Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices

The most important thing you can do for our profession today is to visit the ABA or CBA and sign your respective petition to assist lawyers in Pakistan. 

I liked this:

Your legal blog has been selected by the ABA Journal as one of the 100 best websites for lawyers, by lawyers. Congratulations!

I liked this even more:

“Our list of the 100 best lawyer blogs is the cream of the crop from our directory of more than 1,500 blawgs in dozens of categories, including blawgs focused on almost every state, law school and major federal court in the nation.”

I appreciate the ABA a lot - they are the publisher of my book The Successful Lawyer and my audio program by the same name.

Here's what I don't like:

My friend mentor and blog provider Kevin O'Keefe has it mainly right in his post Law Blog vanity contests : ABA adds to the silliness

PUNCHLINE:  I am truly honoured by finding myself in the top 100 - make no mistake about that.  But why would I seek votes - there are many great blogs out there including ones that are not in the top 100 (and some that are in the top 100 are way too commercial for my taste - where the bloggers sell sell sell).  So I don't seek your vote - but do appreciate your dropping by or subscribing by email or even better by RSS feed.  I would like to think, my reader, that you and I have something in common.  We enjoy different points of view and variety.  I think some of my posts have been stronger than others - some more interesting than others.  So please keep visiting Amazing Firms Amazing Practices but continually look around and find other blogs that appeal to you and scan for a useful post now and then.  I trust you to do that by yourself without the blessing of any third party - I don't even think the winner of a popularity contest deserves your patronage more than a blog that might be more obscure but have data or a point of view you are interested in.

I think this is my least interesting blog to date but I felt compelled to write it so thanks for reading - and a reminder - don't vote for me (if you click the "vote for this blog" link above it will take you to a place worth contemplating for a few seconds before you return to the fires that burn on your desk.)

The New York Times Business section included an article yesterday called:  For Lawyers, Perks to Fit a Lifestyle.

The article alluded to a variety of perks including money, candied apples, milkshakes, car discounts, valet services, wine, office parties, in-office gourmet meals on silver platters, nap rooms, child care, emergency nanny services, sabbaticals and even an occasional masseuse.

Perhaps this was the most important perk mentioned:

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, a 600-lawyer firm based in New York, offers employees a service akin to a personal issues coach and psychotherapist through a deal with Corporate Counseling Associates of Manhattan. The consulting firm has a battery of staff psychologists and social workers to provide advice on issues including stress, anxiety, depression and divorce.

While many companies have offered employee assistance programs over the years, few have Ph.D. psychologists on staff.

A spokeswoman for Fried, Frank, Paula Zirinsky, said, “We want employees to be successful in their personal as well as their work lives.”

PUNCHLINE:  Some of my law-firm clients have very serious challenges dealing with individuals for whom "psychological intervention" should be mandatory.  In these severe cases, ostensibly productive members of the firm are causing harm to client relationships and firm personnel with long term costs that are hugely underestimated by their firms.  Perhaps offering such perks is a way to make it just a little easier to address these firm-threatening challenges.

Read the entire article...  perhaps your firm can offer many of the perks mentioned - most are not that expensive and I'll bet the return on investment would be healthy indeed (pun intended).

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry -- fired by Musharraf Saturday -- in a phone call to a gathering of lawyers urged them to go to "every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice."

This in the face of:

"Baton-wielding police fought with lawyers outside courthouses in Islamabad and Lahore again Tuesday, arresting dozens more as they enforced Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's crackdown on judicial activism."

The above from CNN Story: "Pakistan's courts in lockdown"

The Canadian Bar Association has condemned Pakistan:

CBA Condemns Arrests of Lawyers in Pakistan and Calls for Return to Rule of Law 

The American Bar Association (President) has this to say:

ABA President William H. Neukom Urges Restoration of Justice to Pakistani People

I have found nothing (yet) on the web site of The Law Society of England and Wales.

My view:  When lawyers stand up to a dictator who suspends the rule of law, then it is the finest imaginable "judicial activism".  If Musharraf's actions are tolerated, say goodbye to liberty.

Pakistan attacks the rule of law and beats on lawyers who were attempting to peacefully protest for the most fundamental rights available to human beings.  Every lawyer in the world feels the pain of every brutal blow of the oppressing regime's batons on our profession.  This is not a political blog but it is about the legal profession and there is no more important issue than the role lawyers play in maintaining the rule of law.  This is a devastating day for every lawyer.

See the video and and story at BBC. "Police have used tear gas and baton charges to break up demonstrations by Pakistani lawyers..."

Take this Harvard test and get your own (possibly surprising) results in five minutes.

Thank you to The Complete Lawyer for "Test Yourself For Hidden Bias" in the Surveys and Research section.

Click on Image to enlarge

Indulge a father's proud moment as I celebrate the extraordinary work of my son Daniel Riskin (PhD Cornell - now doing post-doctorate work at Brown) along with the other scientists on this project. The sophistication of the analysis of the flight of bats is unprecedented and its rather poetic that a visualization should bring top prize.

The only link to law is the inspiration of breaking new ground through applied innovation - perhaps in our legal profession, we should simply be inspired to follow suit in our own ways.

For those who wish to read more, see  Flying bat graphics win award for Brown scientists; CT scan, nature tie for top photo prize

For the full story, click on the rifle.

If you want existing clients to like you as much as possible and even more so prospective clients then use proper names in conversation.  Now there's PROOF if you need it.  

Most probable reasons you may not be using proper names in conversations:

• You are not completely certain you remember (or pronounce) the name right so why risk it
• There is a group and you can’t remember all their names so feel you shouldn't use any
• You are afraid of sounding patronizing
• It’s a discipline you simply have not mastered.

“The brain lit up with activity when proper names were used, including areas that are not associated with language,” Almor said. “We saw considerable activity in areas of the parietal lobe that involve spatial processing that was absent when pronouns were used.”

Read the full story “Names Disrupt The Brain”.

Winners:

• touch parts of their clients brains that others ignore
• are liked and remembered much much better than their competitors

• Write the names down (if a group – make a seating chart – at least first names)
• If hard to pronounce, ask and practice (they will love you for it)
• Practice using the names (starting right now)

WARNING:  My post above may lack veracity according to Stephanie Allen West's post "Anatomy of a telephone game applied to a neuroscience study" in her "Brains on Purpose" blog - I respect her enough to reference her post here - Stephanie's admonition is deserving of consideration and reflection.  Thank you, Stephanie.

“Ford & Harrison, a 190-attorney labor and employment firm, has tossed out billable-hour requirements for first-year associates. The program aims to close the practical-skills gap of law school education and increase value to clients. The firm also hopes it will enable associates to handle meatier matters more quickly.“ according to Leigh Jones of The National Law Journal.

I have the privilege of knowing C. Lash Harrison (pictured) and his remarkable stature within his firm.  When I read about this bold initiative I was in no way surprised that it was Lash who had the gravitas to pull this off.  It may be prophetic that the tag line on the Ford & Harrison firm’s website reads:  “THE RIGHT RESPONSE AT THE RIGHT TIME”

"Everyone sits around and complains about the problems," said C. Lash Harrison, managing partner of the law firm. "I figured, what the heck, maybe we can try something."

Observation:  The issue of newer lawyers recording time on files is a bit of a hornet’s nest in most firms.  If the time is billable, it detracts from the billing partner’s realization rate and perhaps even hours billed.   Carefully measured associates steer away from files where they can’t record billable time.  This creates a tension that is based on economic reality but serves neither the associate’s training objectives nor the client’s desire to optimize value.  Thank goodness for fresh thinking and bold initiatives.  That makes C. Lash Harrison a hero to me.

Thank you to LAW.COM for its post Firm Kills Billable Hour for First-Year Associates

My friend Patrick Lamb joined me and my daughter, Raquel, for dinner last night in Chicago.  I do not typically post about personal or family matters but I would be remiss if  I did not acknowledge with gratitude Pat’s support for Raquel’s career as evidenced by his post Vote Riskin. Vote Early. Vote Often at his famous blog: In search of Client Service.  

Pat is a busy man with an awesome law practice, senior management responsibilities, tons of community work not to mention being  a wonderful husband and father to Barbara and their four kids – and with all that, he makes time to help friends.  WOW! (and thanks, Pat)

I am truly humbled by the praise bestowed upon my book and audio program today by Patrick Lamb in his post: Client Service Lessons And So Much More.  

Patrick's comments about The Successful Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association are particularly gratifying because I believe that client service is the most important client-relations imperative.  I am also grateful to receive such feedback from a lawyer who is much more than a theoretician - Patrick is the marketing partner and a member of the executive of one of the most successful boutiques in the USA.

Интервью с бизнес-консультантом Джерри Рискином

Аннотация: Джерри Рискин — консультант, специализирующийся на технологиях
ведения юридического бизнеса. Профессор нескольких вузов, писатель, оратор,
он консультирует юридические фирмы, тренирует адвокатов и юрисконсультов с
тем, чтобы они могли  более эффективно выполнять свои профессиональные
задачи. Его клиенты — крупнейшие фирмы  и адвокатские организации из более
чем 30 стран: Канадская Ассоциация адвокатов, Американская Ассоциация
адвокатов, Американский Институт Сертифицированных Бухгалтеров, Юридическое
общество Великобритании, газета The Financial Times и многие другие. Также
Джерри Рискин в качестве профессора дает лекции и проводит семинары в
Лондонском Юридическом колледже и Гордонском Институте Бизнеса Претории
(Южная Африка).

Головной офис фирмы Джерри Рискина Edge International находится в Ангуиллье,
самоуправляемой британской территории в Карибском море.

Вставка: «Когда Джерри рассказывает, он достигает тех уголков сознания, о
существовании которых ты и не подозревал»

— Сью Стэпли, адвокат, журналист (Великобритания)

Юридический бизнес: Расскажите о себе. Как случилось, что Вы стали юристом и
бизнес-консультантом?

Джерри Рискин: Я избрал юридическую профессию, когда мне было 11 лет. Я
активно изучал каждый предмет, который мог пригодиться мне в будущей
карьере: штудировал латынь, историю и т.д. Затем поступил в Канадскую
бизнес-школу и только потом — в юридическую.

Что касается бизнес-консалтинга, то консультантом я стал, можно сказать,
случайно. Получив юридическое образование, я нашел работу в Emery Jamieson.
Основанная более ста лет назад, это была очень консервативная адвокатская
контора. Ее сотрудники отлично разбирались в юридических вопросах, но не в
бизнесе. Мне всегда было интереснее привлекать собственных клиентов, нежели
работать с уже существующими. Навыки, полученные в бизнес-школе, очень
помогли мне, и со временем я достиг значительных успехов в поиске новых
клиентов. Руководство фирмы заметило это и начало привлекать меня не только
к юридической работе, но и к планированию и бизнес-консультированию.

Я начал консультировать другие юридические фирмы по вопросам ведения бизнеса
и привлечения новых клиентов. По этим же направлениям я сотрудничал с
Юридическим обществом и Ассоциацией Адвокатов. Моя фирма оплачивала мне эту
работу так же, как если бы я работал над юридическими проектами. Затем по
заказу одного крупного издательства я написал книгу о ведении и развитии
юридического бизнеса. В конце концов, бизнес-тренинг и бизнес-консалтинг
стали моей основной деятельностью, которой я занимаюсь уже почти 25 лет.

Ю.Б.: Что Вас вдохновляет?

Дж. Р.: Высокий профессионализм моих коллег и интересные проекты. Например,
на прошлой неделе я работал с юридической фирмой из Силиконовой Долины. Эта
компания обслуживает крупные компьютерные корпорации, создающие самые
современные информационные технологии. Быть участником подобных процессов —
это огромное удовольствие.

Ю.Б.: За последние двадцать лет мир претерпел огромные изменения —
глобализация, революция в информационной сфере... Как это отразилось на
мировом рынке юридических услуг?

Дж. Р.: Одно из следствий глобализации — это появление крупных международных
юридических фирм. Их клиентами являются транснациональные корпорации,
имеющие филиалы и представительства по всему миру. Соответственно, им нужны
юристы, которые в состоянии решать не только локальные проблемы, но и
вписывать каждое отдельное решение в общую стратегию компании.

Однако на настоящий момент крупные юридические фирмы переживают серьезные
управленческие проблемы - низкая эффективность управления разросшимися
фирмами, трудности в делегировании полномочий, неудовлетворенность
сотрудников и т.п.

Что будет происходить с ними дальше — покажет время. На мой взгляд, возможны
два сценария развития: либо несколько компаний будут продолжать расти, и
превратятся в мега-фирмы, занимающиеся решением особых задач на самом
высоком уровне, либо усиленная конкуренция приведет к тому, что ни одной из
компаний не удастся занять однозначно лидирующее положение.

Ю.Б.: Если строить прогнозы, то каким вам видится будущее юридических услуг?

Дж. Р: Сейчас мы стоим на пороге возникновения так называемых виртуальных
юридических компаний, которые занимаются делами в рамках определенной
специализации. Представим, например, транспортное предприятие, которое имеет
собственные корабли и которое нуждается в юридическом сопровождении
грузоперевозок. Ему не нужны «юристы вообще», его интересует решение
конкретной задачи — обеспечить грамотное оформление всей правовой
документации на пути следования судов в двух десятках направлений. Клиенты
такого типа будут предпочитать обращаться не в крупные международные
юридические фирмы, а в компании, которые специализируются именно на
перевозках. Причем зачастую они не будут иметь ничего общего с фирмами в
традиционном смысле этого слова. Ими станут временные образования,
«виртуальные фирмы», которые создадутся юристами, имеющими большой опыт в
данном деле, под конкретные проекты.

Уже сейчас в Интернете постепенно складываются сообщества юристов, которые
друг друга знают и которые имеют доступ к информации друг от друга. В таких
условиях довольно легко будет образовать профессиональные группы для решения
тех или иных задач. И если появляется клиент — скажем, все та же
транспортная компания, — то под ее нужды тут же сформируется команда
юристов: если надо — из двадцати человек, если надо — из двухсот.

Механизмы поиска исполнителей и клиентов в рамках подобной сети будут
упрощаться и в недалеком будущем виртуальные юридические фирмы наверняка
составят серьезную конкуренцию традиционным фирмам, у которых, возможно,
есть и связи, и репутация, и офисы по всему миру, но нет такого преимущества
как способность быстро подобрать достаточное количество профессионалов и
узких специалистов.

Ю.Б.: С какими проблемами крупных юридических фирм вам приходится
сталкиваться в настоящий момент?

Дж. Р.: В последнее время обостряется конфликт между юридическими отделами
транснациональных корпораций и юридическими фирмами, нанимаемыми со стороны.
Компании-клиенты все меньше удовлетворены работой  юридических фирм: они
становятся более требовательными и все чаще меняют партнеров. Теряя прежних
клиентов, юридическим фирмам приходится прилагать все больше усилий для
того, чтобы оставаться на плаву.

Ю.Б.: Что, по вашему мнению, нужно делать юридическим фирмам, чтобы попасть
в число успешных предприятий?

Дж. Р.: Основной характеристикой успешной юридической фирмы является то, что
она очень клиентоориентированна. Ее цель — решать проблемы своих клиентов.
Хорошая фирма понимает своих клиентов: причем речь идет не только о
понимании их юридических нужд, но и понимании сути их бизнеса. Если
юридической фирме удается «настроиться на нужную волну», то она попадает в
так называемый «круг успеха»: клиент с помощью своих партнеров-юристов
растет и поручает им все больший объем работ. В результате юридическая фирма
процветает вместе со своим клиентом.

Другой важной характеристикой успешного бизнеса является то, что фирма
постоянно стремиться повышать квалификацию своих сотрудников. Ее руководство
проводит дополнительные тренинги с тем, чтобы каждый работник получил
навыки, необходимые для плодотворного взаимодействия с клиентами. Речь идет
не только о юридических знаниях, но и способностях выслушивать клиента,
правильно его понимать и, в конечном счете, получать новые задания или же
хорошие рекомендации.

Ю.Б.: Что собой представляют тренинги подобного рода?

Дж. Р.: На этот счет существует масса разнообразных программ. Можно,
например, выделить следующие темы: Как правильно управлять ожиданиями
клиентов? Как работать с жалобами со стороны клиентов? Как осуществлять
кросс-продажи, при которых юридическая фирма предлагает клиентам услуги,
которые могут быть выполнены ее партнерами? Такого рода вопросов и путей их
решения — великое множество.

Ю.Б.: Возвращаясь к теме расширения юридических фирм, что вы думаете о
плюсах и минусах диверсификации?

Дж. Р.: При определенных условиях диверсификация юридических фирм неизбежна.
Когда клиенты становятся более диверсифицированными, они требуют того же и
от своих юристов. Соответственно, основным преимуществом диверсифицированных
компаний является предоставление широкого перечня услуг.

С другой стороны, в последнее время стало появляться все больше малых фирм,
работающих в узкой правовой нише. Они традиционно более гибки и более
нацелены на удовлетворение клиентских нужд, и сейчас уже мало кого
интересует, крупная вы компания или малая. Все что требуется клиенту — это
команда  квалифицированных юристов, способная разрешить его проблемы.

Ю.Б.: В своих книгах и статьях вы рекомендуете читателям активно применять
маркетинговые технологии. Что конкретно можно порекомендовать юридическим
фирмам для того, чтобы сделать их усилия более эффективными?

Дж. Р.: Как правило, юристы очень сильны в стратегическом мышлении — а это
главное при проведении маркетинговых компаний. Но у них есть две большие
проблемы: первое — они боятся своего видения, потому что опасаются совершить
ошибку. Именно из-за этого очень часто у юридических фирм так и не
получается выработать какую-либо долговременную маркетинговую стратегию. Они
пробуют разные способы в надежде, что хотя бы один из них сработает. Они
также бояться отказаться от чего-либо. Сама идея бизнеса заключается в том,
чтобы определить направление: мы делаем то-то и то-то и говорим «нет» всему,
что не укладывается в данную концепцию. Соответственно первый совет, который
можно дать — это разработать хорошую маркетинговую стратегию.

Вторая проблема связана с отсутствием маркетинговых навыков. Юристы пока не
понимают до конца, что маркетинг — это не просто набор знаний и не
инструкция о том, что и как делать. Это умение, в котором нужно набить
руку — точно так же как в баскетболе или в гольфе.

Ю.Б.: С какими проблемами приходится сталкиваться юристам на пике их
карьеры?

Дж. Р.: Зачастую такой проблемой может стать потеря клиентской базы. Клиенты
сливаются, разъединяются и поглощают друг друга. И это приводит к тому, что
они отказываются от услуг прежних адвокатов. Бывает так, что в силу внешних
обстоятельств юрист теряет клиентов, которых он успешно обслуживал на
протяжении 20-30 лет. Многие не могут адаптироваться к такому резкому
изменению. И, прежде всего это касается тех юристов, которые не умеют
привлекать новых клиентов.

Еще одна важная проблема — это умение сбалансировать работу и частную жизнь.
Работа — это «черная дыра», она будет втягивать и поглощать тебя. Подчас
юристу требуется приложить немалые усилия, чтобы сказать себе: «Я сделаю
необходимый объем работы за такое-то время. А остальное время я проведу
дома, с семьей». У меня есть знакомые, которые из религиозных соображений
ежедневно ужинают с детьми и супругами. При этом они являются очень
успешными адвокатами. Они умудряются сделать огромное количество работы за
относительно небольшое время. В этом как раз и заключается один из секретов
успеха, и ключевые слова здесь «самодисциплина» и «самоорганизация». К
сожалению, многие юристы до сих пор считают, что работа сверхурочно — это
ключ к процветанию. На самом же деле — это ключ к тому, чтобы сделать стресс
постоянным спутником жизни.

Ю.Б.: Если говорить о стрессе во время рабочего дня, то какие советы вы
обычно даете своим клиентам?

  Дж. Р.: Один из самых распространенных источников стресса на работе — это
слабые коммуникативные навыки. Например, сегодня у меня будет встреча с
руководством  крупной юридической компании, на которой я буду учить их
эффективно делегировать работу младшим юристам. Если у начальника не
получается грамотно давать поручения сотрудникам, и он, и его сотрудники
окажутся разочарованным. Первый получит стресс из-за того, что дело не
сделано, как следует, вторые — из-за того, что, несмотря на тяжелый труд,
результаты оказались неудовлетворительными.

В такой ситуации совет может быть только один: не ждать, что проблемы
рассосаться сами собой, а решать их — посещать тренинги, читать специальную
литературу и т.п. Здесь мы вновь возвращаемся к главной составляющей
успешной фирмы: она постоянно самосовершенствуется.

PUNCHLINE:  I am so proud to have been interviewed for a Russian publication as all four of my grandparents came from Russia. 

                  Alan Dershowitz

Extracts from yesterday's letter To the Editor:

PUNCHLINE:  It is refreshing to see that lawyers like Mr. Dershowitz place the law even above the temptation to right a wrong.  Read the entire (concise) letter.

Thanks again to Ron Friedman of Prism Legal Consulting for his ongoing input on this.

NYT: Apology Not Accepted

Apparently: "It is hard to render a convincing apology when you are not really apologizing."

FASTFORWARD:  If you are wondering why I am tracking this on Amazing Firms Amazing Practices it is because this is what I love about my profession and the great individuals and firms that practice in it - they see that even though the practice of law has become more business-like, it is still a profession and the great lawyers care a lot more about that than they do about the money.  Those lawyers and firms are truly heroes and well under-appreciated.

Thanks to Ron Friedman of Prism Legal Consulting for bringing this to my attention after seeing this WSJ blog: The Times Doesn’t Accept Cully’s Apology.

An Apology to Detainees' Attorneys

Thanks to Ron Friedman of Prism Legal Consulting for bringing this to my attention.

US law deans 'appalled' by Stimson criticism of law firms for representing detainees

The lion on the left is a metaphor for the lawyers and law firms who stand up to attacks against our profession and justice itself.

In a New York Times article today, Official Attacks Top Law Firms Over Detainees,  you will see that there is an insidious movement to have business clients fire those preeminent corporate law firms who dare to use some of their pro bono time to defend the very foundation of the rule of law, like the Doctrine of Habeas Corpus

The "senior Pentagon official" is apparently not alone - the article references a journalist using the Freedom of Information Act for what looks like, smells like and just might be a McCarthy-esque attack on prominent law firms.

Those responsible for this vicious attack would not know "Magna Carta" if they stepped on it (and they are stepping on it)  – how ironic is it that they attack the basis of their own freedom.

I am delighted to confirm that according to the article the remarks:  "produced an instant torrent of anger from lawyers, legal ethics specialists and bar association officials, who said Friday that his comments were repellent and displayed an ignorance of the duties of lawyers to represent people in legal trouble."

Furthermore, "Karen J. Mathis, a Denver lawyer who is president of the American Bar Association, said: “Lawyers represent people in criminal cases to fulfill a core American value: the treatment of all people equally before the law. To impugn those who are doing this critical work — and doing it on a volunteer basis — is deeply offensive to members of the legal profession, and we hope to all Americans.” "

Also, "Christopher Moore, a lawyer at the New York firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton who represented an Uzbeki detainee who has since been released, said: “We believe in the concept of justice and that every person is entitled to counsel. Any suggestion that our representation was anything other than a pro bono basis is untrue and unprofessional.” Mr. Moore said he had made four trips to Guantánamo and one to Albania at the firm’s expense, to see his client freed."

PUNCHLINE:  I salute Karen Mathis, Christopher Moore and all those other lawyers and law firms who defend justice and liberty in spite of the vicious behaviour of the seriously misguided!  Bravo and keep it up!

Click here for a look at my June 24, 2005 related post

The inventive entrepreneur and former child prodigy, and I am glad to add, "friend", Rajesh Setty, at Life BEYOND CODE, has honoured me by including me in his series of Quoughts for the Day.  He invented that word but then if you know Rajesh, being inventive is child's play.
 
Of course I would be delighted for you to read my Quought:
 
Quought for the Day #29 – Gerry Riskin

But may I also recommend that you use this link to all the Quoughts where I promise you will recognize many of the contributors:

NOTE:  Rajesh Setty's account of flying to L.A. is a true story and testifies that he walks his talk .

Happy New Year from Anguilla!

Lawyers appreciate good health, security and happiness – BUT WAIT, doesn’t everyone?  Yes.  That’s my point.  Lawyers are people and the vast majority of them are really good people.

Lawyers appreciate people who recognize lawyer jokes for what they are – a form of bigotry (and who therefore pass on the opportunity to proliferate them).

Happy Holidays!

Note:  This is a departure from my usual posts which are directed to Managing Partners and those who assist them in running their firms.  This is a "lawyers appreciate" post conceived by Julie Fleming Brown of Life at the Bar and Stephanie West Allen of Idealawg as a way to close out the year with a flurry of appreciation in the legal blogosphere.  (I am honoured to have been tapped to do a “Lawyers appreciate" post and to tap three more bloggers to do the same.)

…and what do you get?  Legendary Merrilyn Astin Tarlton's new blog!  Merrilyn is creative - without her there would be no LMA, the Law Practice Management Magazine of the ABA would not be half what it is today and the College of Law would not enjoy its current prominence.

Am I a fan?  YOU BET.  Should you be?  Same answer!  Just click on the blank sheet or the box of crayons above and you'll be at what promises to be one of the most creative new blogs on the internet.  Click on Merrilyn to learn more about her.

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.  Mark Twain

Rajesh Setty of Life BEYOND CODE in his post "Ways to distinguish yourself #153 - Use humor right!" has some importanmt rules for the use of humor that we have long subscribed to in Edge.  Check it out!

.

Arnie Herz of "legal sanity" gets down to brass tax in his "energy management for lawyers" post.  You will see a reference in the  post to the heart's role in all this, courtesy of the Law Practice Today post "Meet the Most Powerful Stress Manager: Your Heart"

Find out which graph ought to represent your heart, and why:

Personal:  Call me lucky, but a week Saturday, I will be attending my friend Arnie's workshop in New York where he will be demonstrating his "XE Factor" teaching model, referenced in this blog.

Title of this post:  For those who think my grammar has deteriorated, the title of this post is from an old song performed by Eddie Fisher (deceased - former husband of Debbie Reynolds) ).  Perhaps the last verse would be of interest in light of the contents of this post and its audience:

You gotta have heart
Miles and miles and miles of heart
Oh it's fine to be a genius of course
But keep that old horse before the cart
First you've gotta have heart

Yesterday my wife, Bethany, and I visited the wisdom of Bruce Marcus (and his brilliant wife, Mana) at their lovely Connecticut home - those bricks you see behind us are the Marcus fireplace so I guess you could describe it as a "fireside chat".  (He is the author of no less than 15 books, including his fabulous Clients at the Core.)

I was privileged to listen to some of Bruce's latest ideas about the legal profession.  For example, he believes that our profession is reaching a "tipping point" – if you follow either The Marcus Letter or his blog, The Marcus Perspective,  (I recommend both), you will soon be reading about his latest provocative thoughts.

Some consultants focus on the very practical but Bruce is more demanding for us – he is a visionary who knows what is possible and therefore has little patience for excessive compromise.

If you are not familiar with Bruce's offerings, check him out – I think you will be richly rewarded.

Tim Collins, founder of Juris, Inc gets an artisan in Seattle to make mirrors because at Juris, Inc there is one of every desk. Find out why (and decide if you need one) at the morepartnerincome post called: How People Respond to Attorneys and Vice Versa.

I am not sure that an explanation can do justice to this… so have a look/listen and tell me whether this was relevant to you and why…

Try them all - but don't leave without experiencing variation #11.

Whatever your reaction to all this, thank you for looking/listening…

Once in a while, when you least expect it, something quite moving and wonderful happens to you. While I was presenting to an association of UK law firms meeting in Barcelona last Saturday, Ben Cowgill, lawyer, teacher, consultant and author of Ben Cowgill on Legal Ethics, paid my work a great compliment on his highly-regarded website and weblog devoted to legal ethics and the law of lawyering.

Ben was kind enough to comment on my book and Audio programs: The Successful Lawyer (ABA 2005).

Thank you very much, Ben - coming from you, a sincere honor.

Bruce Marcus has added The Marcus Perspective (Blog) to the already famous Marcus Letter.

Bruce is a prolific author and a pioneer in professional service firm marketing. Check out these excerpts from his bio:

editor of the award-winning The Marcus Letter

author of fifteen books

speechwriter for many of the Fortune 500 companies, and major national political figures, including Robert Kennedy

awarded the Silver Anvil of the Public Relations Society of America

served as an adjunct professor at Fordham Graduate School of Business Administration

he has been consultant to Goldman Sachs; Lehman Brothers; Blyth Eastman Dillon; Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette; CitiCorp and Chemical Bank. He has also been an economic and marketing consultant to the governments of Turkey and Puerto Rico, and is a past President of the New York Association of Business Economists.

Rajesh Setty

Have you got any time today for reflection? Click one: YES or NO.

Ed Wesemann of Edge International and Creating Dominance Author

When you visit Ed's Blog, you will find almost nothing but fabulous strategy articles. So why did he post on a less serious topic today? Because one of our Edge International colleagues got a PDA with a camera and told Ed he doubted he'd use it.

Ed is a master at using his, and tells us how in Top 10 Uses for a PDA Camera

ENJOY and LEARN!

Seth Godin's post, Going to Meetings, outlines the benefits that might accrue to firms who look at their vendors in a new way. Here is how he introduces his wise tips for all who receive presentations from vendors:

Here are a few tips, tips that are based on one assumption: if you do a better job in the audience, the person speaking will do a better job. You'll learn more, get more, accomplish more, today and the next time she comes back as well.

Here's how he concludes:

When you treat your vendors the way you'd like your vendors treated, it comes back to you. It pays off. It gets you better information, better attention, better prices. You're a professional at your desk. You should be a professional at a meeting, too.

Here is a teaser from his tips - (shocking or brilliant?):

When you meet the sales rep in the lobby, have a few interesting questions ready. Offer her a glass of water. Be on time. Act like you're glad she's there. Even if you're not, acting that way will get her to do a better job, and that's your job, right?

SUGGESTED ACTION: Read the rest of his valuable tips and publish them for your senior team. I agree with Seth… it will pay off for you (probably more handsomely than you might have imagined).

Stephanie West Allen

Stephanie launched her new blog IDEALAWG yesterday after much encouragement from me and many other friends who highly respect her thinking. I wish her great success and suggest you include her in your aggregator from the get go. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while (thank you) will recognize Stephanie's name as I have acknowleedged her as the source of a number of great post ideas and content. Stephanie reports that this is "techno-plunge" week for her as she will create her first podcast this Friday. I can not wait!

BREAK A BLOG-LEG, STEPHANIE!!

Anguilla

I got tagged both by Patrick Lamb of In Search of Perfect Client Service and Bruce Allen of Marketing Catalyst. I think this is all Larry Bodine’s doing – it’s addictive like eating a potato chip – there is no way to stop. Assembling responses for this took me on quite a journey. Here goes:

Four Jobs I've had:
Salesman (while student)
Lawyer
Managing Partner
Law Firm Consultant

Four movies I can watch over and over:
Killer Bash (Stars my daughter, Raquel)
The Game
Star Wars
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Four TV shows I love to watch:
CNN Headline News
Seinfeld
The Apprentice
Discovery Channel History Series

Four places I've been on vacation:
Safari, Sabi Sabi, Kruger National Park, South Africa
St. Petersburg, Russia
Banff & Jasper, Canada
Great Barrier Reef (and Rainforest), Australia

Four tunes that play through my head:
Girl from Ipanema by Antonio Carlos Jobim sung by Frank Sinatra
Stop This World - Diana Krall
Unforgettable – Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole
People – Barbara Streisand

Four favorite dishes:
Anything my wife, Bethany, prepares at home
Filet at Morton’s
Peking Duck at Flower Drum (Melbourne)
Baked potato (at London’s Covent Garden)

Four websites I visit daily:
Tons of them (300) by RSS Feed
Drudge Report
Apple
The Anguillian Newspaper (online)

Four books I really love:
The Laws of Success – Napoleon Hill
Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
True Professionalism – David Maister
Good to Great – Jim Collins

Four places I'd rather be:
I would rather be where I am: with my wife, Bethany, in paradise (Anguilla)
Visiting my grown children, Daniel, Matthew and Raquel, wherever they happen to be
At the Spa in the Rain Forest at Great Barrier Reef with Bethany
After Posting this, swimming in the Ocean

Four bloggers I'm tagging:
Robert Millard
Ed Wesemann
David Maister
Kevin O’Keefe

Thank you to I Love Anguilla web site for the great Anguilla photos.

Patrick Lamb has been referred to as the King of Blawging by Larry Bodine - see my related post.

Patrick has moved his blog, In Search of Perfect Client Service, to Kevin O'Keefe's LexBlog. I make no secret of the fact that LexBlog is our preferred provider at my organization, Edge International, including this blog and the blogs of my colleagues Robert Millard, The Adventures of Strategy, and Ed Wesemann, Creating Dominance (see my blogroll for links to their blogs).

PUNCHLINE: I strongly recommend that you go to Patrick's new site and either subscribe to email or an RSS feed, whichever suits you better. His content is fantastic.

Imagine that you were working with the law firm of a very prominent blogger on Saturday (In Search of Perfect Client Service)... and that expectations of you were high - imagine that blogger is Patrick Lamb with a highly respected voice that reaches the most influential ears associated with the management and marketing of our profession.

That, my friends, is motivation - however Saturday goes, you can bet it will see me expending my very best efforts. Wish me well.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, have a look at Patrick Lamb's blog post regarding my upcoming visit.

Guy Kawasaki two days in a row? Not my fault - his. Guy was traveling on:

from

to

when he decided to create this email gem called The Effective Emailer. Guy recites a dozen sensible and perhaps essential rules of email etiquette.

I almost called this post: "Don't FUQ with me and I won't FUQ with you" but then I thought it may not be so obvious that this Kawasakism really means "Fabricate Unanswerable Questions". As for the title I chose, when you read #10 in his post you will learn how to avoid "a sure sign of bozosity"!

FASTFORWARD: Our Edge International project for a non-email protocol to dramatically reduce emaill within organizations continues. I think we're ahead of the curve (few people know they want this or care) which is exactly where we want to be. In the meantime, email behaviors neeed all the help they can get and I thing Guy Kawasaki's contribution is the best I've seen recently. Stay tuned.

Guy Kawasaki is quite extraordinary (click on his photo to see for yourself)... "evangelist, entrepreneur, investment banker, and venture capitalist" kind of sums it up but not quite.

In his post today, he discusses The Art of Schmoozing... his list is not only consistent with some of the best academic work I have seen on the subject but he describes his steps in such a compelling way, for example, his third step is:

Ask good questions, then shut up. The mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. Thus, good schmoozers are good listeners, not good talkers. Ask softball questions like, “What do you do?” “Where are you from?” “What brings you to this event?” Then listen. Ironically, you'll be remembered as an interesting person.

PUNCHLINE: Whether you are a Managing Partner or a CMO, share Guy Kawasaki's 9 step list with your law firm. You may have to translate it a bit (removing words that twist the stomach of most lawyers - like "tradeshows" - gosh, what would a lawyer do at a trade show, or MySpace - heaven forbid.) However the wisdom in this list is far too valuable to overlook.

Happy New Year — may 2006 surpass even your wildest dreams.

Greetings from our largest parrot, Pekoe, from our home in Anguilla, British West Indies, who joins all of the Riskins in wishing you a Happy Holiday and wonderful 2006.

(Pekoe is an Orange Moluccan Cockatoo standing on the rail on our front porch with St Martin and St Bart’s behind in the distance... when you visit us, he will happily say hello to you.)

Bruce MacEwen (of Adam Smith Esq. fame) has one of the most valuable blogs on the blogosphere if we measure that objectively based on its (richly deserved) popularity

Bruce shines a light on the looming New York Subway strike in his post: Limits to Capitalism: The New York City Subways and When Public Benefits Private

Take a look — you'll enjoy both his insights and some interesting trivia about the New York subway system.

Thank you Tom Peters for this tidbit from a post called "Stuff…":

ALL THERE IS. Damn it! I keep forgetting this! Leaving it out of presentations! Namely, a PP slide that simply reads : You = Your Calendar. THIS IS MY #1 BELIEF ABOUT MANAGEMENT. Or: "You can't bullshit your calendar." Or: "Your calendar knows ... do you?" All we have is our time. The way we distribute it is our "strategic plan," our "vision," our "values." Period. So how'd you spend your precious time today? Tell me, and I'll tell you what you actually care about—it's simple and unerring.

FASTFORWARD: I have an expression I use when talking for senior power partners in client firms: "Your behaviour is so loud, I can't hear what you're saying". This is usually in the context of seniors lecturing juniors about perfection but the juniors have their eyes fixed firmly not on what the seniors are "saying" but what they are "doing" Tom Peters has this so right — a reminder to every single one of us to make sure that our 2006 calendars consist of the behaviours that are in harmony with what we aspire to (otherwise we are engaging is self deception). Thanks for the reminder, Tom

Bruce W. Marcus

Congratulations to Bay Street Group LLC for bringing a legend on board. For fill particulars, read President Rick Telberg's post.

Click here for more information on Bruce Marcus.

Mandi Fleiser

If esprit de corps in your office is so fantastic that you are looking for ways to suppress it, then skip this post. However if you want to see a brilliant, simple and time efficient way of enhancing it, then treat this as a mini case study. (Esprit de corps is "a feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty...")

Mandi Fleiser is a partner in Grant Thornton's Johannesburg office — she transformed an abstract thought into action… she breathed life into her idea.

The Misty Hills Country Hotel outside of Johannesburg