Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

Would you need 25h days to do all that you have to do? Lots of law professionals do. They put in 12, 14 hour days and still they get the feeling it’s not enough. The work keeps piling up. How come?

Just before you answer to that, read this: “Do we need more time? Or do we need to be more disciplined with the time we have?” – Kerry Johnson.

There’s only 24 hours in a day and that’s it. By law, we have 8h work days. We need time to work, time eat, time to sleep, time to be with our families, leisure time … you get the picture, we just need time. How can we juggle the time we have with all the our demands and needs? Three tips:

1. Prioritize
2. Delegate
3. Reserve time for yourself

Prioritize: This probably the hardest one for many of law professionals. Sorting priorities is hell when everything looks like it is due for ten minutes ago. Yet, a calmer look into it will let see that some are more urgent than others. In law practice, deadlines are always a priority for lawyers. Otávio Estaque, a Brazilian lawyer has this saying: “In this country, only lawyers are bound by deadlines”; still deadlines have priorities up until the 11th hour. Otherwise there more urgent priorities.

Try to set tasks into two groups: Strategic and Operative.

Strategic: contacting a client, new project, strategic alliance meeting, staff meeting, etc.

Operative: setting deadlines, calling suppliers and so on.

Strategic tasks always take the lead. But, you might wonder:” What if I miss a staff meeting already scheduled?” Of course you should not fail meeting any tasks set before hand. Nor should you pass any new business opportunities. If you are overloaded by operative tasks try the next step…

Delegate tasks and charges: This is a big burden on lots of managers, for they love to centralize saying they can’t loose control.

Centralizing is not the same as controlling.

One centralizes when you don’t trust anyone or you don´t want anyone else to do operative tasks. By delegating you are free for the strategic. Check if the operative tasks are realized, though. There isn’t much of a future if you centralize data, tasks and responsibilities on yourself.Be a team professional and profit from all the talent you’ve got working at your firm.

Delegate operative tasks. Give responsibility positions, so your firm may thrive on individual talents and not just keeping all to yourself.

Reserve time for yourself: many find this selfish or impossible to achieve given the busy lives they lead.

Take some time off, even if it is just half an hour a day for yourself. Give yourself a treat… and to your family. The firm will appreciate having a much fitter, more lucid and more market driven  employee.

Time for yourself is key. By doing that you are opening to new possibilities, to broaden your net of contacts and to bring new clients in.

To conclude, you only 24 hours in a day. It is up to you how to spend them. Make an intelligent choice, use your time wisely and you’ll gain on productivity and fulfilment. Being realized at your work is not enough. You should feel happy outside your job as well. The secret is inside of you, not outside. Think. Rationalize. Prioritize. Be yourself. This will lead to your professional success and your firm’s.

A tale by Gustavo Rocha (lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br - content in Portuguese only), based upon real events from his clients before hiring services:

Once upon a time there was a lawyer. He read and heard about the changes the legal practice was going through, IT and all, still he thought that his business was going pretty well as it was and so he kept it.

Time went by and his office procedures were the same as always.

Relentless, there came upon his door the technology snags.

At first the lawyer tried to appeal the Supreme Court by writing. No way. Faxing, not allowed. The appeal only could be submitted electronically, which requires a digital certificate. Not knowing at all bout any of this, our lawyer only found about it at 4 PM on the last day for the appeal to be presented…  their was no way he could ever get a digital certificate on time. So, once upon a time there was an appeal deadline…

After this setback, he contacted his Bar Association and got the most needed digital certificate. “That solves it” and back to his office he went. There, he gave it to an intern: “Here you go. Now it is all up to you”, he said, confortably from behind his marble top desk…

While stuck in a traffic jam, another reality struck him: the car he was driving, his hardly earned car, that had cost him many sleepless nights, was now in someone else’s hands. He, of all people, had given his digital certificate and password to an intern, who had just transfered part of the lawyer estate to a sleazeball…

Once upon a time, there was the estate…

The lawyer took legal action against that and got his belongings back. Then, he got himself a new digital certificate and decided that him and him alone would use it…

Still he was not free from arm.

As a law professional, he had overlooked his office management, its procedures systematization on matters and the bussiness itself. That meant that he was tied up by electronic procedures and digital certification… Then he took the decision of hiring the services of consulting agency for updating procedures, implementing IT, legal marketing, etc… they need 12 months for the whole deal, though. “That’s an absurd! 12 months?? I can do it myself in 12 months! Less than that.” Poor devil… 12 months came and went and not much was changed…

Moral of this tale: Once upon a time, there was a lawyer…

Do not allow your business to sink this low. There is a way out if you have will enough, perseverence, love for what you do and hard work, lots of it. If you think you can not do it on your own, look for help from someone who is an expert on that field.

Don’t let yourself be stuck on “once upon a time, there was a lawyer”…

IT and management do really make the difference.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

I’d like to share with you all a situation that I was in recently, not just because it is hilarious, as well as a good example of planning (or the lack of it):

Every time I have to visit a certain client of mine, I park my car in a parking lot near by and there it stays for the entire day, every week.

One of these weeks, after leaving the client, I got to the parking lot at 5.40 PM and found no one there. The reception booth was empty. I clapped (the parking lot is next to its owner’s home), honked a few times, waited for nearly 30 minutes and still nobody showed up. I drove away without paying for the parking.

The following week I arrived at that parking lot around 9 AM and nobody was there, again. Open but no one at the reception booth.

When I got back at 11.30 AM the parking owner was there. After having paid for the previous week worth of parking, I asked him how come no one was there.

His answer: ” You see, the reception worker is away on vacation and since there’s no replacement I myself open and close the parking, though during the day only the security cameras control the cars in and out. Many of those I don’t collect the parking fees ’cause I can’t control it.”

Moral of the story: not planning ahead can change the way a company is viewed overnight (I never had any complaint regarding the parking lot up until then).

How often does this happen in companies? Not planning ahead employees vacations, just ‘fixing things’ along with someone unfit for the job.

It is paramount that companies understand every employee’s function, so that substitutions can be adequate and companies do not loose identity.

A client that quits you service for it being a bad one, won’t be back and will bring along and spread that stain on your company’s image.

Make planning a part of your company’s DNA. Now and always.

Post by Nuno B.M. Lumbrales, lawyer, partner at Lumbrales & Associados and LawRD user:

The use of social networks for marketing and promoting a vast array of economical activities is definitely in and there are some several examples of its good results.

The opposite is also true, though. Many economy players have real doubts on the return of their companies investments in that area (namely the non physical resources, such as time allocated to that task by employees, among others) which, given its nature, are hard to quantify.

Therefore, there is room enough for debating on the efficacy of this sort of marketing, and which are the best procedures to go about it through all different products and economy branches.

There are sectors, like the legal practice, that are bound to restrictions concerning its publicity, either by deontological or professional culture when displaying their image towards the market and society at large, thus making them more reticent and cautious when using these social tools  of promotion.

However, that trend has been slowly changing and, still far from being a universal attitude, a growing number of lawyers and law firms are taken an open and noticeable stance in that area.

Actually, in a business area where personal trust between lawyer and client is paramount, even more so than in any other business activity, there is a natural and reasonable mistrust as to the efficacy of social networks as tools for promoting and marketing services provided by the legal practice.

But there is no turning back on the increasing numbers of law professionals adopting social networks for promoting their businesses, and in the end time will tell who was right, after all.

Post by Nuno B.M. Lumbrales, lawyer, partner at Lumbrales & Associados and LawRD user:

Managing time, the time each of us spend on any given task, to be more precise, is key when managing a company for it stands as an indicator of how much is demanded from that company to meet its tasks (namely what concerns human resources, which is usually seen as fixed or a general cost, rather than a specific one related to a client or project).

By managing time, it is possible to spot waste, logistics inefficiency and other obstacles that may stand in the way of productivity, slowing down its pace thus affecting the company’s results.

Paramount as it is for any company management, it is more so for law firms and lawyers at large, since they often run on a hourly cost/pricing model that is directly dependent on the enhancement of individual performance of the employees for being a successful one, when it comes to results.

Three practical tips on this subject:

• Try to limit interruptions to a minimum, there are always to many (i.e. that email that just came in, is it that urgent to the point of interfering in your present task, or any others that have been on hold for quite some time and so became urgent just because they are overdue?)

• Do not keep up for too long on tasks which have a doubtful return (is it worthy to attend every conference, when you know that the benefit you get from them is barely none? Shouldn’t you go only when that amount of time won’t hurt all the work waiting you at the office?)

• Do not tag everything as ‘URGENT’ (if all is urgent then nothing is, which leads to loss regarding work quality and organization, as well as sorting priorities. Attempt to figure when does the client actually need the work done and then ‘negotiate’ with them the deadline. Most of them realize that they will benefit from a better and more careful work, as long as the established deadline is observed).

Post by Daniel Nunes, muchBeta’s Chief Financial Officer:

A client current-account represents the financial situation before a lawyer or law firm.

That being said it’s all very clear: when I (lawyer) issue a billing sheet to clients they owe me money, therefore I will log that debtor position on the current-account. By the time clients pay billing sheets, they no longer owe me any money, i.e. they now have a creditor position before me (lawyer). Thus, clients payments are always credited on their current-accounts. This is why, whenever a money provision is advanced for fees and expenses, I have to credit the client’s current-account.

Yet, a current-account that just reflects financial movements and responsibilities is not enough. A practical example:

A lawyer starts a new matter for a client and asks for a fee provision of $2,000. The current-account shows a creditor balance of $2,000.

Throughout one week, a lawyer has input 20 hours of work into the client’s matter. If that lawyer charges a $150/hour fee, what is the client financial position then?

For any usual billing software the answer would be: the client is creditor of $2,000. According to that application all is OK regarding this client.

But if that lawyer were a LawRD user, when checking the client’s current-account the information would have be:

LawRD displays two balances:

• A green one shows the amount of $2,000 representing a credit to the client, for the advanced provision.
• A red one with the negative amount of -$1,000.

This red -$1,000 stands for the real financial situation of the client towards the lawyer. By the end of the month LawRD will read the client situation as:

$2,000 (provision) - [20 hours input x $150] = $2,000 - $3,000 = -$1,300

LawRD displays two diverse concepts of current-account:

• The traditional, i.e. one that reflects the issuing of billing sheets and the client payments.
• And another, we call Global Current-Account, which mentions tasks and expenses already logged on the matter, but not yet issued  and billed to the client.

Given the scenario on the example, a lawyer faces two options: either a new provision is requested or all debts are billed to the client so that the balance is altered.

Looking at the first option and that a new provision of $2,500 has been added, the current-account will show a positive balance of $4,500, if only financial flow is considered. A positive balance of $1,500 is shown if the total input of tasks already accomplished but not yet billed is taken into consideration, though:

That $1,500 balance equals about 10 hours worth of work ($1,500 divided by $150) that the lawyer may use for that matter. Once that happens, the client will be in debt before the lawyer, again.

Should the lawyer bill all work to the client, the balance in both accounts will be the same: a negative -$1,000:

LawRD displays as negative and in red all the client’s debtor positions. This is a way to red flag the client’s debtor positions to the matter manager or anyone in charge of the administration.

So, what is the upside of showing two concepts of current-account? Here’s one: the client financial situation to the lawyer or law firm is displayed in real time. Billing never keeps up with the work actually done. By using LawRD, users are informed earlier when the client’s financial position is negative… and real time info is valuable for it allows swifter decisions without having to wait on the administrative time it takes for billing sheets to be issued and only then being able to decide.

LawRD is valuable data for your valuable time.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

For quite a long time word of mouth has been the best way of getting new clients. Nowadays, with the growth of social networks, there is a new form of pointing, interacting and gather new clients.

Is it?

Social networks are an excellent means of adding new contacts and followers for our view points, yet this is just a medium, not the core reason for contracting services.

Recommendation results from good work, best client management, fair pricing and perfect service. These adjectives will make your clients to recommend your practice to others.

Adding to good work, client management, pricing, etc, there’s the need for all that to be advertised, i.e. marketing.

How can that be done? There are lots of ways! Some are ethically legitimate, others are not. Publicity alone doesn’t cut it, though. Marketing must walk along side with credibility. Such credibility is gained by stances that reflect our practice, e.g.labour law, just debating or giving tips about it isn’t enough. One must have
effective actions on this law area and its target demographics.

And how can you act toward this?

Through social networking.

Keep up with the times. The younger generation is talking to one another through social networks. Overlooking that is writing a death sentence to your practice.

So, which is best: recommendation or social networking? Recommendation along with credibility, including on the social networks.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

What is your plan B? Usually we call Plan B to an alternative plan other than the main plan, a back up plan.

What’s your plan A? Searching for alternatives in your market share, rekindling contacts with clients, newer products, and so on, all are part of your present strategy and how you approach the market.

And what’s your plan B? None? No alternative?

Not that we are saying your plan B should be a different businness altogether. Not at all. A plan B may not be used at the present, but may come in useful in the future.

For instance: A firm deals with physical individuals, i.e. consumers in colective suites. This is your plan A. The products range from Brasil Telecom shares to fawlty goods. Great; this firm has got a market, its goals are set and it thrives.

What would be its plan B? Sticking to the same businness core (physical individuals), while broadening the product base (to areas such as labour, social security, family) marketing these new offers and by gathering new clients.

Having a plan B doesn´t mean to give up plan A.

A plan B means that you can get more from your practice.

A plan B means to take a chance on new markets.

A plan B means to be aware of market nuances.

Prepare to glimpse an opportunity in all that you do. Be it a chat with a friend, an hearing or a partnership.

That’s where opportunities are. If they don´t interest you, pass them onto whom they might. Become a business reference rather than a mere lawyer (thus adding value to your profession).

The world of business, more than just a lawyer, demands a professional widely connected to  most walks of life and market, not single minded but with broadened knowledge.

What’s your plan B? Share it with us.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

“The client knows best”, this is an adage not always true and ought not to be interpreted in its stricto sensu.

What is the client’s dream is another issue. Dreaming is good, it is free, but one needs to “keep it real” so the dream can come to be. If a client looks for a wreckless quest, should I play along so I can prove him wrong. What about the lawyer’s ethical code, then? Is a client’s dream any good, if it means to work in the German market, which is known for its demands for price and quality, when he is not up to those standards?

We have to put the clients inner yearns and hopes along side with the facts of reality, possibility and professionalism.

Being a lawyer and consultant and psychologist and entrepreneur, is what Being a Lawyer is all about. The market demands for professionals with business strategies, calculated legal risks included. In this mind frame, to be a lawyer is to be a strategist. Not just a petition clerk, but a real Guru for clients.The one they look for guidance in rough moments, through hard times.

The same goes for lawyers who deal with individuals. Employees in any company. To be aware whether  the company they work for is compliant with the legislation, their rights and duties (not only the rights,
like many love to stress) are all fundamental by the time to decide  whether or not to stay working in the present job.

Clients do not always know best.

Dreams do not always come true.

Recurring to the law is not always the best move.

In any of the above cases, a lawyer who has a strategic overview of the market, who is sensible to human interactions and has a good knowledge of the law, can provide an outcome closer to justice and the truth.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

“Direction is more important than speed “(Roberto Scaringella)

This also recalls for Seneca’s words:“If you don’t know where you are heading to, no wind will favour you”

More and more teams are focused on achieving goals, results and growing, growing and growing. But, to what purpose? A financial one?

Yeah, why feel surprised? Finance is not a purpose. Purposes are tangible plans or dreams yet to be fulfilled. It won’t be speed that will make them happen.

No direction means you don´t know where you are going to.

If you have no direction, any planning will be no help at all.

Use speed only when you know where to go.

Speed up only with a plan.

Speed when you get the big picture.

Setting a fast pace to your team but no direction, will keep a yearn to succeed that is not possible to know if it can be attained.

Reach your goals by planning. Keep the speed within your planning. Just running is for those with no plan.

Exercise planning your goals day by day, whether they are short, medium or long term ones. Update your goals. Write them down.

To conclude, make your planning the speedometer for your practice.