The More Things Change, the More Lawyers Still Screw Up Marketing
Photo by Oussama Bergaou at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | June 10, 2023 Either you follow-up or you fold-up – Bernard Kelvin Clive I recently observed a law firm doing some impressive online marketing. At the same time, to quote Shania Twain, when it came to the follow-up, “that [didn’t] impress me much.” Here is […]
Never Trust a Lawyer Who Doesn’t Make Mistakes
By Murray Gottheil | June 8, 2023 Back in the day, I would have an associate join a client meeting with instructions to speak up if they thought I was getting something wrong. Of course, they would only do so occasionally because I was not wrong all that often. When they did, if their point […]
You are Old. We are Greedy. Get the Hell Out!
By Murray Gottheil | June 5, 2023 Since professional firms are usually partnerships, the well-compensated people at the top of the pyramid are partners, not employees. As a result, all of that stuff that protects employees from discrimination on the basis of age in the Human Rights Code does not apply to them, at least […]
Silent Stupidity
Fools believe silence is a void needing to be filled; the wise understand there’s no such thing as silence – Michael J. Sullivan, Age of Myth By Murray Gottheil | May 30, 2023 Client: Why do I want to pay for two lawyers to be in this meeting? Acceptable answers: Unacceptable answers: You might think that […]
Giselle Basanta on becoming one of only a few Black females leading a legal department in Canada
By Julius Melnitzer | May 18, 2023 There are very few Black females leading legal departments in Canada. Giselle Basanta, a latecomer to the law after the better part of two decades as a public servant, is one of them. She is only aware of four others. When George Brown College went looking for a […]
Bah, Humble
Photo by Amirr Zolfaqari at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 15, 2023 I spoke to a young lawyer the other day who hails from another country. I will call her Natalie. Natalie explained to me that where she comes from, the culture is such that self-promotion is frowned upon. In her country, people do not […]
What Danger Lurks in the Shadow of Brilliance?
Photo by Dustin Tray at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | May 11, 2023 Now that I have been retired for a few years, I sometimes wonder whether my experience as to how law firms work remains valid. Also, since I spent my days with medium-sized firms and not in Big Law, I occasionally worry that […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Celebrities abound for BLG’s Guy Pratte’s new podcast | BJ’s Will Osler chairs Calgary Stampede | SCC has opportunity to resolve test for appealing domestic arbitral awards | SCC launches new electronic filing portal | Wildeboer’s 30th anniversary
By Julius Melnitzer | March 30, 2023 BLG’s Pratte launches Art of Persuasion podcast Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s Guy Pratte, one of Canada’s top litigators will launch The Art of Persuasion, his new podcast, on April 21. The podcast will feature conversations with notable Canadians including former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, defence counsel Marie Henein, […]
Zoom trials: benefits outweigh hiccups
By Julius Melnitzer | March 28, 2023 Alf Kwinter of Toronto’s Singer Kwinter, a 77-year-old icon of the plaintiff’s personal injury bar who is in his 51st year of practice, has become an advocate of the virtual Zoom trial. “I was very surprised by how well it worked, so much so that the recent move […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: LSO panel splits on whether Black Lives Matter criticism is professional misconduct | Firm sues ‘underbilling’ associates | Remote lawyering: longer hours: CLIO survey | LSO suspends paralegal who cost clients $500,000 | CTA: compensation for passenger applies to all others on same flight
By Julius Melnitzer | March 8, 2023 IS AGGRESSIVE CRITICISM OF BLACK LIVES MATTER PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT? A Law Society Tribunal has split on whether social media posts criticizing Black Lives Matter, Pride Day and public health mask mandates amounted to professional misconduct. Lisa Simone, who was applying for a paralegal license, admitted the posts were […]