Reid My Blog!

Law Firms, Paralegals, and the FLSA

Jim Calloway has a post today about the effect of the new (August 2004) overtime regulations on law firms which employ paralegals.  His post includes a terrific article on the subject by Oklahoma attorney, Bill Wells, with specific references to prior FLSA decisions involving law firm paralegals.  It is estimated that half of all law firms classify their paralegals as "exempt" employees; however, with the buzz caused by these new regulations, it appears that some firms may have to take a new look at how they classify and pay their paralegals.  The National Federation of Paralegal Associations also has some helpful information on the exempt/non-exempt status of paralegals here.

Beam me up, Scotty!

Once again life now imitates TV with the release of the Vocera Communications Badge.  This tiny wearable wi-fi device allows the user to tap it, then communicate with others on the local area network.  The network software uses voice recognition technology to connect the requesting party with the party he or she is seeking.  Now in use in hospitals across the U.S., will U.S. law firms see the need to make the same trek? 

Merger Opportunities

Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq. has an excellent post about the trends in law firm mergers, highlighted by the recent merger announcement of Shaw Pittman and Pillsbury Winthrop.  In his post, Bruce questions whether there is room in the market for medium-sized (100-400 lawyer) firms, then provides his answer: "In our brave new world, without a compelling regional or practice-specific expertise, I'm increasingly skeptical there is such room.  Choose critical mass or local excellence. " 

I think that is good news for law practice entrepreneurs.  Whether by choice or as a result of conflicts, a number of these lawyers will not join the merged firm.  Some may join other large firms, but others will start boutique practices using their big firm skills and contacts to create a smaller firm in their own image.  They will have a chance to build what Messieurs Shaw, Pittman, Pillsbury, and Winthrop did more than a generation ago.  The good news is that more resources exist today than fifty years ago to help these new entrepreneurs build their firm.  And while the stakes may seem higher now, I’ll bet the four above-named founders would disagree.

God, I love the smell of capitalism in the morning!

A Lawyer Unpaid is Justice Denied

I believe that lawyers are meant to be lawyers and not bankers, yet I talk to too many lawyers whose clients owe them significant sums of money. So why do we take on such financial risk in addition to the professional risks of representing a client?  It's because many lawyers feel uncomfortable talking about money with clients.  We often don't have a thorough discussion at the beginning of a legal matter, and we generally don't want to confront the client with the issue until the amount owing is already too high.  I co-authored an article on this topic several years ago that was picked up by several professional journals.   The concepts we discuss in the article still apply today.  By focusing on the reasons why a client is not paying the fee, a lawyer can often create a solution to get paid.  Proving once again that it pays to on top of your accounts receivable.