Keep Up the Momentum During the Holiday Season

Thanksgiving has come and gone and between now and the end of the year, hiring will slow down at most companies. If you are in the unenviable position of job hunting right now, or even if you are gainfully employed but trying to build your law practice, this can be a tough time of year. The reality is that little is likely to happen before we turn the last page on 2009.

The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to occupy yourself in productive activities during this season. There are plenty of holiday parties to go around and it is also a good time of year to check in on your network just to say hi.

It's all too easy to succumb to negative thinking during these dead weeks. But resist the temptation. Use the time to set up informational interviews, even if the meetings aren't going to happen before January. Queue up your appointments so you can hit the ground running when the holiday season comes to an end. You'll have more momentum as the new year starts and you won't feel like you wasted an entire month waiting for opportunity to reappear.

Off the Beaten Track at a Trade Show

LegalTech New York is history. As I have already indicated, the show was a nice antidote to our economic malaise. It was a reminder for me that getting out of the office to learn something new is a good way to recharge. It was also fun to talk with professionals who are trying to figure out ways that legal services can be delivered faster, better and cheaper.

I'm still following up with the contacts I made and I am still processing the mountain of information that was presented to me. I am also trying to meet my commitment to blog about some of the sessions I attended. So here goes:

Most of the conference seemed to focus on using technology to manage large amounts of corporate data and to streamline discovery. I attended one session on data privacy issues that was eye opening (many EU countries are much stricter about keeping personal data secure). There was also a lot of buzz about the social networking site Twitter. In addition, I attended a number of very good sessions on how lawyers and law firms can use social networking more effectively (i.e. use tools like blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. more effectively.)

But the best session I attended at the conference was a workshop on Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) sponsored by the ClutchGroup. The panel featured two representatives from the ClutchGroup, two law firm attorneys who have used outside vendors to manage large document projects, corporate counsel from a large public company and a former GC who has a lot of experience in reigning in legal expenses.

For the most part, LPO was really a peripheral topic at the conference. LPO relies heavily on technology and there will continue to be technological developments that improve the effectiveness of LPO. But LPO itself is not technology.

Nonetheless, I'm glad I stumbled on the session because in many ways, LPO itself offers a more radical departure from the traditional practice of law than many of the solutions offered by technology vendors who were at the show.

My take away from this panel was that LPO is not going to replace domestic lawyering any time soon; rather it simply provides lawyers with a way to further leverage their time with a large supply of cheap well educated labor. But in order for it to work well, it is critical that LPO vendors provide outstanding project managers to serve as the link between the lawyers in the U.S. and the lawyers in India.

It was also interesting to hear what Lynee Gore of the ClutchGroup had to say about LPO jobs in India. According to Gore, because only a small percentage of Indian law school graduates have the opportunity to work in a private law firm, LPO jobs are considered very desirable. This is in sharp contrast to the way many American law school graduates feel about doing work as a contract lawyer.

Belated Thoughts on LegalTech New York

I attended LegalTech in New York this past week and despite my best intentions, I am now just getting around to posting about the show (other than posting my interview with IncisiveMedia).

I was invited by Law.com to attend as a blogger who is part of the law.com network. (By the way, I thought this was a very smart move by IncisiveMedia, the show's sponsor. Inviting bloggers insured that LegalTech would be discussed in the blogosphere.) While I had every intention of "live blogging" about some of the sessions I attended, unfortunately, technology was not cooperating and I never got a Wifi connection (how ironic!)

Technology is not really my thing professionally although I am always looking for technology solutions for my own business and for my clients. Nonetheless, I attended the show feeling like it would give me a mood boost; and it did so in spades. It was very stimulating to be at a trade show where many people are excited to talk about their companies. This was particularly true this year because of the economic downturn. It was a nice refuge from the recruiting world where most of our clients are doing more layoffs than hires.

The exhibit halls had hundreds of vendors who represented a broad cross section of technology solutions for law firms. In reality, though, over 90% of the show seemed to focus on electronic discovery and document management. This leads me to my first observation which is: it is very hard to stand apart from the pack when there are many vendors just like you. I actually spent more time talking to vendors who are not involved in EDD. Could some of the EDD vendors done a better job of standing out? Maybe. But maybe attending this show is just defensive marketing for document management companies.

There were also a lot of sessions on issues surrounding electronic discovery. I attended an interesting session on data privacy which highlighted for me that anyone dealing with business records in EU countries needs to beware of a host of privacy laws which seem to directly conflict with common business practices.

There were numerous networking opportunities and I really enjoyed the serendipity of it all (I did not attend with a particular agenda--only a desire to recharge and maybe make some new business contacts.)

My favorite part of the show, however, were two sessions I attended on legal process outsourcing. These sessions were somewhat peripheral to the main themes of the show but to me, they were the most interesting because they called into question the fundamental way that law practice is going to change in the next decade. I'll summarize what I learned in my next post.

Becoming an Instant Expert

I just returned from the LegalTech show in New York where I was invited by Incisive Media to attend as a blogger. I have a lot to share about the show (not necessarily about technology), but that will have to wait a day or so as I catch up. In the meantime, here is me branding myself as an expert on Legal Process Outsourcing! And all I did was attend a couple of workshops on the subject. More to follow in the coming days.

LinkedIn Mistakes

I'm still keeping an open mind about LinkedIn. I continue to accept invitations from people who contact me (including many complete strangers); but I'm not really crazy about the user interface. LinkedIn certainly has a lot of potential and I've already used it to connect with professionals I would never have met (e.g. an executive search firm that contacted me wanting to do business together and even an outsourcing professional in India who seems to know a lot about legal process outsourcing.)

Here are a few things to avoid when using LinkedIn. I'm not sure all of them would have made my top 10 list, but they are all worth mentioning. Not on the list is the caveat that you should be selective about accepting invititations to connect.

Great Networking Opportunities This Fall

There are 60 days left in what promises to be a very exciting (and probably a very close) presidential race. Unless you live in a state where your candidate is expected to win by a landslide, the Democrats or Republicans need you more than ever.

Working on a political campaign can be a lot of fun; but it is also a good way to increase your network of contacts. And if you are a lawyer who is beginning to think about how you might generate your own clients in the future, this is a great time to jump into the fray.

Don't worry about selling yourself as a lawyer. The point is to get out and meet other professionals, business owners and future leaders who may some day need legal services. Right now, you are simply volunteering your time and energy to do a range of administrative things that will help get out the vote for your candidate.

A political campaign is a very natural way to make strong connections with other individuals. Your starting point is that you are both passionate about the same thing (presumably your candidate--if you are not, then perhaps this is not the best way to spend your free time.) Both campaigns desperately need you to make phone calls, organize events and countless other activities. As a lawyer, you will be valued for your organizational skills. But the time is NOW. If you wait much longer, the game will be over and you will have missed out on one of the most interesting presidential races in your lifetime.