Hopefully by the time you read this, you will already have donated (or pledged a donation) and completed a volunteer form for our eighth Habitat for Humanity House.  On the chance that you have not done so, both the 2017 Contribution Form and the 2017 Volunteer Form are available on the Greensboro Bar Association website.  We also offer the option of donating online.  Although your payment can be made either this year or by February 28, 2017, we need to obtain donations and commitments as soon as possible.

Donations are tax deductible and can be made to the Greensboro Bar Association Foundation, Inc., marked for the Habitat for Humanity House.   You have the option of making a donation in honor of or in memory of persons you designate and Diane will arrange to send notice of the recognition as you specify.

Please also complete and submit your volunteer form.  You do NOT need prior construction experience.  In fact, you may wish to sign up for an unfamiliar task in order to obtain a new skill.  In addition to volunteers for construction, we also need volunteers to help schedule work crews and volunteers to act as liaison with the homebuyer and their family.

We plan to begin construction on Saturday, April 1, 2017.  Typically we work on Saturdays and construction takes 18 weeks.  However, if there is sufficient interest (typically 18 or so volunteers for outside tasks or 8 to 10 for inside tasks), we can schedule workdays on Wednesdays, Thursdays, or possibly Fridays in addition to Saturdays.  Please indicate on your volunteer form if you can work during the week.

On a totally unrelated topic, please plan to attend our Holiday Celebration at 5:30 p.m. on December 14, 2016 at Elon Law School.  Gwen Lewis is coordinating a great evening, with beverages, hors d’oeuvres, music, and the opportunity to participate in wrapping books for donation to Jones Elementary.  If you would like to donate funds to help with this project, please send your donations to Diane made to the order of the Greensboro Bar Association Foundation and marked “Jones Elementary.”

Thanks (and best wishes for the Holiday Season!)

By Tom Kane (Reprinted from Tom’s LegalMarketingBlog.com dated September 30, 2016)

If any lawyer does not understand how important client relationships are, they need to find another line of work. In this month’s issue of Edge International’s Communiqué there is an article by Shirley Anne Fortina that points out how important strategic CRM is to business development.

She states, “Client relationship management should be your number one business development activity.” I could not agree more. I have preached over and over that clients are the number one source of new business (whether in the form of new work or referrals to new clients).

Fortina lists 24 questions you should ask yourself to determine the type of relationship you have/want with clients. Here are 5 of my favorites:

Do you care – I mean really care – about your clients?

Do you clearly communicate what you’re doing and why?

Do you keep the client sufficiently informed?

Do you keep your promises on deadlines and targets?

What are you doing to maintain, build and/or enhance relationships?

If you are truly interested in better client relationships, I recommend that you read the other 19 questions as well.

In conclusion, Fortina provides a great quote from Dale Carnegie; to wit: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

On September 29, Duke Law School hosted North Carolina’s first Evolve Law Conference.

Evolve Law was co-founded by Mary Juetten and Jules Miller and bills itself as a community of entrepreneurs, law firms, attorneys, investors and academics working together to accelerate the adoption of new ideas and technology in the legal profession.

The program featured a series of Darwin Talks (five-minute thought leadership presentations) along with product pitches from North Carolina legal technology entrepreneurs presenting to a panel of judges Shark Tank style. Tom Boyle, owner and founder of TrustBooks, a trust accounting software platform designed and priced for solo and small firm practitioners, was the winner of the legal technology pitches.

I was excited to present a Darwin Talk on the topic of “Building a 21^st Century Law Firm.”  I’d like to share my remarks with you.

21^st century challenges

There are many challenges for 21^st century law firms. Many of those challenges are beyond your control, such as increased costs and new methods of competition. But, not all of these things have to happen to you.  You can be a part of the changing marketplace.

For example, Legal Zoom is a reality. Most lawyers bemoan Legal Zoom, then talk about how their firm can step in to clean up the mess when a client is hurt by a Legal Zoom product.

Legal Zoom isn’t going away. However, I believe many of theiE clients are ordinary people in your community who would hire you if you would do 4 simple things:

• Educate them about their legal needs
• Show them how you can provide solutions to meet those needs
• Market yourself so that they can find you
• Present them with pricing they can understand – NOT discount pricing just transparent pricing

21^st century lawyers want …

Recently, we ran an interview in the Lawyers Mutual newsletter with associate Chelsea Chapman of McIlveen Family Law Firm located in Gastonia, North Carolina.

In talking with Chelsea, a millennial lawyer, we were able to see first-hand how managing attorney Angela McIlveen’s forward-thinking approach has set their firm apart as innovators in the industry. From their transparent management style to their collaborative work space—they are constantly finding ways to move their firm forward.

As Chelsea says, “Innovative thinking is necessary in order to run a successful business.  I’m lucky to be part of a firm that not only embraces technology, but seeks out new ways to make our procedures as effective as possible for both employees and clients.  In my experience, a firm that fails to pay attention to technology advances is just asking for a bar complaint. On my first day at McIlveen, I remember being completely in awe of how organized client’s electronic “files” were kept. Personally, I think lack of organization is a problem that many solo firms need to address if they want to stay in business.  Additionally, I absolutely love my firm’s open office space.  The layout of the office enhances productivity and cultivates energy.  Working with a group of forward-thinkers makes me excited for the future of the legal world.”

Five things you can do today to build a law firm for the future

1. Start the conversation in your law firm – with your Long Range Planning Committee or Strategic Planning Committee, or your Marketing / Business Development Committee. Invite Lawyers Mutual over to be a part of these conversations or have coffee with Jeff Ward, organizer of the Evolve Law event and director of the Duke Law School’s Start-Up Ventures Clinic. Join Evolve Law (www.evolvelawnow.com), a community of entrepreneurs, law firms, attorneys, investors and academics working together to serve as a catalyst for legal innovation.

2. Collaborate with EVERYONE in your firm. Traditionally, lawyers believe the practice of law is unique among all professions and they resist the idea that a law practice can or should be managed like a business. I encourage you to continue to love and respect the law, but to recognize that there are those without a J.D. degree who can bring good ideas to better your firm. These conversations should extend beyond the partner meetings and include associates and other legal professionals who currently work with you. Also, as you make hiring decisions, hire for new skill sets. 21^st century skills include cultural competency, leadership, project management, business acumen, high risk tolerance, technology, social networking, communication and presentation, teaming and problem solving that includes innovation.

3. Build a network outside of legal. Talk with your business friends or other professionals and ask what they are seeing and doing to address changes in their professions.

4. Think like an entrepreneur – Train yourself to think in a new way by exposing yourself to new ideas. Read the Divorce Discourse blog, subscribe to the Legal Talk Network or Startup podcast, read Seth Godin, Malcom Gladwell, Richard Susskind or Jordan Furlong. Hire professionals that enhance the skill set of your lawyers, not just mimic them.

5. Read, Attend, Study – Congratulations for showing up to an Evolve Law event. Just by being here, you show you are ready to consider a new future. Continue to show up where people are talking about things you don’t typically hear at the local bar meetings. Attend the 2017 Clio Conference Sept 25 & 26 in New Orleans, or join the Legal Marketing Association where you can attend local and national conferences on legal marketing and technology.

“It’s all happening” is a quote from one of my favorite movie characters, Penny Lane, in one of my favorite movies, Almost Famous. Penny seems to be saying that everything is falling into place, as if fate is bringing destiny to its ultimate fulfillment. You cannot be complacent, the tools are available and the future is here – it’s all happening.

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

By Tom Kane (Reprinted from Tom’s LegalMarketingBlog.com dated July 6, 2016)

Why is cross-selling difficult? First, because many corporate clients do not want to put all their eggs in one basket.  For political, financial and/or relationship reasons, they want to spread the work around.  Sure, a number of major corporations are reducing the number of outside law firms (often doing so to better manage administrative headaches).  However, rarely will they reduce the number of law firms to one.

Reasons within the law firm itself are just as likely to make cross-selling difficult to pull off. Since I have written on the topic numerous times in the past, I thought I would refer to just four of my posts.  Hopefully, they will shed light on why it is so difficult to cross-sell, and offer ideas on how to overcome the difficulties:

Why Your Partner Won’t Cross-Sell You!
After 25-plus years in marketing lawyers, it continues to amaze me that some lawyers do not understand why cross-selling so often doesn’t work.  The thinking seems to go, “I’m good at… (fill in the blank), we’re partners, and they should just refer ‘their’ clients to me so I’ll have more work.” The question is “why …Continue Reading

Is the Lack of Cross-Selling Your Fault?
Are you to blame for the failure of your partners to cross-sell you to their client contacts? Not necessarily, but you could be part of the problem. Clients select lawyers they know, like and trust. Referral sources, including your partners, send you clients for the same reason. Since they know, like and trust you, they …Continue Reading

Cross-selling By Any Other Name
Semantics sometimes get in the way of some good advice. When you try to convince clients (subtly or otherwise) to engage your law firm for additional services not previously rendered, I think it is silly to argue about whether you are cross-selling or cross-marketing clients. I’ve known and admired Bob Denney for many years. He’s …Continue Reading

Why Cross-selling Doesn’t Work, But Could
There are obstacles to cross-selling that explains why law firms are so bad at it. But with the right kind of leadership and incentives, the obstacles can be overcome. It isn’t easy though. When I was an in-house legal marketer, I actually saw cross-selling work – maybe 1% of the time. An article on Law360.com …Continue Reading

Cross-selling can work in law firms, but it isn’t easy.  It takes knowing, liking and trusting one another among partners, and… a client’s concurrence, of course.

YLS is off to a great start! In the month of September, we stuffed 87 backpacks for the comfort backpack program at Backpack Beginnings. Afterwards, we had our member kickoff party at Pig Pounder. Thank you to all YLS members who joined us. If you missed the opportunity to connect with YLS in September, we hope to see you at the Swearing-In Ceremony and/or reception on October 14, 2016.  More details on our upcoming events are included below.

Book Buddies

Book Buddies is a volunteer program that YLS created and supports every year.  The program pairs lawyers with classrooms at Hampton Elementary to read aloud to the class for thirty minutes to an hour.  The great thing about the program is that it’s flexible—once you’re paired with a classroom, you work with the teacher to schedule mutually agreeable reading times.  Our goal is to fully staff Hampton’s pre-K through second-grade classes and expand to another Guilford County school. To find out more about Book Buddies and how you can volunteer, please email Whit Pierce at whit.pierce@smithmoorelaw.com.

Swearing-In Ceremony/Bridge the Gap Program

Please mark your calendars for Friday, October 14, 2016.  We would love for GBA members to join us and support our newly licensed attorneys. Our Bridge the Gap Program starts at 9:00 a.m. and provides a great opportunity for new lawyers to tour the Federal, State, and Bankruptcy Courts.  If you are interested in signing up for the Bridge the Gap Program, please contact Grant Sigmon at gsigmon@bbflaw.com.  Our Swearing-In Ceremony will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the Commissioners’ Room located on the second floor of the Old Courthouse (301 W. Market Street) with a reception at Churchill’s to follow.  To access a PDF copy of the application, please click here.  Applications are due by October 7, 2016.

Website Launch

Do you want more information about upcoming YLS events or how you can get involved? Check out our new website:  http://www.greensboroyls.org/.  We look forward to connecting with you!

At the September 14, 2016 meeting, the Board of Directors for the Greensboro Bar Association unanimously approved as a Greensboro Bar project the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house.  Our Bar has previously completed construction of seven houses (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2010, and 2013), and we look forward to the eighth.

Our Habitat projects have afforded us a unique opportunity for positive interaction.  In addition to benefiting the homeowner family and community, these projects allow our members to work together and develop relationships totally removed from the stress and often adversarial nature of our professional lives.  During construction, we work on a common project involving senior and junior members of our Bar, members of the judiciary, clerk’s staff, and Elon law students.

The homeowner will be selected by Habitat for Humanity and will work with us in the construction of the house.  These homeowners are required to attend more than 30 hours of classes on budgeting, home maintenance, and finance to prepare them to be homeowners.  They work a minimum of 350 hours during construction and repay Habitat through interest free loans with a typical monthly payment of $650 to $800 (no more than 25% of their income).  These funds allow Habitat to acquire additional property and build additional homes.

This project will require both labor and funding in the amount of $75,000 to complete the house.  Of this amount, $60,000 has already been committed ($25,000 in anonymous contributions from your fellow Bar members, $25,000 in credit from Habitat for Humanity based on contribution of pro bono legal services from our Bar to the organization over the years, and $10,000 from the Greensboro Bar Association Foundation), leaving the sum of $15,000 to be raised from our membership.

We will kick off the project at our October 20, 2016 Bar lunch meeting, and plan to begin construction in the Spring of 2017.  Please indicate your willingness to contribute funding and/or labor to this project by e-mailing Diane Lowe at jd18gba@greensborobar.org.  Like most undertakings, you will get out of this project in proportion to what you put in – do take advantage of this project to enrich and expand your relationships with members of our Bar!

On April 1, 2016, the NC Equal Access to Justice Commission launched the NC Pro Bono Resource Center with the hiring of inaugural director Sylvia Novinsky. The newly-established NC Pro Bono Resource Center is one of only a handful of statewide pro bono resource centers in the country. The goal of the NC Pro Bono Resource Center is to increase pro bono participation statewide.

Rule 6.1 calls on all lawyers to provide legal services to those who are unable to pay. To assist lawyers in fulfilling their professional responsibility to provide pro bono, the center will serve as a clearinghouse of pro bono projects and will partner with legal aid organizations, local bars, law schools, community groups, and others to develop new projects to help address unmet legal needs. To that end, the center welcomes attorneys to learn more by visiting ncprobono.org or emailing Sylvia Novinsky at sylvia@ncprobono.org for more information.

To view current pro bono projects, visit ncprobono.org and click on “Find a Pro Bono Opportunity.”