Does your firm battle with keeping women lawyers? Do you have a transition plan when your lawyers go on maternity leave?

Here is a link to a recently published article on the topic.

http://gemcommunications.ca/articles/TLW June 2010 Leave_Absence.pdf

In order to transform something you must be innovative. Being innovative means doing something first, ahead of your compitition. Lawyers and Law Firms are not known for being first for much. Two books you must read now are "Blue Ocean Strategy", by W.Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, and "Our Iceberg is Melting", by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber.

In the first book, "Blue Ocean Strategy", it paints a vivid picture of what is possible when you go out and get ahead of your competititon. The second, "Our Iceberg is Meltin" is a very clever story about how to get people to move with you into uncharted territory. The are both quick and valuable reads-enjoy!

To answer that question I will tell you about how my last two clients came to work with me. This will illustrate if you are ready for a coach and will gain maximum benefit from working with one right now. The first client came to me by way of an advertisement in The Lawyers Weekly. We had an interview and he explained that he needed to change direction in his practice because that area of law is diminishing. I asked him questions and explained the process. Within a week we were working together.

The second and most recent came to me by way of an article that was pulished. I recieved an email on a Monday, Tuesday morning we chatted briefly and I gave her six references. About an hour latter I got an email back from her saying that she had called all six people and was able to speak to only one but that was enough for her.

In both cases these lawyers knew they would benefit from outside help and new they could do more to bring in more business, they just didn’t know how or where to start. If this sounds like you, you may be an ideal candidate to get some coaching help for your practice.

As a junior associate you have a lot of pressure on you to say the least. Where possible now is the time to take more control over your career. That means becoming proactive. Ask for help when needed; ask for feedback on files; and begin to generate your own book of business. The more you do now the farther ahead you will be when you are on the partner track. Recently I have met with a few lawyers who are taking more control over their careers by paying for coaching out of their own pockets. That is being very proactive. These lawyers will have more leverage within their firms and be in a position of control. It’s up to you. It’s your career.

Over the last couple of years I have had numerous lawyers approach me after presenting webinars or writing articles. They were looking to take their business development efforts to the next level and wanted to get on our coaching program. After interviewing them and finding them to be ideal candidates, they would approach their firm’s only to get a ‘no’. What? A senior associate or junior partner is willing to invest their time outside of billable hours to build a bigger practice and the firm won’t support this? I would suggest those lawyers take their talent and ambition and find another firm who will value them.

In business it is right to treat marketing as an investment. But is it all the time? Lavish parties and extravagant dinners may not be providing the return on investment that you need. How are you measuring your results? Are you measuring your results? Are your marketing and business development efforts moving people from leads to clients? The answers to these questions will help you determine if your marketing efforts are an expense or an investment.

A while back a client of mine was on the partner track and we were asked to give a presentation to the Canadian Bar Association on how to make partner.

Cut and paste this link into your browser to watch the webinar.

http://cbanational.na3.acrobat.com/p867614671/

Would you like a quick study guide to becoming more business like in your practice? Follow this link to view a webinar presentation that was delivered to the Canadian Bar Association. Feel free to email with any questions you may have.

Cut and paste this link to hear the presentation.

http://cbanational.na3.acrobat.com/p2782765/

Recently I have been in talks with two National Canadian firms. One is investing in their people this year the other is not. Can you guess what the next few years are going to look like for the firm that is investing? Here are some hints: better retention, higher revenues, increased client loyalty, and on it goes. So ask yourself is 2010 going to be the year you go for it or are you going to let the other guys get there first?

It would seem that the purse strings are opening up again. Many law firms are now starting to invest in their people again. And those that do now will come out on top. Your clients are looking for better value. Your competitor’s clients are too. Look for ways to help your lawyers get out there and offer that value. The loyalty of clients in this economy is at an all time low. Take advantage of that rather than suffer the consequences of not acting. New Year = New Opportunities.