All ABA books including the Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success: Essential Tips to Power Your Practice are discounted 20% through July 30, 2010. Head to the ABA Webstore and check out our book and other terrific books–including some of our favorites from Jim Calloway & Mark Robertson, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell, and Sharon Nelson & John Simek. Just enter discount code PAB9IPSS1 at checkout to redeem your savings on these books and more.
I lost a friend on the weekend when Ed Flitton unexpectedly passed away. Ed was a true gentleman who was positive all the time and had contagious amounts of enthusiasm and energy.
I met Ed through the ABA Law Practice Management Section and worked with him a lot over the last few years as we were both on Law Practice Magazine Editorial Board. With his amazing knowledge of law firm finance and management issues, Ed made significant contributions to Law Practice. These included his Taking the Lead: Advice for Managing Partners column, and the feature articles he wrote for us from time to time. At our editorial meetings and brainstorming sessions, Ed also offered great input and wisdom when it came to the suggestions he made on the issues and topics we should cover and the knowledgeable people that could write for us on them.
I also had the pleasure to work with Ed in helping to plan the Futures Conferences that the College of Law Practice Management put on last fall in Denver, and the one planned for this fall in DC.
Few, if any, people I have ever met knew as much as Ed about managing and running a law firm. He had amazing stories to tell about interesting law firm management and operational issues - and the appropriate solutions to them. He seemed to always have short pithy one-liners that offered great insights and advice to managing partners. Two I remember are: “Your people are your firm – never forget to stay in touch with them;” and “Never fire a problem staff person until you know who is going to fill the vacant chair.” I wish I had written down more of Ed’s comments.
I enjoyed Ed’s company and conversation at many great breakfasts, lunches and dinners at LPM section events. And, while I never golfed with him (a true passion of his), we enjoyed the most hilarious jeep ride ever together with some other LPM friends at our meeting in Tucson. I was very lucky to have enjoyed a long chat with Ed in the Chair’s hospitality suite at ABA TECHSHOW last week.
Ed, the LPM family will miss you. I will miss you. Thanks for all you shared with me. Thanks for all you did for us.
Cross-posted on the College of Law Practice Management blog.
Despite all the public and private ribbing, and strong patriotism on both sides of the border, Dan and Reid promise our readers there will be a second edition of our book full of even more great tips - regardless of who wins.
UPDATE: Yeah, but now that Canada has the gold medal Dan gets to be listed first on the cover! RT
We’re all in favor of healthy profits, but even we think $122.oo is too much for our book–used at that! And yes that’s in US dollars–it would be about $3,000 in Canadian dollars! 
Well, that’s what it’s selling for on eBay this week!
So while we think our book has great value to readers far in excess of $122.00, we recommend purchasing it for about 1/3 that price on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Chapters (in Canada).
Oh, and if you DO decide to buy it on eBay, let us know. For that price we’ll authograph it for you!
Many of the best books in the field of law practice management are on sale for up to 25% off, including The 2010 Solo & Small Firm Legal Technology Guide, Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour, and my favorite–The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success!
February is a great time to spend a few hours each weekend to chill out and read these books to get more ideas and information to have a more successful 2010.
Use these discount codes to save up to 25% through February 28, 2010:
We are big fans of the UnBillable Hour podcast on the Legal Talk Network so we were really pleased that podcast host Rodney Dowell, director of the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, asked us to be his guests this month to expound on our Top Ten Tips for a Successful 2010 we blogged on New Year’s Day.
Take a listen to the podcast, that also features Judd Kessler of AbacusLaw, and take in our tips in a whole new way.
We are pleased to announce that our book was one of the first two books published by the American Bar Association to be made available for Amazon’s blockbuster Kindle e-reader. The Kindle is changing the way people buy and read books: Amazon reports they sold more e-books on Christmas Day than physical books–the first time that has ever happened.
And you don’t need a Kindle either to get our book electronically. If you have an iPhone, you can now download the Kindle for iPhone app from the App Store for free, then download our book or just about any other favorite book. Best of all, the “Kindlized” version of our book will save you a few bucks over the printed book, and it can go with you wherever you take your iPhone or your Kindle.
I had the opportunity to hit the mall on Black Friday, visit New York City stores on Sunday, and snoop around the Internet on Cyber Monday, so I have added several new gift ideas to the 2009 Gift Guide for Lawyers, at my other blog. The new additions include a cool new dual screen laptop computer, a surprisingly good Christmas album from a surprising source, and several items from lawyer owned and operatedThe Billable Hour Company.
ABA Publishing has created a holiday gift promotion featuring books that make great gifts for lawyers this holiday season. The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Success is included on the short list of books that would be a welcome gift for any lawyer this year. Other books in their gift guide include The Little White Book of Baseball Law, The Little Green Book of Golf Law, The Little Red Book of Wine Law, and more.
On May 26 LAWPRO put on a special webinar aimed at helping lawyers to avoid being the victims of fraud. It was hosted and broadcast by the Ontario Bar Association.
You can now listen to a free MP3 of this program, and follow along with the program PowerPoint.
While frauds targeting lawyers have not been widely reported in the US, they are clearly happening and US lawyers need to be on the lookout. Fraud is a real and growing problem for Ontario law firms and lawyers. Prior to the May 24 holiday weekend, we saw an apparent organized fraud that targeted 19 different lawyers for a total amount of $5.4 million. We continue to get almost daily calls from lawyers that are finding themselves in the middle of handling a matter that is clearly, or appears to be, a fraud. And all too frequently we see situations where fraudsters successfully “trick” lawyers and law firm staff, in practices large and small, into helping make a fraud happen. These claims have been costly for LAWPRO.
How can you protect yourself and your firm from being a victim? This webinar will help you become familiar with the common fraud schemes and scenarios, recognize the “red flags” of a fraudulent deal, and show you the steps you can take to lessen the likelihood you will be a victim of fraud.
I moderated the program, and two of my fellow LAWPRO employees were the speakers: Rosanne Manson, Claims Counsel, and Lisa Weinstein, Director, National Underwriting Policy, TitlePLUS.
The topics covered in the webinar include the following:
Listen to the MP3 of the program and follow along with the program PowerPoint.
Please also download and share with your staff LAWPRO’s new Fraud Fact Sheet for a more complete list of the specific red flags to look out for on the various types of fraudulent matters.
There are even more resources on fraud prevention on practicePRO’s fraud page (www.practicepro.ca/fraud).
Cross-posted on SLAW
