Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog

Overcoming Procrastination

Jim Calloway — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:57:34 PDT

Irwin Karp gave a very well-received presentation to our Oklahoma Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference on Overcoming Procrastination [How to Break the Habit.] He has graciously allowed us to publish a generous portion of his materials online. These include resources, information on procrastination "styles" and causes, some great quotes and a fill-in-the blank personal action plan. Download this paper and pass the permalinklink to this post along to your friends.

Someone once asked me why lawyers are often procrastinators. Being a lawyer, I didn't concede the point. But I did note that in traditional law school education, your grades are based on one single exam that you take at the very end of the semester.

Surviving Today's Economy: Utah Edition

Jim Calloway — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:04:29 PDT

I'm heading off to Salt Lake City for tomorrow's program Economic Stimulus Package for Lawyers: Surviving Today’s Economy. The Utah bar staff are always such good hosts, so it will be a fun time. But doing a day-long program (almost) by oneself creates an extra sense of responsibility. Lincoln Mead will join me for the 60 Tips portion. Lincoln is a good friend and was with me on the 60 Sites panel for ABA TECHSHOW. Speaking of ABA TECHSHOW, thanks again to Laura Calloway and the TECHSHOW board for getting Richard Susskind to speak. His speech really informed my thougts on this topic. You can still listen to his speech on the TECHSHOW website. I may listen to it again in the hotel tonight.

New ABA Book: Effectively Staffing Your Law Firm

Jim Calloway — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:43:12 PDT

"Effectively Staffing Your Law Firm" was just released by the ABA General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division. It addresses an important area of law firm management from the smaller firm perspective. I made a modest contribution to the book with a chapter on "Care and Feeding of the Law Office Staff." You can see the table of contents and read the first chapter here.

"In only ten television seasons, Murphy Brown went through some ninety-three secretaries. L.A. Law's McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak had Benny Stulwitz, the mentally challenged office worker. Real-life California lawyer Edward L. Masry had Erin Brockovich. And, of course, Perry Mason had Della Street. So, who's helping you get the work done?

"Every lawyer in a solo or small firm likes to think that only those who've taken the oath and been admitted to the bar are at the helm, but the reality is that the engine driving the office is the staff." --- jennifer j. rose, Editor, *Effectively Staffing Your Law Firm*

The Value Of Twitter Is In “The Power Of Passed Links”

Jim Calloway — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:56:59 PDT

That's what Fred Wilson says and I agree. I think it is becoming clear now that there are many ways to use Twitter and many reasons to use Twitter. But to me the best thing about Twitter is the fact that it provides me with a large group of friends, professional acquaintances, some total strangers and some technology superstars who all voluntarily serve as a clipping service for me with links to news articles, blog posts, product launches and more. They also toss in their "special" content, too. New York Times tech columnist David Pogue gets wound up with some pretty funny stuff at night as he assembles his book based on readers' Tweets. Check him out here and see what I mean. (Twitter registration not required.)

Heading off to Oklahoma Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference

Jim Calloway — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:46:00 PDT

Lawyers from all across Oklahoma are heading out to the Oklahoma Bar's Solo and Small Firm Conference today. It is a great event with lots of fun and great CLE presentations. If you are not able to attend, you can read about the details here and see the complete list of programs (PDF) here. If you aren't from Oklahoma and don't have a solo and small firm conference in your state, you can use these links to start lobbying for one. We are happy to be hosting three "world class" CLE presenters in Irwin Karp, Ross Kodner and Nerino Petro. A good time will be had by all and our attendees will go home with some great information to put to use immediately. I hope my friends in Missouri enjoy their Solo and Small Firm Conference as well since it is being held at the same time.

GPSOLO Mag "Small" Issue is Big Hit

Jim Calloway — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:46:07 PDT

I meant to mention this earlier. The GPSolo Magazine for April/May 2009 has a theme of "small" and a lot of great material worth reading. From small marketing ideas to small town practice to representing small business, this issue certainly delivers. I deem it a big hit. Of particular note are two features: How the Little Stuff Can Get You in Big Trouble by Paula J. Frederick, deputy general counsel for the State Bar of Georgia, and Shake Big Savings from Small Practice Management Ideas by my friend and colleague, Reid Trautz of the Association of Immigration Lawyers of America. The Frederick article should be required reading in law school ethics classes as an entertaining, real world example of the slippery slopes a lawyer can encounter by not paying attention to details.

Is Twitter a Good Marketing Tool for Lawyers?

Jim Calloway — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:29:55 PDT

Marketing guru Larry Bodine said Twitter was not a good marketing tool for lawyers and the Twitterverse reacted strongly against those comments. Lawyers USA interviewed me and some others about the controversy and did this post on it. While I tend to agree with Larry, I wouldn't have used his exact language. Twitter is a lot of fun and someone who really enjoys using it can probably generate some clients over the long haul. I just think if you measure time invested vs. likely results there are more efficient marketing tools. So if you enjoy Twitter, have at it.

The Nutmeg Lawyer did a lengthy post on Schmoozing as a marketing tool and quoted me in it as well. The Schmooze was a great marketing tool long before there was an Internet.

I'm going to be talking about legal marketing to the Association of Immigration Lawyers of America at their Annual Conference in Las Vegas on Friday and I intend to mention both Twitter and Schmoozing as well as other ideas.

Your "Out of Office" Voice Mail Message

Jim Calloway — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:03:32 PDT

OK, after watching someone get an extra complication in their life by not knowing this, I decided to pass along this tip that many lawyers know-- just in time for summer. If you are out of the office, your voice message should say when you will return. It should not say when you left.

Correct:: "I am out out of the office and will return June 15th." Incorrect: "I will be out of the office from June 3rd through June 15th." It is unneeded information that could lead to incorrect assumptions.

If a client calls on June 13th, they understand you will be back in a couple of days. You don't need to alarm a nervous client who may think, "Oh, no, nothing has been done on my matter for more than a week." You don't need a client who is working double shifts and hasn't had a vacation in five years assuming you have been relaxing on a beach in Tahiti when you've been sitting through endless depositions in Detroit. And the shorter message is easier to understand with less chance of mixing up dates.

This post is not intended to address advance notice to clients when you anticipate an extended absense or similar issues. It just addresses what your voice message should say.

"Maybe He's Just Not That Into You. When the Prosecutor Doesn't Like You"

Jim Calloway — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:55:19 PDT

Ever have a prosecutor or court staff person who seemed to be rude and unreasonable to you? Well, here's an article that may contain some insight for some of you. I saw this so frequently at the courthouses when I practiced. So I strongly suggest you read Maybe He's Just Not That Into You. When the Prosecutor Doesn't Like You. Maybe after you can e-mail this to a lawyer who really needs to read it. (I'll note it wasn't my intention to link to the the Nutmeg Lawyer blog two weeks in a row, but this article addresses a huge issue for too many lawyers.)

Matt Homann's E-book: Thinking About Law Practice in 140 Characters or Less

Jim Calloway — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:36:57 PDT

Bob Ambrogi once called Matt Homann the "Confucius of the legal profession."

I've known Matt for several years, so long ago that it was back when his blog, the [non]billable hour, used to discuss alternative billing. I congratulated Bob on that characterization because Matt does provide a lot of information in a form that would fit perfectly if you read it after cracking open Fortune Cookie [Lawyer's Edition.]

So it is no surprise to learn that Matt loves Twitter with its 140 character limit. Yes, Matt tweets -- a lot. But for those of you who don't follow Matt on Twitter, (Matt would want me to add -- yet!) he has summarized his 100 favorite tweets about law practice into a free e-book: Thinking About Law Practice in 140 Characters or Less. Some are fun. Many are insightful. But you cannot read all 100 without thinking seriously about your law practice client service model. One Sample: "Firing bad clients doesn’t put them out of their misery, but it puts them out of yours."

Enjoy!

Site of the Week: Nutmeg Lawyer

Jim Calloway — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:37:24 PDT

The Nutmeg Lawyer blog apparently just began in 2009. Some would say there are already plenty of lawyer blogs. But Adrian M. Baron, its author, can really write. His posts are entertaining, which is in many ways the most important aspect of blog posts. He can make you laugh. See the introduction to 8 Tips on Becoming a Reputable Attorney, which also includes some good advice. His writing can be sobering. See the piece on Victim Impact Panels.

The Nutmeg Lawyer is this week's Website of the Week.

Walk around in your own wireless cloud

Jim Calloway — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:41:33 PDT

This about-to-be released MiFi card really looks cool. You can carry your own wireless cloud with you and share it with up to four other users. There are lots of very interesting possibilities, including, as one poster noted, saving a lot of money if you exhibit at trade shows where they charge through the nose for Internet access.

Here's David Pogue's review.

Here's his CNBC interview.

Release date is May 17, 2009.

ABA TECHSHOW 60 Sites in 60 Minutes Posted

Jim Calloway — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:14:36 PDT

The last presentation of ABA TECHSHOW 2009 was 60 Sites in 60 Minutes, a program that is likely the longest running tradition of ABA TECHSHOW. I was honored to be asked to do that presentation with Lincoln Mead, Laura Calloway and Barron Henley. The list of and links to the 60 sites have now been posted. There are many useful sites there as well as a few fun ones. Laura ended the presentation (and the show) with the shadow images on NervousRat.com. It was a great way to end a conference and would be a great way for you to end your day. (My apologies in advance if it gets changed to something inappropriate for the office.)

Pandemic Preparations for the Workplace

Jim Calloway — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:14:11 PDT

The Colorado Bar Association recently made available a timely resource that I think anyone who has employees should seriously consider downloading, reading and saving for future reference. Pandemic Preparations for the Workplace was authored by Donald W. Benson and Katherine S. Dix. It is a nice treatment of several issues, including some that you might not have thought about. Even if things settle down for the moment, as I noted, you probably should save this article for future reference.