Gender, Lawyers and Legal Throughput – Some heretical thinking In his book, Undaunted Courage, about the Lewis & Clark Expedition (the first expedition to cross the United States by land in 1804), Stephen Ambrose wrote: “A critical factor in the world of 1801 was that nothing moved faster than the speed of a horse. No […]
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Reducing law office stress – What really works? As you know, approximately six months ago New Zealand enacted the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) which focuses on identifying, minimising and eliminating risks associated with inherently high risk aspects of the workplace. Unlike manufacturing and similar industry sectors that pose the risk of obvious
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Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, even lawyers. A mistake could be caused by lack of knowldge, or bad judgement. “Mistake is not intentional – the lawyers decision to act or not may be intentional, but the poor outcome is unintentional,” says Catherine Gage O’Grady from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law, in
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I recently attended a memorably good board meeting. It began on time, it ended a bit early, we covered more material than we had anticipated and the board chair masterfully facilitated the discussion. However, the success of the meeting had to do with more than that. In fact, what made the meeting so successful was
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When a group of lawyers practise together, they form a human system. This is true whether they are partners in a law firm, barristers in a chambers or an in-house legal team. Although each human system of lawyers is unique, there are some common characteristics in terms of how the participants interact with each other.
A practical guide to the delicate matter of lawyer peer reviews Read More »
Bill, an equity partner in a large law firm, advocated for a change in the way the firm utilised secretarial support staff to ensure continuity when secretaries were absent or when staffing changes occurred. Although Bill is a senior partner, to his surprise, his seniority and authority proved to be of little help in getting
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I wish all my clients and colleagues a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
I am generally available over the holiday period and welcome enquiries.
