TechnoLawyer: Law Office Management

Originally published on May 17, 2009 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

One of the best ways to manage your activities is by learning how to delegate effectively. Focus your energy on the tasks that further your core values, generate the most profit, take advantage of your expertise, skill, or personal relationships, or require your personal participation.

About each task, ask yourself: Does it go to the heart of what you do as a lawyer or how you obtain business, or is it something that you can teach someone else to do?

While it may take longer in the short run to explain the project (and then correct it later) than it does to just do it yourself, if the task is one that truly should be delegated, the overall return on your time makes it worthwhile. Below you'll find five key steps to effective delegation.

1. Give Clear, Comprehensive Instructions

This step is the most crucial component of effective delegation, and is harder than it sounds.

Try creating checklists or other written instructions, particularly for tasks performed repeatedly, by more than one person or by a steady flow of new people.

Be specific about the scope of the project. If the employee finds themselves spending more time on it than you anticipate, they can check back with you to determine whether they should keep going, cut the project short, or change direction.

Communicate why this assignment is important and how it fits into the overall work of the firm. How does it affect clients or fit into the overall strategy of the case? How does it help the firm function? When an employee understands the importance of a task and how it fits into the work that you do for your clients, they become more invested in the project — and more likely to get it right.

2. Prevent Miscommunication

Miscommunication is inevitable. "Memo" to one lawyer might mean one page of bullet points outlining the current state of the law. "Memo" to the newly minted associate may mean a lengthy report complete with case citations, discussions of individual case facts, etc.

Ask the person you're delegating to repeat back to you their understanding of the project — in their own words. Don't just ask, "Do you understand?" Let them tell you what they think you want them to do. This exercise gives you an opportunity to ensure that your instructions were clear and that you've properly defined the scope of the project. Encourage questions, even when using written instructions and checklists.

3. Set a Deadline and Establish Priority

Delegation failure often stems from lack of deadlines or failure to set priorities. Employees need to know when the project must be completed and how important it is. Human nature dictates that urgent work commands attention. If you have no deadlines or priorities, there is no urgency.

4. Create a Feedback Loop

Don't wait until the deadline to determine whether your employee is on track, particularly if you're new to delegation or to working with this particular individual.

Schedule a specific time to check in with the employee when you think enough time has passed to have uncovered some questions, but not so far that you can't rein them in if they're off-track.

Beware of micromanaging. If you've worked with someone for a while and they have met your expectations, you won't need to check in as frequently. In some cases, you can eliminate this step entirely. You must develop confidence in your employees, particularly professionals, and allow them to do their jobs.

5. Evaluate Job Performance and Share the Outcome

Completion of the task does not mark the end of the delegation process. Constructive criticism is an important part of delegation. Take the time to teach and correct your employees so that they can grow and improve. Give praise for a job well done. Also, sharing the eventual outcome with your employees signals the importance of their contribution and their role in your firm's success.

Written by Allison C. Shields of the Lawyer Meltdown newsletter and Legal Ease Blog.

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Originally published on May 17, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

Two weeks ago, I received my New York State attorney registration form in the mail. It asks me to certify by June 16th that I've taken the mandatory number of Continuing Legal Education credits in the past two years and solicits my "biennial registration fee" of $350. Of course, those of you toiling away in large law firms can earn all your credits at your firm and even have your firm pick up your registration fee — but that doesn't mean your CLE experience couldn't stand some improvement.

MCLE: GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS

Requiring lawyers to continue learning is a great idea in theory. But in practice, the mandatory CLE (MCLE) system fails miserably at this mission. MCLE amounts to little more than an expensive hassle (time-wise if not monetarily) in which the educational value gets lost in the mix. New York State may ask me to register my license to practice, but I would rather register my protest … against the current MCLE system.

If you're like most other Biglaw attorneys, you probably choose the CLE classes you attend based on the type and number of CLE credits offered, not the relevance to your practice area. For example, if you're short ethics credits as your certification date approaches, you'll likely attend a class on mediation ethics issues even if you're a tax attorney. The class may be interesting, but it arguably won't help your tax practice.

Even worse, let's say you skipped all your in-house CLE lectures and now have to cram by attending a three-day seminar in some hotel ballroom. Look to your left and look to your right — you'll no doubt see fellow lawyers focusing more on their BlackBerrys than the lectures.

MCLE creates a perverse incentive system.

And it's also tantamount to a regressive tax as those lawyers least able to afford CLE have to pay the most. In New York, CLE providers must offer fee waivers or fee reductions to attorneys who earn less than $50,000 per year, but that's small comfort for those who don't qualify.

THREE SUGGESTED CHANGES

Encouraging attorneys to hone their legal skills and knowledge is a worthy goal. Thus, rather than eliminate MCLE we should instead try to change it from within the system and without so that it actually achieves its purported goal.

1. Practice Area Emphasis

States could require attorneys to obtain CLE credits in their area of practice on a rolling basis. Restricting how lawyers can earn their credits would be more of a hassle than the current MCLE system, but states could reduce the number of credits required.

2. Level the Learning Field

States could also increase their registration fees, but set aside most of the funds in private accounts for each lawyer to use on MCLE courses. Large firms that offer in-house CLE would not be eligible to receive any funds. Thus, the haves and have nots in the legal profession would effectively pay about the same for MCLE.

3. Post Mortems

Not every change has to come from the outside. Taking a page from hospitals, large firms that offer their own in-house CLE could use these programs to conduct post mortems on the firm's recently concluded casework. For example, lecturers could share best practice and mistakes, which vendor they chose for an eDiscovery job, an interesting court opinion that helped win an oral argument, etc. These post mortems would have the added benefit of giving junior associates public speaking experience.

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.

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Dual Monitors and Multitasking — A Contrarian View

iPad Is a Move in the Right Direction

One PPEP Junkie Down, 199 to Go

Law Firm Media Survey Reveals Pay, Policies

This issue also contains links to every article in the May 2010 issue of Law Practice Today and the May/June 2010 issue of Law Practice. Don't miss this issue or future issues.

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Coming today to Fat Friday: Tim Callins reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap S510, Harold Goldner explains why he left the solo world, David Estes shares an estate planning document assembly tip, and Thomas F. McDow discusses the importance of attire and grammar at business functions. Don't miss this issue.

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Maybe Listservs Aren't As Dead As I Thought

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Every Lawyer's Brave New World

Internet Marketing Success Story — Attorney Lee Rosen

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Originally published on May 3, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

One-third of female partners regularly bullied by colleagues? An absence of women in the top money-making ranks at nearly 75% of top firms? Take a moment to consider the significance of these findings, which paint a grim picture of the position currently occupied by women in large law firms. Is it really possible that despite the likes of Hillary Clinton and Sonia Sotomayor, women remain unable to gain a significant foothold in the nation's most lucrative firms? That's what an increasing body of evidence suggests.

Unveailed last week at the ABA's Summit for Women In-House Counsel, the "Survey of Women Partners on Law Firm Compensation" paints a disheartening picture of the obstacles faced by women in the legal profession. Of the nearly 700 participating large firm female partners, "fifty-five percent of respondents said they were they were occasionally or frequently denied their 'fair share' of origination credit;" two-thirds "said they were uncomfortable with appealing their compensation decisions, and 30 percent said they were subjected to intimidation, threats and bullying when they did express disagreement," according to the Legal Intelligencer.

Similarly, another report, released in mid-April by the Project for Attorney Retention, shows that fourteen top law firms failed to promote any women to their partnership ranks in 2009. And an October 2009 study by the National Association for Women Lawyers showed that nearly half of major US law firms had no women among their top rainmakers. The same study revealed that another third of top firms had only one top female rainmaker, while 72 per cent of firms said that none of their top five rainmakers were women.

You Can't Bring Home the Bacon and Fry It Up in a Pan

The revelations contained in these studies come as no surprise to many women. For example, says Allison (a senior associate at a large firm in Manhattan), "work-life balance" remains an elusive pursuit for female Biglaw lawyers, and "work" is often the part of the equation that suffers. "I've worked my butt off for my entire career, and now I'm close to partnership" she laments. "But when I went back to the firm after my son was born, I felt like I wasn't doing a good job at anything. I wasn't there for my son the way I wanted to be, and motherhood invariably — and reasonably — encroached on my work life."

The "solution," she thought, was to take advantage of her firm's part-time program, which seemed tailor-made for a new mother. "It was," she declares, "no solution at all. I billed just as many hours, and was just as available to my colleagues and clients, as I had been before. The only difference was that I was paid less." The partners at Allison's firm seemed oblivious to her part-time status, and when, on occasion, she reminded them, "they were generally peevish at the notion that an associate might not be available 24/7." Going part-time, said Allison, felt like a career move that pushed her further away from the goals she had worked so hard to achieve. "During that time," she says, "the last thing on my mind was 'rainmaking.' I don't care what anyone says: you can't do it all."

Is the situation any better for women who are not mothers? "Hardly!" laughs Dana, a mid-level associate at another large firm. "I still have family obligations, even if they don't revolve around a husband or children," she explains. "And I still have personal needs. But if you're not married with children, any time you spend away from the office is viewed with real disdain." Moreover, she says, "do I feel intimidated by male partners who yell and have tantrums? Yes. Do I work with any female partners who act that way? No. Everyone has a story about the bitchy, Devil-Wears-Prada partner who makes other women miserable. But I've found that male colleagues are much more likely to be abrasive and volatile, especially to younger women who work as their subordinates."

Allison and Dana are just two of the many women who find the large law firm environment inhospitable — and their concerns with work-life balance are not the only reasons for their discontent. In addition to juggling full lives along with even fuller workloads, they say that they struggle with male colleagues who do not view them as intellectual peers, subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) sexual harassment, and social opportunities that remain gender segregated. "What inevitably happens," says Dana, "is that my male colleagues are out golfing or going to sporting events with the other 'boys' from the office, and I just can't compete on that level. Those are bonding opportunities that have very real professional consequences."

No Men Allowed?

Why aren't there more firms that are run by women? "Obviously," says Erica (an associate at a top firm in Philadelphia), a firm can't refuse to hire men. But I dream of going to a boutique firm that is managed by women." And, she explains, "it's not all about work-life balance or motherhood, though those are important considerations. It's about the ways in which men and women work differently. Women solve problems differently; they collaborate in different ways. They tend to be a little more supportive and a little less critical in evaluations, and focus more on growth and improvement than on aggressive, bottom-line judgments."

A female partner at a large New York firm who asked not to be named, agreed. "These are, of course, generalizations," she said, "but honestly: I think that women thrive in female-only environments. There is a greater tendency to focus on collaboration, nurturing relationships, and balancing demands holistically. That's not to say that there isn't competition and cattiness, but I've seen all-female teams turn out truly pristine work product without the anxiety and drama produced when male partners work with female associates."

Why hasn't a stronger "female boutique movement" emerged — women abandoning the world of Biglaw to create kinder, gentler (but still formidable) law firms. What do you think? We hope to gather your thoughts, and report on the crowd's wisdom about this complex topic. Contact me and tell me what you think.

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 April 19, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

In today's economy, "law firms must run lean and mean to remain competitive and profitable." However, according to the University of Florida Levin School of Law's "2010 Perfect Practice Legal Technology Institute Study" (PP-LTI Study), small law firms have largely failed to implement technologies that would help them achieve this goal. Furthermore, despite prevalent concerns about client confidentiality and security, small firms often fail to embrace technologies that address these very issues.

Legal Technology Institute director Andrew Adkins says that the original goal of the PP-LTI Study was to determine how many legal professionals use practice management software, but it expanded to cover other technologies as well.

Small Firms Fail to Adopt Basic Technologies

Among the results that the PP-LTI Study authors found "surprising" was the failure of legal professionals to adopt simple technologies, which cost relatively little but can boost efficiency. For example, dual computer monitors.

Adkins was also "amazed" that more small firms have not implemented document management systems. A similar study, conducted in 2000, concluded that 50% of legal professionals were not using DMSs. The PP-LTI Study shows that 52% of those surveyed still do not use the technology. Small firms are significantly less likely to use document management systems than those in larger firms as 80% of the respondents who reported using a document management system worked in large firms.

Similarly, the study's authors were surprised to find that — despite concerns about client confidentiality and security — many small firms do not use metadata cleanup software or email encryption. Again, larger firms lead the way: 61% of small firms said that they did not use metadata cleanup software. Of the 25% of respondents who reported using email encryption, only 20% were at small firms.

Large Firms Have a Significant Lead Over Small Firms

It is clear from the PP-LTI Study that size matters. Overall, small firms lagged behind their large firm counterparts in the adoption of common technologies. For example, while tools for routing and notifications of paperless workflow seem to be catching on across the industry, they're much more prevalent at large firms. Also, nearly 50% of small firms reported using a practice management system (such as AbacusLaw or Amicus Attorney) versus nearly 83% of large firms.

What are the perceived barriers regarding the use of practice management systems? Respondents — especially those in small firms — were most likely to explain their non-use with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rationale, noting that their current systems were working and "not worth changing."

While the "cost of maintaining" a practice management system was a close second, respondents also identified concerns about integration with other technologies, the inability to "see the benefits," and the "cost of computer upgrades" as primary barriers to adoption. Although there was consensus, among survey respondents about the issues that stand in the way, small firm lawyers were significantly more likely than their large firm counterparts to express concern about each.

Of course, it is no surprise that small firm users are more concerned about cost, maintenance, and integration issues. Compared to their large firm counterparts, small practitioners lack the financial and IT "buffers" that help smooth the way for the adoption of new technologies. However, the PP-LTI Study found that those firms without a practice management system estimated its cost as more than double what those who do use such software actually paid.

Read our companion article, New Study Shows Large Firms Behind the Technology Curve.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: David Hudgens reviews the Sennheiser BW 900 Bluetooth headset, Samuel Hasler reviews HotDocs for document assembly, Michael St. George reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 and Evernote, Andrew Weltchek discusses choosing the solo life, and Yvonne Renfrew shares a TimeMap printing tip and reviews the product's new search capability. Don't miss this issue.

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Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. You'll no doubt enjoy it because of its mix of interesting topics and genuinely useful knowledge, including brutally honest product reviews and informative how-tos. The Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 75 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

LinkedIn to Replace InterAction?

This Is Apple's Next iPhone

Happier Clients Make Fewer Choices

5 Tips to Help Lawyers Build Media Relationships

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