Articles by Paul Gilbert:
Defining a new normal for ethics, lawyers and business
05/10 | A very good friend of mine was somewhat nonplussed by an announcement a few years back; he had heard that the Law Society in England & Wales had set up an “Essex Helpline”. “What on earth,” he opined, “did the Law Society think it was doing spending our money on something just for Essex? And what the hell was going on in Essex that they needed their own helpline?”
Blessed are the dealmakers
02/10 | As the economies of the world limp out of recession, lick their wounds and breathe out a long sigh of relief…what did we learn from the whole dreadful business and what is the shape of the “new normal” for legal services as we enter the new decade? More importantly, right now, do we have the energy left to care?!
The battered survivor – lessons from a recession
12/09 | The weeks have just tumbled by, the months seem to end before they have begun and in a flash the year is nearly gone...
Supporting the Support Teams
07/09 | Even in the best of times some support functions in many law firms suffer from a downplaying of their value by their lawyer colleagues...
Tell me something I can take away and do...
04/09 | Speaking with one general counsel the other day, I was asked a not untypical question: "What can you tell me that I could implement today that will help me and my team become more effective?".
Is now a good time to become a lawyer?
03/09 | To read some lawyers’ contributions to the legal blogs you might be forgiven for thinking that becoming a lawyer today was not the shrewdest career choice one could make.
Managing to lead, because we are all leaders now
02/09 | The difference between what is a “leader” and what is a “manager” and what is “leadership” and “management” is the stuff of consulting heaven! It is a debate that has spawned thousands of books, articles and workshops…
Open Source Law?
11/08 | There is a phenomenon in the world of systems development and software that might just have the most enormous impact on the future of legal services...
Lessons to Learn
10/08 | Some very notable minds down the ages have suggested that “the only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history”…
Is there a silver lining in every cloud...?
10/08 | The last few months have been awful… Whatever your political leaning, whatever your own perspective on how things should have been and how they should be, we are all clearly experiencing the global economy having a major tantrum; toys thrown out of the pram with gusto.
A “crunch” … The collective noun for a group of failed bankers
10/08 | At the time of writing this article I am pleased to confirm that the world has not ended. It is an important point to make; I would not want to waste my time if it had ended...
Does size matter so much?
07/08 | There is much talk around the world of consolidation in legal services; the globalisation strategies of some high profile law firms is mimicked by firms in individual countries and across regions seeking to grow through their own merger strategies.
Change and Leadership – the essential start-up kit
06/08 | "Change" is more than a business school process. We must shape the discussion, influence, challenge, adhere to values and inspire.
Networking – Give more, seek less
04/08 | We ran a networking event recently in a regional centre far, far away from the capital city…we thought lawyers would be pleased to have an opportunity to meet friends and contacts and not have to travel into London to do so...
Whatever you do, please don´t exceed my expectations!
02/08 | Have you ever filled in a customer satisfaction survey? The ones where you tick the box that best describes the service or value received...
In less than one hundred words
02/08 | I received an innocuous little message the other day… “Can you please tell us what you do in less than one hundred words?”...
Changing the Way We Change
01/08 | No New Year is complete without a thought to introducing some change into our lives… it might be personal (I will try to lose the weight I lost once before the weight I have just put on)...
Draughty halls and cold showers… the alternative way to customer satisfaction.
12/07 | I was standing patiently in line last week waiting for the man in front of me to finish his diatribe. I was waiting to check-out of the hotel I had been staying in…he was not happy to go quietly.
Mind the gap...
10/07 | Talking to one City law firm partner the other day I was left a little nonplussed by an assertion of economic hardship?
My lawyer is great... really great
10/07 | It would have been lovely, but I am not sure the line ?my lawyer is great, really great? was ever used about me?
The Perception Conundrum
08/07 | In the UK just now we are in the middle of the holiday season. When I was a child I very fondly remember my summers as warm, sunny, full of friends and games and just about the best of times a boy could have.
The Power of Brand
06/07 | If you are not into marketing then the notion of rebranding can seem like a vacuous and pointless expense. As the old (adapted) joke goes: ?How do you make a small fortune from rebranding??
Out of my depth
06/07 | I was having a coffee the other day with an in-house lawyer new into her first role; she was interesting and thoughtful and her conversation was engaging and full of optimism, but then she said something that made me pause for thought. She said ?I am really uncomfortable doing new things; I always feel that I am so much out of my depth?.
Assessing Value ? What makes the difference?
03/07 | General Counsel must ensure that their preferred law firms provide value for money and that relationships are developed to their full potential.
Grumpy Old Lawyers
03/07 | Is it me? Or will there come a time in everyone?s life when ranting at the television becomes normal behaviour?
Animal Farm 2007
02/07 | I ache all over? said the old badger. ?I ache so much, it hurts to breathe? ?Oh dear? said the young fox ?whatever have you done??
Lawyers' Labours Lost
02/07 | Henry Ford is reputed to have said that before the car had been invented, if you had asked travellers what they would have wanted most to make travel a better experience, they would have said ?faster horses?.
Communication's Holy Grail
11/06 | When I was six years old I was told that if I played with my tummy button my bottom would fall off?That message was delivered to me some forty years ago and yet I remember it very well even today...
Let them eat chocolates!
09/06 | Cue the Ambassador?s residence, a dinner party for glamorous and sophisticated people, soft lights, romantic music, and a beautiful young woman approaches her impossibly handsome host ?Ahh Mr Ambassador you spoil us with your chocolates?...
Simple and Focussed.
08/06 | There is an old line about the inexact science of marketing? The apocryphal Marketing Director declares that at least half of the money spent on marketing is fantastically successful ? the trouble is the Marketing Director does not know which half?
Thought Leader
08/06 | In business we are constantly told that change is inevitable, ?adapt or die? slogans are bandied around and there is a whole industry of publishers, presenters and consultants with clever words to make those who have proper jobs feel inadequate.
Change on the way for law firms
05/06 | In the olden days it was all so straightforward. The young tyro worked hard at law school, secured a good training contract, worked like a pit pony for a few years, made partner and then worked at making rain.
Brave New World
02/06 | ?We live in such a fast paced competitive world. We have to earn every pound we invoice - sometimes more than every pound - and client loyalty is barely a recognisable characteristic in anything we do these days??
Won't you stay just a little bit longer?
12/05 | Law firms lose people too easily. Trainees come and go like fallible components in a greedy machine ...
Being a Great Communicator
11/05 | There is an old joke about consultants - they know at least one hundred ways to make love to a beautiful woman? the problem is that they do not know any women!
The Terror Threat
09/05 | When bombs explode and people die we are all touched by fear. Brave words from victims and onlookers do not change this fact.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance General Counsel
09/05 | Speak to any General Counsel today and ask them what keeps them awake at night...
It?s not what you use; it?s the way that you use it?
09/05 | It is probably tougher today to be a successful lawyer than at any time in living memory. Competitive forces are more pronounced and getting more so, clients more demanding and the risks we carry seem wider and more scary.
Life, the universe and your lawyer
06/05 | There is a parallel to be made between the latest Hollywood blockbuster, and an in-house lawyer?s value.
Leaping Forward
04/05 | Rewarding and motivating a team when implementing a major project is no mean feat. Here we offer 10 pointers for ensuring that great ideas become a reality, and that you keep your team on side throughout the process.
Gone Shopping
03/05 | Old habits die hard, especially when it comes to choosing which law firm to instruct. Paul Gilbert lays down a challenge to corporate counsel to think about the way they choose their advisers in a different light
The profession is dead: long live the profession
03/05 | In decades to come, Sir David Clementi may not be a name that is easily remembered, but the report he published in December 2004...
Make More Money - Now!
01/05 | Every now and again I find myself driving along the A40 into London pondering the unpalatable thought that unless my alarm goes off at 3am I really will spend years of my life sat in a car?
Thoughts from the bottom line
10/04 | You may think you?ve heard it all before, but when it comes to meeting client expectations, there?s always something more to be learnt.
The road to in-house success
07/04 | What makes a successful in-house legal function? Legal Director invites a number of commentators to give their views. In one of a series of contributions, Paul Gilbert gives his take on the six signs of a successful in-house team.
Taking Stock
01/04 | SMART objectives have become a business mantra for some City gurus, but Paul Gilbert suggests a new, and perhaps more fitting, proposal for the year ahead.
I have a dream?
10/03 | Paul Gilbert takes a look at what may happen if the deregulation of the Law Society goes ahead over the next 10 years.
The Legal Profession in the Year 2013...
08/03 | I was sat in the wine bar the other day reminiscing with an old friend.
Putting your house in order
08/03 | Attracting business from in-house lawyers is cut-throat at the best of times. Paul Gilbert explains how to get clients and keep them happy.
Why lawyers rubbish in bed…probably
08/03 | The evidence is all around us in the way lawyers think, in the way lawyers work and in the way lawyers relate to their clients, says Paul Gilbert
It?s the thought that counts
04/03 | Paul Gilbert explains why a position of importance does not exempt lawyers from the need to add value.
Reform Debate
11/02 | In most important debates there will be several different points of view all of which will have some validity.
Have you been Enron-ed?
07/02 | In-house lawyers have had a big wake-up call post-Enron. Being busy is not enough — lawyers have to think strategically to add real value, says Paul Gilbert.
A Call to Arms
04/02 | In-house lawyers should be a hugely influential constituency whose voice should carry enormous weight. But, says Paul Gilbert, their response to date to changes in the legal profession has been decidedly underwhelming.
Client Side Up
04/02 | Too often so-called client relationship management training has been about a few brain frying hours listening to presenations on “cross-selling”. This needs to change.
For Goodness Sake
01/02 | Pro bono is now an option for all lawyers, including those working in-house. Paul Gilbert explains why there is no excuse not to do pro bono work
Forum
11/01 | The legal profession dug its own grave when it abandoned its core values for market forces in the 1980s. Paul Gilbert says lawyers should return to valuing and upholding ethical conduct.
Give us a break
09/01 | What did the Law Society ever do for you? In the wake of possibly the worst year in its history, Paul Gilbert explains why in-house lawyers should give Chancery Lane another chance.
Forum
07/01 | It’s easy to criticise the Law Society but, says Paul Gilbert, the reforms instigated by outgoing president Michael Napier will help the organisation emerge as a strong and well-managed body deserving the support of all those it represents.
A timebomb waiting to explode
04/01 | Last month the Legal Director Benchmarker survey revealed clients’ growing concern over the levels of fees charged by law firms. It is time, writes Paul Gilbert, for in-house lawyers to get a better deal for their business.
Untitled
03/01 | The pros and cons of becoming an in-house lawyer.
Resolve to Evolve
02/01 | With their antiquated business practices and lack of customer service, are law firms in danger of being left behind? Paul Gilbert says that it’s definitely time for a revolution.
Coupe or not Coupe
12/00 | Too often what we really want eludes us and what we get is a compromise.