legal sanity

I think that this article about using surveys and in-person interviews to monitor client satisfaction pairs well with this one on appreciative inquiry (AI). A number of firms are paying outside consultants big bucks to go out in the field and assess firm-client relationships. Apparently today's firms are feeling pressured to remain in their clients' good favor as "corporate law departments are using 25 percent to 30 percent fewer law firms than they did three years ago." While I understand the need for this type of outreach, I think that firms looking to generate and keep business also must do a bit of introspection. That is, they need to survey their own lawyers and staff to see how they feel about client relations and about the law firm environment in general. A great way to accomplish this type of internal audit is via AI - a process of asking questions aimed at discerning what works so that people and businesses can do more of it. In sharp contrast to the typical "problem-centered approach to bringing about change," AI asks people to "recall and tap into positive achievements and stories that strengthen and inspire." The article provides sample AI questions concerning attorney/employee satisfaction. Here are some that, to me, are equally pertinent to fostering strong attorney-client and firm-client relationships:

What situations or circumstances created your loyalty to this firm?
How has your firm created a culture of mutual trust, loyalty, and respect?
Describe a situation in which you felt valued and respected by a client.
Describe a situation in which your commitment to family was supported by your organization.
Describe a situation in which your commitment to community was supported by your organization.
How do you stay energized and inspired?
Describe a shift in your thinking that gives you hope for yourself, firm, or community.

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Carolyn Elefant of My Shingle has written a great article on the everyday ways lawyers can express gratitude to colleagues, staff, court clerks, clients and others we often forget to properly acknowledge. I particularly like her idea of remembering to thank the legal profession that supports us. Along these same lines, I feel it's important to thank yourself for all the great service you provide to your clients, business associates and larger community. Self-acknowledgement is not about ego. It's about duly valuing the very important contributions you make in the world every day. I'm also grateful for being able to publish my thoughts to the four corners via this blog. It gives me an extra measure of professional and personal satisfaction. I wish a very happy thanksgiving to all of you celebrating today.

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I cut my lawyer-teeth as a litigation associate in the New York office of Weil Gotshal & Manges. Although I left big firm life en route to my solo career, I'm grateful for the experience I gained there. I learned all the basics and intricacies of litigating complex matters and got to work with some terrific people. So, I was happy to come across this article about a Weil Gotshal paralegal who, with some helping hands, overcame adversity and created "her new life in a new land." The story is uplifting both for its depiction of human trial and triumph and for it's more implicit message that, despite popular belief, big firms are not made up of heartless automatons. They are simply microcosms of the larger world where people regularly step up for those in need and serve the greater good.

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The home-office has recently come into vogue as a practical and cost-efficient way for many lawyers to achieve work-life balance. The two home-based solo practitioners featured in this article share how they've managed to cut their business overhead while gaining more family and personal time.

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I've previously posted on the role of apology in preventing and resolving legal disputes. This article looks at the subject from a slightly different angle. It discusses the medical world's recent discovery that, "when combined with an upfront settlement offer," an apology is a "surprisingly powerful way to soothe patients and head off malpractice lawsuits." While there likely are several forces compelling this addition to medical school curriculum and hospital policy, the notion that an apology can be a powerful healing agent melds nicely with the principles underlying the humanism in law and medicine movements mentioned here. Using apology to show remorse and admit mistake is a marked departure from the traditional "shut up and fight" strategy that champions doctors as demigods who can do no wrong. It levels the playing field, putting doctors and patients on more equal footing in terms of human strengths and foibles. I think it safe to say that the doctor-patient and attorney-client relationship both thrive where the professional always treats the consumer with the utmost honesty, kindness and respect.

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Yesterday, I was a panelist at the WCBS 880 Small Business Breakfast. The topic du jour was: "how do you use technology to grow your business?" I was there to discuss this blog and how blogging can be a great vehicle for educating clientele and marketing goods and services. The moderator, Wall Street Journal and CBS radio reporter Joe Connolly, asked the 650 or so people there whether they knew about blogs before coming to the meeting. I was amazed that about 90% responded that they did not. I pulled legal sanity up on my computer, which was projected live on large screens, and demonstrated how easy it is to navigate and post by blog (of course, I had to give props to Kevin O'Keefe and Lexblog for getting me rolling). I think the message really came through when one panelist, the owner of the New York Enterprise Report, announced an unwieldy URL for a Web offer of a free subscription to its print magazine, The Report. When the audience had trouble transcribing the URL, I quickly did an impromptu blog post incorporating a link to it. Judging from their immediate and follow-up responses, the audience of small business owners found this instant snapshot of blog power worth a thousand words.

NB - the NYER has kindly extended its free subscription offer to legal sanity readers who own businesses in the New York metropolitan area.

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This post over at the Professional Marketing Blog highlights how lawyer listening skills are vital to attracting and keeping clients. The post refers to a listening continuum proffered by Troy Waugh of The Rainmaker Academy in Nashville. The following is his "top 5 list" of least to most desirable listening skills:

1. Ignoring the speaker
2. Pretend listening
3. Selective listening
4. Active listening
5. Empathetic listening

It's taken me some time to tune my ear so that I really can hear my clients. And, I admit, I still find some more difficult to listen to than others.

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Continuing on the subject of lawyering and emotions, I recently came across EQ At Work, a blog providing "resources for the development and application of emotional intelligence" in the workplace and in the world. Although the posts are a bit sporadic, there's a lot of interesting material to read through and some innovative ideas for fostering our emotional competency.

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The International Alliance of Holistic Lawyers will host its annual conference from November 11-14 in Austin, Texas. Entitled Creating & Sustaining Community, the conference will address such pertinent topics as: "Practicing Law as a Source of Community Building: Advocating for the Greater Good While Serving Individual Clients' Needs; Community in Lawyer Life: Scarcity and Abundance; and Community Within Oneself - Walking in Both Worlds." You can download a PDF brochure here or via the main site.

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This article and this one focus on the role of emotions in mediation, but their message also applies to the various conflicts and negotiations lawyers handle daily. According to the articles, our clients suffer when we disregard their emotions as inconsequential to the resolution of their legal matters. They also caution that lawyers "need to identify our own emotional barriers that undermine our effectiveness." The requisite emotional savvy arises from an awareness and understanding of our own emotional "footprints" - our historical patterns of handling emotions. It also rests on our ability to track and identify "footprints" belonging to our clients and adversaries. As I've transitioned from large firm to solo work, I've become increasingly aware of the interplay between the everyday practice of law and emotions. While I've received a terrific on-the-job education on this front, I believe that it's really the province of law schools and continuing education forums to sensitize practitioners to the emotional component of practicing law.

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Occasionally I come across an article like this one that seems to go beyond the confines of a particular subject to shed larger light on the roots of conflict in our society. The article espouses that, in this age where children suffer from rampant over-indulgence and a "profound disconnect from the feelings of others and our planet," a simple nature walk can "pique curiosity, foster empathy, and encourage stewardship" in them. The author, an educator, has found that children who grow to respect nature also grow to respect their peers. Perhaps law schools, bar associations and law firms should take heed and expose lawyers to more flora and fauna as part of their offerings.

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The latest edition of the ABA's GP/Solo Magazine captioned "More Bumps in the Road" features articles about helping lawyers with substance abuse, mental health and other problems navigate their way to recovery and wellbeing. I learned a lot about multi-tasking lawyer assistance programs (LAPs), coordinated programs, "usually supported by a state bar association or related agency, consisting of trained professionals or volunteers charged with the duty of assisting members of the legal community—usually attorneys, judges, and law students—who are suffering from mental or physical conditions that may impair their ability to practice law." Other articles address important lawyer-life issues such as coping with grief, eating disorders and various stressors linked to burnout and unhappiness. Of course, these issues are not unique to the solo/small firm world and the articles were published with the hope that they'll be widely read, shared and discussed. As the editor states: "This issue of GPSolo is about you and those you care about. You may recognize yourself in this issue. Even if you don't, you'll recognize some of your colleagues, associates, partners, clients, friends, and family members. Don't be selfish. Share this issue with them."

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As I discussed here and here, I'm very interested in the growing efforts to "humanize" law school and the practice of law. With similar interest, I've followed the movement to educate medical doctors on treating the patient as a whole - body, mind and spirit. Two New York doctors at the forefront of the humanism in medicine movement, Drs. Steven Miller and Richard Sarkin, recently died in a plane crash on their way to inaugurate "a new humanistic curriculum designed to encourage a more compassionate [medical school] campus." As I read about their professional lives and contributions to the field of fostering more compassionate medical care and caregivers, I was very moved and inspired. I couldn't help but think how all the healing vocations, including the legal profession, would greatly benefit from teaching their practitioners this kind of empathic and holistic service delivery model. This site provides a nice overview of humanism in medicine and the wonderful work of Drs. Miller and Sarkin.

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