TLOMA Today

My fellow TLOMA members:

Only a week remains until Christmas and the days of this administration are numbered.  Now, this is the kind of breaking news one hopes to hear on CNN.  Alas, this administration is my presidency and, although the mood is sombre, we will have to take it in stride.  “Why do all good things have to come to an end”, I remember a song from a long time ago, “and only the Sun shines eternal”.  It’s true, as with life itself, in fact all things, good or bad, have to come to an end.  I am not going anywhere for a while, though, but will have to relinquish the limelight and work quietly in the wings.  It shouldn’t be difficult to do.

And now it is time for the State of the TLOMA Union Address.

If you remember, a year ago we promised you change.  So we took the many strengths of this wonderful TLOMA organization, which so many people have worked to build over the years, and worked to make it even stronger and better aligned with today’s realities.  The guiding principal was “Flexibility through Standards”.  So, here is the short version of how I remember the year: 

TLOMA CONFERENCE

The annual TLOMA conference is our flagship event which is favoured by members and partners alike.  It is also the largest revenue generator for the Association and as such is vital to its survival.

Determined to make the Conference a continued success, the Conference Committee puts a lot of effort into organizing it every year.  The Committee managed to do it successfully year after year, as evidenced by the Conference attendees’ feedback. However, the number of people (up to nine) involved and the massive time commitment required had gradually proved unsustainable.  Not surprisingly, we were having trouble recruiting volunteers to serve on the Conference Committee.

After a thorough consideration of the situation, the Board decided to outsource the bulk of the 2017 Conference organization to Intuitive Conferences & Events Inc. (ICE), professional events planners, while keeping the Marketing and Business Partner Liaison functions to ourselves.  ICE and a much smaller Conference Committee (three volunteers and two administrative staff) did a magnificent job this year.  The results of the 2017 post-conference survey were overwhelmingly positive and ICE is coming back to help organize the 2018 TLOMA Conference next year.  Thank you again Bernard, Debbie, Helen, Liz, Karen, Shannon and Dave!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Both of these administrative structures have undergone changes in the past couple of years.

Over the years we had received feedback that being a BOD member was of little value to the SIG Leaders and wasted a lot of time that could be used elsewhere. Two years ago, after consulting with all SIG Leaders, we started a process to relieve the SIG leaders of their BOD responsibilities.  At the same time, we introduced a new role to the Board, the Educational Coordinator (“EC”), whose job is to liaise between the SIG Leaders, the PD event organizer and the Conference Committee Chair on all things educational.  The current EC, Angela Kirkpatrick is doing an excellent job working with the SIG Leaders and some educational sessions have already been posted for 2018.

Several years ago when the Board of Directors’ membership became quite numerous and its work increasingly unyielding, a decision was made to create an Executive Committee (“EC”).  The EC, consisting of a smaller subset of Board members (President, Past President, VP, Treasurer and DA (non-voting) has a mandate to deal with the day-to-day trivialities of running TLOMA and, having done its homework and the running around, bring the big picture ideas and solutions to the Board to vote on.  Well, historically there have been fewer and fewer of the of the latter and more and more of the former tasks, creating an imbalance in the work of the EC and the Board and a much bigger time commitment on the part of the EC members.  That, coupled with the fact that the Board is now consisting of only 7 members of which 5 are also members of the EC, causing an imbalance in the voting structure, led us to make the following decision at the last Strategic Meeting:

Effective January 1^st 2018 the TLOMA Executive Committee will cease to exist and all of its functions and responsibilities are being transferred back to the TLOMA Board of Directors.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

Two types of educational events, besides the annual Conference, make up the structure of TLOMA’s educational programming – Special Interest Group (SIG) sessions and Professional Development (PD) sessions. 

Each SIG Leader is responsible for putting together a minimum of four educational sessions annually for a total of twenty sessions across all SIGs.  We have worked very hard to overcome the challenges associated with organizing these sessions by simplifying and standardizing our approach to securing the venues (using the same venue for the same SIG where possible), using the same technology (Pragmatic Conferencing) at all venues, etc.  Standard, repeatable processes can be used across all disciplines, thus reducing the workload and time commitment of volunteers and staff, which, in turn, promotes more participation. 

Our SIG and PD events can be sponsored now - an initiative which promotes our Business Partners in a non-intrusive way and pays some of the costs associated with these sessions.

NETWORKING EVENTS

Providing networking opportunities for our members is one of the reasons TLOMA exists.  Add education to networking and you get professional development.

Recognizing the importance of networking, the Board voted to create TLOMAFest, a free-to-members fall networking event.  It proved so popular that the Board decided to create a spring version, the Spring Fling.  Our members seem to enjoy these types of events very much and get a lot of value out of them.  They are here to stay.

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Improved operational efficiency is the cornerstone of every successful organization.  TLOMA is no different.  We don’t make a profit but we strive to provide the best service that we can to our members.  That way not only do we ensure that they get the most value out of their membership but also make it easier and more compelling for them to volunteer.  Whether through the enhanced use of technology to automate the repetitive processes or through process change to reduce the mundane tasks, we have tried to make things better and, ultimately, cheaper for the association.

Like any organization of its kind, TLOMA relies on collecting and analyzing data to successfully navigate the current legal landscape.  This also helps guide where our more focused efforts should go in, say, growing the Association.  Over the years, however, the data has been collected in increasingly disparate systems which today causes a bit of consternation every time an event registration process, for example, is initiated.  It is manageable but not ideal, by a long shot.

As a result, at the beginning of the year, we undertook a massive project to consolidate all sources of information into a single specialized repository/solution, MEMBER 365.  The conversion work continues and we are very close to completion.  Once in place, M365, as it shall lovingly be known henceforth, is going to make event registration and data administration much easier for all involved.  Expect the new registration user interface in the near future.

POSTSCRIPTUM

So, you see, things were happening while I was regaling you with tales from the brotherhood of my traveling pants (and coat), for example, and, despite my best efforts, some stuff was actually accomplished, TLOMA is in great financial shape and the future looks bright. 

I think we agreed that change is the only constant in life.  As such, more changes are coming to TLOMA so stay tuned.  In the meantime…. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL AND WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!!

FINANCE

This was my first year as the Finance SIG leader for TLOMA.  I didn’t really know what to expect but it has been a very rewarding experience.  I have met and got to know many more members than I would have on my own.  I even learned a few things along the way which I always welcome.

The sessions we had in 2017 were well attended.  They included a session on:  Best Practices for Employee Benefits, Automating the A/R Function, Financing Options and Debunking Cyber  Claims and Risk Management Strategies.

I am working on a few ideas for 2018 but would welcome any suggested topics.  I can be reached by email at leahh@gands.com.

FACILITIES

It has been quite a journey from my first days of becoming a Facilities SIG Leader in 2016 to now.   I have found this position to be not only beneficial in my life, but also rewarding.  I have to admit that I was skeptical in the beginning, but now I would not change a thing about my experience.  I am glad that I volunteered to such a cohesive and incredible organization.  It changes aspects in your day-to-day working lives and gives you a channel to go to, that is there 24 hours a day.  TLOMA gives you more than one avenue to share and collaborate ideas and all members are willing to lend a hand or provide thoughts whenever need. 

We ran some incredible Facilities SIGs in 2017 that included Workplace Trends of the Present and Future. Learning about Clean Air in the Workplace, Ergonomics and How To See the Signs, and capping off the year with The Changing Nature of Work Six Factors: Part 2.  Each presentation taught us a lot with amazing speakers that left the group pondering about what they can do in their own offices.

It is my last year being a Facilities SIG Leader and I have such mixed feelings.  I never thought I would miss this experience, but I know I will.  The one thing I am glad about is that upcoming Facilities SIG Leader, Patrick McFetridge, will take you on another incredible journey that I know will not only be beneficial, but rewarding, so stay tuned.  For me, I would like to thank you all for the support you gave me.  It was so incredible to see that you enjoyed the topics and gave incredible feedback.  I would like to do a special thank you to Karen Gerhardt, Liz Barrington and Angela Kirkpatrick for the endless help and guidance.  It is said that life gives you many doors, and though this one is closing, it will never be fully shut.  Enjoy your holidays and I will see you at upcoming SIG.  Bye for now……….   

HUMAN RESOURCES

As you read this edition of TLOMA Today, we just held out 5th and final HR SIG for 2017.  What a year it has been!  We have had wonderful speakers/topics starting with Elite Performance and finishing with Diversity & Inclusion - LSUC Requirements.  I am already working on the SIGS for 2018 and guarantee they will be just as educational as the speakers in 2017.

Taking on the role of HR SIG Leader was a new adventure for me.  Having been a member TLOMA since 2002, I decided it was time to give back to this wonderful association.  There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes  organizing any SIG event.  A special thank you to Angela Kirkpatrick, Karen Gerhardt and Liz Barrington for your guidance, encouragement and assistance during the past year. 

As we plan for 2018, if you have topic or speaker suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me at bernice.durdin@bakermckenzie.com.

MARKETING

Another year has gone by and my term as Marketing SIG Leader comes to an end.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide educational sessions with respect to the legal marketing world.  The legal industry is changing rapidly and I trust the topics we presented this year have given you some insight into the future of law. Below is listed the four marketing/business development sessions that were presented this year.  If you weren't able to attend, these presentations can be found on the TLOMA website.  

• Social Media Without Wasting Your Time or Losing Your Identity - Presented by Randall Craig, CEO and Chief Strategist of 108 Ideaspace Inc, Randall covered social media business development, digital efficiency, wiring the web, social media and email to position the firm (and the lawyers) as trusted professionals, most importantly he discussed managing risk and reputation

• CASL and July 1st 2017: What You Need to Know and Do – This session was presented by Celine Gilmore, Davies Ward Phillips &Vineberg and Jeff Hemming, Tikit Ltd.  This was one of those presentations that made this legislation a lot easier to deal with.  Great interaction with the audience and help “how to” ideas.

• Delivering the Undeliverable: How To Do More with Less – In this session, presenter  Morgan MacLeod, Ring Leader, Cubicle Fugitive discussed the role of the Legal Marketer and how it is changing and the need to move away from "order taker" and "trinkets and trash" dispenser to Strategic thinker.  This is a long road but we know it has to change.

• Artificial Intelligence and the Business of Law – This topic is becoming more and more important in the way lawyers conduct their business and speaker, Mark T. Greene, Ph.D. was able to bring relevant information and stats to his presentation.  For a taste of the subject if you missed his presentation,  visit Mark's "Today in Legal AI" blog at www.MarketIntelligenceLLC.com.

I trust these sessions provided insight into this fascinating and ever changing world of Marketing/Business Development.  Thank you for your support over the past two years and I look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year.

TECHNOLOGY

This was my first year as a Technology SIG Leader, and it has been a very rewarding experience. Previously, I was an ILTA User Group Liaison, but I found running technology events for TLOMA more enjoyable and relaxing, thanks to the help of the Board of Directors and, of course, the many volunteers.

This year we had some excellent sessions, including “Paper Light” Office, Printer Security, The Money of IT, and Secure File Sharing. All sessions were well attended, which means we are on the right track in terms of addressing engaging and relevant topics.

I am looking forward to continuing in my role in 2018, and I hope to see you all at the various Technology events!

First of all I would like to say Happy Holidays to all my fellow TLOMA members!  It’s astonishing that 2017 is almost over and that our Conference at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville was over 6 weeks ago – and my trip to Puerto Vallarta was over 3 weeks ago!  Now that the Holiday Season is here I just have one piece of advice – stay calm and have fun!

On behalf of the 2017 Conference Committee, I would like to thank all our Delegates for attending Conference this year.  From the results of the survey, almost everyone had a fantastic time and went away with lots of great takeaways.

I would next like to acknowledge all the Business Partners who attended the Trade Show and sponsored events this year – thank you!  Your tremendous contribution to our Conference help make it a resounding success year after year.

For those of you who were not able to attend, we started the Conference on Wednesday with a Trivia Challenge Networking Event. The questions were all about Canada’s history, in honour and to celebrate our 150^th Anniversary.  The next morning, I officially opened the Conference by singing the National Anthem, much to the surprise and delight of the attendees!  The remainder of the Conference – from our opening Keynote Speaker, Dennis Mosley-Williams, to the fantastic workshops and general sessions, to all the networking events, and to our closing Keynote Speaker, Craig Kielburger – was inspiring and tremendous.

The success of every Conference is dependent on a number of things – most notably the hard work and dedication of each member of the Conference Committee.  I would like to express my sincerest thank you to this year’s Committee for their significant contribution, and they are:

Helen Lee, Past Chair
Debbie Tibbo, Vice Chair
Liz Barrington, Director of Administration
Karen Gerhardt, Administrative Assistant

This year was certainly more challenging as we had reduced the number of Committee members to five.  This was due to the fact that the Board of Directors made the decision to outsource the job of organizing the Conference to Intuitive Conferences and Events (ICE).  I can now say that all the volunteer members stepped up and took on whatever job needed doing with great passion and dedication, along with the assistance of ICE.  A shout out should also go to the members of ICE who helped us make this year’s Conference so successful:

Shannon Byck
David Drover
Kim Langan

It was indeed a pleasure to work with everyone on the Committee this year.  It was also such an honour to serve as Conference Chair.  I wish our 2018 Conference Chair, Debbie Tibbo, the best of luck for next year’s 30^th Anniversary of Conference – I know that she will deliver another memorable event!

Any relationship worth having deserves to be nurtured, so don't duck client conversations about service.

Corporate counsel are frustrated and some are angry. They expect their outside law firms to behave like business allies and are disappointed when this doesn’t happen. Corporate counsel expect their industry, needs and culture to be clearly understood by firms that service them, and rather than being offered advice and completion of tasks, they want solutions and help getting things done. Is this asking too much? Many in-house lawyers have the impression that it is, and they’ve had it.

Any relationship worth having needs to be nurtured. Open communication is paramount, especially with increasing competition in the legal marketplace and loyalty a thing of the past. However, the thought of engaging in service-oriented conversations with clients causes many lawyers to clench so tightly they sit two inches taller.  

Two Ears, One Mouth 

We’ve been in a buyers’ market since 2008, which marked the end of the traditional law firm’s 20-year bull run. Clients, including in-house counsel, have had the whip hand ever since — along with permanent buying power — and they’re not afraid to use either when doing business with outside advisers.  

Listening with both ears open, mouth shut and defenses down is when magic happens. While discussions about money are one thing and conversations about service are another, these exchanges often yield new insights. 

“Lots of us grew up in private practice, so we understand it,” says Peter Nguyen, General Counsel, Corporate Security and Privacy Officer for Resolver Inc. He’s been working with his current Canadian counsel for 20 months, following him to a new firm six months ago because when it comes to client service, “he gets it.” They have regular conversations about service that are unrelated to fees, and when it comes to cost Nguyen’s not nickel-and-dimed or billed for juniors. 

Nguyen also uses counsel in the US, UK, New Zealand, and a boutique employment firm. The UK lawyer stands out for inquiring about billing for a discussion about basic jurisdictional matters. Nguyen appreciated being asked and said yes. He’s happy with his current US firm after leaving previous counsel over reasons including response tardiness and a multi-page memo citing statute and case law. 

Get off your Trail 

Only a handful of law firms have a client advisory board or panel, and astonishingly, most don’t bother to survey their clients. If they do, it’s rarely done in person. It might occasionally happen electronically, usually at the end of a matter. The Big Four accounting/professional services firms, however, have been doing in-person client surveys for over 20 years. As a result, they’re light years ahead of law firms when it comes to understanding client expectations, so it’s no wonder they are the most dangerous competitors. 

For years, client input initiatives have been launched by corporate counsel, even though the impetus for doing this should be on the law firms that serve them. In the US, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Value Challenge Proposition, which launched to much acclaim in 2008 with a goal of helping members “implement practices to reconnect the cost and value of legal services,” fizzled like a wet firecracker, at least in Canada. The next great hope appears to be the two-year-old Corporate Legal Operations Consortium that helps in-house and external counsel create more productive relationships. AdvanceLaw’s new GC Thought Leaders Experiment involves 25 American GCs pooling information to assess which firms and billing processes are most effective. 

This last undertaking might make firms from Big Law to New Law rather jumpy since “I’m not sure if the New Law firms have an edge on client service,” says Nguyen. So far, he’s been disappointed that while fees from a New Law firm he used were lower, client service was no better. It was “more of the same, just cheaper.” 

No Ifs, Ands or Butts 

Some law firms employ professionals with “client” as part of their title. Whether they are Chief Client Officers or involved in business development, these people should be bringing in business, and entrusted with client care and communication. That is how the Big Four have handled client engagement for almost three decades. It is also how they’ve leveraged the development of industry teams and sales cultures that turned their fortunes around for the better. 

Until law firms restructure to adopt some of these traits, client unrest will escalate. These days, any law firm that continues to hide from having conversations with clients by sticking its head in the sand like an ostrich is apt to get bitten on the butt. 

Everyone’s eyeing the millennial generation, third-party statistics in hand, wondering how this demographic will impact the market. As much as businesses need to understand them as potential customers they need to know them as likely employees. Millennials represent the majority of the workforce and -- surprise! -- they don’t view work the same way their predecessors did. You better believe technology plays a role in how they want to make a living.

Office Productivity - Then and Now

Boomers were lucky if they had call waiting. Generation Xers were the first to use the feature-rich desktop phones and not-quite-there operating systems of the 1990s. For both generations, things were often manual and gradual, and that was okay - there were plenty of solutions before the dawn of the digital age.

Remember the first word processors? How about the MS DOS and Windows ‘94? Sometimes it just made sense to take pen to paper. Things had to be checked and double checked, run upstairs and downstairs, punched and stamped and signed before having a direct impact. This is no longer the case for millennials.

For the growing workforce of people born post-1984 -- yes, the same year that the Apple Macintosh was launched and countless other memorable 80’s gadgets - everything is digital and, as far as they’re concerned, pretty much always has been.

Now try finding a team of these capable, hard working digital natives and put them in an office space that doesn’t match the rest of their “plugged in” experience. A demanding work environment that lacks the tools and connectivity that employees expect is more likely to suffer from high attrition rates and average performance.

One of the largest studies of millennials in the workforce says that 77% of the demographic believe that flexibility would increase their generation’s productivity. 40% said the same for remote or virtual work environments. Both opportunities require various forms of technology to keep a dynamic work schedules and a united workforce.

In the same vein, more companies are finding the value of giving employees more ownership and autonomy, allowing them to bring new knowledge and tech-based solutions to the table and connect dots for themselves. For forward-looking companies, the siloed, task-driven office environment of yesteryear is decreasing. Why?

One possible answer is the changing access to information, its relevance to business development and the ways we exchange it. Managers are no longer the only ones developing new insights. Entire companies embody this attitude in the “knowledge economy”. The world is open to anyone with an internet connection and an interest, which has had a rippling effect on business intelligence.

How do you stay in touch with the increasingly competitive and insight-driven market? For many, the answer is an emerging breed of power users or knowledge workers - those that spend hours on the clock gathering insights and information, packaging it and using it to generate business development. Who better than a digital native to perform the task of keeping up with the flow of information across the multitude of channels?

Unified Communications and Today’s Office Environment

Today’s office worker uses two screens to multi-task with one eye on their smartphone, an ear on their standard phone and Evernote in waiting. Unified Communications (UC) -- a suite of integrated office communication tools -- brings it all together. 

For the knowledge worker and the digital native -- whether its the same person or not -- technology can work with them. The changing roles and attitudes towards work is complemented by the evolution of communication technology. Advanced office telecom brings the workplace up to speed while offering the right tools and documentation for communication and insight-driven roles.

In 2013, Forbes published an article that covered the role of UC in enhancing productivity along with other emerging platforms. Now it’s available for businesses of all sizes through cloud-based services.

According to the Forbes piece, as digital platforms become increasingly integrated, scattered experiences, research insights and communications can be more easily collected. It’s more than video conferencing or smartphones in the office. It’s a stream of online activity from exchanges with colleagues, clients and partners and from research and analysis that can then turned into actionable insight.

A simple example: the potential for sales, marketing and customer service experiences to be tied together by an office telecom network and CRM integration. The experiences of each important customer can be documented to drive improvement across multiple departments.

It can be as complex as multi-platform collaboration software that allows people to get on the phone or instant message each other and share the same working document within a single interface, or as simple as putting your smartphone in your pocket and knowing that your entire office network is available at a swipe of your finger.

And for millennials its natural, if not expected.

How can you Argue with 75% of the Workforce? 

In 10 years, millennials will make up 75% of the US workforce! They already occupy a third, offering a digital familiarity that their older counterparts never had. Always-on high-bandwidth connectivity, little-to-no censorship and an insatiable desire to share information has redefined both cultural and business practices around the world. Corporations, government and institutions are all trying to keep up in a world of digital natives and the sweeping changes they bring, and Unified Communications can help, at the very least.

At TLOMA, we provide education, professional development, mentorship, and support to our Membership. Through these initiatives, TLOMA members are offered both a professional and social network of professionals working in law firms of all sizes. To encourage members to grow their network at TLOMA, we would like to profile TLOMA members in each issue of TLOMA Today to give readers a snapshot of who we are within the legal industry.

How long have you been a member of TLOMA?  New as of 2017.

Where do you work? Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Director, Client Development & Operations. 

What do you enjoy most about working in the legal industry?  Working with great people to create great results.  The need to be resourceful and creative to optimize process, implement simple, practical and realistic solutions that drive operational excellence and provide superior client service delivery.

Where was the last place you vacationed? Hawaii. We swam in the wild with dolphins, sea turtles and snorkelled our way around the islands, hiked up volcanoes and drove through the rain forest.  Definitely a trip of a life time.

Favourite Comfort Food?  Chocolate - any kind!

Favourite Hobbies:  Running, skiing, hanging out with my daughters and exploring new places.

Ideal Vacation: My ideal vacation has a mix between relaxation and sightseeing.  We do favor cruises as you only need to unpack once and every day is a new adventure. 

What is the last moving you saw? The Emoji Movie - It was my little one's turn to pick.

Name one thing you can't live without?  My Chap Stick.  I have them all over the house. 

Where is your favourite go-to coffee shop?  As a commuter, I am pretty partial to my Nespresso machine.

If you are interested in participating in the Member Spotlight feature of TLOMA Today to share some of your experiences at TLOMA, please email editor@tloma.com for more information.