A Family-Friendly Calendaring Idea

Here's an idea our family is trying this summer. Hopefully it will help us with scheduling and hopefully we will continue after the summer. We are setting up Google Calendars and sharing them so that you view all in one combined view. There are many other options for online calendars, like CalendarHub or 30 Boxes. But we all have GMail accounts, so the choice was easy. It's not like this is a new idea. But we think the time has come to have one place we can check online for the family plans, trips, sports camps, times Dad will be staying out of town for work and Norman, OK events we want to attend.

The setup was simple (as are most things Google) so we will see how it goes. I also think it gives my 6th grade son a little training in a life skill. No matter what career he has, I can't imagine that it won't involve keeping a calendar on a computer, a hand device or perhaps a holographic display. And, of course, it is my favorite price - free.

The ironic thing is that earlier this week I was promoting Erik Mazzone's Law Practice Matters blog and when I visited his blog I noticed that his latest post was this one saying that you must only have one calendar. Well, I'm not saying he is wrong. Maybe this is just the exception to the rule. There will certainly be some duplicate entry required with a few family matters that have to go on the office calendar because they impact it. But I like the idea of keeping business things on the "work" calendar and when I get contacted with some personal invitation I can have the family calendar available in seconds. It beats the present system, which is bothering my spouse with an inquiry.

"16 Things I Wish They Had Taught Me in School"

OK, this one isn't about lawyering or technology. It is about all of life. One of the really great things about the Interactive Web is how other online users can direct your attention to wisdom in places that you would normally have missed. "16 Things I Wish They Had Taught Me in School" is a brief essay full of great observations on life. In fact I predict that you will want to forward the link to someone you know.

Marooned in Columbus

When the Columbus Bar Association invited me to give several presentations to their solo and small firm lawyers, none of us knew it would be a historic day for Columbus. But Friday as I talked, it started snowing. And it snowed and snowed and snowed. As most everyone knows by now, the total ended up being 20 inches, setting several weather records for Columbus, OH. My Friday evening flight was canceled as were hundreds of others. Our program attendees stayed until the end. We really had a great time discussing improving their practices. But then they got to go home. I didn't. The Columbus Bar staff was great, making sure I had a place to stay at the nearby Hyatt (which did fill completely full later that night.) CBA President Nelson E Genshaft insisted I go to dinner and an art gallery reception with him and his wife Friday night (which was possible only because the gallery, restaurant and his house were all close to my hotel.)

My view of that state capitol Saturday morning could only be described as a blizzard.

Well, I was more than a little upset when I learned my rescheduled flight was cancelled and my next option was Monday. But I got a little perspective when i ran into a group downstairs at breakfast. They were all in town for a wedding. The location where it was to be held advised them it would not be open for them. Some of the guests were stranded in other airports. One of the ladies asked the bride, "What are we going to do?" The bride-to-be burst into laughter and said, "I'm going to get married! We just don't know where yet." Later I overheard her laughing that everyone would remember her wedding. I guess that goes to show you that attitude really is everything.

I hated to lose the weekend with my family, but I thought how happy I was I packed extra clothes I wouldn't need and remembered to pack my slippers and mobile phone charger, things I often forget. I had Internet access and cable TV. But I also kept optimisticly calling the airline and guess what? I am live blogging from the airport on Sunday, not Monday, and about to board my flight home. 

Site of the Week: Lawyers with Depression.com

Following up on a prior post, this week I will feature Lawyers with Depression.com as my Website of the Week. Attorney Dan Lukasik had the courage to set up this site to help other lawyers dealing with depression and mental health issues. Some advised him that he would be at career risk if he revealed his struggles in this area. Many lawyers are thankful he ignored that advice and provided this resource.

Even Lawyers Get the Blues: Opening Up About Depression (within the Legal Profession)

The Wall Street Journal ran a feature today titled Even Lawyers Get the Blues: Opening Up About Depression. One quote from the article might be surprising to law students or those outside of the legal profession. "That lawyers are among the most miserable of men -- and women -- is well-known. Some 19% of lawyers suffer depression at any given time, compared with 6.7% of the population as a whole, says the University of Arizona's Connie Beck, a leading researcher on the subject." Oklahoma City attorney Jim Webb and some other Oklahomans are featured in the video clip.

The online version of the ABA Journal also discussed this today in an article titled Lawyer Depression Comes Out of the Closet. This article makes note of the "fact" that "[p]essimists excel at law, but they are at risk for depression." I found that interesting and dug a little deeper. It was based on a study indicating that pessimistic law students got better grades, were more likely to make law review and get "better" job offers. It is probably equally true that those who had no social or personal life outside of law school did better in those three categories as well. Would they have better lives or enjoy more success? As noted in the comments to a prior ABA article, I'm not sure that one can make that leap of logic. Thanks to Carly for giving us the link to the original article, outlining the positive contributions of being optimistic.

At one time we were experiencing at least one lawyer suicide per month in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Bar responded with an improved crisis hotline and initial free mental health counseling for lawyers. They have fielded a lot of calls. We work in a stressful profession. People bring us their problems and expect us to fix them. We search for the truth in adversarial courtroom settings. We often deal with important and significant high-stakes situations. Your law practice tip today is to be alert for your own mood changes and to take care of yourself this holiday season.

Reid Trautz's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers

Just in time for the kickoff of holiday shopping season is Reid Trautz's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers. It includes lots of interesting ideas for presents for lawyers and laypeople alike, delivered with Reid's typical understated humorous style. "OK, I want that and that and ...."

Courtney Kennaday, Practice Management Advisor for the South Carolina Bar sent me an e-mail today noting another nifty gadget, the Drive eRazer, a bit of hardware that permanently erases data from a hard drive, allowing the hard drive to be safely re-used or donated to a charity. Now if you think that might make a great holiday gift for a lawyer or law firm administrator, well, you really need a serious attitude adjustment.

Idea for a gift for a lawyer

One of the bad things about having a blog now is the PR e-mail you receive.

"Hi Jim, I read your blog all the time. Here's my latest piece of corporate promotional crap. Would you please give it free publicity for me?" (No offense intended to those who actually do read my blog all the time.)

Nevertheless, a polite e-mail from Magicmud caught my eye. Custom designed lawyer figurines at a decent price do seem to be a cute gift for the senior partner in your life.

A Practice Management Tip That Comes in a Tube

OK, this is probably more a life tip than a  practice management tip, but so what? There is one inexpensive item that I have at home, in my computer bag and in a desk drawer. That is a Tide to Go stick. As Ross Kodner recently pointed out at a "60 Tips" presentation, these work so well it makes you wonder about exactly what the secret formula contains. But if you drop some food on your shirt or tie at lunch, you just pull out your Tide To Go stick,  rub it on the offending stain for a moment and watch it disappear. it may not work completely every time, but it improves the matter every time. it also helps when the item goes into the wash. A great investment of $2 or $3.

2006 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers

You know it is nearing the holiday season when the weather is cooler, the leaves are falling and Reid Trautz has posted his Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers.

A Fun "Website of the Week"

Here's something entertaining. The Official Seal Generator site lets you design customized seals from a variety of colors, borders, graphic images and other elements for free. You can then either download the seal or copy it. It's pretty cute. You could use it for gags, maybe some humorous corporate seals for some small business clients, your children's teams or groups of friends, clubs and civic organizations where you participate, or maybe just sending your friends or relatives a customized Seal of Approval.

I learned of this from Dan Pinnington, ABA TECHSHOW 2007 Chair, and all around good guy. I'll see him this week when I speak at the Pacific Legal Technology Conference. If you are in the area, it's not to late to register and attend.

Great Resource on Work and Wellness from LawPro

One of the hardest things about the private practice of law is the number of hours most lawyers work. TV shows and movies about lawyers don't show the long hours reading published opinions and deposition transcripts. (And rightfully so, it just wouldn't be entertainment.) When you work too much, the rest of your life suffers, including important relationships. The Summer issue of LawPro Magazine was just released on the web yesterday. Its focus is Work and Wellness. I'd be very happy to mention this great feature even if they hadn't included a reprint of an essay from yours truly. Do a good deed today and pass this link along to a friend. We all can benefit from thinking and reading about maintaining better balance in our lives.

I'd also like to publicly thank LawPro and PracticePro for placing their content on the web freely available to everyone instead of locking it behind a policyholder's only password.

Site of the Week: Amy Campbell's Web Diversions

Amy Campbell is a marketing and communication consultant who serves professional service firms. Her blog is located here. A couple of years ago I stumbled across Amy's list of web diversions. My Site of the Week is Amy Campbell's Top Ten Web Diversions for 2005. Even though it was posted in December of 2005, there's a lot of entertaining materials that probably many of you have not seen. And don't forget to scroll down to the bottom for the links to the 2004 and 2003 collections. (They often do load slowly. I think it is a Harvard blog thing.) Sorry I didn't get to your site at ABA TECHSHOW's 60 Sites in 60 minutes last week, Amy. But it will be posted with the other 60 Sites archive links, which should hopefully go up next week at the TECHSHOW web site. For those of you who are anxiously awaiting that, take a last look at our 2005 collection, which contains a lot more than just 60 sites.

Can lawyers learn to slow down?

Since my last presentation at Legal Tech New York (more on that later) ended at 3:00 p.m. yesterday, I got home pretty late last night after enduring too much flying time. Perhaps it was getting too little sleep after a hectic three days that made me take special note of the idyllic beach scene and words "Slow Down" on the cover of Law Practice that awaited me on my desk upon my return. Many of the articles in this issue of magazine are published online. So I invite you to take a deep breath and go to the Law Practice magazine's home page to read Carl Honore's "in Praise of Slowness." Accompanying the article are some comments on slowing down from LPM Section actives. There are other great features in the online version of the magazine, including a feature on upcoming ABA TECHSHOW 2006. Gotta run now. My son has a basketball game at 6. :-)

Holiday Gifts for Lawyers, part II

Shopping time grows short, but Jeffery Allen and Allen Pearlman have published The Technologists Guide to Holday Shopping in the December GPSolo Magazine. Actually this whole magazine is a present as the ABA General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division continues to publish virtually all of its magazine content online for everyone. This issue's theme is "Privacy and Security" and it includes articles on spyware, indentity theft, personal information available online, and much more.

NPR also has several features on books for holiday gift giving.

I wouldn't want to leave out the New York Times 2005 Holiday Gift Guide. (Free registration may be required.)

Holiday Gifts for Lawyers

The shopping season is upon us. Check out Reid Trautz's 2005 Holiday Gift Guide for Lawyers.

Let me add one more: Billable Hour Timepieces, where the clocks and watches are marked off in one-tenth of an hour increments. Happy Thanksgiving all!

Solo & Small Firm Conferences Spring Up All Over

Solo and small firm conferences are growing and new ones are appearing all across the country. Last week I received a flyer announcing the inaugural Illinois State Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference. Last week I also was a guest speaker at the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Solo and Small Firm Conference in Charlottesville. This was their third annual conference and they were warm and friendly hosts. Bruce Dorner, Reid Trautz and I did a day-long technology track on various topics. We had good audiences with lots of good feedback and questions.

I’ve been to solo and small firm conferences in about as many different states as anyone (with a few exceptions.) These gatherings have many similarities and many differences. These variations reflect the various regional needs. Some are one day only. Often they are two or more days in length. Some have few substantive law CLEs. Others have more. All have a significant portion of law practice management and technology programming.

But what these conferences share is extremely important. They always have energy and excitement. There are always groups of lawyers excitedly chatting in the halls. There are always vendors with an opportunity to visit with more lawyers from more different communities than they could in months on the road. There is always a pair of lawyers who haven’t seen each other in a long time catching up. There’s always great CLE programming targeted to the needs of solo and small firm lawyers. There’s usually a lot of loud conversation, along with laughter. There are always lawyers getting questions answered that have puzzled them for a long time.

Many lawyers have used the phrase “revival meeting” to describe their reaction to these solo and small firm conferences. They say they feel like their batteries are recharged by these meetings and they are reminded of why they decided to become a lawyer. Many of these conferences are held at resorts and lawyers frequently bring their families along for the event. I’ve imagined there have been some pretty interesting conversations as the lawyers’ spouses and children make acquaintance and compare notes.

If your state hasn’t jumped on this bandwagon yet and you have an interest in this type of gathering, contact your state or local bar and offer to help. These programs cannot be put together by staff alone. We need volunteer lawyers and bar officers committed to the project. But as the small firm lawyers in many states can attest, you will be pleased if you bring this high-impact type of event to your neighborhood.

"What do you like best about being a lawyer?"

"What do you like best about being a lawyer?" was a short post on the The (Legal) Underground blog. But the dozens of thoughtful, insightful and totally pointless comments posted by lawyers and law students have made it an entertaining, if almost booklet-length, read. Go add your own comment. (Makes me wish I had allowed comments here.... well, no, not really.)

The Tyranny of the Billable Hour

The cover story of the Washington Lawyer this month is The Tyranny of the Billable Hour by Robert Pack. It is not really about methods of alternative billing, but rather the impact of minimum billing quotas on the lives of larger law firm associates and, now, even partners. There was mention of how a firm might require 2400 hours billed per year even though the stated target is only 1900. The firm cannot recruit associates so easily if they were told it is 2400 hours. So they just lie? The difference in one's family and recreational time between quotas of 1900 and 2400 is staggering. Solos may not find much in this article, but every managing partner should read it. It just doesn't make much sense to invest all that money into hiring and training associates only to have them burn out or bail out once their student loans are paid. Solutions are not easy. Given the salaries that starting associates are paid at larger firms, they have to generate significant fees.

Technology, Stress and the Lawyer's Quality of Life

Even though it was published over a year ago, I'm still very proud of my article "Technology, Stress and the Lawyer's Quality of Life." The link is to the online version of the Oklahoma Bar Journal. It was republished in the Amercian Bar Association e-zine Law Practice Today. One of my friends, blogger Dennis Kennedy, commented favorably on this article and also identified me as one of the people he knew who should be blogging. Thanks for the push, Dennis.