Non-Billable

OK so I had to laugh a little when I got this question, but since it was put to me in all seriousness, I took a punt at answering it.

For those who don’t know me, however, I’m not exactly the world’s highest authority on office decoration – so in a sense this one you have to take with a massive, massive grain of salt!

OK so I had to laugh a little when I got this question, but since it was put to me in all seriousness, I took a punt at answering it.

For those who don’t know me, however, I’m not exactly the world’s highest authority on office decoration – so in a sense this one you have to take with a massive, massive grain of salt!

Where are lawyers going to be in 5 years compared to now in terms of technology? Are we going to embrace technology and creatively find ways to use it, or lag behind?

It’s a good question, and one that I address in today’s episode of nonbillable.

Transcript – Where will Legal Tech Be in 5 Years

Hey there again guys. It’s Chris from TipsForLawyers.com here with another episode of NonBillable. You can find NonBillable at TipsForLawyers.com and navigate your way there. Not too hard. If you’re listening to this on iTunes, can I encourage you to leave an iTunes review? Helps it be a bit more visible and really helps me get some comments and some feedback.

If you have a question, pop it in at Tips for Lawyers or email it to me. Go to TipsForLawyers.com/contact. You can ask a question and I can address it on NonBillable. If you don’t know the format, NonBillable is where I spend 3 or so minutes answering a question, having a bit of a rant or giving some advice that might help you out in your day-to-day legal practice.

Today, I wanted to have a talk about technology. I was asked a question about where I see lawyers being in 5 or 10 years, or at least into the future, so far as technology is concerned. I’ve got to say I don’t see us being very far at all. The reality is lawyers are only now catching up with technologies they should have caught up with 10 years ago or 5 years ago.

You’re seeing law firms that still don’t have mobile responsive websites even though 50% of the people visiting their website are on mobile probably getting frustrated and clicking away.

You see law firms who have no earthly idea how to utilize social media. You see people with LinkedIn profiles that make you want to cry. You see people who don’t know how to engage on Facebook.

The reality is lawyers are laggards when it comes to technology. Sure there are some outliers. There’s some people out there who are doing fantastic cutting edge stuff in technology circles, but the reality is in 5 years time, I don’t see much changing at all in the legal profession. We are barely keeping up. We’re probably behind the times. If technology gets further advanced, we might eventually catch on, but when we do, we’ll be 10 years behind again.

Bit of a harsh message there, but the reality is we’re terrible at it. We’re not early adopters. We don’t like taking risks. We don’t like cutting edge technology because it might not work and, to be fair in a bigger law firm, it’s frankly cost prohibitive. Smaller law firms are going to be more nimble. They might adopt things. They might have more flexibility and less barriers in terms of policies and procedures that need to be in put into place or at least that they think need to be put into place that are going to stop them from being able to utilize new technologies appropriately.

Between cost, policies and the general inhibitions of lawyers to take any risk of any kind whatsoever, I’d be amazed if we’re much further advanced in 5 years. We might have a few more tools available to us. There might be a bit more prevalence of dictation, for example, coming into force through people actually using voice recordings rather than through secretarial. That is coming into things now. Of course, it should have been done 5 years ago, but there you are. It’s another example.

I’ll be interested to see where we are and if this prediction turns out to be right, you can bet your bottom dollar in a few times, if things are what I just said, then I’ll be sharing this video again. This has been Chris Hargreaves from TipsForLawyers.com with another episode of NonBillable.

Where are lawyers going to be in 5 years compared to now in terms of technology? Are we going to embrace technology and creatively find ways to use it, or lag behind?

It’s a good question, and one that I address in today’s

When you go to functions as a law student and meet lawyers, is it appropriate for you to then follow them up or connect with them?

I say yes, but you’ve got to do it right.

Transcript – Lawyers on LinkedIn – Connecting with Law Students

Hey there guys, it’s Chris Hargreaves from tipsforlawyers.com with another episode of Non-Billable. Where in three minutes or so I have a bit of a rant, I answer a question or I give you some advice that’s going to help you out in your legal career.

Today I wanted to answer a question and it was about LinkedIn and in particular about LinkedIn and law students. The question was this, “How do I as a law student go about making connections and developing relationships with lawyers on LinkedIn and is that appropriate?” The answer is a resounding yes. If you haven’t set up your LinkedIn profile then you should go to my video on LinkedIn. It’s also on the Non-Billable series though if you’re watching on YouTube there’ll be a link to it. If you’re not there’ll be a link to it somewhere in the Non-Billable series.

However, in terms of getting connected with lawyers it is absolutely appropriate, but the best way to do is no different to how you’re going to connect with anyone else. Don’t just collect a raft of business cards from people you barely know and send them all LinkedIn invites. That’s going to have effects: people aren’t going to know who you are and so they might ignore you, and if that happens enough LinkedIn actually puts you on the banned list. You won’t be able to send out invites for a while.

What should you do? You should get connected with them in person if that’s what you’re doing; going to networking events. You should see what groups they’re in. You can see what they post, you can see if they comment on things, and you can engage with them a little. Then once you’ve engaged with them a little, and I’m not saying it has to be a huge amount, but it should be something so that they recognize who you are. Send them a LinkedIn invite.

The next step is critical, send a personalized LinkedIn invite. You should be doing that all the time except for people who are a no-brainer. If you’re sending a LinkedIn invite to your mum or your brother then that’s fine. Don’t personalize that if you don’t feel like it. If you’re reaching out to people you don’t know really well, personalize the invite.

It’s incredibly easy. You just click the down arrow on LinkedIn and then you can personalize the invite rather than sending that generic invite saying, “I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn.” Much better to personalize it. Remind them how they know you, explain why you want to connect and that’s the way to do it.

What do you do with the connections? Well that’s something for another time, but that’s how you connect. It is appropriate. Go for it, connect with me if you want. Head over to LinkedIn, type in the search I’ll come up somewhere there. Chris Hargreaves, lawyer I’m sure I’ll pop up. Send me an invite. Tell me you listened to this and that you’d like to connect.

When you go to functions as a law student and meet lawyers, is it appropriate for you to then follow them up or connect with them?

I say yes, but you’ve got to do it right.

Transcript – Lawyers on LinkedIn – Connecting with Law Students

Hey there guys, it’s Chris Hargreaves from tipsforlawyers.com with another episode of Non-Billable. Where in three minutes or so I have a bit of a rant, I answer a question or I give you some advice that’s going to help you out in your legal career.

Today I wanted to answer a question and it was about LinkedIn and in particular about LinkedIn and law students. The question was this, “How do I as a law student go about making...

Finding a mentor isn’t always easy. In smaller towns in particular, it can be a real challenge. Here are a few thoughts on how you might be able to hook up with a mentor who can help guide you through your career.

Transcript – How Young Lawyers can Find Mentors

Hey there guys this is Chris Hargreaves from Tipsforlawyers.com bringing you another episode of non billable where in around three minutes I give you a rant, answer some questions, or perhaps give a bit of advise that might help you out in your legal career.

Today I wanted to answer a question and it’s about mentoring.

I am a big fan of mentoring. I’m a big fan of people having a mentor that they can confide in, that they can work with and that can offer them some long term strategic advice and a question came in response to one of the articles I’d written about, what if you’re in a small town or an environment where there aren’t a lot of options. Perhaps there’s not as much experience around, perhaps you don’t get a long with the people that are in your particular immediate vicinity, or perhaps frankly the town is just so small there’s just no chance you could have a confidencial conversation with anyone without everyone in the entire town knowing what you’re talking about.

This is frankly where the drawers of the internet come into play. You have available to you mentors every where. I know it’s going to be a bit different without necessarily having a face to face arrangement, but with skype, with facetime, with video conferencing, if you’ve got enough hustle, you can find yourself a mentor, you’ve just got to reach out.

Linkedin is a good place to start. Find the senior people who seem to be there to help Jr. Lawyers and reach out to them, connect with them, comment on some things they say, start to develop that relationship and then in an appropriate time you might reach out and say, “Hey, would you mind formally mentoring me or even just informally.” “Can you be a sounding board for me, can I send some questions to you, can I reach out to you form time to time when I got issues I want to face?”

Most people, if you’ve assessed them property beforehand, are actually going to be very willing to do that. It’s an issue that most lawyers don’t volunteer for, but they’re happy to be asked to do. Give it a go, reach out, linkedin, great place to start. Join some group, see what you can find, make some connections, develop some relationships.

I know it’s not the same as face to face mentor, but if someone can be a telephone call or an email or a skype chat away, then that’s the next best thing. As my tips on how to find a mentor, if you’re in a smaller town and not so much access and I’ll see you next time.

Finding a mentor isn’t always easy. In smaller towns in particular, it can be a real challenge. Here are a few thoughts on how you might be able to hook up with a mentor who can help guide you through your career.

Transcript – How Young Lawyers can Find Mentors

Hey there guys this is Chris Hargreaves from Tipsforlawyers.com bringing you another episode of non billable where in around three minutes I give you a rant, answer some questions, or perhaps give a bit of advise that might help you out in your legal career.

Today I wanted to answer a question and it’s about mentoring.

I am a big fan of mentoring. I’m a big fan of people having a mentor that they can confide in, that they can work with and that can offer them some long term strategic advice and a question came in response to one of the articles I’d written about, what if you’re in a small town or an environment where there aren’t a lot of options. Perhaps there’s not as much experience around, perhaps you don’t get a long with the people that are in your particular immediate vicinity, or perhaps frankly...

I’m sick and tired of people telling me how lazy, self-entitled and privileged generation Y is.

Here are the facts – we work harder, longer and faster than any generation before us.

So get off our backs.

Transcript – Generation Y Isn’t Lazy

Hey there. This is Chris. This is another episode NonBillable, where I in a couple of minutes give you a rant, answer some questions or give a bit of advice for young lawyers. NonBillable is brought to you by TipsForLawyers.com. You can click on the link, wherever that might be appearing. Depends where you’re watching it. You can check out a few more things from there.

I wanted to have a bit of a talk about Generation Y.

Generation Y cops a bit of flack. I might be part of Generation Y. I’m not totally sure. It depends which website I read as to whether I end up part of Generation Y or not, but we seem to get paid out a little bit.

Apparently there’s a million articles about how hard we are to employ, how we have high demands and don’t want to work very hard.

Today, I wanted to say – stuff it.

Coming from a generation of lawyers a couple of generations ago who came up with the 37 and a half hour work week. Wasn’t too long ago where you could get made a partner 1 or 2 years post admission and what have we got to face today.

Generation Y lawyers face the following hurdles: Unprecedented competition. There are more lawyers per capita in most countries that ever before. There is far more competition. There is far more stress. There is far more angst about even getting a job. The cost of education has gone absolutely through the roof. Just deciding to become a lawyer, you end up with $50-100,000 in debt right off the bat as you start in on your menial salary that’s far less than most other professions pay their graduates.

The next thing you’ve got to deal with is the fact that you, as opposed to many previous generations, apparently have to be contactable all hours or every day no matter what. We’ve got phones. We’ve got remote access. In fact, most studies show, work harder and longer than any generation before us.

The reality is Generation Y flogs their guts out so next time someone tries to pay you out for being young and wanting to have everything and wanting to get paid more for not working very hard, point them towards this video.

What generation are you in? Are you a generation who loves to pay out Generation Y or are you going to share this with someone and try and garner a bit of support for Gen-Y and just how damn hard we actually work. That’s my rant for today.

This has been NonBillable. I’ll see you next time.

I’m sick and tired of people telling me how lazy, self-entitled and privileged generation Y is.

Here are the facts – we work harder, longer and faster than any generation before us.

So get off our backs.

Transcript – Generation Y Isn’t Lazy

Hey there. This is Chris. This is another episode NonBillable, where I in a couple of minutes give you a rant, answer some questions or give a bit of advice for young lawyers. NonBillable is brought to you by TipsForLawyers.com. You can click on the link, wherever that might be appearing. Depends where you’re watching it. You can check out a few more things from there.

I wanted to have a bit of a talk about Generation Y.

Generation Y cops a bit of flack. I might be part of Generation Y. I’m not totally sure. It depends which website I read as to whether I end up part of Generation Y or not, but we seem to get paid out a little bit.

Apparently there’s a million articles about how hard we are to employ, how we have high demands and don’t want to work very hard.

Today, I wanted to say – stuff it.

Coming from a generation of lawyers a couple of generations ago who came up with the 37 and a half hour work week. Wasn’t too long ago where you could get made a partner 1 or 2 years post...

Lots of young lawyers have a LinkedIn profile (most, in fact).

But do you know what to do with it?

LinkedIn is for making connections, but are you only connecting with your own colleagues?  Well don’t just sit idle – in this episode of Non-Billable you will start making connections and expanding your network today.

Transcript – How Lawyers can Start Connecting Using LinkedIn

What is the best way to make connections and build your profile using LinkedIn? That’s the question I’m going to take a look at today in Non-Billable. Welcome to Non-Billable, my name is Chris Hargreaves, I’m from tipsforlawyers.com. In Non-Billable I take a couple of minutes out of my day to answer some questions, have a bit of a rant or give you some advice that might give you a bit of a quick hit to take you into the day or the next day or the week.

LinkedIn, every professional by and large is on LinkedIn by now.

Certainly hundreds of millions of people use it, but how are you using it?

Do you just have a profile?

What should you be doing?

Is LinkedIn actually a platform where you can accomplish anything or is it just something where you put up your profile and then not do anything after that? That’s certainly my experience with many of my colleagues. They make their profile, they might put up their professional picture, but they don’t end up actually doing anything with their LinkedIn profile.

Really the best way of using LinkedIn isn’t different to using any other social media platform.

It’s about engagement, it’s about relationship. If you want to use LinkedIn to actually develop relationship and have some advantages and meet some new people then I’d encourage you to engage. If you enjoy an article, put a comment on the article. If you enjoy a particular group discussion, weigh in, express your opinion.

If you’re going to disagree with people do it politely. It’s the same way as if you’re going to a networking function really. You’re just interacting with people you don’t have an excuse to get to know. But that’s okay, they’re on LinkedIn. They’re there because they want to network and they want to connect with people as well.

Look, if you’re a newbie to LinkedIn, here’s what I’d do.

Get your profile up to scratch so that it’s an accurate representation of you.

Secondly, join some groups that are relevant to either your profession, in this case lawyering, or to the industry in which you work.

If you’re in building or construction or planning and environment or personal injuries there are going to be specific groups that you might want to join, and that’s a great way to get engagement because groups are where a lot of the discussion happens. You can really get to know people because with groups in LinkedIn you have an excuse to contact people. You can send them a note, hey I enjoyed your article on LinkedIn, hey I enjoyed your other comment on LinkedIn. You can have an in to get in to contact them. Use those opportunities.

Use those functions that LinkedIn gives you because it is a platform designed to help you build a relationship, no different to any other social media platform. It just has a unique set of tools.

That’s how I’d use LinkedIn. I’d get in a group, I’d start weighing in to some discussions, and then I’d start sending people some invites to connect and then I’d follow up with them and see how they’re going. Send them a personal note from time to time. You don’t have to become a stalker, just become the person that is there, who is participating, who is weighing in.

The last thing I’d do, if you’re inclined towards writing and you enjoy writing things, take advantage of the LinkedIn publisher platform. It’s pretty easy to use these days. They are rolling it out so depending on when you’re listening to this you...