If you ever present to others, or even might, you need to see this (less than 4 minutes)

Thanks to my friend Matt Homann for bringing this to my attention by posting this on his wonderful Blog,  "The [non]billable hour" on January 14, 2012

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

Presentation Materials from the Good to Outstanding, it's all about your people" conference in Hong Kong

For the required PASSWORD, kindly email me. (Your email address must match your registration)

To download presentation materials, click on the relevant presentation.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

I received this correspondence from Hoshedar Wadia, a partner in one of India’s most sophisticated law firms, Juris Corp.  This firm deals in matters that range up to the hundreds of millions of US dollars in sophisticated areas like Capital Markets, Structured Finance, Securitization and so on.  In the spirit of disclosure, I have had the privilege of serving this firm.  Do you believe the protocol contained in the following correspondence could serve your firm as well?

"We just shared something with our new recruits as part of their orientation and I thought I would drop you a line cause you have used examples like this very effectively in the past with us.
 
"There is a game ‘Angry Birds’ that I have on my mobile that is available for PC download as well.
 
"You have to shoot birds at structures (and at a pig) and make points to go to the next level. Each level is tougher and there seem to be an unlimited number of levels. At each level, you can try any number of times. But in the version available on my phone, after 2 attempts (and failures), it asks me if I want to connect to the internet and see how it is done (on you tube). If you view the link, the task suddenly becomes easier (not easy – but significantly easier).

"Message:
"Like angry birds, in Juris Corp too:
"(i)         Please try for yourself to get the results – try once try twice but if you don’t get it by then then seek help (ego and stubbornness have little place in a knowledge-based industry);
"(ii)        The reason you must try yourself is because you may come up with a better way of doing something than the internet or ‘online help’ version will show you;
"(iii)       The reason you must take help after a few tries is because you owe the Firm and the Client, if any, (a) a quick turnaround (so it is not acceptable that you try and try and try till you succeed); (b) best costs (which means you don’t re-invent) – but always subject to you trying first on your own (the reason you are in Juris Corp is because somebody believes you may find a better way);
"(iv)      Look at the online version/precedents, even if you succeed – to see if it could have been done better?
(v)       Learn and adapt – the higher levels will always require you to draw from what you have learnt at the lower levels."

Punchline: Too many partners throw their associates to the research and protocol winds with a sink or swim attitude.  This policy deprives both associates and clients of what they deserve.  I think Juris Corp has it right and I am grateful to my friend, Hoshedar Wadia (Juris Corp partner), for granting me permission to share this with you.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

According to NYT journalist, Catherine Rampell, in her May 23, 2011 story: At Well-Paying Law Firms, a Low-Paid Corner,   Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe,  WilmerHale and McDermott Will & Emery are "creating a second tier of workers, stripping pay and prestige from one of the most coveted jobs in the business world".

Catherine goes on to comment on the increased challenge of debt repayment: Lower salaries make it even more difficult for newly minted lawyers to pay off their law school debt — like the $150,000 in loans that David Perry accumulated upon graduation from Northwestern University School of Law in 2009.

My Opinion:  I understand completely why these and other firms need to cut costs in order to meet the demand from clients to reduce fees.  In a way, this is eminently sensible — move the commodity end of the practice of law to lawyers well-equipped for the task at lower salaries.  In my view, this is not nearly enough.  Law firms must rethink how they do their work and must re-engineer their work in harmony with their clients.  My Edge International partner, Pam Woldow, is working at an unprecedented level of sophistication with top corporate law departments (including some of Fortune's Top 10) and AMLAW 100 law firms to help them learn Legal Project Management and how to set (genuine) Alternative Fees .  If the Partners think they can sit back and sustain their historic incomes indefinitely by lowering junior lawyer salaries or creating new classes they are sadly mistaken.  They need to create sustainable new models that change how we think about the practice of law.

Read the full NYT article  "At Well-Paying Law Firms, a Low-Paid Corner" here.

Visit Pam's Blog: "At The Intersection" here.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

All of the Managing Partners with whom I work are devoured by their "multitasking work environments".  "Recovering from information overload" (McKinsey Quarterly, January 2011) authors Derek Dean and Caroline Webb have succinctly laid out their take on the problems and solutions:

Problems (multitasking):

slows us down,

hampers creativity and

makes us anxious and it’s addictive)

Solutions (Coping with the deluge):

Focus,

Filter and

Forget

Perhaps the most valuable part of the article lies in an exploration of how to hit the "reset button".

If you are the Managing Partner (or have any leadership responsibilities in your firm) I suggest you read this article twice, once to assimilate it and next to make your action plan for the parts or pieces you want to implement.  Download the PDF or read online.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

Most of the top law firms I deal with have armies of lawyers who negotiate all the time whether on deals or resolving disputes.  So when I ask for a show of hands from anyone who has taken a course or read a book on negotiating, the responses suggest that fewer than 5% of lawyers have done so.  Why?  Are we that confident or has the idea simply been off our radar.

You might want to sign up for a two day course at Harvard but if you are too busy for that right now, here's a blog post that may whet your appetite for the topic:

27 simple ways to become a better negotiator

Bottom Line:  enhancing negotiating skills would provide immediate competitive advantage by helping you prevail on behalf of your client and even increase your client's satisfaction level.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

I am honoured to be in the esteemed company of the publishers and advisors of Attorney at Work that promises “One Really Good Idea Every Day”

There is no cost to subscribe and the ideas will flow starting in January.

I recommend that you subscribe now

Congratulations in particular to my long time friend, Merrilyn Tarlton who conceived this idea with Joan and Mark Feldman

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

Download by clicking on image or HERE  Registered participants were provided with Password in session.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

Sorry for offering the punchline in the title… but Yoda would be so proud (of Seth Godin)

Extract from Seth Godin's blogpost: Won't get fooled again 

If you catch yourself making a promise that's been made before, stop. Don't spend a lot of time and effort building credibility with this sort of promising, because it doesn't pay off.

Make different promises, or even better, do, don't say.

Law firm leaders, if you don't know who Seth Godin is, subscribe to his blog and/or read his books. He offers a perspective that you won't get at bar association meetings.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.

Download by clicking on image or HERE  Registered participants were provided with Password in session.

Originally posted at Amazing Firms Amazing Practices. Please visit http://www.gerryriskin.com/.