It’s not what you use; it’s the way that you use it?
If you speak to any General Counsel working in-house today or any senior partner in a law firm, two recurring themes will emerge that concern them greatly: ? The performance bar is raised year on year. More and more is expected and there is an increasing burden of tasks and activities to manage where the… More
Life, the universe and your lawyer
In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, one theory is now famously established; it is that the answer to “Life the Universe and Everything” is 42. This, as I am sure you have often deliberated, poses some very interesting issues for the legal profession. Let me explain. It is probably common ground (although I can… More
Leaping Forward
“I’ve got a great idea” said the bright young thing. “It’s brilliant in its simplicity, clever in its concept and cannot fail to succeed”. Then the idea died; stopped dead in its tracks, killed by the quiet assassin. It Didn’t stand a chance. Who killed it? We all did. We who fail to plan how… More
Gone Shopping
The Chinese have an old saying, “One cannot stand still in a moving river”. And not only is change a fact of life for us all, it is also the case that the pace of change seems to quicken year on year. The question I want to pose is whether the way in-house lawyers are… More
I have a dream?
“I’m sorry, did you say it was an elephant?” “No, I said it was irrelevant” …I really do hesitate to write this piece… just how many times can someone write about a subject practically no-one (it appears) cares two hoots about and still want to say some more? Ask most people about the Law Society… More
Resolve to Evolve
With their antiquated business practices and lack of customer service, are law firms in danger of being left behind? Paul Gilbert says that it’s definitely time for a revolution. People who call for revolution are often in the minority and easily dismissed by the majority who are comfortable with the status quo, but when the… More
Untitled
Your career as a solicitor might last thirty-five, even forty years. That is an awfully long time and must seem a daunting prospect when standing at the start line wondering what on earth might lie ahead in the next few months let alone the next few years. Where the adventure begins Some students will be… More
A timebomb waiting to explode
Last month the Legal Director Benchmarker survey revealed clients’ growing concern over the levels of fees charged by law firms. It is time, writes Paul Gilbert, for in-house lawyers to get a better deal for their business. Client concern over law firm fees is deep-rooted and heartfelt. We are at the beginning of what must… More
It’s the thought that counts
As a small boy, one phrase that was indelibly impressed on to my consciousness at this post Christmas time of year was “It is the thought that counts”. It was because a very old friend of my mother would insist on sending to me year after year what seemed to me to be the most… More
Why lawyers rubbish in bed… probably
Your attention momentarily grabbed by this perhaps alarming headline, I’must first make clear (particularly to Lisa my partner) that I have not slept with any lawyers when researching this article. My findings are, at best, entirely circumstantial, certainly with regard to whether they should be taken as potential proof for the main thrust (so to… More