Author: TSA Press

A legacy firm of which Magic Circle firm counted Cecil Rhodes among its clients and helped set up that scholarship?

Hint: A 1987 merger gave the firm its current moniker, and in 2018, it had revenue of £1.62 billion, the most of any Magic Circle firm.

See the answer on the next page.

While money may be the blood of a company, contracts are definitely its bones: They are the structure that keeps it alive so that the money can flow through. A company’s greatest sources of value — its relationships and its assets — are often stored in contracts. That is why in-house lawyers put so much time, thought, energy, and resources into creating, negotiating, managing, and interpreting them. Whether in sales, vendor initiatives, business development, or other strategic initiatives, contracts form the backbone of any healthy company.

Over the past two decades, cloud technologies have completely transformed how we work. In the process, nimble web-based apps with per-user pricing models and low or no up-front costs have become a norm across other functions. So why do we still negotiate contracts like it’s 1991?

We still draft contracts in MS Word, email them to relevant stakeholders, collect everyone’s revisions, reconcile all revisions into a single document, email the updated version around, and then… repeat the process. Then we struggle with long negotiation cycles, a lack of visibility, and poor process control and compliance. This whole process is like riding a horse and buggy in the age of self-driving cars.

So why modernize your contract negotiation and management process?

1.  Efficiency to Increase Your Impact

Today, contract negotiations require a lot of manual, error-prone, clerical work. Sifting through emails and reconciling different revisions into a single document results in longer negotiation cycles, and a protracted negotiation process always leads to a higher risk of losing the deal. Modernizing contract negotiation and management will allow your company to devote more high-value resources to core business functions, like strategic thinking.

2.  Visibility to Improve Relationships Across the Company

How long does it take you to answer basic questions for your boss or coworkers about your company? For example, how long will it take for a particular contract to close? How much revenue are we going to book this month? What percentage of contracts include non-standard terms? That is just a start; you can imagine an infinite number of other questions that would be helpful to know the answers to.

With today’s processes, it’s all but impossible to have a certain answer for even these basic questions. What if you wanted to make your contract process 10 percent more efficient? Where would you even begin to have that conversation? Being able to have these intelligent conversations about contracts is not just a luxury; it is increasingly part of normal business conversation.

3.  Process Control for Compliance and Risk Management

How can you assure compliance and maintain a robust contracting process if your people are still emailing static documents to each other and to third parties, the same way they did 10 or 20 years ago? Manually checking each contract and cataloging non-standard terms, renewal dates, and other critical information is a mistake-rich exercise because humans make mistakes. Especially, as you know, when they are reading a long contract after a long contract, their eyes glaze over, and their brains are not engaged.

Adopting a robust cloud contract negotiation and management solution will allow you to easily define, enforce, and audit compliance with your company’s official contracting processes. In other words, you will manage risks better, more efficiently, and more systematically.

Once upon a time, cloud contract negotiation and management solutions were the way of the future. We fantasized about alternatives to scrolling through document after document, copying-and-pasting generic terms, printing, signing, and scanning, and then doing it all again when your partner inevitably changes their mind at the last minute. It was once a luxury.

But what was once the way of the future is now a reality. In fact, it’s not just the way of the present — it’s necessary to keep up with modern business expectations. Future contractual partners know what’s possible and will expect it. With a broader range of information available, people want answers. Doing things the old-fashioned way isn’t just slow, inefficient, and annoying. It’s harmful to your business.

Whether you adapt or not, every field incorporates technologies as they come. It’s up to you whether to keep up.

Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. Olga founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. Olga also co-founded SunLaw, an organization dedicated to preparing women in-house attorneys to become general counsels and legal leaders, and WISE to help female law firm partners become rainmakers. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can email Olga at olga@olgamack.com or follow her on Twitter @olgavmack. 

This is the latest article in the monthly  “An Interview With” series. In this series, I connect with people from all parts of the legal profession and at all stages of their legal career to learn who really makes up the legal community and what they are actually doing with their legal degrees. 

This month I discussed solo practice issues with estate and small business attorney Erin C. Callahan. Erin is a 2011 graduate of SMU Dedman School of Law and currently runs her own practice in League City, Texas. In this article, Erin shares incredible insight into what it is like to run your own practice and what it takes to do it successfully. 

KS: Tell us about your journey to becoming a solo practitioner and small business owner. 

EC: In law school, I planned to open my own firm. Famous last words. But then I received an offer that led me to take a 7-year detour in the insurance industry.  After seven years, I was done and I went to work for a small general practice. I was exposed to almost all areas of the law — which is ideal if you don’t know what area of law you want to practice. I fell in love with estate planning, and I realized I didn’t like family law or litigation. Therefore, I decided to hang my own shingle and do what I love and what makes me happy. 

KS: What do you love about running your own practice and being your own boss? Conversely, what are some challenges that come with being a small business owner? 

EC: Running my own law firm is terrifying and exciting all at the same time. I love being my own boss because if I want to buy new software, I buy new software. If I don’t want to work on Friday, I don’t. The freedom and flexibility are invaluable. The biggest challenges are leveling up while still doing good work and running your business. You have to become an expert in marketing, finance, bookkeeping, sales, and so much more.  It is challenging to keep all the balls in the air and projects moving forward so outsourcing is critical or you will fall behind. Another challenge is fear and mindset. Pushing yourself as a business owner is different than pushing yourself as an employee. As an employee, your development plan might include attending several conferences, meeting with a coach, or taking a new class. Your development plan as a business owner is taking on new business that you don’t have direct experience with; which can be scary. You have to stay on top of your fear and forge ahead otherwise you will be stagnant. I never experienced fear until owning a business. As Gandhi said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.”

KS: I know this question is a bit of a trap for business owners, but describe what your typical workday looks like.

EC: It’s probably easier if I describe a typical week because I block my schedule. On Tuesday and Thursday, I am out of the office and I focus on all marketing events — whether that’s speaking engagements, meeting with referral partners (I meet with about 20 a month), or attending several local networking events. I am busy from about 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

Monday and Wednesday, I am in the office drafting in the mornings and meeting with clients in the afternoons. 

Friday is a free for all. Anything that doesn’t get done earlier in the week gets done on Friday. Usually, I am busy most of the day with drafting or meeting people. 

In addition to the law firm, I own another small business on which I spend about 15 hours a week. Generally, from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, I am tutoring. I work with elementary and middle school students whose parents want them to get ahead in school, need confidence-building, or are struggling in class. It is a blast! It’s different than practicing law. My kids are amazing and every day no matter how bad my day is, I have to put a smile on and be there for them. I end every day laughing and having fun with the kids. I also believe in having multiple streams of income and this business is a second stream of income for our family. 

KS: What drives your passion to practice estate planning and business law?

EC: I love estate planning and small business law because I am working with people and not companies. I feel like I am making a difference in their lives. Most people don’t have an estate plan. It’s fun working with them and helping them develop a plan that gives them peace of mind. Second, lifestyle. I don’t have a heavy caseload of litigated cases. I can work whenever or wherever I want, and there is freedom in that. Estate planning and small business law align with my natural strengths. I am empathetic and I get my energy from people. I am also futuristic according to Strengthsfinders, so I naturally have a long-range view towards the future so it’s a good fit. Lastly, I love it because you can keep things simple and do basic wills or challenge yourself intellectually with Medicaid or other highly technical areas of law within estate planning and business law. There is room to grow. 

KS: What advice do you have someone who is interested in starting their own legal practice?

EC: First and foremost, just do it! Take an hour every morning and plan out what it will look like for a few weeks. That being said, don’t stress about all the details. It doesn’t really matter what practice management software you buy.  Clio, MyCase, or Practice Panther — they all get the job done. Make decisions quickly, and don’t succumb to analysis paralysis. Hire a CPA and bookkeeper early or at least have a clear plan. Make sure you put time into your marketing plan. Most lawyers think they will open the doors and they will come. That is not true.  Lawyers are not natural salespeople, and as a law firm owner, you have to be fluent in sales. Lastly, understand that sales is different than being good with people. Know your ideal client and target market. 

KS: What, if anything, did you do in law school that you found really helpful in preparing you for solo practice? In retrospect, is there anything you wish you had done differently in law school to be better prepared? 

EC: To be candid, I don’t think anything in law school prepares you for opening your own law firm. Maybe working while in school or holding leadership positions does because you learn time management and organization skills. Other than that, take as many writing classes as you can. If your school has classes about running your own law firm or allows you to take business classes in the business school, definitely take those. Also, get as much work experience as possible, so by the end of law school you know what areas you enjoy and what areas you hate. Volunteer, work, offer to work for free — whatever it takes to get exposure to different areas of the law. 

You can learn more about Erin here.

Know someone who would be great to profile in this series? Send an email to info@vincoprep.com with “An Interview With” in the subject line.

Kerriann Stout is a millennial law school professor and founder of Vinco (a bar exam coaching company) who is generationally trapped between her students and colleagues. Kerriann has helped hundreds of students survive law school and the bar exam with less stress and more confidence. She lives, works, and writes in the northeast. You can reach her by email at info@vincoprep.com.

— Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), imploring President Donald Trump to brush up on the document that guides the impeachment inquiry that’s been launched against him. Amash was the only non-Democrat in the House to vote in favor of an impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Like it or not, the internet is gaining access to every aspect of our lives.  You may have a smart thermostat in your house that “learns” when you are home so that the temperature in your home can be adjusted when you are away.  Your home may also have a smart doorbell (and networked home security cameras) that will track not only visitors, but can track your comings and goings as well. Certain refrigerators now have cameras inside them that can take pictures of the inside to assist you in restocking your groceries.  You may be wearing a fitness watch that is tracking not only your steps, heartbeat, and exercise, but your sleep patterns and even diet (should you opt to enter and track such information).  You get the point — more and more data is being collected about you than you may admit, but it is the potential compilation of this information and its use that is a bigger deal than you may think.

Let’s face it: Technology is growing at an exponential rate and the “internet of things” is no exception. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines “Internet of Things” as “the networking capability that allows information to be sent to and received from objects and devices (such as fixtures and kitchen appliances) using the Internet.”  As I have written previously, more and more elements of this technology have their eyes, ears, and digital fingers on every part of our everyday lives.  Although the technology can add value and may, in many cases, make our lives a little easier in the process, the cost to personal privacy cannot be underestimated.

First, let’s address the most obvious point: Each of these devices is collecting data — your data.  That is, data about you that you have permitted the device to gather and use according to the privacy policy and the terms of use for the device.   For example, the FitBit Privacy Policy not only addresses what they collect about you from their wearable device, but how that information is used and shared, which may include sharing your data with third-party applications and even your employer (for employer wellness programs with which you participate).  This is indicative of most every such device that you may be using at home or on your person.  Think such third-party application sharing is not a big deal?  Think again. Facebook collects at least 98 different data points about its users, and as the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018 demonstrated, such data can be used in ways not necessarily agreed to by its users.

Although troubling, at least there is a level of control afforded the user regarding what data is collected and how it is stored and used for each type of device.  The bigger issue, however, is the bigger picture presented by all of this data.  Much of this data, while collected at the device-level, is actually saved to the “cloud” — a network of computers used by the device company to store such data.  This is where things start getting dicey.  For example, take the Amazon Echo speaker.  This device incorporates a virtual assistant, Alexa, that according to Amazon is its “cloud-based voice service available on more than 100 million devices from Amazon and third-party device manufacturers [with which] you can build natural voice experiences that offer customers a more intuitive way to interact with the technology they use every day.”   The problem is that not only does Alexa “listen” to what you ask (and potentially what you are doing), but apparently so are thousands of Amazon employees and contractors to ostensibly improve Alexa’s speech recognition and contextual understanding — they are listening to audio clips that cover not only the mundane, but potentially criminal activity according to one CNN report.  You can opt out of such use of your recordings by Amazon; however, history has shown that this may not prevent unauthorized use (e.g., Cambridge Analytica).

This leads us to the biggest issue presented by such data in the “cloud” — the eventual analytics involving such information and compilation of all your collected data by third parties.  Think about it: A compilation of your location data from all the IoT devices that you use that can be compiled into a digital representation of you and your daily routine and needs — compiled data that would be digital gold to everyone from advertisers and insurers to hackers.  Your smartphone, combined with your smartwatch data and smart refrigerator providing a glimpse of not only how you eat, but what you eat and where you get it.  Make no mistake, this is already happening.  Unfortunately, the nature of consent in privacy policies does not generally prohibit third-party compilation of data, depriving the individual of control over their data.  Further, there is very little that the law addresses in this context in the United States.  Although the U.S. seems to be moving in the direction of the EU’s GDPR (as evidenced by California’s CCPA and other state laws following suit), the patchwork of state laws is simply not enough.

All of the foregoing leads me to reiterate the need for meaningful federal privacy legislation in the U.S.  Let’s just hope that somehow Congress and business can resolve this dilemma in a way that is a win for personal data privacy. Given the current political climate, however, there seems to be little hope of progress on that front anytime soon.  In the interim, an inadequate patchwork of state laws will be all we have to remain reactive to the ongoing march of technology.  Make no mistake, a Pandora’s Box for privacy has been opened by these technological advancements, and it simply cannot be closed again.  Let’s just hope we can keep the lid from flying off in the process.

Tom Kulik is an Intellectual Property & Information Technology Partner at the Dallas-based law firm of Scheef & Stone, LLP. In private practice for over 20 years, Tom is a sought-after technology lawyer who uses his industry experience as a former computer systems engineer to creatively counsel and help his clients navigate the complexities of law and technology in their business. News outlets reach out to Tom for his insight, and he has been quoted by national media organizations. Get in touch with Tom on Twitter (@LegalIntangibls) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/technologylawyer), or contact him directly at tom.kulik@solidcounsel.com.