Be Wrong, Confidently!
Photo by Rene Asmussen at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 7, 2024 I came across a lawyer the other day who makes mistakes in his communications with clients and the other side. None of the errors will likely land him in too much trouble. They may even be excusable based on the theory that spending […]
Living in Different Worlds
Photo by Pixabay at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 3, 2024 I believe that lawyers should not compete based on price. I tell this to my mentees, and sometimes they respond, “That is easy for you to say from a cruise ship in the Pacific. I’m struggling to get files in the door and pay […]
Ordering Off Menu
By Murray Gottheil | April 30, 2024 I like eating out, but I don’t always like what is on the menu. I have been known to explain to the server that I consider a menu to be merely an indication of which ingredients the chef has in the kitchen, together with samples of some of the […]
Feminists – Honesty Is Not Always The Best Policy
Photo by Markus Spiske at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | April 28, 2024 I was speaking to a newbie lawyer the other day. I am going to call her Sue, which is definitely not her real name. Sue is an intelligent young woman, but like many of us when we are starting out, is perhaps just a […]
Figures Don’t Lie…
Photo by Markus Winkler at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | April 24, 2024 The following recent headline in Law360 caught my attention: “Law360 Canada Pulse survey shows strong satisfaction among lawyers with their jobs.” Although I love Law360 and think very highly of its writers, the headline took me aback because it does not ring true […]
Chasing Unicorns: Changing Law Firm Culture
Photo by Cottonbro Studio at Pexels Culture eats strategy for breakfast – Peter Drucker Back when I was a managing partner in a law firm, I did not think nearly enough about law firm culture. I really should have, but not only because it is the secret to business success. Looking back, I realize I […]
Reap What You Sow
Photo by Rattasat at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | April 11, 2024 Hey law firms! Have you given much thought to partners approaching retirement, and calculated what their retirement may cost you? I reckon that there are at least five different attitudes that a retiring partner (“RP”) may have. Here they are: Each of these types of […]
Show Me the Money
By Murray Gottheil | April 6, 2024 Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko at Pexels Youth is always impatient, even though, ironically, youth alone has time for patience – Lucilla Andrews In my new pastime as a cynical commentator on aspects of the legal profession that I whole-heartedly embraced and profited from for many years, I speak to […]
How Strong Are Your Roots?
By Murray Gottheil | March 26, 2024 The image that accompanies this post is of a massive tree in the forest behind my house which came down in a storm, bringing down another tree, which brought down a third. As you can see, the root system was wide, but shallow. These trees might have looked majestic, […]
It’s all about the people, people
By Murray Gottheil | March 22, 2024 I lived on a small street in the Big City for 11 years, and during that time barely knew my neighbours. I neither asked them for help, nor did they ask me. When I bought my house in the country, I used it as a cottage before moving there […]