New Report: Success Strategies for Women Lawyers

New Report from Women Legal Magazine
Success Strategies for Women Lawyers
By Lauren Stiller Rikleen

Pre-publication offer: Just $295 (usually $495) until 5pm October 29th
Reserve your copy

Success Strategies for Women Lawyers being published in 4 weeks time is an in-depth look at the necessary steps needed to address the ongoing challenge of advancing women in the legal profession.

Below is a brief overview of the contents of the report, and a full executive summary/introduction, and the draft table of contents is available on request - email Michelle - melam@ark-group.com to request a copy

Through till October 29th you can pre-order your copy with a $200 discount for making it just $295 (excluding shipping) Ordering details are below.

Overview:
Even with the increased attention to diversity in the legal profession there has been little appreciable impact on women’s advancement. For example, women comprise only approximately 18 percent of law firm partners, and the number of equity partners is even smaller. There is a growing awareness that the business case for creating a workplace where women can succeed is real and compelling, and more stakeholders are using their leverage to develop specific and practical action items to drive change.

Developing an inclusive workplace where everyone can succeed requires concentrated efforts from both the institution and the individual. Only with the focused commitment and attention of both will there be significant progress.

Each chapter of this new report provides tailored insight into the strategies that need to be implemented in order for women to achieve success, these include:

- Creating a niche practice
- Developing your leadership skills
- Mentors and champions
- Networking and relationship-building
- Successful business generation
- Self-advocacy and self promotion
- Managing and maintaining work-life balance
- Creating a better workplace for the next generation
- Reflections on a changing profession

Each of these chapters is supported by women who provide insight, opinion, and practical tips on how they have tackled these keys issues to achieve considerable success in their careers.

These contributors include Senior Partners, Partners, Heads of Diversity and Professional Development, Practice Group Chairs, Hiring Partner, Attorneys, and Private Practice Lawyers. From firms including:

Bingham McCutchen LLP, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Snell & Wilmar’s, Hahn & Hahn LLP, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Thompson Hine, LLC, McInnes Cooper, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Davis & Gilbert LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Crowell & Moring LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C, Squire Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P, Schiff Hardin, LLP, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Davis, Wright Tremaine LLP, and many more…

How to order your copy:
Success Strategies for Women Lawyers will be available in four weeks time.

Through till October 29th you can pre-order your copy with a $200 discount for making it just $295 (excluding shipping)

To order you copy simply email melam@ark-group.com quoting the ordering code DS-SWL1, with the full contact details of whom you would like the report sent to, from there we will process your order and send through confirmation long with an invoice for payment.

If you require multiple copies please do let us know as further discounted pricing is available.

Digitizing Coporate Records and Information

DIGITISING CORPORATE RECORDS AND INFORMATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.”
Gertrude Stein, 1874-1946.

Since the invention of the Guttenberg press in 1495 there has been a permanent information revolution. In every year since there has been an exponential increase in the amount of information in the world, for example, in 2010 UK public organisations are estimated to store enough information in paper format to build a XXXX billion foot tower that could stretch upwards from London’s Tower Bridge to Jupiter’s fifth moon, Io.

The information society continues to struggle to adapt to this exploding universe of information. Paper and digital records are constantly produced during every part of our working and private lives. At work, predictions about the paperless office have been made ever since the IBM produced the first operational personal computer in 1954. Individuals within organisations continue to deal with a deluge of paper and digital records. Information that is ‘born digital’ is being managed by organisations, which still survive on a high-paper diet. This divided ‘information estate’ presents an array of risks and threats to the efficiency and operational ability of organisations to deliver high performance.

Previous promises to relieve the burden of paper records in offices were poorly supported by e-records technologies; this has changed. All organisations are in a period of transition with new digital technologies offering cheaper alternatives to the retention of all physical records including expensive paper records. There is now a critical decision for organisations to make - to digitise or not?

Digitisation is defined as being the conversion of analogue items into digital format for the purpose of improving access. It can also provide a crucial supporting to assist with preservation of records, where appropriate. Digitisation has many facets and the following are the main benefits of implementing enterprise digitisation projects:

Access; to enable current and potential information users wherever they are to use the organisation’s collections and to open up collections that cannot always be accessed physically by the public or regulatory bodies.

Enhance services; to satisfy end-user expectations as the World Wide Web is often the first resort of users and to create virtual collections and ‘restore’ dispersed collections through cooperation and partnership with other bodies.

Preservation of materials; to preserve the original materials by making the digital copy available and by reducing physical handling.

The demand to digitise is growing. The new ‘digital natives’ are a powerful group of customers and staffs expects information to be available in a digital format immediately. Digitisation is not an activity that can be seen in isolation. It is linked to all aspects of services provided by information and records professionals. Digitisation enhances the potential for synergies within business services with other digital collections through shared descriptive information in consolidated or federated online databases.

Digitising organisational records is a major project but can lead ultimately to cost savings, efficiencies and productivity gains, as staff or even customers can access information more swiftly and with greater ease. Creating and providing access to digital copies of material give an agency’s clients and customers the potential to pursue educational, cultural appreciation and commercial opportunities wherever they live or work.

This report will provide a step-by-step guide to corporate digitisation projects, from assessing the organisation’s needs relating to e-documents, through the technical digitisation process, to the end result of accessible, secure electronic records. The objective is to provide a complete toolkit for implementation within any organisation that is struggling with information overload.

This report consists of two parts. Part one provides an overview of enterprise digitisation projects. There is an overall digitisation development and implementation framework presented with a step-by-step process presented to help information and records professionals deliver high performance projects.

Part two consists of six case studies of a range of national and international organisations, both public and private, which have addressed digitisation projects via a series of implementation approaches.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robin Smith is Head of Information and Knowledge Services for the National Policing Improvement Agency in the UK. He is the author of the information risk and intelligence management model (IRIM) now being adopted within UK organisations to deliver high performance business intelligence.

He has worked extensively in the public and private sector as a change manager for information and digitisation projects, producing innovative solutions to legacy content and e-records issues.

He is an author, lecturer and biographer of the individuals who contributed to the ‘open information society’. He is about to release his new book, ‘Legacy Content Management; Strategies for Optimisation’ and is a member of the Operation Research Society.

Robin was formerly Marketing Director for the Records Management Society UK and chair of regional chair of the information and data quality network for IDEA.

Contents Overview

PART ONE – INTRODUCING ENTERPRISE DIGITISATION PROJECTS

CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION TO ENTERPRISE DIGITISATION DEVELOPEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER TWO – BUILDING THE ENTERPRISE BUSINESS CASE FOR ENTERPRISE DIGITISATION PROJECTS

CHAPTER THREE – IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES, POLICIES & STANDARDS FOR IMPROVEMENT

CHAPTER FOUR – PLANNING & DELIVERING THE ENTERPRISE DIGITISATION PROJECT

CHAPTER FIVE – EXPLORING TECHNOLOGY ACCELARATORS FOR ENTERPRISE DIGITISATION

CHAPTER SIX – UNDERSTANIDNG THE LEGAL AND REGULATORARY ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER SEVEN – IMPLEMENTING & REVIEWING QUALITY FOR ENTERPRISE DIGITISATION PROJECTS

CHAPTER EIGHT – ACHIEVING CORPORATE INTEGRATION AND HIGH PERFORMANCE


PART TWO – CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY ONE – ‘PATIENT FIRST’; DIGITISING PATIENT RECORDS IN UK NHS

CASE STUDY TWO – ‘RIGHT FIRST TIME’; SELECTING THE RIGHT DIGITISATION TECHNOLOGIES AT UK BOOTS PLC

CASE STUDY THREE – ‘VIRTUAL HISTORIES’; DETERMINING LONG TERM PRESERVATION NEEDS AT THE UK NATIONAL ARCHIVE

CASE STUDY FOUR – ‘SECURITY, SECURITY, SECURITY’; ASTRA ZENCA’S MILLENIUM PROJECT TO CREATE A SEARCHABLE & SECURE DIGITAL UNIVERSE

CASE STUDY FIVE – ‘NIL BY PAPER’; EXPLORING BRITISH AIRWAYS INNOVATIVE DIGITISATION POLICY FOR A PAPER-LESS ORGANISATION

CASE STUDY SIX – ‘AFTER KATRINA’; ASSESSING THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO RECORDS DISASTERS

Twitter for Lawyers "a must-read for all law firms"

Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition

"Adrian Dayton’s timely book on Twitter for the Legal Profession is a ‘must-read’ for all law firms" - Christopher J Sherliker, Partner, Silverman Sherliker LLP

Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition is now available in PDF format

Through till August 13th, you can order your copy of this report, in PDF format to allow for distribution through your firm for just $95 (normally ($225)

If you would like to benefit from this exclusive offer simply email publishingna@ark-group.com quoting code MP-TE1 or contact us on +1 309 495 2853 to place your order.

More Information

Table of Contents and Executive Summary

Further Reader Reviews

Overview:

There is no doubting that Twitter ever increasing popularity, it has become a key component of social media, marketing and business development strategies and is now being used extensively by forward thinking firms and lawyers to make contacts, share information, acquire new clients, communicate with colleagues and publicize their expertise.

Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition - will show you exactly how to implement Twitter, how it can work for your law firm and how it can quickly become an essential business development tool.

The report exposes the myths and guides you to a position where you are regularly bringing in new business to your firm from this thriving and influential community, including CEOs and general counsel of major corporations.

Practical advice and proven examples are provided of how to establish trusted relationships and gain new clients with a relatively small amount of effort and, crucially, no initial cost.

Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition is a concise guide that will help you:

- Overcome objections to using Twitter within your firm;
- Engage quickly without looking like a rookie;
- Create a Twitter profile that will hook clients in the blink of an eye;
- Quickly build a network of relevant contacts and influential people;
- Understand the tools/techniques (and the jargon surrounding them) that make Twitter a more powerful networking and business tool than any other social media;
- Find prospective clients on Twitter and offer your services to them before your competitors;
- Use Twitter to support other marketing activities;
- Capture genuine, qualified leads; and,
- Keep out of trouble and behave ethically.

Social Media for Lawyers: Twitter Edition focuses entirely on how you will bring new clients to your firm by engaging with an already waiting community of people looking for your services.

Navigating the Perfect Storm: Recruiting, Training and Retaining Lawyers

The facts are simple. The global recession has dramatically changed the situation for talent recruitment and retention in law firms.

Reported Record highs of layoffs in the profession, with estimates of Lawyers in the country who are unemployed or underemployed ranging from 30,000 and 100,000, coupled with the fact that each year Law Schools produce approximately 45,000 graduates each year, mean that there are more lawyers than jobs available

The recession has rocked the legal profession, and old game plans for Recruitment, Training and Retention will no longer work.

Managing Partner Magazine’s new report - Navigating the Perfect Storm: Recruiting, Training and Retaining Lawyers will enable you to re-examine your current recruitment, training and retention processes to ensure that your firm is in a better position to anticipate future needs while remaining competitive in a challenging market.

It looks at the key strategies needed to exploit the lessons that have been learned and the opportunities that lay ahead on topics including:

- Developing new skills including Project management and Convergence
- Changing client demands
- New-graduate recruitment
- Shortcomings in law school education
- Lateral Partner and Lateral Associate recruitment
- Training first and second year associates
- Ongoing professional development needs
- Morale, motivation, and compensation
- Associate attrition and retention

Navigating the Perfect Storm is a candid review of the current problems and challenges, that provides fresh ideas and strategies to improve Recruiting, Training and Retaining practices

It represents a valuable reality check for firms and individuals, setting out in clear terms the changes they must face up to survive and thrive in today’s legal profession.

For more information, the executive summary, table of contents, a sample chapter, and reader reviews for this report visit: http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=78AE6CEB-1078-4874-9ADD-AD003C5515CD

Ark Group's Latest Reports

Here is a complete list of all the new reports published over the past 6 weeks:

Government Online: Improving Service and Engaging Communities
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=48F7D737-1917-4502-B57D-99FE9C9A0040

Information Risk Management
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=E34002C7-E03A-4A02-A4A9-2DB3D377F7B3

Law Firm Remuneration, Reward and Motivation 2nd Edition
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=46EEA138-31F3-49D1-B61D-4F09DB350574

Strategic Internal Communications Second Edition
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=CD9D7D07-4C9F-4A7E-AB09-F27B5C1D0962

Alternative Fee Arrangements
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=B4D2BA75-4C41-430A-B218-FC5BAF313AD5

Balanced Scorecards for the Public Sector
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=5463F878-C7B7-4BB1-ACB5-276AEAAA142D

Business Development for Lawyers
http://www.mpmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=6D0DD592-98F8-4E6F-BEB0-D107D7C82E04

Alternative Fee Arrangements

Are your fee structures forcing your clients to seek better alternatives elsewhere?

Alternative fee arrangements have been a buzzword for some years now. But as momentum gathers and clients finally put their feet down about excessive billing through hourly rates you simply cannot risk being left behind whilst your competitors win over your clients with more personalised alternatives.

Managing Partner’s report on Alternative Fee Arrangements provides an in-depth look at alternative fee structures and how to make them work within your own firm by aligning culture, behaviour, cost and price.

Key points are illustrated throughout the report with clear examples and practical case studies from firms that are already successfully using alternative fee arrangements.

It reveals why law firms are seeking alternatives to the billable hour, what structures they are using and how to avoid the common pitfalls when implementing them within your own firm. Key topics covered include:

■The billable hour – where it came from, why it stuck and why the world is changing;
■The link between fee structures and the behaviours they encourage;
■The benefits of alternative fee arrangements for both clients and law firms;
■Alternative fee arrangements from the client point of view;
■An examination of alternative fee structures;
■The process of assigning a value to legal services;
■An introduction to value fees, how to sell them and make them work for you; and
■How to respond to FAQs from clients to ensure they understand value fees.

The report features step-by-step guidance on the specific cultural and behavioural changes that need to be made to ensure success in your firm’s use of alternative fee arrangements.

It also discusses the prevalence of value fees in the legal market today and the impact they will have on your firm’s core business operations.

Ensure you are equipped to compete in a post-recession world, not simply on price but on the value you offer to your clients.

For more information on this report contact us on 309 495 2853

Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing LGBT Lawyers

Attracting, Advancing, and Retaining LGBT Lawyers is now available in PDF format allowing for rapid distibution through your Firm.

Through to 5pm April 28th you can order your copy and benefit from a $250 discount - making your copy just $195

To order your copy simply reply to this email quoting the code ME-PDF1

Below is a very brief overview of the report, and a full executive summary can be found here

A full executive summary, introduction and table of contents are available here:
http://www.womenlegalmagazine.com/Publication.asp?pubid=478847E7-AE85-4B38-8959-8F5BFAD7BD7C

Attracting, Advancing, and Retaining LGBT Lawyers is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to not only overcoming the challenges associated with the complex issues that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender (“LGBT”) lawyers face in the modern legal profession, but also how these issues impact the Law firms that they work for.

Although LGBT individuals have made significant progress towards equality in many social arenas, many still face negative stereotypes, harassment, and bias in the workplace. With clients, law students, and lateral candidates increasingly focused on diversity, law firms must examine their workplace policies, procedures, and cultures to encourage and embrace diversity and ensure that all attorneys experience a respectful and collegial working environment.

Creating diverse workplaces makes good business sense, as many law firms have already discovered. Clients often expect their outside legal counsel to have inclusive workplace policies and diverse client service teams.

Authored by Lisa Linsky (McDermott Will & Emery) and Amy Beard (McDermott Will & Emery) the first part of this report provides a comprehensive overview exploring:

1. The challenges that LGBT attorneys face;
2. Initiatives that firms can use to recruit LGBT attorneys (and strategies attorneys and law students can use to seek out LGBT-friendly firms and programs);
3. The ways in which firms can make their workplaces more welcoming to LGBT attorneys.

The second part of this report comprises of case studies, insight, contributions and practical real world examples from firms and individuals who have achieved high levels of success and recognition including:

C. Elaine Arabatzis (Dickstein Shapiro LLP), Petra Braybrook (Simmons & Simmons), Denise Brogan-Kator (Rainbow Law Center PLLC), Andrew Dent (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP), James Holmes (Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP), D’Arcy Kemnitz (National LGBT Bar Association), James Leipold (National Association for Law Placement), Gail H. Morse (Jenner & Block LLP), Laura Olch (Boston University School of Law), Todd Solomon (McDermott Will & Emery LLP), Gabe Verdugo (University of Washington School of Law), Dr. Jillian T. Weiss (Jillian T. Weiss & Associates), Daniel Winterfeldt (Simmons & Simmons), Jeffrey Wolf (Williams Kastner), and Ann Young (New York Law School), amongst others.

They expand on the topics covered in part one in more depth including:

- The challenges facing LGBT attorneys,
- The need for law firms to encourage diversity
- Methods by which law firms can become more diverse
- Creating cultures of inclusion to retain and attract top LGBT legal talent
- Retaining LGBT attorneys with pro bono and community service initiatives
- Mentoring LGBT attorneys to advance their careers and create firm leaders
- Implementing employee benefits policies to cover domestic partner and other same-sex partner benefits as recruitment and retention tools.

How to order:
==========
To order your copy for just $195 (normally $445) contact us before 5pm April 28th quoting the code ME-PDF1:

- phone - +1 309 495 2853;
- e-mail - melam@ark-group.com

Creating the Successful Law Firm Intranet

Creating a Successful Law Firm Intranet

An essential guide to enabling you to create a successful intranet management team, design a successful project plan and successfully develop, launch and maintain your intranet into the future.

Through till 5pm April 8th you can order your copy for just $195 (excluding shipping)

To order your copy, simply email melam@ark-group.com quoting the code ME-LI2.

This report provides iis a step-by-step look at each vital phase of a successful intranet redesign project. It explains why user involvement is critical, how to engage users in an intranet project and what tasks users will perform throughout the life-cycle of the intranet project.

Creating a Successful Law Firm Intranet begins with guidance on how to build a compelling business case that will gain the support needed to help ensure the project is a success from the outset and how to identify the roles and responsibilities of your team.

A full executive summary, introduction and table of contents are available here

Overview:

Creating the Successful Law Firm Intranet begins by addressing and clearly defining:

- Where to begin: building the business case for an intranet
- Who to include: why governance is critical to a successful intranet
- How to do it: methodology to follow for a successful intranet project:

It covers the 5 key phases of an intranet redesign project including:

- Research,
- Design,
- Development,
- Rollout,
- Measurement and Maintenance

Each of these phases include processes, helpful hints and suggested tools that will enable a firm to successfully move to the next phase in the process. Expected deliverables and outcomes of the phase are explained and illustrated.

Creating the Successful Law Frim Intranet features numerous case studies from firms including Baker Donelson, Reed Smith, Torys, amongst others, that demonstrate the methodology and processes being used successfully or in some cases demonstrating how not using these methods can be disastrous.

Who should read this report:
This report is intended for use by intranet managers, librarians, chief knowledge officers, executive administrators, management committee members, chief information officers and anyone who is a champion, manager, creator, developer or user of a law firm’s intranet.

How to order:

To order your copy for just $195 (excluding shipping) contact us before 5pm April 8th quoting the code ME-LI2:
- phone - +1 309 495 2853;
- e-mail - melam@ark-group.com

The Value-Able Law Department: Securing Maximum Value from Internal and External Legal Resources

The Value-Able Law Department

Executive Summary:

The current pressures on law departments. which are likely to intensify rather than abate, are such that the law departments must explore new avenues to maximize the value that their companies realize from their investment in legal services. The internal and external resources deployed on a company's behalf must all contribute as fully and as efficiently as possible to achieving the company's legal goals. Benchmarking against other law departments may no longer satisfy the expectations of corporate management, since many companies have driven continual improvement processes throughout the rest of their organizations. They're unlikely to accept anything less from their in-house lawyers.

Those pressures will, therefore, prompt forward-thinking law departments to re-examine their approaches to identifying and deploying the legal resources at their disposal. They likely will revisit periodically the "make-or-buy" equation. In the context of their companies' uses of outside legal expertise, rather than engage in the discussion of "do we retain the lawyer or do we retain the law firm," they should ask something akin to the following question: "which outside lawyer can best provide the specific type of legal expertise we need and how can we most effectively combine that lawyer's assistance with that of the other members of the legal team?"

The line between work done by internal talent and that completed by external talent may need to be redrawn for a variety of reasons. In some cases, perhaps more work should be completed by in-house attorneys and other personnel of the company. Other companies may need to assign more work to outside counsel in order to achieve the most efficiency. Some companies may find that they should pull more work in-house on some matters and more work should be handled by outside counsel as to other matters.

What talents should a law department have on its staff to meet the company's legal needs? How should it fill the slots so identified?

Correspondingly, what types and amounts of legal talent will it need among its external legal advisers? Where should they be located?

Once it determines what work should be completed in-house and which assignments are better left to outside counsel, how can a law department assure itself (and its corporate management) that the entire team of lawyers and other professionals (both inside and outside the company) will work together seamlessly so as to deliver the best legal work appropriate to meet the company's needs?

In addition to recalibrating the application of personnel and other resources internal and external, law departments should consider whether techniques that they might have failed to apply previously can assist them in delivering the "most bang for the buck" that their companies spend on their legal needs. Does "total quality management" offer some benefits that would be useful in that regard? Might some project management approaches provide insight into the most appropriate use of legal talents?

Ultimately, law departments will need to become more specific and granular in their selection of personnel and outside counsel. Rather than continue to the age-old debate of "choose the lawyer" versus "choose the law firm," law departments will need to assemble teams of individuals to represent their companies in specific matters (litigation or otherwise). While some law departments have formed teams by having several of their network law firms work together on one or more matters, in at least some situations in-house lawyers will need to dig into the firms and other organizations with which they're familiar to select individuals or groups to form ad hoc, cross-organizational teams. They may have to find on-demand or contract solutions to immediate talent voids when a longer term solution is not feasible or appropriate.

This book addresses the implications of such a more-granular approach to identifying and selecting the legal resources necessary to address a company's needs for legal service. How might that approach affect or change the nature of the relationship between in-house and outside counsel? What tools and techniques will law departments need to implement such an approach? Will they need to find new expertise or train the in-house lawyers on new approaches or techniques?

Table of Contents:

Part One: Identifying and deploying internal resources to maximum value and advantage

Chapter 1: Value - Some thoughts regarding a definition
- The in-house counsel perspective
- Factors affecting value
- A discussion of ‘quality’

Chapter 2: The measure of value
- Internal and external factors affecting value determination
- The balancing act of resources versus goals

Chapter 3: Planning to identify and apply the appropriate resources
- Contents of a strategic plan
- Strategic strengths and challenges

Chapter 4: Identifying the highest value of in-house counsel
- Benefits and value of in-house counsel
- Qualification and skills of in-house counsel
- Case study: A new in-house lawyer focuses on delivering value

Chapter 5: The role and importance of metrics
- Benchmarking
- Self-diagnosis
- Selecting measurements
- Case study: American Express
- Case study: Motorola

Chapter 6: The ‘make-or-buy’ dilemma
- Cost
- Necessity of admission to practice
- Type(s) of legal work that comprise most of the ongoing work for the company
- The degree to which the particular work is core to the business
- Volume of work and its variability
- Business plans and expectations
- Location work to the extent that work must be done in particular locations
- Centrality of issues to the company’s compliance posture
- Importance of consistency across matters
- Corporate culture/ethos
- Repetitiveness of issues or matters
- Frequency of the need for counseling

Chapter 7: Areas to consider for possible increased in-house role
- Creating a discovery centre within the law department to increase security of data
- Creating a discovery management unit to realize better results in addition to cost savings
- Utilizing on-demand personnel to reduce costs

Chapter 8: The knowledge management challenge
- Why does an organization need a knowledge management system?
- Compliance: A particularly difficult knowledge management challenge
- What value can a knowledge management system offer?
- Hurdles to an effective knowledge management system
- Overcoming the hurdles
- Conclusion

Chapter 9: Using technology to realize greater value
- Improved collaboration
- Case study: Creating a law department extranet to enhance collaboration with outside counsel
- Technology to enhance compliance

Chapter 10: Law department organization and structure
- Managing disputes and litigation
- Compliance
- Managing outside counsel
- Support of the board of directors and the corporate secretary function
- Contract management and administration
- Human resources and employment law

Chapter 11: Cost control – Some possible approaches
- Counsel-selection tools
- Counsel-management tools
- Information management

Part Two: Identifying and deploying external resources to maximum value and advantage

Chapter 12: The value of outside counsel
- Amount of resources
- Type of resource
- Location of resources
- Expertise
- Connections

Chapter 13: An overview of the identification and selection of outside counsel
- Methods of identifying candidate law firms
- A new, improved approach
- Ongoing evaluation

Chapter 14: Unbundling the outside legal service to realize increased value
- Legal research
- Document or data management
- Court reporting
- Temporary or on-demand personnel
- Case study: Unbundling

Chapter 15: The importance of consistent process

Chapter 16: Don’t select either the firm or the lawyer – Select ‘appropriate counsel’
- Case study: Team building

Chapter 17: Setting yourself up to succeed
- Project management
- Strategic partnering
- Business objectives for resolving litigation
- Communication

Chapter 18: Prepare to defend your selection
- Case study in the use of objective criteria
- Evaluation against stated expectations
- Case study: KONE, Inc.

Chapter 19: Managing outside legal resources to maximize their contribution to achieving business goals
- Selection of outside counsel
- The retention of counsel
- Day-to-day management of counsel
- The importance of communication
- Evaluation of firms
- Incorporating other providers in its legal service delivery

Chapter 20: Fees and value
- Corporate law department perspective
- Law firm perspective
- The contexts in which alternative fees should be discussed by clients and law firms
- Alternative fees – Different types
- Fixed fee
- Blended rates
- Retainer
- Value-based fee
- Case study: Engaging clients in a ‘value’ discussion about assignments to support alternative fees
- Percentage fee
- Contingent fee
- Task-based fee
- Hourly rate plus contingency
- Volume discount
- Incentives to expedite
- Task-based budgeting
- Graduated discount
- Convergence
- Obstacles to wider use of alternative fee arrangements
- Overcoming the hurdles

Chapter 21: Law firm structure and its impact on value
- Case study: A law firm structure that benefits clients by delivering more value
- Case study: Impediments to law firm being responsive to client’s needs regarding value

Chapter 22: Reporting by outside counsel
- Case study: Wal-Mart

Chapter 23: Tracking your success and reporting about it

Transition and Succession Planning for Law Firms

Transition Planning for Law Firms

A comprehensive guide to securing core knowledge and expertise in the legal Profession

Managing Partner Magazine's new report Transition Planning for Law Firms is now available.

Through till March 24th you can order you copy with a $200 discount making it just $295 (excluding shipping). To order this report simply email melam@ark-group.com quoting the code BL-TP1 before March 24th.

The full overview, executive summary and table of contents are now available here

For more information on this report please contact us on 309 495 2853

The Value-Able Law Department: Executive Summary

The Value-Able Law Department - Executive Summary

By Steven A. Lauer ©2010

The current pressures on law departments. which are likely to intensify rather than abate, are such that the law departments must explore new avenues to maximize the value that their companies realize from their investment in legal services. The internal and external resources deployed on a company's behalf must all contribute as fully and as efficiently as possible to achieving the company's legal goals. Benchmarking against other law departments may no longer satisfy the expectations of corporate management, since many companies have driven continual improvement processes throughout the rest of their organizations. They're unlikely to accept anything less from their in-house lawyers.

Those pressures will, therefore, prompt forward-thinking law departments to re-examine their approaches to identifying and deploying the legal resources at their disposal. They likely will revisit periodically the "make-or-buy" equation. In the context of their companies' uses of outside legal expertise, rather than engage in the discussion of "do we retain the lawyer or do we retain the law firm," they should ask something akin to the following question: "which outside lawyer can best provide the specific type of legal expertise we need and how can we most effectively combine that lawyer's assistance with that of the other members of the legal team?"

The line between work done by internal talent and that completed by external talent may need to be redrawn for a variety of reasons. In some cases, perhaps more work should be completed by in-house attorneys and other personnel of the company. Other companies may need to assign more work to outside counsel in order to achieve the most efficiency. Some companies may find that they should pull more work in-house on some matters and more work should be handled by outside counsel as to other matters.

What talents should a law department have on its staff to meet the company's legal needs? How should it fill the slots so identified?

Correspondingly, what types and amounts of legal talent will it need among its external legal advisers? Where should they be located?

Once it determines what work should be completed in-house and which assignments are better left to outside counsel, how can a law department assure itself (and its corporate management) that the entire team of lawyers and other professionals (both inside and outside the company) will work together seamlessly so as to deliver the best legal work appropriate to meet the company's needs?

In addition to recalibrating the application of personnel and other resources internal and external, law departments should consider whether techniques that they might have failed to apply previously can assist them in delivering the "most bang for the buck" that their companies spend on their legal needs. Does "total quality management" offer some benefits that would be useful in that regard? Might some project management approaches provide insight into the most appropriate use of legal talents?

Ultimately, law departments will need to become more specific and granular in their selection of personnel and outside counsel. Rather than continue to the age-old debate of "choose the lawyer" versus "choose the law firm," law departments will need to assemble teams of individuals to represent their companies in specific matters (litigation or otherwise). While some law departments have formed teams by having several of their network law firms work together on one or more matters, in at least some situations in-house lawyers will need to dig into the firms and other organizations with which they're familiar to select individuals or groups to form ad hoc, cross-organizational teams. They may have to find on-demand or contract solutions to immediate talent voids when a longer term solution is not feasible or appropriate.

This book addresses the implications of such a more-granular approach to identifying and selecting the legal resources necessary to address a company's needs for legal service. How might that approach affect or change the nature of the relationship between in-house and outside counsel? What tools and techniques will law departments need to implement such an approach? Will they need to find new expertise or train the in-house lawyers on new approaches or techniques?

For details on how to order your copy of this report contact us on 309 495 2853

Report: Social Networking for the Legal Profession

Social Networking for the Legal Profession

Social Networking for the Legal Profession provides best practice examples, and clear strategies for adopting and exploiting social networking for business, both internally and externally for operations, communication, and business development strategies.

The report takes into account the risk issues surrounding the use of social networking in a legal context and explains the challenges you must overcome to make implementation of a social networking strategy a success.

Through till March 5th you can order you copy with a $200 discount making it just $295 (excluding shipping). To order this report simply email melam@ark-group.com quoting the code BL-TP2 before March 5th.

View table of contents, introduction and executive summary here

Overview:

Social Networking for the Legal Profession

There has been a great deal of interest in social network-based technologies among law firms and corporate legal departments in recent years, but relatively few of them have been able to adopt these new tools in a meaningful way. Now, with the advent of the global recession and increased competition, more orgainizations are looking to social technologies for innovation, cost savings, and value enhancement.

This report will explore the networking practices and social tools that are currently being adopted by individuals in law firms and corporate legal departments, and provide you with practical guidance for getting started with an online social networking strategy, including:

- What do we mean by social networking in a legal context?
- Using online social networks for recruitment, value-added legal services, thought leadership and reputation management;
- Using networks across the orgainization to improve experience location, knowledge sharing, current awareness and internal communications;
- The role of social networks in improving both personal and network productivity, decision making, collective intelligence and relationship building;
- Challenges to establishing and participating in online social networks;
- How to evaluate and select social networking tools, and assimilate them in to your professional and personal life in ways that suit and make sense to you;
- Policy and governance issues around social networking adoption;
- A survey of personal, professional and lawyer-to-lawyer social network sites, including the best sites for lawyers and what they have to offer;
- How social tools support social networking within the firm, including blogs, wikis, presence sharing, social bookmarking and tagging; RSS, social news reading and syndication; and,
- Future social networking trends and their impact on the legal profession.

The guidance and expertise provided within the report is supported by case studies and interviews with legal professionals offering practical advice and insight into social networking and the use of social tools.

For more information on this report please contact us on 309 495 2853

New Report: Transition and Succession Planning for Law Firms

Transition Planning for Law Firms
A comprehensive guide to securing core knowledge and expertise in the legal Profession

Managing Partner Magazine's new report Transition Planning for Law Firms is now available.

Through till March 3rd you can order you copy with a $200 discount making it just $295 (excluding shipping). To report simply email melam@ark-group.com quoting the code BL-TP1 before March 3rd.

Below is a brief overview and a full executive summary and table of contents can be found here

Overview:

Law firms are facing a leadership crisis - Quite simply, the ‘baby-boomer’ generation is nearing retirement and will soon leave their firms.

With this demographic crisis looming on the horizon, firms are left with a situation in which the younger generation are either unwilling or not suitably trained to take over the reins of leading their businesses.

In the next five years, your law firm will be transitioning to the next generation. If you fail to implement succession strategies now you may well find yourself with a leadership gap in just a few years’ time. And what will start as an internal problem will soon escalate to a business crisis, as your firm loses vital knowledge and the means to effectively serve your clients.

Managing Partner magazine's new report on Transition Planning for Law Firms will help you devise a sound succession plan for your firm that ensures not only a more secure organisational set-up that locks-in your core knowledge and expertise, but the means to impress your clients with the kind of long-term thinking that protects business interests.

The report begins by identifying the key challenges that lie ahead by examining the emerging demographic trends against most recent developments in the legal profession.

It then looks to provide innovative, realistic and simple solutions that can be cost-effectively applied in a post-recessionary environment. The report considers numerous issues including:

- The impact of generations X and Y on the practice of law in the 21st century. What do senior management need to know to ensure a smooth transition to the next generation?
- The retirement of the baby-boomer generation. What ongoing risks does this pose to a law firm’s business stability?
- The current preparedness of the younger generation to take the reins of their businesses. Do they even want to follow in the retirees’ footsteps?
- To what extent has the recession turned an ongoing succession challenge into a potential crisis, as numbers of lawyers, support staff and resources have been cut?
- What are the potential solutions – how can strategies such as mentoring, after-action reviews, story-telling and interactive learning help enable smooth transition between generations?
- What role can technology – and particularly Web 2.0 tools – play in addressing the succession challenge?
- And whose responsibility is succession planning anyway?

In the post-recession environment, firms will be keen to demonstrate to clients their long-term resilience following months of uncertainty. This important new report will include highly practical case studies from firms who have successfully implemented succession planning, including Weightmans LLP; Mills & Reeve LLP; Eversheds; Optim Legal; Macpherson & Kelley Lawyers; Altman Weil; Borden Ladner Gervais; and many more..

For more information on this report please contact us on 309 495 2853