legal sanity

I’ve previously expressed why blogging is a boon to me. As one of its biggest benefits, blogging allows me to partake in a thriving community of thinkers and innovators in the law. I've met a number of great people in this online community. While some remain virtual acquaintances, others have crossed the cyber border for connection in real time.

Not long ago, a number of legal bloggers gathered in New York City at the invitation of Neil Squillante and Sara Skiff of TechnoLawyer. We came together to celebrate the pre-launch of BlawgWorld 2007 (pdf), an eBook compilation of thoughts and commentary from 77 leading legal bloggers.

Today marks the official launch of BlawgWorld 2007. This free 345-page eBook is a solid introduction to the world of law blogs and an informative read for anyone interested in what’s going on in today’s legal profession and marketplace. The essay selections are timely, relevant and very easy to navigate thanks to a user-friendly proprietary design.

I’m proud to be a contributing author (page 95).

You can access the 77 essays and companion information by downloading your free copy of BlawgWorld 2007. The folks at TechnoLawyer encourage you to share the eBook with your associates and friends. If you’d like to distribute it, visit TechnoLawyer’s eBook Press Kit page for instructions.

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It’s time for the quarterly vetting of my blog hopper – the file where I keep articles, notes and ideas for future blog posts.

Weighing in on business relationships is:

David Maister, who advises us to Build Relationship Plans Not Sales Plans. He says that companies too often confuse sales activities like CRM and cross-selling with relationship initiatives, which are designed to earn, build and deepen an asset - the client (customer or consumer) relationship.

Carolyn Elefant, who takes a two-pronged look at Building Relationships as a Way to Market  and Building Relationships to Build Business. Using my post on intimacy and lawyer-client relationships as a launching point, she highlights an ongoing blogger dialog about growing business relationships through social networking sites such as facebook and Linkedin.

Alexander Kjerulf, who shows us how a sincere, timely and “homespun” apology can fix damaged business relationships.

Addressing workplace issues are articles on:

The emergent midsize firm trend of hiring development directors to address associate retention and attrition.

The growing number of lawyers deciding to leave law firms to go in-house.

Steps firms can take to understand and stem associate attrition (hat tip to Counsel to Counsel).

The generational divide that needs to be bridged When Whippersnappers and Geezers Collide in today’s law firms.

Lending insight into embracing change in and outside of the legal profession is:

An overview of Three Principles of Change from The Practice of Leadership. My favorite of the trio is the simple, but profound: In the realm of human activity, things change only after they are accepted for what they are.

Jim Hassett’s overview of Harvard Law School’s reaction to changes in the profession.

Topping off the hopper’s contents is some lighter fare in the form of:

Eric J. Heels’ terrific depiction of what’s wrong with law school education (tipped by Ernie the Attorney).

A brilliant court decision resolving a dispute about lawyers who lunch (pdf).

Award winning journalist Judy Martin’s recent Work/Life Monitor Podcast in which we discuss my views on cultivating work-life synergy in the law.

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My wife, Lori, and I just returned from a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was there to deliver a program with business relationship expert Keith Ferrazzi of Ferrazzi Greenlight.

This is a breathtaking part of our country – the natural beauty of Grand Teton and Yellowstone are not to be missed. I visited both as a teenager, but it was a whole new experience for me this time around. The trip also offered some great vistas on the underpinnings of successful client relationships in the law.

On our way out to Wyoming, I had the pleasure of meeting a United flight attendant named Brian Van Buren. As we boarded the plane in New York, Brian greeted us with a big hello and hearty laugh. I could tell this was a genuine introduction to a very warm and approachable person. During the in-flight service, we started talking. In the ensuing few hours, as he helped and joked with my fellow passengers, Brian returned to me at intervals. I learned that he wears many hats – among them, flight attendant, minister and hospice volunteer. He started his volunteer work after his wife died. We spoke about his passion for all aspects of his work in the world, about his personal challenges and triumphs, and about the nature of death and dying in our country. By the time we got off the plane in Denver, I felt a bond with Brian that went beyond the typical customer-service provider connection.

What forged this bond was intimacy.

As I’ve noted before, and as Keith Ferrazzi points out in his bestselling book, Never Eat Alone, many people shy away from the idea that intimacy is key to successful business relationships. By intimacy I’m referring to a willingness to get to know the human being behind the issue or need that comes across our desk (or the airplane call button). It’s basically the same kind of intimacy that fuels healthy connections to family and friends. Many lawyers find it hard to drop the mantle of authority and really get to know their clients as human beings who have fears, hopes and challenges. But, this kind of sincere human-to-human exchange is what compels prospects to become clients and compels clients to stay with us and refer us more business.

I revisited this same lesson during my stay at the terrific Snake River Lodge and Spa. The valet attendants went well beyond their job parameters to provide me and Lori with some great tips on area sites and dining. One young man, Ben, took it even a step further. When we returned the car to him after an outing, he followed up on his recommendation by asking how it played out for us. His focus on enhancing our experience made him and his service stand out.

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In a previous post about innovation and the legal profession, I said: “With the imminent wave of Baby Boomer retirements, it’s time for law firms to innovate – to adapt their business environment, model and practices to meet the needs and demands of the young associates who support firm leaders today and who will (hopefully) become firm leaders in the future.”

My commentary there focused on innovating to benefit the youngest stratum of the law firm workforce. A very different perspective is offered in the current issue of The Complete Lawyer (TCL), which focuses on the graying of lawyers.

According to the issue’s lead in, a quarter of a million practicing lawyers in America are 55 or older and that number will triple in the next two decades. TCL’s contributors consider the implications of this shift from multiple vantage points. But a unifying message is that law firms can’t ignore the impact of this trend on their business model (tip to Matt Homann), dynamic and culture.

While there are certain economic issues to consider, there are also some very pressing human (as in humanity, not human resource) issues for firms – and the entire legal profession - to take on.

For more insight into innovation and the law, visit the College of Law Practice Management’s website for an introduction to the just-announced 2007 InnovAction award winners.

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Over the last few years, I’ve written quite a bit about the breakdown of the lawyer-client relationship and the resulting discontent and attrition. My coverage includes posts on:

• client experience management

• evangelizing legal service delivery

• re-booting the lawyer-client relationship

• fixing the legal professions broken windows

The last post on this list refers to a business application of the Broken Windows Theory. The theory holds that companies should place a premium on identifying and quickly repairing their broken windows – those aspects of their operation that signal an indifference to consumer satisfaction. By all reports, the law firm-client relationship window is still broken.

For some time, blogger Patrick Lamb has examined the law’s Lake Wobegon Effect, which he describes as “the phenomenon by which law firms always overestimate the degree to which their clients are satisfied.” He updates his study in a post reporting the results of a new General Counsel survey. According to Lamb, the survey shows that law firms continue to overrate their legal services and underestimate their clients’ dissatisfaction.

So, the question persists: How can law firm’s fix their client service problems?

Like any pervasive issue, the first step is to lift the blinds and admit that something is wrong. That isn’t easy for service providers to do, as evidenced by this article titled CEOs Think that Customer Service is Great (tip to Bryan Eisenberg) and this one describing the Top 10 Reasons Why Customer Service Fails. Unfortunately, the admission often comes only in the wake of a major service lapse or client departure.

Once the problem is out in the open, the next step is to cure it. Some law firms are indirectly appeasing disgruntled clients by switching to a performance-based or two-tier approach to associate compensation. Firms can also use an array of client feedback programs to improve their services. But, as many observers point out, it’s difficult to create a service model that begets client evangelists without consistently listening to your clients and sharing their feedback with the entire firm.

Over at Legal Business Development, Jim Hassett offers lists of 34 questions for clients and prospects and 24 more questions for current clients. Together, they make a great starting point for firms looking to engage clients in an ongoing, candid dialogue about the state of their legal services

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