| April 2008 | e-Newsletter |
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TBH Legal Holidays Calendar Helps Keep Track of Events Celebrating Lawyers and Other Legal Professionals
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Most people think of a "legal holiday" as a day when federal and state offices are closed. Here at The Billable Hour Company, we consider a "legal holiday" to be any holiday that's law-related.
The most well-known law-related holiday is Law Day, which has been celebrated nationwide since 1958. The purpose of Law Day is to highlight the role of law in the foundation of the country and to recognize its importance for society.
Other "legal holidays" abound. Many states and localities celebrate a "Paralegal Day," although the dates vary from place to place. And, even though it's not confined to the legal industry, remember that Administrative Professionals Day is April 23.
You can find The Billable Hour Company Legal Holidays Calendar on our Resources page. You can also find a continuously updated list of upcoming legal holidays in the sidebar of each page of our website.
If you have a Google Calendar account, you can add dates from our calendar to your own. By this Friday (April 4), you'll be able to get a configurable Legal Holidays Calendar widget for your website (the widget displays upcoming holidays in list form). We're even going to develop a Billable Hour Company Legal Holidays Calendar Facebook App that you can install on your Facebook page.
Please help us make The Billable Hour Legal Holiday Calendar the most complete listing of holidays celebrating all types of legal professionals by e-mailing information about any local, state or federal holidays honoring lawyers, paralegals, court reporters, judges, clerks, law librarians, or anyone else in the field to us at info@TheBillableHour.com.
You Do it for Your Clients . . . Do You Do it for Yourself?
by Julie Fleming Brown
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During my first conversation with a new client, we were talking about the goals she’d like to set. She said she’d like to make partner at her firm, and I asked what she needed to do to reach that goal. She answered that good work and maybe bringing in a few clients would get her there. We drilled a bit further down on that question, and then I asked how she planned to bring in the "few clients" she thought she’d need.
"Well . . . ," she cleared her throat. "I thought I’d do some networking, you know, and maybe speak at a CLE, and I’ve thought about writing some articles." I asked a few more questions and discovered that she had a vague plan, but only a vague plan, of what steps she’d need to take to build the practice and presence she’d need to be considered as a viable candidate for partner. "I won’t even be considered for 4 years," she concluded. "It’ll get clearer as I go."
Every single lawyer I know begins a representation by clarifying what the client wants. If it’s a litigation matter, sometimes it’s to win at all costs, sometimes it’s to preserve a business relationship, sometimes it’s to protect one asset or position even at the expense of another. The client’s ultimate goal drives the strategy for the case.
And yet, I see so many lawyers who don’t pause to develop a career strategy. The need to work hard and master the skills of practice is obvious, but knowing what skills should be acquired and how to go about acquiring them requires more study and strategy. Without an end in mind and a somewhat carefully planned approach to that end, it’s easy to get off track. Just like it’s possible to blow a client’s legal budget winning a point that the client didn’t really want or need to win, it’s possible to spend a great deal of time and energy reaching a goal that doesn’t lead to the ultimate goal.
What steps do you need to take so that you’re advancing toward your ultimate goal? I’m talking about setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based) goals along with a strategy for reaching them.
What are your SMART goals? What’s your 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year game plan? You wouldn’t represent a client without a clear definition of the win and a roadmap to get there, so why do anything less for yourself?
And the client who wanted to make partner? It’s now a year from our initial conversation. Last year, she created a strategic plan to get her practice known (by publishing an article and speaking at a CLE program) and a plan to begin client development activities, including identifying and becoming involved in an industry group related to her practice. Her theme for this year is building her internal profile, and she’s just been named to a significant firmwide committee. She’s now in year 2 of her 4-year "path to partnership" plan. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but whether she makes partner or chooses to move to another firm, her strategic planning will serve her well.
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Julie Fleming Brown, J.D., A.C.C. provides attorney development coaching and consulting to law firm associates and partners, focusing on topics such as leadership, client, and professional development; career strategy; and work/life integration. A certified leadership coach (Georgetown University), Julie publishes the weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers and posts often on the Life at the Bar Blog. Learn more at www.LifeAtTheBar.com or by contacting Julie by telephone at 800.758.6214 or by email to jfb@lifeatthebar.com. |
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©Stu Rees. All rights reserved.
A perfect card for tax lawyers and CPAs!
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, or to see more cards about tax law, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Did you Know that Stu also licenses his artwork for use in newsletters, presentations, print publications and on websites? He even offers special rates for student and teacher use.
You can also purchase original artwork and custom prints (framed or unframed) from Stu.
Timesheet readers get 15% off all licensing orders, original artwork and custom prints (use coupon code BILLHOUR). Click here for information on licensing or purchasing "IRS Here First," or visit www.Stus.com for more information on licensing one of the hundreds of other images Stu offers. For more information on original artwork and custom prints, click here.
Billable Hour Bookshelf: An Almost Review
by Mark Solomon
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An avid reader I may be; but in no way shape or form do I hold myself out as a literary critic. This disclaimer aside, when novelist/attorney (or attorney/novelist, depending upon the priorities of the moment) Kevin Mednick sent us a copy of his book An Almost Life, I instantly felt that here, finally, apart from any merit to the writing, is the proverbial "one-day-I’m-gonna-write-a-book" book that almost every trench-warfare trial lawyer promised to write at least once in his or her career, but never did. The author’s bio on the rear flap reads almost like the resume of a familiar colleague. Mr. Mednick is a real-deal tort litigator, and the story he tells is informed throughout by details that can only be absorbed by real-life experience. He’s one of us, telling our story, and we want his book to be widely read, if for no other reason that he holds a mirror up to our profession, and a little self-reflection is healthy.
Meet Mike Samuels, a plaintiff’s personal injury sole practitioner, who is, in his own estimation, not as good as some but better than most. He navigates his perilous universe with the aid of two guides. His office administrator/secretary, Alice, is a magical presence with the omniscient organization skills of Radar O’Reilly. Without her vigilant coaching, Mr. Samuels would never make a court appearance, speak with a client, or accept a new case. While Alice tends to Mike’s career, his friend Dan touts the virtues of a carpe diem approach to life and love. Unfortunately, Mike analyzes almost every personal encounter to—and occasionally beyond—the brink of destruction.
The book opens with Mike whining (actually, he never really stops whining) about a potential new case. Evelyn Walker, working on a machine at a paper goods plant, is scalped. She comes to Mike seeking an aggressive out-of-town savior. The book is the story of his struggle to convince her that he is not that savior, and to convince himself that he is.
Here’s the thing: I defended that very same case (in case you’re interested the plaintiff’s name was Jackson, and the case was in New York State Supreme Court, Ulster County). This is not the sort of case plaintiffs’ attorneys whine about; this is the sort of case that plaintiffs’ attorneys drool over. During voir dire in my case, the plaintiff’s attorney opened with a simple sentence explaining what happened to his client, and all of the air got sucked out of the room by 250 potential jurors gasping simultaneously.
After they began to breathe again, in the Jackson voir dire the plaintiff’s attorney asked the assembled array of 250 potential jurors if his firm had ever represented any of them or a close family member. One hundred and twenty five hands went up, and 125 potential jurors were excused for cause. I didn’t much care for the admiring looks those who remained were now showing my adversary.
One interesting twist in Ms. Walker’s case is that no local lawyer in her small upstate New York community will take it. It is defense counsel that usually bears the brunt of being the carpetbagger. Here Mr. Mednick manipulates the story so as to be able to encompass a wider range of experience, by presenting a narrative more common to defense attorneys through his plaintiffs’ lawyer protagonist.
In purely literary terms (see disclaimer, supra), once Mr. Mednick took us to the end game of the trial, the resolution and conclusion of the novel seemed rushed and forced, almost as if a deadline had to be met. Reading this book as a trial lawyer, I enjoyed Mr. Mednick’s attention to detail and his commentary on the inner life of a litigating attorney. Mr. Mednick’s characters are immediately recognizable to practitioners in tort law, although we never get a complete portrait of anyone in the book. At best, they appear as more or less detailed sketches; at worst, as caricatures. The concluding chapters fell short of the bar (no pun intended) the novelist set for himself in the earlier chapters. Whether there exists a readership for An Almost Life beyond the community of lawyers I cannot say. But it is an accomplishment of which Mr. Mednick can be proud.
©Dan Rosandich. All rights reserved.
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
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Video of the Month: The Depo Trail
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To watch more of the funniest law-related videos from all over the web, join us at The Video Venue!
Special Guest Feature: Humour, Laughter and Other Serious Matters
by Marcel Strigberger
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We all know humour is good for us. Yet why are many people reluctant to use their sense of humour? Read on.
Humour is good for your health. It strengthens the immune system and has been described as "internal jogging."
Humour also is a super creativity booster. You laugh and you loosen up, allowing ideas to start flowing.
And let us not forget about how humour creates rapport. As legendary comedian Victor Borge once said, "A smile is the shortest distance between two persons."
And would you believe it's also good for your love lifw? A study noted that 70% of women in the U.S. listed a sense of humour as being the sexiest quality in a man. In Canada, the figure rose to 75%. [ed. note: no wonder so many of the funniest comedians are Canadian: they're more motivated!] Forget about those Extend commercials, guys.
These are only some of the benefits of humour.
And yet people are often wary about humour. Why the inhibitions?
The reason is because we grow up with mixed messages about humour and laughter. On one hand, we hear expressions such as, "we need humour in these times" and "laughter is the best medicine." On the other hand, if someone brings on the giggles, there is always the dull Samaritan who says, "get serious" or "don't be a child."
Did you know that, in fact, that children smile or laugh about 400 times per day? Do you know what the figure is for us mature grown ups? Not 300, not 200, not even 100. It's 15. Maybe we have lost something in growing up.
When they hear the word humour, many people will say something like, "Oh, I can't tell a joke." Often they are proud of this talent of not being able to tell joke. Perhaps in the past they tried once or twice and bombed. Result, hey I better get serious. Humour is for Jerry Seinfeld.
But humour is not about telling jokes. It is about seeing life with different lenses. And the good thing is that we are all blessed with these lenses. Humourist Stephen Leacock said: "Humour is the highest product of our civilization."
Many people think that humour may be bad for business. They fear they will not be taken seriously. Think again: did you know that many Fortune 500 businesses routinely hire consultants to bring some fun into the lives of their company's operations? Herb Kelleher (who, until recently, was the CEO of Southwest Airlines—the fifth largest in the U.S. and the only one to turn a profit for 24 consecutive years), credited a large part of the company's success to his irreverent management style, or "management by fooling around." He says, "We should take our jobs seriously but never ourselves." Kelleher believes that there is a direct relationship between having fun on the job and productivity. He himself sometime would come to work dressed like Elvis or the Easter Bunny. The employees are given a wide mandate to practice what he preaches. This includes flight attendants telling jokes over the loudspeaker and airline staff buying lunch for someone stranded at an airport. The company gets thousands of letters a year praising this philosophy.
And where do we find humour? What causes humour? One thing and one thing only: IMPERFECSHUN. Think about it. If the weather is bad and it bothers you, there is fodder for seeing the lighter side of the situation. If a situation is perfect, that too is humourous. Take the Brady Bunch, please. If we have enough tension or feelings about the situation a spark or electrical charge or whatever you want to call it opens our humour shades.
In short, there is potential for humour virtually everywhere. Just lighten up. At worst, for you guys, at least 75% of the women will think you're sexy.
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Marcel Strigberger is a whimsical humourist trapped inside the body of a litigator. His humour articles have appeared in a variety of general interest, legal and medical publications in Canada, the United States, and internationally.
Marcel also operates (with his son, Daniel) www.LegalHumour.com, which features many kinds of legal humour. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of humour who can provide entertaining talks on a broad range of legal subjects and issues from civility, to mediation, to trials and more.
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Lawtoons
by Suzan Charlton, Esq.
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click here to enlarge (large file; please be patient)
©Suzan Charlton. All rights reserved.
Like this cartoon? Send it to friends, clients or colleagues on greeting cards. To order, visit The Billable Hour Card Store.
Suzan Charlton is a professional cartoonist who is rumored to practice insurance coverage law as a hobby for a major Washington D.C. law firm. Her cartoons cover a wide range of law-related topics, from law school grades to law firm romance.
Song of the Month: Appointed Forever
by The Bar & Grill Singers
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(sample)
Available on Licensed to Grill
Imagine me as God, I do
I think about it day and night
It feels so right
to be a federal district judge
And know that I’m appointed forever
I was anointed by the President
A revelation told that I was Heaven sent
The Senate in their wisdom granted their consent
Appointed forever
I’m a federal judge and I’m smarter than you
For all my life
I can do whatever I want to do
For all my life
Bring to me discovery
No matter what the issue is, I guarantee
Somebody will be sanctioned as the penalty
And there’ll be no error
My decisions cannot be questioned by you
I’m always right
And my wise discretion is never abused
For all my life
Think of me as royalty
When you appear before me fall upon your knees
All-knowing and omnipotent, it’s nice to be
Appointed forever
Even at the very worst
If you decide to take me up to get reversed
You’ll have to get the circuit court to hear you first
And that takes forever
Appointed forever
Employed forever
Appointed forever
Just one of the hilarious songs on
Poeticus Lex: Supremacy
by Fred C. Russcol, Esq.
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"Supreme" is defined, as all of us know,
As the apex, the acme, the very top row,
A thing that, no matter what acts may transpire,
No similar object is ranked any higher.
The courts of New York are idiosyncratic-
The names that they bear may be enigmatic;
The "Supreme Court" is a judicial fiction:
It’s the court of general jurisdiction,
But two higher levels of courts do exist
Whose review unhappy parties enlist
If they believe strongly enough to insist
That there may be points that the "Supreme" Court missed.
Why does this Court bear an imprecise name?
Why does its substance not live up to its claim?
The only suggestion that I can submit:
The founders had a strange kind of wit,
Deriving a sort of perverted delight
From imagining litigants’ bewildered plight
At learning the "Supreme" Court is, in short,
Nothing of the paramount sort.
Although this tribunal cannot match its handle,
To it, other courts cannot hold a candle,
Though not quite "supreme" to linguistic purists,
Its bench is well peopled with eminent jurists
(Critiques of its prominence I shall not utter-
I well know which side of the bread I should butter!)
Fred C. Russcol, Esq. is Of Counsel to Castro & Remer, P.C. in Ossining, New York. This poem was originally printed in the Westchester Bar Journal and is reprinted with the permission of the Westchester County Bar Association.
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