top of" SharePoint such as those offered by Handshake Software, XMLAW, and Bamboo Solutions. Using one of these toolkits will get you the fastest results.

What Steps Are Entailed in Creating a Dashboard?

Well, it depends upon how much existing content you can leverage (e.g., any stored procedures, views, or data warehouse tables that you have already created for more traditional reporting purposes). But for the most part you can break down the process into four steps (with some variation in the jargon used by the different solutions companies):

Step 1. Identify and Assemble the Data

Have a favorite collections or profitability report? Find the SQL stored procedure that it uses on the back-end. Don't have exactly the data warehouse tables you want? Create a view, or create a new table and schedule a SQL Agent job to automatically populate it with just the joined and/or calculated fields you want.

Step 2. Build a Class

It sounds very developer-ish. But really you just need to define a connection to a particular database (e.g., Elite, Aderant, or Rainmaker) within your toolkit/connector platform of choice.

Step 3. Build a Schema

A schema, in this usage, is a dataset within a particular Class wherein you define the data fields or columns in which you are interested. You'll need to know SQL, or enlist the aid of folks who do, and use the queries you developed in Step 1, above. But beyond a working knowledge of SQL, the process is pretty straightforward. In fact, many of these solutions will actually build the entire schema for you if you paste a known query into their schema-building function.

Step 4. Pick or Build a "Skin" to Present the Schema You Just Created

This step involves the "presentation layer" of the process. Essentially, you decide how to display the information (data grid, bar chart, line graph, pie chart, etc.). Another advantage of the toolkit technology solutions over developing something from scratch is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel when attempting to display your data. These solutions provide the mechanism for creating attractive charts and graphs, and will also enable all of the additional "must have" functions you will want (sorting, filtering, exporting to Word and Excel, etc.).

Conclusion

Dashboards don't have to cost your firm hundreds of thousands of dollars from Business Intelligence vendors. With SharePoint and one of a handful of solutions that you can implement essentially "off the shelf," you can build your own instrument panels to help your firm navigate its way to a more efficient and profitable future.

Written by Matthew Berg, Director of IT at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C..

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on March 1, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Last spring, I published in BigLaw, Large Firms Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, which focused on the ongoing struggle for gender parity in large law firms, and on the issues that continue to render the large firm environment hostile to women despite our significant presence in the legal profession (and, for the record, in every other notable field of human endeavor except the MLB, NFL, and NHL). Subscribers were quick to share their reactions, relating stories of perpetual work-life imbalance, pay inequity, and the barriers faced by ambitious women who toil in the unforgiving vineyards of large firms.

A few months later, I addressed in Female Lawyers Just Want to Have Fun But a Good Man Is Hard to Find the grim plight of all the single ladies — or at least those who happen to be law firm associates — who attempt to navigate a world far more hostile than that of the large firm — the dating scene. Again, subscribers responded in force, sharing tales of woe, insights on the perils of looking for Mr. Right, and general lamentations on the apparent incompatibility of love and law — or, specifically, biglaw.

The responses I received were kind, supportive, and had the "thank you for sharing!" genuineness that made me thankful the sisterhood of lady lawyers. In other words, when it comes to the challenges facing women in large firms, we're all in this thing together, right? Right?

The Enemy of My Enemy Is … My Enemy?

To quote a most unwomanly source, "Not so fast, my friend".

Exhibit A: This recent email from a BigLaw subscriber, whom we'll call "Lucy." Lucy writes:

"I appreciate your efforts (and those of others in the media) to bring to light the difficulties of being a woman in the man's world of biglaw, whether in terms of pay, workplace dynamics, or the perpetual challenge of balancing life and work. But can we talk about the elephant in the room, please? It's not always 'the man' who is keeping us down. In my experience, the enemy isn't necessarily the guys you work with: it's the other women. I've talked to a number of girlfriends about this and, basically, survey says: women make crappy bosses. They make crappy mentors. Unfortunately, they often make crappy colleagues. Don't get me wrong: I work with women who I admire and look to for professional guidance. But don't tell them I said that."

First of all: thank you for sharing, Lucy. Alas, I wish I could tell you that your experience, though unfortunate, was a singular aberration. Apparently, it's not.

Can We All Just Get Along? Um, No.

Exhibit B: An email from Dawn, another BigLaw subscriber and correspondent. Says Dawn:

"When I started at my current firm, I was no stranger to the difficulties of associate life. But, after years of working in biglaw, I knew what to expect, and I felt pretty comfortable with my ability to handle the typical crap — long hours, condescending bosses, the constant struggle to balance work and life, and the general disregard, at the firm, for those efforts. What continues to surprise me, though, is the relentless criticism from one of the female partners I work with. It's not the nitpicking about copy or the constant weekend assignments that bother me: it's the fact that she can't stop reminding me that every success I have is because of the way I look. If I win a motion in court, she immediately asks me what I was wearing. If I recount an exchange with opposing counsel in which I feel that I did well, she'll say something like, 'Well, they know what you look like, don't they?' She's worse than a man. Ladies! Can't we all just get along? Again: apparently not. But why?"

Well, posits Veronica (a senior associate at a large firm in Chicago), the oft-cited statistics and studies about the hardships of life as a woman in the big, male world of law may offer an explanation. "When it comes to large law firms, women are competing for scarce resources, too," she says. "Partners aren't being made the way they once were, and women partners are still a fraction of the number that are. It may not be a conscious calculation, but women are probably more likely to view their immediate competition as other women — whether they are or not. Unfortunately, that attitude is not conducive to team play, "You go, Girl!"-style support, or solidarity within the ranks."

Another subscriber — large firm partner Jessica — expands on this point. "All this talk of 'gender parity' is well and good," she told me recently, "but let's face it: women are different than men, which means that they work, react, and process experiences differently. Women tend to take criticism more personally, for example." She hesitates before continuing. "I'm going to be lambasted for saying this," she warns, "but we also tend to let jealousy and insecurity color that process of personalization, even if the criticism is totally innocuous."

"It's true," says Deanna (a large firm associate with whom I spoke) when I tell her about Jessica's take on things. "There may be a dark, ugly seed of jealously lurking in even the most outwardly accomplished female professionals, which was probably planted there in high school. Women look at other women — especially if they're younger, more attractive, or particularly popular with male co-workers — and, instead of being happy for their success, feel threatened. I hesitate to say this, but if there's nothing legitimate to criticize, we tend to revert to the old standbys: she's a tramp, and that skirt makes her butt look fat."

According to my informal poll, women at all levels of the biglaw hierarchy share this deeply catty — and apparently deeply shameful — urge. Though many agreed that women often let personal bias based on nonprofessional qualities (such as looks, age, and perceived sex appeal to male coworkers) color their professional opinion of female colleagues, none wanted to be identified as doing so. Said one associate, who is struggling with a female supervisor, "Every encounter we have feels like a tense deposition. I wish we could just stop the dep and get a ruling from the judge that we're BOTH pretty."

Run With the Pack, Not Against It

What, if anything, can we do to ease the intra-squad squabbling? Jessica, the partner, suggests that women — at all levels — focus on the basics. "Don't play up your sexuality at work," she says. "Don't gossip about your female coworkers. Don't act differently around the men in your office than you do around the women." Most importantly, she adds, "Be nice! Make friends with women you work with. Women tend to circle one another like wary animals. Don't be afraid to make the first friendly overture — it's not a sign of weakness."

Thank you, Jessica. We'd love to hear your thoughts, BigLaw subscribers, so click the Comment link below.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on February 22, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Some large firm lawyers tend to travel more than others. I don't travel much, but when I do I like to travel light. However, because I'm technically "on the clock" during a five hour flight between coasts, I prefer to use the time to review documents in preparation for my upcoming meeting or hearing. But the number of documents required to consume five or more hours of flight time would take up a lot of room. What to do?

GoodReader and Its Brethren to the Rescue

Last fall, while preparing for a trip from Los Angeles to Seattle, I planned to take along more than 750 pages (measuring four inches thick when printed) of discovery responses to review on the plane. I didn't want to take that much paper with me nor did I want to take my laptop solely for the purpose of using Acrobat. I considered abandoning the whole idea of working on the plane in favor of watching a movie on my iPad when I realized that, maybe, I could upload the documents to my iPad.

The solution ended up being an App Store download away. I bought an app for my iPad called GoodReader, which has since become the single most important and most often used "law practice" application on my iPad. GoodReader is just one of many document readers available for the iPad. Regardless of what mobile platform you use (Android, BlackBerry, iOS, etc.) many reasonably-priced and well-designed document readers exist (I list a few at the end of this column).

How to Evaluate a Mobile Document Reader App

Mobile document readers perform two core functions: (1) display the most common types of documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, iWork, TXT, RTF, etc.), and (2) provide a file management system to keep these documents organized.

In terms of displaying documents, the ability to quickly and cleanly display very large PDF files is by far the most important feature. GoodReader handled my 750-page document with absolutely no problem. Navigation between consecutive pages is accomplished by finger swipe or tap. You can also scroll though the entire document in seconds using a scroll bar.

The developers of these document readers have added a number of useful features, the most welcome of which is the ability to annotate PDF documents. Here, again, GoodReader excels. It enables you to insert text notes, highlight text in a variety of colors, underline or circle text, and bookmark pages just to name a few.

As for the document organization component, loading documents onto the device is the most important feature to evaluate. Generally, the app will provide several options — via iTunes, WiFi network, cloud service (e.g., Dropbox, Google Docs), FTP server, or a mail server (Exchange, IMAP, POP3). GoodReader not only accommodates all of these methods, but also enables you to download documents into the application from the Web by entering the a document's URL.

In addition, most mobile document readers provide the ability to create folders for storing documents. GoodReader, for example, provides lots of file management tools, facilitating copying, moving, and deletion of files, creation of folders, password protection, archiving (ZIP files), and emailing of documents.

GoodReader Alternatives Worthy of Consideration

Although GoodReader is one of the best document readers, several worthy alternatives exist. For iOS devices, two close competitors to GoodReader are Air Sharing and ReaddleDocs.

Popular choices for the Android-based devices include RepliGo Reader and Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite.

RepliGo Reader is also available for BlackBerry.

Written by Dan Friedlander of LawOnMyPhone.com.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on February 15, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Through mergers and acquisitions, many of today's larger firms find that they need to recreate chains of command and reporting lines. This scenario can create tension and competition, sometimes intentionally, until a new order is established. But whatever the size of your firm, and whatever the flavor of your political tension, following the ten tips below could prove key to your survival.

1. Do Your Job and Do It Well

Add business value. Make it your primary objective — always. If you catch yourself spending time getting caught up in matters related to interpersonal politics, and unrelated to your ability to get your job done, it's time to refocus.

2. Enjoy Yourself

Smile. Having a positive mindset not only makes work more pleasurable for you, but it also makes it less likely that people will take your off mood personally. A good attitude has the added bonus of making your co-workers want to be around you, and even want you to succeed.

3. Promote Yourself

Don't assume that everyone has noticed your efforts and understands the value you bring to the firm. Don't boast or brag or openly angle for credit. Self promote through an agenda of good work and make sure that body of work is widely known, especially outside of your department or practice group. If your boss is the only one who understands your value, then your job is only as secure as that of your boss, and you only hold your job upon your boss' good will.

4. Be Forthright

Nothing undermines your reputation faster than being caught in a lie or a half-truth. And as the offenses grow larger or more involved (e.g., trying to cover up something you've done), your chance of surviving a discovery of such transgressions decreases.

5. Admit Mistakes

Failing to admit when you've missed the mark in one way or another is a close second to lying. Conversely (though not necessarily intuitively), nothing earns respect faster than being willing to stand up and take it on the chin when you've erred.

6. Be Respectful of Everyone

Don't gossip about fellow employees. Leave your personal life at home. And leave discussion of others at the door. Remove yourself (non-judgmentally) when others are doing so by letting folks know you need to get back to work.

7. Listen to People

Make eye contact. Stop thinking about what you're going to say next. Attentive listening earns you points with someone quickly. And failing to listen will erode their opinion of you just as fast.

8. Observe the Chain of Command

The first stop in resolving a problem with another employee is to talk with them directly. If this strategy fails, be aware of your respective places in the chain of command. It may be necessary to have your boss communicate with theirs. But don't let them meet without all parties present. The situation can easily be misunderstood by those not directly involved, or could even be swept under the rug.

9. Communicate

Don't leave people wondering or out of the loop. Nothing raises flags in the minds of people who might be suspicious of your motives than cutting them out of a discussion, or failing to notify them about a meeting, a decision, or a change in plans.

10. Be the Bigger Person

People generally aren't malicious. But they often operate from fear. Sometimes the source of their fear is clear — job security. Often, the source is trickier to identify. Perhaps their self-esteem is on the line, or they have personal issues at home. No matter the source of their perceived malice, it's always better not to take things personally and stay above the fray. If you can do so and remain objective, not only will you have the moral highground, but you will also avoid getting dirty yourself from having been involved in mudslinging.

Conclusion

Given human nature, it's inevitable to find yourself in situations in which politics and power struggles affect your quality of life at work. When it happens, focus on the basics as outlined above. You can't change the people around you. But if you focus on doing the right thing yourself, I can promise that at the very least you will sleep better at night.

Written by Matthew Berg, Director of IT at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C..

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 31, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

A few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published a provocative essay by Yale Law School professor Amy Chua entitled Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior. Based on her new book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua's essay shocked readers with her unapologetic espousal of the "Chinese way" of child-rearing. Among other things, "Chinese" mothering employs a combination of discipline, tough love, and tactics "that would seem unimaginable — even legally actionable — to Westerners." A similar schism exists between the large law firms that once roamed corporate America and their decidedly less imposing successors today.

The senior partners in your firm secretly bemoan this lost world. These cagey, grizzled veterans were raised in a professional environment in which, for example, associates never would have complained about whether the firm respected "work-life balance." Why? Because associates weren't women, or attempting to balance work and life, and would have known that any whining about "balance" (or even "life") would have prompted a look that could kill from their superiors. Get a few drinks in these guys and they'll sum up what they think of Generation X and Y partners with one word — wimps.

If it didn't violate the firm's policies pertaining to sensitivity, diversity, and non-discrimination, they would still train associates in the same glorious tradition. They will tell you this with the leg of an adversary, whom they have nearly finished chewing into digestible pieces, dangling from one corner of their mouth. They'd also tell you …

True Partners Versus Wimpy Partners

A lot of people wonder how large law firms used to raise such stereotypically successful lawyers. They wonder how we produced so many document review whizzes and motion practice prodigies. Well, as associates we were never allowed to:

• Attend a sleepover with non-cohabitating partners on a weeknight.

• Have a "playdate," if "playdate" is defined as "non-billable activity."

• Go to our kids' school plays.

• Complain about not being able to go to their kids' school plays.

• Watch TV or, heaven forbid, play computer games (although, in my day, computers were the size of a two-car garage).

• Obtain a verdict, reach a settlement, or arrive at any other disposition in a matter that was unsatisfactory to the client.

• Not become the top lawyer in every subject except admiralty or anything related to international human rights.

• Play any instrument as it might distract from the work of the firm.

Conversely, I know many biglaw partners, almost always born after 1960, who are not cut from the same sturdy cloth from which I and my generation were hewn, by choice or otherwise. These partners — "Wimpy Partners" or "WPs," stand in sharp contrast to us — the Greatest Generation of Law Firm Warriors. That's right! We viewed litigation as battle. We knew how to hunker down in a foxhole. And we definitely knew how to carry a heavy load 26 miles, uphill, in the driving snow. Because we were men of true grit, I shall call us "True Partners."

Look at the list above. It would make most WPs blanch. Even when WPs think they're being strict, they usually don't come close to being like True Partners. For example, my WP colleagues who consider themselves strict make their associates work for at least a few hours on Saturdays. That's easy. It's the overnight shift, and the wee hours of Sunday morning, that separate the men from the boys.

I can't entirely blame WPs though as they're a product of their times. True Partners could get away with things that WPs can't. Once when I was young, I was less-than-reverential to a senior partner, who angrily called me "garbage." It worked. I felt deep regret. But it didn't damage my self-esteem. I knew exactly how highly he really thought of me, since I had billed 4,700 hours the previous year.

True Partners could do things that would seem unimaginable — even legally actionable — to WPs. True Partners could say to an associate, "Hey fatty — lose some weight." By contrast, WPs have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of "health" lest they hurt someone's "feelings" and incur liability. These fat associates then end up in therapy for eating disorders and a negative self-image, and require both time off and the expenditure of health benefits.

True Partners could order associates to win. WPs can only ask their associates to try their best. True Partners could say, "You're lazy. Your adversaries are getting ahead of you." By contrast, WPs have to struggle with their own conflicted feelings about achievement, and try to persuade themselves that they're not disappointed about how the young lawyers they hired, and rewarded with oversized salaries, turned out.

When it comes to training associates, True Partners produced lawyers who displayed excellence in their written work, mastery as oral advocates, and professional rainmaking success. True Partners understood that nothing was fun. If you were good at a task, it might have more enjoyable aspects, but that wasn't the point. The point was simply to be good, and to get good at anything you have to work hard.

Three Key Differentiators

I've thought about how True Partners could get away with what we did. I see three big differences between the True Partner and WP mind-sets.

First, I've noticed that WPs are extremely anxious about their associates' self-esteem. They worry about how their associates will feel if they fail so they constantly try to reassure their associates about how good they are notwithstanding a mediocre performance at an oral argument or in a settlement negotiation. True Partners assumed strength, not fragility, and as a result we behaved differently.

Second, True Partners believed that associates owed them everything. It probably had something to do with the favor extended to these associates when they were hired in exchange for a biweekly paycheck and a chance to work at our venerable institution. Associates would spend their lives repaying this favor by working tirelessly. By contrast, I don't think most WPs have the same view of associates being permanently indebted to their employers. This attitude strikes me as a terrible deal for the WP.

Third, True Partners believed that they knew what was best for associates and, therefore, could override the associates' own desires and preferences. WPs worry a lot about their associates. But as a partner, one of the worst things you can do for your associates is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't.

WPs try to respect their associates' individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, True Partners believed that the best way to protect associates was by preparing them for the future, which, unless your work was stellar and your hours considerable, was destined to be brutish, nasty, and short.

Once you obtain these skills, work habits, and inner confidence of a True Partner, no one can ever take them away from you. Should they attempt to do so, you will have the tools with which to tear them a new one.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 25, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Gentleman Ladies and Gentleman BigLaw Subscribers,

During firm orientation, you learn how to opt into your dental plan, where to locate the bathrooms, and, if you're lucky, how to track your hours. These items are important, especially if you eat spicy meals, gnaw on tin foil, or develop bruxism. But orientation not to mention internal CLE programs nearly always omit another crucial skill — professional email etiquette.

You would think sending polished, professional email would be an obvious skill among associates. Large law firms apparently agree, so they don't bother teaching the basics and instead let new associates (and luddite partners who begrudgingly agree to start using email) fall on the swords of accidental reply-alls, overly informal language, and other faux pas. If your law firm does not have an email etiquette training program, relax. Just forward this issue of BigLaw around your firm as it contains the top 10 email etiquette tips for large firm lawyers.

1. Subject Line

Keep your subject lines short yet explanatory and joke-free (no matter how hilarious your pun). Use title case or else it will look too informal. In long back and forth chains, make sure it doesn't get to the point of "Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Fwd." When this happens, edit it back to a single "Re:" or start fresh. Aon's Chief Counsel for Litigation and former Jones Day partner Mark Herrmann has some additional subject line tips.

2. Salutation

As someone with a gender-neutral name that brings to mind a county in Northern California (Marin), I have been the victim of "Gentlemen" more than once during my biglaw tenure. And Greg, a female friend of mine, certainly commiserated. The point is, unless you've spoken to all parties on the phone or seen them in person, "Gentleman" is risky. While "Ladies and Gentleman" solves that problem, using it makes you sound like you're a traveling minstrel hawking peep stones. I suggest using everyone's first name if feasible or the completely neutral "All:" or skipping the salutation altogether and starting with a "Good Morning/Good Afternoon."

3. Signoff

Most lawyers use some form or "Regards" at the conclusion of email. But which "Regards" to use? There's of course the plain vanilla "Regards," the effeminate "Warm regards," the passive aggressive "Kind regards," and finally "Best regards" for when you really want to knock their socks off. If you're going to use "Regards" — and it is a fine signoff — just pick one and stick with it forever. "Thanks" is also a good one. Steer clear of "Sincerely" and "Respectfully," and never write "Truly" because it means nothing and sounds creepy.

4. Attachments

If you write "Please find attached …" for the love of God make sure to attach the attachment. Triple check it if you must. Nothing says "amateur" more than sending a follow-up email 30 seconds later with an apology and an attachment. Software utilities such as SendGuard can scan your message for words like "attachment" and warn you if there's nothing attached when you click "Send."

5. Non-Work Related Mass Email

Do you need the number of a good plumber? How about a recommendation for a reputable DUI lawyer in the DC Metropolitan area for "a friend"? Conduct Google searches, call friends, but whatever you do, don't send around mass email messages at work (except of course for this issue of BigLaw). Your toilet may be clogged and your "friend" may have breathed a 0.42, but you don't want your entire firm gossiping about you. Don't even offer up the Yankees tickets you can't use. Keep your personal problems anonymous.

6. Signatures

Always include a signature with your contact information — except your email address since that's redundant. Your signature should be plain and all black. Don't use a cheesy script font for your name, don't get fancy and place the firm's name in a different color. And definitely don't append "Please be considerate of the environment … think before you print this message!" unless you want people to never email you again. You should also remove the "Sent from my iPhone" advertisement because it tips partners off that you're not at your desk 24/7. Don't give them an excuse to give you more work.

7. Abbreviations

No matter how many abbreviations ("thx"), misspellings ("tonite"), or other syntax and grammatical errors clients and partners include in their hastily-written email, resist the urge to reply in kind. You may be in a rush too, but dig deep and find the time to write a proofed and polished message, even from your mobile device … which means deleting "Sent from my iPhone" as noted above.

8. Return Receipt

As tempting as it is to know — definitively — that someone has read the very important email you just sent him or her, nothing enrages people more than receiving return receipt messages. Why should it be your business to know when and if someone reads your email? It's not. The whole deal with email is that you take a leap of faith that the recipient will receive it and respond. If you can't live with that anxiety, use the phone instead. Don't play dirty by spying on other peoples' inboxes.

9. Recalls

Email is unforgiving. Once sent, that's a wrap. You can't go back. Recalling an email sent in error that has undoubtedly already been read by the unintended recipient(s) only calls more attention to the original message, your mistake, and your feeble attempts to undo it. Just don't make this mistake. Ever. Pay attention. Turn off address auto-fill if necessary. Or use Outlook's Defer Delivery setting.

10. Personal Email Sent From Your Work Account

You've all read the legendary email accidentally sent by a Skadden summer associate from his work account to the firm's entire underwriting group. Nuff said.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 11, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

In my first BigLaw column on iOS apps, I explored how large law firms can use mobile apps to promote their services to potential clients. In my next column, I discussed the process for developing apps for the iPhone and iPad and submitting them to Apple for approval. Today, I will explore how law firms can develop Enterprise Apps.

An Enterprise App is designed to serve the specific and customized needs of your law firm — your lawyers and staff, and perhaps your clients too. Enterprise apps don't generate revenue from App Store sales or overtly promote your firm. Rather, they are developed for the purpose of helping your law firm conduct its business.

Unlike the typical iOS app available for download to the general public through the iTunes App Store, enterprise apps are only available to people associated with the enterprise, and it is the enterprise, not Apple, that controls the channels of distribution.

For an example look at Apple itself. Its EasyPay app enables its own Apple Store employees to process sales transactions from anywhere on the sales floor using an iOS device. Only Apple Store employees have access to the EasyPay app.

How to Create and Distribute an Enterprise App

To develop enterprise applications, you must register for Apple's iOS Developer Enterprise Program. At a cost of $299 per year, membership in the program provides you with access to Apple's iOS Software Development Kit (SDK) and all of the tools necessary to develop and distribute iOS applications to your users. The process for developing enterprise apps is essentially the same as that for developing standard iOS applications — up to the point of actual distribution.

One major benefit to developing apps in-house through the enterprise program is that you get to bypass Apple's review and approval process — an elusive, time-consuming, and occasionally-frustrating process to say the least. Also, application updates can be rolled-out immediately without having to wait one to two weeks for Apple's stamp of approval.

If there is a downside to in-house app development, it is in the mechanism for distributing apps to enterprise users. Despite all the criticism of Apple for maintaining a monopoly over the distribution system for non-enterprise iOS apps (i.e., the iTunes App Store), the experience of purchasing and installing these apps is seamless and efficient.

This, however, is not the case with enterprise apps, as there is no App Store-like portal for enterprise app distribution. Instead, your IT department must distribute the application file and a provisioning profile certificate to each user, along with detailed instructions explaining how to install the application file and certificate on the iOS devise using iTunes. This process must be repeated any time the app is updated.

Examples of Law Firm Enterprise Apps

Distribution hassles aside, law firms are beginning to develop sophisticated enterprise apps. For example, DLA Phillips Fox, Australia's largest law firm, developed an enterprise app for the iPhone that enables its employees to access and view documents remotely. It also includes an elaborate time-keeping component that gives its attorneys the ability to remotely enter and record timesheets.

As you can see from this example, a key advantage for law firms is the ability to control the distribution of sensitive and confidential information. Email is not the most secure means of transmitting information, as it can to easily be forwarded (accidentally or intentionally) to others. To minimize the potential for a breach in confidentiality, a law firm could develop an enterprise app that enables an attorney or a client, upon entering a password, to view highly-sensitive information located on the law firm's server without the need to distribute the information by email.

Because enterprise apps do not show up in the iTunes App Store, it is difficult to know how many law firms are following in DLA Phillips Fox's footsteps and developing their own enterprise apps. However, as adoption rate of iPhones and iPads in law offices continues to rise, I expect to see many more law firms distributing enterprise apps to their attorneys and clients.

Written by Dan Friedlander of LawOnMyPhone.com.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on February 8, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

LegalTech New York often serves as a gauge as to where the legal technology market is headed. Legal technology vendors bring on the buzz to entice lawyers and IT professionals with their latest app, gadget, or widget.

I have attended LegalTech New York since 1999. Its mantra, "The Most Important Legal Technology Event of the Year" seemed to finally ring true as the recession slowly sloughs off. Many attendees would admit that LegalTech served as more of a job-hunting tool during the recent recession. This year, thank goodness, it was back to its "old self." I sensed positive vibes.

Below you'll find my LegalTech New York report geared specifically for those of you in large law firms and corporate legal departments, the two core constituencies who subscribe to TechnoLawyer's BigLaw newsletter.

Autonomy: Hear Me Roar

The fanfare was typical with Thomson Reuters/West and LexisNexis challenging each other to be the main event. But this year another giant — Autonomy — made a big splash on the first level of the exhibit hall affectionately referred to as "Wexis." Through aggressive advertising and expanding its booth space across a hall with an adjacent meeting room, Autonomy was hard to not notice.

Innovation a Buzz Wreck but Greenshoots Exist

Let's discuss the technical innovation at the show — or lack thereof — what I call the Buzz Wreck!

However, greenshoots exist. For example, midsize technology vendors as well as startups are tackling cloud computing and offering tighter technical integration. Many companies demonstrated how to leverage technology to gain better control of who is doing what, where, why, and when.

Another trend — consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. For example, DTI acquired Daticon EED late last year. It was hard to miss DTI's presence as just about every directional sign throughout the show bore its logo. While DTI is more aligned with service-bureau work for law firms, it uses many of the top rated discovery and litigation management products such as Clearwell, iCONECT, and Relativity. Once perceived as a small player in the eDiscovery market, DTI is now well positioned against Applied Discovery, Fios, and Kroll Ontrack.

Strategic partnerships are also flourishing. Vendors are teaming up when it enables them to deliver greater value to their clients. Post-recession, stability and reliability from a legal technology company has become so much more critical.

Finally, I noticed what I call "wrap-around" software. Take Wave Software for example. It has processed discovery data for years, but this year it acquired and integrated iFramework project management software to help legal teams get a better grasp on projects as they march through the litigation workflow process. The iFramework technology provides a "wrap" around other applications.

Executive Summaries of Key Conferences

Finally, I would like to recap three key conference sessions in case you missed them.

Round the Table With Women in eDiscovery: Myth Busters

Panelists explored three myths associated with bringing electronic discovery in-house. Babs Deacon, Cynthia Bateman, Joanne Lane, Ellen Kuplic, Emily Cobb, and Alison Grounds shared their insight and opinions about these three "myths":

Myth 1: The only way to conduct eDiscovery successfully is to let your outside counsel handle the entire process.

Myth 2: Always engage in full forensic collection of drives. Never permit self-collection by clients/custodians.

Myth 3: An organization without a high litigation profile doesn't need to implement a litigation readiness program or have preferred discovery support vendor relationships in place.

As expected, the conclusion is that black and white answers rarely exist. But the discussion and debate over each topic provided good arguments on both sides of the issues, at least helping to uncover factors that should be considered when making these decisions.

Leveraging Technology to Achieve Quality and Competitive Excellence

Weather was an issue for some as was the case for two panelists who couldn't make it in Tuesday morning. Moderator Brad Blickstein, of the Blickstein Group, and panelist Kim Townsan of United Technologies engaged in a good discussion centered on delivering value — whether in-house delivering to key stakeholders or outside counsel delivering value to their clients — by effectively using technology.

Highlights from this session included:

• A big piece of delivering value centers around alternative pricing models — pricing based on achieving results as opposed to billable hours. As Ms. Townsan pointed out, hours are not valuable to clients; results are.

• Leverage in-house IT resources to effectively use your data for process mapping, and identifying trends and actual cost drivers to determine where fixed costs might exist. Implement technology that will truly make work processes more efficient.

• Employ a good matter management system for all outside counsel to keep information consolidated.

Why the Legal Industry Needs to Change and Embrace Technology

This session offered an interesting perspective of technology in the legal industry by a panel of judges. The session was moderated by Joseph FitzGerald of Symantec and featured Hon. Dennis M. Sweeney, Hon. David J. Waxse, and Hon. Ron Hedges.

The judges discussed such issues as evolving industry standards and what one referred to as the "consumerization" of IT in which employees (and their employers) seek to consolidate personal- and work-related applications, devices, etc.

Judge Waxse discussed the need to use technology in the context of having "just, speedy, and inexpensive" trials, reminding the audience that case issues should drive the use of technology so counsel should agree at the outset as to what comprises these issues.

Judge Sweeney talked about the impact of social media on trials, sharing some interesting examples of jurors being disqualified mid-trial as a result of their activities on social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. His Honor advised that lawyers need to catch up to modern day juries.

(Disclosure: DTI and Wave Software are clients of Edge Legal Marketing.)

Written by Amy Juers of Edge Legal Marketing.

Photo: Fulbright & Jaworski CIO Scott Preston (left) and Client Profiles CEO Whit McIsaac (right) at LegalTech New York. Photo provided by Client Profiles.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 4, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Do you work in a small law firm? If so, you're reading the wrong version of this column. Read the SmallLaw version instead.

This month a variety of "experts" will push your firm or practice group to put together a marketing plan for 2011. That's a great idea! Those of you who manage large firms or practice groups within large firms or who serve as a Chief Marketing Officer will get to it right after you put the finishing touches on your 2010 marketing plan.

Oh yeah, that's right. You're really not going to write a 2011 marketing plan. Between your clients, the fires you'll need to put out, and all the other unforeseeable events that you know will occur, you'll be lucky to find the time and energy to perform your job let alone write a marketing plan. Even at the world's largest firms, a marketing plan often falls off the agenda no matter how much everyone knows they should plan, budget, and calendar the necessary activities to continue to grow the quantity and quality of clients.

Well, I have a solution for you so you won't have to feel guilty about skipping out on the planning. I've written your 2011 marketing plan for you. It's not the perfect marketing plan, but I guarantee that if you complete even half the tasks I've planned for you, you're going to see substantial new business flowing through your door. If that doesn't happen, email me a note in December and I'll fully refund what you paid for this BigLaw newsletter.

You'll need to pick and choose the elements of the plan that work best for your firm or practice group. And you'll have to adapt the plan to your practice areas. However, you'll find it surprisingly malleable and, therefore, applicable to just about any practice area from ERISA to intellectual property litigation.

January
Send a letter to one-tenth of your existing clients. Thank them for allowing you to perform their work and ask whether they'd like to talk to you, at no charge, about any issue. Have them call and schedule a phone conference if they'd like to talk. Also, schedule lunch with two prospective referral sources.

February
Send the same letter to the next tenth of your clients and repeat every month until you finish in October. Also, schedule two more lunches and continue these lunches each month until November.

March
Continue with letters and lunches and write an article for any publication your target clientele likely reads. Limit yourself to 750 words (shorter than this article) and submit it.

April
More letters and lunches. Be sure to buy a reprint of the article from last month and place it on your Web site to note that you've been published. This month, join a club — any club will do. Lots of people like the Rotary. Just join a club. Also, write a quick note to everyone you've had lunch with since January and schedule coffee with them for next month.

May
Letters, lunches, and coffee with everyone you lunched with from January to March. Start asking your happiest clients and former clients to post reviews on your Google Places page (if permitted by your state's rules). Also, rack your brain for a connection to a local media outlet — TV, radio, or newspaper. You've got to know someone who knows someone. Just think it through for now.

June
Letters, lunches, and coffee with everyone from your April and May lunches. Call your media contact and introduce yourself. Sure, it's going to be weird if your connection is tenuous. Just do it — it's in the plan, right? Tell the contact that you're an expert in your area of the law and offer to make yourself available if he or she ever has questions.

July
Letters, lunches, and coffee. Also, write follow-up notes to everyone on your lunch list just to check in. Now you should be in a cycle with the lunch people. Do lunch, have coffee, and send a note every 90 days to everyone on the list. Also, go ahead and write another article for publication. Plus, you're still going to your club meetings, right? Offer to help with the club newsletter (it's good to get your name in print).

August
Letters, lunches, coffee, and follow-up notes. Keep the cycle going. Reprint your article on your Web site. Keep going to the club meetings. It's time again to ask for endorsements on your Google Places page. These endorsements need to become a regular practice so that you're asking new people to recommend your firm every three months.

September
Letters, lunches, coffee, follow-up notes, and club meetings. Call your media contact again. Offer information on recent developments and remind the person that you exist. Be friendly and helpful. Maybe the journalist would like some lunch or coffee? Send a follow-up note.

October
Letters, lunches, coffee, notes, and club meetings. You're busy, you're tired, and you're overrun with new clients. Seriously, if you've followed this plan, you're getting crushed. Keep it up. Don't slow down. If you need to regulate the volume of work, then raise your prices or hire some help. Don't stop. Stopping is the enemy. Go, go, go!

November
Take a break from client letters. You've made it through the list. Send holiday cards to everyone. Consider a holiday party for your lunch and coffee people. Don't stop with lunches, coffee, notes, and club meetings. Your club will have a holiday party. Offer to play the trumpet for people to dance to (I'm kidding, but you should go to the party next month).

December
Take a break from everything except the club holiday party, your bar association holiday party, and your firm holiday party. Rest and draft your marketing plan for 2012 (I won't be able to write your 2012 marketing plan).

By the end of 2011, you've sent all of your clients a letter reminding them that you exist and can help. You've met a bunch of new referral sources and had a chance to get to know them. You've met a ton of new people in your club. You've been recommended numerous times on Google. You've likely been published in several magazines, and you've probably been quoted in the local media. It's been a very good marketing year.

That's the plan. If you execute on this plan, you'll have a huge year. If you don't, you probably won't. Marketing can be systematic, entertaining, and productive. It doesn't have to be complicated. Try this plan. You'll be glad you did.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.