Staff Meeting Success: Must Do & Definitely Don’t!
#1 “Must Do!” Hold regular, pre-planned and productive staff meetings. #1 “Definitely Don’t!” Without adequate preparation and the right facilitator to ensure employee meetings are productive, positive and efficient, don’t go there. I could stop writing now as the most critical points of my message are listed above. A checklist is offered below, however, with [...]
Does Your Employee Evaluation System Need a Boost?
How do you conduct employee evaluations in your office? Think it could use some updating and/or revamping? If so, please see a recent article written for republication in my workshops, seminar presentations and in Lawyers USA: Does Your Employee Evaluation System Need a Boost (or perhaps a total overhaul)? And, as always, many thanks for [...]
Making Fertilizer from Office Poop
As our awesome grandkids would tell you, we scoop lots of poop on our mountainside horse and donkey ranch. If we had a nickel for all our scoopings through the years, we’d likely be more than financially set for life. I’m retained by professional firms to serve as their investigator, coach, consultant or temporary administrator. [...]
Quick Attorney Self-Audit: Supervising Staff
Most of us are pretty good at judging others…actually we’re downright expert at doing so IF we’re being brutally honest that is…..whether inwardly or out loud to others, we judge others’ looks, their work habits, their personalities, their decisions and the list goes on. What is not so easy to do, however, is to look [...]
Quick Self-Audit: What Kind of Employee Are You?
1. Looking back over the past 12 months, what contributions have you made to your workplace that are not in your job description (e.g. cost-saving ideas, helping co-workers in need of an extra hand without being asked)? 2. Do you make an excessive number of personal calls during the workday? What about personal emails? 3. [...]
Enhancing & Maintaining the Value of Paralegals
How can paralegals maintain their profession’s highly valued niche within the legal system? How do paralegals enhance their individual value to law firms and legal departments? What behaviors decrease their value? How can paralegals collectively enhance their profession for those following in their footsteps? How Can Paralegals as a Profession Maintain Their Highly Valued Niche [...]
Personnel Smarts (starter checklist)
Hold regular, uninterrupted meetings with employees (i.e. We should never multitask during these meetings…employees like clients/customer deserve our full, undivided attention!) Enforce (or ignore!) rules fairly and consistently across the board Treat employees in the same manner you expect them to treat clients/customers & in the same ways you like to be treated Give ongoing [...]
Employee Terminations: Self-Audit Tips from Hiring to Firing
Employee Terminations: Self-Audit Tips from Hiring to Firing…..okay…I know personnel management and especially employee firings are NOT desired or enjoyable subjects for most of us…but it is reality. You can read my partial list of recommendations on the hiring process, the management and supervision of employees and the termination of them when things just [...]
Staff Plays Key Role in Law Office Survival in Tough Times
Many law firms are still trying to recover from the tornado-like aftermath caused by the economic chaos of recent years. Others are in the midst of other challenges. They may be defending allegations of ethical violations or malpractice, in shock and grieving over the unexpected death of a co-worker or trying to stabilize after the [...]
Legal Ethics Risks Increase When Attorneys Lives Out of Control: Tips for Ending the Chaos
I’ve taught and written about the increased risks of ethics violations and legal malpractice when attorneys’ lives are out of control (this goes for legal staff too). We fool ourselves into thinking that we’re better lawyers and legal assistants when we remain in a 90 mph non-stop mode…worse, some attorneys think you’re not a real [...]
Problem Managers & Employees: Danger Signals & Red Flags
MANAGERS/LEADERS/SUPERVISORS (Note: No Order of Priority Intended….I Consider All These Red Flags as Needing ASAP Attention!) (c) Nancy Byerly Jones 2010 Excessive/chronic telephone & email message pileups Regular client/customer complaints about unreturned telephone calls Trying to keep up with it all without short hot list (“cheat sheet” or “road map”) re highest priorities for each [...]
Office Sharing: Maximizing the Benefits & Minimizing the Risks
For those considering office sharing (or already doing so), here are a few of my recommendations for minimizing the risks and maximizing the benefits: Tips on office sharing and executive suites (from chapter in ABA/Law Practice Management’s Flying Solo, Edition 4 Publication) Other questions? Either leave a comment or email me at nbj@nbjconsulting.com and I [...]
Sampling of 2009 Characteristics Shared or Ignored by Successful & Not-So-Successful Law Firms
Sampling Characteristics of Successful Firms in 2009: An ongoing effort to improve management and leadership skills including having the most qualified (vs. most senior, etc.) leaders at the helm Creating written action plans, monitoring them regularly and holding everyone timely accountable to do their part Taking the need to market the firm seriously and doing [...]
Verbal Violence & Bullying in the Workplace
Click here for one of my articles on these two runaway problems in today’s law firms and other offices. Workplace bullying and verbal violence poison (dilute at best) any other steps taken to reduce office stress and they are serious productivity and morale thieves. Sadly, too many leaders allow these destructive behaviors to continue without [...]
Law Firm Leadership
By clicking here, you’ll pull up a copy of one of my articles on effective law firm leadership – an often talked about subject, but not as often practiced. This article also includes my simplistic self-audit for privately evaluating our own leadership characteristics. And, I suggest an easy way to immediately start honing any leadership [...]
