Practice Management

This is a private little game that we like to play down here in Texas.  Admittedly, it is best to play at Big Law firms and large in-house legal departments, but it works well in law school settings, courthouses, in surfing then Net and blogs, and in general discussions with people about how to operate your law practice.

What you do is write down management or marketing or organizational, or legal jargon nonsense words or short phrases, like "out of the box thinking" or "social marketing" or "line of cases" or "synergy" or "alternative billing practices" or "rainmaking" or whatever.  Then go to your Big Law firm meeting, or sit down with your new management or marketing consultant, or go to Court.  Pull out the piece of paper and if the word of phrase is used during the meeting or at Court you check the box.  When you get a five box line (either horizontally, vertically or diagonally) you shout out "BULLSHIT!".

Now, I might recommend that you do not actually shout out the word, but you can register it in your own mind and with the smile on your face.

I am also not saying that I do not myself talk in these terms.  The problem is that courts and management people and marketing people and partners get so into the latest phraseology and use it almost as a crutch that it is aggravating.

Years ago, I did this with Bankruptcy Code numbers.  We lawyers and judges, who think we know what we are doing, like to talk in Code (literally) in bankruptcy court.  Heck, it is almost like a second language.  You say to the Judge, "We are prosecuting this case under both 362(k) and 105 for Defendant's violation of 362(a)(3) and (a)(6), pursuant to the requirements of Rule 7001(a)."  The Court responds in turn.  If you not have a decoder ring, you might be in trouble.

What you can do is create boxes as stated for Bankruptcy Code number provisions.  Then while sitting in Court waiting to be called, just check off the Code provision you hear.  Watch how this passes the time.

I also think it brings us lawyers and management and marketing consultants back down to earth when we start seeing our key words held out as BS words.

Now this is thinking outside of the box.  Or, maybe not.  Maybe this is having fun inside of the box.  Either way, give it a try.