tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.comments2023-08-25T03:39:09.015-04:00Inside the Firm of the FutureChristopher Marstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-42469779354921933272010-03-05T08:44:36.079-05:002010-03-05T08:44:36.079-05:00I agree there is a lack of accountability.I agree there is a lack of accountability.Alexanderhttp://www.snapperrecruit.com/features/onlineTimesheets.aspnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-65583660823617458102010-03-05T08:42:59.779-05:002010-03-05T08:42:59.779-05:00Great post very interestingGreat post very interestingAlexanderhttp://www.snapperrecruit.com/features/onlineTimesheets.aspnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-49204860772377203982010-03-05T08:17:08.404-05:002010-03-05T08:17:08.404-05:00hi Great blog very interestinghi Great blog very interestingAlexanderhttp://www.snapperrecruit.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-21449355823563567152009-12-03T04:10:39.143-05:002009-12-03T04:10:39.143-05:00Thanks for sharing...
Regards,
accounts payable ou...Thanks for sharing...<br />Regards,<br /><a href="http://www.saibposervices.com/e-accounting-finance-and-book-keeping.aspx" rel="nofollow">accounts payable outsourcing </a>accounting serviceshttp://www.saibposervices.com/e-accounting-finance-and-book-keeping.aspxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-63169875670143040372009-11-17T20:52:20.351-05:002009-11-17T20:52:20.351-05:00There is NOTHING wrong with the billable hour.
Wh...There is NOTHING wrong with the billable hour.<br /><br />What is wrong is that most firms have mandatory billable hour targets for their associates.<br /><br />Exceed the target and you help your career. Fail to meet it and you risk getting fired.<br /><br />That is the problem that needs to be tackled. Who makes these targets? Partners corcerned with their large PPP. Associates have no power in this regard.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09011435093471803349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-60173341493557511322009-08-25T15:00:48.976-04:002009-08-25T15:00:48.976-04:00Finally!!
A change agent for the legal profession...Finally!! <br />A change agent for the legal profession! Brilliant and refreshing.<br /><br />S. OsmondAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14223329965827718896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-69325905576789984632009-07-07T02:34:37.510-04:002009-07-07T02:34:37.510-04:00Thanks LLCN! :-) I enjoy contributing!Thanks LLCN! :-) I enjoy contributing!Christopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-32762284983077426042009-07-07T02:11:34.830-04:002009-07-07T02:11:34.830-04:00Excellent!!! And a lot of these tips have helped m...Excellent!!! And a lot of these tips have helped me :-)<br /><br />LLCNlucas law centerhttp://www.lucaslawcenternow.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-42121756076917350992009-01-25T22:00:00.000-05:002009-01-25T22:00:00.000-05:00Thanks Anonymous,Yes -- We are always looking for ...Thanks Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>Yes -- We are always looking for leaders. Clearly, most lawyers cannot see beyond their own timesheets, but Exemplar has always been looking to absorb the leaders of the future of the profession where the passion and vision of our people can meet a working environment that not only allows it all to come to fruition, but supports the movement. Thanks for your comments.Christopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-90813305975509429602009-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:002009-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00I appreciate your exposing the emperor (i.e. the m...I appreciate your exposing the emperor (i.e. the main-stream legal profession) for being naked, or at the very least, extremely out of fashion. Even though I am a licensed attorney living in Boston, I've conducted my own business for years, and as they say... "he who represents himself has a fool for a client". I am so disgusted with the majority of lawyers I have hired, as it has become abundantly clear that the focus in our profession has become all about billable hours (many firms have contests to see who can rack up the most... this, as you have noted, leads to outrageous outcomes! At $600hr... I don't need my lawyer calling me to 'chat' for 30 minutes, which they have. It's almost like. "I need to make a quick $300...oh, I will call Jack!"), as opposed to client satisfaction, and taking pride in creating value for that client... like it is in the rest of the business world. Are you looking for any new attorneys? lol.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-12706174104654992182008-11-22T17:40:00.000-05:002008-11-22T17:40:00.000-05:00Hi William. Thanks for your question. You are ri...Hi William. Thanks for your question. You are right that at an established firm this would be difficult. Many firms are bringing in executives out of necessity, but be not fooled -- they are NOT giving them the authority they really need to do their job. Exemplar has taken great care to instill in our culture the significance of having the RIGHT people do the RIGHT job. That being said, it is such a basic business principle that, as logical as it is, still does not overcome the emotion in most partnerships -- the need to retain power. They rationalize it until their blue, but reality is that they will not give up the power. Thanks for your contributionChristopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-14757439544578726512008-02-12T09:46:00.000-05:002008-02-12T09:46:00.000-05:00Chris,I understand your position on power and acco...Chris,<BR/><BR/>I understand your position on power and accountability, but how would you suggest implementing this in an established firm? It would be difficult to convince partners to give up power to a new COO or CMO, in hopes that they (the partners) would understand this is in the best interest of the firm. If we are looking at established firms with the “mostly old white guys,” then how can you move away from the established model, which, in many instances, has brought them great success—albeit at the expense of their junior associates? I believe that this ties into what you are doing with your company, which although I think is great, I am unsure how this could work at a large scale, established firm. <BR/><BR/><BR/>WilliamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-35205961330853432972008-02-07T00:27:00.000-05:002008-02-07T00:27:00.000-05:00Thanks Eddie. I am actually from Michigan and tra...Thanks Eddie. I am actually from Michigan and travel there every once in awhile. Congrats on you new blog and indeed, we are changing the way law is practiced. I appreciate the other pioneers in our industry. We are doing the right thing for our people, our clients, and the profession at large.Christopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-8650597621812410552008-02-05T14:53:00.000-05:002008-02-05T14:53:00.000-05:00Christopher,I read your blog consistently and I've...Christopher,<BR/>I read your blog consistently and I've finally decided to let you know. I consistently agree with your perspective on the practice. I have also decided to create my own blawg in the very near future. I would love to exchange thoughts and ideas in the future. I hope to change the way law is practiced here in Michigan. Cheers.Eddie Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06930556958133406830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-61006561716745470742008-01-22T10:24:00.000-05:002008-01-22T10:24:00.000-05:00Chris,I agree with your position here and find it ...Chris,<BR/><BR/>I agree with your position here and find it increasingly true in the business/professional world. The major issue here is accountability or should I say the lack of accountability. It is much easier for people and firms to make a weak attempt at a new idea or procedure and say that the new idea does not work than it is for the same firm to sit back and say “What could we have done better to make this idea a success?” Most people do not want to admit that the personnel may be the reason for the failure and not that the new idea is flawed. Eventually new age firms, like your own, will force other companies who are entrenched in their ways to bring about change within their companies or fall by the wayside. Firms need to look past the immediate reward of the billable hour and start looking to what will be best for firm development in the future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-37342917119842970572008-01-03T00:43:00.000-05:002008-01-03T00:43:00.000-05:00Hi Tim,Good thoughts an yes -- a very common probl...Hi Tim,<BR/><BR/>Good thoughts an yes -- a very common problem. The super-specialization of labor is a product of operating under Karl Marx's Labor Theory of Value. As a result, mentoring sucks, there is no diversity of work, and the workforce is full of highly specialized people with NO transferable skill sets at all. The model leaves behind the interest of the client (Who value perspective} and the interest of your people (Who value challenging, diverse work} in the name of revenue. Ironically, revenue is not the goal in business, profit is. . . . and it is actually counter-productive to profitability to operate under a billable hour model.Christopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-86629405501927706392008-01-01T12:51:00.000-05:002008-01-01T12:51:00.000-05:00As a young lawyer (about 5 years in), I find the c...As a young lawyer (about 5 years in), I find the complaint that we have a "significant number of attorneys who don't even know how to draft a contract" unsurprising. Litigation associates in large firms (and even some smaller ones) don't learn such things because their lives are consumed by discovery. Even further along, it seems to me like the dedicated litigator seldom gets an opportunity to draft a contract that isn't a settlement agreement. If a firm organizes its labor such that transactional associates spend all their time doing due diligence -- the transactional analogue of discovery -- or writing SEC disclosures and reports, those associates are equally unexposed to contract drafting. Each of those other activities involves valuable skills, but if one spends all of one's time focused on just those activities, it's hard to be a well-rounded attorney (to say nothing of what it means to be a well-rounded human being). Of course, the same analysis applies to the transactional attorney who doesn't know how to review a balance sheet or a title commitment, or the litigator who doesn't know how to draft discovery requests because all of her time has been spent researching cases for appellate pleadings, or so on and so forth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-91920614631313637332007-12-22T17:26:00.000-05:002007-12-22T17:26:00.000-05:00Well done, Chris.The limited thinking of 'conventi...Well done, Chris.<BR/>The limited thinking of 'conventional wisdom' in the pofessions is stifling innovation, productivity, growth, customer value and shareholder value. I have been pioneering value-based pricing in Australia since the early 90s when I had my own taxation and financial panning firm. My partners and I always believed that hourly or per diem pricing was unethical and perpetuated poor management pactices.<BR/>Value-based pricing is totally appropriate for a myriad of professional service industries and firms.<BR/>One of the most significant inhibitors to professional service firms moving to VBP is 'risk.' The professional service firms fear that the VBP model will put them at risk by not knowing how long a project will take. If they do not have the intellectual firepower to understand their business, their solutions and the value-offering, do you want them working for you? The future will hold the key for those who survive and thrive and then there will be those who keep wondering how they can bill more time.<BR/>Ric Willmot<BR/>Australia<BR/>www.ExecutiveWisdom.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-81261820925752886582007-12-16T14:26:00.000-05:002007-12-16T14:26:00.000-05:00Hi Ted and JKGreat thoughts. I really think it is ...Hi Ted and JK<<BR/><BR/>Great thoughts. I really think it is hard to say that the billable hou is the ONLY problem. However, the model is the cause of most of the problems that are well covered in the news, such as Skyrocketing salaries (competing on price for candidates because time-based billing commoditizes our profession}, lack of mentoring and loyalty to people (because of the leverage model of the billable hour, lacking diversity {again, a commoditization issue} and low professional satisfaction {due to over-specialization, low interpersonal communication in the office because you cannot bill for that, and repetitive un-challenging work}<BR/><BR/>As far as our culture is concerned there has been a shift. Post 9-11 and tech-boom the younger generation has come to understand the brevity of Life, and realize that there is so much more to life than just money. . . so the old tricks of the carrot dangling in front of the nose don't work. Plus, they are smart enough to know that they can leverage today's firms to get a better offer elsewhere if they are treated poorly. The feeling of entitlement is partly culture and partly the model. first, competing on price for candidates is a fools game and the pricing has gotten to the heads of candidates. What's more, many law student, while very book smart, never worked a hard day in their life for earnest money. So, I think there is a sentiment among them that they are entitled to "start at the top." Unfortunately, you cannot have it both ways. . . either you start with high salaries and work your tail off or you stand up for your values and focus on having a fulfilling career at a reasonable value to the organization.<BR/><BR/>By and large though, the leaders of firms hold the bag in the end. This country's business leaders are responsible for creating a workplace that people want to be in, for treating them right, and adapting to market changes. . . as a leader, that is what you sign up for. Just complaining or passing the buck won't cut it. We all have to to take responsibility for our part and fix the problem.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the great comments.<BR/><BR/>11:20 AMChristopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-54746500231805924112007-12-16T14:20:00.000-05:002007-12-16T14:20:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Christopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-38484706407121340842007-12-14T16:44:00.000-05:002007-12-14T16:44:00.000-05:00Jk's comment is interesting. The question is a ch...Jk's comment is interesting. The question is a chicken/egg thing. Did the Billable Hour cause the problems Chris describes (not part of my comment) with younger attorneys (must mean attorneys younger than I), or was the wide adoption of the Billable Hour the result of failures of attorneys, starting in the 1950s (I guess that includes all of us), perpetuated by either a lack of natural curiousity, or the general intellectual laziness of people who know we are fairly smart? <BR/><BR/>We did not see it was broke, so we did not try to fix it, until now. <BR/><BR/>As a dinosaur on many things, and slow to adapt to the VP issue, I will always try to pass a buck. <BR/><BR/>Here, I am wondering if Hourly Billing is the cause of many of the problems, or just a symptom of some intellectual laziness on the part of attorneys, the real cause? The more I spend time with clients working on a VP agreement, the more I appreciate the ease of "just give me a price." I recall the client deserves better.<BR/><BR/>Did you see the Dilbert comic strip on Sunday Dec 9? Looked like a natural for this issue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-73523104970183146702007-12-14T12:58:00.000-05:002007-12-14T12:58:00.000-05:00Chris, I am not sure where you are coming from in ...Chris, <BR/>I am not sure where you are coming from in your complaints about today's young attorneys, so maybe I am echoing what you have already said, but it seems to me that the high sense of entitlement, the lack of a strong work ethic and appreciation for what it really takes to achieve excellence, and the lack in service-minded attitudes which you note among young attorneys are a direct result and logical end point of the billable hour system. I think it would be a mistake to lend credence to the notion that the problem is somehow an inherent character flaw in this generation of young lawyers. To do would allow all those billable hour dinosaurs to pass the buck and avoid the fundamental problem which lies within their own business model.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-70471549693199540182007-12-13T21:01:00.000-05:002007-12-13T21:01:00.000-05:00Hi Ted,Thank you for your contribution to the disc...Hi Ted,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your contribution to the discussion. Your perspective adds some interesting and relevant background to the switch and I can see how the crisis started. Exemplar gets 5OO applicants or more per year from across the country, and I am very disappointed by what I see. It seems that attorneys coming into the profession today have a very high sense of entitlement, a lacking desire to work hard and appreciation for what it really takes to achieve excellence, and utter lacking in service-minded attitudes. We are in a position to change people's lives and we have a profession with a significant number of attorneys who don't even know how to draft a contract anymore. The billable hour itself prevents the knowledge transfer that was necessary to pass down the skills, which is a real shame because we will be in deep trouble if the skills critical to this profession die out with the generation of partners that will be retiring soon.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again TedChristopher Marstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11091974667607891404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-64480210630149808452007-12-13T16:54:00.000-05:002007-12-13T16:54:00.000-05:00Tough language, but has some real merit to most of...Tough language, but has some real merit to most of it. <BR/><BR/>Consider what else changed in these times- 1940s to 1960s. (I am a product of this, and it has taken me years to discern these thoughts.)<BR/><BR/>In the 1940s, after the war and the implementation of the GI Bill, the colleges and universities engaged in great expansion of the student population. Education became more middle class. Law schools were expanding soon thereafter. <BR/><BR/>The learning of the middle class went up, but the number of new lawyers caused the IQ of the profession to drop. <BR/><BR/>Have we stopped thinking? We did in the 1950s and got acclimated to the situation. Our vast middle class group of lawyers, now with better education and more learning, still had lost some inate abilities that we had prior to the War. We got "book smart" because that is what we were taught. All the firms were teaching a business model of hourly billing. It seemed easier, Rate x Hours = Cost of Service. <BR/><BR/>Never mind value, the client came to us so they must know value. <BR/><BR/>Another change was occurring at that time. Mom and Pop businesses were becoming larger and needed bigger law firms. It is hard enough for one lawyer to figure out what is a fair value for one client, but for a team of 3 or 10 or 100 lawyers working on a case or transaction to determine fair pricing, and then allocate the receipts between them is real work. And a source of great potential dispute.<BR/><BR/>So it went, until a handful of lawyers and other knowledge professionals said "this isn't working" and so we try something new. Lets see how the new thing goes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22277549.post-343295990020001632007-12-10T14:11:00.000-05:002007-12-10T14:11:00.000-05:00It is not the arbitrary value of time that is the ...It is not the arbitrary value of time that is the issue, but that of money.<BR/><BR/>If you live long enough you will probably die. In other words our time on earth is variable but finite. Certainly worth valuing, but how?<BR/><BR/>Firstly I value what I do with my time by the contribution it makes to extending my life. Yes money has a role, but it is not the only player.<BR/><BR/>Next I value what I do with my time by the fun I have. Within limits I believe it extends my life and my enjoyment of it.<BR/><BR/>Hopefully food for thought.<BR/><BR/>Regards<BR/>StuartStuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12604725555260118577noreply@blogger.com