The Modern Firm, LLC

Law firms of every size and discipline face growing exposures with respect to breaches in their computer security and information systems, with increasingly sophisticated attacks occurring more frequently. Due to rapidly changing policy coverages and premium in this area, it is important that you frequently review your firm’s exposures and options for handling them. And just because you don’t handle web-based transactions it doesn’t mean you are insulated from a problem. Certainly, if your firm keeps records or information on-line or stored locally on hard-drives, (more…)

Several weeks ago a friend, the executive director of an organization, confessed that his office is a disaster. Professional journals pile up, phone messages are unanswered. Projects remain half completed. The in-box has become a storage box. Every meeting ends with additional paper and tasks to complete. E-mails arrive fast and furious begging for immediate response. He stated that he used to be very organized and had a handle on everything. Now, things seem to be overwhelming, spinning out of control. He wonders, “Is this just me?” and asks if I have seen this before with other professionals whom I coach. (more…)

There is a common misconception in a large segment of the legal profession that marketing equates to advertising and spending a lot of money. That couldn’t be more wrong. Marketing in law firms is all about sweating the details. The details cost you a little extra time and attention, but can deliver big dividends to your firm down the road. It is the best way to differentiate your firm from others.

Most important for every law firm are your relationships with clients. It’s the trust your clients develop in you, your knowledge of their business and industry, your responsiveness, anticipation of client needs, and, of course, the results you deliver. (more…)

In a recent issue of the ABA Journal e-Report, lawyers provided their children’s comments on their parents’ jobs. One lawyer described a day when her child care person was sick and she took her young daughter to court, leaving her with a bailiff while she had a hearing in the judge’s chambers. When the lawyer went to retrieve her daughter, the bailiff was laughing and told her that he asked the little girl if she was going to be an attorney like her mom when she grew up. The girl answered: “No, I’m going to be something where you always have dinner on time.”

Having dinner on time every night is a fantasy not likely to be fulfilled in any profession today, but the competitive and demanding nature of practicing law makes balancing work commitments and family obligations a particularly daunting challenge. It’s no wonder that work-family balance is a goal for many lawyers. The quest for billable hours, client demands, family obligations and desires, and the need for precious “down time” all clamor for your
attention.

(more…)

Executive coaching, a professional development tool that combines strategic consulting and problem-solving counseling to help professionals set and reach their business and/or personal goals, has in the past decade found much support in the business community. Managers in corporations, including blue chip companies such as IBM, AT&T and Kodak, are realizing its benefits. Lawyers on the other hand, are just now becoming familiar with the concept.

That the coaching trend is more prevalent in corporate America than in the legal profession is no surprise. Historically, law firms have followed the lead of their corporate clients on implementing management and operational innovations. For example, most companies were using email and Web sites long before law firms got on board. Coaching has proven to be no different for a variety of reasons.
(more…)

Proposed changes to the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct regarding marketing and professional communications call for modest adjustments in existing rules while encouraging effective client relations.

by Roy S. Ginsburg and Kenneth F. Kirwin

Business development. You keep reading about its importance to your career. You keep hearing about it from other lawyers in your firm and other professional colleagues. So you finally decide to do something about it. Everyone has told you that the key is networking. First stop: your law school alma mater-sponsored cocktail reception. You figure, this shouldn’t be too awkward; chances are pretty good you’ll run into someone you know and, sure enough, you do. (more…)