Open Source Law?
There is a phenomenon in the world of systems development and software that might just have the most enormous impact on the future of legal services. As we all know lots of software is proprietary, but much more is known as open source code. Microsoft has been the arch proponent of the proprietary model, jealously… More
Is there a silver lining in every cloud…?
The last few months have been awful… Whatever your political leaning, whatever your own perspective on how things should have been and how they should be, we are all clearly experiencing the global economy having a major tantrum; toys thrown out of the pram with gusto. Banks are tumbling, resembling castles made from cards rather… More
A “crunch” … The collective noun for a group of failed bankers
At the time of writing this article I am pleased to confirm that the world has not ended. It is an important point to make; I would not want to waste my time if it had ended. I will also be an optimist and assume, for now, that the world will not have ended by… More
Lessons to Learn
Some very notable minds down the ages have suggested that “the only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history”…At this time particularly this seems a rather unhelpful thought on which to dwell; even if we do not learn from history it is surely tempting nonetheless to wonder how the… More
Does size matter so much?
There is much talk around the world of consolidation in legal services; the globalisation strategies of some high profile law firms is mimicked by firms in individual countries and across regions seeking to grow through their own merger strategies. But while there is an obvious argument that supports larger full-service law firms with a significant… More
Change and Leadership – the essential start-up kit
“Change” is more than a business school process. We must shape the discussion, influence, challenge, adhere to values and inspire. Walk around any bookstore and sooner or later you will come across literally hundreds of books on leadership, on change, on transformation, on process improvement, on personal improvement, on team development… Shelf after shelf after… More
Networking – Give more, seek less
We ran a networking event recently in a regional centre far, far away from the capital city…we thought lawyers would be pleased to have an opportunity to meet friends and contacts and not have to travel into London to do so. Four lawyers showed up, not so much networking, more like a blind date without… More
Whatever you do, please don’t exceed my expectations!
Have you ever filled in a customer satisfaction survey? The ones where you tick the box that best describes the service or value received. They come with a promise that it “helps us to improve our performance”. Although I suspect it only really helps to give the illusion that the cold-hearted, anonymous corporate edifice actually… More
In less than one hundred words
I received an innocuous little message the other day… “Can you please tell us what you do in less than one hundred words?” It was for a law firm’s newsletter and I was getting some advance billing for a series of workshops that would be running in a few weeks time… “Easy” I thought, but… More
Changing the Way We Change
No New Year is complete without a thought to introducing some change into our lives… it might be personal (I will try to lose the weight I lost once before the weight I have just put on) or professional (I will prepare properly for all team meetings and not treat them as an inconvenience to… More