TLOMA Today

Happy October everyone! There was no better way to start this glorious fall month than spending the first day of October with 118 other TLOMA members at the annual TLOMA Conference and Trade Show in Niagara Falls. For those of you who were in attendance at Conference, I’m sure you will agree with me when I say; 'Wow! What an amazing 3 days!'. It all started Wednesday evening with our Networking dinner and poker game, a game which I might add, I lost. It reminded me that I’m not very good at poker and to save my money only for slot machines when at the Casino. It was definitely a fun event and I enjoyed listening to new Delegates networking with seasoned Delegates and sharing poker theories. I even heard one team saying they had 6 threes, yes 6 threes. I’m not a pro at poker but even I know there are only 4 of each suit in a deck of cards.

Thursday we opened Conference with the Keynote Speaker, Amanda Lindhout, who left most of us in awe. I can’t wait to read her book, a copy of which was given to all Delegates in attendance. What an amazing woman and her story left all of us in the room deeply moved, I wish I had an ounce of her courage. After our first break the morning sessions continued with Law Firms in Transition, presented by Eric Seeger. We then broke for lunch and the Trade Show, where we got a few hours of mingling and catching up with our Business Partners. When the Trade Show ended, we had the annual passport prize draw for all the delegates who attended. Congrats to all our winners, including me, yeah me! Once again, the most generous prizes were donated by our Business Partners. 

On Thursday evening we held our Business Partner dinner and show, “Bling It On”. The entertainment after dinner was outstanding; Tracey Bell was so interactive with the attendees. She had everyone up dancing and singing along with her, what a night it was. 

Friday began with our first session Live up to the Line, Be the Brand, Live the Brand, presented by Ron Tite. The next session's topic was Building Effective Teams and Developing Effective Business Strategy, presented by Liane Davey. Both sessions were informative and valuable. After lunch, we had a variety of sessions to choose from: The New Fundamentals of Getting it Right with Compensation Structure, Performance and Pay; How to Motivate Lawyers to Make it Rain; Cyber Security; and, How to Develop a Records Retention Schedule in 10 steps.

The education sessions presented throughout the Conference were outstanding. No doubt we all went home with a takeaway or two to assist us back at our offices daily. A comment made by one of our Delegates after she attended the Cyber Security session stuck with me. She said she had to hire a hacker in her office to help stop all the hackers trying to break into her system. Sounds about right these days doesn’t it?

Neil Pasricha, the closing Keynote Speaker, on Saturday morning, spoke to us about three of his many secrets to happiness. One key is to simply “Be Happy First”, "Do Great Work" and then you will "Be Successful" . I can’t wait to read more happiness secrets from his book.  

The outstanding educational content and networking events would not be possible without the financial support of our Business Partners and the dedication and hard work of our Conference Committee. To the 2017 Conference Committee, consisting of Helen Lee - Conference Chair, Nancy Lio - Past Chair, Jennifer Norman - Hotel Liaison, Valarie Baldassare - Speaker Liaison, Lonnie Wellman - Event Liaison, Gerry Tipold - Marketing Liaison, Louise McNeely - Business Partner Liaison, Cosmin Baloiu - Technology Liaison and our administration team of Liz Barrington - Director of Administration and Karen Gerhardt  - Administrative Assistant. Thank you all! The Conference was outstanding!

Julie Holmes, Chair of the Nominating Committee, is in the process of preparing the slate of names of the approved 2017 Board of Directors and SIG Leaders and this will be sent to the membership in the coming weeks. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Upcoming events. Please save the dates:

• October 18, 2016 – Content Marketing That Paves the Way to Better Business Development

• October 25, 2016 - The Art of Moving

• October 27, 2016 - TLOMAfest Networking event

• November 3, 2016 - The Future of IT

• November 8, 2016 – Recruiting, Retaining and Engaging Millennial Associates 

• November 15, 2016 - Marketing SIG, Topic TBD

• November 22, 2016 - Managing Change with Success

• November 29, 2016 - Disaster Recovery 

• December 2, 2016 - December Networking Event

Remember any questions you may have can be directed to Liz Barrington, Karen Gerhardt or myself at any time. 

Sandra Hatcher-Maher
2016 TLOMA President.

On September 8, 2016, a number of amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) came into place under Bill 132 that will significantly change how employers, including law firms, respond to allegations of workplace harassment.

For many law firms, the responsibility of ensuring that internal policies, programs and practices are up-to-date with these legislative changes will fall squarely into the lap of the office manager.

This article will provide you with a brief overview of the changes to the OHSA and will distill all the information down to the basics.  

Before we begin, office managers should note that the Ministry of Labour has released a Code of Practice to support employers with the implementation of the workplace harassment provisions of OHSA. It is available at:

https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/harassment/.

New Enforcement Powers: Under the new amendments to OHSA, a Ministry of Labour Inspector may order an employer to retain an external investigator to conduct an investigation into an incident or complaint of workplace harassment. 

Unfortunately, the Code of Practice does not provide any guidance on the circumstances that would trigger such an order. As such, employers may want to consult legal counsel to confirm that their internal investigation has been sufficient. 

Duty to Investigate: The second change is perhaps the most significant of the bunch. Under the new OHSA, employers are required to perform investigations into all incidents and complaints of workplace harassment. 

The legislation further specifies that the investigation that is conducted be “appropriate in the circumstances”.

In the old legislation, “investigations” were referenced in the context of programs and policies albeit in a more passive way. The new OHSA makes it clear that there is a positive obligation on the employers to take action in response to individual cases of workplace harassment.  

Although OHSA does not define “incidents”, we can speculate that an “incident” may capture information that comes to the employer through a non-formal avenue, possibly including, allegations raised as part of an exit interview, performance review, proceeding or following a dismissal. 

The phrase “appropriate in the circumstances” may also cause office managers to do some head-scratching. What does it mean?   

An inspector looking into an investigation may look for:   

• Objectivity: The investigator must not be the alleged harasser and must not be under the direct control of the alleged harasser. 
• Timeliness: The practices recommend that the investigation be carried out within 90 calendar days of the complaint/incident or less (subject to extenuating circumstances).  
• Confidentiality: The investigator must ensure that the investigation, and any identifying information, is kept confidential and is not disclosed except as required by law.  
• Thoroughness: The worker and the alleged harasser (wherever possible) must be interviewed; witnesses must be interviewed separately; the alleged harasser must be given the opportunity to respond to the specific allegations raised; and all relevant documents must be reviewed.  
• Documentation: The investigator must take appropriate notes/statements during the interviews and prepare a final written report that includes a finding of fact and a summary of the steps taken during the investigation, the allegations, the response from the alleged harasser and the evidence gathered.  
• Proportionality: The level of thoroughness and length of an investigation should be commensurate with the complexity of the issues raised.

An “appropriate” investigation is also one that is conducted by a knowledgeable investigator.  

Office managers may want to consider whether their office has any internal capacity to conduct workplace investigations. If so, they will want to ensure that designated internal investigators are adequately trained. If not, they may want to establish a “roster” of prospective external investigators. Needless to say, all of this should be done before the first incident or complaint crosses your desk.  

Training Impacts: Thirdly, the changes OHSA will have impacts on employer’s existing responsibility to provide employees with instruction and information on what constitutes workplace harassment as well as the program and policy. Because of the updates to the workplace harassment program and policy, the employer should train everyone in the workplace anew. This can be done “live” in-person, through e-learning, or any other creative way that the employer can deliver the training.  

Expanded “Workplace Harassment” Definition: The fourth change that is important to note is that the definition of “workplace harassment” under OHSA has been expanded to include “workplace sexual harassment”.

This means that all employers’ obligations under Bill 168, including the development of a workplace harassment policy and program, will have to be reviewed and updated to ensure that they also capture “workplace sexual harassment”.

New Program Requirements: The final change relates to the content of the workplace harassment program. Employers are already required to have a “workplace harassment program” in place as part of Bill 168 but that legislation did not provide much guidance on the type of content that should be included.

Under the new changes to OHSA, the existing program must be updated to include the following elements:

• Measures to report workplace harassment to someone other than the employer or supervisor if that person is the alleged harasser; 
• How incidents and complaints will be investigated and dealt with;  
• How information related to incident or complaint of workplace harassment will not be disclosed unless necessary; and 
• Requirement and mechanism to ensure that complainant and alleged harasser will be informed in writing of the results of investigation and any corrective action that follows.

In addition, the new program must be written down and reviewed on an annual basis.

To ensure that their policy and program meet the new legislative requirements, employers may choose to have these documents reviewed or “audited” by an employment lawyer.

Summary

In order to be compliant with the new OHSA, office managers should:  

• Investigate all incidents and complaints of workplace harassment moving forward;
• Train employees, supervisors and investigators on policy, program content and new skills;
• Update workplace harassment policy to reflect expanded “workplace harassment” definition; and
• Update workplace harassment program to include new required content.

Different business sectors have a variety of hazards and dangers. Each area needs to be treated independently and the hazards need to be recognized and addressed. The office space has its own hazards, and they can be divided into four categories: 

Physical 

• Noise: Voices, phones, and other office noises can produce tension and stress, as well as hearing damage. Reduce noise pollution where possible. 
• Lighting: Good lighting in an office setting is important to reduce eye and muscle strain. Try to eliminate shadows, glare and reflections. 
• Slips and Trips: Good housekeeping helps to reduce the number of trips. Never store things on top of cupboards, under a desk, or on the floor. Ensure your work area is clean and tidy. 

Ergonomic 

• Improper Posture: Sitting at a desk for hours during the work day can take a toll on the body, leaving it stiff and sore. Proper posture and positioning helps to alleviate the strain and stress. A chair with good lower back support and computer monitors at eye level help to improve posture. Ensure to stretch every thirty minutes to an hour to alleviate the tension in your body. 
• Improper Lifting: Office employees are often injured lifting heavy and awkward objects. Using proper lifting techniques, such as bending at the knees and using them to lift the weight as opposed to straining your back can help reduce ergonomic related injuries. Asking for assistance for awkward and heavy objects is another method of reducing the likelihood of injury. 

Chemical 

• Pollution and Vapours: Airborne contaminants can cause employees health problems. Airborne disturbers include things like carbon monoxide, radon, cleaning fluids and cigarette smoke. An adequate ventilation system is required to filter harmful air and provide quality air. In addition to purifying the air, it helps to maintain a comfortable temperature necessary in the office. 

Biological  

• Viruses and Bacteria: Germs and bacteria are found on every surface and can cause employees to become ill. Keeping a sanitary work place is the best prevention against the spreading of illness. Wash surfaces down frequently, and ensure to keep bathroom facilities as clean as possible. The easiest prevention to spreading bacteria is consistent hand washing with warm water and soap. 

A Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) covers important issues such as the above hazards in the workplace. Comprised of a minimum of two members, the JHSC aims to improve the health and safety conditions in the workplace by conducting monthly inspections and sharing the findings, along with recommendations from the inspection, with the employer. In turn, it’s the employer’s responsibility to inform the JHSC of any changes in the workplace in regards to health and safety. 

The Joint Health & Safety Committee 

Not all workplaces are required to have a JHSC, only those which employ twenty or more employees. Otherwise, a Health and Safety Representative, selected by the employees, is sufficient for workplaces with 6-19 employees. Workplaces with 5 employees or less are not required to have a JHSC or a representative. 

In the case of workplaces with 20 employees or more, half of the members must represent the employees, while at least one member is selected by the employer to conduct the managerial responsibilities of the JHSC. At least two members of the JHSC require training and certification to ensure that they have an overall understanding of health and safety in the workplace, as well as knowledge of workplace-specific hazards. 

Each JHSC is required to hold a meeting at least once every three months to go over any health and safety concerns in the workplace, as well as form recommendations for improvement to present to the employer. Each JHSC member’s name must be posted in the workplace by the employer and should be available to listen to any health and safety concerns from other employees. Such issues should then be looked into right away and, depending on urgency, should be brought up at a JHSC meeting. If the issue presents an immediate hazard, the JHSC should conduct an ‘emergency’ meeting and share the findings and recommendations to the employer in a timely fashion.

As in football, a change in legal services can depend on incremental gains … until a punter shows up.

A February 2016 Deloitte report, Developing Legal Talent: Stepping into the Future Law Firm, suggests that, by 2025, UK law firms will need a broader skill mix to remain successful. It’s highly probable that this need will apply to Canada as well.  

Accountants, IT specialists and client-facing professionals are already part of the traditional law firm mix — at least to some extent — but pricing experts, project managers, relationship specialists, data managers, cyber-technicians and product developers will be needed very shortly. For firms wanting to gain market share, finding and keeping this high-grade talent will be critical, but a wide-open job market for these workers may keep them in short supply. 

And there’s another major hurdle: people who are trained to manage law firms as true businesses will never be key decision-makers until socially stratified lawyers — who love referring to all others as “non-lawyers” — focus on lawyering.  

As in football, a change within the law firm world can be a game of inches — a slow grind, until a punter shows up. 

PUNTERS 

More punters are entering the legal field — to the chagrin of some and delight of others. But not all have their game down pat. As Melbourne-based consultant John Chisholm observed recently, cost and data analytic experts at law firms tend to be more focused on internal costs than external relations. Instead, he suggests, “Concentrate on increasing your client’s profit, and increased profits to the law firm will flow. Not the other way around.”

He ought to know. After more than 25 years as a law firm partner heavily involved in management, Chisholm now works with firms to maximize business performance. He finds that shifting mindsets is job number one: “How smart, intelligent, successful people can overlook some of the fundamentals of business acumen and ownership is staggering at times.” 

GAME CHANGERS 

When it comes to shifting mindsets, broadening business and expanding the talent pool, major professional services firms have “been there, done that.” With more than a 20-year head start, they have amassed talent rosters of diverse skill sets, built inroads to targeted industries, and marketed themselves accordingly. They have found that a wide range of talent makes for a richer working environment that enables an array of services for clients who, if they wish, can one-stop-shop. 

Acknowledging the success of this business model is one thing, but competing with it is a problem. This is because the standard lawyerly trait of risk aversion has become amplified to where caution is causing stagnation. According to Altman Weil’s Law Firms in Transition 2016 survey, 64 percent of 356 US law firms said that partner resistance was the biggest impediment to change. Alarmingly, only four percent rated their partners as being highly aware of challenges in the current legal market. Furthermore, 59 percent said clients weren’t requesting change and 56 percent said they weren’t feeling enough financial pain to spur action.

So, why rock the boat?

BOAT ROCKERS

Professional services firms, traditionally the bastion of mild-mannered accountants, are now full of accountants who aren’t always mild-mannered, and many of their colleagues aren’t even accountants. This is prevalent among the Big Four, and if it hasn’t happened already, talent expansion will become evident within second tier professional services firms, which tend to be more grass-rooted and regional in nature rather than global.  

Legal is a fully fledged service line within each of the Big Four and has been for some time. But now, Big Four legal is bulking up and amping up to the point where there is no mistaking their siren call. In June 2016, Deloitte released an independent study, Future Trends for Legal Services, with results from 243 web-based surveys and 30 interviews with CEOs, CFOs and general/legal counsel with businesses operating in five or more countries worldwide.  

Unsurprisingly, 52 percent said they would be comfortable buying legal services from non-traditional law firm entities. Also, one in three want legal service providers to deliver industry, commercial and non-legal expertise. And, with 55 percent saying they have recently reviewed their legal supplier roster or will within the next 12 months, some law firm’s boats will be rocking big time. 

This is why, if he were still in private practice, Chisholm says he would “stop thinking of myself as a lawyer or law firm and think more as a business that provides solutions to my client’s challenges and help them see opportunities.”

Providing legal services as a well-rounded and real business. Imagine that.  

As law firms get their heads around business development and public relations, branding and positioning remains the “black hole” of classical marketing. During a 32-year career in marketing and public relations, I have been part of branding teams for some of Canada's largest corporations and firms.

Some firms believe that any or all of the following are differentiating factors, and therefore constitute a brand:  having experienced lawyers; being client-focused;  doing high-quality work;  and delivering value. Newsflash:  in 2016, those criteria are assumed and they are merely the price of entry into the legal services marketplace.

What is Branding?

Branding is best summed up this way:  what position in the minds of clients and prospects does your firm want to occupy? Branding is what you want others to think of you. Branding is how you want your prospects and clients to remember you. What do you stand for?

Why is branding necessary? Because clients and consumers have created “ladders of preference” for every category you care to name. On a ladder, there is always a top run, a bottom run and a whole lot of middle rungs. Branding is about creating a brand that will be top-rung. 

People don’t have relationships with products or services, but they are loyal to brands. It is this loyalty and brand affinity that law firms want to leverage.

Branding is distilling the essence of your law firm to one, simple, memorable idea. Great brands stick in the minds of everyone who sees them. This is where many law firms - especially those that have both business-to-business and business-to-consumer practice areas - get into trouble. The tendency is to cram in everything and the kitchen sink - into a brand. Mistake!

To clarify -  the brand is the one idea that stands the best chance of sticking in the minds of prospects and clients. It is not everything that you stand for. Branding requires sacrificing many good ideas for the one that stands the best chance of getting through the clutter of over-communication. 

Branding Helps a Law Firm’s Bottom Line

A brand is the most sustainable competitive advantage a law firm can have. Branded law firms and branded services command a 25% to 30% premium over non-branded firms and services, according to a report by Bain & Company. Branded services also do better in tough times than non-branded services. Here are other benefits of branding your law firm:

• Top-of-mind recognition 
• Favourably pre-dispose markets or industries to think well of the firm, before the firm enters them 
• Open doors much earlier to opportunities; make introductions easier 
• Drive growth through a stronger focus on high-margin, high return work 
• Sell services more efficiently 
• Command a premium price (and ergo reduce discounts) 
• Slow or stop market share erosion 
• Encourage referrals 
• Recruit and retain top talent 
• Weather crises more readily

How to do Branding Right

Effective branding correctly reads the cultural context it operates in, as well as appealing to primal emotions. While a brand reflects on the “personality” of your law firm today, it must also be aspirational, providing room to grow as markets evolve. Today, the best branding leverages a cultural movement strategy.

When doing a branding initiative, you must also take stock of other law firms. What position in the minds of prospects and clients do they occupy?  You cannot brand your firm in a vacuum. Trying to cram too many criteria, qualities, attributes, and so on into a brand typically results in failure. It’s the old saying:  he who stands for everything, stands for nothing.

Trying to copy another law firm’s brand—the “me too” strategy—also results in failure:  a wasted effort and lack of differentiation. Read Positioning:  The Battle for Your Mind, by Al Ries and Jack Trout. This is the single best book on branding, originally published in 1981.

A brand is a relationship between a firm and its constituencies that secures future earnings by first creating and then building awareness, preference, good will, and loyalty. Constituencies of a law firm include:  equity and non-equity partners, counsel, associates, professional staff, articling students, clients, suppliers, law associations, all 3 levels of government, and the public-at-large.

Great branding extends to everything at the firm, from how work is delivered to clients, to human resources, to training, to finance, to marketing, graphic design and more. Great branding extends across all media and points of contact including signage, the website, newsletters, direct mail, speeches, presentations, sponsorships, cultural events and more. After you have finalized what your brand is, then define how your new brand is manifested in all these touch points. 

Company Overview Cogeco Peer 1 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX:CCA) and is a global provider of essential business-to-business products and services, such as colocation, network connectivity, managed hosting, cloud services and managed services, that allow customers across Canada, Mexico, the United States and Western Europe to focus on their core business. With 17 data centers, extensive FastFiber Network™ and more than 50 points-of-presence in North America and Europe combined, Cogeco Peer 1 is a trusted partner to businesses small, medium and large from a technology perspective. We have multiple Data Centers across Canada (Ontario, Quebec, BC) which legal customers from small to large, leverage to keep their most important assets (information and data), safe and secure inside Canadian borders. We offer solutions tailored to the legal industry including colocation services, e-discovery/managed hosting and cloud computing.

Expertise & Growth Cogeco Peer 1 is firmly committed and invested in the Ontario market. Most recently, the company completed a data centre project in Barrie, Ontario with an approximate investment of $80 million. In addition, the global headquarters for the organization are located in the province.

How many years have you been a Business Partner of TLOMA? Three years

What has your partnership experience with TLOMA been over the years? It has been a great experience. I've met many new contacts and TLOMA has brought some great opportunities to Cogeco Peer 1 in terms of advertising, events and awareness.

Favorite TLOMA Memory? Our first conference at Blue Mountain. Met many new business contacts.

Favorite Movie? The Sting

Favorite Concert? The Beach Boys at the CNE Grandstand in 1974 at 12 midnight. On my feet the whole show.

Favorite Hobbies? Classical and acoustic guitar, cycling and running.

If you could have a 60-minute conversation with anyone (fictional, famous, not famous, etc.) – who would you choose? I would love to be able to spend 60 minutes with both my grandfathers who unfortunately passed away before I was born.

You have been gifted with $10,000 …. the only catch is you have to spend it all within 24 hours… you can't use it to pay bills. What does your 24 hours spending spree include? I would donate $3,000 to Sick Children's Hospital where I spent 8 weeks when I was 6. I would book a cycling/cooking tour of Provence and take 4 of my closest friends to Jacobs Steak House for dinner.