Camille Stell
is President and CEO of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.

Strategic planning is hard. It is so much easier to talk about improving your client selection skills or to hope that a budget appears on your desk than to spend the time thinking strategically about how to improve your law practice. The reality is that no one can manage your practice but you. However, if you rethink strategic planning, perhaps you can do some before the end of the year.

Most of us think about starting a strategy session outside of the office, preferably poolside in a resort location.  While that sounds fun, it isn’t going to happen between now and December 31. So how about if you walk down the hall to your conference room to escape the phone and email and devote a few hours to thinking about your business.

A popular exercise as part of strategic planning is a SWOT analysis. Why not give it a try on your own? Get out a white board, a yellow pad, or your laptop. Start by listing your strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps resolving client problems is your strength and getting new clients in the door is your weakness. This is actually a good problem to have. Client referrals are a great source of revenue for many lawyers and, if you are successful at resolving their problems, they are probably willing to refer work to you. You just need to make sure that you ask them to do this. It may seem difficult at first, but the more you practice, the easier it will get. Continue through identifying strengths and weaknesses until you feel you have identified enough items to set goals around.

The next two pieces of the SWOT analysis are to identify opportunities and threats. What is getting in the way of having a successful practice or taking your practice to the next level?  Write the threats down and think through solutions. Unfortunately, it is often easier to identify threats. Don’t get bogged down and don’t get discouraged. It’s helpful to know what your challenges are, this can help you identify goals to work towards.

As you begin listing opportunities, don’t forget to include current clients and referral sources. Who’s on the list? Other attorneys, your banker, your CPA, other professionals, your clients, your friends, people you do business with, people you went to school with, those in your neighborhood, your faith group. Get the idea?

Look at your calendar and start setting up breakfast, lunch, coffee or telephone calls to talk to these people and formalize the referral relationship. Perhaps you do it by asking them what their target client looks like so you can offer referrals to them. Don’t look at your referral list as a one-way meal ticket. The best way to get something is to give something. Share information. If you’ve used a great vendor, pass along that information. If you’ve found a wonderful web resource or a great article, send it along.

After going through the SWOT analysis, begin to identify some strategic objectives and set some tactical goals that will allow you to meet those objectives. For the purpose of the exercise, feel free to have three to five strategic objectives and dozens of goals.

You have arrived at the most important part of the exercise. Look at the strategies and decide how to prioritize for the coming year. At this point, you have to have a real conversation with yourself about what you can accomplish. You should keep the number of strategic objectives between one and three, with about three to five tactical goals for each objective. Don’t get rid of the remainder, as you succeed in meeting your goals, these leftover goals are added to your strategic plan for next year.

Now that the goals are identified, you have to fit them into your budget and establish time frames when the goals should be reached. You can’t reach out to 50 referral sources in January. Decide on a realistic plan, put it on your calendar and be accountable to yourself.

I’m not suggesting that strategic planning is painless. However, the end of the year is a great time to strategize about ways to improve your law practice.

Camille Stell is the President of Lawyers Mutual Consulting & Services. Continue this conversation by contacting Camille at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com or 800.662.8843.

Diane Lowe receives award in appreciation of five years of dedication and exceptional service to the Greensboro Bar Association and for outstanding commitment as the Administrator for the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Bar.

Diane Lowe was recognized for her dedication and commitment to the standard of excellence she has demonstrated to the Greensboro Bar Association.  Immediate Past President Judge Vincent recognized Diane at the November GBA lunch membership meeting.

As Judge Vincent remarked, Diane Lowe is “the most valuable asset to our organization” ––– thus, “give honor to whom honor is due.”  Judge Vincent noted that the honoree is gifted in the logistics that are necessary for people to have a seamless experience.  Indeed, Diane has gone above and beyond consistently to ensure the GBA members have an outstanding experience.

Diane Lowe has served as the GBA Administrator since 2014.  Ms. Lowe graduated from the State University of New York College at Fredonia in New York.  She served as the Membership Director of the Greensboro City Club from 1995 to 1997.  Diane owned Personal Jewelers of Greensboro, a high-end jewelry shop, from 1997 to 2001.  From 2002 to 2014, Diane also contributed greatly to the success of Kids Voting where she worked diligently to improve donor relations, recruit volunteers, and oversee budgeting and financial reporting.

Thank you, Diane!

At the November GBA lunch membership meeting at Greensboro Country Club, President Eric Richardson presented Immediate Past President Judge Teresa Vincent with a gift to express appreciation for her dedicated service and commitment in 2018-20.

Thank you, Judge Vincent, for your longstanding service to the members of the Greensboro Bar Association, and for your many accomplishments during your tenure last year!

The artglass inscription

Lisa Maria Noda Grigley
Endorsed by Chelsea A. Peele

Davida Martin
Endorsed by Paul L. Jones

Geoffrey William Murphy
Endorsed by Nicole R. Scallon

Abigail Seymour
Camino Law
Endorsed by Chelsea A. Peele

Matthew Anderson
Bovis, Kyle, Burch  Medlin, LLC
Endorsed by Alicia L. Bray

Paul Florence
Endorsed by Chelsea A. Peele

Lauren Hossfeld
The Elder Law Firm
Endorsed by Dennis J. Toman

Jeffrey Jones
J.T. Jones Law PLLC
Endorsed by Chelsea A. Poole

Steven M. LaSota
Brooks Pierce LLP
Endorsed by John M. Cross, Jr.

Robert Martin
Luft Law Group
Endorsed by Chelsea A. Peele

Emily M. Melvin
Ellis & Winters LLP
Endorsed by Jonathan A. Berkelhammer

Benjamin John Rafte
Isaacson Sheridan
Endorsed by Jennifer N. Fountain

Sarah M. Rozek
Fox Rothschild LLP
Endorsed by Susan M. Fradenburg

Mary Sanders
Guilford County Public Defender
Endorsed by Molly A. Hilburn-Holte

J’Omega Latrice Walker
Taylor Law Office
Endorsed by Gerald L. Walden, Jr.

Justin Wraight
Cardinal Law Partners
Endorsed by Megan Callahan

2019 GBA HOLIDAY PARTY

Elon Law School

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Andrew Steffensen
is President of the Greensboro Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section
and is an attorney with Schell Bray PLLC.

The year is quickly coming to a close, but the Young Lawyers Section is just getting started. We are planning several events for 2020 that we hope you will be excited about.  We will be hosting even more socials, more networking events, and more service events in the upcoming year!

As much as we love to see our members, we understand that December is a busy time of year, so the Young Lawyers Section is going to take a break from our socials this month. We are going to join the party with the Greensboro Bar Association on December 11, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the Greensboro Bar Association annual holiday party to enjoy a night of fellowship, gift wrapping, prizes, and fun!

One of our main goals this year is to serve our membership by providing service opportunities and activities that interest you, and we are working hard to think of new events and activities that will provide you with additional ways to interact with your peers.  We would like to encourage you to consider what service opportunities and activities you would be interested in. We would love to hear from you. Please email Andrew Steffensen with your ideas and suggestions at asteffensen@schellbray.com.

Connect With Us

Finally, if you want more information about upcoming Young Lawyers Section events or how you can get involved, visit our website at www.greensboroyls.org, email Andrew Steffensen (asteffensen@schellbray.com) to make sure you are on the listserv, and follow us on Facebook (Greensboro Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section). If you missed the opportunity to connect with the Young Lawyers Section during 2019, we hope to see you at one of our 2020 events!

Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, NCAWA 2019 Judge of the Year, and NCAWA President Manisha P. Patel at the 2019 NCAWA Annual Conference Awards Banquet at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Greensboro on October 11, 2019.

Attorney Manisha P. Patel was selected by membership for a second term as President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (NCAWA) for 2020. Patel was selected for this leadership position, by the membership, at the 2019 Annual Conference of NCAWA in Greensboro, NC on October 11, 2019. Her previous roles on the Executive State Board of NCAWA include Education Committee Chair, Secretary, Vice-President, and President-Elect. Patel also served as President of the local chapter of NCAWA, Piedmont Triad Women Attorneys for the calendar years of 2016 and 2017.

The NCAWA is a statewide non-profit organization founded in 1978 with the mission to promote the participation of women in the legal profession and advance the rights and welfare of women under the law. The efforts of the NCAWA throughout the years have resulted in the passing of numerous laws improving the welfare of women and children in the state of North Carolina on issues including domestic violence, equitable distribution of marital property, and child support enforcement.

Manisha P. Patel earned her Juris Doctor from Elon University School of Law and holds bachelor’s degrees in both economics and history from Virginia Tech. With a focus on family law, Patel started her solo practice in November 2018 after spending over six years in private practice. Manisha offers compassionate legal counsel and support to family law clients during emotionally stressful transitions and difficult life situations.