Law Firm Leaders: Culture

2011 National Association of Women in the Law Survey
The one good thing about bad news.

Money makes the firm go ‘round
Finding the right partner compensation system can be the key to helping a law firm reach its strategic objectives.

Measuring performance
It takes a fine balance.

Paying the associates
Compensation for associates is often based on a progressive salary system.

How a well-developed articling plan contributes to your firm’s success
Articling students, partners, and law firms needn’t face the upcoming articling term with dread. Evaluate what worked and what didn’t the last time around, and prepare ahead to meet the opportunities and challenges that are bound to arise.

Two Can Play This Game: The Trend Toward Having Co-Managing Partners
Senior partners are increasingly reluctant to give up their own practices to take on full-time management responsibilities. That’s why, when it comes to chosing a managing partner, many firms are finding that two heads can be better than one.

Leadership and Staying Emotionally Centred
Being able to remain balanced and centred emotionally is at the heart of the calm, relaxed and authoritative exterior that signals leadership. 

Minding the Gap
The challenges of ‘generational divide’ at the office are certain to create both winners and losers in the Canadian economy – and law firms and legal departments are no exception. 

Landing a Former Justice
Retirement lay ahead for two well-respected former justices. Then the law firms came calling.

The Leader's Role in Integrating Laterals
Question: As a new law firm leader, what  specific actions would you recommend I take responsibility for, in helping orientate and integrate new partners? 

When the partners aren’t following procedure
This is one of the most frequently asked questions in my consulting practice: “How do I get lawyers in my firm to follow procedure? And what if the worst offenders are my  partners?”

Yes, you can manage effectively while maintaining a practice!
It can be a daunting task - managing a law firm of any size while maintaining a legal practice. But you can learn to juggle both.

Doing Well By Doing Good (.pdf)
Many of us have experience being a mentor or a mentee in an informal or casual way. We talk to a colleague to gain perspective on a file, or to ask for guidance. The CBA mentorship program is a more formal type of mentoring relationship designed to support pro bono legal work.

Leadership programs gain profile
It used to be that lawyers learned about the practice of law entirely on the job or from a colleague’s helpful advice. Today an increased workplace emphasis on formal education and training is making that approach outdated.Retirement lay ahead for two well-respected former justices. Then the law firms came calling. 

Senior lawyers have many good reasons to mentor
Senior lawyers are in a position to help the next generation climb the steep “new lawyer” learning curve, thanks to a variety of mentoring initiatives.

Great Expectations: A lawyer-client handbook (.pdf)
This booklet was produced by the CBA, with sponsorship from the CBIA, to help lawyers and clients better understand each other’s needs.

Clients 2.0: Collaboration Creates Enduring Relationships
The participatory concept behind “Web 2.0” can be applied to virtually anything in the lawyer’s practice, including the most basic element of all—the relationship with the client. Collaboration is synonymous with the 2.0 client relationship, and it’s the best way for any lawyer or law firm to thrive.

30 Best Practices: Strategies for Law Firm Management (.pdf)
This handbook provides tips and suggestions for how to improve your firm in four key areas: marketing, client care, office management and financial management.

7 Key to Great Client Service (.pdf)
This handbook is designed to help CBA members across the country improve the crucial lawyer-client relationship.

Greening Your Law Firm: A Practical Guide to Creating an Environment-Friendly Law Office
Many forward-thinking lawyers want to know how they can reduce their ecological footprint, beyond using a recyle bin. This practical guide will help you on your way to greening your practice, from getting partners and staff onside to easy tips, suggestions and a checklist for implementing environmentally sustainable policies and practices for your law firm.

How to deal effectively with chronic complainers
The Managing Partner Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) was asked about a scenario involving a chronic complainer. The questions and answers provided in this article were developed by the LAB, an organization formed as a resource to provide pragmatic advice to assist new managing partners with their critical issues and help them succeed.

How to Attract (and Keep) the Best and Brightest Legal Talent
Traditionally, law firms haven’t been known to give their associates a great deal of flexibility. But that’s changing as the demands of the younger generation increase and retaining top legal talent becomes a more pressing issue.

How to Retain Top Female Talent, and What Women Should Look For in a Law Firm
It’s a complaint heard at law firms across the country: “Too many of our female associates are leaving”. They often leave to work in government, corporations, non-profit organizations or educational institutions—or they leave the profession altogether.