BY BONNIE KIRKLAWSON LUNDELL LLP
The summer is over much to thechagrin of many British Colum-bians Most have said they were
still awaiting its arrival when told fallhad officially arrived
Fall for people associated withlaw-firm finance signifies the start ofheightened activity It is a time whenforecasts and budgets are compiled atime when many questions must beanswered some of which do notcome easily
Will the current level of activitycontinue and if so for how longHave we achieved our objectives forthis year If not what is the reasonFinding the answers requires internalcommunications and paying atten-tion to economic conditions
Projecting a forecastto yearrsquos end can bedone with reasonableconfidence as we ap-proach the end ofthe fiscal thirdquarter Informa-tion is gatheredfrom all partici-pants such as rev-enue data fromlawyers and costs prices and volumesfrom managers Budgets on the otherhand require external factors to beconsidered the inflation rate or levelof employment as examples Theseitems impact the budget The fartherout you project the higher the risk ofuncertainty becomes
In looking at the economy todaymost would say ldquoWho could ask formorerdquo
We are considered to be at full em-ployment the BC inflation rate in Au-gust was 13 below the national av-erage of 17 business is boomingand as a bonus we have just reachedparity with the American greenbacksomething that has not happened inover 30 years The last aspect givesone a reason to pause
What impact if any would main-taining parity against the US dollarhave on the legal community Weknow for consumers this is goodnews But for businesses it is not sogood if their revenues are dependenton exports
It is common to compile a three-case scenario based on different com-binations of assumptions whenpreparing a budget
The first case would assume a sig-nificant growth in revenues with asmall increase in costs The secondcase would incorporate a conserva-tive increase in revenues and assumea slight rise in costs The last case
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
A NEWSLETTER TO HELP OUR MEMBERS AND PARTNERS KEEP CURRENT ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF LAW FALL 2007
1313topicstopics
What goes up (and up and uphellip)
Parity with the greenback ndash now what
Intergenerational conflict in workgroups
Dealing with the clash of the ages
Continued on page 2
BY TIM WURTZBAKER NEWBY LLP
True story Two staff membersare working on the same teamand just canrsquot seem to get along
I suspect this will not prove to bean isolated incident
One of them is 45 years of age theother is 31 Seems pretty close butthere are subtle generational differ-ences between these two people thedifferences are antagonizing their re-lationship and cultivating continuedinterpersonal conflict
Is it their personality behaviourindividual work ethic Is it their per-sonal assumptions about the firmrsquosexpectations Yes yes and yesndashit is
all of the aboveConflict begins
when somethingis perceived to beunfair This per-ceived unfairnessis borne from anindividualrsquos back-ground previousemployerrsquos cul-
ture personal attributes familypeers and co-workers
A lack of understanding acrossgenerations can have detrimental ef-fects on communication and workingrelationships Intergenerational con-flict can be toxic to morale may de-crease workgroup effectiveness andmay keep a
Tim Wurtz
Continued on page 4
Bonnie Kirk
Whatrsquos the impact of parity onlaw firms Ask your clients
would assume a decline in revenuewith a slight increase in costs
It is the last case that accountantsponder over in every industry and Itoo have let my mind wander to thisscenario Although Canada is experi-encing a strong economy it would stillbe wise to pay close attention to whatis happening south of our border
The United States is currently ex-periencing some severe economicproblemsmdashrising oil prices increasedunemployment and a decrease in thehousing market to name but a few
This downturn in the US economycould impact Canadarsquos economy giv-en that the US is our biggest tradingpartner as of last year it bought816 of Canadarsquos exports
A decrease in demand for ourproducts by the US would likely re-sult in decreased business incomeMind you itrsquos anyonersquos guess now asto how the American future is goingto impact Canada Some say Canadarsquoseconomy is strong enough to feel littleimpact from the US slowdown
So why am I skeptical given Cana-
darsquos strong performance particularlywhen others tell me they are so optimistic
Possibly it is to do with being aboomer and my experiences Severalyears ago we came to the realizationthat our senior citizens were hoardingfood People believed the reason wasbecause seniors lived through the
hardship of the depression in the1930s and were reverting to theirpast Boomers who worked throughthe last two serious recessions in theearly 1980s and early 1990s remem-ber the impact the downturns had onmany Canadians Interest ratessoared unemployment was high andforeclosures were common
Now if experience is the cause ofmy skepticism it would make sensethat the next generation of account-ants would have an optimistic viewThose in their early 30s and youngerhave never experienced as adults adownturn of any significance in theeconomy Their budgets would beprepared on the assumption of busi-ness as usual But will business be lsquoasusualrsquo That becomes one of the mostimportant questions
Regardless of the stance anyonetakes when preparing the budget itmust be remembered that law firmsprovide legal services to clients and ifclients suffer economic hardships thefirm will follow suit
If you believe there will be a nega-tive impact on Canadarsquos economy it
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
2
PacificLegal TechnologyConference
Leadership Technology and You
Continued on page 3
ParitymdashNow what Continued from page 1
Some say Canadarsquos economy isstrong enough to feel little impact
from the US slowdown
would be prudent when preparingthe budget to spend extra time on de-termining what drives your revenue
Consider who your clients are andto what degree economic conditionsimpact them For many clients legalfees are considered a variable costand in a worse-case scenario vari-able costs are the first to be slashed
Once the budget is prepared mon-itor the hours closely Pay attention tothe number of new matters openedWatch the ratio of the number of daysaccounts-receivable are outstandingnoting any increase These are all in-dicators of what your clients are expe-riencing In the meantime I will gearmyself up for the busy season payingclose attention to what the expertsagree will happen
I will also continue to ponder overthe reason for my skepticism and de-cide if it is truly because of experienceor maybe simply because of a lack ofsunshine I am starting to thinks it isthe latter I am already starting todream about summermdashand it is onlyOctober
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
3 Parity - Now what Continued from page 2
$08000
$09000
$10000
$11000
$12000
$13000
$14000
$15000
$16000
$17000
Oct 71 Oct 74 Oct 77 Oct 80 Oct 83 Oct 86 Oct 89 Oct 92 Oct 95 Oct 98 Oct 01 Oct 04 Oct
$16000
$17000
$13000
$14000
$15000
$10000
$11000
$12000
$08000
$09000
$10000
Oct 71 Oct 74 Oct 77 Oct 80 Oct 83 Oct 86 Oct 89 Oct 922 Oct 95 Oct 98 Oct 01 OOct 04 Oct
The amount of C$ it took to buyUS$1 from 1971 to October 2007
Source Board of Governors US Federal Reserve System
Our economy for the past generation has beenpredicated on a dollar weak against the US
currency Structural issues come to light whenthe currencies move quickly to parity
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
4lawyerrsquos practice or the firm in gen-eral from being efficient or movingforward
Understanding the prevailing gen-erational interpersonal conflict re-search and findings may help you toformulate solutions to difficultstaffing problems caused by agegaps There are many publishedranges and terms for various genera-tions however they mostly followthe characteristics listed here
Traditionalists 1925-1945 They arepractical patient loyal and hard-working They are respectful of au-thority and follow the rules
Baby Boomers 1945-1963 Boomersare optimistic ambitious hard work-ers who are open to teamwork andcooperation while slightly judgmen-tal of differing opinions
Generation X 1964-1983 This gen-eration balances their work and per-sonal life and is somewhat moreskeptical self-reliant they are risk-takers GenX employees have lessconfidence in long-term rewards andgreater expectations for short-termrewards
Millennial 1983mdashpresent Thisyoungest generation is technological-ly savvy and looking for meaningfulwork They value diversity andchange and are hopeful for the fu-ture They likely seek quick advance-ment and promotion and desire morebalance between their work and pro-fessional lives It is also argued thatthey do not understand resistance tochange and place less value in feelinga sense of pride at work
While there are obviously manyother subtle differences a few keycharacteristics differentiate the moremature workforce from the emergingone The prevailing slogan is Live toWork vs Work to Live It is this Work toLive millennial generation that is ouremerging workforce
We Administrators HR Managersand law-firm leaders must developthis next generation of support staffto better understand traditional viewswhile nurturing their innovative andself-reliant nature Members of themillennial generation are uniquelydifferent in many ways from thoseclassified in other age groups
CONVEYMASTER
Ask us about our bull $25 pay-per-conveyance bull plan
Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370
Go with the best Home Page wwwsaicaGo with ConveyMaster Email infosaica
Conveyancing SoftwareNew EFS Module
Trusted
Cost-Savings
Specialists
Excelera Consulting Group will
bull Identify significant measurable
cost savings
bull implement best-in-class purchasing
processes
bull negotiate premium contract terms
bull monitor invoice pricing to ensure accuracy
amp savings
Specialists in
Overhead Cost
Reduction
bull
Advisors to Western
Canadarsquos Top Legal
Firms
WWWEXCELERACA bull 604-990-7786
Clash of Ages Continued from page 1
W e specialize in helping firms publish business-to-busi-ness newsletters the only type of direct marketing your
customers or clients read every time it lands on their desk or ap-pears in their e-mail Done right newsletters repeatedly sellyour firmrsquos image expertise and position in the marketplacewhether your client is ready to buy your services now or laterThinking about starting a newsletter for clients We can helpWant a hand in publishing your existing newsletter We canhelp give you exactly the support you need to achieve yourmarketing goals Wersquore also good at helping to publish internalcorporate newsletters and publications Wersquove gained 20 yearsof experience in corporate mass-marketing newsletters publicrelations and direct mail Having trouble with your newsletterWe can help figure out why Call write or e-mail now
Need a firm hand withyour firmrsquos newsletter
MORGANNewsletters118 970 Burrard St Vancouver
6046833241 President Peter Morgan PMorganMorgan-newscom bull wwwMorgan-Newscom
5
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
Younger staff do not see themselvestied to one job for their entire careerThey are more likely to ask them-selves what more they can do withtheir lives and are far more flexibleto change It is this flexibility andperceived casual approach to em-ployment that can lead the other old-er generations to look down onthem
How do we bridge the gap Youwill encounter a fine line when try-ing to convince younger workersthat they would benefit from recog-nizing the stability and experiencethat older workers bring to the firmand to workgroups It will be just asdifficult to persuade older workersthat they could learn from theyounger ones and to value the rela-tionship and technological focus theyounger generations have
You have to build solutions con-ducive to the existing climate of yourfirm If you are in a more rigidly runfirm and using traditional valuesyou must adhere to that and per-suade the GenXers and Millennialsthat this traditional way of doingthings is best for the firm and inturn is best for them By turning thefocus on their own ambitions youcan build the type of employee thefirm has come to trust and on whichit relies
Conversely in a more relaxed cor-porate climate the structured rigidolder Traditionalist or Baby Boomermust come to realize that they canlearn and contribute to the firm byembracing emerging values andpractices Some guidance and effec-tive messages to best encourage andmotivate individuals in teams wheregenerational interpersonal conflict isemerging may include
Traditionalists ldquoYour experience isrespected and it is valuable to hearwhat has worked in the past Yourviews and concepts will help us for-mulate solutions for the futurerdquo
Baby Boomers ldquoYou are a valuableemployee and your input is worthy ofconsideration Your contribution isunique and important to our successrdquo
Gen Xers ldquoLetrsquos explore some op-tions outside of the box and yourtechnical expertise is a big assetrdquo
Millennials ldquoYou will be collabo-rating with other bright creativepeople and you have really im-proved this firm with your commit-ment and new ideasrdquo
These meetings and communica-tions may be given individually orto the whole multi-generationalworkgroup Having one segment orindividual in the group hear themessage given to a different demo-graphic group may make them moresensitive to the issues traditions orideas of either group You need to
talk and encourage communicationabout why they are different andwhy people have different perspec-tives Ideally everyone will becomemore willing to invest in honest can-did communication about these is-sues to effect the best outcomes
In seeking scenarios where ayounger worker may feel threatenedby the work ethic loyalty and coop-erative efforts of an older workerDavid Hunt HR Manager at Mc-Quarrie Hunter can think of wherethe opposite may be the case
ldquoYounger more vibrant employ-ees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who havebeen with the firm a significantlength of timerdquo he says ldquoYoungerworkers have more enthusiasm anddesire and could outshine the moremature worker In a particular in-stance a secretary with 20 years ofservice is replaced by someone sub-stantially younger In this case theolder worker resents the newcomerThat in itself is embarrassing to theolder individual who as a result be-comes not as productive nor as re-sponsive to changerdquo
This issue brings about the prob-lems of labeling Labels tend to bemade for staff based on their re-sponses to generational differencesin work ethic
The older secretary working dili-gently from 9 to 5 with her headdown while keeping track of otheremployeersquos absences and tasks willinevitably be called the ldquoHall Moni-torrdquo The younger worker leavingthe office frequently throughout theday and being more socially activeduring most tasks will be called theldquoSlackerrdquo Neither titles are flatter-ing nor are they really indicative ofthe actual productivity of either employee
Hunt notes that ldquoThere has to be atrade-off between productivity andfreedoms Older workers may bewell-paid for their experience butthere may be only one speedmdashmediocrerdquo
When trying to deal with particu-lar circumstances Hunt concedesthat Administrators and HR Man-agers are almost forced to be flexibleor employees will simply leave
Younger workers expect moreflexibility If this flexibility is grant-
Clash of Ages Continued from page 4
GENERATIONAL TENSION McQuarrie Hunterrsquos David Hunt ldquoYounger morevibrant employees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who have been with the firm a sig-nificant length of time Younger workers have more enthusiasm and desireand could outshine the more mature workerrdquo
ed the older workers wonder whythey are receiving special treatment
ldquoOlder workers seem to resentthings more and are more likely tobring it to someone elsersquos attentionrdquoHunt says ldquoOlder workers want youto solve their problemsrdquo
To avoid such issues steps need
to be taken during the interviewprocess Ask applicants about theorganizational culture of their pre-vious employer Ask them aboutprior expectations for flexibility inhours or about the structure of theday
Donrsquot rest solely on the applicantrsquos
responses while performing the ref-erence checks ask specifically if thisemployee was awarded flexibility be-cause of their skill and productivityor if they pushed the envelope Ask ifthey adapted to firm culture andwhat that specific culture was
You will have an idea about whichworkgroup this new employee will becollaborating so you can ask ques-
tions specifically tailored to psycho-logically profile the candidate andtheir fit within the generational de-mographic of the workgroup Youcan also be forthcoming with yourown firmrsquos culture to see if the candi-date will be the right fit
We must seek a balance and com-
municate the benefits of building ontraditional practices and procedureswhile supporting flexibility and cre-ativity to successfully align and unifydiffering generationsrsquo work ethics
There is no silver bullet but cul-ture is key You must clearly impartthe conduct and behaviour that hascome to be expected from all employ-ees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
6 Clash of Ages Continued from page 5
A Because a client brought donuts to share B Because they love their job C Because they can order ANY service and electronically file directly from their desktop with My Dye amp Durham E-Traytrade
Dye amp Durham continually E-VOLVING to meet your legal support requirements
Q WHY IS THIS FIRM CELEBRATING our electronic courier and work order was developed to simplify the filing process A few clicks of your mouse will save you time and money
is a user-friendly web-based system with industry leading security designedto easily assist you to move from the paper world into an electronic world
offers
bull Reduced fees over traditional agent costs - itrsquos the economical option bull Save on paper the need for couriers - the eco-friendly option bull Continue to enjoy Dye amp Durhamrsquos full service benefits
We offer complimentary training and support with E-Traytrade
making it as simple as possible with NO set up costs
Preferred Supplier for Legal Support Services and Law Offices Supplies to the Canadian Bar Association
Please visit wwwdyedurhambccom for further information and to book a demonstration
or call 6042571810 or email etraydyedurhambccom
redrokrowecorpgnilfi
dnareiruoccinortceleruoehtyfilpmisotdepolevedsawesuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsse
ecorpgnilfioyevaslliw
htiwmetsysssaylisaeot
otnidlrow
udeRbullstsoc
S
esuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsseyenomdnaemituo
desab-bewyldneirf-resuasiengisedytirucesgnidaelyrtsudnih
repapehtmorfevomotuoytsisdlrowcinortcelena
sreffo
tnegalanoitidartrevoseefdecunoitpolacimonoceehtsrsquoti-sifdh
de
evaSbulleehttnoCbullivres
ffoeWdnanikamw
-sreiruocrofdeenehtrepapnonoitpoyldneirf-oce
llufsrsquomahruDampeyDyojneoteunitstfienebec
gniniartyratnemilpmocreftradeyarT-Ehtiwtroppusd
elbissopsaelpmissatignstsocputesONhtiw
A e asuaceB
B e tsuaceB
C e tsuaceBry fltcerid
launitnocmahruDampeyD
aho ss ttunot dhguort bneila c
bor jiehe tvoy leht
ne acivreY sNr Aedrn oay cehthtip wotkser diehm tor eyyeDDyyMMy
yl GNIVVILOVVO-E uslagelruoyteemot
tisivesaelP ahrudeydwwwkbtditfihtff
era
ely fillacinortceld enmahrrhuDampe arraTTr-E ytrade
stnemeriuqertroppu
moccbmittd
LdnasecivreStroppuSlageLrofreilppuSderreferPnoitaicossAraBnaidanaCehtot
koobotdnanoitamrofnirehtrufrofllacro 181752406
liamero mahrudeydyarte
seilppuSsecfifOwan
noitartsnomeda0
moccbm
WRITING MARKETINGCONTRIBUTING WErsquoD LIKE YOUR HELP
TOPICS would be pleased towelcome you to the Editorial
Committee Writerscontributorsare needed
You need not be a professionalwriter and you will be supportedby an enthusiastic team thatworks well together and has fundoing so (The food is good too)
Please contact Stephanie Cor-nell if you are interested in con-tributing to the BCLMArsquos interest-ing and informative magazine
There is no silver bullet but culture is keyYou must clearly impart the conduct andbehaviour that has come to be expectedfrom all employees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
would assume a decline in revenuewith a slight increase in costs
It is the last case that accountantsponder over in every industry and Itoo have let my mind wander to thisscenario Although Canada is experi-encing a strong economy it would stillbe wise to pay close attention to whatis happening south of our border
The United States is currently ex-periencing some severe economicproblemsmdashrising oil prices increasedunemployment and a decrease in thehousing market to name but a few
This downturn in the US economycould impact Canadarsquos economy giv-en that the US is our biggest tradingpartner as of last year it bought816 of Canadarsquos exports
A decrease in demand for ourproducts by the US would likely re-sult in decreased business incomeMind you itrsquos anyonersquos guess now asto how the American future is goingto impact Canada Some say Canadarsquoseconomy is strong enough to feel littleimpact from the US slowdown
So why am I skeptical given Cana-
darsquos strong performance particularlywhen others tell me they are so optimistic
Possibly it is to do with being aboomer and my experiences Severalyears ago we came to the realizationthat our senior citizens were hoardingfood People believed the reason wasbecause seniors lived through the
hardship of the depression in the1930s and were reverting to theirpast Boomers who worked throughthe last two serious recessions in theearly 1980s and early 1990s remem-ber the impact the downturns had onmany Canadians Interest ratessoared unemployment was high andforeclosures were common
Now if experience is the cause ofmy skepticism it would make sensethat the next generation of account-ants would have an optimistic viewThose in their early 30s and youngerhave never experienced as adults adownturn of any significance in theeconomy Their budgets would beprepared on the assumption of busi-ness as usual But will business be lsquoasusualrsquo That becomes one of the mostimportant questions
Regardless of the stance anyonetakes when preparing the budget itmust be remembered that law firmsprovide legal services to clients and ifclients suffer economic hardships thefirm will follow suit
If you believe there will be a nega-tive impact on Canadarsquos economy it
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
2
PacificLegal TechnologyConference
Leadership Technology and You
Continued on page 3
ParitymdashNow what Continued from page 1
Some say Canadarsquos economy isstrong enough to feel little impact
from the US slowdown
would be prudent when preparingthe budget to spend extra time on de-termining what drives your revenue
Consider who your clients are andto what degree economic conditionsimpact them For many clients legalfees are considered a variable costand in a worse-case scenario vari-able costs are the first to be slashed
Once the budget is prepared mon-itor the hours closely Pay attention tothe number of new matters openedWatch the ratio of the number of daysaccounts-receivable are outstandingnoting any increase These are all in-dicators of what your clients are expe-riencing In the meantime I will gearmyself up for the busy season payingclose attention to what the expertsagree will happen
I will also continue to ponder overthe reason for my skepticism and de-cide if it is truly because of experienceor maybe simply because of a lack ofsunshine I am starting to thinks it isthe latter I am already starting todream about summermdashand it is onlyOctober
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
3 Parity - Now what Continued from page 2
$08000
$09000
$10000
$11000
$12000
$13000
$14000
$15000
$16000
$17000
Oct 71 Oct 74 Oct 77 Oct 80 Oct 83 Oct 86 Oct 89 Oct 92 Oct 95 Oct 98 Oct 01 Oct 04 Oct
$16000
$17000
$13000
$14000
$15000
$10000
$11000
$12000
$08000
$09000
$10000
Oct 71 Oct 74 Oct 77 Oct 80 Oct 83 Oct 86 Oct 89 Oct 922 Oct 95 Oct 98 Oct 01 OOct 04 Oct
The amount of C$ it took to buyUS$1 from 1971 to October 2007
Source Board of Governors US Federal Reserve System
Our economy for the past generation has beenpredicated on a dollar weak against the US
currency Structural issues come to light whenthe currencies move quickly to parity
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
4lawyerrsquos practice or the firm in gen-eral from being efficient or movingforward
Understanding the prevailing gen-erational interpersonal conflict re-search and findings may help you toformulate solutions to difficultstaffing problems caused by agegaps There are many publishedranges and terms for various genera-tions however they mostly followthe characteristics listed here
Traditionalists 1925-1945 They arepractical patient loyal and hard-working They are respectful of au-thority and follow the rules
Baby Boomers 1945-1963 Boomersare optimistic ambitious hard work-ers who are open to teamwork andcooperation while slightly judgmen-tal of differing opinions
Generation X 1964-1983 This gen-eration balances their work and per-sonal life and is somewhat moreskeptical self-reliant they are risk-takers GenX employees have lessconfidence in long-term rewards andgreater expectations for short-termrewards
Millennial 1983mdashpresent Thisyoungest generation is technological-ly savvy and looking for meaningfulwork They value diversity andchange and are hopeful for the fu-ture They likely seek quick advance-ment and promotion and desire morebalance between their work and pro-fessional lives It is also argued thatthey do not understand resistance tochange and place less value in feelinga sense of pride at work
While there are obviously manyother subtle differences a few keycharacteristics differentiate the moremature workforce from the emergingone The prevailing slogan is Live toWork vs Work to Live It is this Work toLive millennial generation that is ouremerging workforce
We Administrators HR Managersand law-firm leaders must developthis next generation of support staffto better understand traditional viewswhile nurturing their innovative andself-reliant nature Members of themillennial generation are uniquelydifferent in many ways from thoseclassified in other age groups
CONVEYMASTER
Ask us about our bull $25 pay-per-conveyance bull plan
Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370
Go with the best Home Page wwwsaicaGo with ConveyMaster Email infosaica
Conveyancing SoftwareNew EFS Module
Trusted
Cost-Savings
Specialists
Excelera Consulting Group will
bull Identify significant measurable
cost savings
bull implement best-in-class purchasing
processes
bull negotiate premium contract terms
bull monitor invoice pricing to ensure accuracy
amp savings
Specialists in
Overhead Cost
Reduction
bull
Advisors to Western
Canadarsquos Top Legal
Firms
WWWEXCELERACA bull 604-990-7786
Clash of Ages Continued from page 1
W e specialize in helping firms publish business-to-busi-ness newsletters the only type of direct marketing your
customers or clients read every time it lands on their desk or ap-pears in their e-mail Done right newsletters repeatedly sellyour firmrsquos image expertise and position in the marketplacewhether your client is ready to buy your services now or laterThinking about starting a newsletter for clients We can helpWant a hand in publishing your existing newsletter We canhelp give you exactly the support you need to achieve yourmarketing goals Wersquore also good at helping to publish internalcorporate newsletters and publications Wersquove gained 20 yearsof experience in corporate mass-marketing newsletters publicrelations and direct mail Having trouble with your newsletterWe can help figure out why Call write or e-mail now
Need a firm hand withyour firmrsquos newsletter
MORGANNewsletters118 970 Burrard St Vancouver
6046833241 President Peter Morgan PMorganMorgan-newscom bull wwwMorgan-Newscom
5
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
Younger staff do not see themselvestied to one job for their entire careerThey are more likely to ask them-selves what more they can do withtheir lives and are far more flexibleto change It is this flexibility andperceived casual approach to em-ployment that can lead the other old-er generations to look down onthem
How do we bridge the gap Youwill encounter a fine line when try-ing to convince younger workersthat they would benefit from recog-nizing the stability and experiencethat older workers bring to the firmand to workgroups It will be just asdifficult to persuade older workersthat they could learn from theyounger ones and to value the rela-tionship and technological focus theyounger generations have
You have to build solutions con-ducive to the existing climate of yourfirm If you are in a more rigidly runfirm and using traditional valuesyou must adhere to that and per-suade the GenXers and Millennialsthat this traditional way of doingthings is best for the firm and inturn is best for them By turning thefocus on their own ambitions youcan build the type of employee thefirm has come to trust and on whichit relies
Conversely in a more relaxed cor-porate climate the structured rigidolder Traditionalist or Baby Boomermust come to realize that they canlearn and contribute to the firm byembracing emerging values andpractices Some guidance and effec-tive messages to best encourage andmotivate individuals in teams wheregenerational interpersonal conflict isemerging may include
Traditionalists ldquoYour experience isrespected and it is valuable to hearwhat has worked in the past Yourviews and concepts will help us for-mulate solutions for the futurerdquo
Baby Boomers ldquoYou are a valuableemployee and your input is worthy ofconsideration Your contribution isunique and important to our successrdquo
Gen Xers ldquoLetrsquos explore some op-tions outside of the box and yourtechnical expertise is a big assetrdquo
Millennials ldquoYou will be collabo-rating with other bright creativepeople and you have really im-proved this firm with your commit-ment and new ideasrdquo
These meetings and communica-tions may be given individually orto the whole multi-generationalworkgroup Having one segment orindividual in the group hear themessage given to a different demo-graphic group may make them moresensitive to the issues traditions orideas of either group You need to
talk and encourage communicationabout why they are different andwhy people have different perspec-tives Ideally everyone will becomemore willing to invest in honest can-did communication about these is-sues to effect the best outcomes
In seeking scenarios where ayounger worker may feel threatenedby the work ethic loyalty and coop-erative efforts of an older workerDavid Hunt HR Manager at Mc-Quarrie Hunter can think of wherethe opposite may be the case
ldquoYounger more vibrant employ-ees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who havebeen with the firm a significantlength of timerdquo he says ldquoYoungerworkers have more enthusiasm anddesire and could outshine the moremature worker In a particular in-stance a secretary with 20 years ofservice is replaced by someone sub-stantially younger In this case theolder worker resents the newcomerThat in itself is embarrassing to theolder individual who as a result be-comes not as productive nor as re-sponsive to changerdquo
This issue brings about the prob-lems of labeling Labels tend to bemade for staff based on their re-sponses to generational differencesin work ethic
The older secretary working dili-gently from 9 to 5 with her headdown while keeping track of otheremployeersquos absences and tasks willinevitably be called the ldquoHall Moni-torrdquo The younger worker leavingthe office frequently throughout theday and being more socially activeduring most tasks will be called theldquoSlackerrdquo Neither titles are flatter-ing nor are they really indicative ofthe actual productivity of either employee
Hunt notes that ldquoThere has to be atrade-off between productivity andfreedoms Older workers may bewell-paid for their experience butthere may be only one speedmdashmediocrerdquo
When trying to deal with particu-lar circumstances Hunt concedesthat Administrators and HR Man-agers are almost forced to be flexibleor employees will simply leave
Younger workers expect moreflexibility If this flexibility is grant-
Clash of Ages Continued from page 4
GENERATIONAL TENSION McQuarrie Hunterrsquos David Hunt ldquoYounger morevibrant employees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who have been with the firm a sig-nificant length of time Younger workers have more enthusiasm and desireand could outshine the more mature workerrdquo
ed the older workers wonder whythey are receiving special treatment
ldquoOlder workers seem to resentthings more and are more likely tobring it to someone elsersquos attentionrdquoHunt says ldquoOlder workers want youto solve their problemsrdquo
To avoid such issues steps need
to be taken during the interviewprocess Ask applicants about theorganizational culture of their pre-vious employer Ask them aboutprior expectations for flexibility inhours or about the structure of theday
Donrsquot rest solely on the applicantrsquos
responses while performing the ref-erence checks ask specifically if thisemployee was awarded flexibility be-cause of their skill and productivityor if they pushed the envelope Ask ifthey adapted to firm culture andwhat that specific culture was
You will have an idea about whichworkgroup this new employee will becollaborating so you can ask ques-
tions specifically tailored to psycho-logically profile the candidate andtheir fit within the generational de-mographic of the workgroup Youcan also be forthcoming with yourown firmrsquos culture to see if the candi-date will be the right fit
We must seek a balance and com-
municate the benefits of building ontraditional practices and procedureswhile supporting flexibility and cre-ativity to successfully align and unifydiffering generationsrsquo work ethics
There is no silver bullet but cul-ture is key You must clearly impartthe conduct and behaviour that hascome to be expected from all employ-ees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
6 Clash of Ages Continued from page 5
A Because a client brought donuts to share B Because they love their job C Because they can order ANY service and electronically file directly from their desktop with My Dye amp Durham E-Traytrade
Dye amp Durham continually E-VOLVING to meet your legal support requirements
Q WHY IS THIS FIRM CELEBRATING our electronic courier and work order was developed to simplify the filing process A few clicks of your mouse will save you time and money
is a user-friendly web-based system with industry leading security designedto easily assist you to move from the paper world into an electronic world
offers
bull Reduced fees over traditional agent costs - itrsquos the economical option bull Save on paper the need for couriers - the eco-friendly option bull Continue to enjoy Dye amp Durhamrsquos full service benefits
We offer complimentary training and support with E-Traytrade
making it as simple as possible with NO set up costs
Preferred Supplier for Legal Support Services and Law Offices Supplies to the Canadian Bar Association
Please visit wwwdyedurhambccom for further information and to book a demonstration
or call 6042571810 or email etraydyedurhambccom
redrokrowecorpgnilfi
dnareiruoccinortceleruoehtyfilpmisotdepolevedsawesuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsse
ecorpgnilfioyevaslliw
htiwmetsysssaylisaeot
otnidlrow
udeRbullstsoc
S
esuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsseyenomdnaemituo
desab-bewyldneirf-resuasiengisedytirucesgnidaelyrtsudnih
repapehtmorfevomotuoytsisdlrowcinortcelena
sreffo
tnegalanoitidartrevoseefdecunoitpolacimonoceehtsrsquoti-sifdh
de
evaSbulleehttnoCbullivres
ffoeWdnanikamw
-sreiruocrofdeenehtrepapnonoitpoyldneirf-oce
llufsrsquomahruDampeyDyojneoteunitstfienebec
gniniartyratnemilpmocreftradeyarT-Ehtiwtroppusd
elbissopsaelpmissatignstsocputesONhtiw
A e asuaceB
B e tsuaceB
C e tsuaceBry fltcerid
launitnocmahruDampeyD
aho ss ttunot dhguort bneila c
bor jiehe tvoy leht
ne acivreY sNr Aedrn oay cehthtip wotkser diehm tor eyyeDDyyMMy
yl GNIVVILOVVO-E uslagelruoyteemot
tisivesaelP ahrudeydwwwkbtditfihtff
era
ely fillacinortceld enmahrrhuDampe arraTTr-E ytrade
stnemeriuqertroppu
moccbmittd
LdnasecivreStroppuSlageLrofreilppuSderreferPnoitaicossAraBnaidanaCehtot
koobotdnanoitamrofnirehtrufrofllacro 181752406
liamero mahrudeydyarte
seilppuSsecfifOwan
noitartsnomeda0
moccbm
WRITING MARKETINGCONTRIBUTING WErsquoD LIKE YOUR HELP
TOPICS would be pleased towelcome you to the Editorial
Committee Writerscontributorsare needed
You need not be a professionalwriter and you will be supportedby an enthusiastic team thatworks well together and has fundoing so (The food is good too)
Please contact Stephanie Cor-nell if you are interested in con-tributing to the BCLMArsquos interest-ing and informative magazine
There is no silver bullet but culture is keyYou must clearly impart the conduct andbehaviour that has come to be expectedfrom all employees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
would be prudent when preparingthe budget to spend extra time on de-termining what drives your revenue
Consider who your clients are andto what degree economic conditionsimpact them For many clients legalfees are considered a variable costand in a worse-case scenario vari-able costs are the first to be slashed
Once the budget is prepared mon-itor the hours closely Pay attention tothe number of new matters openedWatch the ratio of the number of daysaccounts-receivable are outstandingnoting any increase These are all in-dicators of what your clients are expe-riencing In the meantime I will gearmyself up for the busy season payingclose attention to what the expertsagree will happen
I will also continue to ponder overthe reason for my skepticism and de-cide if it is truly because of experienceor maybe simply because of a lack ofsunshine I am starting to thinks it isthe latter I am already starting todream about summermdashand it is onlyOctober
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
3 Parity - Now what Continued from page 2
$08000
$09000
$10000
$11000
$12000
$13000
$14000
$15000
$16000
$17000
Oct 71 Oct 74 Oct 77 Oct 80 Oct 83 Oct 86 Oct 89 Oct 92 Oct 95 Oct 98 Oct 01 Oct 04 Oct
$16000
$17000
$13000
$14000
$15000
$10000
$11000
$12000
$08000
$09000
$10000
Oct 71 Oct 74 Oct 77 Oct 80 Oct 83 Oct 86 Oct 89 Oct 922 Oct 95 Oct 98 Oct 01 OOct 04 Oct
The amount of C$ it took to buyUS$1 from 1971 to October 2007
Source Board of Governors US Federal Reserve System
Our economy for the past generation has beenpredicated on a dollar weak against the US
currency Structural issues come to light whenthe currencies move quickly to parity
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
4lawyerrsquos practice or the firm in gen-eral from being efficient or movingforward
Understanding the prevailing gen-erational interpersonal conflict re-search and findings may help you toformulate solutions to difficultstaffing problems caused by agegaps There are many publishedranges and terms for various genera-tions however they mostly followthe characteristics listed here
Traditionalists 1925-1945 They arepractical patient loyal and hard-working They are respectful of au-thority and follow the rules
Baby Boomers 1945-1963 Boomersare optimistic ambitious hard work-ers who are open to teamwork andcooperation while slightly judgmen-tal of differing opinions
Generation X 1964-1983 This gen-eration balances their work and per-sonal life and is somewhat moreskeptical self-reliant they are risk-takers GenX employees have lessconfidence in long-term rewards andgreater expectations for short-termrewards
Millennial 1983mdashpresent Thisyoungest generation is technological-ly savvy and looking for meaningfulwork They value diversity andchange and are hopeful for the fu-ture They likely seek quick advance-ment and promotion and desire morebalance between their work and pro-fessional lives It is also argued thatthey do not understand resistance tochange and place less value in feelinga sense of pride at work
While there are obviously manyother subtle differences a few keycharacteristics differentiate the moremature workforce from the emergingone The prevailing slogan is Live toWork vs Work to Live It is this Work toLive millennial generation that is ouremerging workforce
We Administrators HR Managersand law-firm leaders must developthis next generation of support staffto better understand traditional viewswhile nurturing their innovative andself-reliant nature Members of themillennial generation are uniquelydifferent in many ways from thoseclassified in other age groups
CONVEYMASTER
Ask us about our bull $25 pay-per-conveyance bull plan
Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370
Go with the best Home Page wwwsaicaGo with ConveyMaster Email infosaica
Conveyancing SoftwareNew EFS Module
Trusted
Cost-Savings
Specialists
Excelera Consulting Group will
bull Identify significant measurable
cost savings
bull implement best-in-class purchasing
processes
bull negotiate premium contract terms
bull monitor invoice pricing to ensure accuracy
amp savings
Specialists in
Overhead Cost
Reduction
bull
Advisors to Western
Canadarsquos Top Legal
Firms
WWWEXCELERACA bull 604-990-7786
Clash of Ages Continued from page 1
W e specialize in helping firms publish business-to-busi-ness newsletters the only type of direct marketing your
customers or clients read every time it lands on their desk or ap-pears in their e-mail Done right newsletters repeatedly sellyour firmrsquos image expertise and position in the marketplacewhether your client is ready to buy your services now or laterThinking about starting a newsletter for clients We can helpWant a hand in publishing your existing newsletter We canhelp give you exactly the support you need to achieve yourmarketing goals Wersquore also good at helping to publish internalcorporate newsletters and publications Wersquove gained 20 yearsof experience in corporate mass-marketing newsletters publicrelations and direct mail Having trouble with your newsletterWe can help figure out why Call write or e-mail now
Need a firm hand withyour firmrsquos newsletter
MORGANNewsletters118 970 Burrard St Vancouver
6046833241 President Peter Morgan PMorganMorgan-newscom bull wwwMorgan-Newscom
5
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
Younger staff do not see themselvestied to one job for their entire careerThey are more likely to ask them-selves what more they can do withtheir lives and are far more flexibleto change It is this flexibility andperceived casual approach to em-ployment that can lead the other old-er generations to look down onthem
How do we bridge the gap Youwill encounter a fine line when try-ing to convince younger workersthat they would benefit from recog-nizing the stability and experiencethat older workers bring to the firmand to workgroups It will be just asdifficult to persuade older workersthat they could learn from theyounger ones and to value the rela-tionship and technological focus theyounger generations have
You have to build solutions con-ducive to the existing climate of yourfirm If you are in a more rigidly runfirm and using traditional valuesyou must adhere to that and per-suade the GenXers and Millennialsthat this traditional way of doingthings is best for the firm and inturn is best for them By turning thefocus on their own ambitions youcan build the type of employee thefirm has come to trust and on whichit relies
Conversely in a more relaxed cor-porate climate the structured rigidolder Traditionalist or Baby Boomermust come to realize that they canlearn and contribute to the firm byembracing emerging values andpractices Some guidance and effec-tive messages to best encourage andmotivate individuals in teams wheregenerational interpersonal conflict isemerging may include
Traditionalists ldquoYour experience isrespected and it is valuable to hearwhat has worked in the past Yourviews and concepts will help us for-mulate solutions for the futurerdquo
Baby Boomers ldquoYou are a valuableemployee and your input is worthy ofconsideration Your contribution isunique and important to our successrdquo
Gen Xers ldquoLetrsquos explore some op-tions outside of the box and yourtechnical expertise is a big assetrdquo
Millennials ldquoYou will be collabo-rating with other bright creativepeople and you have really im-proved this firm with your commit-ment and new ideasrdquo
These meetings and communica-tions may be given individually orto the whole multi-generationalworkgroup Having one segment orindividual in the group hear themessage given to a different demo-graphic group may make them moresensitive to the issues traditions orideas of either group You need to
talk and encourage communicationabout why they are different andwhy people have different perspec-tives Ideally everyone will becomemore willing to invest in honest can-did communication about these is-sues to effect the best outcomes
In seeking scenarios where ayounger worker may feel threatenedby the work ethic loyalty and coop-erative efforts of an older workerDavid Hunt HR Manager at Mc-Quarrie Hunter can think of wherethe opposite may be the case
ldquoYounger more vibrant employ-ees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who havebeen with the firm a significantlength of timerdquo he says ldquoYoungerworkers have more enthusiasm anddesire and could outshine the moremature worker In a particular in-stance a secretary with 20 years ofservice is replaced by someone sub-stantially younger In this case theolder worker resents the newcomerThat in itself is embarrassing to theolder individual who as a result be-comes not as productive nor as re-sponsive to changerdquo
This issue brings about the prob-lems of labeling Labels tend to bemade for staff based on their re-sponses to generational differencesin work ethic
The older secretary working dili-gently from 9 to 5 with her headdown while keeping track of otheremployeersquos absences and tasks willinevitably be called the ldquoHall Moni-torrdquo The younger worker leavingthe office frequently throughout theday and being more socially activeduring most tasks will be called theldquoSlackerrdquo Neither titles are flatter-ing nor are they really indicative ofthe actual productivity of either employee
Hunt notes that ldquoThere has to be atrade-off between productivity andfreedoms Older workers may bewell-paid for their experience butthere may be only one speedmdashmediocrerdquo
When trying to deal with particu-lar circumstances Hunt concedesthat Administrators and HR Man-agers are almost forced to be flexibleor employees will simply leave
Younger workers expect moreflexibility If this flexibility is grant-
Clash of Ages Continued from page 4
GENERATIONAL TENSION McQuarrie Hunterrsquos David Hunt ldquoYounger morevibrant employees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who have been with the firm a sig-nificant length of time Younger workers have more enthusiasm and desireand could outshine the more mature workerrdquo
ed the older workers wonder whythey are receiving special treatment
ldquoOlder workers seem to resentthings more and are more likely tobring it to someone elsersquos attentionrdquoHunt says ldquoOlder workers want youto solve their problemsrdquo
To avoid such issues steps need
to be taken during the interviewprocess Ask applicants about theorganizational culture of their pre-vious employer Ask them aboutprior expectations for flexibility inhours or about the structure of theday
Donrsquot rest solely on the applicantrsquos
responses while performing the ref-erence checks ask specifically if thisemployee was awarded flexibility be-cause of their skill and productivityor if they pushed the envelope Ask ifthey adapted to firm culture andwhat that specific culture was
You will have an idea about whichworkgroup this new employee will becollaborating so you can ask ques-
tions specifically tailored to psycho-logically profile the candidate andtheir fit within the generational de-mographic of the workgroup Youcan also be forthcoming with yourown firmrsquos culture to see if the candi-date will be the right fit
We must seek a balance and com-
municate the benefits of building ontraditional practices and procedureswhile supporting flexibility and cre-ativity to successfully align and unifydiffering generationsrsquo work ethics
There is no silver bullet but cul-ture is key You must clearly impartthe conduct and behaviour that hascome to be expected from all employ-ees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
6 Clash of Ages Continued from page 5
A Because a client brought donuts to share B Because they love their job C Because they can order ANY service and electronically file directly from their desktop with My Dye amp Durham E-Traytrade
Dye amp Durham continually E-VOLVING to meet your legal support requirements
Q WHY IS THIS FIRM CELEBRATING our electronic courier and work order was developed to simplify the filing process A few clicks of your mouse will save you time and money
is a user-friendly web-based system with industry leading security designedto easily assist you to move from the paper world into an electronic world
offers
bull Reduced fees over traditional agent costs - itrsquos the economical option bull Save on paper the need for couriers - the eco-friendly option bull Continue to enjoy Dye amp Durhamrsquos full service benefits
We offer complimentary training and support with E-Traytrade
making it as simple as possible with NO set up costs
Preferred Supplier for Legal Support Services and Law Offices Supplies to the Canadian Bar Association
Please visit wwwdyedurhambccom for further information and to book a demonstration
or call 6042571810 or email etraydyedurhambccom
redrokrowecorpgnilfi
dnareiruoccinortceleruoehtyfilpmisotdepolevedsawesuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsse
ecorpgnilfioyevaslliw
htiwmetsysssaylisaeot
otnidlrow
udeRbullstsoc
S
esuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsseyenomdnaemituo
desab-bewyldneirf-resuasiengisedytirucesgnidaelyrtsudnih
repapehtmorfevomotuoytsisdlrowcinortcelena
sreffo
tnegalanoitidartrevoseefdecunoitpolacimonoceehtsrsquoti-sifdh
de
evaSbulleehttnoCbullivres
ffoeWdnanikamw
-sreiruocrofdeenehtrepapnonoitpoyldneirf-oce
llufsrsquomahruDampeyDyojneoteunitstfienebec
gniniartyratnemilpmocreftradeyarT-Ehtiwtroppusd
elbissopsaelpmissatignstsocputesONhtiw
A e asuaceB
B e tsuaceB
C e tsuaceBry fltcerid
launitnocmahruDampeyD
aho ss ttunot dhguort bneila c
bor jiehe tvoy leht
ne acivreY sNr Aedrn oay cehthtip wotkser diehm tor eyyeDDyyMMy
yl GNIVVILOVVO-E uslagelruoyteemot
tisivesaelP ahrudeydwwwkbtditfihtff
era
ely fillacinortceld enmahrrhuDampe arraTTr-E ytrade
stnemeriuqertroppu
moccbmittd
LdnasecivreStroppuSlageLrofreilppuSderreferPnoitaicossAraBnaidanaCehtot
koobotdnanoitamrofnirehtrufrofllacro 181752406
liamero mahrudeydyarte
seilppuSsecfifOwan
noitartsnomeda0
moccbm
WRITING MARKETINGCONTRIBUTING WErsquoD LIKE YOUR HELP
TOPICS would be pleased towelcome you to the Editorial
Committee Writerscontributorsare needed
You need not be a professionalwriter and you will be supportedby an enthusiastic team thatworks well together and has fundoing so (The food is good too)
Please contact Stephanie Cor-nell if you are interested in con-tributing to the BCLMArsquos interest-ing and informative magazine
There is no silver bullet but culture is keyYou must clearly impart the conduct andbehaviour that has come to be expectedfrom all employees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
4lawyerrsquos practice or the firm in gen-eral from being efficient or movingforward
Understanding the prevailing gen-erational interpersonal conflict re-search and findings may help you toformulate solutions to difficultstaffing problems caused by agegaps There are many publishedranges and terms for various genera-tions however they mostly followthe characteristics listed here
Traditionalists 1925-1945 They arepractical patient loyal and hard-working They are respectful of au-thority and follow the rules
Baby Boomers 1945-1963 Boomersare optimistic ambitious hard work-ers who are open to teamwork andcooperation while slightly judgmen-tal of differing opinions
Generation X 1964-1983 This gen-eration balances their work and per-sonal life and is somewhat moreskeptical self-reliant they are risk-takers GenX employees have lessconfidence in long-term rewards andgreater expectations for short-termrewards
Millennial 1983mdashpresent Thisyoungest generation is technological-ly savvy and looking for meaningfulwork They value diversity andchange and are hopeful for the fu-ture They likely seek quick advance-ment and promotion and desire morebalance between their work and pro-fessional lives It is also argued thatthey do not understand resistance tochange and place less value in feelinga sense of pride at work
While there are obviously manyother subtle differences a few keycharacteristics differentiate the moremature workforce from the emergingone The prevailing slogan is Live toWork vs Work to Live It is this Work toLive millennial generation that is ouremerging workforce
We Administrators HR Managersand law-firm leaders must developthis next generation of support staffto better understand traditional viewswhile nurturing their innovative andself-reliant nature Members of themillennial generation are uniquelydifferent in many ways from thoseclassified in other age groups
CONVEYMASTER
Ask us about our bull $25 pay-per-conveyance bull plan
Tel (800) 667-0332 or (604) 685-1078Fax (604) 685-9370
Go with the best Home Page wwwsaicaGo with ConveyMaster Email infosaica
Conveyancing SoftwareNew EFS Module
Trusted
Cost-Savings
Specialists
Excelera Consulting Group will
bull Identify significant measurable
cost savings
bull implement best-in-class purchasing
processes
bull negotiate premium contract terms
bull monitor invoice pricing to ensure accuracy
amp savings
Specialists in
Overhead Cost
Reduction
bull
Advisors to Western
Canadarsquos Top Legal
Firms
WWWEXCELERACA bull 604-990-7786
Clash of Ages Continued from page 1
W e specialize in helping firms publish business-to-busi-ness newsletters the only type of direct marketing your
customers or clients read every time it lands on their desk or ap-pears in their e-mail Done right newsletters repeatedly sellyour firmrsquos image expertise and position in the marketplacewhether your client is ready to buy your services now or laterThinking about starting a newsletter for clients We can helpWant a hand in publishing your existing newsletter We canhelp give you exactly the support you need to achieve yourmarketing goals Wersquore also good at helping to publish internalcorporate newsletters and publications Wersquove gained 20 yearsof experience in corporate mass-marketing newsletters publicrelations and direct mail Having trouble with your newsletterWe can help figure out why Call write or e-mail now
Need a firm hand withyour firmrsquos newsletter
MORGANNewsletters118 970 Burrard St Vancouver
6046833241 President Peter Morgan PMorganMorgan-newscom bull wwwMorgan-Newscom
5
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
Younger staff do not see themselvestied to one job for their entire careerThey are more likely to ask them-selves what more they can do withtheir lives and are far more flexibleto change It is this flexibility andperceived casual approach to em-ployment that can lead the other old-er generations to look down onthem
How do we bridge the gap Youwill encounter a fine line when try-ing to convince younger workersthat they would benefit from recog-nizing the stability and experiencethat older workers bring to the firmand to workgroups It will be just asdifficult to persuade older workersthat they could learn from theyounger ones and to value the rela-tionship and technological focus theyounger generations have
You have to build solutions con-ducive to the existing climate of yourfirm If you are in a more rigidly runfirm and using traditional valuesyou must adhere to that and per-suade the GenXers and Millennialsthat this traditional way of doingthings is best for the firm and inturn is best for them By turning thefocus on their own ambitions youcan build the type of employee thefirm has come to trust and on whichit relies
Conversely in a more relaxed cor-porate climate the structured rigidolder Traditionalist or Baby Boomermust come to realize that they canlearn and contribute to the firm byembracing emerging values andpractices Some guidance and effec-tive messages to best encourage andmotivate individuals in teams wheregenerational interpersonal conflict isemerging may include
Traditionalists ldquoYour experience isrespected and it is valuable to hearwhat has worked in the past Yourviews and concepts will help us for-mulate solutions for the futurerdquo
Baby Boomers ldquoYou are a valuableemployee and your input is worthy ofconsideration Your contribution isunique and important to our successrdquo
Gen Xers ldquoLetrsquos explore some op-tions outside of the box and yourtechnical expertise is a big assetrdquo
Millennials ldquoYou will be collabo-rating with other bright creativepeople and you have really im-proved this firm with your commit-ment and new ideasrdquo
These meetings and communica-tions may be given individually orto the whole multi-generationalworkgroup Having one segment orindividual in the group hear themessage given to a different demo-graphic group may make them moresensitive to the issues traditions orideas of either group You need to
talk and encourage communicationabout why they are different andwhy people have different perspec-tives Ideally everyone will becomemore willing to invest in honest can-did communication about these is-sues to effect the best outcomes
In seeking scenarios where ayounger worker may feel threatenedby the work ethic loyalty and coop-erative efforts of an older workerDavid Hunt HR Manager at Mc-Quarrie Hunter can think of wherethe opposite may be the case
ldquoYounger more vibrant employ-ees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who havebeen with the firm a significantlength of timerdquo he says ldquoYoungerworkers have more enthusiasm anddesire and could outshine the moremature worker In a particular in-stance a secretary with 20 years ofservice is replaced by someone sub-stantially younger In this case theolder worker resents the newcomerThat in itself is embarrassing to theolder individual who as a result be-comes not as productive nor as re-sponsive to changerdquo
This issue brings about the prob-lems of labeling Labels tend to bemade for staff based on their re-sponses to generational differencesin work ethic
The older secretary working dili-gently from 9 to 5 with her headdown while keeping track of otheremployeersquos absences and tasks willinevitably be called the ldquoHall Moni-torrdquo The younger worker leavingthe office frequently throughout theday and being more socially activeduring most tasks will be called theldquoSlackerrdquo Neither titles are flatter-ing nor are they really indicative ofthe actual productivity of either employee
Hunt notes that ldquoThere has to be atrade-off between productivity andfreedoms Older workers may bewell-paid for their experience butthere may be only one speedmdashmediocrerdquo
When trying to deal with particu-lar circumstances Hunt concedesthat Administrators and HR Man-agers are almost forced to be flexibleor employees will simply leave
Younger workers expect moreflexibility If this flexibility is grant-
Clash of Ages Continued from page 4
GENERATIONAL TENSION McQuarrie Hunterrsquos David Hunt ldquoYounger morevibrant employees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who have been with the firm a sig-nificant length of time Younger workers have more enthusiasm and desireand could outshine the more mature workerrdquo
ed the older workers wonder whythey are receiving special treatment
ldquoOlder workers seem to resentthings more and are more likely tobring it to someone elsersquos attentionrdquoHunt says ldquoOlder workers want youto solve their problemsrdquo
To avoid such issues steps need
to be taken during the interviewprocess Ask applicants about theorganizational culture of their pre-vious employer Ask them aboutprior expectations for flexibility inhours or about the structure of theday
Donrsquot rest solely on the applicantrsquos
responses while performing the ref-erence checks ask specifically if thisemployee was awarded flexibility be-cause of their skill and productivityor if they pushed the envelope Ask ifthey adapted to firm culture andwhat that specific culture was
You will have an idea about whichworkgroup this new employee will becollaborating so you can ask ques-
tions specifically tailored to psycho-logically profile the candidate andtheir fit within the generational de-mographic of the workgroup Youcan also be forthcoming with yourown firmrsquos culture to see if the candi-date will be the right fit
We must seek a balance and com-
municate the benefits of building ontraditional practices and procedureswhile supporting flexibility and cre-ativity to successfully align and unifydiffering generationsrsquo work ethics
There is no silver bullet but cul-ture is key You must clearly impartthe conduct and behaviour that hascome to be expected from all employ-ees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
6 Clash of Ages Continued from page 5
A Because a client brought donuts to share B Because they love their job C Because they can order ANY service and electronically file directly from their desktop with My Dye amp Durham E-Traytrade
Dye amp Durham continually E-VOLVING to meet your legal support requirements
Q WHY IS THIS FIRM CELEBRATING our electronic courier and work order was developed to simplify the filing process A few clicks of your mouse will save you time and money
is a user-friendly web-based system with industry leading security designedto easily assist you to move from the paper world into an electronic world
offers
bull Reduced fees over traditional agent costs - itrsquos the economical option bull Save on paper the need for couriers - the eco-friendly option bull Continue to enjoy Dye amp Durhamrsquos full service benefits
We offer complimentary training and support with E-Traytrade
making it as simple as possible with NO set up costs
Preferred Supplier for Legal Support Services and Law Offices Supplies to the Canadian Bar Association
Please visit wwwdyedurhambccom for further information and to book a demonstration
or call 6042571810 or email etraydyedurhambccom
redrokrowecorpgnilfi
dnareiruoccinortceleruoehtyfilpmisotdepolevedsawesuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsse
ecorpgnilfioyevaslliw
htiwmetsysssaylisaeot
otnidlrow
udeRbullstsoc
S
esuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsseyenomdnaemituo
desab-bewyldneirf-resuasiengisedytirucesgnidaelyrtsudnih
repapehtmorfevomotuoytsisdlrowcinortcelena
sreffo
tnegalanoitidartrevoseefdecunoitpolacimonoceehtsrsquoti-sifdh
de
evaSbulleehttnoCbullivres
ffoeWdnanikamw
-sreiruocrofdeenehtrepapnonoitpoyldneirf-oce
llufsrsquomahruDampeyDyojneoteunitstfienebec
gniniartyratnemilpmocreftradeyarT-Ehtiwtroppusd
elbissopsaelpmissatignstsocputesONhtiw
A e asuaceB
B e tsuaceB
C e tsuaceBry fltcerid
launitnocmahruDampeyD
aho ss ttunot dhguort bneila c
bor jiehe tvoy leht
ne acivreY sNr Aedrn oay cehthtip wotkser diehm tor eyyeDDyyMMy
yl GNIVVILOVVO-E uslagelruoyteemot
tisivesaelP ahrudeydwwwkbtditfihtff
era
ely fillacinortceld enmahrrhuDampe arraTTr-E ytrade
stnemeriuqertroppu
moccbmittd
LdnasecivreStroppuSlageLrofreilppuSderreferPnoitaicossAraBnaidanaCehtot
koobotdnanoitamrofnirehtrufrofllacro 181752406
liamero mahrudeydyarte
seilppuSsecfifOwan
noitartsnomeda0
moccbm
WRITING MARKETINGCONTRIBUTING WErsquoD LIKE YOUR HELP
TOPICS would be pleased towelcome you to the Editorial
Committee Writerscontributorsare needed
You need not be a professionalwriter and you will be supportedby an enthusiastic team thatworks well together and has fundoing so (The food is good too)
Please contact Stephanie Cor-nell if you are interested in con-tributing to the BCLMArsquos interest-ing and informative magazine
There is no silver bullet but culture is keyYou must clearly impart the conduct andbehaviour that has come to be expectedfrom all employees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
5
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
Younger staff do not see themselvestied to one job for their entire careerThey are more likely to ask them-selves what more they can do withtheir lives and are far more flexibleto change It is this flexibility andperceived casual approach to em-ployment that can lead the other old-er generations to look down onthem
How do we bridge the gap Youwill encounter a fine line when try-ing to convince younger workersthat they would benefit from recog-nizing the stability and experiencethat older workers bring to the firmand to workgroups It will be just asdifficult to persuade older workersthat they could learn from theyounger ones and to value the rela-tionship and technological focus theyounger generations have
You have to build solutions con-ducive to the existing climate of yourfirm If you are in a more rigidly runfirm and using traditional valuesyou must adhere to that and per-suade the GenXers and Millennialsthat this traditional way of doingthings is best for the firm and inturn is best for them By turning thefocus on their own ambitions youcan build the type of employee thefirm has come to trust and on whichit relies
Conversely in a more relaxed cor-porate climate the structured rigidolder Traditionalist or Baby Boomermust come to realize that they canlearn and contribute to the firm byembracing emerging values andpractices Some guidance and effec-tive messages to best encourage andmotivate individuals in teams wheregenerational interpersonal conflict isemerging may include
Traditionalists ldquoYour experience isrespected and it is valuable to hearwhat has worked in the past Yourviews and concepts will help us for-mulate solutions for the futurerdquo
Baby Boomers ldquoYou are a valuableemployee and your input is worthy ofconsideration Your contribution isunique and important to our successrdquo
Gen Xers ldquoLetrsquos explore some op-tions outside of the box and yourtechnical expertise is a big assetrdquo
Millennials ldquoYou will be collabo-rating with other bright creativepeople and you have really im-proved this firm with your commit-ment and new ideasrdquo
These meetings and communica-tions may be given individually orto the whole multi-generationalworkgroup Having one segment orindividual in the group hear themessage given to a different demo-graphic group may make them moresensitive to the issues traditions orideas of either group You need to
talk and encourage communicationabout why they are different andwhy people have different perspec-tives Ideally everyone will becomemore willing to invest in honest can-did communication about these is-sues to effect the best outcomes
In seeking scenarios where ayounger worker may feel threatenedby the work ethic loyalty and coop-erative efforts of an older workerDavid Hunt HR Manager at Mc-Quarrie Hunter can think of wherethe opposite may be the case
ldquoYounger more vibrant employ-ees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who havebeen with the firm a significantlength of timerdquo he says ldquoYoungerworkers have more enthusiasm anddesire and could outshine the moremature worker In a particular in-stance a secretary with 20 years ofservice is replaced by someone sub-stantially younger In this case theolder worker resents the newcomerThat in itself is embarrassing to theolder individual who as a result be-comes not as productive nor as re-sponsive to changerdquo
This issue brings about the prob-lems of labeling Labels tend to bemade for staff based on their re-sponses to generational differencesin work ethic
The older secretary working dili-gently from 9 to 5 with her headdown while keeping track of otheremployeersquos absences and tasks willinevitably be called the ldquoHall Moni-torrdquo The younger worker leavingthe office frequently throughout theday and being more socially activeduring most tasks will be called theldquoSlackerrdquo Neither titles are flatter-ing nor are they really indicative ofthe actual productivity of either employee
Hunt notes that ldquoThere has to be atrade-off between productivity andfreedoms Older workers may bewell-paid for their experience butthere may be only one speedmdashmediocrerdquo
When trying to deal with particu-lar circumstances Hunt concedesthat Administrators and HR Man-agers are almost forced to be flexibleor employees will simply leave
Younger workers expect moreflexibility If this flexibility is grant-
Clash of Ages Continued from page 4
GENERATIONAL TENSION McQuarrie Hunterrsquos David Hunt ldquoYounger morevibrant employees can lsquoshow uprsquo those who have been with the firm a sig-nificant length of time Younger workers have more enthusiasm and desireand could outshine the more mature workerrdquo
ed the older workers wonder whythey are receiving special treatment
ldquoOlder workers seem to resentthings more and are more likely tobring it to someone elsersquos attentionrdquoHunt says ldquoOlder workers want youto solve their problemsrdquo
To avoid such issues steps need
to be taken during the interviewprocess Ask applicants about theorganizational culture of their pre-vious employer Ask them aboutprior expectations for flexibility inhours or about the structure of theday
Donrsquot rest solely on the applicantrsquos
responses while performing the ref-erence checks ask specifically if thisemployee was awarded flexibility be-cause of their skill and productivityor if they pushed the envelope Ask ifthey adapted to firm culture andwhat that specific culture was
You will have an idea about whichworkgroup this new employee will becollaborating so you can ask ques-
tions specifically tailored to psycho-logically profile the candidate andtheir fit within the generational de-mographic of the workgroup Youcan also be forthcoming with yourown firmrsquos culture to see if the candi-date will be the right fit
We must seek a balance and com-
municate the benefits of building ontraditional practices and procedureswhile supporting flexibility and cre-ativity to successfully align and unifydiffering generationsrsquo work ethics
There is no silver bullet but cul-ture is key You must clearly impartthe conduct and behaviour that hascome to be expected from all employ-ees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
6 Clash of Ages Continued from page 5
A Because a client brought donuts to share B Because they love their job C Because they can order ANY service and electronically file directly from their desktop with My Dye amp Durham E-Traytrade
Dye amp Durham continually E-VOLVING to meet your legal support requirements
Q WHY IS THIS FIRM CELEBRATING our electronic courier and work order was developed to simplify the filing process A few clicks of your mouse will save you time and money
is a user-friendly web-based system with industry leading security designedto easily assist you to move from the paper world into an electronic world
offers
bull Reduced fees over traditional agent costs - itrsquos the economical option bull Save on paper the need for couriers - the eco-friendly option bull Continue to enjoy Dye amp Durhamrsquos full service benefits
We offer complimentary training and support with E-Traytrade
making it as simple as possible with NO set up costs
Preferred Supplier for Legal Support Services and Law Offices Supplies to the Canadian Bar Association
Please visit wwwdyedurhambccom for further information and to book a demonstration
or call 6042571810 or email etraydyedurhambccom
redrokrowecorpgnilfi
dnareiruoccinortceleruoehtyfilpmisotdepolevedsawesuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsse
ecorpgnilfioyevaslliw
htiwmetsysssaylisaeot
otnidlrow
udeRbullstsoc
S
esuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsseyenomdnaemituo
desab-bewyldneirf-resuasiengisedytirucesgnidaelyrtsudnih
repapehtmorfevomotuoytsisdlrowcinortcelena
sreffo
tnegalanoitidartrevoseefdecunoitpolacimonoceehtsrsquoti-sifdh
de
evaSbulleehttnoCbullivres
ffoeWdnanikamw
-sreiruocrofdeenehtrepapnonoitpoyldneirf-oce
llufsrsquomahruDampeyDyojneoteunitstfienebec
gniniartyratnemilpmocreftradeyarT-Ehtiwtroppusd
elbissopsaelpmissatignstsocputesONhtiw
A e asuaceB
B e tsuaceB
C e tsuaceBry fltcerid
launitnocmahruDampeyD
aho ss ttunot dhguort bneila c
bor jiehe tvoy leht
ne acivreY sNr Aedrn oay cehthtip wotkser diehm tor eyyeDDyyMMy
yl GNIVVILOVVO-E uslagelruoyteemot
tisivesaelP ahrudeydwwwkbtditfihtff
era
ely fillacinortceld enmahrrhuDampe arraTTr-E ytrade
stnemeriuqertroppu
moccbmittd
LdnasecivreStroppuSlageLrofreilppuSderreferPnoitaicossAraBnaidanaCehtot
koobotdnanoitamrofnirehtrufrofllacro 181752406
liamero mahrudeydyarte
seilppuSsecfifOwan
noitartsnomeda0
moccbm
WRITING MARKETINGCONTRIBUTING WErsquoD LIKE YOUR HELP
TOPICS would be pleased towelcome you to the Editorial
Committee Writerscontributorsare needed
You need not be a professionalwriter and you will be supportedby an enthusiastic team thatworks well together and has fundoing so (The food is good too)
Please contact Stephanie Cor-nell if you are interested in con-tributing to the BCLMArsquos interest-ing and informative magazine
There is no silver bullet but culture is keyYou must clearly impart the conduct andbehaviour that has come to be expectedfrom all employees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
ed the older workers wonder whythey are receiving special treatment
ldquoOlder workers seem to resentthings more and are more likely tobring it to someone elsersquos attentionrdquoHunt says ldquoOlder workers want youto solve their problemsrdquo
To avoid such issues steps need
to be taken during the interviewprocess Ask applicants about theorganizational culture of their pre-vious employer Ask them aboutprior expectations for flexibility inhours or about the structure of theday
Donrsquot rest solely on the applicantrsquos
responses while performing the ref-erence checks ask specifically if thisemployee was awarded flexibility be-cause of their skill and productivityor if they pushed the envelope Ask ifthey adapted to firm culture andwhat that specific culture was
You will have an idea about whichworkgroup this new employee will becollaborating so you can ask ques-
tions specifically tailored to psycho-logically profile the candidate andtheir fit within the generational de-mographic of the workgroup Youcan also be forthcoming with yourown firmrsquos culture to see if the candi-date will be the right fit
We must seek a balance and com-
municate the benefits of building ontraditional practices and procedureswhile supporting flexibility and cre-ativity to successfully align and unifydiffering generationsrsquo work ethics
There is no silver bullet but cul-ture is key You must clearly impartthe conduct and behaviour that hascome to be expected from all employ-ees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
6 Clash of Ages Continued from page 5
A Because a client brought donuts to share B Because they love their job C Because they can order ANY service and electronically file directly from their desktop with My Dye amp Durham E-Traytrade
Dye amp Durham continually E-VOLVING to meet your legal support requirements
Q WHY IS THIS FIRM CELEBRATING our electronic courier and work order was developed to simplify the filing process A few clicks of your mouse will save you time and money
is a user-friendly web-based system with industry leading security designedto easily assist you to move from the paper world into an electronic world
offers
bull Reduced fees over traditional agent costs - itrsquos the economical option bull Save on paper the need for couriers - the eco-friendly option bull Continue to enjoy Dye amp Durhamrsquos full service benefits
We offer complimentary training and support with E-Traytrade
making it as simple as possible with NO set up costs
Preferred Supplier for Legal Support Services and Law Offices Supplies to the Canadian Bar Association
Please visit wwwdyedurhambccom for further information and to book a demonstration
or call 6042571810 or email etraydyedurhambccom
redrokrowecorpgnilfi
dnareiruoccinortceleruoehtyfilpmisotdepolevedsawesuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsse
ecorpgnilfioyevaslliw
htiwmetsysssaylisaeot
otnidlrow
udeRbullstsoc
S
esuomruoyfoskcilcwefAsseyenomdnaemituo
desab-bewyldneirf-resuasiengisedytirucesgnidaelyrtsudnih
repapehtmorfevomotuoytsisdlrowcinortcelena
sreffo
tnegalanoitidartrevoseefdecunoitpolacimonoceehtsrsquoti-sifdh
de
evaSbulleehttnoCbullivres
ffoeWdnanikamw
-sreiruocrofdeenehtrepapnonoitpoyldneirf-oce
llufsrsquomahruDampeyDyojneoteunitstfienebec
gniniartyratnemilpmocreftradeyarT-Ehtiwtroppusd
elbissopsaelpmissatignstsocputesONhtiw
A e asuaceB
B e tsuaceB
C e tsuaceBry fltcerid
launitnocmahruDampeyD
aho ss ttunot dhguort bneila c
bor jiehe tvoy leht
ne acivreY sNr Aedrn oay cehthtip wotkser diehm tor eyyeDDyyMMy
yl GNIVVILOVVO-E uslagelruoyteemot
tisivesaelP ahrudeydwwwkbtditfihtff
era
ely fillacinortceld enmahrrhuDampe arraTTr-E ytrade
stnemeriuqertroppu
moccbmittd
LdnasecivreStroppuSlageLrofreilppuSderreferPnoitaicossAraBnaidanaCehtot
koobotdnanoitamrofnirehtrufrofllacro 181752406
liamero mahrudeydyarte
seilppuSsecfifOwan
noitartsnomeda0
moccbm
WRITING MARKETINGCONTRIBUTING WErsquoD LIKE YOUR HELP
TOPICS would be pleased towelcome you to the Editorial
Committee Writerscontributorsare needed
You need not be a professionalwriter and you will be supportedby an enthusiastic team thatworks well together and has fundoing so (The food is good too)
Please contact Stephanie Cor-nell if you are interested in con-tributing to the BCLMArsquos interest-ing and informative magazine
There is no silver bullet but culture is keyYou must clearly impart the conduct andbehaviour that has come to be expectedfrom all employees regardless of age
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
7
BY MIKE BOWERBANKBLAKE CASSELS amp GRAYDON
Few firms admit they have a re-volving door However withdemand for talent on the rise a
large number of your current em-ployees are checking around to seewhat else is available
Some put out feelers and if thisdevelops into something positiveyoursquore suddenly receiving the resig-nation letter of someone you thoughtwas contented
Unless you want the revolvingdoor to spin fast enough to double asthe officersquos air conditioner you needto ensure your firm is paying com-petitively and that you are doingyour best to keep your staff happyand enriched
Sometimes however people just
feel the need tomove on for anynumber of rea-sons and if thath a p p e n s y o uhave to hope youh a v e r e p l a c e -m e n t s w i t h i narmrsquos reach ofyour desire
Where do youfind good help these days with de-mand for skilled workers higher thanthe number of qualified people to fillthem
Word-of-mouth and internal pro-motion are still the most preferredmethods of finding talent but whenthat well dries up one must look further
With new talent coming out of col-leges every term some may think
this will replenish the stocks but asyou all know this is not the case Infact the graduate pool isnrsquot sufficientto fill all the vacancies This makescompetition for these graduatesfierce
There are so many people scopingout colleges for prospects that onewonders if recruiters outnumber the
students With multiple parties woo-ing students in colleges eyes arestarting to be cast to high schoolsWhere does this thinking stop Itmay be just a matter of time beforecompanies are scoping out the ma-ternity wards
Okay so with competition for tal-ent so intense Continued on page 8
Just one thingmdashwhere are you
Top talent wanted by every law firmin town so entry-level battle rages
Mike Bowerbank
Word-of-mouth andinternal promotionare still the most
preferred methods
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
and colleges bursting at the seamswith recruiting teams what are theoptions
RETIREESHerersquos a crazy thought do you re-
member those people who wereforced out the door against their willbecause theyrsquod reached the mandato-ry retirement age Well as of Janu-ary retirement is no longer mandato-ry at a specific age so recent retireesare an obvious choice to acquire sea-soned talent without necessarily hav-ing to pay seasoned prices
Accountants secretaries wordprocessors administrators clerks ofall types analysts marketers andmore all have had their share ofpeople dragged out of their offices(often leaving nail marks) given ahearty thanks and then cast aside likea fly on a Twinkie Those who wantedto continue working had to learn howto say ldquoWelcome to Wal-Martrdquo orldquoWould you like fries with thatrdquo
Whether you love or hate compa-nies like McDonaldrsquos and Wal-Mart
you have to give them credit for recog-nizing a trend as well as an economi-cal labour source ahead of the rest ofthe pack What will you do to enticethe best of the retirees in your firmmdashand your competitorsrsquo firms for thatmattermdashback into the labour force
ONLINEWith sites like lthttpwwwMon
stercagt lthttpwwwVancouverJobShopcagt and lthttpwwwJobSharkcomgt there are thousands ofavailable reacutesumeacutes online For a fee youcan post your available position and
browse through the online reacutesumeacutesIf you want to do a national search
for talent one solitary job posting willcost you $3200 at VancouverJobShopca and a single posting in justthe Vancouver market will cost you$218 for 30 days Access to online reacute-sumeacutes costs $28340 for 30 days and ifyou select one of their candidates forhire you pay significantly more thanthat in commissions
In short you have to pay some-body just to look at their collection ofreacutesumeacutes Remember the ldquoold daysrdquowhen you had more reacutesumeacutes thanyou knew what to do with And allfor free
Most of the HR staff I talked to ei-ther donrsquot use online job sites at all oronly use them occasionally The prob-lems cited are numerous lack of timelack of proper candidate skills testinglack of verification of candidatesrsquoqualifications improper referencesThe list goes on but the bottom lineis to quote one source ldquothere are justtoo many unknownsrdquo
Online job sites are nowhere nearas effective from a time-or-moneyperspective
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
8 Talent hunt Continued from page 7
Continued on page 11
Most of the HR staff I talked to eitherdonrsquot use online
job sites at all oronly use themoccasionally
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
BY PAULA BUTLER LAWYER
Herersquos the case we posed to you last issue followedby a selection of responses from the members of theBCLMA On the right is a new scenario for you to
judge and below it are instructions on how to let usknow what you would do in that situation Paula Butleris a sole practioner who specializes in labour and em-ployment law from her office in West Vancouver
THE CASE OF SUSAN amp JANE
Susan and Jane have worked together intheir law firmrsquos IT depart-
ment for ten years Forthe first four or fiveyears they had an excel-lent working relation-ship Five years agoJane went on mater-nity leave and hadtwins
One or the otherof the twins seems tobe sick all the timeespecially duringthe last few yearsand Jane is con-s tant ly miss ingwork Jane often calls in saying that she is sick but Susan is surethat itrsquos one of the children or that Jane just wants to spend theday at home with them Susan is increasingly angry that she hasto cover for Jane all the time
As Susanrsquos new manager you heard about the issue fromyour predecessor who said she had decided to let the two of themwork it out on their own since theyrsquore adults and the work is be-ing done You can see that Susan is unhappy at work and thatSusan and Jane hardly speak to each other
What do you do in this situation
Hi this is Paula Many of you wrote in with sugges-tions for the manager of Susan and Jane The followingare some examples but there is no right or wrong answerto what any of us should do in a situation like that onlypossibilities that work better than others My commentsare in italics
RESPONSE FIND A SOLUTIONYou need to bring Jane into your office and confront her
with the concern Ask her if she is aware of the problemsshe is causing for IT by being away so much and ask her ifshe has a solution If she has no solution or is unwilling todeal with the problem it is your responsibility to provide asolution You can consider not paying her for time off askher to formally work part-time and hire another part-time
person or as a last resort you will have to give her notice Finding a solution for both Jane and the firm is a great
option An alternative work arrangement or series of unpaidleaves may work for all parties It
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
9YOU BE THE JUDGEOur new scenariomdashtell us what yoursquod do in
THE CASE OF TOM amp ANDY
Tom is a new employee in the mail room at the firm in hisfirst full-time job Andy a first-year associate starts chat-
ting with Tom one day and they realize that they share a mu-tual passion for trail riding They occasionally meet for coffeeand lunch to talk about bikes and bike trips On one of theircoffees together Andy puts his hand on Tomrsquos knee and sug-gests that they get together on the weekend Tom is takenaback and quickly mentions that he and his girlfriend arebusy all weekend Andycontinues to make overturesto Tom commenting thatTom must look good in hisbike shorts and suggestingthat the two of them dosome biking together Tomis increasingly uncomfort-able with this behaviourbut he cannot bring himselfto talk to his supervisorabout it Then Andy getsdrunk at a firm social andputs his arm around Tomand starts whispering inand kissing Tomrsquos ear
You are the firmrsquos Ad-ministrator You see this happen and see that Tom is embar-rassed and uncomfortable
What do you do in this situation
HOW TO BE A JUDGE
This feature of Topics compiled by Vancouver lawyer PaulaButler is designed to get you thinking about workplace sce-
narios that might happenmdashor have happenedmdashto youRead the case above aimed at challenging your manage-
ment ability Then click here lthttpwwwBCLMAorggt to godirectly to the BCLMA website On the home page click on theRespond to Topics Scenario button to arrive at the You BeThe Judge response form Describe how you would answerthe question at the end of the scenario Submissions are100 anonymous Neither senderrsquos name nor the firmrsquosname will be revealed to the editorsmdashonly your re-sponse Next edition wersquoll print a selection of the anony-mous responsesmdashand provide a new scenario
Susanrsquos frustrationmdashand workloadmdashincreased when she covered for Jane
Continued on page 10
Andyrsquos drunk and Tom is embarrassed and uncomfortable
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
is important to determine why she isaway so much is it because she has anillness or disability that she hasnrsquotcommunicated to you or is it becauseof her children There may be HumanRights Code issues in either case andthere may be a duty to accommodateSusan in either situation This coulddetermine what kind of solution thefirm should be providing If there is nogood reason for the absences a discipli-nary approach is appropriate
RESPONSE UNFAIR TO SUSANI must recognize that the arrange-
ment has become unfair to Susan tocarry a disproportionate share of theworkload Further I must recognizethat failing to deal with the situationmay cause Susan to leave the firm Imust deal with the situationhellip I wouldmeet with Jane to discuss her ab-sences and to see if she understandsthat they cause Susan undue addition-al workhellip That is does she really careIf she does not it should be made clear
to her that her job depends upon ithellip Ifthat doesnrsquot minimize her absencesand level the workload between Susanand Jane termination of Jane must beconsidered
The situation is difficult for Susan andJanersquos absences are not just a matter forSusan and Jane to work out on their ownAs discussed above meeting with Jane todiscuss her absences is a good idea Sheneeds to be clear about what the firmrsquos ex-pectations are If a solution cannot beworked out termination is an option
RESPONSE KEEP SUSAN ON STAFFI would have a very frank discus-
sion with Susan allow her to vent herfrustration about the situation andthen discuss with her the workloadand what she needs in order to handlethe work and be happy doing it Itmay be that she just needs access to ajunior staff member when Jane isaway to help with the mundane tasksWhat is most important is that she betold that her contribution is both no-ticed and valued by the firm
It is easy to focus on Jane and to forgetabout long-suffering Susan Having afrank discussion with Susan including of-fering assistance while the issue is beingworked out with Jane is a good idea Inemployee surveys many workers commu-nicate the importance of being recognizedfor their contributions on the job Recog-nizing Susan and letting her know thatthe situation is being acted upon will like-ly go a long way to keeping her happy andretaining her services
LOOK AT OUR NEW SCENARIOThanks to those readers who re-
sponded to the case of Susan amp JaneYour comments help us all betterunderstand our workplace and theconversation has been great
Donrsquot forget to read the Case of Tomamp Andy our scenario for this issue onpage 10 Please let us know your sug-gestions about how you would solvethat workplace problem and wersquollprovide your comments in the next is-sue of Topics
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
10
Farcus
copy Farcus Cartoons Inc 1990
FARCUS
ldquoFishbeck You must be thinking lsquoOffice Partyrsquo toordquo
ldquoI must recognizethat failing to dealwith the situation
may cause Susan toleave the firm I must
deal with thesituationhelliprdquo
I would have a very frank discussion
with Susan allow her to vent her
frustration about the situation
and then discusswith her the
hellipworkloadhellip
Susan vs Jane ndash Continued from page 9
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
as using a recruiter which brings meto this next section
RECRUITERSWell herersquos an obvious choice If
those recruiters are doing all thiswork to get their hooks into the toptalent coming out of colleges whynot just simply browse throughtheir talent pool and hire the bestthey have This usually works wellbut you have to pay for this service
t o o W h e ny o u f i n d agreat personthough itrsquos well worth the fees asso-ciated with getting them
Most law firms use recruiters sothey are also putting most of their re-cruitment dollars into recruitersrsquofees These fees add up Before youknow it your fees could run into thesix-figures over the course of a yearfor a larger firm which prompts thequestion Why not just hire a full-time recruiter
One manager at a large firm saysthe organization spends an averageof $100000 on recruiting costs eachyear They believe they could createa full-time position consisting of 50
recruiting and 50 other HR dutiesand get the best of both worlds
Another concern they have with
third-party recruiters is the three-month guarantee ldquoOur probationaryperiod is four months and manytimes it takes the lawyer that long tosay lsquoaye or nayrsquo As a result we endup eating the placement cost even ifthe person doesnrsquot work outrdquo
They wonder aloud at that firm iftheyrsquod be better served having theirown in-house recruiter
A conditional endorsement of thisthinking comes from a surprisingsource Laura Reid co-owner of re-cruiting firm Arlyn Reid says thatunder certain circumstances an in-house recruiter might make good
business senseldquoIf yoursquore regularly paying over
$100000 in recruiting fees have amore-than-5 turnover rate or arein a high-growth mode then youmay need an in-house recruiterrdquoReid says adding ldquoIf yoursquore experi-encing high turnover it may be toomuch for a recruiting firm to keep upwith and it wouldnrsquot make sensefrom a business point of view for youto be paying so much to recruitersevery year It would be more cost-ef-fective to instead have the recruiterssend you one or two people on con-tract whose sole job is to recruit fulltime for yourdquo
But Reid cautions ldquoItrsquos tough tofind top talent in any business Evenplaces with full-time recruiters stillend up calling agencies because itrsquosjust that hard to find the right fit Asrecruiters we take responsibility fordoing extensive testing and thor-ough referencing of applicants Plusapplicants tell us the truth in whatthey want in an employer whereaswhen the employer speaks directlywith them a candidate may say yesto anything just to get the job butthey wonrsquot necessarily be a good fitrdquo
Lots of firms try to recruit on theirown and Reid agrees that the bestway to find talent without using re-cruiters is to communicate availablepositions to the whole firm and en-courage people to use their personaland professional contacts to helpyou lookmdashand that would be whatwe said earlier word-of-mouth orpromoting from within Referralbonuses are helpful incentives forstaff and usually generate some
good leads Also be sure to stay con-nected to your community and takethe time to talk to the Grade 12 popu-lation as they are looking ahead tolife after graduation
Therersquos a lot of talent out there butthere are even more people scoutingit How you find those fresh faces isup to you but the worst possiblething you can do is nothing at all
Like everything else in life theharder you work and the more cre-atively you approach a problem themore likely you are to achieve themaximum success possible Happyhunting
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
11 Talent Hunt ndash Continued from page 8
For a fee you canpost your position onthese websites andbrowse through the
online reacutesumeacutes
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
BY GARY MITCHELLGEM COMMUNICATION
You know it as the wall you feelbut canrsquot see The disconnectthat ex is ts between your
management and the lawyers withinyour firm
Do you often feel intimidated bythe lawyers for which you work Theyare smart but so are you They knowlaw you know the business of law
Do they know and understandmarketing HR staff morale businessdevelopment budgets and financeThey might have an LLB but youhave degrees and experience in Busi-ness Administration and Marketingand have CMA designations
Donrsquot assume they know whatthey are doing when it comes to thebusiness of law It can be frustratingto take instruction from lawyerswhen you recognize the possible neg-ative impacts of the plan Donrsquot beafraid of posing questions to yourlawyers Itrsquos a new approach you maynot have considered before
Treat your lawyers like clientsLook at it from this point of viewWhen a vendor or outside supplierapproaches you what are some of thequestions they ask Whatrsquos working for you Whatrsquos not working for you What is your current situation Where do you want to take the firm What are your objectives What is your budget What is your timeline What support do you need
The list can go on and on The vendor is trying to under stand
you and your goals If they wish toserve you they must first understandyour needs Law-firm staff andmanagement should take the sameapproach with lawyers Treat themlike clients
Whether itrsquos a budget advertise-ment policy issue marketing plan orrecruitment effort one must ask thequestions in order to fulfill thelawyerrsquos expectations and create mu-tually beneficial results
DISCOVERYJust as your lawyers will go into a
discovery meeting and ask questionafter question to gain understanding
perspective and knowledge you canuse that same approach to create awinning strategy
Herersquos how The next time a lawyercomes into your office with a requestor idea donrsquot automatically agree toundertake it No I am not suggestingyou become disagreeable or vexingWhat I am suggesting is learn moreGet to the heart of their needs This isa process I teach to lawyers whendealing with prospects and clients
Ask the lawyer Why are you suggesting this idea What is the goal (or what are the
goals) What impact will it create What specific measurable results
are you expecting to achieve What outcome do you seek
Help them to understand how
much time the project might take What amount of follow-up is re-
quired on their behalf What other supportive measures
might be useful to include in orderto achieve maximum results They donrsquot always understand
you and your role and you might notalways understand their needs Dis-
covery helps you bridge the gap andbring down the wall
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACHYou will encourage ideas You will
fully understand their view and bein a better position to help themChances are greater that the actualresults are more likely to be success-ful since the potential results havebeen fully explored
Instead of dismissing the idea youare teaching them how to look at thebigger picture Instead of buttingheads with them you are strengthen-ing your relationship This leads to agreater sense of trust You will relyon that trust when it is time for youto pitch your ideas to them Andwhen you can pitch new ideas thatare subsequent-
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
12Bring down the wall between firmrsquos management and lawyers
WALL WORK Do you often feel intimidated by the lawyers for which youwork They are smart but so are you They know the law but you know thebusiness of law
Continued on page 14
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
13
MAKING THE MOVEShellip
After nine years at Edwards Kenny Bray WayneScott has moved on to become the new COO at
Alexander Holburnhellip Fraser Milner Casgrain hasmany new recruits Kristina Doerksen TechnologyTrainer and Software Specialist Jana Marshall Mar-keting Specialist Rick Smith Office Services ManagerDick Woo Systems Managerhellip Marissa McCaffrey isthe new HR Manager at Pryke Lambert Leathley Rus-sell LLPhellip Lynn Clarke is the new Marketing Coordi-nator at Lindsay Kenneyhellip Lorraine Burchynsky is thenew Manager of Administration at Boughton LawCorporation Hannah Won replaces Lorraine as thenew HR Managerhellip and Doris Chin remains in theMarketing vein now the Marketing Coordinator atRichards Buell Sutton
BCLMANEW SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Greg Christensen Director of Knowledge Manage-ment at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin leads the KM
Sub-Section for 2008hellip Jeff Mousseau is thefirst Co-Chair of the Small Firms Sub -Sectionhellip and say hello to the Aarons AaronFahlman Network Manager at FMD andAaron Zuccolin Information Systems at Wat-son Goepel will Co-Chair the TechnologySub-Section
BCLMA NEW FIRMS amp MEMBERS
We welcome the following Full Members to the asso-ciation David Bilinsky The Law Society of BChellip
Sharon Butler Quilan Abrioux Barristers amp SolicitorshellipLily Chu Campbell Froh May amp Rice LLPhellip TrineNilsen Thorsteinssonshellip and Donna Kitigawa HeenanBlaikie LLP
Have there been promotions or management changes inyour office Send the details when they occur (while yoursquorethinking of them) by e-mail to Topics editor StephanieCornell ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
BY STEPHANIE CORNELLFASKEN MARTINEAU LLP
Any number ofreasons mightpersuade some
of our BCLMA mem-bers to pursuenew and other op-portunities We of-ten wonder howthey are doingand quietly wishthem success
This past yearhowever saw the return of some ofour associationrsquos former popularmembers giving us a rare opportu-nity to catch up Each was enthusias-tic to share their recent adventures
JOAN KIERFor Joan Kier the corporatization
of her former firm provided her withthe occasion to travel extensivelyJoan learned to speak FrenchmdashinFrance She then traveled by car to Is-tanbul and further north througheastern Europe to Denmark Sweden
Estonia Finland andRussia before return-ing to Canada
After a few motor-cycle camping tripsin BC and AlbertaJoan then spent sev-eral months in JapanThailand VietnamLaos Cambodia SriLanka India and the Maldives be-fore returning again to Canada Fol-lowing a year and a half on the roadJoan is the new Managing Director ofCook Roberts LLP a small firm of 20lawyers in Victoria and lives on herwaterfront property at Mill Bay
Relocation to Vancouver Islandwas an important part of Joanrsquos newlife plan it enabled her to be closerto and support her parents
Having set a number of new per-sonal goals for herself Joan specifi-cally re-joined the legal workforcebecause ldquoI really enjoy workingwith lawyersmdashI love the challengingenvironmentrdquo
One of those goals is to obtain herCMA designation and shersquos attend-
ing courses at UVIC to support thisquest
Joan has already identified sometargets for her new firm as well suchas raising its profile both in Victoriaspecifically and on Vancouver Is-land in general ldquoAdditionally Irsquodlike to reorganize the support-staffstructure so that work is done morecost-effectivelyrdquo Joan realizes shehas her work cut out for her notingldquo[That process] wonrsquot happen over-nightrdquo
BOB WATERMANWhen the firm of
Douglas Symes ampBrissenden dissolvedin 2000 Bob Water-man found himselflooking for work forthe first time in 24years He found ashort-term solutionat a small firm inRichmond but Bobwas keen for something long-termAn Alberta-based colleague urgedhim to return to the Prairies Bobfound a challenging a position withthe firm Field Law with 92 lawyersmostly in Alberta He also foundhimself in a dilemma He loved Van-
They were once part of the industryhellip and now
Say whatever happened tohellip
Joan Kier
Bob Waterman
Continued on page 14
Greg Christensen
StephanieCornell
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
couvermdashand so did his family When no desired prospects pre-
sented themselves in Vancouver Bob
decided to well commute For thepast five years Bob has traveled be-tween the Alberta firmrsquos three of-ficesmdashEdmonton Calgary and Yel-lowknifemdashand would return to hisfamily in Vancouver for three days ata time every second weekend
Bob happily unpacked his suitcasefor the last time in April when he ac-cepted an offer as Director of Admin-istration for Richards Buell SuttonLLP a mid-size firm in downtownVancouver RBS has proved a perfectfit for Bob With just one office Bobno longer needs to travel for busi-nessmdasha feature his family appreciatesas well
Bob has embraced a new process ofoperations at RBS one that affordshim welcome autonomy ldquoThoughIrsquom used to the committee process ina law firm I now enjoy the one-on-one approach that I have with theManaging Partner We have weeklymeetings Itrsquos very refreshingrdquo
Bob has set goals for himself andRBS He looks forward to expandingthe capabilities and provisions of oneof the cityrsquos oldest firms ldquoRBS hasbeen constant at around 30 lawyersIrsquod like to see RBS grow Irsquod like toguide the firm through that processFortunately the partners here arevery open-mindedrdquo
BARB MARTENSBarb Martens decided it was time
for a change After 17 years in the legalindustry she left her former firm and
went looking for new opportunitiesFirstly she wanted to give back to
the community ldquoI started volunteerwork in the Emergency department atPeace Arch Hospital I also joined the
Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary TheAuxiliary plays a very active role inimproving the Hospital In June theAuxiliary announced its commitmentto donate $1 million towards the pur-chase of an MRI as part of the Partnersin Caring Campaign of the Peace ArchHospital and Community HealthFoundation These funds are beingraised through various eventsrdquo Barbis also involved with the Big Broth-ersrsquos In-School Mentoring ProgramldquoAll of these are rewardingrdquo
In addition to her volunteer work
Barb began working in the public sec-tor Barb identified the differencesimmediately ldquoI found working in thegovernment environment very differ-ent from the private sector and quick-ly realized it was not for merdquo
When the right opportunity to re-turn to the legal district became avail-able Barb made the switch Barbworks part-time as the Firm Adminis-trator at Dolden Wallace Follick LLPin downtown Vancouver As for herfive-year plan ldquoRetired for surerdquo
REJOINING BCLMAJoan Bob and Barb are all excited
about rejoining the BCLMA Eachmissed the networking the monthlymeetings and the support ldquoIrsquove al-ways had excellent experiences withthe BCLMArdquo says Bob While Joanrsquosability to attend monthly meetings islimited she looks forward to tele- conferencing in to meetings or listen-ing to the audio recordings whentheyrsquore available Both are simple andviable options for all our out-of-townmembers (Sub-section leaders are re-minded to provide dial-in options forour members on the Island in theFraser Valley and in the Okanagan)
If you havenrsquot already send a per-sonal greeting along to our returningmembers at their new firms Theyrsquodlove to hear from you
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
14
ly adopted you have a greater positive impact on the future of thefirm
Before pitching a new approach or idea is where discovery may serveyou the best Have you experienced push-back when presenting a newidea to lawyers to one or a group Yes I know itrsquos a rhetorical question
Try taking some time using the discovery approach to help your ldquocli-entrdquo (the lawyer) see why they would need this new approach or idea
So instead of having to pitch you are clarifying needs In the end itrsquosalmost like the lawyer came up with the idea in the first place Andonce again there is opportunity to build trust and to strengthen yourrelationship with the lawyers in your firm
Send me an e-mail with your feedback on this approach and let meknow how it works for you
Gary Mitchell is the managing director of GEM Communications Inc a firmspecialized in the business of law and a preferred supplier to the BC Branch ofthe Canadian Bar Association He serves on the board of directors for the LegalMarketing Association Vancouver Chapter as the chair of the marketing andmedia committee Gary can be reached via lthttpwwwGemCommunicationscagt
Bringing down the wall ndash Continued from page 12
What happenedhellip ndash Continued from page 13
While Joanrsquos ability to attend monthly meetings is limited
she looks forward to tele-conferencing in to meetings or listening to the
audio recordings when theyrsquore available
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS
TOPICS bull FALL 2007 bull BC LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION bull WWWBCLMAORG bull MEMBER SERVICES MEMBERSHIPBCLMAORG
15
FALL 2007
Editor Stephanie CornellManaging Editor Designer Peter Morgan
Editorial copy 2007 BCLMA CANADA
Published by MORGANNewsletters Ltd
BRITISH COLUMBIA LEGAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
President Ernie Gauvreau
WHO WE ARE
The BCLMA founded in 1972 is a non-profit organ-
ization with more than 80 Full Members and more
than 120 Sub- Section Members across BC It is the
BCLMA lsquos goal to provide educational opportunities
for our members to enhance skills as legal admin-
istrators and to provide professional and personal
benefits to the members and their law firms
MEMBER SERVICES
Opportunities for members to network with
other law firm administrators are provided by
events such as our annual Spring and Winter
social or monthly sub-section meetings We host
an annual managing partners luncheon
Our job bank offers Members information on
potential employment opportunities
The discussion section on our website allows
our members to quickly get questions answered
with advice from others who may have faced simi-
lar situations
The best way to get involved is to become a part
of the BCLMA
NEWSLETTER SERVICES
Topics is available to Members and prospective
members We will be pleased to add you to our
mailing list for this newsletter Please contact Edi-
tor Stephanie Cornell or any member of the Edito-
rial Committee for comments on any of these arti-
cles or suggestions for articles in future issues or
for adjustments to the circulation list Comments
are always welcome
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS
Topics is copyrighted however we encourage you
to circulate or copy this material unmodified for
your own internal or private use You may freely
quote any article or portion of article but it must
be accompanied by attribution Quoting any arti-
cle or portion of article without attribution is pro-
hibited The newsletter its contents or its material
may not be sold intact or modified nor included
in any package or product offered for sale
EXECUTIVE
Doug Ausman President
Ratcliff amp Company
500 221 West Esplenade
North Vancouver V2M 3J3
D 6049837605
F 604-988-1452
ltDAusmanRatcliffcomgt
Ernie Gauvreau Past President
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Suite 2300 1055 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1J1
P (604) 683-6498
F (604) 683-3558
ltErnieGauvreauGowlingscomgt
Allison Milroy Director
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
Barristers amp Solicitors
Suite 1700
1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
P 6046881301
F 6046888193
ltAMilroyWGMlawcomgt
Angela Zarowny Treasurer
Direct 6043510124
ltAZandDZShawcagt
Stephanie Cornell Editor Topics
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Jane Kennedy
Administrator and
Membership Services
BCLMA
964 Beaconsfield Road
North Vancouver BC V7R 1T2
P 6049881221
F 6049881221
ltMembershipBCLMAorggt
Technology Officer
TBA
SUB-SECTION LEADERS
Facilities amp
Service Management
Kevin Peers Co-Chair
Bull Housser Tupper
3000 - 1055 West Georgia Street
PO Box 11130 Stn Royal Centre
Vancouver BC V6E 3R3
D 6046876575
P 6046876575
F 604-641-4949ltKAPBHTcomgt
Tammy Toeppner Co-Chair
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1200ndash200 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V7X 1T2
D 6046323417
P 6046875744
F 604-687-1415
ltTToeppnerBLGCanadacomgt
FinanceBonnie Kirk Co-ChairLawson Lundell LLP1600ndash925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Leslie Morgan Co-ChairHarper Grey LLP3100ndash650 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6B 4P7P 6046870411D 6048952854F 6046699385
Human ResourcesTina Giallonardo ChairMiller Thomson LLP1800ndash840 Howe StVancouver BC V6Z 2M1P 6046872242F 6046431200ltTGiallonMillerThomsoncagt
Knowledge ManagementGreg Christensen ChairFasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP2100 - 1075 West Georgia StreetVancouver BC V6E 3G2 D 6046314993F 604-631-3232E GChristensenVanFaskencom
MarketingStephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Small FirmsColleen Chapman Co-ChairBrawn Karras amp Sanderson301ndash15117ndash101 AvenueSurrey BC V3R 8P7 D 6045873600F 6045882331ltCChapmanBKS Lawcomgt
Jeff Mousseau Co-ChairMcDonald amp Company400 - 999 West BroadwayVancouver BC V5Z 1K5 P 6046883005F 604-688-3035ltJMousseauMcDonaldandcocomgt
TrainersEva Handeland Co-chairFarris LLP 2500 West Georgia St Vancouver BC V7Y 1B3 D 604 661-9398 F 604 661-9349 ltEHandleandFarriscomgt
Shrsquoeli Mullin Trainers Co-ChairLang Michener LLP 1500 - 1055 West Georgia St Vancouver V6E 4N7 P 604 689-9111 F 604 685-7084 ltSMullinLMLScomgt
Technology
Aaron Fahlman Co-Chair
Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP
2100 - 1075 West Georgia St
Vancouver BC V6E 3G2
D 6046314960
F 604-631-3232
E AFahlmanvanFaskencom
Aaron Zuccolin Co-Chair
Watson Goepel Maledy LLP
1700 - 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6E 3C9
D 6046425661
F 604-688-8193
E AZuccolinWGMlawcom
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Stephanie Cornell ChairFasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP2100ndash1075 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6E 3G2D 6046314767F 6046857084ltSCornellVanFaskencomgt
Bonnie KirkLawson Lundell LLP1600 -925 West Georgia StVancouver BC V6C 3L2P 6046853456F 6046691620ltBKirkLawsonLundellcomgt
Tim WurtzBaker Newby LLP9259 Main StChilliwack BC V2P 6K2P (1) 6047921376F (1) 6047928711ltTWurtzBakerNewbycomgt
Paula ButlerBarrister amp Solicitor200 100 Park RoyalWest Vancouver BC V7T 1A2P 6047820373F 604-983-0372ltPButlerPaulaButlercomgt
Mike BowerbankBlake Cassels amp Graydon2600 595 Burrard StreetVancouver BC V7X 1L3P 6046313300F 6046313309ltMikeBowerbankBlakescomgt
Agostino doSouto
Harper Grey Easton
3100 - 650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver BC V6B 4P7
D 6048952852
F 604-669-9385
E ltAdoSoutoHGElawcomgt
BCLMA EXECUTIVE amp SECTION LEADERS