This is a message for all my law firm readers in British Columbia.

The British Columbia Courthouse Library Society (BCCLS) is currently planning the redevelopment of the Courthouse Library Website and they would appreciate your help. 

An online survey has been launched for practicing B.C. lawyers.  This survey will help the BCCLS to obtain better insight into your current technology and online usage patterns as one aspect of the development process.

The short 13 question web-based survey takes approximately three minutes to complete.  Please help out by taking a few moments to complete the survey and/or encourage the lawyers in your organization to take part.  Your participantion will help create a more effective resource that benefits everyone in B.C.’s legal community.

Launch Survey!

Survey respondents will also be entered into a draw for one of two 8G iPod Touch music player/portable internet devices.

On behalf of the Courthouse Library Society I’d like to thank you in advance for your anticipated assistance.

In this crazy world of competing deadlines, priorities, sound bites and instant communication technology it sometimes seems harder than ever to nurture the important relationships in our lives. We are all under such pressure to perform and to achieve there is little time left in the day to reach out and show someone that we care.  For a list of tips on how to keep in touch with the important people in our lives check out my article on Slaw.ca this week.  And please, if you have some additional tips to share with the readers post a comment here or on the Slaw site.

I am in Seattle this week attending my first ALA conference.  What a great event!  I want to thank the dynamic attendees at my presentation yesterday.  I greatly enjoyed your comments, questions, and enthusiastic participation. 

As promised I have attached three documents related to business plan development in the password protected post below.  To access the documents please enter the one word password in lower case.  The password is the first word in the title of the presentation I gave at the ALA yesterday morning.  The word begins with the letter t.

The first document is a business plan quadrant tool to help associates evaluate where they can make the best investments of their time.  The second is a detailed business plan template with different sections for each activity.  I would recommend that the associates also use this as a tool for determining what kind of marketing activities to invest in.  My favourite plan is the third document - a short monthly action plan.  It lists some important questions for the associates to consider and leaves a blank space for writing in their monthly action items.

Please just give me a call or send me an email if you have any questions. 

I sometimes share my morning commute with Tom, the senior executive of a local investment firm.  His company does a lot of financings and M&A deals and predominantly uses a local securities boutique to structure the deals.

Tom knows that my business is coaching lawyers so this morning he gave me his unedited review of his lawyers, law firm, and the legal business model.  The fee structure, the billable hour business model, and lawyers insistence at wordsmithing documents on his dollar all got a failing grade.

Here are some of his candid comments:

1. Why no flat fee structure for this work?  We keep getting told that each deal is unique and there is no way to accurately estimate the lawyer time it will take.  Yet, when you look at the total legal bills for each of our deals they always come in at about the same amount.  Why not just flat fee us, and leverage your own internal time saving innovations?
2. The only reason we don’t put out a request for a law firm who will work this way (see above comment) is that we have a long-standing relationship with our current firm.  They know us and our business.
3. I can’t stand it when lawyers insist on writing me a long and expensive memo when what I need is a quick answer.  I’m a business man; I need my lawyer’s best answer on the spot.
4. I recently did a deal where the lawyers on both sides disagreed about how the deal was written.  They started to argue, at a cost of 700/hr about wordsmithing.  I asked my lawyer, “look, does the deal work as it has been written?”  The lawyer responded “yes, it works but I don’t like how it is written.”  This is about getting deals done, not about writing an epic novel.

In my local legal marketplace we don’t get the biggest and best financings.  Tom’s company would count as a very good client and source of lots of good work.  Even though they have an existing law firm relationship (who doesn’t?) in my view they are ripe for the picking.  What would it take?

• A willingness to invest in developing a relationship with the company, quickly, at your own expense.
• A willingness to work on a flat fee or other alternative structure.
• A lead partner who is able to provide the kind of “shoot from the hip” legal advice Tom is asking for.

I would like to point out that Tom is an easy-going, even tempered guy.  You’d never know it this morning.  It just goes to show how the way our law firms conduct business can be so negatively received by the very clients we serve.

Tom’s rant also points out the value of relationships:  He and his company haven’t taken their work to another firm because of that relationship.  It would be too much work.  However, if another firm was willing to make it easy for them to make the change through investing time in learning their business, and offering a different fee structure, they would likely jump.

What are you willing to invest in retaining your current clients?  And growing your business?  Could you offer what Tom is looking for?

Part Two 

I first blogged on this topic in December. Today I will continue where I left off and provide my top ten list of steps for launching a successful associate marketing and business development training program:

1. Segment your training to target lawyers of a particular year of call, or practice area, so that the curriculum content is appropriate to their skill and knowledge level and can be put into immediate practice.
2. Conduct strength assessments with the associates taking part in the training program.  These assessments provide a measure of where they are starting from, help frame the business development process, and serve as a point of departure for developing their personal business plans.
3. Launch the training program with a Mindset component.  Mindset means aligning the business development approach to the strengths and values of the participants, framing business development in the context of career success, and clearing up any misconceptions about what business development is all about.
4. In keeping with the active learning emphasis, hold monthly meetings, with actionable homework and feedback components. 
5. Connect the content of the monthly training sessions to each associate’s goals and business plan. 
6. Use the training program and homework items to support associates in developing the habit of integrating regular business development activities into their weekly schedule.
7. Track results.
8. Small groups provide the opportunity for discussion.  Each training component is followed by an action item.  For example, after the networking session the associates each attend a networking event.  Following the event they prepare a brief memo on what worked, what didn’t, what contacts they made, how they will follow-up.  At the next training session the first minutes of the class are then spent reviewing the group members’ experience of the networking event.
9. Integrate partner experiences into the program through holding partner panels, or collecting business development stories from the partners for inclusion in the training sessions. 
10. Integrate client experiences into the program through holding client panels, sharing client survey results, or by creating opportunities for the participants to speak with clients of the firm. 

Just like learning to improve a golf stoke, lawyers can best develop business development skills through putting knowledge into practice and receiving feedback on performance.  Training programs require more than just the seminar component.  They require action assignments and the opportunity to debrief with colleagues and a coach or mentor after the event.

Developing a successful business development training program takes time and effort, but the rewards are substantial:

• A training program with measurable ROI
• A  team of lawyers who all business develop
• Increased retention of associates

Done right, programs that teach the participants new business development skills, encourage new behaviours and have measurable goals and results will have a fundamental impact on profitability and retention.

For further reading on this topic don’t miss the Hildebrant Article: Masterclass: Adopting A Business-Development Attitude: A Shared Responsibility

When it comes to learning, teaching, training, and engaging in business development the best starting point is a series of guiding principles that will apply to all your client development activities:

1. Ask before telling
2. Listen before speaking
3. Discover how you can help

And I would add one caveat:

Don’t fumble the follow-up.

These principles form the foundation for all my business development coaching and training.

Applying these principles opens up an approach to business development that is equally accessible to introverted and extroverted personality types.  For example, at networking events the focus is not on talking about yourself, but on preparing ahead, asking great questions, learning important information about the people you are meeting, and following up after the event on what you have learned.  To learn more about how these principles apply in practice please visit my article Networking for Introverts on the Canadian legal weblog Slaw.ca.

I was in Toronto this week to attend the launch of the Legal Marketing Association’s (LMA) Toronto Chapter.  Eighty attendees filled the conference room at the St. Andrews Club yesterday to celebrate the launch and hear from guest speaker Marcie Borgal Shunk from BTI Consulting Group, a Boston-based business and research company.

Congratulations to LMA Toronto

First I would like to send congratulations to LMA Toronto President Nanette Matys and Board members Elizabeth Gill, Karyn McLean, Diana Lawrence, Lynda Monteith, Dianne Rychlewski, Stuart Wood and Elizabeth Cockle, for successfully undergoing the considerable work of forming a Chapter and for organizing the impressive launch event.  The LMA Toronto Chapter promises to be a valuable addition to the Toronto, and indeed Canadian, legal landscape.

Top Legal Trends in 2008

Now on to the BTI Consulting Group report on the top legal trends to watch for it 2008. Of the ten trends reported the four I will report on today are:

1. Outside counsel spending is slowing.  After a five year period of growth the trend is now turning and “projected market growth for 2008″ is estimated at 6.1%. 
2. Legal work is moving in-house, AGAIN.
3. Convergence is back - more dollars for fewer firms.  If you aren’t one of a client’s top two law firms then your share of the wallet is getting smaller. Side note - over 50% of companies switched their primary firms in 2008.  That means if you have the position of primary firm guard it closely!  And if you are a secondary firm, dislodging a primary firm can result in a considerable increase in wallet share so start planning your approach now.
4. The top goal for corporate counsel for the second year in a row is cost management and value for the dollar.  Don’t equate lower fees with value. 

What do Corporate Counsel Mean by “value for the dollar”?

Value for the dollar is the perception of the value of the work received from the lawyer, law firm.  BTI reports that this is the top unmet need expressed by Corporate Counsel.  If you are seeking to take over a primary law firm spot, then build your strategy around this.  Value for the dollar does not mean lower legal fees.  Indeed, the firms rated highest for value are also high fee firms. 

BTI reported on several measures of value:

• Understanding the client’s business:  This means providing solid business solutions to the client grounded in a deep understanding of the client’s business, industry, and the specific needs related to each transaction or file.  The law firm invests non-billable time in learning as much as possible about the client’s business.
• Responsiveness:   Responding in a timely fashion. Responsiveness is not just about responding to phone calls and emails promptly.  It more generally addresses the lawyer and law firm’s ability to meet a wide-variety of client requests.  For instance, on five separate occasions BTI heard from corporate counsel that when requesting quarterly instead of monthly bills from their law firms they were told by their lawyers that their accounting departments were unable to accommodate this request. 
• Commitment to help:  The lawyer is truly interested in helping to solve the problem not just bill the hours.

Old News

Value for money is not a new concept.  The ideas listed above make up the content of a library shelf full of books.  Law firms have invested countless dollars in retreats, seminars, and conferences on the topic.  The question is: why is it so difficult to get this right?  The answer is time.  What David Maister has referred to as investment time.  It takes time, non-billable time, to get this right.  And time is the one thing no lawyer has today.  The billable hour demands keep going up.  The “investment time” any lawyer has is scarce.  If you want to achieve value for money then give your lawyers the time to deliver it.

My article this week in The Lawyers Weekly has generated some attention and controversy. Nicole Black in her new blog New Lawyers Back on Track has raised some thought-provoking concerns. 

Thanks Nicole for picking up the article. Much appreciated! To clarify on a couple of issues you’ve raised,  please know that I am an executive coach.  As such my clients set their own goals and agendas.  If a woman lawyer has a goal of becoming a partner in a law firm then I would certainly encourage her to consider business development as one of the vehicles to support her advancement.

While it is vital to keep a long term perspective on possibilities for transforming our law firm workplaces, it is equally important to many women that they continue to strengthen their position within the current system. Developing and expanding one’s own loyal client base is vital to achieving power, authority, and financial equality.  As long as one depends on others to provide the work, one is by definition dependant.  This applies to both genders.

Business development means investing in relationships. The purpose of strategy in this context is to ensure that a lawyer’s investments in time are right on target and offer maximum benefit.

In my experience I have seen large numbers of lawyers both young and old turned off by the stereotypical image of the rainmaker.  In fact, there is a different and effective approach which is very much in alignment with these women lawyers own values and integrity.  I want to encourage both women and men who don’t identity with the extroverted model of rainmaker to develop their own equally successful approach based on developing strong legal credentials and developing an ever-expanding base of trusting relationships with clients, referral sources and others.  No grandstanding, polished speeches, or tickets to the NBA (or in the Canadian context NHL) required.

When it comes to innovation and new approaches to rainmaking you truly stand out as the author of not one but three blogs!  That is precisely what I meant when I wrote “assess your strengths and develop your own personal approach grounded in your values, your professional goals” and I would add your interests. 

Thanks Nicole for encouraging the discussion on this very important topic!

Why are business development skills more important then ever for women lawyers?

Because in my opinion as female professionals we have reached an impasse.

In the words of Alice Eagly and Linda Carli in the September 2007 issue of Harvard Buisness Review (HBR) the glass ceiling is a misnomer.   There is not artificial barrier beyond which we cannot ascend but rather a labyrinth of challenges and obstacles that must be overcome throughout our careers.

The statistics tell the story:

“According to the National Association for Law Placement, a trade group that provides career counselling to lawyers and law students, only about 17 percent of the partners at major law firms nationwide [US] were women in 2005, a figure that has risen only slightly since 1995, when about 13 percent of partners were women.”  New York Times, March 19, 2006

“Gender inequality continues to exist in management functions, and the increase in the number of female university graduates will not itself be sufficient to close the gap.”  Women Matter, McKinsey & Company, 2007

“The latest findings from Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR), released today to coincide with International Women’s Day, reveal that 38% of businesses do not have any women in senior management roles, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2004.  The survey, which covers  the opinions of 7,200 privately held businesses in 32 countries, represents 81% of global GDP.”   Press Release, Grant Thornton, 2007.

“Consider the most highly paid executives of Fortune 500 companies – those with titles such as chairman, president, president, chief executive officer, and chief operating officer.  Of this group, only 6% are women.  Most notably, only 2% of the CEOs are women, and only 15% of the seats on the boards of directors are held by women.” From HBR Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership

The rising number of women graduating from law school and entering the legal profession is not enough to shift the balance.  The same applies to women entering the business world with MBA’s and other professional degrees.  More women entering the labyrinth doesn’t result in a corresponding rise in the number of women making it through. 

Business development in this context becomes a means for advancing.  It’s about taking leadership of one’s practice.  It’s about determining what you want and how to get there. 

Keep in mind that your female clients are experiencing the same challenges.  How can you assist them?  What can you do to help them get ahead?

Now it is up to each and every one of us to take this in our own hands. 

“The lessening of activism on behalf of all women puts the pressure on each woman to find her own way.”  From HBR Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership

In January I presented on this topic for the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Vancouver Chapter and then again in February to the TAGLaw legal network.  Watch for my upcoming article in The Lawyers Weekly.

I also recommend reading Larry Bodine’s list of ten recommendations “that law firms should adopt to reduce turnover among women lawyers, geneate more business and thus boost firm revenue”  with one caveat:

Women lawyers are busier than ever.  Business development activities must be implemented as a vital and strategic component of the lawyer’s own career plan.  Not as yet another hoop jumping exercise.