LW_1603_p0401-00.jpg Richard Susskind says:

the ‘really exciting stuff’ [is] due to take place in the next decade

Richard goes on to say:

By and large, most lawyers have now got their BlackBerrys, they Google regularly, and they think they are on their way — the transformation has occurred,” he said. “The plumbing is in place, the infrastructure is in place, and the really exciting stuff that will go to the heart of legal services, the heart of legal process, is coming in the next decade.

Read the entire article titled: Susskind predicts a decade of crucial growth for law firm IT in Legal Week FASTFORWARD: Susskind is the thought leader on law firm technology. He is worth watching and reading because our collective guesses as to where law firm technology is going are likely limited by our natural preoccupation with what we know as opposed to what will be. See my two previous Susskind-related posts: The Future of Law Books, and Guru Richard Susskind Speaks – We Should Listen

plamb.jpg 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.

header_title.gif According to a story in the Toledo Blade today, Fuller & Henry, founded in 1892, “has all but disappeared… Its sign is gone from the door”. The article goes on to say: “At one time, the business occupied two floors of the city’s most prominent downtown office building but lately had just part of a floor. By the late 1990s, it had closed its Port Clinton office; several years ago, it shut its Findlay office, and a year ago, it left its Columbus office.” But here’s the clincher:

Observers at other law firms say the defections and downsizings resulted from partnership disagreements over compensation and management.

FastForward: Most lawyers will share a sense of sadness at the events that have befallen Fuller & Henry but few will realize just how perilously close their own firm may be to a similar fate. As times become more competitive, the forces that could cause a stampede of exiting lawyers are not so remote. In my opinion, complacency is often the worst enemy. You might want to discuss this at your next executive committee meeting.

darke.jpgstraw.jpg Are you incredulous? Do you think I am making this up? Richard Dearden, media manager of Irwin Mitchell (Top 10 UK firm) sent an internal email which included this:

We’ve trawled the intranet and pulled together our most photogenic people for potential models. We don’t have the schedule agreed yet, but if you are around on Tuesday we may call upon you to be involved. If you aren’t available or wouldn’t like to be involved then that’s no problem, however if you are happy to be involved (work commitments permitting), please could you dress nice and smart (as I’m sure you all already do) in case we call upon your services.

Res Ipsa Loquiter!! (For non-lawyers, that means “the thing speaks for itself” FASTFORWARD: Working internationally and observing cultural differences, I have often commented that US political correctness does not extend to the UK. The same memorandum in an American-based firm would likely be viewed as shocking but not in the UK. It is not for me to judge, but it is fun to observe that, Mr. Friedman, the world is not completely “flat” yet. See the original post at Roll on Friday

HFSIndex2-1.gif Press Release Just 30.7% of clients recommend their primary law firm Low satisfaction drives client spending to new law firms BOSTON, March 2 /PRNewswire/ — The BTI Consulting Group’s fifth annual survey of corporate counsel reveals an unprecedented drop in client satisfaction with law firms. Just 30.7% of large and Fortune 1000 companies recommend their primary law firms. These deep dips in client satisfaction, reports BTI, promise to drive dollars into the hands a new set of law firms, unsettling the status quo. “Large clients are making broad-sweeping changes in how they hire and work with their law firms,” comments Michael B. Rynowecer, BTI’s President, “These changes will translate into opportunity for a select group of well-positioned law firms.” BTI’s study analyzes how law firms can position themselves to benefit from these critical changes in a brand new report, How Clients Hire, Fire and Spend: Landing the World’s Best Clients. BTI found an astonishing 53.7% of clients ousted their primary law firms in the past 18 months. More than 50% of clients also reported they plan to try at least one new law firm for substantive matters in 2006. BTI conducted more than 200 independent, individual interviews with corporate counsel at Fortune 1000 companies and large organizations each year for the past five years. Find information on BTI’s How Clients Hire, Fire and Spend: Landing the World’s Best Clients and other compelling research in the legal services industry on BTI’s website at http://www.bticonsulting.com or contact BTI at (617) 439-0333. BTI is the leader in providing high-impact market and client research to law firms and General Counsel. For details, contact: Michael B. Rynowecer Phone (617) 439-0333 mrynowecer@bticonsulting.com FASTFORWARD: Rynowecer’s work has been extremely helpful to strategists within major firms. The trend he sites is alarming. I like his optimism that it means opportunities for many firms but it is a scathing condemnation of many established firms who are failing to Bullet Proof their Crown Jewel Clients. Could this in part be due to an ever increasing sophistication of demanding clients? Perhaps… but you know where the onus is. In my view, this should be a topic for discussion at your very next executive committee meeting followed by an action plan — it is only the firms who actually do something who will benefit from this crisis of confidence.

bmwpricelessBMW.jpg Thank you to Tom Kane for publishing my five biggest legal marketing mistakes I listed for an article that appeared in Lawyers Weekly USA (subscription required) by Nora Tooher. You can see the five mistakes identified by others (including Tom) cited in a series on Tom’s Blog, The Legal Marketing Blog Thank you to very funny pics for the photo.

images-38.jpg (This graphic has little to do with my post but is as tasteless as anything I could find.) Imagine the Human Resources Manager of Cameron McKenna (London-based global firm) revealing this publicly about a member of its staff (albeit internally and only to trainees). To be clear, the email included the employee’s real name.

Recently, we have experienced a drop in her performance and whilst support and coaching has been given, [she] decided to resign yesterday.

FASTFORWARD: Is it just me or should a HR professional know better. If that is true, perhaps retaining an outplacement consultant would be the firm’s best next move. What action would you take against that HR Manager? ambassador.jpg This may not be quite as bad as my earlier post It’s their funeral… — which garnered several reader comments — but it is still disgusting. See original story, complete with original emails, at Roll On Friday

Business-women-meeting1.jpg The introduction of Female Mentoring at Freshfields (London-based global firm) is to be congratulated and condemned at the same time – perhaps King Solomom would have a different take on this but here is mine. I applaud: – the motives (diversity – attracting and keeping more women in a firm that lacks the degree of gender balance that it desires) – instituting a mentoring program I am concerned with: – the sexist notion that only women can mentor women – the exclusion of men from the program – many men desperately need mentoring also and can offer it as well. In fact, in firms where I am asked to offer special sessions dealing with special challenges faced by women in dealing with clients, I insist on participation by at least some of the firm’s men. This is not token. They offer invaluable insights. FASTFORWARD: If you do not have a mentoring program, you should consider starting one. The benefits are too abundant to list here, not the least of which is better performance and lower turnover both leading to greater profitability. See the original post at Roll on Friday.

sonyreader.gif Richard Susskind opines on the future of law books. richard01.jpg In his article: It’s a book, but not as we know it, reader Richard explores whether (or when) we will give up law books in favor of devices like the Sonyｮ Reader. PUNCHLINE: Susskind is probably right – it is not whether; it’s when will law books go electronic. Perhaps a more important question is what other uses will become common place for such a reader – perhaps clients will review draft agreements on such devices soon, or even reports on transactions. Imagine a law firm that gave the “reader” to clients and then sent documents (like agreements or opinions) electronically, ready to read with the quality of paper? Would such a practice create a competitive advantage?