the [non]billable hour

The Creative Counsel

Here's the slide deck from my presentation to the Association of Corporate Counsel's meeting in St. Louis last month.  The audience was (mostly) in-house counsel, and the presentation was geared at getting them to think a bit differently about their relationship with outside counsel.  I hope you like it.

The Creative Counsel: Rethinking the Attorney-Client Relationship

View more presentations from Matthew Homann.

Please turn off your cellphones.

Probably true in the courtroom, too:

Build Your Culture Like Zappos Does

File this one under the "Hmmmmm, that's kinda cool!" category.  In this Inc. Magazine article, Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh talks about why he (reluctantly) sold his company to Amazon. 

What stood out to me, was his take on keeping his company's famous culture alive, even as they grow:

I've noticed that at company happy hours, you don't see as many employees from different departments hanging out with one another.

To address that, we've begun tracking employee relationships. When employees log in to their computers, we ask them to look at a picture of a random employee and then ask them how well they know that person -- the options include "say hi in the halls," "hang out outside of work," and "we're going to be longtime friends." We're starting to keep track of the number and strength of cross-departmental relationships -- and we're planning a class on the topic. My hope is that we can have more employees who plan to be close friends.

Imagine a law firm doing that!

KickStart Your New Practice

Want to start a new law firm, but lacking the cash to make it happen?  Check out KickStarter, a really unique way to "fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors" by reaching out to others who want to help.

Would-be entrepreneurs post an idea, and set the amount of money it would take to make it happen.  Site visitors agree to contribute a portion of the startup price -- though no money changes hands unless the project is fully funded. 

If you want to see how it all works, check out how a few entrepreneurs are using Kickstarter to raise money to expand their Snow Cone Stand.

Looking for a Legal Job, Try YouTube

Here's a brilliant way to catch the eye of that hiring partner who won't take your calls.  Worth a watch if you're trying to catch the attention of someone in a unique way.

Where is Matt Homann?

I've been on the road almost non-stop for the last three months speaking, doing work for law firms and facilitating a ton of corporate meetings.  My summer's shaping up to be a busy one as well, and I'd love to connect with you if I'm in your city. 

Here's my speaking schedule (so far) for the next few months:

July, 2010

  24-27:  ACLEA's 46th Annual Meeting

August, 2010 

  2-3: MinnCLE Strategic Solutions for Solo and Small Firms

  5-10:  American Bar Association Annual Meeting

October, 2010

  28-30: Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference

November, 2010

  18-19:  Utah Bar 2010 Fall Forum

If you'd like to learn more about me speaking to your firm, organization or conference, please contact me.

Tell Your Clients What's True

Seth Godin is fed up with the traditional business plan, suggesting they're "often misused to obfuscate, bore and show an ability to comply with expectations."  Instead, he'd like to see the modern business plan divided into five sections:

• Truth
• Assertions
• Alternatives
• People
• Money
  

It seems to me that this breakdown would also be a great way to subdivide the traditional client status update (or case analysis) letter.  Instead of burying tons of information in multiple paragraphs, break down the letter into the five sections Seth suggests.  Your clients will better comprehend the information your giving them, and you'll have an easy-to-use template for all your client correspondence.