A Friday Coaching Session with Cordell: When Networking Build Relationships

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

An associate asked: 

Everyone tells you to network. Are there any new strategies for networking that actually work and don't make you feel like a loser always trying to sell yourself? 

 I don't think there are any new strategies. I think the old ones work. I have never enjoyed going to what would be described as "networking" events because the perception of every one there is trying to handout as many business cards as possible and sell themselves. I remember speaking at a construction law conference several years ago. After I spoke I was surrounded by people. None of them were clients or potential clients. Instead they were all consultants trying to convince me to hire them as experts to help on two big cases they knew I was handling. 
 
I think the strategy for networking is to focus on building relationships rather than to focus on getting business. You build relationships by being interested in the people you meet and engaging them and listening. You want to build trust, rapport and find common interests. I remember something I read many years ago. It was: "It is far more important to be 'interested'  than it is to be 'interesting.'"
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Find Your Passion: Get Involved in Your Community

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

Many of you are like me in that you went to law school with the idea that as a lawyer you would be able to help people and make a difference in your community. Then you started your law practice with a firm and rarely have the feeling that you are actually helping people and making a difference in your community. So you look for non-billable ways to get involved.

Recently I had a coaching session with Matt Siegel, a Cozen O'Connor  attorney. He was recently named to the Board of the Philadelphia Support Center for Child Advocates. Every time Matt talks about his work with the support center I can hear the passion in his voice. Matt and other members of his firm represent abused and neglected children in Philadelphia. 

During the last two years I have experienced the joy of speaking at career day at the school where my daughter Jill teaches. It is one of my favorite experiences.  I have spoken to  3rd and 4th grade classes, competing with the fireman who brought trucks. Instead of anything they could climb on, my tools were an iPhone and AirMac computer. Each year the students thought those tools were pretty cool.
 
Last year, I decided to teach them about contracts. I brought eight books and asked who wanted to enter into a contract with me to get one of the books. To my surprise, every student in the first class raised a hand. Before the day was over, I committed to buy 90 additional books. This year I told them about The Rule of Law using some of the materials available at the Virginia Bar Association Rule of Law Project.  You might remember my blog Service Idea for Your Bar Association where I discussed how Michael Pace's passion to help middle school students understand the importance of the rule of law had played an instrumental part in getting the project off the ground.
 
If you do not feel your billable time is helping people or making a difference in your community, think about what you are most passionate about and then get involved.
 

 

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A Short, Concise Client Development Tip

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

Most clients assume you have the legal skills necessary to handle their matter. In surveys they say they are less are less concerned about your legal skills, your billable rate and your track record.than they are about how much you care.

How do you show you care about what you are doing for a business client? I think it begins with a thorough understanding of the client's industry, business and strategies. After that, it is small things like:

  1. Asking good questions
  2. Being empathetic
  3. REALLY listening
  4. Being responsive
  5. Doing something beyond what is expected
  6. Being appreciative

What would you add to this concise list?

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I Want You to Write a Guest Post on Mentoring

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

I like to tell lawyers when I am presenting a topic: "This is the interactive part," meaning this is the part when I want them to share their ideas. Well, it is a good time for the interactive part of this blog. I want you to help write a post about mentoring.

I have written many articles on mentoring and done many programs on law firms on the subject. You can click HERE if you want to read my mentoring articles.  Based on my history, discussions with senior attorneys about their expereriences with mentors and extensive reading about the subject, I’ve drawn up a list of 40 potential  characteristics I believe the best mentors might possess.

Here is your assignment: Pick your top 5-10 characteristics and write why you think each one is an important characteristic and give an example of that characteristic being used. If your ideas are selected I will have you do the guest blog post.

 Choose from this list of potential great mentor characteristics: 
  1.  Principle centered 
  2. Trustworthy 
  3. Ethical
  4. Role models 
  5. Committed 
  6. Patient 
  7. Understanding 
  8. Respectful 
  9. Responsive 
  10. Motivated 
  11. Talented 
  12. Enthusiastic 
  13. Energetic 
  14.  Inspiring 
  15. Unselfish
  16. Fair
  17. Thoughtful
  18. Encouragers
  19. Upbeat 
  20. Storytellers 
  21. Fun 
  22. Able to identify strengths and weaknesses 
  23. Able to stretch their mentees 
  24. Both demanding and supportive 
  25. Straight forward and decisive
  26. Even keeled and tempered 
  27. Willing to express gratitude for a job well done 
  28. Able to constructive feedback with the interest of the mentee at heart 
  29. Willingly to share knowledge, insights and ideas 
  30. Still learning themselves 
  31. Willing to let the mentee know him or her as a person 
  32. Able to clearly describe an assignment 
  33. Interested in people 
  34. Confident, yet humble 
  35. Good listeners 
  36. Open and accessible 
  37. Good communicators 
  38. Appreciative of the opportunities they have been given 
  39. Able to read and understand their mentees 
  40.  Willing to give credit to others 
 
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9 Things I Figured Out When I Was a Young Lawyer

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

I am able to look back now and see how a few things I figured out when I was a young lawyer contributed to my career success and life fulfillment. Let me share those with you in the hope it will enable you to figure out some important things on your own. Here is what I figured out:

  1. What I wanted in my career and life. I really gave a lot of thought to what was important to me.
  2. What would motivate me and help me stay on track. I found motivation very necessary to get through difficult times.
  3. That I had to have a plan to achieve it and stay focused on what was important to me. I discovered I can easily get distracted by unimportant things.
  4. What my clients and potential clients wanted and needed. After I developed my legal skills, I spent a great deal of my non-billable time focusing on clients.
  5. Different ways I could give them what they wanted and needed. I thought creatively and out of the box.
  6. That having the right attitude and not ever giving up were essential.
  7. Each of the people who worked for me was unique and different. This was a major breakthrough because for a time I thought what motivated me would motivate each of them.
  8.  The importance of focusing on my family and to the extent that I could do it, arrange my work schedule to enable me to do things with them that they value. 
  9. Finally, each and every day, I wanted to try to get better at what I did in my professional life and personal life. I spent an entire career studying successful and fulfilled people and borrowing from each something that would work for me.

 

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A Friday Coaching Session with Cordell: Why Did Clients Hire Me

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

The good news is that I am on a plane with WiFi so I am able to post this. The bad news is the guy in front of me has his seat in the fully reclined position so I have no room for my computer. So, typing is a challenge to say the least.

I am frequently blown away by interesting questions the lawyers I coach ask me. Here is one of those interesting questions:

What are the top 2 reasons you think that clients sought you out and retained you . . . . :

        a)  During the first 1-10 years you began practicing law? 

        b)  During the years following year 10?

        c)  And during the final years you were actively practicing law?

In the beginning I got hired because I started specializing and took the time to learn things that less specialized lawyers did not know. For example, each State Department of Transportation has what is called The Standard Specifications for construction. They are contained in a book (you can get them on line now). I remember one of my very first clients said: "Cordell you are the first lawyer who we do not have to explain the Standard Specifications to. We resent being charged by others for something they should already know. I also got hired because I wrote a law review article and made sure all my potential clients received a copy.

After 10 years I got hired because I was writing and speaking all over the country. I also created content in booklets, Guides and Workshops. I even created a video.  So, I had became more visible and more credible to a greater number of "weak ties" who recommended me. I believe I also got hired during that time period because I had built relationships. My friends were my clients and my clients were my friends. Finally I got hired because I got results and got them quickly. Even though you only asked for two reasons, there was an important third reason. After 10 years I knew a great deal about the the transportation construction business. I gained this knowledge by reading books, engineering journals and magazines. 

In the last few years of my practice, I worked for fewer clients who sent more work. Over years I had gotten favorable results for those clients and became friends with the client representatives. I also spent a great deal of non-billable time with my best clients teaching and acting as a trusted advisor. I was hired by a few new clients in a specialized area because I was perceived to be the number one lawyer in that niche by the contractors. They typically recommended me to their local law firms. So, I acted as the subject matter expert.

Are you in your first 10 years, second, or near the end of your career. Have you thought about why clients are hiring you? What can you learn and apply from my experience?

 

 

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Are You Helping Your Young Lawyers Become Artisans or Virtuosos?

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

Over time your first year lawyers will either become artisans or virtuosos. I thought of this idea because several young partners I coach have complained about the way the young associates who work for them analyze a problem. These very bright associates seem to only do what they are tasked to do rather than digging deeper when confronted with an issue and trying to figure out an appropriate answer. 

A year ago I came across an interesting two part blog titled: Artisans and Virtuosos: Cultivating Adaptive Expertise in our Children--and In Ourselves. The blogger discussed ideas shared by John Bransford in his chapter "How Experts Differ from Novices."  In that chapter, Bransford outlines six principles of of "expert's knowledge" and then examines their "potential for learning and instruction." The very first principle is  

Experts notice features and meaningful patterns of information that are not noticed by novices.

Young lawyers who are artisans do only what is required. I think they must have been taught how to take the tests. Young lawyers who are virtuosos see meaningful patterns that cause them to dig deeper.

In Part 2 of the blog, Virtuosos: Learners in the Age of Meaning, Imagination and Ideas the blogger discusses Bransford's description of routine experts in his informal essay "Thoughts on Adaptive Expertise:"

Routine experts ('artisans'). . .tend to accept the problem and its limits as stated. . . Their approach to these tasks is primarily to find things that they have done before that can be applied to the new situation. They attempt to 'get the problem solved' as efficiently as possible and then move on to the next task.

How can we help young lawyers gain experience in seeing issues they are currently missing? We need to create NITA like training for transactional lawyers. Each time the lawyers in your firm work on a deal, take the main learning points and create hypothetical problems for young lawyers to analyze. Young litigators need similar training. Each year they should be preparing and litigating hypothetical cases to gain experience. As I have said many times, young lawyers develop their skills by doing not by listening.

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16 Things Law Firms Expect of New Lawyers

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Cordell Parvin
As you know, in the next few weeks I will be speaking to first year lawyers during their orientation. One thing I will cover is what the law firm expects of them. Here is a list:
  1. Ethics and integrity
  2. Intelligence and critical analysis
  3. Hard working 
  4. Professional 
  5. Desire to learn
  6. Healthy 
  7. High energy
  8. People skills
  9. Ask questions when unsure about an assignment
  10. Listening skills
  11. Desire to be a lawyer
  12. Patience
  13. Confidence
  14. Dress appropriately and professionally
  15. Participation in firm events and activities
  16. Do something to become involved in your community
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10 Things You Didn't Learn in Law School...and Need to Begin Learning Soon

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

This week I am focusing on lawyers who will be starting their law practice soon and sharing thoughts for more senior lawyers and law firm professional development directors to consider.

A couple of years ago I spoke to the Texas State Bar Leaders. In that presentation I mentioned things law school doesn't teach and suggested that the State Bar as well as City and County Bar Associations should help young lawyers learn those things. In law school, students are taught to "think like a lawyer." They are not taught:

  1. To think like a client
  2. How to practice law
  3. Law as a business
  4. How to attract clients
  5. What clients want
  6. How to retain and expand relationships with clients
  7. How to ask clients good questions
  8. How to work with senior lawyers and staff
  9. How to prepare legal documents
  10. How to present their position

If you are a Bar Leader and are interested in the slides for my entire presentation, you can click here.

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Starting Right for Career Success

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Cordell Parvin

In just a few weeks I will be speaking to brand new first year lawyers. I always enjoy this opportunity and this year will be no exception. If you are interested you can click on Starting Right for Career Success and look at the slides I used last year.

I recently read an interesting blog post 10 Ways to be Wise Beyond Your Years by Scott Ginsberg, The Nametag Guy. Several of the 10 ways will apply to first year lawyers. The very first way is to learn by doing. I suggest that as many development activities as possible be learning by doing. I think you will find this approach most effective because the associate will learn by doing and hopefully will build confidence. There is a Chinese proverb that Duke Basketball Coach Krzyzewski uses: “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand." 

If you will be working with new first year lawyers, consider having them read my 20 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I was a First Year Lawyer and my 15 Additional Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I was a First Year Lawyer.

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