The Mindsets of Effective General Counsel

June 19th, 2013 → 9:24 am @ Ari Kaplan

My colleague, Mike Maslanka, an employment law partner and head of the Dallas office for Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP, recently published a great article in the Texas Lawyer called: Seven Mindsets of Effective General Counsel. In it, he highlights that “How lawyers think determines how we act. So, to be truly effective, the wise general counsel does not seek answers but rather seeks useful mindsets.”

Those mindsets include:

1. All news is good news (“Because then you know where you stand.”)
2. Pick the hill you want to die on (“Make a stand where it matters, not on a useless cul-de-sac.”)
3. ABR: Always be re-framing (“Lawyers can’t change the facts, but we can change the story.”)
4. Fight the fight, not the plan. (“Never get stuck on the original plan, and always deal with what is occurring now, in real time.”)
5. A GC is not a conscience for hire (“A general counsel is not a mouthpiece but a voice of reason.”)
6. Generate options, lots of them (“General counsel can’t direct C-level executives to take actions. They only can guide them by producing options.”
7. Ask: “Am I adding value?” (“Adding value is not a ‘No, you can’t do XYZ.’ It’s not even a ‘Yes, but’ mindset. It’s one of ‘Yes, and.’”)

Ultimately, Maslanka, the creator of the Mike Maslanka @ Your Desk YouTube video series for the Texas Bar (which you can watch here), concludes: “Mindsets progress from aspiration to belief to action. Develop yours, and enjoy the journey.”

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &general counsel &getting published &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &in-house counsel &labor and employment &law firm &law-related &lawyers &legal &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal practice &litigation &mike maslanka &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &texas lawyer

Rewarding InnovAction in a Transformative Era

May 31st, 2013 → 9:41 am @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Tim Corcoran, the principal of Corcoran Consulting Group, which is focused on helping law firms, law departments and legal service providers profit in a time of great change. He is the author of Corcoran’s Law Biz blog and is the president-elect of the international board of directors of the Legal Marketing Association.

As chairman of the 2013 InnovAction Awards, which recognize the innovative efforts of members of the legal community through the College of Law Practice Management, we discussed the background of the accolade and criteria for selection, among other topics.

Corcoran noted that “the definition of innovation is changing,” and as a result he expects to see a variety of entries this year.  He highlighted certain changes to this year’s evaluation process, cited the qualities of past winners, and offered helpful advice for prospective nominees.

Listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &ari kaplan ari kaplan advisors &Blog &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &innovation &law firm &law practice management &law-related &lawyers &legal &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal management &legal practice &legal project management &Legal Technology &managing partners &reinventing professional services &Reinvention

A Catalyst for Reinventing the Cloud

May 21st, 2013 → 9:05 am @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Larry Barela, the Chief Technology Officer for Catalyst Repository Systems, the developer of Insight, a cloud-based e-discovery platform.

We discussed how Insight differs from other available tools, including the advantages of a single dynamic XML back-end, the benefits of cloud-based software, addressing security concerns, and his predictions for the continued operation of e-discovery functions in the cloud.

Listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &cloud &cloud computing &document review &e-discovery &e-mail &electronic discovery &general counsel &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &in-house counsel &law firm &law practice management &lawyers &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal practice &leveraging technology &metrics &predictive coding &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &technology assisted review

The Evolution of Information Governance

May 16th, 2013 → 9:38 am @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Garth Landers, the Director of Product Marketing at EMC, a global information management provider, who is responsible for the company’s pervasive governance portfolio.

We discussed the evolution of information governance, its trajectory, and key trends that are impacting that direction. He noted that organizations are increasingly focused on litigation readiness, realizing a measurable return on their e-discovery investments, and drafting practical data policies.

The key challenges are aligning the various custodians of the organization’s most important information and bridging the disconnect between legal and IT.  He highlighted that many companies lack the ecosystem for optimal information governance because ownership and accountability are often muddled.

Listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &Blog &document review &e-discovery &electronic discovery &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &information governance &law firm &law-related &lawyers &legal &legal and compliance &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal practice &legal project management &Legal Technology &leveraging technology &litigation &litigation support &reinventing professional services &Reinvention

Document Review – There is an App for That

May 13th, 2013 → 1:11 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Michael do Rozario and Brian Borskjaer, Special Counsel and Director of the firm’s Legal Technology Solutions team, respectively, at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, a prominent Australian law firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.

We discussed Casefolio, the firm’s new award-winning document review app, its development, and the user experience, among many other topics.  When it received the Lawtech Award For Innovation in Legal IT at the 7th Annual Chilli IQ Lawtech Summit & Awards in 2012, one judge noted: “This iPad app is simply clever, innovative and delivers a truly ingenious and effective solution to the vexed litigation practitioner.”

Casefolio is available for free trial download in the US, UK, Canadian, and Australian iTunes stores. Corrs has also developed a converter that allows documents and metadata to be exported and imported from a range of litigation support databases, including Ringtail, Relativity, and Summation.

Learn more about Casefolio at http://casefolio.net and listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &australia &Blog &document review &e-discovery &electronic discovery &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &incremental innovation &law firm &law-related &lawyers &legal &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal practice &Legal Technology &leveraging technology &litigation &litigation support &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &sydney

The Secret For Avoiding Suicide Pricing

April 29th, 2013 → 5:06 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Dr. Jim Hassett, the founder of LegalBizDev, which helps law firms increase client satisfaction and profitability by improving project management and business development. Dr. Hassett is the author of 11 books, including his most recent: Legal Project Management, Pricing, and Alternative Fee Arrangements (Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 2013).

He highlighted that large and mid-sized law firms are dealing with three key pricing concerns:

1. How to price high enough to make an acceptable profit, but low enough to get the work [aka Suicide Pricing].
2. When are alternative fees the best arrangement for the client and the firm?
3. How to manage the profit once the work commences.

Dr. Hassett suggested that although robust legal project management is helping professionals address these concerns, few firms are making meaningful progress.  “There is a gap between what people are saying for PR and what is really going on,” he advises, predicting a drop in overall pricing, a rise in alternative fees, and improved project management.

His advice for lawyers interested in gaining a competitive advantage in a changing marketplace:

• Don’t over-analyze; just do it.
• Take chances and be more like an entrepreneur.

Listen to our interview below:

alternative fees &ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &Blog &business development &client satisfaction &efficiency &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &law firm &law firm profitability &law-related &lawyers &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal management &legal practice &management &professional services &project management &reinventing professional services &Reinvention

This is How to Get a Job at a Small Firm

April 22nd, 2013 → 3:40 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Samantha Williams, the Director of Employer Relations at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, where she focuses primarily on small firm outreach and employer development. Williams is the co-author (with Linda Calvert Hanson) of Small Firms, Big Opportunity (LawyerAvenue Press, 2012), which provides readers with practical steps to identify where jobs are, how to get hired, and how to succeed in the new legal economy.

Williams shared tips on why law students and recent graduates should be focusing on smaller firms as potential employers, the best resources for those seeking employment with small firms, and the single most important concept to be aware of when looking for job opportunities with small firms.

Learn how to get started by listening to our interview below:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &Blog &careers &employment &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &job interviewing &jobs &law firm &law school &law students &law-related &lawyers &legal education &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal practice &professional services &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &small law firms

Reinventing Marketing With a Rocket

April 18th, 2013 → 2:07 pm @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Larry Port, the founder and CEO of Rocketmatter, a cloud-based legal practice management and time and billing software product, about Rocket X1, the company’s new Internet marketing agency and hosting platform.

We discussed the company’s mission to combine public relations, website design, search engine optimization, and marketing.  Port noted that by building accountability in marketing, leveraging analytics, and structuring a creative message, users will realize unprecedented results.

Listen to our interview below:

analytics &ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &Blog &branding &cloud &cloud computing &content generation &digital marketing &getting published &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &innovation &law firm &law firm profitability &law practice management &law-related &lawyers &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal management &legal practice &Legal Technology &leveraging technology &marketing &reinventing professional services &Reinvention &seo &small law firms &web design &writing

The Rising Adoption of Law Enforcement Technology in E-Discovery

April 16th, 2013 → 7:51 am @ Ari Kaplan

I spoke with Peter Mercer, the founder and managing director of Vound, an Australia-based software development company focusing on forensics and e-discovery, which is the maker or Intella, the company’s signature tool for processing, searching, and analyzing electronically stored information.

We discussed the growth in user-created data, the trend of law enforcement technologies being adapted to e-discovery, and the increased focus on productivity, which Mercer noted is driving the adoption of this technology. He predicts that the rise in cloud adoption and the interest in reviewing data more simply will help to transform the forensic and e-discovery industry in 2013.

Listen to our interview below:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &australia &big data &document review &e-discovery &e-mail &e-mail archiving &electronic discovery &forensics &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &in-house counsel &law-related &lawyers &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &Legal Technology &litigation &reinventing professional services &Reinvention

Proof of Finding Philanthropy in E-Discovery

April 5th, 2013 → 1:57 pm @ Ari Kaplan

In the fall of 1990, I interviewed for a job that ended up changing the course of my life. The ad to which I responded was for a tutor in the then 1-year old Intergenerational Literacy Project, a collaboration between Boston University’s School of Education and the Chelsea Public Schools in Chelsea, Massachusetts. I had no experience, but wanted a work-study job that was meaningful and rewarding. It turned out to be both. 23 years later, this program continues its mission to improve the reading skills of adults and the literacy knowledge among pre-school and school-aged children.

When I learned about the release of Proof Finder, a unique venture by Nuix to offer its e-discovery and investigation software to users at $100 per year (limited to a maximum case size of 15 gigabytes), I interviewed its CEO, Eddie Sheehy (below), to discuss the endeavor as 100% of the proceeds from all sales are given to Room to Read, a global non-profit organization focused on literacy and gender equality in education.

In addition to serving as the foundation of a successful philanthropic endeavor, Proof Finder offers:

• Mobile device forensics with support for Cellebrite and Micro Systemation XRY mobile images.
• File system forensics including carving out full and partial deleted files and slack space.
• A hex viewer to examine the binary structure of files.
• Expanded clustering and near-deduplication capabilities.

To date, the results are remarkable as the company has donated:

• $44,000 toward the construction of a school in Nepal and the publication of local-language school books.
• $35,000 to help Room to Read build a school in Sri Lanka.
• $7500 to sponsor 30 girls to complete their secondary school education.

Watch the video below in which David Sitsky, Head of Development for Nuix, and John Wood, the founder of Room to Read, discuss their partnership and the release of Proof Finder 4.2:

ari kaplan &ari kaplan advisors &Blog &e-discovery &e-mail &electronic discovery &forensic technology services &forensics &general counsel &ghostwriter &ghostwriting &in-house counsel &incremental innovation &innovation &law firm &law-related &lawyers &legal ghostwriter &legal industry &legal practice &Legal Technology &leveraging technology &litigation &reinventing professional services &Reinvention