Latent Lawyer

Creating a legal reality

2007-08-26T12:53:00.001-07:00

When I consider the impact of legal training on the world we create for ourselves, I am becoming concerned. The latest scientific research in the field of quantum mechanics seems to confirm what many of us have intuitively known for years, namely that whatever focus we have in a contract is likely to show up in reality given time. Put another way, a contract whose purpose is less than positive may cause the very thing it fears happening. So in personal work, the pre-nuptial agreement has been widely seen as negative and being likely to increase the chances of a relationship failing. In business circles, such a perspective is less prevalent but the same logic dictates the same result. So surely if you come at relationships in business from distrust, surely you are increasingly the likelihood of a break down in the relationship? But short of trusting everyone, which is current business circles might be seen as suicidal for a business, what can we do?

The answer is predictable for those used to my thinking: you create a relationship from a positive perspective, focusing on all aspects of the relationship including bits that might have little or no immediate legal impact but are an important part of the focus of the relationship - the desired long term outcome of the relationship or its "vision" if you like.

Getting clarity around and then stating the vision alongside more specific objective and values for the relationship creates a powerful focus for the contract. You can then go on to deal with the more mundane mechanics of the relationship to make it work and also state, almost as an aside, what will happen "in the unlikely event of things going astray".

The Benefits of Contractual Freedom

2007-05-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

Building on the idea of approaching law from the point of view of creating effective relationships (as an overall commitment for my legal practice), I have being looking at other ways of doing this. So far in my blog I have covered positive focus in contracts and working towards specific visions, objectives and values. I have also spoken about my ‘assisted communication’ work. Something new came up during a client meeting yesterday.

All of this came out of the realisation that in essence everything, as a human-being, is about relationships. In particular, successful business is about successful relationships. The distinction however between business and personal is much more grey than it might at first appear. In looking to build freedom and flexibility in my own personal relationships, it has started me thinking about how this can operate in business.

Yesterday I saw a client whose business is effectively an intermediary between the members of the public and certain specific service providers (for confidentiality reasons, I cannot say exactly what). He goes out and seeks customers, has them sign up to a commitment (which they are bound by after the appropriate cooling off period) and then he sells the contracts on to the service provider for a set fee. The client was very interesting in that he wants to expand the business rapidly and create franchises so he is interested in building on what their success is so far by focussing on quality assurance, etc, to build the brand.

As we sat down to discuss how we might work together, I asked him what he thought would be possible for the expansion of the brand by turning his current approach on its head, risking losing the benefit of long-term contractual commitments (which might be quite hard in practice to enforce anyway) in favour of the probable popularity of a service that is so confident in itself that it does not feel the need to tie people down. What I was effectively suggesting was that contracts only provide a loose structure for when the two parties (in this case the customer and the supplier) choose to work together. I was suggesting therefore letting go of the attempt to tie them in for a fixed period. Any short term gain in terms of some people cancelling would probably be outweighed by the increase in the number of people who would be probably willing to sign up to a contract where there was no long-term commitment so that trying it out is effectively a “no-brainer”.

The down side in the short term is that if he took on short commitments rather than longer ones, when he sells on the contracts to the service providers, they would not be willing to pay a large up front sum and he would have to then take payments from them in instalments, probably by way of standing order. However, again this was something that would also enable him to more easily sign up service providers as only that day he had encountered resistance to a request for an up-front payment from a supplier bearing in mind that they had no guarantee that the customers would actually perform their contracts. He again saw that this could be very beneficial in the expansion of the business.

As we explored the subject in greater depth, the client saw that such an approach would make a powerful statement of confidence in their service and also make it much easier to sign people up and he saw that this would be very beneficial in the long term development of the brand.

I ended up our first “get to know” meeting leaving him to reflect on what we had discussed and to speak to his business partner. The meeting itself seemed to produce a whole raft of possibilities for expansion of the business that he had not considered before. I found the experience of our discussions personally enjoyable and fulfilling and he seemed to find it invigorating as well.

Question: When is a sale not a sale?

2007-04-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Answer: When it involves the possibility of an ongoing relationship.

Today I had a meeting with a young web entrepreneur who wanted to acquire some websites to expand his business interests. Our chat was designed to brief me to create the purchase contract with the US seller and to ensure that he obtained the domains.

I warned him that he needs to undertake “due diligence” to make sure that he gets what is expecting – to allow him to verify things he has been told. We had had the conventional chat about the contract and the due diligence but as he spoke he talked about the relationship he had struck up with the seller and how he had grown to trust him over quite a period of time (around two years) and the more he spoke the more I realised how the ongoing relationship, even beyond the promised period of post-completion support, was a major consideration for my client and for the seller.

Indeed, it was clear to me that they could continue to develop the relationship to mutual benefit. I spoke with him about how I could use my “relationship creation approach” (normally more relevant with business partners) in creating a more positive purchase document that deals with things beyond the usual standard things to protect and deal with future disputes.

I explained that the real value in contracts usually lies not in the documents themselves but in the process of clarifying intentions to reduce the chance of disputes. I added that by adding longer terms aspirations and aligning both parties with the vision, objectives and values of the ongoing relationship, though largely legally unenforceable, it gives the contract a very positive and inspiring focus on which to base the future.

Having these unexpected things raised seemed to inspire my client who sees much possibility for himself and the seller in their ongoing association and friendship. I will now set about creating this document in the next week and I will share some of it (with confidential bits removed of course) on this blog in the next week or so.

Phew – it worked!

2007-04-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

I met a client and friend for dinner last night and to my delight he acknowledged me for some assistance I had given (in front of my life partner who is unaware of the ground-breaking stuff I am experimenting with). I had been approached by him over being bought out of a small business venture he had gone into with a friend. They had been friends but the friend was now not paying the money they had agreed and was proving difficult to tie down and my friend felt he had to take legal advice to protect himself.

I told him that my stance is always to avoid disputes and that I am committed to leaving no stone unturned in helping people resolve conflict and to have a good ongoing relationship. I offered to sit down with them both as a neutral observer to provide what I call “assisted communication”.

I explained that it involves me sitting with them and there rules are simple: each party can say whatever they need to say about how they feel, etc and neither is allowed to interrupt the other. I said that the only person who can interrupt or bring the session to an end is me. I said that if they do not find a resolution then I cannot act for either of them. Furthermore, I am committed at the outset to them resolving their conflict have having a great ongoing relationship. That sums up what I do.

We met some weeks later, it went like clockwork: they each spoke their mind. I guided them through areas to help find creative solutions that spoke to each of their needs and they then documented it briefly.

Last night he tells me that his friend has made all but the last payment which is due shortly and he now has a great friendship with him again and he thanked me for my input that resolved things so quickly and easily. I feel very proud of this simple but effective tool. The fact is that whenever I go into one of these, I always have to remind myself of the commitment to find a resolution even though I have no idea how I will find it and I then have to give up the self doubt that would block the flow of listening and creativity that is necessary to do this. When I just trust myself despite not having any idea how I will do it, it always works out.

For non-lawyers reading this post, the key thing to say is that as lawyers our training hammers into us that we have to "get things right" and that if we don't we face getting sued. It's perfectly understandable and nothing is wrong but it can make us fearful and leave us working well within the proverbial box otherwise our insurers may be unhappy and indeed may even refuse cover in extreme cases. The reality is that much can be done outside the box that is more likely to reduce the risk to insurers but the fear prevents us trusting ourselves and in some cases we might fairly be accused of using this situation as an excuse to avoid confronting our fears.

I admit to being terrified quite often when I face new situations but I have learned to let go of the fear and actually trust my innate intuition and in doing so the outcome is almost invariably positive.

Alternatives to war!

2007-04-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today’s challenge was to deal with a conversation with a friend of mine who rang to talk to me about supporting her and getting clear about how we could work together but during the conversation she mentioned her dispute with her business partner. In the conversation it became clear that she had had a document prepared by a very good solicitor but the negotiations were breaking down. Although her relationship had not been great at the time, when she sat down with her (having had a chat with me) she was on good terms and then everything seemed to go wrong when the document was received. The document prepared by the lawyer was in fact a very “gentle” document but somehow still it caused offence and had put a rift between them. The result was that the business partner appeared to be changing the “goal post” and also did not envisage being able to work with my friend in the future.

My friend knows me well and knows that my position is that I do not like conflict and will do everything possible to get people communicating to allow them to deal with it rather than get into an expensive fight. The way that the documents were going meant that my friend was going to end up spending more and more money as the documents got changed and then re-changed as the goal post moved and the resentment grew deeper.

Having listened to what she said, it was clear to me that, however misplaced it may be, the document had caused some sort of upset to her business partner and she said she needed to sit down with her business partner, ideally with me present and with the partner also having someone to represent her (if not a lawyer, somebody that would give her the comfort of not feeling she would be bullied) so that we could have an open and honest discussion about what was really going on. The alternative response was the conventional one which would have involved taking a stance, making it clear that the proposals she was making were unacceptable and generally making threats about what would happen if she did not come to the table and reach a settlement promptly. I felt this approach was not helpful and would cause further division.

I asked my friend either to call her friend or to send an email saying that she appreciates that for whatever reason she is not unhappy with the documents and that her own stance is that she wants to have a good working relationship with her in future and therefore she would like to sit down with her and talk things through. I said that she should raise the point about somebody being there to represent her but also making sure that she is comfortable and does not feel as though she is going to be backed into a corner. My friend said she would me the draft and we left it on that basis.

On a personal note, I found the conversation potentially challenging as I was worried about how to approach the situation that I knew could be very difficult and I did not want to tread on the toes of the lawyer who had done the document who I knew to be excellent. However, the outcome of suggesting a meeting seemed perfectly natural and far more satisfactory way of coming at the problem, being committed to an ongoing good relationship between my friend and her business partner.

Update: the outcome of this conversation was that no meeting was necessary. The email itself broke the stalemate between them and they have now been able to reach a settlement without having to run up further legal costs. The email triggered a successful telephone conversation (previous attempts to speak by phone were unsuccessful as the other partner never took the call or rang back and this time she got straight through!) the core of which was the desire to have a good ongoing relationship.

The blog proper?

2007-04-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is my first proper blog entry - entries to date have been articles I have written on various subjects. I am increasingly encouraged by the experience of “putting my toe in the water” with the new approaches in contract drafting and relationship creation.

When I started this journey a couple of years ago, I had some vague notions about importance of effective relationships in business and in life in general. I also knew that, law being the “glue” of society, had a role to play in shifting the way we look at relationships.

My main observation was that law in our legal system tend often to be a force for division by their very nature. It is a bit like being a tram where the driver cannot decide its own path.

As I went along the journey, I have found myself being tested by negative reactions from people whose opinion counted too much to me, based on my own insecurities and self doubt.

Freedom for me came when I realised that other people’s reactions matter to me only because I doubted myself. When I stopped that and had faith in myself I found freedom to express myself in my work in ways I could never have imagined.

As the preceding articles indicate, I believe that contracts can be extremely negative in their focus. I believe that by being so, they give a less than even chance of a good relationship. Furthermore, I believe that the process of creation of the document is more important than the document itself – the process of looking carefully at the relationship and making sure everyone is clear on the desired outcomes and what they are bringing to the “party” are of paramount importance. All too often, particularly in England where we are often shy of talking about money and what we want for ourselves, this leads to unnecessary conflict and, through that, the major expenditure on and distraction of legal disputes.

Creating documents with positive intentions and commitment to positive outcomes, possibly incorporating guiding principles (that are perhaps alien to English lawyers but more familiar to European lawyers), leaves contracts with a more positive focus that inspires all those involved.

This is not some nebulous concept from the hippy era but something that has a tangible effect on the outcome of business transactions and personal relationships to the extent that it leaves people far more likely to make money and succeed in their vision for their business or their personal life.

My approach includes creating a contract that states the vision for the outcome of the relationship or even the vision for the future of the business, the objectives (more grounded specific “achievables”) and values (the standard of conduct that each party can expect of the other). A vision is not a mission statement but a statement of commitment to a possible future as it would be if the company or the relationship turns out to be successful).

Many lawyers may cringe at the concept of commitments to vague concepts such as openness etc but the concept of good faith in dealings, for example, is widely accepted, again, particularly in European jurisdictions. Therefore, there is no reason why they cannot be incorporated in our system now. They provide a focus and intention that is far more powerful than the underlying law itself.

Finally and more radically, I have even seen from my own dealings, placing trust in people without documentation (whilst still being clear on the purpose of the relationship and the standards of conduct required, producing some outstanding opportunities) can produce outstanding results. I have provided consultancy services to people on trust, only where I feel intuitively that it is safe to do so, and felt that a contract would constrain the relationship if anything and not leave it free. So far this has lead to me being offered 50% in one company and possibly 5% in at least one other with the prospect of 50% in yet another company. This is where my beliefs in a business context overlap with my personal ones. I believe that by instinctively working only with those people you trust very profoundly, by being clear with those people and then giving your services unconditionally is capable of producing some outstanding results that I believe will set a new paradigm for the future of business.

I must emphasise in closing this lengthy blog entry that I am not advocating that people trust everybody. Unfortunately we operate in a social and business paradigm where self interest and even greed dominate. Whilst I believe that things will begin to very profoundly change in the next 5 to 10 years, I still see contracts and protection for people as very important, particularly where if they are created in ways that are the result of producing more effective relationships.

Another aspect of my work is in the handling of disputes. Invariably where there is a breakdown in relations there are underlying causes that may not be apparent on the surface. What I aim to do is to get people to communicate and often thereby avoid costly disputes. I also work with companies to empower people to handle these things rather than create an addiction to me – where they would otherwise feel that I had to be consulted on handling every aspect of a relationship.

As an example, on the day of writing this blog I met with a client and friend who was concerned about her relationship with an investor who she felt was being demanding and even her other business partner found her to be so too, so she “knew” she was right. I sat down with her and looked at how she was reacting, noticing that her interpretation was very different from reality. We looked at some underlying issues that were unspoken and this helped free her up to handle not only this situation but anyone in which the same buttons are pressed. This leaves her able to deal with things ongoingly without reference to me most of the time. I believe that traditional professional relationships can create an addiction and be disempowering despite the best intention of the professional him/herself.

Thank you if you have read to this point – that was quite a task!

The “Customer First” Myth

2007-02-27T04:35:00.000-08:00

How many times have you seen companies proudly boast that they “put their customers first”? How many of those companies do you suppose actually do that?

Besides feeling that people who need to shout about it probably don’t do it, if they do take it on board in compliance with the edict of the management gurus of the 1980s and 1990s, I believe they are ultimately sowing the seeds of their own downfall.

Well intentioned it may have been, for those old enough to remember 20 to 40 years back, can you honestly say that there has been a significant improvement in service during that time? In my experience, the reverse is true. Companies tend to provide freefone numbers that assume that it is acceptable to keep us holding because they are paying for the call, not thinking that our time is valuable. Others have us work through complicated automated answering services or, even worse, outsource their customer relations to places where cultural and language differences make communication even harder.

Another impact of “putting the customer first” is that, where companies really “go for it”, is often met by employee resistance and even resentment, partly because of the significant pressures it puts on them and the failure to fully engage people in the process. In effect their employer is saying to them: “You don’t matter. You have to do everything to please the customer”.

In my own profession, “putting clients first” has resulted in young lawyers being some of the most stressed professionals in the country with high addiction rates for alcohol, drugs and other compulsive disorders including sex and gambling. These young lawyers receive a very handsome reward for surrendering their lives to keeping the law firm’s clients happy, except that, judging by client responses, they don’t always do that.

My proposition is simple: put your staff first. Be concerned with their fulfilment, their happiness, their problems, their freedom to contribute. The impact of this is perhaps controversial proposal is to engage all people working in the company (including the owners and managers) in a process that spreads far beyond their worth. The stress is reduced, our sickness reduces, staff turnover reduces and (all associated costs), work motivation increases substantially and, last but not least, customer service levels rocket having a resultant impact on sales and after-sales service.

Making this happen is all about great relationships internally and externally. Instead of the traditional divisive role of our legal system, law (the ultimate governor of relationships) can be used a tool to help create effective relationships, effective staff fulfilment programmes that allow our company to fulfil its true potential.

For more information contact Maitland Kalton on 07957 124426.

Into the unknown - a lonely journey?

2007-02-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

Flexible Working for all

2007-02-19T12:25:00.000-08:00

On the 12 January the Minister for Children, Beverley Hughes, said that she felt that workers without children should get the same right to request flexible working hours as parents. Currently only parents of children who are under 6 (or are disabled but under 18) are the ones to have the right to request flexible working.

The CBI’s Director of HR Policy, Susan Anderson, has concerns about any such change, saying “only by having a gradual and phased extension can be avoid firms being deluged under a sudden increase in requests”.

At Lawyers for Change we explore alternative ways of approaching things both within the legal system and beyond it. The problem we see with the ever increasing volume of regulation is the difficulty for people to know where they stand with the law. The law has to assume that everyone knows the law and yet the volume of law makes it impossible even for lawyers to be fully aware of the law, let alone individuals and medium to small businesses.

We see the idea of recognition of such trends in the form of flexible working to be desirable. Whether this needs to be done in the form of regulation, however, is an entirely different matter. Rather than dictating that behaviour, it makes more sense to educate people. If you tell a business that they will make more money if they offer flexible time and people can produce evidence of it, more people will take it on. If you force the issue, you risk resistance – just because something becomes the law does not mean that people comply. Approaching the subject of education from “enlightened self interest” is often far more effective. It also simplifies matters hugely.

From another perspective, Lawyers for Change also considers that happy lawyers lead to happy clients. The current trend is to focus first on satisfying clients to the exclusion of all else which results in some seriously stressed lawyers (often to the point of having drink or drug addictions) – on the day of writing this article The Evening Standard headline speaks of a lawyer jumping to his death.

In this context, Lawyers for Change would heartily recommend that other law firms explore what would be available to them and their clients by having a fulfilled and happy team of lawyers encouraged to develop themselves and their creativity for the benefit of all concerned. In this way we see flexible working as a far broader issue than mere flexibility as to working hours. What of shared jobs, unpaid leave opportunities, personal development training in-house, etc, etc?

In the first decade of the second millennium we are entering a more enlightened phase of business and society and, though the desire for legislation is not something the writer shares, the underlying principle is sound.

Popular Myths about Money and Business

2006-08-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

In my firm we find certain issues occurring over and over again with clients. Our role allows us to be perhaps a little more objective and to see unhelpful patterns that hold companies back.

One of these recurring themes is something we come across regularly with businesses in the not-for-profit sector and in the socially and environmentally responsible business sectors. This does not apply to all our clients in these sectors but I hope that by highlighting some of these matters, at least some of them will be familiar to people and help them to deal with them.

Popular myths in these sectors include “you have to be a b.....d to get on in business” and “money is dirty”. If your business or organisation feels constrained in fulfilling its potential due to a shortage of money, you might want to look at what myths your team may have unwittingly and subconsciously bought into.

Money is energy, a bi-product of creating something of value. It is neither good nor bad. What people do with it can be either good or bad. In a world that generally runs on the fuel of money, it is hard to make a difference unless you have money to enable you to do so.

It is beyond the scope of this article to go into all the why’s and wherefore’s of these cultural attitudes but there is no doubt for those who believe in these myths, there is plenty of evidence to prove they are right. The problem is that there is an equal amount of evidence that business can be one of the most powerful forces for making a difference and money is the automatic bi-product of a well-managed business producing something truly of value to society.

With this in mind, as a prelude taking action to circumvent these unhelpful, limiting beliefs, a useful exercise is to have your team brainstorm the things that they have heard said about money and business since they were children. There will be a surprising number of recurring themes within these myths. Analysing each one, not looking to prove them right or wrong but seeing where there are examples of them not being the case, you start to get a sense of the cultural bias, particularly in these sectors.

The simple truth is that these self-limiting beliefs are preventing a great deal of good work getting done that could make a huge difference. As lawyers, we see them not only impact the ability to finance excellent projects but also the effectiveness of relationships internally and externally. For example, if the culture is subconsciously that money is bad, how effectively do think you will negotiate with organisations that you want to provide services to? How much do you think you might be constrained in those negotiations fear of “looking bad” if you focus on financial issues? How much of a difference will you make if you do not take these issues on?

I will close with a simple truth: many organisations fold because they are not able to take on these issues - “the path to hell …..” and all that! Call it enlightened self interest if you like, but I have a commitment to turning this around and having organisations be effective.

Making Money in the Age of Aquarius

2006-08-15T02:31:00.000-07:00

Trend prediction is always an interesting past-time and one that often results in the trend becoming reality, simply because people believe in it. In the 21st Century, the so-called Age of Aquarius, there is a strong trend towards socially and environmentally friendly business. It does not matter whether we come to the concept as aging hippies or as business people with an enlightened self interest, the trend itself seems undeniable.

This trend shows up in many guises: in “green” products, environmentally friendly industrial processes, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable business (sustainable on many levels) and so on.

Part of the trend involves customers voting with their fee, the power of the internet in spreading official and unofficial news about the activities of corporations being such that a wrong decision can catch a company on the back foot and dramatically reduce its share value overnight.

Increasing consumer demand for fair trade products and organic foods and eco-friendly materials, although still relatively small, shows an insatiable desire and growing demand for businesses to step beyond PR and demonstrate commitment to so-called enlightened approaches.

It seems that in the 21st Century, acceptable models of business involve some sort of responsibility for society and the environment. Even for the most cynical amongst us, we have to accept that the best commercial interests of an organisation are represented by adopting new approaches to business.

Ethical investment and lending institutions such as Triodos Bank and The Co-operative Bank favour such businesses and indeed will only invest in certain types of business consistent with their declared values.

Law firms are having to come into line, offering services that support companies’ effort to take on these fresh approaches. These services range from contract reviews (to make sure that they “walk the talk” in all their dealings) through to corporate governance advice (to make sure that in key corporate decision making the company is on track to benefit from this trend).

The more sophisticated adoption of CSR and other related approaches can involve a thorough re-appraisal of a corporation’s entire approach to the way it conducts business and negotiations, having regard to the impact of saying on the one hand that they are “socially responsible” and then finding that perhaps in some dealings they are less than fair to some business partners. Lawyers advising in this area are faced with the challenge of having to stand back from pure legal advice and help corporations assess the impact of their approaches, seeing whether existing strategies are fair or whether they are imbalanced, tending to create relationships that do not work.

Accountants, too, have to adapt more flexible approaches to improving their bottom line, not simply by pushing for ever-increasingly low supply costs and reduced overheads. We are seeing a trend towards improved profitability in what would have been previously considered unlikely circumstances, where being fairer on prices and being committed to their approach produces customer loyalty that enhances the bottom line.

You Can Fool Some of the People Some of the Time …

2006-08-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

“Walking the talk” is a widely used expression and important concept for personal and business integrity. Only to the extent that we “walk the talk” are we perceived, either as individuals or as companies/brands, to have integrity and to command respect.

One of the dilemmas faced by organisations that seek to raise standards and awareness is as to whether to enforce standards and face the significant cost of “policing” those standards or otherwise to leave it to natural forces.

The trend on the internet is to take the latter route. Websites such as eBay and Amazon have rating systems that allow people to rate suppliers and, in the case of eBay, even buyers. Whilst theoretically risky in terms of claims for defamation, these systems work surprisingly well.
We believe that the same thing can be applied to setting standards in other areas. We believe that people are far more savvy than we give ourselves credit for: people often intuitively know when they are being misled. You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all of the time.

They key to this is transparency. In the sector of socially and environmentally friendly business, there are many businesses that profess to be “green” and there are many other businesses that do not say they are green or even allude to their “green activities” for fear of people picking up on the shortcomings. However, being open and transparent about what you are doing, acknowledging your achievements and at the same time acknowledging the shortcomings, perhaps having a private place to fill the gap over time, is far more effective than keeping quiet. The more people who acknowledge the small contribution they make (but do not overstate it), the more people are inspired to take action as the movement gains momentum.

Part of the problem behind the perceived need to keep quiet is a fear of being judged. Highlighting peoples’ shortcomings rather than their achievements serves as a disincentive and tends to extinguish the small sparks of the awakening process.

So why is a lawyer writing about this subject? Because I advocate being consistent in all dealings, having integrity by “walking the talk” being open about positive progress as whilst openly acknowledging the further work to be done.

Openly owning the aspirations and values and incorporating them into all legal relationships (internally and externally) allows the business to exude integrity whilst it develops itself. This spurs loyal support from customers, suppliers and employees. How valuable would that be to your business?

Going The Extra Mile

2006-08-13T05:13:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you a recent experience which, although with a client but with a contact, could have easily have been with one of our clients.

I met with a young lady who I will call “Sue”. We met to discuss how she could support Lawyers for Change. In doing so she told me that she did workshops about “peace”. At this stage she was attempting to set up her own business but was not clear about it. We took time out to discuss that and my first comment to her was that “peace” was not a product but a by-product of how people behave in the same way that money is a by-product of giving something of value.
Indeed, we explored the subject of providing something of value and it was obvious to her then that “peace” could not be a product as it had no value as a service and yet was obviously inspiring for her.

Through this discussion, Sue began to see that in fact what she was providing was training; training that would help people build up a picture of their vision, of their ideal world if you like. It is a world that would be personal to each of her training participants but the probable outcome is a world in which everyone is fulfilled and in which there would be greater peace, hence it being a “by-product”.

Sue left our meeting not only having seen how she could benefit from and contribute to Lawyers for Change but also having a sense of her new found business which would also bring greater fun and fulfilment in work whilst also reducing stress levels. This is an example of the often unusual conversations we have with clients and contacts alike. Its what we believe is truly an alternative approach to legal services - adding value.

Business Revolution or Evolution?

2006-08-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

There is a business movement that is gaining momentum all the time, a movement that embraces profit in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible context. That values-driven businesses out-perform their competitors by up to 750% (Harvard Business School research) is testament to the value of getting clarity on the purpose, principles and values that belie an organisation.

The work of visionaries like Neil Crofts (Authentic Business – www.authenticbusiness.co.uk) has done much to take forward the concepts of “authentic business”, “purpose-driven” and “values-driven” business. Innocent, Neal’s Yard Remedies and Yeo Valley Farm are examples of the phenomenal success that can be achieved by taking on this approach.

Old business hands will be familiar with “mission statements” and the often shallow impact they have had on businesses in the past. These are not the same as businesses that are purpose – and values-driven: being purpose and values driven requires reassessment of every aspect of an organisation in order to ensure that it is consistent with the purpose and values. It is that that radiates out and shines, inspiring the customer base and producing outstanding results.

Once the purpose and values have been identified, assessing an organisation’s position in relation to all its stakeholders, not just its shareholders, is an essential step. This involves looking at the nature of the relationship with everyone having an interest in the business, from the shareholders to the employees, from suppliers to customers, from founders to the public at large.

In assessing existing relationships (as well as new ones), the organisation has to look at whether it “walks the talk” in everything it says and does. This includes the shareholders agreements, joint venture agreements, employment contracts, terms and conditions of business and any other representation of the relationship between the organisation and its stakeholders. The challenge is then to re-create those documents that are inconsistent and to do so in a manner that reflects the purpose and values of the organisation.

Making the commitment to the purpose and values instantly highlights the shortfall in ones relationships from the ideal and allows one to start the process of “walking the talk”. This takes place over time and it should be properly considered and not rushed into. However, once it has been done, the organisation experiences a boost in morale and clarity of focus.

Terms and Conditions – Just a Conversation?

2006-08-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

In business, terms and conditions represent the ‘glue’ in the relationship. They are a communication between a business and its customer/client. Why is it then that so many terms and conditions sound stuffy and cold, particularly for service businesses? How would it be if your terms of business were user friendly, like a conversation with your customer? Do you think it would enhance the relationship to have a communication that sounds like it is coming from you?
Such an approach may not suit every business, but for most it works: you might start with an attempt to write down an imagined conversation with a customer in which you explain your terms and conditions provided they are needed. If you do not have up to date terms of business, you might want to take the opportunity of updating them but otherwise you can use your existing terms as the basis for the new “conversation” and then all you would need to do is have the existing terms checked against the new version you have written to see that they cover everything legally and do not expose you to unreasonable risks and that they are user friendly.

To help you do this for yourself and to illustrate what we are talking about, we have a number of sample paragraphs below. Please feel free to use them as you wish. The key is to create user friendly contracts in all your busines relationships.

Sample “conversation” clauses.

“We are really proud of our service and we want to make sure that you are really happy with it too. Our terms are designed to be fair to both of us and disagree, please feel free to make comments on them.”

“In the unlikely event of problems between us, our liability to you is going to be limited to £X because that is the maximum amount to which we are insured for each claim. If this does not meet your needs, please raise this with us as we may be able to arrange special insurance for you at cost.”

“Your privacy is important to us. We take trouble to keep your personal information safe and secure and only accessible to those members of our team who need to have access to it. We keep your personal information for up to six years after which it will be deleted.”

“The aim of our service is to give greater efficiency to your business and to help you make more money. In doing that we believe it is important that we are straight with each other in all communications, open, honest and transparent. We promise to be this way and ask that you do the same with us. Please raise any concerns you have with us so that any problems can be dealt with early on.”

“We are committed to having a good working relationship with you at all times. In order to do that, it is important that we both follow the terms that we agree between us and we agree any alterations to it. If at any time either one of us is not happy with what the other one is doing, we will let each other know as soon as possible. We will specify what is not working and ask the other person to deal with it. If there is anything material that is either not capable of being made good or is not made good after [30 days] then either one of us can end the contract giving each other notice in writing.”

Contrast this with “either party may terminate this agreement either immediately in the case of a breach of contract which is not capable of being remedied or otherwise at any time after [30 days] upon receipt of notice of breach specifying the breach complained of unless such breach has been remedied to the reasonable satisfaction of the complaining party.

How to Turbo-Charge your Business

2006-08-13T05:09:00.000-07:00

What would it be like if you could keep all your people happy, have a great working life and make more money? For most of us that sounds like an unobtainable dream. However, there are clear strategies you can adopt which can make this reality.

Creating Value
The key to all this is creating value. Creating value is something you do not only for your customers but also for yourself and your team. The first thing to look at is making sure that your product adds value to the lives or businesses of your customers. You also want to make sure that working in the organisation adds value to the lives of the people involved in it.
To the extent you add value in all directions, you also make money as a natural by product. Focusing on money never produces the best results. That does not mean that you cannot increase performance by focusing on money but to do so is ultimately usually at the cost of internal relations and/or the well being of your team and/or the loyalty of your customer base.

Making the Dream Reality
Stage 1:
Ask yourself and your team:

(1) What is the underlying purpose of our business? For example, if you are a software company providing simple accounts packages, besides the purpose of making money and for creating good quality accounting software, there will be underlying values that drive the business and motivate most of the team (if they are on board). This could be, for instance, empowering small businesses or empowering small businesses to take proper control of their finances or some such purpose. Focusing on the true, underlying nature of what drives a company can give renewed vigour to business owners and their teams. The process gets everyone in touch with their authentic selves and helps create a truly authentic business.

(2) What are the core values of our organisation? Look at the core values by which you operate the business or, at least, aspire to do so. For example, what is important to you? Openness? Good customer relations? Honesty? Integrity? Look at all those values that you count as fundamental to your existence. Having done that, honestly appraise yourselves as to where you currently stand on each aspect of your values. Highlighting your purpose and values allows you to stop and acknowledge yourself for those things that you are doing well and to take stock of those things that perhaps fall short of the mark. In turn, this allows everyone in your team to “own” the issues and to take responsibility for gradually bringing everything into line with your purpose and values.

Stage 2:
Be consistent in everything. Look at all your relationships to see whether they are appropriately documented and documented in a way that reflects your purpose and values:

terms and conditions (i.e. your relationship with your customers), including website terms);
employment contracts;
joint ventures and partnering arrangements;
supplier terms;
dealings with other stakeholders including the general public (where relevant).

Once you have highlighted your purpose and values, undertaking an honest appraisal of where you currently stand and audited your relationships with various stakeholders in your business, the time may have come to take a step back and reappraise your legal documentation.

Effective Leadership for 21st Century Organisations

2006-08-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

Traditional leadership
Traditional leadership styles from the 19th and 20th Centuries tended to involve strict hierarchies, superiority, winners and losers. To lead, people felt the need to prove they are better than everyone else. Leadership was about “power” and its abuse, loneliness and affectations.

In the latter part of the 20th Century, there was a gradual decline in hierarchies which is evermore the case in the first decade of the 21st Century.

So how does this impact business? What does it suggest about leadership and success in the twenty first Century?

Facets of leadership in the 21st Century
From my experience, successful businesses (be they high quality start-ups or companies looking for rapid growth), recognise new values essential to their success. It is “out with the old” and in with:

“flat structures”;
inclusive management style that involves all people in the organisation, not just senior management;
openness and transparency;
genuinely equal opportunities, regardless of race, ethnic origins, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities etc.;
empowering – i.e. committed to empowering each and every member of the team.

Enlightened leadership
21st Century leadership is not about bullying and high-handedness or even intellectual or financial superiority. It is about playing to strengths, working around or minimising weaknesses, authenticity and not being fazed by challenges. Above all, it is about being straight in communications both internally and externally.

Powerful language
The new style is about “can-do” mentality and about avoiding disempowering language. Words such as “I’ll try to” or “I need you to...” and other indirect language undermine the communication: “trying” to do anything is preparing for failure, not taking personal responsibility for causing something to happen. Using language that suggests there is another reason for why someone should do something rather than simply that you want them to do it makes people look weak so, “needing” someone to do something is in fact rarely authentic – and should normally be replaced by “I want you to do X please” or some equivalent straight communication.

“Walking the talk”
Last but not least, leadership in the 21st Century is about “walking the talk” of the organisation. However, the organisation first needs to be clear about what it is “talking” about before it can walk it and then it needs to make sure that it is consistent in everything it does: this is anything from internal relations (with colleagues) through to external relations with customers, suppliers and the public at law.

Making it “real”
We believe that law is the “glue” of society, the structure behind relationships that either has them work or not. A leader has to make sure that all of his/her relationships work. Where the relationships are recognised as being important to the organisation (and we cannot conceive of an organisation where they are not), special attention needs to be paid to making sure that all documented relationships are consistent with the values of the organisation and the style of leadership. Are your communications straight, open, honest and fair? When did you last look at your employment contracts, shareholder’s agreements, terms of business, web site terms, partnering agreements and purchase contracts? Are they consistent with who you say you are?

A New Emerging Economy

2006-08-13T05:06:00.000-07:00

I believe that there is a new wave of business coming, a business revolution that offers new hope for those who are uncomfortable with globalisation and money-driven business. I say this from the gentle groundswell of businesses approaching us, wanting to make a difference in the world.
I am not referring to revolution that makes making money dirty or wrong. On the contrary, businesses that embrace new approaches such as purpose- and values-driven business and ethical business practices tend to out perform their competitors by as much as 750% in terms of profitability.

Authentic Business
This new revolution has also been called “ authentic business” (Neil Crofts) and involves businesses and teams within them getting clear what their purpose is in life and how it can be fulfilled within the business they work in. The business itself distils the combined purposes to satisfy people’s needs and purpose.

Satisfying Stakeholder Needs
The result is a business that looks to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders, not just the shareholders, in which all those stakeholders have a vested interest in the business succeeding; one in which all employees are highly motivated and have people queuing to join the company.

Enhancing Goodwill
Since at Kaltons we discerned that what we are about is creating relationships that work in all areas of life as part of a personal purpose to help fulfil people’s potential, I have experienced real clarity of purpose and a joy in our work.

Filling the Gap
Once the purpose is found, that is just the beginning - we then looked at where our relationships with stakeholders falls short of our expectations and we constantly become aware of relationships that do not work as well as we like them to but, whether they are personal, internal to Kaltons, with our clients or between clients and third parties, the moment we become aware of the shortfall, we take action to deal with it. This is such a gift to each and every member of our team.

How it reflects in our business is in the creative approaches we bring to our work - in one case, a client in dispute with a business partner was given all the usual and appropriate legal advice but was then empowered by one of our team through coaching that enabled effective relationships to continue in the face of adversity.

Getting Started
If you are inspired by the prospect of taking on a purpose, I strongly recommend reading Neil’s book, "Authentic Business" or Richard Jacobs' book "What's Your Purpose?".

Give Your Ethical Business a Boost

2006-08-13T05:04:00.000-07:00

If you are a business that has set up with an ethical basis or has re-orientated itself in that direction, to what extent are your relationships with all the stakeholders in your business consistent with the stated ethical focus of the business? If not, building in congruency can add considerable potency to the business.

Bearing in mind that law is the glue that keeps society together and, in particular, is the glue in the relationships between you and the stakeholders in your business, how much attention has been paid to those relationships to make sure that they are consistent in your commitment to ethical business?

You might want to take the opportunity of identifying all of the stakeholders in your business, looking at the nature of the relationship and any documentation that exists regarding that relationship and then assessing whether the terms of that agreement (or any implied terms where contracts are not actually in writing) are consistent with a company that is ethical.

So what does it mean to be “ethical”? It means a myriad different things and it is not for us to dictate what should be there. Each company will have its own ideas of what that would mean but in our experience companies sometime need support in being able to stand back from the relationship to enable them to see where they are “walking the talk” and where they are not. This then allows you to acknowledge achievements where you are being consistent and to plan bringing consistency over a period of time where it is found to be missing.

Ask yourself, “Who are the “stakeholders” in my business?”. Again, this will vary. It can include the business owners, employees, suppliers/advisors, customers, joint venture partners, strategic alliance, partners and the general public and within these general categories there can be different types of relationships – e.g. with business owners, there may be sleeping partners and our active partners in the business.

Ethically based companies will usually want to make sure that in all their dealings they are open, honest, transparent, fair and balanced.

Key Facets of a Successful Business Relationship

2006-08-13T05:02:00.000-07:00

One of the outcomes of a recent seminar we held on the subject of “how to create successful business relationships”, we looked at the responses people gave when analysing relationships that the participants had that were particularly effective.

The interesting thing is that the answers held good for both business and personal relationships (some participants were working on business relationships while others focused on personal ones because they had not yet set up in business).

Whilst the key facets may be strikingly obvious and certainly are not intended to be an exhaustive list, it is amazing how easily we can forget these important aspects and blame others for them not being present. If we take the initiative and instigate whatever it takes to bring some of these key aspects to our business relationships, sometimes being prepared to walk away where the other party does not wish to operate on that basis, truly outstanding business relationships can follow.

The key facets that came up during the recent seminar are:

1. Being straight with each other.
2. Being open with each other.
3. Really listening to each other’s needs and desires and being prepared to accommodate them.

The interesting thing was that relationship did not work, they were somewhat mirroring of these and key assets of relationships that were not effective were:

1. Lack of trust.
2. Lack of common interest.
3. Lack of mutual respect.
4. Lack of communication.
5. Inconsistent values.

The interesting thing for us was that participants in the seminar were able to stand back from their business relationships, see what wasn’t working and then see that even when someone was behaving badly, there was something they could accept responsibility for that would allow them to move on. One woman said that one of her customers only paid her when she went to visit him, otherwise he delayed payment. She realised however that she had never told him that this is unacceptable to her and indeed all she did was moan about him. Talking straight removes much of the strain and pressure caused by ineffective relationships.

Our work in this area has completely shifted how we practice. We stand back from all our work and ask ourselves what we can be responsible for in helping our clients create relationships that work. This allows us to highlight imbalance in commercial contracts and terms that are clearly designed almost to create problems and even to question the overall structure and appropriateness of the deal or the way it is being handled.

So, the seemingly simple statement of being “committed to creating relationships that work” is entirely altering our experience of practice and the end product for our clients, whether the products involves dispute resolution or a commercial deal - as time goes on we will include further articles on this subject and case studies on our website to enable other people to learn from this.

Fresh postings

2006-08-13T04:56:00.000-07:00

I will now make a point of publishing some pieces I wrote about my views on business and related legal matters. Sometimes the apparent connection with the law is slight but in reality law is all about relationships and I believe our job is to help create those relationships so that they are effective and authentic. I hope these introductory comments will explain the next few posting all made today.

Lawyers for Change - Dream or Reality?

2005-10-16T03:45:00.000-07:00

(an article by Maitland Kalton first published in the Solicitors' Journal (UK) in November 2003)

You will be hearing a great deal about a new movement in the legal profession called Lawyers for Change in the coming months. It is committed to turning things around so that law and lawyers are seen as invaluable contributors to society.

Launched this autumn, it is already attracting support from people who don’t necessarily know how it will work but are determined to make a difference. That morale in the legal profession is probably at an all time low is pretty uncontroversial.

In the 20 years, the reputation of lawyers in the community has fallen dramatically. Whether it is fair or not, the fact remains that the profession enjoys less public recognition than ever. With that decline in perceived value to the community comes a whole variety of consequences such as less willingness to pay good money for advice and a lack of appreciation which leaves many lawyers dissatisfied with their work and their calling.

If things continue as they are, lawyer stress levels will continue to rise, profitability will fall and the reputation of lawyers in the community will decline still further as service standards fall victim to low morale. In return, clients will perceive that they are getting an increasingly poor service from a profession that they see as being self-interested and greedy.

There is an alternative future, a future of what the legal profession could be to society in which the profession is seen as an invaluable part of society, a contributor, not a leach; an inspiration, not a blot on the landscape. There can be few of us who do not want to be valued and do a good job for our client. Our insecurities may cause us to doubt our abilities but a dogged determination to make a difference rather than be resigned to the current state of affairs offers much more fulfilment than is possible at present, even if the path is a difficult one.

This vision may at first glance appear somewhat altruistic rather than realistic, but it is not so very long ago that lawyers were revered. Redressing the trend is therefore very realistic, provided it has sufficient support in the profession.

So, what will this entail? Many different things – whatever you can conceive would make a difference. Above all, it calls for “thinking outside the box”, say Lawyers for Change. They make it clear that the parameters are not fixed and that regular brainstorming will be essential: “If we limit our thinking to currently accepted norms and limitations, we will simply get more of the same. With wholehearted commitment, the opportunities are endless”.

Initial thoughts on some things that may be involved include:

- expanding pro bono services so that all firms take responsibility for doing a certain percentage of fee-earning time on such matters;
- making a stand for ethical business practices by positively promoting fair terms in dealings with employees, suppliers and customers;
- influencing law makers to make laws consistent with the values of the movement;
- empowering business clients by training them to avoid and deal with straightforward legal problems for themselves;
- transforming dispute resolution by making mediation the preferred route;
- getting to know our clients inside out and delivering legal services in ways that suit our clients needs, not what we think they should want.

As an example, extensive consultation with one of the founder’s business clients revealed that when offered an "ethical" option, many welcome it wholeheartedly. Initial fears that it might put people off have proved wrong, provided the matter is addressed properly: by creating extra options rather than judging current conduct as positively unethical. In a post-Enron era, few business people really set out to be bad and they just need pointing in the right direction to encourage them down the ethical path. In fact, a recent report commissioned by the Institute of Business ethics has shown the first tentative statistical links between companies having an ethical business policy and financial success - Dell Computers' strong ethical stance is an inspiring example of those who take the bull by the horns.

With such challenging issues in mind, Lawyers for Change invite members of the Law Society, the Institute of Legal Executives, Bar Council, the professional bodies of other legal professionals such as licensed conveyancers, CEDR, the International Bar Association and so on, to join this movement and take it forward powerfully.

There is a real hunger for something different when you start talking to other lawyers about it: for a new way of being and practising as lawyers. It is a huge challenge that Lawyers for Change do not underestimate or shy away from – they want as many people involved in law as possible to join them so that the dreams becomes a reality.
If you want to make a difference and help rebuilding a sense of pride and satisfaction in our profession, please email maitland@kaltons.co.uk as soon as possible. Please pass this article on to anyone you think may be interested in rising to this exciting challenge.

Footnote: please note that Lawyers for Change has subsequently launched and as at the date of posting has some 160 supporters. It has clarified and expanded this article alomost beyond recognition. www.lawyersforchange.org.

Inspiration

2005-10-16T03:40:00.001-07:00

The inspiration for setting up this blog is my vision of a transformed profession where the lawyers are fulfilled, living balanced lives and making a real difference in society. The people who inspired me to do it are Stephanie Allen West, a US lawyer and academic of many years standing and a passion for exploring what is possible in law, Kim Wright and Donna Boris (also US lawyers and founders of http://www.renaissancelawyer.com/).
As I experiment with methods and approaches to practice that allow me to achieve unusual results, I face my fears of inadequacy and step beyond them because I see that when I do something else happens. For instance, in offering two existing clients who had fallen out badly to come in whilst I acted as a neutral observer, they were able to get in touch with their feelings for each other and indeed reported later that they had never known such open and honest communication in 12 years together.

Whilst I do not normally do this sort of work (being a commercial lawyer), I am committed to building relationships that work and this clumsy first attempt was one of the most moving experiences I have had in 22 years of practice. If I make a bold commitment to clients and trust myself even in the face of no support or training, new things show up. I am creating a firm in which all members of the team fulfill their potential for contribution by developing their innate skills and ability to trust themselves. This blog is about the journey of exploration, of sharing experiences, the highs, the lows, the cries for help. Please spread the word and help create an effective legal system from which we can all draw strength.

Maitland