Law And More

Lawyers, Law Students Need Pick Up Lines

Sure there are some lawyers, practicing law or leveraging the JD in another field, who seem to be doing just fine. They include Ted Olson, David Boies, Mark Herrmann, Alex Rich and Joe Patrice.  But, so many others struggle daily to keep centered emotionally and continue to find work. 

The root problem may be simple: lack of social skills. Given that excelling academically was required to acquire a law degree, there was little incentive - or perhaps energy left over - for socialization. The irony is that high emotional intelligence seems correlated with the overall success of brandname lawyers. To apply the platitude: They are a joy to be around. 

Lawyers, as well as law students, can begin their journey to mental well-being and more financial security if they develop pick up lines. Just like those hunting for love, they shouldn't leave home or the office without them.

The essence of an effective pick up line is that the focus is put on the other person. A tax consultant landed my business by asking me, while we were in line at the bank, how I was doing with my taxes. He did not enter my field of attention saying, "Hello, I'm Joe and I do taxes." That pick up line opened the coversation. I have been using his services since.

The best pick up lines immediately reach where the human being is at. If she is walking her dog in winter, you remark on the cute sweater. My dog's appears to be homemade so those who want my attention ask if knitted it. Works all the time. 

Here are don'ts for pick up lines:

Not to mention negatives. No, the professional shelling out thousands during a child custody battle doesn't want to be informed mediation can be the way out. Compliment the children.

No aggressive moves.  Timing is everything. It will be a while before you ask to go to lunch or for a bit of business from them.

Drop the gravitas. Sure they want you to be serious about work. But the great gravitas since the financial crash has become a public nuisance. 

No long form communications. Less is more.

Tom Colicchio - "Top Chef" Sued In Class-Action Labor Dispute (Will This Damage Celebrity Brand)

" ... [Tom Colicchio] celebrity chef and TV personality is being sued for violating federal and state labor laws by allegedly paying workers below minimum wage, docking tips and denying them overtime at his 'witchcraft' sandwich-shop chain." - Rich Calder, "'Top Chef' Tom Colicchio gets skewered in new labor lawsuit," in The New York Post, January 21, 2015. Here is the article. 

Plaintiffs Lourdes Rivera and Emma Rivera contend mean-spirited things - or least they sound that way to us working stiffs. For example, allegedly, the amount of compensation was illegal. The tip jar was tampered with. It was decreed as off-the-clock to change in and out of work uniforms. Employees had to pay the cleaning bill to have the uniforms cleaned and pressed (When I was in loss prevention I too had to pick up the tab.)

But worst of all and it could be the worst charge against the defendants (Colicchio's business partners are also being sued) is the contention by Lourdes that she was video-taped by a co-worker when she was changing in the locker room. She complained. And, she alleged that the brass told her not to inform the police. They then allegedly destroyed the tape. As every lawyer knows that is a very serious crime.

The issue we in communications have is this: Will the suspicion that Colicchio is a "bad boss" hurt his celebrity brand and his chain of 15 witchcraft sandwich shops? There are no definite answer to that. Some brandnames can weather a public relations storm. Some can't. Usually their public relations representatives advise that to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Some contend had Eliot Spitzer just hung in during the escort-worker scandal, he could have remained New York governor. 

Trust: Key Variable In New Business Development, Reducing Client Churn

"There has been a global decline in trust over the last year, and the number of countries with trusted institutions has fallen to an all-time low among the informed public ... [It] is built through integrity, engagement, products and services, purpose and operations." - 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, released January 20, 2015. Here you can read the entire report.

Do the math. The level of trust in two-thirds of the 27 global markets surveyed by Edelman Berland has plummeted to less than 50%. That means that your legal practice has to do a lot more than it might be accustomed to doing in order to be perceived as "trustworthy."

One tactic is to simply slow down the sale. You bet, that goes back to the old-fashioned notion of developing a relationship. That doesn't have to be entirely in person. It could take place partly through highly intuitive social media. The Edelman survey found that online search engines are more trusted than establishment media.

Another tactic is to become engaged in integrity. For example, sponsor a panel discussion (along with some entertainment) on ethics in daily life. 

A third is to ask prospects what they want from you in service, outcomes and price. Then custom-make a contract for those. 

Right now I am doing a series of interviews with real estate brokers in California for a publication. When I ask the "differentiation question," the top brokers all answer it with "they are able to trust me."

"Better Call Saul" - Struggling Criminal Lawyers Might Learn Some Tricks

Saul Goodman was not always the extremely self-assured, successful criminal lawyer who mesmerized us on "Breaking Bad."

As we learn in the premier of "Better Call Saul" on Sunday Feb 8, at 10 P.M. on AMC, this lawyer was once not doing so hot. He even had a different name: Jimmy McGill. That was back in 2002.

By time we caught up with him on "Breaking Bad," this fast-learner picked up what he needed to know. From that journey of transformation struggling criminal lawyers might learn some useful tricks.

After all, success is something we put together. No, it's not all about the mystical law of attraction. However, sending the right energy out there is important. The primary components of success are DIY. From observing others, using insight about your failures, A/B testing and old-fashioned persistence we invent our unique brand of success. 

The American Bar Association should invite Saul Goodman, along with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, to co-chair a panel on making it in professional services. 

Cheyenne Phillips: Her Future Could Be Bright

In the Bonnie and Clyde saga, it's the Bonnie - Cheyenne Phillips - who captures our attention.

In fact, Phillips could attract a good lawyer to settle her legal mess. Given the high profile of the petty-ante crime spree, lawyers might be willing to defend Phillips pro bono or for a very affordable fee. Once that's resolved, her future could be bright.

To begin with she has presence, including physical beauty.

Secondly, although 13, she navigated the world as if she were 19 and people bought into that.

Third, she is an unusual risk-taker. That's a value we admire. That is particularly the situation as the world can't be trusted to stay the same for more than a nanosecond.

Fourth, to the huddled masses yearning to be free, she's a role model of what they could morph into, if they are willing to take the consequences.

Among those chasing her with offers could be marketers of naughty products and services; start-ups which can use her focus and drive; cosmetics companies; modeling agencies; film-makers; book publishers; media outlets which would pay for the story; elite boarding schools which want her as a student to pass on survival skills to the pampered privileged; and therapy centers which could use a made-for-media success story. 

What could derail Phillips' promising career journey is if she is truly a self-destruct. We know them. They are no complex non-conformist like Steve Jobs. Instead they have the genius to screw up everything, right down to a one-car funeral. I hope Phillips can hold it together and not be overtaken by her dark side. She created this big break for herself and should take full advantage of it. 

 

Legal-Services Marketing - You Need Sharing-Economy Model

"Marketing campaigns performed by curated teams of experts who possess the necessary skills as well as genuine interest in a particular industry, promise to be more effective." - Anji Ismail, "How The Sharing Economy Will Impact Marketing," in TechCrunch, December 17, 2015. Here is the article.

The combination of the 2007 Market Crash in law and the introduction of digital marketing has created a lot of lawyers who have "been burned." The marketer, marketing firm, in-house expert, public relations agency or ghostwriter they contracted with or hired didn't develop new business.  

The next time around results were usually not any better. 

The reality is that the continual shifts in the marketplace and of the tools used to market require pooled expertise. That can be configured through sharing-economy models. On-demand team members would pop in and out providing information, insight, services and the metrics to track outcomes. 

Those kinds of teams can be put together on existing talent-recruiting platforms such as Elance and Outsource. Or, given the potential in this, new ones can be launched. 

Legal services need a lot more than the traditional marketing type of assistance. 

Job On Wall Street: Displaced Lawyers, That Wouldn't Have Been Safe Harbour

"In a wild swing of the ax that has shocked many pundits, Wall Street's biggest banks have slashed nearly 50,000 jobs, and bonuses and expense money are being cut as profit opportunities dry up." - John Aidan Byrne, "50,000 Wall Street jobs cut," in New York Post, January 17, 2015. Here is the article.

Clearly, it is time for displaced lawyers to drop the "if-onlys." At the top of that list had been if they had gotten the MBA route, gone to Wall Street, made their money, and then tried to hold on in that world as long as possible. In that fantasy, the worst-case scenario would have been being forced out and having to retire to the good life at age 50. 

Also on the if-onlys list had been graduating from medical school, specializing in a high-paying niche like neurology, then enjoying a predictable prestigious career path.

Then there were the few who did imaginary time travel that if-only they had become a hands-on part of the tech world. Any part. 

Well, there are no longer any safe harbours. So, there is no emotional pay-off in lamenting what could have been. Even those who have gotten into Wall Street might not have lasted long enough to build significant wealth. And once ejected, it's unusually difficult to get back in. Manhattan is full of former Wall Street types who are driving cabs or waiting tables. 

The shrewd strategy is to leverage the hand you are holding. Displaced lawyers have skills in compliance, ethics management, writing, research, analysis, project supervision, and, at the very least, proofreading. Given the Q3 2014 GDP growth of 5%, there are many ways to play that hand. 

"Boston Taxi Owners Association V. City Of Boston" - Will Uber Die From A Thousand Lawsuit/Regulatory Cuts?

Yet another legal challenge to how ride-sharing company Uber does business. In "Boston Taxi Owners Association v. City of Boston," taxi owners in Boston contend the city will be authorizing two very different sets of rules for the taxi business, if the new regulations are allowed. 

As things stand, the city requires taxi drivers to purchase expensive licenses and comply with a rigid laundry list of rules. If the new regulations are approved, Uber would be exempt from much of all that. Obviously, the dynamics of competition are changed since Uber does not have to bear that expensive regulatory burden. Here is the coverage in Bloomberg. 

Across the U.S. and the globe the established taxi businesses are taking on Uber in lawsuits, regulations and through the media. Regarding the latter, posts on this blog and on Twitter referring to Uber receive heavy traffic and comments. Thought leader Peter Thiel observed that Uber is "ethically challenged."

However, the company has over $40 billion in capitalization. Can that keep it from dying from thousands of litigation and regulatory cuts? 

"Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi" - It Really Did Get To Trial (Why?)

There are so many puzzling issues embedded in "Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi."

As so many know, that is the lawsuit filed by former associate Alexandra Marchuk contending sexual harassment in a hostile workplace. The defendant is partner and rainmaker Juan Monteverde. 

Surprisingly, this made it to trial. In most situations like this the law firm would have settled with a gag order. That would have lowered the reputation risk.

So, we ask, why was there no quiet agreement forged? Today, jury selection commenced and the trial is supposed to last about two weeks. The plaintiff's lawyer Harry Lipman has been allowed by Southern District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to introduce evidence of a hostile workplace via the situations of two other former female attorneys. But he has been cautioned to do that carefully.

Another issue is what the heck really went on. Was Monteverde insulated by his rainmaker status and not censured by the firm for alleged sexual misconduct. Or did Marchuk have an obsession with this partner and allegedly imagined he was interested in her?

The third issue is what will happen to Marchuk's career, post-verdict. Even if she wins, she can lose in ever being able to work again in the legal sector, at least at a good job. It is rare - Aaron Charney being one exception - that lawyers who sue their employers (law firm or corporate) got another shot at status legal work. 

Here is the coverage by David Lat at Abovethelaw.com.

Reputation Matters, A Lot - Brandname Lawyer Mark Herrmann #1 Ambassador For Public Relations

In all three work settings, lawyer Mark Herrmann, who eventually became a brandname, immediately established a reputation for excellent performance.

That created the aura of trust surrounding everything he did. His mistakes were forgiven. And that is the takeaway for every player in professional services, where trust is the tipping point in getting the new business in a buyer's market. 

Did Herrmann understand the importance of reputation-development intuitively? Or, along the way, had he been mentored? Whatever. The source of this key lesson in the professional-services playbook is irrelevant. What counts is managing this reputation risk brilliantly. Today, on Abovethelaw.com, Herrmann details how seamless execution of the reputation strategy was part of the platform for his successful career.

And, accidentally or not so accidentally this lawyer becomes the #1 ambassador for the public relations industry. He, of course, has plenty of company. Recently, Andrea Bonime-Blanc published a handbook for corporate executives and boards on identifying and managing this risk. It's now considered up there with all other kinds of business ones, ranging from the threat of new technology to currency fluctuation. 

So, how can you in professional services, be it law or management consulting, put together the kind of reputation which transmits trust? Here are 5 tips.

Do due diligence on the setting. Each is different, including in the organizational culture. Analyze what is evaluated as most important. In Silicon Valley it could be innovation. In an old-line consumer products company it could be comprehensive documentation, even in informal communications. Next, give that your all. But do not expect recognition. That's a sign of insecurity.

Focus on service, not yourself. Selflessness wins the day, as well as the plum assignment, new business, and promotion. Narcissism sends a red flag that your ambition is something others have to be wary of. 

Be there. This has myriad versions, depending on the organizational culture and what clients want. It could be face time, the willingness to interrupt a vacation to parachute into a crisis, and/or listening to client sort out problems with a troubled child.

Have personal integrity. This comes down to how you treat people. Those may be the deli clerk deliving coffee or the partner you are tempted to flatter for favors but don't. Staying on the right side of ethics and the law reduces complexity. You will also not wind up in jail. 

Keep doing your very best. The only way your mistakes will continue to be forgiven in this unforgiving marketplace is to maintain excellent performance. Coasting or settling in is no longer a career option. 

If organizations, not only individual players, follow these guidelines they would significantly reduce their reputation risk. Restoring the reputation can cost more per hour than legal counsel. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, adopting the ethos of the Boy Scouts (Girl Scouts) is good policy.