Norton Legal News

In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You need to know what`s happening to customers, competitors, industries, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to stay an expert and beat the competition. We benefit from over a century of combined legal expertise and the ability to handle a wide range of legal issues. Many of our lawyers hold graduate degrees and certifications in litigation, mediation, tax and real estate law. Stephanie Hamon celebrated her third year in business and spoke to Artificial Lawyer about the growth of legal operations consulting at Norton Rose Fulbright, what legal operations means to her, and how law firms are challenging the Big Four. In this interview, Stephanie explains that legal operations is « more of a mindset than a role » and a catalyst for the legal team to create value for the business by being strategic rather than just a cost center. It`s interesting to read this recent Thomson Reuters article on « Top 5 Ways In-House Legal Teams Can Do More with Less. » What I noticed, yes, these are all fairly reasonable suggestions (and as the article mentions – in some ways « obvious »). This is the first part of a short series of insights showing how our legal products team develops solutions that help clients overcome some of their most prevalent and pressing legal issues through technological and scalable solutions. The real estate group provides legal representation to corporate and private clients in the acquisition, development and sale of residential and commercial real estate as well as in leasing and financing. By Spencer FarrisBridgeTower Media NewswiresI was fired by a client last week.

This has happened before, but fortunately, it is not common in my practice. While we don`t like to talk about it, all lawyers get fired from a client if they practice long enough, as do catching complaints about the bar and losing lawsuits. This client came to the office to drop off a letter firing us. Since no one comes to see us anymore, it was disturbing. The reason he fired us was more troubling. He said he could not find us at the Better Business Bureau or in the phone book and that he had concerns about the good faith of my business. All the plaques on our walls awarded (i.e. purchased by) reputable organizations such as Lawyers for Poodle Safety and the International Organization of Associations did not change his mind.

I don`t know many of the law firms listed at BBB. The Better Business Bureau is the original Yelp bad rating. Since consumers tend to take the time to write a bad review rather than a good one, I still guess not having a file with the BBB is a badge of honor. One of my colleagues likens it to a mafia insurance scam: « Powerful nice deal you had there. It would be a shame if something happened to him. If we get paid, you`re probably safe. Probably. Gain some, lose some, I think. The solution to my phone book problem is harder to find. I haven`t looked at a phone book in years. In fact, now that my table legs in the conference room are all the same length, we don`t even have a phone book in the office. A quick « Hey Google » (« Siri, please call this and that » for Apple fanatics) brings up all the numbers I`ll ever need.

I also don`t need to put on reading glasses to use it. I get directions, a full dinner menu, and a variety of reviews as additional bonuses without asking. All I took out of a phone book was newspaper on my fingers. I advertised on the back of the phone book in a very conservative district, but it was a no-win situation. The ads weren`t cheap. If I didn`t get new customers through the ad, I had wasted money. When I received cases, I had to try them in a place where victims of injuries were supposed to apologize and not prosecute. Giving up this space was one of the best decisions our marketing committee has ever made.

When I look at my company`s phone number, I realize that I`m late again. My phone number says what I am – A.L.A.W.Y.E.R. When I got this number a few decades ago, people were still spelling things out with their phone windows. The big advertising agencies in every city I visit now have billboards with a series of repetitive numbers for their phone numbers, either out of fear that the customers they want won`t be able to spell or to make their phone number easy to remember. I guess my new ex-client has a cell phone because I didn`t see any wires from his horse and stroller in the parking lot.