What is ‘Legal Advice’ and Why is it Different than Other Advice?
Bob and Mary are running short on cash to live their life and pay their mortgage. They are introduced to a private lender who offers to lend $100,000 against their house as a second mortgage at a high interest rate, but he wants the money back in two years. He offers to take care of […]
Why Some Lawyers Chase Bills
I recently saw a lawyer in my network post on LinkedIn a lamentation about how she works so hard, late nights and weekends, but always has to chase bills from her clients. Her reasoning was that lawyers are simply not respected in their work. Despite all the long hours, come billing time, clients will ask […]
The Importance of Docketing
Why do lawyers docket? What is its purpose? Has the act of docketing run its course for modern law firms? For the purposes of this article, for a lawyer to “docket” means to input a record of their activities completed for the client along with the time it takes to complete the activity (later multiplied […]
The Disadvantages of Common Law Precedent
The Canadian common law system has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it provides for a certain level of consistency and predictability within an area of law by having judges rely on past precedent rulings to guide future awards. On the other hand, this consistency promotes a certain bias that takes a long […]
Mega Man, Negotiation and the Importance of the Credibility Meter
My son has recently discovered one of Nintendo’s earliest games: Mega Man. Mega Man is a blue robot that runs around shooting evil robots with his plasma blaster. On the top left side of your screen, there is a “health meter” that starts full, with yellow health lines, but reduces to black little by little […]
Lawsuits are Investments
Whether enforcing a contract, recovering damages or seeking injunctive relief, most civil lawsuits are ultimately efforts to obtain money or something of equivalent value; thus, there should be a return-on-investment analysis for every claim. Often, litigants and their counsel get so caught up in the content of what their lawsuits are about that they overlook […]
Choosing the Right Employer for Your Legal Career
I am often asked about how to choose the right employer for a legal career. Financial compensation and incentives may be a significant starting point; however, there are often little differences in compensation for the position you are eligible for, so it is difficult to determine the right path. This is not only the case […]
A Lawyer’s Reputation
Right out of law school there is a general theme that is expressly stated that a lawyer must maintain a “good reputation”- one that reflects well on the individual and also the legal community as a whole. This is furthered in rule 2.1-2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers which states in part: […]
Addressing Employee Turnover In Law Firms
Many law firm owners I speak to are having difficulty growing their practice, and a major reason for this they reason is lack of retention and the overall issue of employee turnover within the firm. There are many articles that address this issue in the legal industry and in other industries as well — usually […]
Bedside manner: What They Don’t Teach You In Law School
Many lawyers have a difficult time not only in acquiring clients but also in keeping clients or achieving client referrals. Many times, this is the case despite the quality of the work, the speed produced or even the price charged. One large reason for this comes as a result of a lack of “bedside manner” […]