Law Firm Management

For a legal CIO, one of the key responsibilities is to establish that the organization has the right technology in place to support its operations and achieve its business goals. This can be challenging, as there are many factors to consider when choosing new technology for your organization. One bad decision can have a material impact on not only the bottom line, but on the ability of your firm to compete in an ever-changing legal market.

Good team leaders create an environment in which attorneys and staff work hard, are loyal, and add to profitability. Setting expectations and goals is an essential step in becoming an effective team leader. Make a commitment this year to up your management skills with these two key techniques.

The problem with giving feedback is that it often comes across as criticism. Human beings tend to react defensively, resulting in a denial of the feedback or worse, entrenchment in the behavior or attitude that may be derailing them in the first place. How can we give feedback in a way that minimizes defensiveness?

Why do some people sail through the entire budgeting, billing and collection process, while for others collection always means trepidation?

This is a time of innovation, and one way law firms can prepare for a future we can't yet see is through leveraging two key levers: the need for empathy and iteration.

Firm leadership must think about their talent (and that means all their talent) differently than they do today: as a core business asset whose managed value can make or break the firm's success.

It is not accidental that funding the creation or growth of law firms and practice groups has tended to follow a traditional path. Rather, this circumstance is a combination of traditional legal temperament and structural barriers to innovation. Recently, there have been changes to both.

Office drama can be a big problem for law firms. Whether it is showing up as office gossip, the partner who is terrible to their associates and staff, two people who just cannot seem to get along, or a revolving door of lawyers or staff, drama can be distracting, hamper productivity, and reduce billable hours.