How to Thrive in the Diminishing World of the Legal Business

Opportunity is the word the keeps popping into my head as I read more and more discouraging pieces about the state of the legal field. (Some samples: Tom Huddleston Jr., Survey: Firm Leaders Admit Downturn’sPermanent Impact, AmLaw Daily, May 21, 2013 and Thomas S. Clay, 2013 LawFirms in Transition: An Altman Weil Flash Survey (2013).) Big clients don’t want to keep paying big dollars to big firms during a big recession/apocalypse/long-term decline. That makes sense. 

Some big firms can’t/won’t make the changes they need to remain competitive. That also makes sense. Try getting a speedy and good decision out of any large organization. It’s hard. No one wants to earn less than they previously did, or have fewer perqs, or diminish in stature. No one wants to make the unpopular decision, or be the ultimate fall-guy for a bad business choice. Cover-your-ass seems to be the modus operandi of far too many.

If big firms won’t make that change, someone else will. The solution seems quite simple: cut back and offer value. Clients aren’t buying the tasteful if bland art, the hushed hallways and soothingly lit corridors, the top-tier real estate and high-floor views. Big firms can rationalize these all they want. They can desperately cling to their turf even as it washes away beneath them. Charge clients less, pay lawyers and everyone else less, work fewer hours, and have a good life. How hard is this, really, to figure out?

—Lori Tripoli

What to Do When You’re Going to Be Late

Having just emerged from a very brief stint at jury duty (where, apparently, rather than settling the night before, the parties waited until prospective jurors had hauled themselves to the state courthouse before getting serious about settlement), I didn’t have a lot of empathy for the lawyer who showed up late for jury selection only to be jailed by the judge overseeing the case. Martha Neil, Judge jails lawyer and client over tardy arrival for jury selection, ABA Journal (May 7, 2013).

How exactly the lawyer missed the mark by 50 minutes is a bit unclear from the piece. Citing personal problems the evening before and a lax hotel receptionist apparently wasn’t sufficient reason to evade punishment.

One can only wonder about how thrilled the client was by his attorney’s behavior.

Some suggestions should this happen again in the future:

• First, really and truly, learn to use the alarm function on your cellphone. There’s no need ever for any of us to need a wakeup call from the front desk of a hotel given the technology we’re all packing. Other measures to take if you really worry about getting up on time: leave the lights on, the curtains open, the television on. Lights and noise are pretty good a summoning those who’ve lapsed into too deep a sleep. Worst-case scenario: Have someone from your office call, or have a significant other, or your mom, or whomever.
• Second, take that 16-second shower. When I’m running late, I can be showered with hair and makeup done and out the door in less than 10 minutes.
• If you really are going to be late for a court appearance, call the court and let the judge know.

—Lori Tripoli

The Future of Law: Challenges and Opportunities

Had a great time moderating a Law Day webinar on the Future of Law: Challenges and Opportunities last evening. Here's the recording for those who couldn't make it. http://lnkd.in/eeR5qM

—Lori Tripoli