Listening to the Voices of Experience
At Lawyer-Coach we get quite a number of calls and emails from attorneys starting a new law practice. Some are fresh out of law school. Some have been with a bigger firm, a corporation or the government. All appreciate the wisdom of lawyers who have been there before. Here’s an opportunity to hear from some small firm lawyers who are willing to share the benefit of their experience.
Getting advice from more experienced lawyers
Angela Nickel, a Seguin attorney who handles real estate and construction matters, including litigation, says. “Don’t be afraid to ask other lawyers for help….I developed relationships with other lawyers in town and simply asked for guidance, forms and the occasional game of devil’s advocate. Not only did I get the support I needed, but I developed some truly wonderful friendships. With 18 years under my belt now, I am eager to return the favor to other young lawyers in my community.”
Martha James, an immigration lawyer in Dallas, agrees, “it is imperative that you keep in touch with other attorneys regularly, either though organizations or one-on-one. Attorneys are a great source of referrals, advice and support.”
Stacey Langenbahn, a Colleyville lawyer who incorporates Collaborative Law and Cooperative Law techniques into her dispute resolution efforts, has several suggestions. She recommends asking an experienced lawyer to be a mentor and to co-counsel with you. She also suggests asking to “shadow” (follow around) another lawyer. That’s part of how associates in bigger firms learn, and it can be available to enterprising solos, too. Finally, Langenbahn points out that you can direct your substantive and practice management questions to a lawyer’s listserv or blog for advice.
Keep your expenses down
Ted Weiss was a partner in a Houston mega-firm before going out on his own to offer full-service dispute resolution as a mediator, arbitrator and litigator. He says, “As you begin, concentrate on minimizing your overhead consistent with presenting a professional image.” Bigger firms can benefit from economy of scale that would not appear to be available to smaller firms. Weiss, however, suggests some ways to save on costs by subleasing from another law firm. That allows you to share expenses on items like a conference room, common area furniture, receptionist, administrative assistant, and office equipment. Some of the equipment expenses you share may include a telephone system, copier, fax machine, scanner and postage machine.
Weiss goes even further by suggesting that you use wireless technology as much as possible for telecommunications. He says, “Rather than three landlines (two for phone and a third for DSL and fax), use a wireless PDA for your phone, an air card for Internet service anywhere with your laptop, and Efax to receive faxes.” His recommendations also provide a lot of flexibility and mobility. You can practice from almost anywhere, and if your office moves, you won’t need to change any phone or fax numbers.
Nickel had some cost-saving suggestions for small town lawyers. She said, “I bought an old house downtown that was suitable for a home-office arrangement, yet with plenty of visibility. I hung out my shingle, turned the parlor into a professional-looking office, and learned to type and file like a seasoned legal secretary.”
While keeping costs down is important, when you start hiring staff, Glynn Nance, a Houston business and tax transactional lawyer, counsels, “Don’t try to save money on cheap support staff. You will create more problems for yourself.”
Biggest mistakes
Everyone learns on the job, and mistakes are part of the process. If you learn from others’ mistakes, however, maybe you’ll make fewer of them and hit your successful stride sooner. Erik Goodman, a criminal lawyer in Austin, says “I wish I had paid more attention to cultivating contacts with civil lawyers.” He now knows their value as referral sources. Likewise, Weiss says his biggest mistake was to neglect networking and marketing when his workload was heavy. He says, “Even when your plate is full, make sure to continue business development activities that will help keep new business in the pipeline.”
Debbie Welch, an Amarillo lawyer, cautions, “Be highly selective in who you represent.” At her firm, they now only represent people whose company they enjoy. She says, “There are some people who are never going to be happy and you don’t want that type of person for your client.” James adds, “Don’t take a client just because you need the work. Not all clients will pay you when they get your bill….It is important to discuss expectations immediately with clients, get realistic retainers, and keep a close watch on receivables.”
Nance warns about a mistake his firm made. “Be careful of software programs that market themselves as a one-stop resource for accounting, file management and contact management. They will be good in one thing, but not in another.”
Good advice they received
Welch commends the advice she received to get board certified in her area of practice: estate planning and probate. She recommends that you represent clients in a few select areas of practice, and become an expert in those areas. “You cannot be everything to all people,” declares Welch. Nance agrees. He says board certification gave him instant credibility with potential clients and referral sources.
He also received sage advice to take two or three people to lunch every week. “It’s the best marketing tool a small firm lawyer has in his quiver of marketing arrows,” he asserts.
Making the move to a small firm
The switch to a small firm from a big bureaucratic corporate office or from a multi-office mega-firm can unsettle even seasoned lawyers. Paul Yale, a board certified oil and gas lawyer in Houston, says, “If you have spent a long period of time with the same employer (in my case, a big corporation for 27 years), you are probably overly risk averse and overly pessimistic about your chances of success outside the corporate womb….Don’t underestimate how big a factor renewed passion for your job can be.”
Laura Upchurch handles contested probate, trust and guardianship matters, as well as real estate and small business matters in Brenham. Based on her experience in moving from a large firm to a small one, she advises: “Recognize that you will no longer be a small cog in a large wheel – you will be a large cog in a small wheel. If any of those cogs does not mesh with the others, the firm’s ‘machinery’ is not going to operate properly…. [M]ake sure, before you join the firm, that the goals, philosophy and style of your practice will be cohesive with those of the other attorneys in the office.”
She suggests multiple interviews and meetings to get to know the other lawyers before making a move. Her firm reviewed writing samples and transcripts, and talked with colleagues at her former large firm. Now they also use personality assessments to help ensure a good fit. These precautions benefit both the firm and the prospective new lawyer.
James admonishes that it will be a mistake to think you can “just practice law” in a small firm. “You will be doing everything from marketing to billing to overseeing staff,” she reminds. Many attorneys underestimate the amount of time they will spend managing staff and handling other administrative matters.
Upchurch also reminds small firm lawyers that everywhere you go, you represent your firm. “If you are one of only five attorneys, what you do and say before others will likely reflect more on your firm than if you are one of 500 attorneys.”
Find ways to keep your practice enjoyable
Finally, you’ve got to keep it fun. Overcoming daily challenges can be wearing, and many lawyers burn out. John Sloan, a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer in Longview, says, “The thing I learned that made my practice more successful and more enjoyable is to take advantage of the opportunity that we have as lawyers to get to know people from all walks of life. Not just to get to know them from the standpoint of their legal problem or their case, but to get to know them as individuals with interesting stories to tell, with hopes and with dreams. Seeing each client this way makes for a more enjoyable practice and there is no better advertisement than former clients that have become valued friends.”
© 2008 Debra Bruce
Post Date: August 15, 2008
To Improve Your Firm, Look in the Mirror
I attended a managing partner roundtable recently. In the course of the discussion I asked how many had ever used 360 degree feedback in their law firm. A couple of hands went up. One brave soul said, “What is 360 degree feedback?” Several nodded their heads or murmured that they were wondering that, too.
What Is 360 Degree Feedback?
360 degree feedback is a skills development tool which involves surveying the people above, below and around you to get their perceptions about your behavior and the impact of your behavior. The process may also be called multi-rater assessment, multi-source feedback or full circle appraisal.
It usually involves the supervising attorneys, practice group leader, and team or project leader, as well as colleagues, partners or peers within the firm who work with you or otherwise have ample opportunity to observe your behavior and your work product. The associates and staff who report to you or otherwise work with you also rate your behaviors and competencies, and feedback from clients might also be sought. The process usually seeks feedback on a confidential, anonymous basis.
The Purpose of Feedback
Several of you may be feeling a chill run down your spine just reading about this. You may be thinking, “Ask my clients what they think of me? Give associates a chance to mouth off about me? Set myself up for potshots from my partners? Let my staff give me a performance review? Are you crazy?” Most of us, however, secretly wish to know how others see us. This is a development tool that will help you become more proficient at the behaviors that lead to the results you want. Stated another way, this process can help you learn how to get out of your own way, while providing encouragement to continue doing what really works.
The corporate world has been using 360 degree feedback for decades. Jack Welch, the legendary former CEO of General Electric Company, was quoted as saying, “Any company that’s going to make it …has got to find a way to engage the mind of every single employee. If you’re not thinking all the time about making every person more valuable, you don’t have a chance. What’s the alternative? Wasted minds? Uninvolved people? A labor force that’s angry or bored? That doesn’t make sense.” Making any lawyer or staff member more valuable requires feedback to them. Giving them the opportunity to provide feedback to others (especially upwards) helps to keep the workforce engaged.
Research on the Critical Role of Managers
Many law firms now suffer from costly attrition among their young attorneys and staff, as well as partners. “People leave managers, not companies,” say Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, authors of First, Break all the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. Their conclusion is based on research studies conducted by the Gallup Organization involving over a million employees and eighty thousand managers in a broad range of industries. “How long that employee stays and how productive he is while he is there is determined by his relationship with his immediate supervisor,” assert Buckingham and Coffman. They discovered that managers, not pay, benefits or perks, are the critical factor in building a strong workplace.
If you give work assignments to anyone, you are a manager to that person. Are you willing to consider the possibility that you may be contributing to the problems your law firm experiences? Are you getting the results you want, including the retention of talented lawyers and staff? If not, how can you make the right shifts, if you are unclear about the impact of your current choices and behaviors? Candid feedback can provide the guidance you need.
Benefits to the Law Firm
The firm as a whole will benefit from a properly conducted 360 degree feedback program. Some of the benefits reported include:
1. provides individuals a broader perspective on how they are perceived by others and how they positively and negatively impact others
2. reinforces the desired competencies in the law firm
3. increases awareness by senior management that they also have areas for development and improvement
4. identifies key development areas for individuals, practice groups, support arenas and the firm as a whole
5. multiple raters enhance the recipient’s perception that feedback is valid and objective, leading to more willingness to accept and act upon the feedback
6. fosters a climate of continual improvement in management and other skills
7. identifies strengths in individuals for optimal benefit to the firm
8. highlights the responsibility of an individual for his/her own career development
9. reveals training needs in the organization
10. may reduce discrimination risk by getting feedback from multiple raters in varied job functions
Ultimately, the long term benefits of feedback from multiple sources can be increased productivity, improved talent retention, reduced conflict, more effective management, and progress towards the law firm’s larger goals. The success of the feedback program depends on what the firm and the recipients do with that feedback, however. If poorly implemented, a feedback program can produce negative results.
In a future article we’ll go into more detail about what a 360 degree feedback program looks like, and discuss tips on implementing such a program. In the meantime, you can still employ the old-fashioned way. Consider asking those around you, including peers, direct reports and supervisors, questions like “What suggestions do you have for me?” and “How can I help you be your most effective?”
© Debra Bruce 2008
Post Date: July 15, 2008
Implementing a 360 Degree Feedback Program
Recently two different clients came to their coaching calls upset. They worked for very different organizations, but both had received the results of feedback surveys without any support or private debriefing session. Both were discouraged. They shared their reports with me and asked for help.
A Client That Saw the Glass Half Empty
One client’s report actually indicated a lot of improvement and some very good results in developing teamwork in his group. However, he focused in on the responses to questions that called for negative information, such as frustrations on the job.
He seemed to disregard the responses to the question “What is working well in your group?” He also failed to notice that when asked the neutral question “Is there anything else you would like to share?” quite a few respondents volunteered comments like “I love my job,” “This is a wonderful place to work,” and “They are doing a great job and it’s appreciated.”
With that client, I simply read out loud about half of the positive comments in the survey. As he listened, he began to relax, and realized that perhaps he should review the responses again, with a different focus.
A Client Who Didn’t Know What to Do
The other client received some pretty consistent feedback indicating that she had some issues to work on. She knew she had challenges with a couple of “difficult” employees, but the consistency of responses gave her a wake up call. She began to consider that she might play a larger role in the problems than she realized.
This client felt discouraged because she just didn’t know how to improve the situation, especially in so many different areas. As a very conscientious employee, she had already been doing the best she knew how.
I pointed out to her three skills that we could work on together. I shared my reasoned opinion that, as she mastered those three skills, most of the other areas for improvement would naturally resolve themselves because they were related. The work ahead still daunts her, but she regained hope as we discussed a plan.
These two stories illustrate some of the risks involved in conducting a feedback survey without adequate advance preparation or post-results support for the participants.
Guidelines for Successful 360 Degree Feedback
Here are some guidelines for instituting a successful feedback program.
1. Explain the purpose of the survey in advance, and provide opportunities for questions and reassurances. A couple of appropriate purposes might be (i) to identify individual strengths to capitalize on and individual areas for further development, and (ii) to identify subject areas that warrant additional firm training.
2. To minimize participant anxiety and maximize cooperation, avoid administering the survey near performance review or bonus time or during predictable periods of high workload.
3. Design the survey to measure the important competencies and behaviors that lead to the achievement of the firm’s goals. Research-based surveys are already commercially available to measure certain competencies, such as the behaviors that result in effective leadership. Multiple choice questions are easiest to score, but include a few open-ended questions, as well. They allow raters to give specific examples or raise issues not otherwise addressed.
4. Tying survey results directly to compensation or other rewards can “put teeth into” the firm’s initiative on improving leadership, management, mentorship, communication or other “soft skills.” Such efforts can backfire in the highly competitive environment of a law firm, however. Supervisors may subtly (or not so subtly) pressure subordinates to give good reviews, or friends may collude to rate each other highly. When the firm frames the process as a self-development tool only, it may encourage more candid feedback.
5. Implement mechanisms to assure that the feedback benefits the participants as a professional development tool. Give careful thought to who should have access to the results. Widespread results sharing could cause embarrassment and defensiveness, which would hinder development efforts. For maximum safety for participants, the responses could be gathered confidentially by an external provider, with each participant seeing only his own report. For mid-level security, the responses might be shared only with the human resources professional or practice group leader, and the respective individual recipient.
6. Help the participant recognize and understand differences between his self-perception (based on his self-rating in the survey) and the perceptions of others. Also provide benchmarking data, such as the average score for all other participants in the survey, or national averages for this industry.
7. Repeat the process (perhaps six months or one year later) after implementing training or other development programs. This gives the participants the opportunity to demonstrate progress. This is especially important for those who were disappointed by their first round results.
8. Don’t just focus on negative results. Capitalize on the strengths revealed in the survey by assigning important duties to those who exhibit capability in that arena, rather than on the basis of seniority, revenues produced, or other measures not specifically tied to the necessary competencies.
Examples of Survey Questions
If you have never participated in a 360 degree feedback survey, you may be wondering what kind of questions are involved. Typically the survey will describe a behavior or competency (or group of competencies), then allow the rater to rate how frequently the subject engages in the described behavior (never, seldom, frequently, always) or how accurately the trait describes the subject (strongly disagree, slightly disagree, slightly agree, strongly agree).
Here are a few sample measurement questions gleaned from different surveys:
1. Keeps focus on fixing problems rather than finding someone to blame
2. Places a premium on collaboration, cooperation, and contributing to other’s success
3. Considers the impact of actions and decisions on others before implementing
4. Actions and behaviors are consistent with words
5. Deals on a timely basis with issues that need to be addressed
6. Encourages open and candid expression of ideas and opinions
7. Is flexible in dealing with changing or new circumstances
8. Effectively uses available technology to increase efficiency
9. Analyzes data to determine the root causes of work process and procedure problems
10. Clearly communicates critical job task expectations and measurement standards
Would 360 Degree Feedback Benefit Your Firm?
Do the above rating statements describe behaviors that would improve the productivity and morale of your firm? Would it be valuable for people in your firm to see how their behavior is perceived by others on such standards? If so, a 360 degree feedback survey may be useful for your firm. If, however, members of management and other leaders do not acknowledge the feedback they receive, and take some public steps to improve on any poor scores, the survey may cause more problems than it solves. Don’t ask unless you are prepared to listen!
© 2008 Debra Bruce
Post Date: July 7, 2008
Which Marketing Book Can Help You?
Many of my clients ask me to recommend books that can be good tools or reference materials for enhancing their law practice management skills. Today I’m sharing with you my reviews of three popular books that address business development for lawyers.
1. Rainmaking Made Simple: What Every Professional Must Know by Mark M. Maraia. Maraia writes in an easy to read style, and gives numerous real life examples of how attorneys have successfully implemented the techniques he recommends. Those anecdotes shift the conceptual into the concrete, a real strength of the book.
Maraia’s book is ideal for attorneys who find marketing daunting, unpleasant or bothersome. He teaches the reader how to make marketing fun, or at least, in his words, “less torture.” He helps lawyers find ways to market their law practice while doing things they already like doing. He teaches them how to become more effective at the marketing techniques they have already attempted, and encourages them to stretch a little into some new activities.
The Maraia Method® focuses on relationship development. Some other business development books say things like (and I’m quoting) “Develop a relationship as early as you can….This can start in modest ways, such as gathering information about the prospect and establishing a rapport during the selling process.” Duh! But exactly how do you accomplish that? Maraia tells you. For example, in Chapter 18: The Myth of Asking for the Business, Maraia gives specific advice on how to build your prospect’s trust through the kinds of questions you ask.
Each chapter is only about 4-5 pages long. That allows you to pick a topic and read up on it on a “just in time” basis. Going to lunch with a prospect? Read Chapter 17: Avoiding Random Acts of Lunch. Scheduled to give a speech? Read Chapter 34: Using Speaking to Win New Clients. Serving on a non-profit board? Read Chapter 31: Building Relationships with Board Members.
Small firm attorneys may be turned off by the book’s tendency to focus on the business development issues of big law firms, with chapters such as “Making Cross-Selling Work in Your Firm” and “Measuring the Return on Investment in Marketing Training.” Nevertheless, most of the principles in the book will also apply to solo and small firm practices.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I must point out that I have been a member of the team giving follow-on coaching in connection with the Rainmaking Made Simple training program for several years. I formed my positive opinions about the book before teaming up with Mark Maraia, however.
2. How to Get and Keep Good Clients by Jay G. Foonberg and How to Start and Build a Law Practice by Jay G. Foonberg. Foonberg is an icon among law students who want to start their own law firms. His books have the “honor” of being the most frequently stolen from law school libraries. How to Start and Build a Law Practice is in its fifth edition and How to Get and Keep Good Clients is in its third edition, attesting to their long-term value in the legal marketplace.
I applaud Foonberg for giving very specific suggestions, such as a sample draft of a follow-up letter after attending a convention or trade show; suggested language to use in inquiring about why a client doesn’t send you referrals; and what to say when someone asks for a business card and you don’t have one.
A weak point: sometimes Foonberg addresses extremely basic issues, such as “The Role of Clothing in Marketing Yourself.” A strong point: he peppers the books with concrete suggestions on how to increase your visibility in the marketplace and position yourself as an expert. Many of those suggestions can be implemented by both new and more seasoned lawyers.
Foonberg’s books are good resources for new lawyers, providing advice on how to get started from the ground floor. A new lawyer should seek other resources in addition to Foonberg, however. Despite the revised editions, his books have become a bit outdated.
Although I think Foonberg gives a lot of sound advice, I disagree with some of it. For example, in his chapter on what to say when someone asks what you do, Foonberg leans toward trying to sell yourself as able to handle a wide range of matters. In my article in the June 2007 issue of The Practice Manager titled “Get Remembered,” I advised keeping your answer simple and concrete, which usually requires you to narrow the field, instead of broaden it. Concrete imagery makes your response more memorable and repeatable. That increases the likelihood that your listener will think of you when he (or a friend) has a need for your services. (If this explanation isn’t concrete enough, just read my other article.)
Some people don’t like the format of Foonberg’s books. Many of the “chapters” are less than a page in length, with each chapter starting on a new page. That presents the content in a choppy way, and makes the hardback copy fat and heavy.
I don’t really recommend Foonberg’s books for experienced lawyers. They are more appropriate for newer lawyers who haven’t really found their niche yet, and aren’t familiar with the myriad of issues they will face in managing a law practice.
3. Rainmaking: The Professional’s Guide to Attracting New Clients by Ford Harding. Harding’s 1994 classic was updated, re-titled and re-released in March 2008 as Rainmaking: Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field. The newer version contains some added chapters, but whichever version you purchase, it will be well worth the price.
Many lawyers go about their marketing efforts in a haphazard fashion, trying this and that, now and then. They have little clue as to which efforts really pay off. If you recognize that you need to become more systematic and strategic about your marketing, Harding tells you how to do it. He provides charts, lists, questionnaires and forms that guide you step-by-step in networking, writing articles, getting publicity, making presentations, building client relationships, writing proposals, setting fees and identifying which marketing strategies are more suited to your practice.
This book would be a great help to a lawyer who has experienced modest success, but wants to ramp up the revenues. Harding’s method requires the lawyer to invest some time in planning and analysis, but if she does all of the exercises he recommends and implements a consistent marketing plan, I have no doubt she’ll succeed.
Today even seasoned lawyers find the ground shifting under their feet when it comes to legal marketing, and they are looking for resources. I hope these book reviews will give attorneys a sense of where to start. For finding strategies that involve the Internet and technology, however, I recommend surfing the web. Technology and the opportunities it creates keep changing too fast for book publishing to keep up.
© 2008 Debra L. Bruce
This article was originally published in April 2008 in The Practice Manager published by the State Bar of Texas.
Debra Bruce (www.lawyer-coach.com) practiced law for 18 years, before becoming a professionally trained Executive Coach for lawyers. She is Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and board member and past leader of Houston Coaches Inc., the Houston Chapter of the International Coach Federation. She can be contacted for questions or comments at 713-682-4353 or debra@lawyer-coach.com.
Post Date: July 2, 2008