The Modern Firm, LLC

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…)

When I ask attorneys if they are staying on top of their workload, the usual answer is “no.” Lawyers tend to work in a crisis management mode, proceeding from due date to due date. The calendar of filing deadlines drives the practice and rush jobs are common. Lawyers could benefit from applying project management techniques prevalent in the business world to managing their case load. This effort requires planning, teamwork, cooperation, effective delegation, clear communications and scheduling.

A project is any complex task that involves many subtasks, scheduling of work and staff and monitoring of progress. Typical projects in a law office can be pleadings & briefs, transactional documents, legal opinions, preparation of a marketing plan, or purchase of a new computer system. Lawyers have a tendency to look at due dates for their deliverables rather than figuring out when to actually do the work.

Project management skills are essential to successful litigation, (more…)

There is a growing movement of good people out there called “Life Hackers.” Life hacks are tips and ideas to improve efficiency and get things off your mind, they generally have a technology slant. Some of the best commentary and thoughts on this topic can be found on www.43folders.com.

A few of the tips I’ve found most useful pertain to managing the ever bulging e-mail inbox. 43folders.com recently ran a series of posts called “Inbox Project Zero” I’ve implemented a few of the suggestions in my office and have found them to be very useful. The goal is primarily to put the e-mail user back in charge of their inbox and schedule by lessening the distractions created by e-mail. (more…)

In 1999 I unpacked my very first Blackberry wireless e-mail device and was elated. I could now receive e-mail anywhere, instantly. Better than that I could easily respond to messages and completely conceal the fact that I was not dutifully sitting in front of my computer just waiting for new messages. The Blackberry helped me to say “I’m my own boss, I make my own schedule, I can come and go as I please.”

Over the years I upgraded from the black and white small screen model, to the black and white large screen and then to the color large screen with international capabilities (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.

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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.
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